And now, although parts of him had always been closed off to her, he was totally aloof and cool. He snapped out orders to get in the car, put on her seatbelt, hand him his coffee. She seethed with irritation at his high-handed control, but also at his stubbornness and the ridiculous boundaries he'd set.

They were in El Paso by early afternoon and, once again, Trey seemed to know exactly where to go to find Sheldon Barnes's sons. He stopped in front of a small but neat house in northeast El Paso. The neighboring homes were all similar in size, some of them neatly kept, others more run down. Children played outside, and a lady sat on the front steps of one house watching them. It wasn't an affluent neighborhood, but seemed clean and safe.

Marli looked around as Trey prepared to get out.

"I know, I know," she said. "Just go."

He looked at her long and hard, his face inscrutable, then opened the door and slid out. The minute it closed, Marli pressed the button that locked all the doors with a clunk. Trey went up the front sidewalk.

There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of on this warm, sunny fall day in a friendly El Paso neighborhood, but once again her nerves were frayed. Trey was acting like such a jerk, she wondered how she ever fell in love with him. Her chest ached. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, looking nervously toward the house Trey had just entered. She wondered if any of the kids playing two yards over were Sheldon Barnes's sons.

No, those kids were too young, only about four or five years old.

She watched him knock on the front door and wait. And wait. Nobody was answering. He disappeared around the side of the house. It seemed like forever, but the clock on the dash had only measured a few minutes when he returned.

"She's not there."

He sat in the driver's seat, silent.

"Now what do we do?"

Trey drew in a breath and looked out the window. "Talk to the neighbors. Come on."

She followed him up to the house next door to Teresa's. Nobody home there either. They went on to the next one, where the children were playing, and the woman sat on the steps watching them. Her plump curves stretched a T-shirt and shorts.

"Hi," Trey said with a charming smile.

Marli pursed her lips. He could pour it on when he had to.

"We're looking for Teresa Fisher. We're old friends from out of town. Do you know where she is?"

The woman looked at him. "She's gone. She packed up and left last night."

Trey conveyed surprise. "Where'd she go? On a vacation?"

"Uh...maybe. She didn't tell me where she was going. I just saw her loading the kids and their stuff into the car last night."

Trey smiled. "What time was that?"

She studied him. "Just after the kids got home from school. About four, four-thirty."

"Darn. I guess we just missed her. Thanks, ma'am."

He took Marli's elbow and directed her back to the car.

He sat in the car for a moment before he started it. She looked at him, but said nothing.

Then he glanced at her. "He was here."

"How do you know that?"

"Just a gut feeling. Why else would she pack up and leave like that? Maybe Wanda Barnes warned her Sheldon was coming. Or maybe he showed up and scared the hell out of her."

"At least she's still alive."

"We hope." He looked grim. He rubbed his face.

Marli bit her lip. Now they seemed to be close, her uneasiness was growing. And the fact Trey was so distant and cold didn't help. All along, his big, comforting presence had made everything bearable. She wasn't sure if she could do all this without his reassuring support.

She took a breath. She had to get through this.

"So what do we do now?" she asked, trying to keep her voice cool and steady.

"Damned if I know." He pulled away from the curb and drove slowly down the narrow street, mindful of the kids playing.

"If he was here, we just missed him," he said thoughtfully. "He didn't get that much of a head start on us." After a moment, he said, "He must've shown up in the afternoon, while the kids were at school. I bet he'll be back. That's why she's afraid. He probably wants to see the kids."

He stopped at a stop sign, then made a right turn. "I need to think." He drove down a street lined with strip malls and fast food restaurants. "I'm trying to remember where her husband works. She told me. Damn. Usually I remember everything."

"It'll come to you."

"Yeah. Let's get some food." Trey pulled into the parking lot of a donut shop.

They stood in front of the counter, eying the pastries.

Marli sighed. "I'll have a coffee and a glazed donut."

The woman working there filled a cup, plucked a donut out of the case and slipped it into a paper bag. She looked at Trey.

"Uh, coffee and...pecans."

Marli blinked. He turned to her and flashed a grin. "Pecans. He works at a pecan factory."

It took her brain two seconds to realize he was talking about Teresa Fisher's husband. She laughed. "The cinnamon pecan roll reminded you?"

"Yeah." Still smiling, he ordered one of the sweet rolls, then pulled a few bills out of his pocket to pay.

"Let's eat in the car."

He booted up his laptop, perched on the console between them, while they ate their snacks and sipped coffee. Then his fingers flew on the keyboard as he searched various engines and finally found it. "The Texas Pecan Company." He made a disgusted noise. "I couldn't remember that?"

"You have the address?"

"Yup. And directions how to get there." He closed the computer. "Our next stop."

Marli expected a big manufacturing plant, but the pecan company operated out of a small brick building.

"This is good," Trey said as they walked to the entrance. "If it was a huge place, they'd have security and might not even know him."

He asked at the reception desk, and the woman working there paged Barry Fisher. A few moments later, a man appeared in the small lobby, wearing a beige uniform. "Hi," he said, eyes wary. "What can I do for you?"

Marli let Trey explain who they were and ask if there was somewhere private they could talk. Barry led them reluctantly into a small office.

"Yeah, he showed up yesterday," he confirmed, hands rubbing together. None of them elected to sit in the office chairs. His eyes darted between Trey and Marli. "He scared the shit outta Teresa."

"Did he see the kids?"

"No. They were in school. Teresa told him to come back after supper, but she got the hell out of there before he came back."

"Where'd she go?"

Barry looked at them. "I'm not telling you that."

Trey nodded. "Okay. Is she safe?"

Barry nodded.

"Any idea where Barnes is now? Where he stayed last night?"

"Nope. No idea. I hope to hell he left town."

Trey shot a glance at Marli. Damn. They knew he'd been there now, but this wasn't helping find him.

"Anything you think of, let me know, okay?" Trey handed the other man a card. "We just want Teresa to be safe."

Barry nodded, his mouth a thin, unhappy line, eyes shadowed. "Okay."

Back outside in the baking parking lot, Trey and Marli paused.

"What now?" she asked him.

He said nothing, just stared hard, one hand on the frame of the car door. "Let's head back to the Fishers' neighborhood. If Sheldon's anywhere in El Paso, that's where he'll be."

"I could use a bathroom."

"Oh, sure. I need gas again. Keep an eye out for somewhere."

As they neared the Fisher home, Marli pointed out the Happy Pumper station, and Trey turned in, pulling up to the self-serve gas pumps. "Go on in," he said curtly. "I'll fill up."

She went into the gas bar and convenience store. Racks of junk food, soda and magazines crowded the small space. A couple of customers were paying for gas, chips and cigarettes. The gas station attendant behind the counter looked barely old enough to be working there.

Marli spotted the sign for the bathroom and went down the short, narrow hall, carefully locking the door behind her. She turned up her nose as she looked around. Not the cleanest place, but she had to pee, so it would have to do. She carefully lined the seat of the toilet with toilet paper before perching on it.

She scrubbed her hands clean and then, thinking about maybe getting a coffee if it didn't look too bad, she walked out of the restroom. A man came down the hall toward her, and she glanced at him as she moved to her right to go around him. He looked familiar. Where did she know him from?

It was the bartender from Cactus Jack's. He'd been serving her Diet Cokes for the last few nights. What was he doing here in El Paso?

Their gazes met hers and recognition flashed in his eyes, too. Those eyes...

Oh. My. God.

Marli stared at him in shock and then she saw it--the tattoo on his arm. A lasso.

Chapter 18

The world froze around her and her limbs felt heavy and stiff. With a fearful little squawk, she started to rush past him, but he put out an arm and easily stopped her.

"Hey." His other arm came around her and, to her horror, she saw he had a gun in it.

She started trembling uncontrollably. "Trey!" she tried to cry out, but the man's arm cut across her throat. It hurt, and all that came out was a hideous gurgle.

"Well, well, Marli," Sheldon Barnes said, "I can't believe my luck. I'd just given up on you."