A Texas Child. Linda Warren

I’ll call everything off. I haven’t lost my mind completely.”

      “That’s good to hear.”

      “I was going to call Mama and Papa, but they wouldn’t understand and we’d just get into an argument. If they mention they can’t get in touch with me, make an excuse or something.”

      “I’m not lying to them, My.”

      Myra sighed. She knew Jessie wouldn’t lie. That was one of the things she loved most about her. She was very honest and up-front.

      “Okay. I should be back in a few days. Say a prayer for me, and I love you, kiddo.”

      “Myra, please ask Levi to go with you.”

      “He made it very clear he won’t go into Mexico, but I’ll hire someone, so don’t worry. I’ll call as soon as I get there.”

      “Take care of yourself.”

      Myra sat for a long time with the phone in her hand. She should call her parents, but it would turn into a big argument she wasn’t in the mood to deal with. Since her parents had moved so far away, she didn’t talk to them as much. If she was lucky, she’d be home before they realized she’d been gone, and by then she’d be prepared for the lecture.

      Even she couldn’t make that argument sound convincing. She touched the number to call home. Her mother answered.

      “Hi, Mama. I’m sorry I was short today. I just have a lot on my mind.”

      “I know you’re worried about your friend.”

      Myra didn’t expect so much understanding and she was speechless for a brief second. “Yes, it’s been very stressful.”

      “Well, then, come home for a few days and relax.”

      Myra chewed on her lip. “I can’t right now. I’ll probably be leaving for Matamoras tomorrow. We have a lead on the baby.”

      “Matamoras?” She could almost see the worry gathering in her mother’s eyes like clouds before a thunderstorm.

      “I’ll be careful.”

      “Why do you have to go? Aren’t the police supposed to do that?”

      Myra didn’t feel she needed to go into a long explanation. “I just wanted you to know in case you were trying to reach me. I’ll call as soon as I get back.”

      Her mother wasn’t having any of it. She called to Myra’s father, “Felipe, talk to your daughter. She’s doing something crazy.”

      She explained the situation all over again to her father. “Papa, I have to go. I just wanted to touch base before I left.

      “Take care of yourself, bebé. We love you.”

      That’s all she wanted to hear, just in case she didn’t make it back.

      For the next thirty minutes, she contacted retired police officers who might want to make some extra money, but none of them wanted money that badly. The realization of just how serious the situation was finally began to sink in. She hung up from the last one feeling frustrated. She took a long breath and paced in her living room. What did she do now?

      She didn’t have an answer, so went to take a shower. Slipping into shorty pj bottoms and a tank top, new energy surged through her. She emailed Steve, requesting all the info he had on the Mortez family. He replied within minutes and she sat in the living room reviewing the Mortez compound in Matamoras. An outsider had no way in. That left no options, except one. She had Marco’s cell number. She’d tried it a couple of times and he hadn’t answered and she didn’t leave a message. But if she left a message saying she was in Matamoras, he might meet with her. And how stupid would that be, meeting him alone on his turf where justice was a foreign word? What did she do?

      Her doorbell chimed and she jerked her head up in surprise. Who could that be? Due to her work and prosecuting hardened criminals, she lived in a gated community. She had to buzz people in and no one had rung the buzzer. It might be a neighbor, but then, they usually called.

      She went to the door and stood on tiptoe to look through the peephole. She blinked and looked again. Could it be...? No. She took another glance to make sure.

      Levi.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      “MYRA, LET ME in.”

      She released the dead bolt and unlocked the door. Levi strolled in wearing worn jeans, a black T-shirt and a backpack. Mystified, she could only stare at him.

      “What?” he asked, as if it was natural for him to drop by her home unannounced.

      “What are you doing here?”

      He shrugged out of the backpack and dropped it to the floor. “Hell, I don’t know. I have a perfectly good life in Willow Creek, and yet I can’t get the picture of you lying dead on the banks of the Rio Grande out of my head.”

      A shiver ran through her at the image. “Are you trying to scare me?”

      “Is it working? You ready to change your mind?”

      She heaved a sigh. “No.”

      “God, you’re stubborn.”

      “What are you doing here, Levi?”

      He dragged the backpack into the living room and plopped onto the sofa. Unzipping the pack, he pulled out his iPad. “I found I couldn’t live with your death on my conscience, so I’m taking you to Mexico to search for the boy, but you will follow my orders and be as docile as possible.”

      “Oh” was all she could say. Her heavy heart suddenly felt lighter and she sat cross-legged in a chair facing him. “Thank you.” She felt she needed to say that.

      “Yeah” was his short reply. He was already engrossed in the iPad.

      “Do you have a plan?”

      He glanced up briefly. “Plans are usually shot to hell in these types of situations. We’ll play it by ear. In the morning, we’ll head out for Brownsville and cross the border and see how it goes.”

      “I thought it would be easier to fly.”

      That drew a dark scowl. “Tourists are easy targets and that’s what you’ll be getting off the plane in Matamoras.”

      “Okay. I’m flexible.”

      “Yeah. Since when?”

      She took a deep breath. “If we’re going to do this, we’ll have to call a truce with the snide comments. To work together, we at least have to be civil to each other.”

      His brown eyes held hers and she resisted the urge to squirm. “You’re right. For us to have any success, we have to work closely together. I’ll have to be able to trust you.”

      “Is that a problem?”

      He didn’t answer for second. “Yesterday, yes. Today, I have to go on faith. I’m here, so that’s about all I can say.”

      She swallowed. “I’ll take it.” She pointed to her laptop on the coffee table. “Steve sent over everything he has on the Mortez family. Or at least what he could share.”

      “I already have it.”

      That surprised her. An agent didn’t share information with outsiders, or maybe Steve didn’t consider Levi an outsider. But she was still curious. “How?”

      “I snatched it from his computer when we were at the station.”

      Now she was more curious. “How?”

      “I have a thingamajig on my phone....”

      “Thingamajig?”

      “That’s all you need to know.”

      “But how did