The man gave him a bloody smile and said nothing.
Suddenly the glass from one of the large windows near them shattered, and Evie flinched, throwing her arm up for protection, prepared for debris to fly into the room. Instead, the man kneeling before Santo jerked, blood trickled from a large red dot on his forehead, and his body went lifeless, crumbling to the ground. Santo’s head snapped up and his gaze connected with Evie’s. “Run to me, now!” he yelled, and she heard more glass shatter and saw the chair directly in front of her splinter.
She didn’t hesitate. Without thinking twice, she propelled herself off of the wall and across the room, racing for his arms. She prayed that whoever shot at them didn’t aim at Santo, because, the way he stood braced for her to come to him, he made the perfect stationary target.
The large table in the conference room splintered, and a chair near Santo went spinning, the inner stuffing exposed through a hole in the fabric. The shots seemed to be hitting closer to Santo than her. She didn’t know what she would do if a round hit him.
She landed in Santo’s arms and he tucked and fell to the ground, rolling her body over and over with his until they were under the large table in the middle of the room. He pushed off of her and began to quickly open a case underneath the table, one she had never seen before.
It contained an unassembled rifle, a stand, and other components she knew went with a rifle. How the hell had that gotten into the room? She took a moment to look around the room, afraid someone would come bursting in at any moment. She saw the destruction in the room from the incoming gunfire, and the dead man on the ground, staring back at her.
Quickly she turned back to Santo, her mind tripping over a million questions. To her shock, he already had the rifle completely assembled and balanced on the stand. He used the scope on the top of the rifle to scan the rooftops surrounding them. “What are you…?” her voice trailed off, worried that she would disturb whatever he was doing.
“That was a sniper that just killed that man." He aimed at the building immediately across the way. "Son of a bitch! He’s gone. I have no way of knowing what escape route he’s using.”
Evie scowled, trying to grasp everything going on around them. “How did that—I don’t understand how you knew—”
“I feared there would be a sniper. I just didn’t expect him to shoot his own guy. I knew if I had been trying to come after you, the easy way would be shooting at you from a rooftop into this glass building. I wanted you to stay away from the windows, but this was unavoidable. I’m a sniper, Evie. But not for bad reasons. I’m not one of the bad guys.”
Evie blinked a couple of times. Maybe the adrenaline coursing through my veins is making me imagine things. “No, you’re a cowboy. I’ve been to your ranch. Remember?”
“I’m a sniper for the Navy SEALs, Evie. It’s my specialty. I take down targets all the time. I keep my rifle with me, especially when I’m headed into unknown situations like this one. From the sounds of the shooting and your bare feet smacking the floor as you were running in the hall, I knew you were going to eventually come through this room. Which is why I set my case in here and waited for you to come to me. I just never thought they’d shoot their own guy to protect their secrets.”
“Okay—my brain is a little fuzzy. But what do we do now?”
“We need to get the hell out of here before anyone else shows up.”
Chapter 20
“That…” she swallowed hard as everything sank in and she glanced once more at the man crumpled on the floor. “You think the shooter and this man are connected? Shit, I have what they want. They aren’t going to stop.” She fought to draw in a deep breath. She had to look at the file as soon as she wasn’t running for her life.
“You have—okay, we’ll get to all of this soon. Right now, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible. That sniper could be making his way into the building this very minute.”
“That’s impossible. The building is locked from the outside.” Evie shook her head with confusion. “How did that man get in here? How did you get in here? We need to call the police. Someone has just been murdered in front of us!”
“Hey, Evie, look at me.” She focused on his eyes, seeking the wonderful kaleidoscope of color she loved, but they had become dark and intense. “It’s just you and me right now. The team knows I left earlier, and I thought I would get to you before the shit hit the fan, but obviously, these guys are farther ahead of us than I thought. And if we wait for the police to try to reach us in the middle of a hurricane, we’ll be sitting ducks.”
Evie’s mind was a jumbled mess. But she knew Santo wouldn’t lead her down the wrong path. She nodded, and he gave her a lopsided grin in return. “I’d prefer not to be a duck, especially a sitting one.” She grinned at him even though it seemed like the world had started to spin out of control.
“I’ll explain everything on the way. We need to get to my truck as quickly and safely as possible.” As he had been talking, he had disassembled his rifle with the stand and snapped the case shut.
How is he going to protect us without his gun? The bad guys have them. Hell, I want one!
Something in her expression must have exposed her thoughts. He pulled out a handgun from inside his light-weight rain jacket. “This is a lot easier to use in close spaces.”
“When do I get one of those?”
He chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “That’s my girl.”
Evie closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. “Wait, wait,” she said when he grabbed her hand and began to lead her out from under the table. “I have to get my purse.”
“For the love of—Evie, I’ll get you a new one. The purse isn’t worth—”
“No. No!” Evie yanked her hand from his and turned, racing out of the room and into the hallway where she had dropped her purse while being chased by the gunman. She heard him curse and charge after her.
He wrapped an arm around her waist at the same time she grabbed her purse. “You can’t run off like that! Someone came here to kill you! How did you know that sniper hasn’t already made it up here and intends to shoot you as soon as he sees you?” Santo’s face had darkened, and he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Everything they want is in this purse.” Her heart raced at the thought the sniper could already be near them. “But I don’t think the sniper is after me. All of those shots after he killed the other guy—he was aiming at you.” He didn’t seem surprised with her last words, which made her wonder if he had noticed the same thing.
Of course he noticed the same thing! He’s a Navy SEAL! He’s trained to notice everything. Quickly he rushed through the building, stopping at strategic points to see if they were still alone, checking every alcove, keeping her safely behind him the whole time.
Adrenaline hammered through her veins, giving her the strength she needed. A thousand questions ran through her mind. Why was he on his way to Corpus? Does he know about the file? Am I seriously dating a hunky Navy SEAL?
Finally, they were at the doors to exit the building, and she held her breath. They would be completely exposed once outside. Santo turned to look at her. “I’m going out first. As soon as you see me motion to you, come outside. But not a moment before then.” He paused, then held out the rifle case. “I’ll be able to shoot a lot easier if I’m not carrying this around. Can you keep it for me?”
Evie nodded. “I will, I…” She swallowed hard. “Just be careful, please.”
“Not something I’m known for, but I’ll give it a chance.” He winked at her and she shook her head. Between one breath and the next, he vanished out into the howling wind and rain where a killer hunted them.
* * *
This wasn’t the situation Santo had expected to come into. It was the one he had dreaded he would come into. He knew he had a lot he needed to explain to Evie, but unfortunately, the element of time did not work in their favor. Every moment that passed put them in greater peril.
That morning, when he received a letter from Francis, he had struggled to read the flowing handwriting he knew well. Powering his way through it, he learned both Evie and Judge Mitchell were in danger. He had called Haslett immediately and been granted to not only tell Evie the story behind his presence there in Hebbronville but also everything Francis had been helping them with.
He notified the team he had to get to Corpus as quickly as possible and would return with two women—Evie, and Judge Mitchell. He tried calling Evie multiple times, but could never get through. He called Buzz who let him know the weather reports were grim and it appeared the hurricane had changed course and would hit Corpus in mere hours. Lines of communication were spotty, if available at all.
The wind whipped at his clothes and he dodged a flying tree branch as his eyes scanned the rooftops, the windows, and the street, squinting into the rain. Not a soul could be seen. The good people of Corpus had gone through enough hurricanes over the past several years to know that the threat of one making their town ground zero necessitated they get the hell out.
Once he had made sure the road lacked any possible human threat, he motioned to Evie inside. She came through the door quickly, holding on to his rifle case with both hands and struggling to stand upright as the wind whipped around her.
Using his own body to shield her, he grabbed the case and guided her to his truck, opened the back door, and placed his rifle case inside. “Climb in through the driver’s side,” he said, placing his mouth against her ear so she could hear him over the roar of the wind. “It’s the safest way for me to protect you.”
She nodded her understanding and quickly climbed into the truck and over to the passenger side as soon as he pulled the door open. He was in behind her a half of a heartbeat later, and he had the truck started, in gear, and racing down the road before she had even finished buckling her seatbelt.
“Evie, I know you have a thousand questions burning right now and I’ll answer them all. But I got a letter from Francis… It felt like she was right there talking to me as I read it, telling me you are in trouble…” He ran a hand down his wet face and through his hair, sluicing back the rainwater. “I couldn’t get here fast enough.”
“She wrote you a letter, too? I got one, and so did Judge Mitchell, but I haven’t read them.”
“Is that what you think they are after?”
“No.” She shook her head and damp strands of hair stuck to her face. “I found a file. I just haven’t looked at it yet. I think it’s what they are after.”
“And you have it with you?”
“Yes. That’s why I needed my purse.” She tilted her head and gave him a snarky smile. “I guess even the badass SEAL doesn’t know everything.”
He shook his head, chuckling. “Okay, you’re right. I don’t. But I know how to ask questions. How do I get to Judge Mitchell’s house?”
Evie blinked rapidly at the change in subject. “I’m not completely sure. She should be gone by now, anyway. She and her family were going to flee the hurricane.”
“We have to make sure. Plus, Francis made it very clear in her letter that both of you are in danger. We need to get to her as quickly as possible. I had hoped she might have been a work-a-holic like you and I’d find her at the courthouse at the same time when I reached you. I just hope the bodyguard they assigned to her last week is good.”
“I-I don’t know Corpus very well at all. She lives on Del Mar Lane.”
“Shit.”
“Oh. Is that a bad part of town?”
“What?” he glanced over at her and had to suppress the urge to laugh. “No, no. We’ve picked up a tail.”
Evie’s face paled, then bright pink spots infused her cheeks. “Want to give me your gun? I’m quite a good shot. I can get rid of them quickly.” She began to turn around to look, but he grabbed her hand and squeezed, stopping her.
“Don’t look. We don’t want them aware that we know they’re even there.”
“What are we going to do?”
We. He liked that she thought in the terms of them working together to get out of the mess. He needed to count on her to remain calm, as she had so far, for them to get back to the safety of the ranch in one piece.
He hit a button on his truck’s steering wheel and the sound of a phone ringing echoed in the cab. “Bueno, you have reached the Master of the Universe,” came the voice on the other line.
“Buzz, I need you to get me directions to a location in Corpus. Plus, I’ve picked up a bogey. I need you to help me shake him.”
“How is it that, no matter what, you always find your way into the deepest piles of shit? If I hadn’t saved your ass in Syria—”
“Buzz, say hi to Evie.”
“Oh. Smooth. You could’ve warned me first you know.” His sarcastic tone quickly turned sweet. “Hi, Evie. We’ve missed having you around here. Are you okay? Santo made it to you before anything ugly went down, I take it.”
“For the most part. Are you a SEAL, too, Buzz?”
The line fell silent for a few seconds, then Buzz sighed heavily. “Santo hasn’t explained everything to you.”
“Yet,” Santo said emphatically. “We’ve been dodging bullets and flying debris, so cut me a little slack, okay? Why don’t you just concentrate on doing what you’re good at? Have you picked me up on radar yet?”
“I’ve tried pulling you up on satellite, but the hurricane has created massive cloud cover. I can’t see a damn thing. You are aware that there is a category four hurricane about to slam into you in the next three hours or less? You’re probably getting hammered by some major wind and rain right now.”
“Yep. I’d love to outrun it. But I have other pressing needs like I already mentioned.”
“Right, right. Okay. Where do you need to go?”
“I need to shake this bogey first.”
“Once I know where you’re going it will help me get you headed in the right direction and we’ll shake your tail feather. Now, where do you need to go? I’m pulling up my maps right now so we can get you, Evie, and that judge back to us ASAP.”
Buzz was at his best in this element, and Santo knew it. But Santo worried about how Evie would respond to the way he knew things were about to play out. Much to his surprise, she seemed nonplussed, and, without hesitating, rattled off Judge Mitchell’s home address from memory. After a short pause, Buzz began to bark off a variety of turns for them to make, and Santo would gun it whenever they had a straight-away for a distance. Within ten minutes, their tail had disappeared.
Santo let out his breath slowly. “Nice shake of the tail feather.” He glanced over at Evie and took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles before focusing on the road again. “Now, let’s get to that address.”
“You realize you’re headed the wrong way to get out of town, right? This goes against all logic.”
“Judge Mitchell wasn’t at the courthouse. We’re hoping to find her at home. If not, we may be on the road trying to catch her before the bad guys.”
“Not good.”
It took them longer to reach Judge Mitchell’s address than he wanted, due to the debris, wind, and rain. Santo stopped the truck two houses down from the judge’s home, thanked Buzz, and disconnected the call. He sat in silence, studying the house. Evie sat silently next to him, but he felt her presence so distinctly she might as well have been pressed against his side. He could smell her light perfume and the lovely scent of blooming crape myrtles that never failed to make him feel light-headed.
He looked over at her and saw the questions on her face. He glanced back at the house, then at Evie. “Is that her mini-van in the driveway?”
“Yes. I don’t understand. She should have left by now.”
“And that car?”
“Her husband’s. They should be gone. They were going to leave as soon as she got home earlier today. Maybe they decided to stay through the storm.”
Santo’s gut told him otherwise. When he saw movement in the window on the secon
d floor, he knew he had made the right decision to park a safe distance from the house. His instincts told him danger lurked inside. Whether Judge Mitchell or anyone in her family still lived remained to be seen, but he didn’t feel very optimistic. Frowning, he reached for his sniper rifle in the back seat when he saw movement again. His instincts went from humming loudly with suspicion to screaming alarms.
* * *
Evie watched Santo with fascination. Living on ranches her entire life, she had a lot of familiarity with guns. But the way Santo moved with his made it seem like an extension of his body. She wanted to ask questions, but there were far more important things happening.
“Something isn’t right. I don’t see their guard anywhere. I don’t see them, either.” He continued staring through his scope and she saw his jaw clench. “Someone’s on the second floor.” He spoke softly and adjusted his scope. “It doesn’t look like a fifteen-year-old boy. Doesn’t look like her husband either. Shit! We may be too late.” He frowned deeply. “She only has one kid, right? Did she say anyone else would be coming with her when they left?”
Evie swallowed hard. “No. She said the rest of the neighborhood had already left and her family needed to rush to get out, too.”
“He’s got a gun and he certainly isn’t a guard. I don’t think a friend of the judge would be armed.” His voice dropped down even softer, barely even a whisper, and Evie mouthed a silent prayer for the judge and her family to be safe.
He pulled back from the scope for a moment, his forehead creasing in confusion, before looking through the scope again. “Whoever is in the house isn’t worried about anyone looking inside and watching whatever they are doing. The curtains are open on the first and second floors. I don’t see the Mitchell family anywhere.”
“They can’t be dead. They can’t be.”
“We don’t know what has or hasn’t happened in that house. But if they’re in danger, we need to move fast to help them. I want you to stay low and get out of the truck. Stay crouched down near the front, but don’t go any further than the bumper, and remain crouched down. Make sure no one can see you over the hood of the truck.”
Protected in His Arms: Elite Texas SEALs Page 20
