Jordan decided no amount of rea.s.surance would work with Ginny so she tried another tactic. "I wish my friend Victor was here now. He'd know how to make us laugh and forget about all the bad stuff."

At the mention of his name, Ginny's body stiffened. "I was so mad at that man. No one has ever had the nerve to mention my mustache to me before." She turned to Jordan. "I don't know if you noticed, but I had it waxed off the very next day."

"Carlita told me," Jordan responded. "But I have to tell you something about Victor."

Ginny sighed. "I really liked him and wanted him to like me back, but I guess he wasn't interested."

Jordan giggled. "He wouldn't have been interested even if you looked like Miss America."

An awkward silence followed before Jordan continued, "Now, if you were Mister America..."

It took a few seconds for that to sink in, and when it did, Ginny smiled for the first time since Jordan had found her. "My luck! I was never very good at-" She stopped when they heard tires moving on gravel.

Jordan rose to her knees and looked toward the road where a pair of headlights was coming toward them at a fast pace. The dog sat up beside her and began to growl softly, and she choked back a cry.

What if it was Jeff Hamilton coming back to make sure they were dead?

She turned to Ginny, whose eyes were now filled with terror. "It's probably just a farmer. I'm going to walk over to the fence. As soon as I'm sure it's not Hamilton, I'll scream to get their attention. Stay here with the dog."

She stood and made her way to the fence, planning to hit the ground if it was Jeff. Looking around for some kind of weapon to defend herself and once again finding nothing, she prayed the bull was either asleep or couldn't see in the dark.

Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest as the vehicle moved closer. Although she'd made light of Ginny's regrets for not telling the people she loved how she felt, she couldn't help thinking about her own list of things she wished she had done.

Like making an effort to get back home to see her parents and her brothers more often. It had been over three months, and that was way too long, considering it was only a five-hour drive from Ranchero to Amarillo.

And then there was her fear of saying the "L" word to Alex. Of course, she loved him-had from the very first time they'd made love. So why was she so afraid to tell him? He wasn't Brett and wouldn't break her heart the way he had. And even if he did, she wasn't the same girl who had put her own dreams on hold to follow her ex around Texas while he chased his. She was stronger now.

But she might never have the opportunity to tell Alex how she felt now.

She jumped when the white dog suddenly appeared beside her and ran the length of the fence, barking at the oncoming vehicle.

So much for hiding from Hamilton, she thought.

She stood silently by the fence until the vehicle was close enough to see it was a Suburban and not Jeff's gray rental car. Jumping up and down, she hollered as loud as she could to get their attention.

On the other side of the fence the SUV pa.s.sed by her, and she recognized Alex in the pa.s.senger seat of Ray's car. The dog was beside her now and began to howl to match her screams.

The Suburban skidded to a halt about fifty yards ahead, and Alex jumped out as Ray backed up. When he raced toward her and reached for the fence, she shouted, "Don't touch it! It's charged."

He pulled his hand back and stared at her. "Oh my G.o.d! I can't believe we found you."

"There's a gate about five hundred yards that way," she said, pointing. "Hurry. Ginny Bruno is alive and over by the tree, but there's no way she can walk that far." She turned toward the stock pond. "And there's a bull loose over there. He's already tried to kill us once."

Alex's eyes widened, and he shouted to Ray, "Back the SUV up to the fence. I'm going in." When Ray had the truck positioned, Alex climbed onto the roof and without hesitating, leaped into the field.

"I'll check out the gate," Ray said before he peeled out in that direction.

"Between the two of us, we should be able to carry Ginny," Jordan said. "She can help a little and-" She stopped when she heard a sound that she recognized from when she was up against the tree. "Oh my G.o.d, Alex, the bull."

He turned and hollered. "Get Ginny and head for the gate. Hopefully, by then Ray will have found a way to get in and can help you." He turned his attention to the bull that had left the herd and was now charging toward them. "Hurry," he screamed.

Jordan took off running toward the tree and helped Ginny to her feet "Our only chance of getting out of here alive is if you're able to help me. We need to go as quickly as we can."

Ginny nodded. "I think I can do it."

With Jordan supporting the small woman, they made their way across the pasture as Alex faced off the bull with the white dog at his side. As strong as Alex was, he was no match for the large bull and wouldn't stand a chance one-on-one with the animal if it came down to that. She tried not to think about that happening and kept walking toward the gate, having to take on more of Ginny's weight with each step. She worried the woman would give out before they got there.

As they closed in on the iron gate, the SUV burst through, sending pieces of the metal everywhere. Jordan turned to check on Alex and the dog, who were still managing to keep the bull at bay. But even at this distance, she could hear the ominous growls of the now incensed animal. Without warning, the bovine turned his attention to the dog and leaped to attack. She watched in horror as Alex jumped in front of the ma.s.sive animal and grabbed him by the horns while the dog stood his ground and barked ferociously. But Alex looked like a hood ornament hanging from the huge bull before he was thrown over the animal's head into the air, landing hard on the drought-hardened ground. The bull slowly turned 180 degrees to face Alex and pawed at the ground before going in for the kill.

"Alex!" Jordan screamed, right before she heard a gunshot. She looked up to see Ray outside the vehicle with a hunting rifle.

The bull stood still for a second before racing away from them, back toward the cattle. Jordan handed Ginny to Ray and ran to where Alex lay on the ground, praying he was still alive.

"I'm okay," he said, even though she could see that he was holding his arm close to his side and his face was twisted in pain. "I may have cracked a few ribs and my shoulder is on fire." He attempted to stand, and she gave him her hand to a.s.sist. As soon as he was upright, he asked, "Where's Ginny?"

"In the car. Can you walk that far?"

He tried not to grimace. "I think my legs are fine." He wrapped his arm around her. "Let's get the h.e.l.l out of here."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

Ray helped Jordan get Alex into the backseat of the SUV. As soon as Alex was settled, Jordan took a seat beside him, while Ray jumped behind the wheel and put the car in drive. He handed Jordan back a bottle of water once they cleared the field.

Ginny was already in the front seat and having difficulties sipping from her own bottle of water.

Ray hauled a.s.s to get back on the main road. "I need to get the three of you to the emergency room," he said. "And you have some very anxious friends waiting to hear from you, Jordan."

"I have Kate's phone," she said pulling it from her back pocket. "But there was no signal, so I couldn't call for help."

Alex looked over at Jordan. "Bars or no bars, you can thank your lucky stars you had her phone. It led us to you."

Jordan tilted her head, confused. "How did a phone with no service lead you to us?"

"Kate told me she'd left it in Jeff's hotel room but then he claimed he hadn't seen it, so I played a hunch and had my friends at the FBI ping it."

"Ping it?"

"Pinging can determine the location of a cell phone at any given point by using the phone's GPS location capabilities. A lot of people would be upset to know that Uncle Sam can find out where they are with a reasonable degree of accuracy that way."

Jordan could tell by Alex's breathing that he was in a lot of pain.

"It acts like a GPS tracking system as long as the battery is still in the phone, with or without bars," Ray explained. "When no one could locate you, Alex pinged your phone. It took us to a location well known to law enforcement agencies because of the gang activity. They found it and your purse in the abandoned car. Your wallet was missing, though, and the police a.s.sumed you had been robbed and kidnapped."

"He said he was going to do that to make it look like a robbery gone bad."

Alex grimaced again as he tried to reposition himself in the seat and look directly at Jordan. "Who said he would do that?"

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Hamilton," Ginny said. "If I ever get my hands on him, I'm gonna kill him."

"Are you talking about Jeff Hamilton, Emilio's lawyer?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Jordan responded. "He's the one who left us both out here to die."

Alex squirmed around in the seat trying to find his phone. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he's the one who killed Marco," Jordan answered as Ray turned off the gravel road onto the road that led to Plainville.

Alex looked down at his phone and punched in a number. For the next few minutes, he relayed what had happened, and the information about Jeff Hamilton, to Captain Darnell.

When he hung up, he turned to Jordan again, "Darnell's going to pick him up and have him brought to the station. He's also sending one of his officers over to the ER to take your statements." A puzzled look crossed his face. "I still find it hard to believe he killed Marco. Did he ever say why?"

"He was furious that after all the years he'd given to the Calabrese Empire, Emilio disregarded his loyalty and allowed Marco Petrone, a man he'd known for only a year, to stroll right in and become the heir apparent." Jordan paused before she said anything more about Emilio. "Did your mother mention our visit to Emilio's hotel room?"

"Only that you and she went to console him as a friend. Why?"

Apparently, Natalie was honoring Emilio's request to keep his ALS a secret. "No reason. I just thought she might've told you that Emilio had recently changed his will and was leaving his entire business operation to the man who married his daughter."

"This is getting good," Ray said, shaking his head in disgust. "So, Jeff killed Marco and then what? Was he going to try to hook up with Tina?"

"Jeff didn't intend to kill anyone that night. He was only upstairs to use Marco's laptop to sabotage the liquor shipment for the festival. He'd already messed up the initial shipment and saw how upset Emilio had been. He was trying to put the finishing touches on a plan to totally discredit Marco in Emilio's eyes. When he heard Marco come into his room unexpectedly, he hid on the patio."

"He was out there the entire time Kate and Marco had their fight?" Ray asked.

"Yes. After Kate ran into the bathroom, Marco poured a drink and walked out there. When he spotted him, Jeff knew he'd run right to Emilio. He also knew if Emilio found out he was the one who had deliberately screwed up the liquor shipment, he would've tossed him out on his b.u.t.t. So he saw it as the perfect opportunity to solve both his problems."

"So Frankie O'Brien had nothing to do with it?" Ray asked.

"No," Jordan said. "Jeff stayed hidden until everyone came up the stairs, then just slipped out of the bedroom and blended in with the crowd hovering around Kate. Emilio doesn't believe his stepson had anything to do with Georgette's death. He was on his way to the police station with a security tape taken from Frankie's room before Jeff abducted me."

"Why would Jeff feel the need to get you out of the picture?" Alex asked.

"Because I figured out that he was the one responsible for Ginny's disappearance, but I had no idea he was the one who pushed Marco over the balcony wall."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "I don't even want to know how you were able to come to that conclusion. I have a feeling I would have to give you that snooping-is-dangerous-to-your-health lecture, and right now, all I want to do is wrap my arms around you." He face contorted in pain when he tried. "Unfortunately, that will have to wait until I get some pain medicine on board?"

A short time later, Ray pulled up to the ER and jumped out as soon as the vehicle was parked. He raced around and opened Ginny's door before lifting her out and carrying her to the door, turning to make sure that Jordan and Alex were right behind him.

"I'm not hurt, Ray. Honestly," she rea.s.sured him. "Take care of Ginny, and I'll help Alex. We'll see you inside."

He held her stare for a moment before he nodded and turned around to take Ginny inside. The ER nurse met them at the door with a wheelchair and led Ginny back to an examining room. Jordan got Alex settled in a chair and approached the desk where she informed the receptionist that he needed to be seen as well.

While Jordan and Ray waited for the nursing staff to let them back to see Ginny and Alex, Jordan called Natalie and Kate and then realized that no one had called Carlita.

After getting the number from the ER unit secretary, she called the hotel. When the operator put the call through, she tapped her fingers nervously on the side of the chair, waiting for Carlita to pick up, anxious to tell her the good news.

"Carlita," she said when she heard her voice. "This is Jordan. I'm in the emergency room with Ginny. She's badly dehydrated, but she's going to be fine."

"Oh my G.o.d!"

"I'm going to call the Plainville Police Station and have them send an officer over to your hotel to bring you here right now. Be waiting in the lobby."

When Carlita began to cry, Jordan tried to comfort her. "You'll see her soon, Carlita. I promise."

She hung up and was about to ask Ray to make the call, but he was way ahead of her and already had Alex's phone up to his ear.

Ray called Darnell and asked him to send a black and white over to the Dream Weaver Hotel in order to bring Carlita Bruno to the Plainville Hospital ER. After hanging up, he gave Jordan a thumbs up as she went to check on Alex.

As soon as Jordan approached Alex's emergency room bed, he grabbed her hand and squeezed. "I would ask how you always manage to get yourself into hot water like this, but I already know the answer. I can't seem to stop you from nosing around dangerous people." His voice softened. "I'm not sure I'd want you any other way, though, and I hate to admit it, but this time, your incredible knack for sniffing out the bad guys probably saved Ginny Bruno's life."

"And as much as I'd love to bask in the glow of that compliment, I have to confess that I had no idea Jeff was a bad guy. He fooled me just like he did the rest of you. I'm only glad we found Ginny and that she's okay, because I was right all along about why she went missing. Jeff heard me say she'd seen everyone who had gone up the steps that night, and he wanted to make sure that she didn't mention his name." She lowered her head. "I'm not sure I'd have been able to live with myself if she'd been killed because of me."

"She wasn't, so quit beating yourself up."

She leaned over and pressed her lips lightly against his.

"Now tell me how you managed to keep the bull at bay until we got there."

For the next fifteen minutes, she told him about their adventures with the humongous black bull and the white dog who'd saved their lives.

"What happened to the dog?" she asked when she finished. "I feel like I should take him a T-bone or something."

"I don't know. I can't remember seeing him again after the bull threw me."

"He was like a pit bull guarding a junk yard, challenging that bull like he thought he had superpowers or something," Jordan said, remembering how brave the dog had been.

Just then, a nurse came in and asked Jordan to wait out in the waiting room while they took Alex to get Xrays.

Jordan walked back to the waiting room and started to sit down beside Ray when the door swung open and Carlita was escorted in by a Plainville policemen. As soon as she spotted Jordan, she rushed over. "Have you heard anything yet?"

Jordan shook her head and patted the seat next to her. "She's been back there almost an hour already. I have no idea how much longer it will take. In the meantime, I'll tell you the whole story about how I found her."

Carlita sat down and listened intently while Jordan related the story once again. Tears glistened in her eyes when she heard the part about the rescue.

Well over an hour later, the ER doctor emerged from the back room and walked over. "I was told Ms. Bruno's sister is here." When Jordan pointed to Carlita, he stepped to his left and stood directly in front of her. "Your sister spent three of the hottest days this month out in this heat. It should've killed her, but she's a strong woman. Other than being badly sunburned and severely dehydrated, she's fine. We've given her fluids, so she's perking up nicely. But we'll need to keep her overnight as a precautionary measure just to make sure she can keep the food and liquids down."

Carlita covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hold back the tears. "Thank you. I don't know what I would've done if the news was bad. Ginny can be a pain in the neck sometimes, but she's my only sister."

It seemed like they waited for another hour or so before being allowed to walk back to the examining room to see for themselves that Ginny looked much better than when she'd arrived. Her blistered cheeks were slathered in a cream of some kind, and her eyes lit up when she saw Carlita. After hugging her sister, she embraced Jordan. "Thank you for everything. You and I will be telling the bull story for a long time to come."

Jordan smiled at her. "You can count on that."