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Authors: Desiree Holt
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calls. Work my snitches."
"I'll take care of Anya," Linda said. "I've got the big guest room at the top of the stairs ready for you. Bring in whatever you need and go to work. Anya and I can take our coffee out on the back porch." She looked at Anya. "I could sure use some girl time for a change."
Gus stood up and slipped his hands beneath Anya's elbow, guiding her up from the chair. Ignoring the others at the table, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
"It'll be okay," he assured her. "We're safe here. You're safe, and that's the most important thing to me." He pulled her tight against him for a moment, pressing her body against his in a quick, hard hug. "Go on with Linda now. I'm going to make some calls."
When the women were settled on the back porch Gus sat down in his chair again and pulled his cell phone from the holster on his belt. Rafe was watching him from across the table with an unreadable expression.
Gus frowned. "What?"
"She's lovely, Gus. And the way you look at her? You never, ever looked at Linda like that."
Gus dipped his head. "Yeah, about that..."
"Nothing to say." Rafe clapped him on the shoulder. "You've got with Anya what Linda and I have. Enough said, okay?"
Gus nodded. "Okay." And just like that, surprisingly, it really was. Rafe finished his coffee and left to head toward the barn. Gus began to dial numbers from memory, hoping to reach someone who could give him a clue to where Virgil Branson was holed up and who was helping him pull strings. By the time he finished gathering in information from his contacts, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had grown to enormous proportions.
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Desiree Holt
He was glad Linda was keeping Anya occupied because he needed to get a grip on himself before sharing any information with her. Even then he'd have to be very careful what he told her. He knew she was barely holding herself together and some of what he'd learned could shatter her fragile self-control.
"You look like you bit into a sour apple," Rafe said, coming into the kitchen through the back door. "Want to talk about it?"
Gus nodded. "Yes and no. I'd really like to take Anya and run to someplace where no one can find us. The problem with that is we'd always be running while Branson's still on the loose." Rafe dropped down into the chair opposite him.
"Okay. Let's hear what you've got. Maybe between us we can come up with a plan."
Again Gus felt a wave of emotion sweep over him and a surge of gratitude that his brother and sister-in-law had pushed aside the past and welcomed him the way they did.
"I'm finding out we only scratched the surface of Virgil Branson's operation," he began. "We shut him down in Texas and cut off his ties to Mexico, but apparently he operates out of other cities, too. He's stayed under the FBI radar because someone's been helping him all this time. Someone on the inside." The words left a sour taste in his mouth.
"And is that someone helping to hide him? To get Anya?"
Gus nodded. "That's what my key snitch is telling me. And he's so scared of what could happen to him I had to pry every word out of him. He told me not to call him again, said he could end up buried in a federal prison for good."
"Do you really think it's your boss, like Jimmy said?" Rafe wanted to know.
"It's the most logical answer. He could easily have engineered the prison escape and provided Branson with a hiding place, resources, whatever. And a lead to where Anya is."
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Escape the Night
"So what now?"
"I'm going to call Jimmy. See what he's found out and see if we can put together some kind of plan, to locate Branson and identify the rogue agent."
"Let us know what we can do, okay?"
"You're doing it," Gus told him. "Just by having us here."
Linda served chili and cornbread for lunch, then Rafe went back outside to work with the cattle, Linda said she was going into the office in the barn to work on the ranch books and Gus took a rattled Anya upstairs to lie down. He'd called
"I'll take care of Anya," Linda said. "I've got the big guest room at the top of the stairs ready for you. Bring in whatever you need and go to work. Anya and I can take our coffee out on the back porch." She looked at Anya. "I could sure use some girl time for a change."
Gus stood up and slipped his hands beneath Anya's elbow, guiding her up from the chair. Ignoring the others at the table, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
"It'll be okay," he assured her. "We're safe here. You're safe, and that's the most important thing to me." He pulled her tight against him for a moment, pressing her body against his in a quick, hard hug. "Go on with Linda now. I'm going to make some calls."
When the women were settled on the back porch Gus sat down in his chair again and pulled his cell phone from the holster on his belt. Rafe was watching him from across the table with an unreadable expression.
Gus frowned. "What?"
"She's lovely, Gus. And the way you look at her? You never, ever looked at Linda like that."
Gus dipped his head. "Yeah, about that..."
"Nothing to say." Rafe clapped him on the shoulder. "You've got with Anya what Linda and I have. Enough said, okay?"
Gus nodded. "Okay." And just like that, surprisingly, it really was. Rafe finished his coffee and left to head toward the barn. Gus began to dial numbers from memory, hoping to reach someone who could give him a clue to where Virgil Branson was holed up and who was helping him pull strings. By the time he finished gathering in information from his contacts, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had grown to enormous proportions.
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Desiree Holt
He was glad Linda was keeping Anya occupied because he needed to get a grip on himself before sharing any information with her. Even then he'd have to be very careful what he told her. He knew she was barely holding herself together and some of what he'd learned could shatter her fragile self-control.
"You look like you bit into a sour apple," Rafe said, coming into the kitchen through the back door. "Want to talk about it?"
Gus nodded. "Yes and no. I'd really like to take Anya and run to someplace where no one can find us. The problem with that is we'd always be running while Branson's still on the loose." Rafe dropped down into the chair opposite him.
"Okay. Let's hear what you've got. Maybe between us we can come up with a plan."
Again Gus felt a wave of emotion sweep over him and a surge of gratitude that his brother and sister-in-law had pushed aside the past and welcomed him the way they did.
"I'm finding out we only scratched the surface of Virgil Branson's operation," he began. "We shut him down in Texas and cut off his ties to Mexico, but apparently he operates out of other cities, too. He's stayed under the FBI radar because someone's been helping him all this time. Someone on the inside." The words left a sour taste in his mouth.
"And is that someone helping to hide him? To get Anya?"
Gus nodded. "That's what my key snitch is telling me. And he's so scared of what could happen to him I had to pry every word out of him. He told me not to call him again, said he could end up buried in a federal prison for good."
"Do you really think it's your boss, like Jimmy said?" Rafe wanted to know.
"It's the most logical answer. He could easily have engineered the prison escape and provided Branson with a hiding place, resources, whatever. And a lead to where Anya is."
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Escape the Night
"So what now?"
"I'm going to call Jimmy. See what he's found out and see if we can put together some kind of plan, to locate Branson and identify the rogue agent."
"Let us know what we can do, okay?"
"You're doing it," Gus told him. "Just by having us here."
Linda served chili and cornbread for lunch, then Rafe went back outside to work with the cattle, Linda said she was going into the office in the barn to work on the ranch books and Gus took a rattled Anya upstairs to lie down. He'd called
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