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The box contained her US birth certificate and the Auardian Bull Tyler had given Ramón toward her keep Ramón, kindly man that he was, had refused to spend a cent of it, instead putting the cash aside for the day when Rose would need it Now, after twelve years, that day had come

Rose opened the box and checked toThen she snapped it shut and shoved it into the hip pocket of her jeans Back in the house, she glanced around for anything else she ht need The 44 lay on the kitchen table where she’d left it She thrust it into her belt and flung Ramón’s old woolen serape over her shoulders to hide what she was carrying

Fro So a set of keys frorabbed her duffel and raced across the patio, out the back door

One key opened the padlock on the shed behind the house Inside, covered by a canvas tarp, was the 1947 Buick that had been Ramón’s pride and joy The cartel knew about it, but none of the swaggering thugs who trailed after Don Refugio wanted an old car They wanted new cars, sleek and fast and showy None of them had tried to claim it

There were tools in the shed, as well—hammers, saws, picks, shovels, a coil of rope, andWith the car uncovered, Rose flung the with her duffel, into the Buick’s cavernous trunk Last of all, she took her grandfather’s double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun fro place under Ramón’s workbench, wrapped it in a blanket, and laid it at the back of the trunk along with a box of shells After closing and locking the trunk, she opened the shed door wide, clinition The powerful V8 engine purred to life Raht her how to maintain his treasure, and Rose had learned her lessons well The tank was full of gas, the oil changed, and the battery charged With luck, she couldto stop at a station, where the distinctive car and the port-wine blaze down the left border of her face would make her all too easy to remember

The cartel would be after her—that io would not rest until he’d hunted down his brother’s killer and made her pay

With the shed door locked behind her and her headlights turned off, she drove through an alley and took a back lane out of town Where the lane hway, switched the lights on high beaas pedal to the floor

By now someone would have heard the shots, found Lucho’s body, and most likely broken into the locked shed to discover that the old Buick was gone It could be a oons were on her tail While she could, she needed to gain as much time and distance as possible

Her plan was to stay on the highway until first light After that she would cut off into the es between here and the border at Piedras Negras Her birth certificate was proof of citizenship and should be enough to get her into the United States The car was another matter Ramón had never licensed it in Mexico But its Texas plates were eleven years old The registration in the glove box bore the naa, Ramón’s late brother who’d worked for Bull Tyler’s father on the Ri it without a license

Getting the Buick through customs could be trouble Should she concoct a believable story and hope for the best? Or should she turn aside and look for a spot where slers and coyotes crossed the river? Never ht now all thatahead of the cartel

Once she crossed the border, her final destination would be the Rimrock Ranch and the thirty-acre parcel of land she’d inherited frorandfather—the land she’d left in Bull Tyler’s care But there’d be no safe refuge for her anywhere, not even on the Rimrock

She’d been just fourteen when Hahbor, had shot and killed her grandfather before her eyes When Ham came to silence her, Rose had blasted the old un

The incident was seared into her ht on Haun in her shaking hands, and the blast that had nearly knocked her over backward Afterward there’d been the sight of the oldtoward her across the yard

To save her froeance, Bull had spirited her to Mexico and left her with his friends, the Ortegas For twelve years she’d been safe Now she’d be returning to face the consequences of what she’d done Would she be jailed and hauled into court to stand trial? Would Hae his father’s death?

She was taking a dangerous risk returning to the Rio—and no other spot on earth that was hers by right of inheritance