Texas Outlaw (Rory Yates #2) - James Patterson Page 0,72
sagebrush and investigate. It’s my sleeping bag and the sack of food I brought to Ariana, hidden away. But there’s nothing else, no sign of her.
I look around, my heart pounding. Above me, a hawk screeches as it glides through the blue sky. Otherwise the whole area is silent. The sun is still a couple of hours from setting, but shadows have already fallen across the canyon.
I don’t want to draw attention to myself—not if McCormack’s men are nearby—but I don’t know what else to do but call out to her.
“Ariana!” I shout, just loud enough to hear an echo calling back to me through the canyon.
I hear splashing in the river and look down to see Ariana wading out from under the cut bank.
“Rory?” she gasps, looking up at me. “I thought it was them again. They’ve been crisscrossing this area all day.”
She swims over to the bank and climbs out of the water. Her hair is mud slicked and her once white T-shirt is now the color of chocolate milk.
I throw my arms around her in a big hug. Her body is ice-cold, her trembling arms covered in goose bumps.
“Thank God,” I say, feeling guilty for thinking that she might have been double-crossing me. “What the hell happened?”
She says McCormack’s men have been patrolling in ATVs. They finally left for good about an hour ago, but when she heard a vehicle coming, she thought they were trying again, this time in a truck.
“I hadn’t expected you until after dark,” she says.
As she talks, she tries to catch her breath and can’t.
I give her a minute to breathe and then ask, “What about the rifle rounds?”
“They shot a snake,” she says. “They said they’d do the same to me if they found me.”
I get an old shirt out of my lock box and give it to her to try to dry off and wipe away some of the mud.
“I must be a sight,” she says, wiping dirty water from her face.
“You’re as beautiful as ever,” I say, and I mean it.
I’m still trying to get my emotions under control after fearing she was dead—or that she might have betrayed me.
“What are you doing here?” she says, dumping water out of her boots. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve got bad news and what I hope is good news,” I say.
I explain to her about being replaced by my lieutenant, how he and Harris both warned me to get out of town.
“I was told in no uncertain terms that if I step foot in Rio Lobo, I’ll be arrested.”
I tell her about Dale Peters and how he has something to show us that will help the investigation.
“The GPS coordinates are about a mile and a half from here, over along the access road McCormack and his men have been using.”
“Are you sure you can trust Dale?” she asks. “McCormack is the one who signs his paychecks.”
“My gut tells me we can trust him,” I say, “but I’ve been wrong before.”
Chapter 77
“WHAT ARE WE waiting on?” Ariana says. “Let’s go see what Dale has for us.”
She’s right. We should hurry. We have only about an hour or so of daylight left. But there’s something I want to get off my chest before we drive out there.
“What is it?” she says, sensing something is on my mind.
“Why didn’t you tell me you dated Gareth McCormack?” I ask.
A wave of emotions rolls across her face.
First confusion.
Then embarrassment.
Then anger.
“You’re still not sure about me, are you?” she says, her voice trembling with betrayal. “You’re still wondering if I’m somehow involved in this?”
She steps away from me and walks in a circle, shaking her head incredulously.
“I can’t believe this,” she says, clenching her hands into fists. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through today? And you think that I have something to do with all this?”
My patience cracks.
“I helped you escape,” I say, raising my voice. “I put my badge on the line for you. I’m putting my life on the line. For you.”
“You’re the one who convinced me to run,” she snaps. “I’d be better off in jail than I am out here.”
Her words hit me hard. I think about what kind of danger I’ve put her in. If she gets killed, it’s on me.
“Besides,” she says, “it’s no one’s business who I’ve dated.”
“You’ve been keeping a secret from me,” I say, trying to calm my nerves. “Gareth McCormack is at the top