He was near the cotoneaster shrub a few feet from her main entrance.
She frowned.
His back was to her and she sensed that something was wrong. Just the way he held himself, the way he hadn’t come to her door as soon as he’d arrived. That wasn’t normal. Usually he came immediately to check on her. Something was up.
She thought of stepping out, asking him what was going on, why he was here. But then something else caught her attention. There was a movement in the opposite direction. She caught it from the corner of her eye. She crouched down so the window ledge was now at eye level and she was at the corner of the window frame—out of sight. She watched but the movement didn’t repeat and there was nothing and no one in sight.
Her heart seemed to knock in her rib cage and her hands shook as something intuitive told her that Travis wasn’t the only one on her front lawn. Someone else who he hadn’t seen was there, hidden by shrubbery. Maybe it was the neighbor’s cat, but instinct told her it wasn’t. Her heart thumped at the thought that Travis might be in danger.
Something shifted and nothing was the same. Now she could see who was at the other end of her unit. She could see the top of a faded black hoodie. Whoever they were, they were almost the length of her unit from Travis and they were definitely shadowing him and moving closer. It was also clear the way they kept furtively to the bushes, that they didn’t want to be seen. Obviously, they were up to no good. They were hunched over. And she couldn’t see their face.
The faded black garment was too big and sagged over their frame. Male or female, it was impossible to tell. She backed up from the corner of the window where she’d been peeking out. She bit back the tremor that ran through her. She had to warn Travis and yet she knew that as soon as she opened that front door she’d make his stalker aware of her presence. That might put Travis in as much danger as he was now, maybe more. As she contemplated her choices, the stalker disappeared from sight. Her heart was locked in her throat.
She had to do something. Knocking on the window would alert them both. With Travis at a disadvantage, unaware of whoever was stalking him, that wasn’t the answer. It was up to her to protect him. She didn’t think for a minute of the irony of that thought. Instead, she raced to the table and grabbed the gun. She fumbled with the safety as she hurried to the door. She’d never felt so nervous. Life and death weighed on her shoulders. She could almost hear the pounding of her heart. Her fingers wouldn’t cooperate as they slipped on the lock, finally unlocking it with one hand while holding the gun with the other.
She opened the door and it was then that she saw that she was already too late. Travis’s stalker was to his left, screened by shrubbery. The person had a metal bar raised high over their head and was standing directly behind him but out of his line of vision. Only a few feet separated them.
Everything was happening so fast, too fast. None of it was real and it was occurring in blips of time that were less than seconds and felt so much longer. The metal bar was coming down about to hit Travis’s head. The stalker turned, looking at her as Kiera froze. She knew she didn’t have a clear shot, not one that didn’t run the risk of shooting Travis. In the strange tableau that seemed to be moving slowly through a fog, the hoodie slipped and partially revealed braided gray-streaked black hair and the face of a middle-aged woman.
No! Her scream was silent. Her throat seemed closed, her broken voice frozen in fear. There was only one option. She had to take the woman out. But she had no time to line up the shot. She had to make do with a quick shot, a warning shot and hope it was enough. She held the gun with shaking hands and fired. At the same time, metal flashed; a crowbar or something like it was swinging at Travis’s head.
Travis crumpled to the ground. She fired again but the woman bolted across the lawn and disappeared from sight. It had all happened in seconds and yet it had seemed like forever.
Kiera’s heart was in her throat and tears were in her eyes as she rushed to Travis’s side.
She was too late.
“Travis, no!”
Her cry did nothing. He was dead and her heart broke.
Chapter Thirteen
Kiera dropped to her knees beside Travis.
She was terrified. She feared he was dead. And even if he wasn’t, the danger wasn’t over. She clutched the gun in one shaking hand like it was a lifeline. But, as her aunt had promised so long ago, the gun had been a game changer. She’d scared off his attacker with it, even stopped the attack. Except it hadn’t been enough.
She took a breath, stilling the first rush of fear. Her professional instincts were kicking in. This was a medical emergency and she’d dealt with these before. She couldn’t think the worst. She could only deal with the present. He had to be alive.
She was frozen in place at the thought, the very idea that he might not survive. She needed to check his pulse. She had to take charge of this situation. She took a deep breath as if needing courage before reaching for his wrist. But she’d barely touched it, felt the heat of his skin against hers and she dropped it.
This wasn’t like her. She didn’t hesitate. She’d handled many medical crises in her short career. But this was different. This was Travis. She was scared for the worst and because of that she didn’t want to know the truth. She didn’t want to know that there was no hope. None of that was an excuse. She pushed back into a squat that put inches of space between them.
Your auntie raised no coward.
It was a mantra she’d lived by in the years since her aunt’s funeral. That mantra had seen her through the last few teenage years alone. Without the guidance of her aunt, she’d made the journey to get a profession, become an adult and stand on her own two feet, alone. Now this was on her, on no one else. Whether he was alive or dead, she needed to take care of this. She reached for his wrist and felt for a pulse. The strong beat almost took her breath away.
He was alive.
She was overwhelmed with relief and memories. Only yesterday when she’d teased him. Only a few mornings ago, he’d been with her as they listened to the phone call that had terrified her and threatened her life. She thought of how he’d held her after the first phone call and just before the life-threatening phone call.
He’d been there for her in more ways than he needed to be.
Now he needed help. But he needed more than a nurse-practitioner who had no medical equipment on hand had to offer. As she thought that, a familiar vehicle took the corner onto the driveway too fast and skidded to a stop. Relief flooded through her as Devon leaped out, slammed the car door and bolted up the driveway. His revolver was in both hands, and there was a look of intense determination on his face as the gun moved left and right as if trolling for danger.
“He was attacked,” she said. “By someone with a metal bar.”
Devon had both hands on his gun, ready for anything.
“Where are they?”
“Disappeared around the house.”
Devon holstered the gun and was down on his knees beside her.
“Is he...?”
“He’s alive and his pulse is strong,” she broke in before he could ask the question that had only so recently terrified her. “He was hit on the back of the head.”
“How the hell did this happen?” Devon asked. “The area was clear before I left.”
She shook her head and stood up. She had no answers. She hardly knew herself what had happened. She only knew what she’d seen.
“Where did they come from?”
“From that direction,” she pointed in the opposite direction. “I caught a glimpse from the window.” Her voice choked but she pushed on. “There was no chance to warn him.” There was more. There was one detail that could change everything. She held back, not sure how Devon or even Travis would react.
“I was too late,” she said instead with honest and sincere regret.
She
shivered. The air was cool and hinted at the possibility of rain.
Devon reached down and took Travis’s phone from his back pocket.
Kiera’s legs felt suddenly weak. She dropped to her knees beside Travis.
“Thanks, Serene, I’ll keep you posted.” Devon finished his conversation and squatted down beside Kiera. “I’m going to make sure the area is clear. Serene has an ambulance on the way. You’re alright here?”
She nodded and barely glanced up as Devon left them.
“Travis,” she whispered in his ear as she bent close to him. She barely knew him and yet she knew that it would tear out her heart to lose him.
She felt along his skull, feeling for injury and also noticing the soft texture of his hair. It was short, cropped off not in a stylish way, but one that was practical, one that fit his profession. Her hand went as far to the back as it could, her fingers gently probing. She felt what she presumed was blood. She pulled her hand free. Head wounds tended to bleed profusely. Her hand was bloody. But that told her only what she already knew, that he’d been hit on the back of the head. He could have a concussion. The seriousness of that could only be determined by medical tests like an X-ray.
She stood up, swinging around at the sound of footsteps behind her.
“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Devon said. He looked down at Travis. “I don’t understand what happened. Did he scare off the intruder before?”
“No,” Kiera interrupted him. “He never saw his attacker.”
“Never saw—Then how?”
“There was an intruder, armed with a steel bar,” Kiera said breathlessly, barely looking at him before turning back to Travis.
“How long ago?”
“A minute, maybe two,” she replied. “Whoever it was disappeared. I think they went around the corner of the condo. I’m not sure. I...” Her voice broke.
“I fired a couple of shots but I was too late. The stalker snuck up on him.” She looked at the gun with regret. “I never got a clear shot. My shots may have scared them off. I don’t know.”
“Good work.”
Relief flooded through Kiera at the sound of Travis’s voice. It was husky and quieter than she knew it to be. It didn’t matter. He was not only alive but conscious.
“Ouch,” he said as he sat up. His hand went to the back of his head and came back, as hers had, smeared with blood.
“Crap, you’re bleeding, man,” Devon said.
“What the hell happened?” Travis asked.
“You were hit on the back of the head,” Kiera said. “They snuck up behind you.”
“That explains it,” he said in a dry tone that in another situation might be an attempt at humor. “My head hurts like it’s about to explode.”
“We’ll get you to the hospital,” Kiera said. She took his arm as if she might help him up.
“No!” He pulled away. “No,” he repeated less forcefully.
“There’s an ambulance en route,” Kiera said.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Once you’re looked at, maybe,” she replied.
“Unbelievable, this shouldn’t have happened,” Devon said. “I should have been here.”
“You couldn’t have known,” she said. “No one did.”
“Someone could have,” Travis snarled as he struggled to his feet. “Where were you?” he asked glaring at Devon.
“The area was secure. At least I thought so,” Devon said. “I screwed up.”
“You’re not kidding,” Travis took a step forward, the look on his face like he was going to punch the other man.
Kiera grabbed Travis’s arm. “We misjudged. I told him to go, to take a break. He’s allowed breaks. I remember you saying so.”
“No, Kiera. This is on me,” Devon said.
“No,” Kiera said. “It isn’t. It was my choice, my insistence. I felt comfortable and I’m not about to run and you knew it. That was the only reason you were here, to make sure I didn’t run. At least that’s what I thought until now.”
“Where were you?” Travis asked Devon. “A break is one thing man, but you were gone a lot longer. You were out of contact. You...”
“Completely and totally screwed up. I dropped my phone and didn’t know it was missing. And by the time I realized it I’d already ordered my lunch. The food was delayed...”
“Let me get this straight,” he interrupted. “You waited for your food rather than get your ass back here for your phone.”
“Travis, please. It’s alright. I’m not going anywhere. You know that. It’s not his fault,” Kiera pleaded. “No one could have predicted an intruder...”
The scowl on Devon’s face said otherwise. She wished that she could ease the guilt that she knew he was feeling. While he hadn’t spent the time with her that Travis had, she liked him.
“Damn it, I hold you responsible, but I blame myself as well,” Travis said. “It was my call. I told you to take breaks.”
“I took a break as you’d agreed and I was gone longer than I’d said,” Devon replied. “A lot longer. And dropping the phone...”
“Was a major screwup,” Travis replied.
“I found it after you left,” Kiera added.
“There’s nothing I can say except it won’t happen again,” Devon said.
“It better not,” Travis replied. “You reported it?”
“I did. The least I could do considering...” Devon said. “You’d be right to have me removed from the case.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Travis said. “You called it in? I thought your phone was missing.”
“I borrowed yours and notified Serene of the incident. Catch,” Devon said as he tossed the phone.
Travis caught it easily in one hand.
Devon glanced at Kiera with a crooked grin. “I think our boy might be right. He’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” Kiera said. She agreed that his eye-hand coordination seemed unaffected.
“Is the area clear?” Travis asked.
“Yeah,” Devon replied. “I checked inside and nothing around her unit, front or back. I just did a cursory of the outside, but I’m going to take another look at the perimeter,” Devon said to Travis. He headed across the lawn, widening the scope of his first search.
Kiera struggled to hold back tears. He could have died. She could have died. Death had again stared her in the face. Worse, it had almost taken him from her. She didn’t know if she could have survived that.
“Kiera?” His voice was softer, deeper than normal. It was as if speaking was an effort. And she imagined, considering what had happened, that it was. And yet he was still in the game, only minutes after taking a blow to the head.
She pushed a stray hair off her face as if that would focus her mind where it needed to be. And yet she didn’t want to go there. She didn’t know if she had the courage to go there. It was terrifying. For that place brought forth other possibilities. Like who and what his attacker might have been and why they were here at her condo. Had Travis just been in the way? Had they been trying to get to her? Was she a danger to everyone she knew and everyone she cared about?
Travis sat down. Sweat gleamed on his forehead.
“You need to stay seated and let your head clear,” she said and couldn’t help the chastising tone of her voice. She was relieved to put her attention, at least temporarily, to medical matters.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her down toward him. “I’ll be fine,” he said with steel in his voice. He pulled her closer. His hand was hot against her wrist. There was a hint of the shaving cream he’d used that morning that seemed to curl around her. The scent of him reminded her of early morning and lemons.
The grounds were quiet. Devon was coming around the corner. He was on the opposite side of her unit. And from the look on his face, he hadn’t fou
nd any more information than they already had.
Travis ran the back of his palm across his forehead. “Did you see anything else? Anything?”
The questions were a relief to Kiera. For despite the fact that he was conscious and speaking, she didn’t know how badly he was injured. A head injury was always frightening. His questions showed that he was not only aware of what happened, but that the hit on the head hadn’t scrambled his brains.
“It all happened so quickly. You could have died. I should have...”
“You should have done nothing more than you already did. Without you I’d be dead.”
She shook her head. “I should have shot sooner. I should have...”
“You probably didn’t have a clear shot and you’re not a marksman, so you waited,” Travis said. “Understandable. But despite all that, you saved my life. If you hadn’t been there, I would have been dead. There’s no question of that. Don’t doubt yourself. I can only say thank you.”
“Don’t thank me...”
“There’s no one else to thank. I’m not sure how or what happened, how I missed it. But I’m alive because of you.”
“If I’d...”
“Stop.” He held up a hand. “Tell me what you saw but no more about it being your fault. It’s not.” He paused as if for emphasis. “You did everything you could.”
Kiera took a deep breath. “She hit you in the back of the head. It looked like she used a crowbar. That’s my best guess. The sun was glinting and making it hard to see.”
“She?” Devon said. He’d just returned from his search of the area. “Are you suggesting that his attacker was female?”
She swallowed back all the resistance and pushback that she knew was to come. It was time to stand her ground, speak of what she knew. “Yes. A woman, middle-aged. I caught a glimpse of her face.”
“Where are you going with this?” Travis asked.
“Don’t you see? There’s a connection between my kidnapping, the phone calls and this.” Kiera said with determination and frustration lacing her voice. “There were two killers, exactly as I told you. And one of them is back to get me.”
Wanted By The Marshal (American Armor Book 1) Page 10
