TEXAN WITH A CAUSE

Teaming up with a civilian to bring down a trafficking ring isn’t Luckey Davis’s usual style. But after Allyson Duncan decodes a cryptic message that gives him his first lead, Luckey realizes Ally is indispensable to his case. The Lone Star lawman also realizes he’s in danger of falling for the beautiful professor.

Ally can’t believe a legendary Texas Ranger needs her expertise. And as her own feelings for Luckey deepen, is she ready to commit to an uncertain and perilous future? Or has this deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas woman found her safe harbor with the honorable man she dreams of calling her own?

He stepped away and walked toward her with purpose in every step.

She could hardly breathe as he opened the door and pulled her into his arms. They closed around her body, not allowing her feet to touch the ground.

“I thought you’d never get here,” he whispered into her hair. “If I don’t kiss you right here and now, I’m not going to make it.”

“I want you to kiss me,” she confessed, inching her lips over his smooth, shaven jaw to the compelling mouth she’d longed to taste. Ally wanted him in such an elemental way, there was no thought of her holding back. His hunger matched hers as their mouths met in a fiery explosion of need she had no way of controlling.

Ally hadn’t known a man’s embrace for several years, but nothing had prepared her for the kiss of her Texas Ranger except in her dreams. But this was no dream, and Luckey was taking her to a place she’d never been before.

Dear Reader,

I’ve always had a love for languages. At my school, a priest from the cathedral came to my junior high to teach us Latin. I LOVED Latin. It helped me understand English in a wonderful way and taught me how to speak correctly. I can still remember the nominative, genitive, accusative, dative and ablative cases that told me whether to say I or me, or he or him. Marvelous!

Then I traveled to Switzerland and learned to speak French. What a joy! My Latin helped me make sense of the diplomatic language of the world. I took Spanish and always wanted to study Italian. My sister lived in Perugia, Italy, and speaks beautiful Italian. My daughter studied in Siena, Italy, and her Italian is wonderful. I’ve been very envious of both of them.

Last year I found out about an old secret language learned by a few elite women in China. I won’t tell you any more than that. You’ll have to read Her Texas Ranger Hero to know why it fascinated me so much. I knew I had to write a novel where that language featured heavily in the plot and brought the hero and heroine together.

Enjoy!

Her Texas

Ranger Hero

Rebecca Winters

www.millsandboon.co.uk

REBECCA WINTERS, whose family of four children has now swelled to include five beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favorite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church.

Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to email her, please visit her website, cleanromances.com.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Yoo-hoo—I’m back! Does anyone care?”

Ally’s mother beat her to the front door of the ranch house, where her father had just walked in. His black hair with its streaks of silver made him distinguished looking. He put his briefcase on the floor and the three of them hugged.

“I decided to fly all night from Washington, DC, so I could surprise you. You’re both a glorious sight!” After kissing her mom, he turned to kiss Ally’s cheek.

“I’m so glad you’re home.” She kissed him back. “I was just about to leave for work, but I’ll be home later and we’ll celebrate.”

“Wait—I have a present for you.” He reached down and opened the case to pull out a letter. “I believe you’ve been waiting for this. It came in my diplomatic pouch yesterday.”

“Soo-Lin!”

“Who else?”

“I haven’t had a letter from her in two months!” Soo-Lin was one of Ally’s best friends. She couldn’t wait to hear all her news. Since Ally’s family had returned from China last summer, she’d hungered for Soo-Lin’s periodic letters. “I’ll take this with me.” She hugged them both again. “I’ll be back soon to help you, Mom.”

“All right, darling.”

Ally knew her parents would appreciate some quiet time together, and flew out the door to her car. She wanted to open the letter right away, but would have to put off reading it until she reached her office.

Twenty minutes later she pulled into the faculty parking lot of the University of Texas at Austin campus. “Hi, Nedra,” she said to the receptionist as she hurried in. “Have any students been by asking for me?”

“Not yet.”

“That’s good. I’m running late.” She made her way down the hall. After unlocking the door, she rushed inside and settled in before pulling the letter out of her purse.

Dear Friend, Thank you for your last letter. I can’t get used to you being so far away now. I’m not happy about it, but if you are happy, then that is good. You asked what happened when I went to the doctor. She said my fallopian tubes are blocked and suggests we try in vitro fertilization if we want children.

Oh, no...

My husband has been quiet about it, but that is Zheng’s way. Nine years and still no baby. Now we know why. I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to leave me.

Ally cringed to hear those words. IVF was a very viable option for Soo-Lin, but Ally needed to give her a pep talk in person.

Mother is well enough. Father is doing poorly. His heart is not good, but the jewelry business has never been better and Zheng has been overseeing the other showrooms to ease the load. He has a fine business mind, like my father, and they see many things the same.

Soo-Lin’s parents were wonderful. So was Zheng. Ally loved them all.

What I have to tell you next is very upsetting to me and has devastated our family.

Ally couldn’t imagine. Her heart rate sped up.

Maybe you don’t remember my third cousin Yi. He came to my wedding with his wife and two children. But something awful has happened. Three weeks ago their sixteen-year-old daughter, Yu Tan, didn’t come home from school. One of her friends said she ran off with a man from a disco club in the city where she often went dancing without permission. I don’t believe it. Yu Tan is a sweet, well-brought-up young woman with plans to make the Olympic team and go to college. She’s won all kinds of awards in gymnastics.

Ally did remember her, but hadn’t seen her since the wedding. Yu-Tan would have been around seven at the time.

I know she wouldn’t go off with a man like that. I don’t trust that her friend is telling the truth. Now a tragedy has happened, because my cousin has disowned her, his own daughter! He listens to his father, who is the head of their family and a very forbidding man. You know what I mean. He believes in the old traditions and closes his mind to reason.

Both my cousin and his father believe she has disgraced the entire Tan family. My mother does not agree and says the grandfather’s pride is too great to help find his own granddaughter. I’ve begged my father to talk to him, but he says it will do no good. He will not listen. This isn’t right, Ally.

No. Nothing about it sounded right. Soo-Lin belonged to an upper-class family that didn’t tolerate embarrassment. Ally could feel her friend’s pain.

I’ve given you enough bad news for now. Write me back as soon as you can. You’ll always be my best friend. Soo-Lin.

When Ally got home, she’d write a letter and ask her father to send it with his classified correspondence. As she was putting the letter back in her purse, one of her students walked into the office. It was time to get to work.

* * *

RANGER JAMES DAVIS had just arrived at Texas Rangers’ headquarters in downtown Austin when his cell phone rang. He clicked on. “Davis here.”

“Luckey?”

Only family and close friends called him by his nickname. “Hey, Randy.”

“Do you have time to talk?”

“I always have time for my little bro.” Though he had a Monday morning meeting scheduled with his boss, TJ, he could spare a few minutes. TJ was the captain of the Austin-based Company H, where Luckey had been assigned since becoming a Ranger. “What’s going on? How are Lisa and the two cutest little girls in Texas?”

“We’re all great and wish you’d drop by more often.”

Luckey swung by the makeshift lunchroom located on the second floor of the building for a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Taking a bite, he entered his own office and sank down in his chair. “Sorry it’s been so long. My last undercover case was no picnic and took forever to solve.”

“So I heard. Dad said three escaped felons are in the federal slammer because of you. Guys are singing your praises all over the department.” Luckey smiled. Their dad had recently retired as sheriff for Travis County and was now doing full-time ranching, but he’d never be out of the loop. “You’re becoming a bigger legend than our original Texas Ranger ancestor,” his brother added.

“Knock it off, Randy. Still enjoying your work as a mounted police officer?”

“It’s getting old. At least I was put on the day shift three days ago.”

Luckey frowned. “I thought you liked it.”

“The horse part I love, but more and more I know I want to be a Ranger.”

He’d heard that from his brother several times before and took another sip of his coffee. “That means a lot more hours away from the fam. I don’t have a wife and children, so that isn’t a problem for me.” Never again. “How does Robin feel about it?”

“She said that if it’s what I want, I should do it.”

“You married a terrific woman.”

Luckey’s ex-wife had felt the exact opposite. She couldn’t handle his work as a Ranger and acted on it by divorcing him and moving to Houston. But that was old news.

Randy’s voice lowered. “I didn’t mean to remind you of the past.”

“I know you didn’t.” Luckey had the greatest brother in the world. He was thirty to Luckey’s thirty-two. “If that’s your goal, I’m behind you.”

“It’s all I’ve been able to think about for the last year. Remember that body my partner and I found dumped on the street on our beat last week? It’s the fourth one in the last ten months. Though each was discovered in a different area, I believe they’re all related. But the detective who arrived on the scene disagrees.”

Luckey was listening intently to his brother, who was no fool. He remembered clips on the news, but hadn’t paid much attention. “What do your instincts tell you?” This was Randy’s case, but Luckey was always interested.

“All four bodies have been young Chinese and Indonesian women, which smells like human trafficking to me. When I pointed this out to him, he said he wasn’t ready to make an assumption like that quite yet. He said coincidence could play a role, or some copycat criminals who heard the news on the media could’ve decided to pull the same stunts for the sheer pleasure of creating chaos.”

At a trafficking conference Luckey had recently attended, he’d learned that although Asians represented only 6 percent of Austin’s 800,000 residents, their population had surged by 60 percent since 2000. It was the fastest-growing group in the city by percentage and tripled the rate of Austin’s overall growth.

“It doesn’t sound like a coincidence to me,” Luckey concurred. “Have you discussed this with anyone else?”

“Nope. You know I can’t.”

“Listen—I want to talk to you some more about this, but I’ve got to go in to a meeting right now. This one will probably last an hour. Expect a call from me after I get out.”

“Thanks.”

Luckey clicked off and headed for TJ’s office at the end of the hall. The gray-haired captain nodded as he walked in. “I’m surprised to see you remembered. I thought you might be home enjoying some well-deserved sleep after your last case.”

“Not me. I like work.”

His boss nodded again. “I know you do. But one of these days you need to take some time off.”

“I do better being busy.”

TJ’s eyes filled with concern. “I don’t want you to burn out.”

Luckey blinked. “You think I am?”

“Of course not. But my famous Four Sons of the Original Forty Texas Rangers have done a hell of a job for the department this last year. I want you to know you can have the time off if you feel you need it.”

“Can I take a rain check on that?”

He nodded.

Good. “So what smorgasbord of corruption and evil are you going to lay out for me this morning?”

TJ chuckled. “Take your pick of the latest Most Wanted cases that have come across my desk.” He riffled through the pile of files in front of him. “Armed robbery and murder of an armored-car guard. Kidnapping and brutal murder of two women, one of whom was set on fire in her wheelchair. The murder of a prominent CEO...or this latest one—a dead body dumped on the streets, a case that has the police detective stumped.”

“I’ll take that one,” Luckey said without hesitation.

TJ handed him the file. “Of course, it’s not a coincidence that your brother is mentioned in the abstract.”

“Nothing gets past you, Captain.”

His boss made an odd sound. “Go ahead and read it. Afterward I’ll tell you what the police commissioner told me.”

Luckey read the short paragraph to himself. “March 2. 2:20 a.m. Officers Mendez and Davis came across one Asian female of undetermined age found dead a block from the Underground Nightclub in the warehouse district of Austin, Texas. No witnesses. Died of gunshot wound to the back.”

“It’s sparse, all right,” he finally muttered.

TJ leaned forward. “The commissioner informed me that this is the fourth unsolved dumped body in less than a year. One was Indonesian, the other three of Chinese ethnicity. None had ties to friends or family found so far. No matches of their pictures to passport photos from China or Indonesia. No evidence that these girls were in school here, or had jobs and were here on working visas.

“The police have circulated pictures of the women everywhere, hoping someone will identify them, but investigations haven’t turned up anything.”

Luckey frowned. “Did they cover the strip clubs and spas, not to mention the massage parlors?” To be thorough they needed to check out modeling studios, cantinas and residential brothels as well, but it was a grueling process.

“If they did, they’ve had no success.”

Luckey had his work cut out for him. “Sex trafficking is also common in the agricultural, restaurant and nail salon industries.”

TJ shot him a glance. “The commissioner is convinced they were victims of trafficking and has turned the case over to us. What does your brother think? Between him and your father, you’re not all Davises for nothing.”

The compliment didn’t escape Luckey. “Randy disagrees that the deaths were random acts of violence. He sees a pattern and believes they’re related.”

“I’m sure he’s right. If anyone can figure it out, you can. Where are you going to start?”

“I want to see the latest body.”

“If you need backup later, just holler. Good luck.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

Intrigued by this new case, Luckey got up from the chair and headed out of the building to the car park. Once inside his XC90 Volvo, he drove to the county coroner’s office. En route he phoned his brother.

“Guess what? The case of the dead body you discovered has been turned over to the Rangers by the police commissioner.”

“What?”

“I was surprised, too. The captain agrees with your assessment that the four deaths are related. I’ve taken the case. Kind of gives you chills.” When Randy’s application to join the Rangers came up, Luckey would remind his boss of their conversation.

“Well, what do you know? I’d give anything to be working this case with you.”

“As long as we keep it to ourselves, who says you can’t help when you’re off duty? We’ve done it before. I’m going to the morgue to find out as much as I can. I’ll get back to you.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

TEN MINUTES LATER, Luckey knocked on the door of the coroner’s private office.

“Luckey? What can I do for you?”

“How are you, Dr. Wolff?” He’d had a working relationship with the forensics expert for years. Luckey handed him the file.

The older man studied it before nodding. “I examined the body last week. She was probably a sixteen-or seventeen-year-old Chinese woman, shot in the back with a .357 cal SIG Sauer.”

“How long had she been dead when she was found?”

“Six or seven hours.”

“According to my source, three other bodies of Asian women have been found on the streets in the last ten months and there’ve been no arrests made. I’d like to know their approximate ages, manner of death, everything you’ve got.”

“You’re welcome to the information in the files. But first, come over here. There’s something unique about this particular body. I would like to show you a piece of evidence that has me puzzled.”

Dr. Wolff walked to a shelf holding some labeled boxes and took one down. After lifting the lid, he showed Luckey the soiled, bloodstained, pale pink silk dress inside, folded so that the hole made by a bullet was visible.

“The young woman was wearing this when her body was brought in. Here. Put on some gloves.”

Luckey pulled out a pair from the carton and slipped them on.

“Go ahead and look on the underside of the skirt,” the doctor urged.

Curious, he turned it inside out. To his surprise he saw writing on the material, all the way around from the waist down, unusual characters that meant nothing to him. His brows knit together. “Is this Chinese?”

“It looks like a form of it, but none of our experts here recognize it. Don’t let your eyes deceive you. What is written here was not done in red ink, but blood. Her blood.”

Luckey moaned inwardly. “I need copies of the pictures you took of the writing.”

“Certainly. Anything you want.”

“Did the detective investigating this case know about this?”

“He examined the inscriptions, but as I said, we couldn’t tell him anything about them. I have no idea if he’s following up on any of it.”

“Can I see the body now?”

“Right this way.”

Luckey was taken to the morgue and shown the deceased. She’d been a lovely young woman with refined features and long black hair. He returned to the coroner’s office and gathered information from the files of the four bodies, photocopying everything for his own records. The reports revealed three of the deceased were of Chinese origin and one was Indonesian, as he’d been told. They were all short—between five-one and five-two—and most likely sixteen or seventeen years old.

“The clothing is different on each one,” he muttered thoughtfully.

The doctor nodded. “I performed the autopsies. The Indonesian victim was strangled. Hers was the first body found. The second victim was stabbed in the chest. The third girl was wearing only a slip, had bloodshot eyes and died from suffocation. As you know, this latest one was shot in the back.

“These women appear to have been innocent victims. They were attacked and murdered before being transported to another spot to be dumped. But this latest victim was different from the others. She had broad shoulders and powerfully muscular legs. This suggests that she was into sports—or perhaps she was a ballet dancer or gymnast.

“And there’s something else you’ll see in the forensics report. I found a substance on the sleeves of her dress. Whoever dragged her body had DMSO cream on his or her hands.”

“What’s that, exactly?” Luckey asked.

“Some kind of topical painkiller.”

“You didn’t find traces of it on the other three bodies?”

“No.”

“Details like that are going to help me build this case,” he murmured as he examined the writing on the fabric again. “I’ve never seen anything so strange before. Did you find out if there was something special about this dress?”

“It’s silk, well made. There’s no label to tell us where it might have been bought or what manufacturer made it.”

After thanking Dr. Wolff, Luckey tossed his gloves, picked up the files and photocopies and drove back to headquarters. He was happy to find his boss still in his office. Luckey knocked on the door and was told to come in. He put the information from Dr. Wolff on TJ’s desk.

“Take a look at all this. What we’ve got here is evidence that these four young Asians were violently murdered. When you asked me to attend that trafficking conference a month ago, I was impressed by the panel. It included everyone from Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Postal Inspection and the US Attorney General for the eastern US.

“The deaths of these four women fall in line with the latest statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. To date, it has received more calls from Texas than any other state in the union.”

“That makes sense, considering our extremely diverse population,” TJ mused.

Luckey nodded. “Our close proximity to Mexico makes this the most crossed international border. But I never realized that Texas contains a quarter of all American trafficking victims, and that almost a third of the calls to the hotline come from our state.”

“That many?”

“I know. I was surprised, too. Twenty percent of the 50,000 people annually trafficked from foreign countries into the United States come through Texas.”

TJ shook his head.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t yet pinpointed the source of the female trafficking activity coming out of China. But today the coroner showed me two things that might have given us our first lead.” Luckey explained about the cream and then he got to the writing. “Check this out.”

He opened the file and showed his boss pictures of the mysterious characters written in blood on the underside of the latest victim’s dress. “I’m not sure what this means, but it could open up this case once I get some answers. No one in forensics can read it or translate it. I’m thinking I need to find an expert in Chinese as a place to start. I’ll call the language department at the UT Austin and go from there.”

“Excellent start, Luckey. Keep me posted.”

* * *

ALLY DUNCAN CHECKED her watch. Ten after three in the afternoon. Her graduate students had turned in their theses. Now that it was spring break, she could spend her time studying them before setting up appointments for her students to come in and defend them, once classes started again.

She texted her mom that she’d be home in half an hour. They were planning to take some of the orphans to Zilker Park. Years earlier, Ally’s father had established the Austin orphanage for Chinese children with disabilities. They would ride the Zilker Zephyr miniature train and enjoy a picnic on the grounds before dark. With her father back from Washington, maybe he’d go with them.

After reaching for her handbag in the desk drawer, Ally started for the door and opened it, only to collide with a tall, rock-hard, masculine body. “I’m sorry,” the man murmured, and grasped her upper arms to steady her, while securing a file folder under his arm.

After noting the badge on the pocket of his khaki shirt identifying him as a Texas Ranger, she lifted her head and let out a quiet gasp. The man was gorgeous. He had neatly trimmed dark blond hair and rugged features, but it was his brown eyes roving appreciatively over her face that infused her with warmth. She stepped back, forcing him to release her.

“I was looking for Dr. Duncan.” His deep voice resonated in the room. “I’m James Davis with the Texas Rangers.”

She swallowed hard, unable to remember the last time she’d met anyone so attractive. “You’ve found her. I was just leaving, obviously, but it’s apparent you’re here on official business.”

“You’re the Director of Asian Studies?” he blurted.

Ally took a quick breath. “I’m not what you expected?”

The hard line of his compelling mouth softened into a smile. “Frankly, no.”

She chuckled. “You don’t fit the type of student I normally see in my classes, either. Please, come in and sit down.”

He waited until she’d gone back to her chair behind the desk. “The secretary out front said that spring break has started and I might not find you in, but I took a chance, anyway.”

Ally’s cheeks were burning; she could feel it. She cursed herself for acting like a starstruck teenager instead of a twenty-eight-year-old woman meeting her first legendary Texas Ranger. “How can I help you?” she asked.

“First, may I ask you a question? Has anyone from the police department been here to talk to you yet?”

She looked surprised. “No. No one.”

He removed the file from under his arm and opened it to retrieve some pages, which he handed to her. “I’m just starting an investigation. These photos were taken by a forensics expert after the latest body of a young Chinese girl was brought into the morgue last week.”

Latest?

Just like that the conversation had turned to something hideous, something Ally was very familiar with. Women from the Hunan Province of China were noted for their beauty. Men from all over the world were willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to traffickers in order to enslave these poor young women. It was too sad and ghastly to dwell on. Her hands trembled a little as she lifted the first page and stared at the photocopy.

“Do you recognize this?”

Nothing could have surprised her more when she saw that the page contained writing rather than a woman’s picture. Not just any writing, though. The realization of what she was looking at caused Ally to break out in a cold sweat. Reading it, she felt her stomach muscles clench. She lifted the next page and the next, until she’d read the horrifying contents of all six, then she shot to her feet.

“Where did you come across this?”

“On the victim’s body. All this was done in her own blood on the underside of the dress she was wearing.”

Ally moaned.

“It’s apparent this writing has great significance for you.”

She closed her eyes for a moment before she sat back down. “This girl knew she was going to die. The writing is a desperate plea for help in the only way she could communicate in order to prevent her captors from knowing what she was doing.”

The Ranger seemed perplexed. “Is it in Chinese, then? The chief forensics expert said they couldn’t identify it as such.”

Ally took a deep breath before launching into an explanation of what he’d brought her. “This message has been written in Nüshu, a secret language that has evolved over a thousand years in the Hunan Province of China. Nüshu means ‘women’s language’ and comes from a remote area of Yongzhou City in Jiangyong County.”

“Why secret?”

“Since the traditional Chinese culture was male-centered, girls were forbidden from any kind of formal education. Nüshu was developed for the women to educate themselves. They were sequestered away from men, and males never learned their language. These sworn sisters took an oath never to reveal their secret language to anyone.” Ally picked up the first sheet and studied it again. “This victim was begging for help.”

The Ranger studied her intensely. “How do you know all this?”

“For one thing, my best friend, Soo-Lin, was born in Yongzhou and has lived there all her life, except to attend the university in Changsha.”

He cocked his attractive blond head. “Which means you’ve lived there, too?”

Ally sat back in her chair. “I’ll have to give you some background. My birth name is Allyson Forrester Duncan.”

The moment she said her full name, she saw a flicker of understanding in his eyes. “Duncan...as in former Senator Lawrence Duncan from Austin, then ambassador to China, who now resides here in Austin instead of Washington, DC? It’s been in the news.”

“He’s my father.”

“Incredible that you would be the expert I sought out first,” he murmured.

“My mother’s name is Beatrice Forrester Duncan.”

“Forrester,” he said aloud. “Her name came up among a few others at a conference I attended recently. The panel praised her work devoted to ending the trafficking of female victims from the Far East here in Texas.” He sat forward. “Your mother...”

“Yes. I have fabulous parents and am extremely proud of them.”

“How could you not be? Tell me more about your life in China.”

“We spent equal time in Beijing and Changsha, for fifteen years. Twice annually we flew home to Austin for two weeks, then went back. Being thirteen years old when we moved, I had tutors and was at the perfect age to pick up Mandarin and Xiang—a dialect of the Changsha region. As soon as I was old enough, I studied at the University of Changsha, under some brilliant teachers.

“Soo-Lin was also studying there and became my close friend. I spent time at her home in Yongzhou and came to love her family, as well. I loved it in China. I never wanted to come home and almost didn’t.”

“Why did you, then?”

The Ranger was direct, but then, that was his job.

“Last year my father was recalled to Washington. A new ambassador was named, but my dad now serves as a consultant to the president for Far Eastern affairs. So we returned to the Duncan family ranch here in Austin. I joined the university faculty last fall.

“Dad flies back and forth, but my mother and I stay here. She’s more involved than ever in her work against trafficking and I help her when I can. We’re committed as a family. If I’d stayed in China, I would have missed my parents too terribly.”

Ally heard Ranger Davis clear his throat. “You’ve led a fascinating life. I’m so glad I decided to seek your department out first.”

“I must admit the hairs stood up on the back of my neck when I read what’s on those pages.”

“Mine, too, when you said what they contain.”

“It was through Soo-Lin I learned about the secret language.”

The Ranger got to his feet. “When we bumped into each other at the door, you said you were on your way out, so I won’t keep you. What’s your schedule like tomorrow? I’d like to meet again. Get from you an exact translation of what’s written on the dress so I can build my case. Out of four similar cases in the last ten months, this is the first piece of tangible evidence to turn up.”

“You mean the other bodies were all young Chinese women, too?”

“No. One was Indonesian, but I highly suspect they were all victims of human trafficking. It’s imperative we find the person or persons who did this. Unfortunately, there are thousands of trafficking victims currently working in the underground sex trade here in Texas. Trying to escape often means death. Even if these girls don’t die, it’s nearly impossible for them to get their lives back on track after going through something like this. The men who are responsible need to be caught and locked away forever.”

The emotion in his voice convinced Ally that this Ranger was the one who could do it. “I couldn’t agree more. Since I don’t have a busy schedule right now, why don’t you tell me when and where you want to meet?”

“If morning is all right with you, how about we say nine o’clock at the Magnolia Café?”

“Morning is fine,” she said. “I realize you’re anxious to get going on this case. The Magnolia Café is in my neck of the woods. I suspect you love their chocolate-chip pancakes.”

One corner of his mouth lifted.

“So do I,” she said, smiling.

He gathered the photocopies and put them back in his folder. “If you’re ready, I’ll walk you out.”

Be still, my heart.

Ally locked her office door behind her and left the building for the faculty parking lot. Several students were milling about outside and one of the young women called out to her. Ally waved, but the other woman was staring so hard at the Ranger, Ally felt a ridiculous sense of pride over the fact that he was escorting her to her car.

She pressed the remote to unlock the door of her silver Audi. “Thank you. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Let me get your cell phone number. That way, in case an emergency arises, I’ll be able to reach you.”

Ally told him her number. After he’d typed it into his phone, his eyes fused with hers, melting her insides. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Please remember that for the time being I must ask you to keep this to yourself. If you were to say anything to anyone, even your parents, they could give something away without meaning to that could jeopardize the case. It’s for their protection, too.”

“I understand.”

“I’m sure you do. What should I call you, by the way?”

“Just Ally.”

“Until tomorrow, then, Just Ally.”

She laughed and watched him head toward the public parking area, then got into her car and pressed her head against the steering wheel. She hated that she’d scanned his left hand for a wedding ring, and hated it even more that the fact that he wasn’t wearing one made her so happy.

Had she gone out of her mind? It didn’t mean he didn’t have a girlfriend. Ally felt shaky after colliding with him in the doorway of her office. Her world had suddenly changed. Fear and excitement waged a war inside her as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove off toward the ranch.

Chapter Two

As soon as Luckey got home, he went straight to the kitchen for a cold cola and ended up in his den. The first thing he did was phone Stan at headquarters. Stan was one of the best forensics experts in the country.

“Luckey? What do you need?”

“What can you tell me about a cream called DMSO?”

“That old underground home remedy?”

“Is that what it is? Traces of it were found on the sleeves of the dress of a suspected murder victim, a sixteen-or seventeen-year-old Chinese girl.”

“Hmm. Dimethyl sulfoxide is a by-product of the wood industry, used as a solvent. It acts like a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. In the 1970s, rumors spread that athletes were using it to cut down on joint pain. The controversy stemmed from the fact that some people believed it to be poisonous, but in reality, DMSO isn’t dangerous unless it’s injected in gross amounts. Most athletes have since moved on to other treatments.”

Luckey made notes. “So the person who dumped the deceased’s body in the street had to have been using it at the time. I’m faxing you a report from Dr. Wolff. I need your team to do a global search on DMSO and find a cream that matches the properties on the evidence he identified. Then I can track down where it’s sold.”

“Will do.”

“Thanks.”

Once he’d sent the fax, Luckey sat back in his comfortable leather chair and pulled out the six pages of secret writing. To think Ally Duncan had taken one look at these and made sense of them...

What were the odds of him quickly finding anyone else who had her incredible knowledge? All the years he’d been a Ranger, she’d been growing up in an entirely different culture. What an amazing woman.

A gorgeous woman with raven-black hair tumbling to her shoulders and eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets.

When she’d opened her office door, he’d been knocked sideways in more ways than one. The contact had awakened something inside him. She was well-endowed and probably about five foot seven. The scent of her skin and hair, the breathless way she’d responded to him had made Luckey conscious of her as a living, breathing woman.

It had been eight years since his divorce. Since then he’d had relationships with other women, but none had lasted long. He’d always made it clear to the woman he was dating at the time that he wasn’t interested in a permanent commitment. Too much damage had been done for him to feel the emotions necessary for a relationship to flourish. But all that changed today. Today he’d been caught totally off guard by a rush of desire so foreign to him he was stunned.

He knew his family worried that he might stay single for good. Luckey hadn’t given it a lot of thought until now. Damn if meeting Ms. Duncan hadn’t pierced through the armor he’d built up around him to the part that had either been asleep or in a deep freeze. What if he still felt this way tomorrow after meeting with her?

Luckey didn’t want to experience these feelings again. He couldn’t take it. He was just going to meet her for breakfast and record the translation, then he’d get on with the investigation, and that would be the end of it.

Needing to get his mind off Ally ASAP, he phoned Randy. His brother was still on patrol, however, so Luckey left a message that he’d get in touch tomorrow. He thought about calling one of his best friends, but all three were Rangers and he knew they’d be busy working other cases. Restless, he fixed himself a TV dinner, then walked out to the barn and saddled his horse, Persey, who needed the exercise. A good ride would help Luckey put his feelings in perspective.

When it was dark, he came back in and turned on the TV. But he was unable to concentrate on anything. In the end, he returned to the den and pored over the information he’d gathered at the coroner’s office. Luckey worked until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and then he went to bed.

* * *

TUESDAY MORNING HE woke up early to shower and shave. After dressing in a long-sleeved Western shirt and trousers, he went out to feed his horse and noticed he needed to buy more food for him. Once back in the house he remembered that his cleaning lady, Ruth, would be coming by later. She came twice a month and did odd jobs for him. Luckey left her a note to drop by the feed store as well as the grocery store for supplies, and then he took off for the Magnolia Café.

He always felt a certain excitement when he began a new case, but driving to meet with Ally, he recognized an eagerness that had nothing to do with his work.

His pulse picked up speed when he spotted her Audi in the parking lot among at least a dozen cars with license plates from other states. The place got a ton of tourists because the food was reputed to be so good.

He walked in and was greeted by a hostess. “Your party is already at your table,” she told him. “She’s over in the south corner.”

Luckey was surprised. “How did you know?”

The woman smiled. “You’re the man with the badge. Can’t miss you.”

“Thanks,” he said.

Ally Duncan stood out from every other female in the room. This morning she’d tied her glossy black hair back at her nape with a simple leather cord. Those purple-blue eyes fringed by thick black lashes met his as he approached the table. Everything about her was classy. Her nails were manicured in a soft pink shade that matched her lipstick.

“Hi.” She smiled at him.

He sat in the chair opposite her and took in the creamy blouse she wore, covered by a sleeveless crochet vest in the same color shot with gold. “Hi, yourself. You were smart to get here early. This place is hopping.” He would have suggested a quieter spot, such as a park, for their meeting, but felt a public space would make her more comfortable.

“I remember the last time I came here, with friends. We had to wait an hour to get a table. Since I knew you were in a hurry to get going on this case, I thought I’d make sure we beat the rush.”

“Well, I thank you for your consideration.”

The waitress came to the table and poured them coffee. Ally murmured, “Go ahead and give her our orders, since you already know what I want.”

He smiled. “Chocolate-chip pancakes?”

She smiled back. “Of course.”

“Would you like some juice?”

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll take apple.”

“Anything else?”

Ally shook her head.

“Two orders of chocolate-chip pancakes, one apple juice and one glass of OJ, please,” he told their waitress.

Once she had left, Luckey was free to focus on the beautiful woman sitting across from him. She wasn’t wearing a ring. How could she still be single? If she was, it had to be by choice. Had she been wounded in the past, like he had? Was she reluctant to open up her heart for fear of being burned again? The question hung in the air. Of course, she could be in a relationship right now. Either way, he would get an answer soon, so help him.

She sipped her coffee. “If you’ll show me those papers, I’ll look over the writing and translate it for you once we’ve eaten.”

With those words he was reminded of the reason they were there. What she said made perfect sense, but his mind had been on her instead of the case. “Why don’t we eat first, then I’ll let you read from the file while I record you. It will probably be more horrifying on a second reading.”

Quiet reigned as they both drank their coffee. When she lifted her head, he saw the pained expression that had snuffed the light from her eyes.

He put down his mug. “Will it be too horrifying, second time through?”

“Horrifying and heartbreaking, Ranger Davis.”

“Call me Luckey. With an e.”

Ally cocked her head. “I thought your name was James.”

She remembered. That was something. “Luckey is my nickname.”

“Because you’re such a successful Ranger?”

He shook his head. “That’s a nice lie, but no, I inherited it when my parents named me for our ancestor. Luckey Davis was one of the original forty Rangers serving under Jack Hayes at the Battle of Bandera Pass. That name determined my destiny by osmosis.”

“Osmosis instead of genetics? I don’t think so. You’re the real deal.” She chuckled as the waitress came to the table with their food. “Shall we eat?”

They both tucked into their chocolate-chip pancakes. He darted her a glance. “I bet you didn’t eat these in China.”

“You’re right. We had several native cooks who taught me how to prepare local meals from scratch.”

“So if there’s a revolution—”

“Yikes!” she interjected, causing him to chuckle.

“—and you’re not needed as a professor,” he continued, “you could open a Chinese restaurant.”

“A mediocre one to be sure.”

“Ally Duncan? I can say in all honesty that there’s nothing mediocre about you.”

If he wasn’t mistaken, he detected a slight flush on her high cheekbones. But she drawled, “Well, Luckey Davis, it seems we’re quite an amazing pair.”

He broke into laughter, but doubted anyone noticed, because the room was filled with noise. Though they’d met on a serious matter, she didn’t take herself seriously. He liked that about her.

“How would you feel if we went out to your car so you can translate for me?” They’d finished eating. “We’re going to need the quiet.”

“That’s a good idea,” she said. He helped her up from the chair and, after he paid the tab, let her walk ahead of him as they made their way to her vehicle. He had to admit she looked terrific in her designer jeans.

Concentrate on the job, Davis. What he’d have given to have met Ally under other circumstances. He wanted to know if she was involved with another man. And after that he wanted to make plans to see her again that had nothing to do with business. But there were rules a Ranger had to follow. Luckey wanted and needed her trust while he worked on this case. Rules had to come first.

Once they were inside her car, he passed her the papers from the file and pulled out his handheld digital recorder.

Her gaze met his. “Luckey? Before we start, I want to thank you for breakfast. I enjoyed it very much.”

“So did I. Don’t forget you’re doing me a great favor. It was my pleasure.” I want to do it again and again. “When you’re ready, I’ll turn this on.”

* * *

WAS THIS A one-time happening with Luckey? Would she ever see him again? Ally wished it didn’t matter, but she was so attracted to him she could hardly think about anything else.

Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the writing. She ought to be used to this after working alongside her mother in China on human trafficking cases. They’d assembled statistics about lost girls disappearing from Hunan Province for several years. But each case was heart wrenching in its own right.

Ally knew she could never be indifferent to the suffering of these young women. Thank heaven there were people invested in fighting this brand of evil, people like the bone-achingly attractive man sitting beside her. If Ally’s mother were to find out about this, she’d be overjoyed to hear that the Texas Rangers had been called in to work on this case. But Ally had promised Luckey complete secrecy and she meant to uphold that promise.

“I’m ready.”

He turned on the recorder. “This is James Davis of Company H, Austin, Texas, investigating the case of Jane Doe, a young Chinese girl who died March 2. It is now March 10, 10:30 a.m. Dr. Allyson Forrester Duncan, Director of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, will translate a message from the secret Nüshu language of the sworn sisters in the Hunan Province of China. It is written in the deceased’s blood on the underside of the dress she was wearing when mounted police found her body dumped on an Austin street.”

Shuddering over the circumstances of the poor girl’s death, Ally began translating while he held the recorder.

“‘Someone help us. We are being held by an evil man with a dragon’s forked tongue. He smells like garlic and speaks English, Xiang and Indonesian. There are many of us imprisoned here, and other evil men speaking English come to do terrible things to us. We’ve been kidnapped and stolen from our homes. We don’t know where we are. We miss our families. I know I am going to die. Some of the others with me have been killed already for trying to escape. There is no way out of here. Please, someone help us.’”

Ally handed him back the pages. He turned off the recorder, then rewound it and played it back so she could hear. When it was over, he clicked off and said, “That part about the men speaking English is significant. But even more so is her mention of the man who smells of garlic and speaks with a dragon’s forked tongue. Those have to be clues.”

“Definitely,” Ally said. “We know that a forked tongue means the same thing in every language. But because she was Chinese, I would have thought she’d use the analogy of a snake. Instead, she did refer to the Komodo dragon, the long forked tongue of which is a deep yellow. That was an unusual thing for her to do.”

“Agreed. Komodo dragons come from Indonesia,” Luckey mused. “Perhaps her reference to the tongue meant he was blond haired. She said he spoke Indonesian as well as English and her native language. What is it again?”

“Xiang, which she would have spoken in Yongzhou and Changsha, but being upper-class, she would have spoken Mandarin, too.”

“Thank you for doing this, Ally,” he said. “The whole department is indebted to you, not to mention the parents of this girl if they can be found. Their anguish must be terrible.”

Ally looked at him. Her pain went too deep for tears. “What a brave young woman to write that, knowing it would be her death sentence if she was found out. I can’t even imagine her terror. How was she killed?”

“Shot in the back.”

“Probably trying to escape a situation she couldn’t bear a second longer.”

“No doubt,” he muttered. “Ally? Are you free for a while longer?”

His question quickened her pulse. Whether he’d asked her that because of the case or for another reason, it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to have to say goodbye to him this morning. “Yes.”

“Will you follow me to the morgue? I want to show you the dress from the evidence room. I hope it won’t distress you too much, but something you said about this woman being of the higher class has given me an idea I want to explore.”

Ally didn’t have to think. “I’ve wanted to see the real article all along.”

“It’s not a pretty sight.”

“I’m not worried about that. After what that girl went through, if there’s anything I can do to help you find her killer and have her body shipped back to her parents, I’ll do it.” But identifying her sounded next to impossible.

He gave Ally the address in case they got separated, then slid out of her car and got into a Volvo parked at the other end of the lot. Her heart pounded against her rib cage all the way downtown, where she parked her car next to his in front of the coroner’s office.

Luckey’s eyes searched hers with concern after she got out. “Are you sure you’re all right doing this?”

“Positive. During the years I helped my mother gather statistics, we always felt so helpless. But today I’m going to be doing something useful. You don’t know what a good feeling that is.”

“Actually I do,” he said in his deep, attractive voice.

Of course he did, and she admired him for it.

Luckey accompanied her inside and introduced her to the coroner. “Dr. Duncan is the Chinese expert I needed for this case. Could we see inside the evidence box again?”

Dr. Wolff told them to go into his private office while he retrieved it. It wasn’t long before he returned with a box of plastic gloves and another, larger box.

After they’d both donned their gloves, Luckey took off the lid of the evidence box and gently removed the garment. As he handed it to her, she saw the hole made in the back. “When you’re ready to tell me anything and everything you can about the dress, I’ll record you.”

After studying the writing on the inside, she laid it out on the table and nodded to him. “This is a cheongsam, actually the term for a man’s mandarin-style robe. Over the years it became the name of a body-hugging, one-piece women’s dress that features a frog, which is a knob of intricately knotted strings. It has two big openings at either side of the hems for convenient movement, and it is often buttoned on the right side, but not always.

“The cheongsam comes in various styles based on differences in the shapes of the collar, the length of the openings, hem and the width of the sleeves. The embroidery might show a peony, a lotus flower, a dragon or fish.”

Ally darted him a glance. “This garment is made of very expensive embroidered silk with fine gold threading, and belongs to a woman from a highborn family. The design depicts a lotus, which symbolizes purity.”

Luckey eyed her intently. “Do you think that aspect is significant?”

“It could be.” She smoothed the material between her fingers. “A fabric like this in pale pink is normally worn by a slim young woman, because it wouldn’t look as good on a heavier woman. The hem is knee length. The short, tight sleeve indicates this female has slender arms. See this collar? It’s midsize because the woman wearing this has a shorter neck. A taller woman would wear a higher collar.”

“Amazing,” Luckey murmured.

“The hem is midlength. Notice that the slits are just high enough to allow leg movement, indicating modesty. The dress is formfitting to reveal beautiful posture and feminine curves, and exude an air of elegance and grace.” Ally stopped talking and looked up at him. “That’s all the information I can think of.”

He shook his head and turned off the recorder. “You sound like a forensics expert. I’m in awe of your knowledge. Do you have any idea where this cheongsam would have been purchased?”

“It was probably made by a seamstress for the family. If the embroidery is in the Xiang style, then it might have been bought at a high-end silk merchant in Jiangyong County or Yongzhou City itself.”

Luckey got up from the table. “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later he returned with the coroner, who’d brought another box with him.

“I’ve asked him to let you look at the clothes of the Indonesian woman.” He undid the lid and pulled out an embroidered blouse. “Can you tell me anything about this?”

Ally examined it. “My friend Soo-Lin could. She and I occasionally saw an Indonesian girl at the university wearing a tight-fitting lace blouse like this with a long skirt. I remember she called it a kebaya.”

Luckey nodded to the older man, who carried a pair of scissors. He cut a three-by-three-inch swatch from the backs of both outfits. “There you go.” He returned the clothes to the boxes and walked out with them and the glove carton.

The Ranger wore a satisfied expression. “I’ve got my samples.”

“I didn’t know you could do that to evidence.”

“You can’t.”

Ally averted her eyes. “Unless you’re you.” Because he was the best of the best.

“The next thing I need to do is track down these materials. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

“I feel the same way about you working on this case, so we’re even.” Don’t just sit here, Ally. She checked her watch. “I’d better get going.”

He pulled a business card from his pocket. After writing a phone number on the back, he handed it to her. “Ring me at either number if any other thoughts come to your mind that could help this case.”

“I will, I promise.”

The card with his cell phone number burned a hole in her palm. She hurried out of the office to the car, and once safely inside, looked at the card in detail. When working on a case, did he give everyone who helped him his cell number?

She drove away wishing he’d made some suggestion about seeing her again. A man like him came along only once in a lifetime. But even if he was free to date, what were the odds of him pursuing her while he was in deep, looking for a possible serial killer?

When she got home, Ally went upstairs to her room. Her parents were out, which made it the perfect time to write a letter to Soo-Lin. After grabbing a notebook and pen, Ally stretched out on her bed to read her friend’s letter again before answering it. When she came to the part about Yu Tan, a cold, clammy sensation crept through her body, making her feel ill.

Three weeks ago their sixteen-year-old daughter, Yu Tan, didn’t come home from school. One of her friends said she ran off with a man from a disco club in the city, where she often went dancing without permission. I don’t believe it. Yu Tan is a sweet, well-brought-up young woman with plans to make the Olympic team and go to college. She’s won all kinds of awards in gymnastics.

As Ally continued to read Soo-Lin’s concerns about Yu Tan’s disappearance, that sickness grew, until she slid off the bed to look for her purse. Inside was the card Luckey had given her with his phone number.

Maybe there was no connection between the words she’d just read and the case that Luckey was working on, but she needed to get his permission to discuss this with her parents. The news in Soo-Lin’s letter had struck too close to home.

* * *

LUCKEY LEFT THE morgue with the swatches of material in his pocket and headed for the office. On his way down the hall he was relieved to see Cy coming out of the lunchroom with a mug of coffee. There was no one he’d rather talk with about this case than him. “Ranger Vance, as I live and breathe!”

Cy saw him and grinned. “Where have you been for the last couple of weeks?”

“You don’t want to hear about it.”

“Actually, I already did. TJ spread the word that you nailed those three felons. Grab some coffee and come in my office so we can play catch-up.”

Luckey didn’t need to be persuaded. In less than a minute he was sitting across from Cy at his friend’s desk and sipping the hot liquid. “How’s the baby?”

“She’s a heartbreaker, like Kellie.”

“Another champion barrel racer?”

“Maybe.” He eyed Luckey. “But the important question is, how’s your personal life?”

He’d been concentrating so hard on thinking about Ally Duncan, the question took him by surprise.

Cy’s eyes narrowed. “What’s this? Silence from our dedicated bachelor?”

After a pause he said, “Do you remember the day you bumped into Kellie outside the radio station in Bandera?”

“What kind of a question is that? You know damn well it was the greatest day of my life.” His friend studied him. “Okay, buddy. You’re setting me up for something. Out with it.”

“I had a similar experience yesterday.”

“Yeah?” Cy broke into a smile that lit up his face. “I guess I don’t need to ask if she’s drop-dead gorgeous.”

“Nope.”

He let out a yelp that filled the room and jumped out of his chair to slap Luckey on the shoulder. In the process he set down his mug so hard some of his coffee spilled. “I knew it had to happen sooner or later! Wait till the guys hear about this. What’s her name?”

“Dr. Duncan.”

“That has a nice ring. Where did this encounter happen?”

“At the university. She was coming out of her office and we...collided.”

Cy chuckled. “I can relate and haven’t been the same since. What were you doing there?”

“I needed to find an expert in Chinese to help me on my new case.”

His brows lifted. “She teaches Chinese?”

“Yup. She went to the morgue with me to identify the writing on some fabric.” He pulled an evidence bag from his pocket that held the samples of embroidered silk and lace. “You’re looking at some swatches that are going to crack it.”

“So the morgue was your first date?”

“Nope. We had breakfast at the Magnolia Café first.”

“You’re a dark horse, you know that?” His friend rolled his eyes. “So she’s a knockout and she speaks Chinese. There’s only one more important question to ask. Does she ride?”

Luckey burst into laughter. “She lives on her family’s ranch, so I’m assuming as much.”

“Three out of three. Now you’ve got my attention.” Cy walked back to his chair and sat down. “All right. I want you to start over and don’t leave anything out.”

“Just remember, I have no idea how she feels about me.”

No sooner had he spoken than his cell phone rang. Luckey pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. He couldn’t believe it. Needing privacy, Luckey got up from the chair and walked out into the hall. He clicked on. “Ally?”

“Hi. Forgive me for bothering you when I know how busy you are, but I need to discuss something really important with you. Can we meet again?”

His heart thundered in his chest. “Where are you?”

“I’m home, but I’d be glad to drive to your office if you’re there.”

“How soon can you get here?”

“I’ll leave the house now. What’s the address?”

He gave her the information. “I’m on the second floor when you come up the stairs. Third door on the left.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”

After hanging up, he walked back into Cy’s office.

“Was that who I think it was?”

Luckey took a deep breath. “Yes. She’s on her way here to discuss something important about the case.”

Cy was all smiles as he cleaned up the coffee spill. “Sure she is. What was it you said? Something like ‘I don’t know how she feels about me’? She’s doing both of us a favor, because I want to get a good look at her.”

Luckey shook his head. “She sounded serious.”

“While you wait for her, tell me why you need a Chinese expert.”

“It’s a female trafficking case involving a Chinese victim.”

For the next little while, he told him what he’d uncovered and they talked about possible theories. “I believe the victims are being held here in Houston or Austin or somewhere nearby. I’ve got to find out where.”

“Don’t be afraid to use me if you want help.”

“Thanks, Cy. I might take you up on it.”

He got up and went out into the hall to keep watch for Ally. The office was busy, with lots of staff milling around, but she was impossible to miss when she appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing the same outfit she’d worn to breakfast. “You got here fast,” he said, walking toward her.

She sounded a little out of breath. “The traffic cooperated.”

“Come with me.”

Cy had just emerged from his office with the empty coffee mug. Luckey slowed down. “Ally? I’d like you to meet a friend and colleague Cy Vance.”

A smile broke out on her face. “Another famous Ranger. I always wanted to meet one. Now I’ve met two.” She shook his hand.

“Even if the famous part is fiction, that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to us in a long time.” Luckey saw the way Cy’s eyes lit up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m on my way for more coffee. Do either of you want some?”

“Not for me, but thank you,” she said.

Luckey flashed him a private glance. “We’re good. Talk to you later.” He turned to Ally. “My office is right down here.”

He showed her inside and shut the door. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you for meeting with me again so soon.”

“When I’m on a case, I don’t let anything interfere with my work.” Luckey sat down behind his desk. “Tell me what’s happened.”

“During the years we lived in China, our family was watched by the Ministry of State Security. The MSS employs a variety of tactics including cyber spying to gain access to sensitive information. They also engage in industrial espionage. Because of this, I was never allowed to use email or the phone.

“As I told you, Soo-Lin and I met and became friends at the university. Any news passed back and forth had to be done in person, either at school, my parents’ home or when I traveled to her home in Yongzhou. When I went there on vacation, I didn’t contact my parents at all during my stay in order to avoid a paper or electronic trail. The MSS is always looking for subversive chatter.”

Luckey marveled over her family’s ability to function under such difficult conditions. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

“I got used to it. But when our family came back to the States, it meant I had to resort to using my father in order to correspond with her. He’s constantly sending classified material to the new ambassador and receiving classified information back through the diplomatic pouch. When Soo-Lin has a letter for me, she takes the train to Changsha and leaves it with a trusted professor at the university who became our good friend.

“He comes from an old, venerable family. One of his sons works at the American Embassy in Beijing and facilitates our exchange of mail now that I’m in the States. What he does is put Soo-Lin’s letters in the diplomatic pouch for my father. If I’ve sent a letter in the pouch, he gives it to his grandfather, who passes it off to Soo-Lin when she visits the university. Father reminded me we have to be careful after what happened to the artist Ai Weiwei.”

Luckey stirred in the chair. “I read he was detained for months and interrogated fifty times for being openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. I remember hearing that the officers watched him in his sleep, their faces inches from his.”

She nodded. “He was finally released but is still under their watch. His story is common. Even though our family is back in the States, because of my mother’s work against trafficking we have to be extra careful. But we’re willing to take the risk. Yesterday my dad flew in from DC and brought Soo-Lin’s latest letter to me. You won’t be able to read it, so I’ll translate the important part for you.”

Ally withdrew it from her purse and started reading. As Luckey listened, he was reminded of what Dr. Wolff told him about the latest body in the morgue. He’d said the young woman was likely either a ballerina or a gymnast. More than ever Luckey recognized the implications and understood the horror her friend’s news had raised in Ally’s mind. He dealt with the dark side of life every day. But now this case had become personal, because it directly affected this woman’s life, a woman who had already impacted him in a profound way.

He sat forward. “You were right to bring this to me.”

She stared at him through those beautiful, shadowed eyes. “Do I have your permission to tell my parents about this? They have no idea you came to see me at the university. But they love Soo-Lin and her family. When they read what’s in this letter, my father won’t wait to do something about it.”

“That’s what has me worried, Ally. Would you set up a time when I can meet with you and your parents?”

“Yes,” she said softly. Before he could blink, she got up from the chair and hurried over to the door. Before exiting it, she said, “I’ll drive home now. I’ll phone you when it’s arranged. Thank you, Luckey.” Her voice throbbed.

After she’d disappeared, Cy strolled into his office. “I can tell from the look on your face you’re a goner. No wonder. She’s gorgeous.”

Luckey tightened his jaw. “Her family is involved in a risky activity that could endanger their close friends in China.”

“I haven’t been assigned another case yet. Anything I can do to help?”

“Okay, come with me while I go talk to TJ. This case has just taken on a life of its own.”

Chapter Three

When Ally got back she found her mother in the kitchen starting dinner. It was three thirty.

“Hi, darling. Where have you been? We drove over to see your uncle Nick. When we got home, you weren’t here. I thought you didn’t have to go to the university for a while.”

“I went out, but not to the campus. Mom, I have something to tell you and Dad. Where is he?”

“Out talking to Hank about getting the horses vaccinated.”

“It’s that time of year,” Ally said, but her mind was on Luckey. “Mom? Do you have any special plans tonight?”

“No. Your father wants peace and quiet. We just want our family to be together. I’m fixing a salad and his favorite baked beans. We’ll barbecue some steaks.”

“Would you mind if I invited someone to join us?”

Her mother pondered the question. “You’re being very mysterious, rushing in here all out of breath. It must be a man to have created this unusual behavior in you.”

“He’s not just any man. His name is James Davis, but he goes by the nickname Luckey. He’s a Texas Ranger,” she said, feeling her face burn. It was embarrassing, because her mother could always see through her.

“Let me guess. Tall? Handsome? Honorable? Nothing but silver bullets in his gun and a black domino mask made from his brother’s vest?”

“Mom...!” She tried to give her mother an incredulous look, but couldn’t hide the grin on her face.

“So I’m right.”

“Except for the mask, and maybe the bullets.”

“Do you think I could ever forget your childhood hero? The Lone Ranger was your obsession when you were little.” She smiled. “All right. No more teasing. How did you meet this paragon?”

“He came to my office yesterday looking for help with a case he was working on. He thinks talking to you and Dad would be very useful. But before I say any more, I need to call him. Maybe he won’t be able to come this evening. Be right back.” She dashed up to her room and phoned his cell.

He answered on the third ring. “Ally?”

“Hello again. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all. I just got out of a meeting with my boss and am headed home.”

Hearing his deep voice sent a thrill through her. “I talked to my mother and told her you’d been to see me at the university on an investigation. She has no idea why, but when I told her you wanted to talk to her and Dad, she said you’re welcome to come over this evening for dinner. We’re having steaks on the patio. Very casual and low-key. But if tonight isn’t good for you, I’m sure we can arrange another time that’s more convenient.”

“The timing couldn’t be better,” he said without hesitation. A big smile broke out on her face. “When would you like me to be there?”

“Is six all right? My dad likes to eat early when he’s home.”

“I’m salivating already.”

Her stomach flipped over. “Good.”

“Where do you live?”

Ally gave him the address on Crystal Mountain Road.

“The gray stone-and-wood ranch house sitting at the top of the canyon?”

“You’ve seen it?”

“From a helicopter. You live in prime horse country.”

“The Duncans have been ranching people for three generations. My dad was a cowboy who married my cowgirl mom before he went into the marines.”

“How did he end up being ambassador to China?”

“The commandant requested two marine officers to be assigned to the navy’s program for the study of Chinese, a project originally developed in the early 1900s. He ended up studying with several Chinese tutors. His Mandarin was so good that he was called in to work for US Intelligence and one thing led to another. But he’s planning to retire and be a full-time rancher again at the end of the summer.”

“I look forward to talking to him. See you in a little while.”

Ally removed her leather cord, she headed for the bathroom to shower. After toweling off, she dressed in jeans and a navy crewneck sweater. She slipped on her tan wedge sandals. This wasn’t a real date. Luckey was working a case, but her heart didn’t know the difference, because he was coming to the ranch and she could hardly wait to see him again.

After giving her hair a quick brush and applying a coat of pink gloss lipstick, she was ready. She pulled the letter from Soo-Lin out of her purse, went downstairs and found her parents out on the patio off the kitchen, drinking iced tea. Her dad had stretched out on a lounger in his cowboy boots.

“Sorry I took so long. What a great help I am!” Ally saw that her mom had already brought out the food and plates to the serving table.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You look lovely,” her father said. “I understand we’re expecting a Texas Ranger for dinner.”

“Yes. I told him to be here at six. But before he gets here, you and Mom should see this.”

Ally handed her dad the letter and watched his face darken as he read it. Wordlessly, he handed it to her mother, who was proficient in Chinese, too. She started to read it. “Poor Soo-Lin. I know how much she wanted a baby.”

“It breaks my heart, but the other news is even sadder. Keep reading.”

After a minute, her mother cried out, “Oh, no—not Yu Tan!”

“Horrible, isn’t it?” Ally said. “But I don’t believe the story about her running off with a man.”

“Neither do I,” her father muttered.

“Because Luckey sought me out at the university yesterday needing help on a case involving female trafficking, I showed him this letter today.”

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