Stars & Stripes

Zane exhaled the breath he’d been holding. “Thanks.”



Mark looked at Ty and nodded, offering his hand. “Mark Masterson.”



Ty shook with his left hand, still wary.



“Ty, this is Annie’s husband. Mark, this is my partner, Ty Grady.”



Ty looked Mark up and down. Zane had seen him do it many times, but he always enjoyed watching Ty’s gears turn. “Semper fi,” he said to Mark with a small smile.



Zane’s brow jumped. “How’d you know he was a Marine?” he blurted.



Ty grinned enigmatically at him, and Mark laughed. “You wouldn’t understand, Z,” Mark said. He nodded at Ty again. “Welcome to Carter Garrett Ranch, Ty Grady.”



“Thanks.”



“Are you the Ty Grady? From Camp Lejeune?”



At that, Ty grew even more tense and quiet. It was unlike Ty in so many ways. What was this undercurrent between them about? And it was astonishing that Zane’s brother-in-law had heard of Ty before. What kind of badass Marine had Ty been to have his name known by people he’d never met?



Ty nodded. “That’s right.”



“I knew that name sounded familiar. I remember hearing it quite a bit.”



“I’m sure you did,” Ty said with a small, mirthless laugh.



“You were Second Recon, right?”



“I was.”



Mark nodded sharply, then glanced sideways at Zane. “Recon squads at Lejeune when I was there were a crazy bunch.”



“We had our moments,” Ty said, voice low and careful. It sent a chill up Zane’s spine, the type that often preceded wanting to be pinned to the ground and fucked to within an inch of his life. Somewhere along the line, he’d come to terms with the fact that the more dangerous Ty seemed, the hotter he was. Zane had no regrets.



Mark nodded. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Will y’all be staying awhile?”



“Until we get something settled with Dad’s attackers. We’ll be around. We were waiting for you to show before we gathered on it.”



“All right, then. Hey, a couple of us are heading to the roadhouse later tonight. You two game?”



Zane cast a glance at Ty, who nodded. “Yeah, sounds fun.”



“Just, uh . . . fair warning. Word’s already got around the C and G about you two. Won’t be long before it gets out. Hope you’re ready for that.”



Zane fought against the butterflies. “Really? That was faster than I expected.”



“Yeah, well. The last remaining Garrett starts doing a guy, it makes the rounds.”



Zane laughed despite himself. He hadn’t thought of it that way, but he supposed it would cause a stir, considering he had no kids and was therefore the last Garrett in a long line of them.



Mark turned to go. “We’re ready when you are.”



Zane nodded, but he was watching Ty.



“Ty?” he said after a few seconds.



Ty tore his eyes away from Mark and met Zane’s eyes. “Hmm?”



“You okay?”



Ty nodded curtly. “Just wasn’t expecting to be recognized.”



Zane wanted to ask why it bothered Ty, but he’d save it for later. “You ready to head inside?”



Ty pushed off the gate and landed light as a cat in the dirt. “Was that true, what he said? Are you the last Garrett?”



“Yeah, why?”



“He’s right, that’s going to cause a stir.”



“I don’t care. Do you?”



Ty shook his head. Then he gave the horse one last mistrustful glance. “Let’s do this,” he said with a huff. He turned toward the barn doors. “It’s about damn time I hear what’s been going on.”



They walked side by side toward the house. Zane slid his hand into Ty’s back pocket. “Yeah, I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark, but I figured the less I told you, the better you’d be able to look at it through new eyes. I want to see if you can find an angle all of us are missing.”



Ty rolled his eyes. “No pressure.”



They gathered in the drawing room to brainstorm and fill Ty in on the details. Ty and Zane sat on the edge of Beverly’s desk, their shoulders brushing.



“Have you had any land grabs in the area? Redistricting? Minerals, oil? Any reason to try to run you off your ranch?”



“No, nothing like that,” Harrison answered.



“The land is the only thing I can think of that makes sense,” Ty said, casting a troubled look at Zane.



“You want to take a look at it?” Zane asked.



Ty nodded, so Zane retrieved a map of the area from a bookcase along the wall and laid it out on the desk, smoothing it as they all gathered around it. The family knew it by heart, but Ty bent over the map and studied it closely. He pointed at a square in the middle. “This is the big house, right?”



“We don’t call it that,” Beverly snapped. She’d made it abundantly clear that she thought this was all a waste of time.



“The large structure in which you live, then?” Ty said, one eyebrow raised. Zane had to look away so Beverly wouldn’t see him smile, and Annie and Mark both coughed as they examined the carpet.



Zane cleared his throat and picked up a pen. He drew a circle around the house, then several other spots on the map. “This is the main house. The guesthouse where we’re staying is here, and this is the entrance off the main road.”



“Okay. Where did your dad get shot?”



“It was out near the old pump house,” Harrison answered.



Zane traced his finger along the line of the map and found the general area where the old shed was that housed the ancient spring and pump. He marked it with an X. What was Ty seeing, looking at it from a fresh angle? Zane could trace the lines and ridges of the property with his eyes closed, but that wasn’t always the best way to find something you were missing.



“Pump house? Is there still water there?”



“No,” Mark said. “The underwater river that fed it has moved on.”



“Did it leave behind caverns? Pockets of open space or caves?”



Mark and Annie shared a glance. “Something like Hamilton Pool?” Annie asked.



“What’s that?”



“It’s a swimming hole,” Zane said. “Huge collapsed cavern from an old underground river. Dripping Springs, the town I told you about? There are water features all over the place.”



“So it’s possible there’s something out there under the map, somewhere dark and cold.”



Zane met Ty’s eyes with a hint of pride and nodded. “Perfect for temporary storage in the Texas heat.”



Ty nodded. “Do you have a bigger map? One that shows the surrounding areas and the water?”



“I’ll get it,” Mark offered. He went to the bookshelves and came back with a topo map that he laid on top of the first one.



Ty bent over it, staring at it long enough for the group to grow restless.



“What is this green area here, on the edge of the map?” Ty finally asked, brushing his finger over the spot. “It passes within a few miles of where he was shot. Is it state land? A national park or something?”



Zane sucked air through his teeth and clucked his tongue. “You’re not going to like it.”



Ty eyeballed him, then the others. “Why, what is it?”



“That’s the animal sanctuary,” Beverly said with a sniff. She’d never been a fan of the place.



“It’s the what?” Ty asked.



“It’s a big cat sanctuary,” Annie said. She edged closer and looked at the map. “It’s been there for about fifteen years.”



“Big cat?” Ty repeated, his voice going flat.



Zane was torn between wanting to laugh and wrap Ty up in a hug.



“Yeah. They take in exotic animals that have been abused or abandoned or rescued. Most of them are big cats, though I think they take in other types when they can.”



Ty stared at her, his jaw tightening. “Why?”



“The big cat population in the states almost outnumbers those in the wild. They need somewhere to go. There are dozens of sanctuaries all across the country, a lot of them right here in Texas.”



“Why so many here?”



“Well, because Texas laws about exotic animals are very loose. For the most part, they’re awful, but it means the sanctuaries can move freely where they can’t in other states. The cats need all the help they can get.”



Ty glared at Annie for a minute, then looked back at the map. “I hate Texas.”



Annie leaned toward Ty. “Sorry?”



“Nothing. So, all this green on the map here is the second circle of hell?”



“What?”



“Fur and . . . stripes and . . . teeth.”



“Yes,” Zane managed to answer without laughing.



Ty frowned hard. “Doesn’t make any sense.”



“What doesn’t?”



“Well, I was assuming your land was being used either as a storage dump or a delivery highway, and if someone found a cavern down there, it’s perfect. But it’s so damn out of the way, it reads more like a point of origin than anything. If this section that abutted it was park land or some other sort of protected area, that’s where I’d think the factory would be.”



“Factory?” Beverly asked, mouth twisted as if she hated to be curious but was anyway.



“He means if it was drugs,” Zane said. “A protected place like a national park would be a good place to manufacture them.”



“Yes,” Ty said, eyes still glued to the map. “The same goes for human trafficking.”



“We’re a bit far from the border for that,” Zane said.



“It doesn’t work, either. There’s no reason to use your ranch to make anything, and certainly not to stash live bodies en route. It’s too remote, too far from the trade routes, and too well-utilized.”



“Trade routes. You’re talking like this is some sort of seafaring business.”



“It pretty much is,” Ty said to Beverly. “Trucks are like ships, taking cargo all over the country. Very profitable. But they take the same routes because they know the ins and outs. They don’t stray to new territory often. It’s too risky.”



“That’s horrid.”



“That’s what Zane deals with, Mother,” Annie said, her voice cold.



Beverly cast a glance at her daughter before brushing off the admonition. “If it is neither drugs nor this . . . human trafficking, as you call it, and you believe it wasn’t a mere case of trespassing, then what do you propose it is?”



Ty chewed on his lip and looked back down at the map.



“Ty? You have an idea?” Zane placed his hand on the small of Ty’s back, trying to urge him to speak.



“I’m not really sure if I do.”



“Try us.”



Ty shrugged. “Annie, you said exotic animal laws in Texas were different than most. How so?”



“What does that have to do with this?”



“Humor him,” Zane said.



“Well, Texas law allows for the ownership, sale, and breeding of exotic animals. Like I said, it’s hardly regulated. It’s barbaric.”



“And other states do regulate it?”



“Most, yes.”



“That makes exotic animals a commodity.”



“I guess you could call it that.”



“Is it big money?” Ty asked. “Exotic animals?”



“Yeah, I guess so,” Annie said. “People will pay thousands for a tiger or lion, especially on the black market, but legally as well. They’re kept as a sort of status symbol. And they’re used for income. Circuses, traveling entertainment, private zoos. Not to mention their pelts being worth thousands.”



Ty nodded and glanced at Zane. Zane raised an eyebrow. “What, you think this is about exotic animals instead of drugs or sex trade?”



“I think . . . maybe someone should pay a visit to that place and see if any of their animals are missing.”



Zane studied the map. The sanctuary abutted the ranch and passed within two miles of the pump house. He smiled ruefully and shook his head. He never would have even considered it.



“Makes more sense than anything we’ve come up with yet,” he said, and he reached for the corner of the map to begin folding it back up.



“You kids go on, then,” Harrison said. “Check out that place.”



“Oh, hell no,” Ty blurted. “I mean, no, sir. Hell no, sir.”



Zane chuckled. “Come on, Ty.”



“What? No. Not me.”



“Chicken,” Zane whispered.



“Yeah, that’s what they think I taste like.”



Zane laughed harder.



“I don’t do big cats, Zane.”



Annie held up a hand. “I’m sorry, why aren’t you going to the sanctuary?”



“He has an unnatural aversion to large felines,” Zane told her.



“It’s not unnatural, Zane. It would be unnatural if I weren’t afraid of something that tried to eat me.”



Annie smiled gently. “They’re nothing to be afraid of. Big cats rarely attack humans.”



Ty turned his glare on her, but before he could speak, Mark barked a laugh. “And here I thought the famous Tyler Grady wasn’t afraid of anything.”



Ty glared at Mark for a moment, then at Zane, crossing his arms over his chest. “Screw you all, I’m not going.”



Zane and Annie stepped into the lobby of the big cat preserve, but Ty balked, freezing on the welcome mat. It had a black and orange Bengal tiger face on it.