Chapter 9
Chance and I are following Mark toward one of the unused pastures on the property. It”s not used this year because we”re reseeding it to make the grass healthier for the cattle. There is really no reason for him to be out here.
We’re keeping our distance and Chance has me behind him, his concession for letting me follow him out.
I understand that Chance wants to keep me safe, but this is my home and where I grew up. Something”s going on, and I want to know to help protect this ranch.
Once Mark enters the pasture, we stick to the tree line and follow him almost as far back as we can possibly go and still be on our property. That”s when I see large rolls of hay that should not be here, as they are used over the winter. We tie the horses off, grab our weapons, and continue on foot around the trees to the back of where the hay is sitting. Peeking through a crack between bales of hay, what I saw has me seeing red.
There is a large tarp on the ground, as if he just pulled it off the pallet of drugs that are sitting there. I”ve seen the TV shows where they collect drugs that look like they could be bricks, but I”ve never so much as seen a baggie of anything, much less this much. Where did it come from? Did he make this? Is he selling it?
I have so many questions. Chance takes my hand, pulling me back into the woods, where we can still see what is going on, but we can”t hear anything.
”That is close to half a million dollars sitting there. I don”t know who he is mixed up with, but this isn”t good.” Chance whispers.
My eyes go wide as I point to a four wheeler joining us from our neighbor”s side of the fence. ”Looks like we might find out.”
Mark goes over and removes a section that he has manufactured as a gate, proving that this isn”t the first time he”s done this.
”I have to get closer to hear what they are saying, but you need to stay here. But you won”t, will you?”
When I shake my head, he takes my hand and leads us closer to the bales of hay.
”Jimmy, you need to hurry and get this out of here before the Vasquez Cartel shows up,” Mark says.
”That’s the cartel family The Rebel Hearts is fighting back in Maplewood. They kidnapped my friend’s girl recently. She”s safe, but they aren”t good people,” Chance whispers softly in my ear.
Mark is dealing with the Cartel? Then who is this new guy?
They exchange money, more cash than I”ve ever seen in my life. Then Jimmy loads up over half the bricks from the pallet and takes off.
Chance pulls me back into the tree line as Jimmy leaves.
”You recognize that Jimmy guy?” he whispers.
”He”s a new ranch hand at Dave”s ranch. It’s the ranch behind us, the one he just drove off toward. What just happened?”
”He just sold off drugs that belong to the Cartel, and I bet he”s hoping they won”t notice it”s missing. I think without a doubt that the Cartel will know they are short quite a lot of money. Mark”s selling it to Jimmy, and Jimmy is selling it on the street, is my guess.”
”So Mark”s a drug dealer to the Cartel?” I still can”t make sense of it in my head.
”No, he”s a middleman. The Cartel has been trying to set up pipelines to move their drugs from Mexico up to Texas and into the rest of the country. They got Mark to use the back of the property here for a small percent of the profits, and then he got greedy.” He tells me while pulling out his phone, and begins typing. We have always had good service on the ranch and now I”m grateful for it.
Pulling out my phone, I double-check that I silenced it before we came out here, and thankfully, it is. ”What are you doing?” I ask as I watch his fingers fly across the screen.”Telling your brother to call the authorities and get his ass out here with backup and more guns. But to do it quietly,” Chance whispers.
I look back to where Mark is and see another all-terrain vehicle, a gator with all the bells and whistles that scream money, come across the pasture from our neighbors on the other side of us. Christ, are all our neighbors involved in this?
As he puts his phone back in his pocket, I elbow Chance and point to our new visitors. We make our way closer, but not as close as before. Even though we use a large tree as a shield, we can still hear what is going on.
”What”s this?” The older man who showed up on the gator asks.
”The drugs I was told to hold for you,” Mark says calmly.
”Really? Because it looks like some are missing,” the man says with a cold threatening tone in his voice that sends a shiver up my spine.
”You expect me to believe that a man that has been with me for over twenty years, happened to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from me?” The man says, and there”s an unmistakable cock of a pistol.
Instinctively, Chance and I both get our handguns ready. I never had to aim a gun at another human being, but I know Chance has. Just thinking about what he might have had to do in his military time to make it home breaks my heart.
”I”m telling you, this is all I have,” Mark says, and the shaking in his voice is noticeable.
”Where”s the rest of it?” the other guy”s voice says with a clear threat in it.
I”m waiting on pins and needles to hear Mark”s response, but in the next breath, he”s slipping through the hay bales and running right towards us.
”Cover me,” Chance whispers and steps out from behind the tree, slinging his arm out grabbing Mark by the neck and pinning him to the ground in one quick motion.
”What the fuck,” Mark says.
Chance knees him in his gut to hold him down and wraps his hand around his throat.
”Well, it looks like thanks are in order. Jessa, are you going to introduce me to your friend?” the man says, stepping out behind the hay, and I freeze, staring at him.
”How do you know who I am?” I ask while trying to keep the fear out of my voice.
”I make it a point to know everyone I work with, and when I realized that he worked for your family, I looked into your family and the ranch where my drugs would be sitting. While I know you and your brother had no idea about my arrangements with your ranch hand here, I am wondering why you”re out here.”
”We were out of town over the weekend and got back early and saw Mark here loading up a bunch of guns and looking really shady. My gut”s been saying something is wrong or off about him, so I followed him, and Jessa would not stay behind,” Chance says, his voice flat and emotionless.
”If you followed him out here, do you have any idea where the rest of my stuff is?” The man asks in a cool, casual voice.
It doesn”t escape me that he still hasn”t introduced himself.
”He”s working with the ranch hand on the ranch that way,” Chance nods in the direction that Jimmy went off in. ”He gave him some to sell and keep the profits for themselves from the looks of it. Ranch hand”s name is Jimmy, but he”s new so we don”t know much about him.”
”So you intentionally stole from me with the intent of lining your own pockets? Sadly, this isn”t a new thing in our organization. We find once people get a taste of money, they”re always greedy for more.” The man pulls his gun out.
Chance looks over his shoulder at me. The message in his eyes and body language is for me to back up and get the fuck out of the way. Obeying his unspoken orders, I back up to the tree that we were hiding behind with the intention of using it as a shield, if needed.
”Don”t worry, ma”am, we”re not in the habit of hurting innocents,” he says in his best fake Texas draw, which does nothing to calm my nerves.
This is also when Mark starts fighting for his life and somehow produces a gun that he had hidden on himself, trying to aim it at the man he was working for. Chance wrestles the gun from him, but not before Mark gets a gunshot off, thankfully into the air, hitting no one.
The gunshot spooks the horses, and they start raising a ruckus, which causes the man in front of us to frown. When I turn back to look, the horse Mark rode in on coming right towards us.
”Chance, look out!” I scream.
He jumps to get away from the horse that is running at full speed.
The horse sees the cartel guy and veers to the right, where Mark is still trying to get up off the ground. The next thing I know, my face is in Chance’s chest, and I can”t see anything. Though I can hear the sickening sound of bones crunching and a garbled cut off scream that fills the air. Suddenly, everything goes silent, and all we hear is the sound of the horse running off in the distance.
”Is he...” I start, but can”t bring myself to say it.
”Mark is definitely dead. It”s better if you don”t look, baby,” Chance says.
We hear the sound of people yelling in the distance. ”That”s probably my brother,” I say out loud, not sure if it will help our situation or make it worse.
”I am not going to force you to hold to the agreement that Mark has made. We”re trying to make as little waves as possible and would rather have willing people to help than those who are going to fight us every step of the way. So, I”m going to go after this Jimmy guy and get the rest of my stuff, and I will take this off your hands,” the cartel guy says calmly.
When I look to the side, I realize the guy that was with him has loaded all the rest of the stuff onto his vehicle.
”If you”ll leave the ranch alone, we will take care of this body, and will not let it lead back to you.” Chance stares down the cartel guy, while the voices behind us get louder.
”Deal, as long as our name doesn”t cross your lips, you will have no more problems from us.” The man says before turning and getting back on the all-terrain vehicle and going back the way they came from.
They”re out of sight just as my brother and one of the other ranch hands come riding into view.
”You okay, baby girl?” Chance asks, still keeping my face buried in his chest.
”For now. Ask me that in a couple of hours once we”re settled back at the ranch,” I tell him honestly.
”I can do that,” he says chuckling.
”What the fuck is going on? We heard a gunshot, and holy shit...” my brother says, and I guess that”s the moment he sees Mark.
”Long story short, we saw Mark acting shady and followed him out here. He”s been using this part of the ranch for some drug deals. This last one went wrong. The drugs are gone and as long as we take care of this body, they will not be bothering the ranch again,” Chance says.
”Jessa?” My brother walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump.
”She didn”t see anything, but heard it all. Mark”s horse ran off as well, and he”s going to have to be found,” Chance says. ”I”m gonna take her back to the house. She doesn”t need to see this.”
For once, Chance and my brother agree on something, and I”ve never been happier to let them take the lead.