Texas Christmas Defender. Elizabeth Goddard

considered Gunn his best friend. Brent was still sick over it, and Gunn’s murder had only increased their unit’s determination to find Adriana.

      Now all manner of law enforcement was after Rio’s sister for the killing. The Texas Rangers had wasted a lot of time on false leads, but Brent... Brent had been the one to find her.

      So he couldn’t afford to let her get away now.

      Except...in his gut he’d believed all along she was innocent. This woman had risked her life to save his in Mexico on a sting gone bad and he couldn’t forget that. Maybe he wanted to believe she wasn’t a murderer. Wanted to believe she wasn’t working with her brother. But he needed to get the truth out of her, here and now.

      “I don’t want to hurt...what did you say her name was?”

      “Kiana.”

      “Kiana. I don’t want to hurt her. Mind calling her off?” Right. Like he would harm the creature under any circumstances. But maybe Adriana wouldn’t see through his bluff.

      She appeared to consider his words, and maybe even humor flickered in her gaze, but finally it seemed her concern for Kiana outweighed the risk she was willing to take. Adriana lifted her hands. “Let me approach her. I can calm her.”

      Her English was good. Smooth, like honey, not as broken as he remembered.

      “Fine. Don’t try anything.” I’m not letting you get away now that I’ve finally found you.

      He watched Adriana approach the llama, who visibly relaxed as the young woman spoke soothing words.

      Adriana’s gaze drew back up to hold Brent’s.

      Good. Now he’d attempt to get the answers he needed. “Why would he frame you?”

      Her chuckle was incredulous. “Come on. You’re smart. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

      I have my suspicions, but... “I want to hear it from you.”

      Adriana dropped onto a bale of hay near Kiana and her shoulders sagged. “My brother is hunting me. There is nothing he wants more than to get his hands on me for what he believes is the worst kind of betrayal.” Her brown eyes pierced his.

      “Four months ago he learned that I helped you to get away, and I had to escape. And once I was settled, I began enacting my plans to take him down.”

      Brent slumped under the weight of that news. He hadn’t realized how great a risk she had taken in helping him, or that it had been the catalyst to her fleeing to Texas. “Go on.”

      “So, if he made it look like I killed a border patrol agent, his problem would be solved. Others will find me for him. The Texas Rangers will hunt me down and lead him right to me. And...here you are.” Her gaze flicked to the barn entrance.

      A chill ran over him. Had he done just that? Led her brother and his bloodthirsty cartel members to this ranch? He didn’t think so, because he’d been on his own in his search for her. After the discovery that Greg had been a double agent, they were all wary of sharing their leads through any means that another spy might be able to track. The reconnaissance team didn’t know where to find him, which also meant no backup was on the way if Garcia showed up to take Adriana.

      Lord, please don’t let that be the case.

      But her words confirmed his own suspicions as well, that her brother hoped the authorities would lead him to his sister. It had already nearly happened once, when a woman who had borne a surprising resemblance to Adriana had been found by the Rangers—and then subsequently attacked by Garcia’s men. That was why he’d been so careful when coming here today. Still, the suspicious tone of her words had him itching to flee the barn and check the perimeter of the ranch.

      Her gaze snapped back to him, and her eyes reflected that she noticed his anxiety.

      “Look, I didn’t lead him here. I came alone.” Was he revealing too much? “I had to find you first. On my own.”

      Emotions he couldn’t read shifted behind her gaze and her stern expression softened. “You came alone? But...why?”

      He lowered his weapon but kept it ready. “Because I didn’t believe you were guilty of murder even though there’s evidence that shows you were at the scene.”

      “What evidence?” Her hands fidgeted.

      “A scarf and a bracelet. We’ve seen you wearing identical ones in surveillance videos.” Though Brent had always doubted her ability to strangle a man to death with a scarf—at least, a strong and sturdy man like Greg.

      She blew out a breath. “That’s convenient, isn’t it? I mean, if you’re going to frame someone and have access to those sorts of things, makes sense to plant them at the scene, doesn’t it?”

      His thoughts exactly. He’d said as much to Colt, though his friend hadn’t been very willing to listen. “It does. And it also makes sense that if you were there and committed the crime, evidence would be found.”

      “It doesn’t make sense that I would leave that kind of evidence. That’s much too obvious.”

      Hands shaking, Adriana rose from the bale. She appeared nervous, definitely nervous. Brent didn’t take his eyes from her in case he had it all wrong about her and she tried something. That possibility remained.

      “I left those items behind in my home in Mexico when I fled. Your surveillance videos are from before I ran, aren’t they?”

      She had him there. But he still had a lot of questions. “What about the money and drugs? Where are they?”

      “So you’re still unsure of my innocence.”

      “Something like that.” Either she was guilty, or she was in trouble and needed protection. Before he could do anything else, he needed to know which was true.

      Though she remained wary of him, she grabbed the bucket she’d dropped. Some of the grain had spilled on the ground, but she continued feeding Kiana with what was left in the bucket.

      She drew in a deep breath. “Yes, I took the cash and drugs. That’s the biggest reason Rio is hunting me now. Before, he wanted me for my betrayal. There is a penalty for the kind of disloyalty I showed when I saved you. Then he learned about what I’d stolen. A family heirloom. My grandfather’s Rolex. In my panic to escape, I thought I might need leverage. Something for which to trade my life, so I took it because it has a removable back that contained a gold key. That key was to the storage unit with the drugs and cash stores.”

      “And we’ve seen the storage unit firsthand. Know that it’s empty. Where did you hide the goods, and why?”

      “After I escaped, I realized I could do more than simply hide. I could take my brother and his cartel down—if he couldn’t access all those drugs and cash, the operation of his cartel would be hurt, maybe even collapse. But I had to act fast before he realized I’d taken the Rolex. Before he knew to wait for me at the storage facility. But my plan didn’t work. Even though I got away with emptying the storage shed without getting caught, he’s still in business.”

      If she really had believed she could shut her brother down or cripple him by taking one warehouse out of the equation, she could dream on. They wouldn’t have been mortally wounded by her actions. But he admired her determination—that was, if what she said was true.

      He swiped a hand over his face. Could she be telling the truth? He had to ask all the right questions, cover all the bases. Not let his own gut feelings or his debt to her cloud his judgment. “I would think the right thing to do would have been to turn the drugs and cash over to law enforcement rather than keep them yourself. Keeping them gives the impression that you stole them to start your own cartel.”

      She gave a cynical laugh. “Right, as if I’d ever consider doing a thing like that. I want no part of that life. I want to be free...” She trailed off, as if she would have said more but hadn’t meant to reveal so much, then leaned her forehead