Vengeance Is Mine by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2014-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-one

When Elaine came back in, Stark didn’t say anything to her about Kelso’s visit. He could tell she was upset about something, though, and finally she said, “A government man came out to the ranch today, John Howard.”

Stark sat up in bed. “A tall, skinny bastard named Kelso?”

She nodded. “That’s right. He said you were going to get in bad trouble if you didn’t stop causing problems with Mexico. He wanted you to persuade Devery and the others to give up their patrols, too.”

“That son of a bitch!” Stark burst out. “If I’d known he’d been out to the ranch bothering you, I really would have bent that IV stand over his head!”

“He came here, too?”

Stark nodded. “Yeah, and gave me the same line of crap. The DEA is embarrassed that we’ve been calling attention to all the drug smuggling going on along the border.”

“You didn’t promise him anything, did you?”

“Of course not. I still respect the government, I guess, whether it always deserves it or not, but not some flunky who’s just trying to protect his ass and his budget.”

Stark was angry, but he forced himself to calm down. He had already started thinking about getting out of the hospital, and he knew if he got too upset, he might cause himself a relapse and be stuck here that much longer. He told Elaine to ask Devery to come see him tomorrow.

“We’ll hash it all out,” Stark said. “The boys deserve to know what they’re letting themselves in for. I don’t expect any of them to give up, though.”

“They won’t,” Elaine agreed. “They’re too stubborn . . . just like another old rancher I know.”

“If I didn’t have all these wires and lines hooked up to me, I’d show you just how old I am, woman,” Stark said with a mock growl.

“You get a little stronger, John Howard, and I might just hold you to that.”

Stark watched the TV news that night before going to sleep and was glad to see that there was nothing about him on it. The media were gradually losing interest in him. The newspaper stories had moved to the inside pages. There was nothing about the citizens’ patrols, either. Evidently, everything was quiet along the border right now. A fella could almost believe that Ramirez had decided it was all too much trouble and moved his operation elsewhere.

Stark knew better than to think that, however. Vultures were patient birds, able to circle for a long time before they finally swooped down on their prey. Ramirez was just waiting for the right time to strike again, but that time would come. Stark was sure of it.

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