by Desiree Holt
Just in case there was any doubt, Marc thought.
“Here.” He took a fresh gelpak out of the tote he was holding. “Change this for the one you’re using. And there’s more in the bag.” He handed her the bag and looked around. “I wish we had some place for you to sit.”
“I’m good. Really.”
“The sheriff’s deputy is here. He’ll want to talk to me and I don’t want you to be in the middle of it.”
“I’ll have to talk to him sooner or later, won’t I? You can be sure he’ll have questions for me.” She gave a slightly hysterical little laugh. “I’m fine, Marc. Truly.”
He studied her for a long moment. “You are one of the bravest people I’ve ever met. And most courageous. Okay, but let’s wait until Slade gets here. Hold the ice on your face. I’ll be back in a few.”
The deputy was speaking to the medical personnel as Marc walked up to him.
“Deputy Al Gorham,” he said by way of introduction. “You want to hand me that gun I see in your pocket?”
Before Marc could say anything, Kitty Lester, who kept glancing into the ambulance, shook her head.
“Al, it’s not him. He’s not one of them.” She pointed to Nikki’s car. “His girlfriend was hurt by them, too.”
“You doing okay, Kitty?” Concern was evident in Al’s voice. “The paramedics need to get John to the hospital right away, even though they said they don’t think his wound is life-threatening, thank the lord. You gonna ride with them?”
“Yes, if I can.” She clasped her hands. “Thank you so much, Al.”
“Of course. Anything you need, just let me know. Can you tell me in just a few words what happened? I’ll get someone to the hospital after to get more details.”
She wiped away her tears. “John heard something in the driveway and went out to check. The next thing I knew, I heard a shot, ran out to see what was happening and John was lying on the ground, bleeding. Whoever those men are, they were driving off in John’s car. That’s when this gentleman here came racing up.”
The deputy gave Marc a thorough head-to-toe look. “That so? Okay, Kitty, you go on and get in the ambulance.”
He exchanged a few more words with the paramedics. Then the ambulance took off with sirens screaming and he turned back to Marc.
“I don’t recognize you, so how about telling me who you are and what you’re doing in the middle of this mess in my county.”
“Marc Blanchard.” He shook hands with the deputy, then drew Nikki close to him. “This is my girlfriend, Nikki Alvarez. We’re staying in the first cottage at the lake.” He pointed. “A friend made the arrangements for us.”
Gorham gave her an assessing look. “Someone did a number on your face. Can you tell me about that?” He glanced at Marc. “Was it your boyfriend here?”
“Oh, no.” She shook her head while Marc did his best not to punch the deputy’s lights out. “He would never hurt me.”
Marc swallowed his irritation. “She was just checked out by the ambulance crew. She’s got a swollen jaw and some swelling and bruises but otherwise they didn’t hurt her.”
“So why’d they take you?”
“To remove a bullet from the leg of one of their guys.” She explained about them seeing her the day before with her nurse’s T-shirt. “Plus, they didn’t have any transportation. They grabbed me this morning as I was heading out to that little restaurant up there at the crossroads. They never said what had happened.”
Marc filled in the rest, including how the men had escaped.
The sheriff looked at the car and frowned. “Damn thing’s shot all to hell. You do that?”
Marc nodded. “They came from the cottage just down the lake from us. The guys in the vehicle ducked just low enough that I missed them, though. And by the time I got to the house here they’d just taken off in the Lesters’ car.”
“I’ll need to ask you more about this, but let me make sure one of my deputies is on the way to see Kitty at the hospital. I know she’s pretty shook up, but I want to get what she remembers while it’s still fresh in her mind. Hold on because I have more questions for you.”
He keyed the radio on his shoulder and spoke briefly to someone.
Marc organized his next words in his mind. He had to tell the deputy about the dead guy in his front yard, but he knew that would bring up a whole other complicated set of circumstances.
“Now.” Gorham turned back to him. “What else can you add to this?”
“Not all of them got away. There’s a dead body lying in front of our cottage. The idiots who got away apparently sent him to take me out.”
Gorham’s eyebrows arched almost to his hairline. “A dead body? Shit. You kind of buried the lede there, didn’t you?”
“I thought we should take care of the Lesters first. Anyway, it was the guy’s bad luck that I’m Delta Force, so his chances weren’t very good.”
A look of respect swept over his face. “Delta Force, huh? I remember you guys from when I was in Afghanistan. But a dead body? This is turning into some kind of asshole clusterfuck, I’ll tell you.”
“No kidding.” Especially if these men might be connected to what they’d been asking about in Niger. “Listen, I have a friend coming any minute to help. In fact”—he looked up—“I think he’s here now.”
He spotted the familiar dot of a helicopter approaching from the southeast. Gorham looked up also.
“Who the hell did you call that’s arriving in a helo? Is there something I should know here?”
“My team leader. As soon as they land, I’m sure he’ll answer any questions you have that he can.”
Gorham stared at him. “What the hell is going on here?”
Marc said nothing, just watched as the helicopter set down in the big space on the other side of the Lesters’ house. The blades were still spinning when the cabin door opened and Slade jumped out. Marc swallowed a smile. His lieutenant was dressed in his Army fatigues and combat boots. Aviator shades covered his eyes and he wore his Glock on his hip. Marc’s eyes widened a little more when a second figure hopped out and stood next to Slade. He’d thought Beau Williams was tucked up for the week with his girlfriend, but apparently Slade had pulled him into this.
Then every muscle in Marc’s body tightened. What did Slade learn about our unexpected companions on the lake?
Chapter Eight
Slade walked up to them, Beau not far behind. He brought our sniper? What the fuck? A bad feeling, that he’d been right in his assessment of the situation settled in Marc’s stomach.
“And you are?” Gorham asked in a tone edged with hostility.
Slade reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a thin holder that held his Army identification.
“Lt. Slade Donovan. Delta Force. I am Sgt. Blanchard’s team leader.”
Gorham turned to Marc. “Blanchard, you mind telling me what the fuck is going on around here? You called this guy. You know what this is about?”
Marc started to answer, but Slade cut him off and looked at Marc. “Did you tell him the rest of it?”
“About the dead body? Yeah.” Marc shrugged. “I was waiting for you to get here to take him over there.”
Gorham frowned. “Why wait?”
“I thought it was more important to get the Lesters taken care of first. This guy isn’t going anywhere, and he’s part of the group that shot John Lester.”
“I need to get someone else out here with me.” Gorham spoke into the radio on his shoulder. They could hear the staticky exchange. Then Gorham nodded. “I put out an All Points Bulletin on the Lesters’ car, but I did it with a special code we use in case they have something to monitor our system. If anyone spots it, they’ll call our office direct. Also, I just radioed for another deputy. He should be here soon.”
Marc looked at Slade. “Can we put Nikki in the chopper? She needs to sit and to keep that ice on her cheek.”
“I’m good, Marc,” Nikki protested. “Please.”
> “Listen to him, Nikki.” Slade’s voice was kind but firm. “You’ve been through a harrowing experience. You don’t need to tramp around with us and you certainly don’t need to look at a dead body.”
“Please,” Marc added. “I’m only thinking of you. We still have work to do today and you don’t need to be in the middle of it.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath. “I think I’d like to sit, anyway.”
Slade stayed with Gorham while Marc walked Nikki over to the helo and introduced her to Slade’s ranch foreman.
“Nikki, meet Teo, if you haven’t already.”
The man grinned at her and reached down to help her up into the cabin.
“You’re much prettier than Slade and Beau. I’ll even share my coffee with you.”
As soon as Marc was satisfied she was okay, he rejoined Slade and Gorham.
“Blanchard, can you give us a description of these guys?”
“I only saw two of them, but yeah. Nikki saw all of them, so she can probably tell you more. Then we need to make some decisions on how to handle this.”
“This has to do with who those guys really are, doesn’t it?” he guessed.
Slade nodded. “I am so pissed at a friend of mine I could spit nails. Let’s get this taken care of first.”
Gorham studied both Marc and Slade for a long moment. “Okay. You want to tell me what the fuck is going on around here? Why you arrived in a damn helicopter, wearing battle fatigues? And who this guy is?” He pointed at Beau.
Slade had his battle-ready face on. What the hell?
“He’s another member of our team. I wasn’t sure what we’d run into here, and there are things I am not at liberty to tell you.” He glanced at Marc. “What began as a little vacation for my sergeant here and his lady has turned into an incident of national security. There are some calls I had to make and I’ve been told to put a lid on everything. You said you put out an APB on the car, but that’s it. If and when you locate it, let me know right away.”
He gave his cell number to the deputy, who just stared at him.
“I’m responsible for the safety of the people in my county,” he protested. “Whatever this is, I’ll give you all the help you need, but I need to be dialed in.”
“Understood.”
Gorham looked as if he still had something more to say, but he just nodded. “I’ll take care of it.” He started to walk toward his car, then turned back. “And by the way, did I mention I was in the Army? Two tours in Afghanistan before I came home to a quieter life, so I can help and I can keep my mouth shut.”
The tension in Slade’s body eased a little.
“Good. I promise I’ll tell you what I can and do my best to keep your people safe. Are you going over this place?”
Gorham nodded. “I’ll start as soon as my deputy gets here. We’ll do a full check, both at the Lesters’ and the cottage they were using, although I don’t think we’ll find much.”
“But if it’s all the same to you,” Slade told him, “my men and I want to get a good look at the place where they stayed. We might see things you don’t.” His tone of voice left no room for arguing.
The deputy looked as if he wanted to say something, then just shook his head.
“Okay, then.” Slade turned to Beau, who had been standing quietly by all this time, and to Marc. “Let’s take a look at Nikki’s car first. See if they left anything in it in the short time they used it.”
“Maybe we should have Teo take Nikki to the ranch? Get her out of here?”
Slade shook his head. “First of all, I doubt if she’ll agree to that. Second, the sheriff is going to want to talk to her. See what she can tell them about these men. Besides all that, I need to talk to her myself. Find out what she remembers from being with these guys. Anything she can tell us will help.”
“Fine. But the minute I think there’s danger, she’s outta here. Now. You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“Okay, enough,” Gorham broke in. “What’s this is really all about?” He looked at Beau. “Do you know?”
Beau slid a glance at Slade. “It’s his show.”
A muscle twitched in Slade’s jaw and it was obvious he was weighing his options. How much to tell the deputy, how much to keep back. But as they were both aware, a good relationship with law enforcement partners at every level—state, local, tribal, territorial and campus—was essential to the country’s domestic defense against terrorism. But Marc knew Slade had an uncanny ability to evaluate each person as the situation arose.
Finally, he gave a sharp nod.
“I got hold of Andy Goodrich,” he told them. “He’s actually the one who owns that cottage. He sounded weird the second time I called him. I asked him if he was sure the people in that cottage were seeking asylum and just waiting for a safe house to be available.”
“What did he say?”
“After I threatened him with everything including emasculation, he said it’s actually his business partner’s doing. He doesn’t know much about it, but he was suspicious of the story the guy told him. In fact, it turns out these people came up through Mexico, which puts a whole new light on it.”
Marc felt a chill creep up his spine. “The terrorist training camp.”
Slade nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”
Gorham’s brows nearly hit his hairline. “What the fuck?”
“Keep this under your Stetson,” Slade told him, “but I get the feeling Andy is trying to know as little about this as possible. Anyway, I called a contact at Homeland Security and fuck all anyway. He finally told me they got a tip that something big was planned for the rodeo. That a team was being sent up from that camp in Mexico. Bomb specialists.”
“So, the rumors we got are all true?” Marc’s facial muscles settled into a hard mask. “Fuck.”
“Exactly.” Slade waved at Teo, who nodded back.
“So what happens now?”
“Yeah,” Gorham agreed. “I’d like to know that, too.”
“DHS is sending someone to liaise with the sheriff,” Slade said. “I need to give him a heads up on that and read him in on this.”
“No shit.”
“Let’s do that now. I told my guy I wanted to wait until I got here and got more details about the situation. He gave me an hour to handle it.” He looked at his watch. “And our time’s just about up. Let’s get him on the horn.”
He pulled out his cell and got the number from Gorham, who made the introduction. He was glad the sheriff was also former military and knew what to ask and what to do.
“Okay.” He disconnected the call. “Al, he said to do what we have to here, then haul ass out to his office. As soon as my friend from DHS calls me, I’ll tell him it’s all set and we’ll coordinate.” He turned to Marc. “While we’re here let’s pack up everything you guys left in the cabin. I don’t imagine you’ll want to be coming back here.”
Marc snorted. “You got that right.”
“Sorry to cut your vacation short, but—”
Marc shook his head. “Don’t even say it. Business first. What’s Beau doing here?”
“I’m the backup plan.” Those were the first words Beau had spoken since he’d gotten off the helo. “Just in case.”
“The only one I’d ever want,” Marc told him. “All right. Let’s get to it.”
The three of them rode with Gorham over to the cottage Marc and Nikki had been using. They climbed out of the car and stared down at the body, still on the steps right where it had fallen. They climbed out of the cruiser and both Slade and the deputy snapped several pictures with their cameras.
”Hey!” Gorham picked up a purse and held it with one finger by its strap. “Blanchard, this must belong to your girl.”
“It does. I’m sure she dropped it when she was taken, and no one has looked for it since what happened this morning.”
This morning? Is it still so early? He’d lost all track of time.
They were methodical
as they went about their business, and Marc was glad to see how efficient Gorham was. Shortly a van arrived, bagged the body then went on to the other cottage, the others following. Marc and Slade watched while they dusted and photographed every surface, took pictures and looked in every drawer and closet.
“Looks like someone was hurt.” One of the techs held up a pile of bloody bandages.
“Yeah,” Marc told him. “One of their guys was shot. That’s why they kidnapped my girl. She’s a nurse and they wanted her to get the bullet out.”
The tech whistled. “Jesus. What a mess.”
“No shit.”
When the techs were finished and had left with everything, including the body in a black body bag, Slade and Beau went back to the other cottage to get all the personal stuff.
“I’m guessing you’ll be headed to the sheriff’s office,” Gorham said. “You need a ride or you taking that giant bug out there?”
“Got a place where we can land it?” When the deputy nodded, he said, “Then we’re good.”
Marc packed up all their shit in seconds and dumped it in the cruiser. When they pulled up to the helo again, Gorham turned to Marc.
“I’ll arrange to have your girl’s car towed to the sheriff’s office. He’ll want to have our techs go over it with a fine-tooth comb for fingerprints and anything else we might find in there. Don’t know exactly how she’ll file a claim on it.”
“We’ll take care of it. As soon as we’re done with the sheriff, I’ll take care of a rental and we’ll go from there.”
He could see the deputy struggling with the desire to ask more questions, but he just nodded once.
“Fine. I’ll make the call now to get it towed.”
Marc and Slade hauled the suitcase and duffel to the helo, where Nikki sat huddled in the back seat. She had a blanket wrapped around her and she cradled a thermos cap of hot coffee.
Delayed reaction, Marc thought. She might be big and brave and I admire that, but she’s still human. Today’s stuff isn’t on her everyday menu.
