Texas Outlaw (Rory Yates #2) - James Patterson Page 0,79

thoughts and unconscious fears. I dream that I hear ATVs in the distance, and this jolts me awake.

But the land all around us is as silent as a cemetery. The horizon to the east is just starting to turn blue. The chill of the night air has seeped into my bones, making my body ache. I rise to stretch my muscles and warm up. I hike away from Ariana and Dale, who are both still asleep, and relieve my bladder on the other side of the tanker truck. The landscape is changing from gray to brown, and I’m struck again by the stark beauty of these desert hills.

When I walk back, Ariana is sitting up, blinking sleep from her eyes.

“What’s the plan?” she asks.

“I want you on that hill with the rifle,” I tell her. “Just like yesterday. Only this time, take Dale with you.”

I explain to her that if we see any vehicle except for a Ford F-150 identical to mine, then she needs to stay hidden.

“No matter what happens to me, do not come out,” I say. “If I’m arrested, or worse, you need to stay alive. And keep Dale safe. Find a way to get back into town and go ask Tom Aaron for help. Tell him to put this thing on the AP wire, to at least get the story out before they have a chance to arrest you.”

Thirty minutes later, as the sun is breaking over the hills, Ariana and Dale start to climb a nearby hill and hide behind a rock outcropping. I climb up onto the tanker and watch and listen. My stomach rumbles and I regret not eating the food in my truck that Jessica made for me.

I hear Kyle’s truck before I see it. When it comes around the bend, I wave my arm in an exaggerated arc so he’ll see me. Not that he could miss the tanker. It’s thirty feet long with a stainless-steel drum reflecting in the morning light.

He guides his truck toward me, taking his time just like I did yesterday afternoon. He’s looking around for an ambush. I know where Ariana and Dale are hidden, but I don’t move my head in that direction. I don’t want to tip him off.

When he parks, he steps out of the truck and looks up at me. He looks like a Texas Ranger should—his slacks and shirt wrinkle-free, his face shaved and smooth, his hat clean enough you could eat off the brim, and the star on his chest polished and gleaming. I must look the opposite. I slept in my clothes, in the dirt, and I haven’t shaved in days. I’m sure my badge has lost its luster, and the hat Willow bought me could use a good scrubbing.

“I don’t see the girl, Yates,” Kyle says. “This better not be some kind of joke. I’m bringing someone back to town in handcuffs. If it ain’t her, it’s gonna be you.”

“She’s in the tanker,” I say. “You’ve got to come up here to see for yourself.”

Kyle squints at me in disbelief. What I’m saying doesn’t make a bit of sense. There’s no way for a human to get inside the tanker. The openings aren’t that wide. But maybe he doesn’t know that.

“You’ve got to see for yourself, Kyle. If you don’t like what you see once you’re up here, I’ll put the cuffs on myself.”

He gives me a skeptical look, then glances around to see if anything else seems suspicious. Finally, he resigns himself to what I’m asking, and he starts to climb the ladder.

When he arrives on top, I can’t help but think what a strange sight we must be. Two Texas Rangers standing atop an oil truck with nothing around but sagebrush and rocks.

“Thanks for coming,” I say.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he says. “You’re going to be under arrest in about five seconds if you don’t show me where Ariana Delgado is.”

I step over to the first hatch, which is closed.

“Ready?” I say. I can’t help but grin.

“Christ, Yates, get to it already.”

As I swing open the hatch, I have a moment of panic. What if it’s empty? Dale and I left Ariana with the truck last night—what if she took the drugs out?

Then sunlight illuminates the cache of cocaine bricks, and I feel guilty for—once again—doubting Ariana. I vow not to do it again.

Kyle kneels down to take a closer look at the cocaine. Then, still kneeling, he swings his head and gives me a confused