Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #1

by Margaret Daley

  “I’ll see you later?”

  Elise nodded. “Be careful.”

  The door shut, and he was gone. Elise sighed, glanced at Hailey and opened her mouth to say something.

  The front door opened. Jonah strode back in, his gaze determined as he walked right up to her. Right into her space.

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  SEVENTEEN

  Jonah sat in the passenger seat while Fix drove out of town, along the highway that stretched east toward Idaho. He fought for focus, but every so often he remembered the feel of Elise’s lips against his, and his mouth curved in a smile.

  Fix, on the other hand, was hardly smiling. Elise’s brother’s hands shook the whole time he gripped the wheel. After an hour, he pulled off onto a dirt road.

  Fix had attached a closed trailer to the back of his truck, and Jonah was anxious to get on with the evening’s main event. They were going to meet one of the trader’s associates, and then transport the animals to the possession of the trader so he could take them out of town.

  It should be a simple handoff, but Jonah had to stay alert. So much could go awry.

  For now they were in Fix’s truck that smelled like takeout fries. Jonah pulled out his phone and turned the brightness all the way down. It was how his team was keeping track of his GPS location, but he didn’t need it ringing, so he turned it to vibrate.

  A voice came through the earpiece hidden by his hair—which made the itchy mullet slightly more bearable, he had to admit. “Can I get a microphone check?”

  Jonah said to Fix, “You ever meet this guy before, the trader’s associate?”

  Fix shook his head.

  Through the earpiece, Jonah heard, “I read you loud and clear.”

  Elise’s brother pulled to the side of the road. “Never seen the guy, but I’ve spoken to him on the phone. Don’t know who he is, but he ain’t young.”

  “This where we meet him?”

  Fix nodded.

  The earpiece voice said, “Perimeter has been established, we are now going radio silent.”

  Jonah had no clue where, in the middle of nowhere on a tiny dirt lane surrounded by trees, an entire team of marshals was hiding. A helicopter was way too noisy, and obvious. Any vehicle on this road would stick out, and potentially scare away the trader’s associate whom they were meeting. Likely the response time would be closer to a minute than seconds. He’d have to be on his guard, but that was what operations like this one entailed. The danger was clear, and the chance he could be outed as a federal agent was high.

  Headlights in the side mirrors.

  Fix cracked his door, so Jonah did the same. The hair and hat covered a lot of his face, but his features still showed. Hopefully whoever this was, he wasn’t prevalent in the community, because he’d know exactly who Jonah was.

  He kept his head down as the truck—considerably newer than Fix’s—pulled up alongside theirs, so the trailers were side by side. A heavy door slammed, and the man strode around the back of the trailer. The face under the ball cap was shadowed, but Jonah saw stubbled cheeks belonging to a man probably in his seventies. Lean, but not taller than Jonah. Green army jacket, just as Elise had described of the flash of her attacker before she’d fallen out the window.

  Was this the man who’d shot at her by his mailbox, the man who tried to stab her?

  Jonah’s hands curled into fists. He stayed beside the trailer and pulled out his phone, out of sight, typing a message with the license plate of the truck and a note about it possibly being Elise’s attacker.

  The man cracked his trailer door open. “You boys ready to haul all this? There’s a beast in here, so you’ll be glad there’s two of you.” His words were chatty, but his tone was anything but.

  The voice was graveled, but it did sound somewhat familiar. Still, in the dark it wasn’t hard for either of them to hide who they really were.

  Jonah kept Fix between him and the trader’s associate while they hauled three cages of tiny monkeys, two birds huddled together and a thing that looked like a small brown leopard, but without the spots.

  “That one bites.”

  Jonah glanced over and saw the man was grinning.

  “Just kidding.”

  They stowed the cages in Fix’s trailer, which smelled like animal waste. Except when they’d asked prior to tonight, he claimed he’d never done this before. What else had Fix lied about?

  “One more.”

  Jonah strode back to the other trailer and looked inside. At the very back was a huge cage with a sleeping… Shera? The tiger Elise was supposed to catch tomorrow morning was seemingly asleep right in front of him.

  “That one’ll kill ya soon as look at ya.”

  Maybe. Four hundred pounds wasn’t anything to sneeze at—Elise had explained—but it was old and blind. Did it even have teeth?

  He climbed in and tried not to look scared as he moved toward the tiger.

  Behind him, Fix laughed. “I’ll let you do the honors, dude.”

  “Thanks.” Jonah rolled his eyes. He hauled on the cage, sliding it. The scraping sound was loud in the close confines of the trailer. He stopped, but the animal didn’t move. In the beam of the trader’s flashlight he saw Shera’s nose twitch, and then the visible breath as she blew out hot air into the cold night.

  Please, God, do not let her wake up.

  They were going to have to lift the cage if they wanted to get it from one trailer to the other. Could the two of them even manage it?

  He lifted his end while Fix did the same. When they’d set the cage inside Fix’s trailer, the trader’s associate said, “You have the address where you’re taking these?”

  Fix patted his pocket. “Got it right here.”

  Elise’s brother was supposed to drive the animals to the Idaho border, where they’d meet up with the trader. Evidently the man was getting ready to move his operation east, out of state, since things were getting too heated around here.

  Jonah just had to catch him before that happened.

  “Great.” The trader’s associate lifted his chin, and moonlight shone on his face.

  It was Jonah’s neighbor. The old soldier. He’d wondered if Tucker could have been behind the shooting, but his neighbor had claimed an alibi—one the police were supposed to have checked out.

  Before Jonah could react, Tucker pulled a Glock with a silencer from behind his back and shot Fix. The muted sound was followed by the thud of Fix hitting the ground.

  Jonah crouched to retrieve the revolver from his ankle holster. Tucker swung his leg out in a kick, which Jonah shifted to avoid. He rolled to the side, coming up with his gun out in front of him. They both fired.

  The trader flew backward, as did Jonah. He saw stars spread across the sky, and the cloud of his breath puffing out as he tried to breathe against the ache of a bullet hitting his vest. His gun was out of his hand. He shouldn’t have let go of it when he fell back, but he couldn’t do anything about that now. Was the trader dead?

  Jonah looked around for his gun, listening for Tucker’s footsteps.

  A twig snapped.

  Tucker kicked Jonah in the ribs. Jonah didn’t see a gun.

  He jumped up, ignoring the weight of the bruise pressing on his chest. His fist made contact with Tucker’s jaw. The wig shifted, throwing hair across his vision. Tucker kicked out again, a vicious roundhouse. Fire shot through Jonah’s ribs, but he stood his ground and threw punch after punch.

  Tucker grunted and hit back. The man was strong, even at seventy. There was no way he’d let his military training go. This man was too accurate for that.

  But Jonah didn’t like losing.

  Tucker stumbled back, turning. Jonah readied himself for another punch, but Tucker turned, swinging something in his grip.

  The rotten tree limb shattered against Jonah’s skull, and he hit the ground.

  *

  Hailey’s phone rang.

  Elise cut off what she’d been abou
t to say and let her answer it. She really liked the female marshal, and they’d been sharing stories of being a single mom. Despite the differences in their kids, and their situations, there were a lot of similarities.

  Hailey got up from the couch and put the phone to her ear as she strode toward the hall. “Shelder.”

  Sam got up off the rug where he’d been snoozing and came to sit beside her. He whined.

  “What is—”

  The front door blew in.

  Elise got up off the couch as Hailey went flying. The marshal hit the ground, and her phone landed three feet beyond her, shattering on Jonah’s tile floor. Hailey groaned, her eyes searching the room until they locked on Elise. “Run.”

  Elise didn’t hesitate. Closest to her was the stairs. She didn’t think, she just bounded up, followed by Sam.

  A boom of noise and the step below her shattered, blasting splinters everywhere. Sam? The dog ran past her, as though he’d decided to lead the way instead of following.

  Smoke laced the air, and she coughed, her legs screaming with the strain of taking huge steps. She hit the upstairs landing and stumbled, turning right just as the wall at the top of the stairs was hit with another shotgun blast.

  Debris showered the hall as she sprinted after Sam—for Jonah’s bedroom. She slammed the door shut even though it wasn’t much protection against those huge rounds. A phone was beside his bed. She snatched the handset from the base and dialed. There was no tone.

  She pressed the buttons, frantic to make it work, but it didn’t.

  Sam went to the window and barked.

  Gunshots from downstairs rang out. They were answered by another blast from the shotgun. Who was chasing her? God, don’t let Hailey get hurt because of me.

  Hailey was still down there. How badly was she injured? Elise didn’t hear any more gunshots. Was she dead? Was this guy going to finally kill her, after making Hailey another statistic of a federal agent shot while on duty?

  Footsteps bounded toward the bedroom door.

  Elise ran for the window, flipped the latch and slid it open. The cold air chilled the sweat of exertion. How could she help Hailey?

  The bedroom door flew open and a man with a shotgun stepped in, swinging it one way and then the other. She didn’t wait around to see who it was.

  Sam jumped out the window. She heard his nails scrabble on the roof overhang above the porch. Elise jumped after him. She hit the porch roof, rolled and slammed against the ground. Pain shot up to her hips and Sam barked.

  “Shhh.” She forced herself to stand without crying out at the pain and followed him. This guy had tried to kill her so many times over the past few days that there was just no way she’d let him get away with it now. They had to get out of there.

  God, keep Hailey safe.

  The man bellowed out the window. Elise ran after Sam, the only light coming from Jonah’s downstairs windows. Jonah’s house wasn’t close to anything else, his closest neighbor on the hill. The neighbor’s ranch lights were on. Should she head there to call for help? Should she hide in the barn?

  Someone grabbed her. “Elise.”

  It was Parker. Elise forced herself to quit struggling against his grip.

  “Let’s go.”

  She went with him, allowing him to drag her along faster than she could run. Around the house they headed toward the back door. Sam glanced back as if to spur them on. “Is Hailey okay?”

  “She’s doing her job. She’ll catch up.”

  “To us, or the guy with the shotgun?”

  She’d have met him on the stairs if she’d come up after him, and he hadn’t come out the window. “Is Jonah okay? What’s happening?”

  Parker yanked on her arm. “You’re giving away our position with your chatter.” He scanned the area, then reached up and touched a button on his collar. His voice was low when he said, “Go ahead.”

  His gaze never stilled, and he repeatedly shifted her so she was behind him. Sam spun in circles, watching every direction for an intruder. Man and dog never stopped moving, and it made Elise’s head spin. Her legs were screaming with each movement, but she didn’t think she was badly injured beyond bumps and bruises—to go with the passel of injuries she already had.

  When was she going to be able to get some rest?

  “Copy that.”

  She looked at Parker. “What now?”

  “Jonah was ambushed. The team is on-scene, but he’s already gone. The trader’s associate took him in Fix’s truck with the animals.”

  So he was alive? “And Fix?”

  “Your brother is in critical condition. He’s been airlifted to the hospital.”

  She felt it so strongly, the blow was almost physical. “If Jonah’s in danger, why are you here with me? Go and help him!”

  Parker’s eyebrow rose.

  “What are you just standing here for?”

  The former SEAL grabbed her arm and hauled her along.

  Elise gasped. “Where’s Nathan? You were supposed to be keeping him safe. Where is he?”

  “Your son is fine. He’s at the marshal’s office for the night since everyone’s on duty.” Parker glanced at the night sky, like he was praying for patience.

  “We have to go back and help Hailey.”

  He almost looked as if he agreed, but then he said, “Marshal Shelder can take care of herself, and backup is on its way.”

  A shotgun blast echoed through the house, followed by a woman crying out.

  Elise nearly burst with the need to go help, even though she didn’t know how she was supposed to do that.

  “Okay.” Parker leaned in close. “Run to the barn.” He clicked the button on his throat, the one connected to his earpiece. “I’m doubling back for Shelder.”

  He looked at her. “Go. Now.”

  Elise didn’t wait around. She wanted him to go and help Hailey. Pumping her arms and legs—again—Elise ran for the safety of the barn. The man hadn’t come out of the house, right? She’d be safe there.

  But what was happening to Jonah?

  The catalyst of all this was her. This job. Her return to town. She’d set all this in motion, hadn’t she? It sure felt that way. Jonah wouldn’t even be involved if it wasn’t for her. He’d have turned the investigation over to the local police and moved on to the next case.

  Once again she’d said goodbye to a man and watched him go…to his death.

  God, why am I so selfish?

  She’d wanted this to be over so badly she’d pushed aside the reality of Jonah being in danger. Sure, he didn’t have a “safe” job, but he’d lasted this long because he was good at it. If he got hurt tonight, would he blame her for this, too?

  Elise crept into the barn. It was pitch-black, and smelled like a car garage but with an undertone of hay and animals. Hands out in front of her, she felt her way along the outside edge with tentative steps. Still, twice she walked her shin into something. Finally Elise hissed, and stopped.

  Sam whined. Apparently he didn’t like the dark, either. Did he feel the way she did about spiders? Big animals she could handle, but tiny ones with a million crawly legs? No way.

  Parker would make sure Hailey was okay, then he’d come here and get her. It was dark, and she didn’t have to hide so much as just crouch behind something. Whoever had the shotgun wasn’t going to find her.

  The pump action was deafening, echoing in the old barn.

  A light flicked on. Brightness filled Elise’s gaze, blinding her.

  “Gotcha.”

  EIGHTEEN

  The truck jerked to a stop, and Jonah cracked his eyes open to find it was completely dark. Was he in the trailer? Mashed up against a cage, hot air that smelled like raw eggs blasted against his face. He tried to move, and pain shot through his side. He groaned, and the animal replied.

  “Nice…whatever you are.”

  Shera? He hoped not, but at least the thing was in the cage.

  Jonah couldn’t move away from the animal, tucked as
he was in there, tight between two cages with his head by the door. At least as far as he could tell from the way the truck had stopped and the cold air on his neck, presumably from a bad seal in the trailer’s door, he’d been thrown in feetfirst. He couldn’t decide which he preferred—cold air from outside or warm tiger breath that smelled.

  His hands were tied behind his back, his earpiece had been removed. The wig and beanie were who knew where. His phone—the only way the marshals would know where he was—didn’t feel like it was in his back pocket. He tried to reach down with his hands and find out for sure, but didn’t have the room to arch his back enough to twist and check both back pockets.

  The truck door slammed.

  Jonah tensed. Had he ever been in a situation worse than this? Stripped of his weapons, up against someone who could very well best him.

  He heard Shera back away and lie still while the trailer door swung open and a shaft of light from outside hit his closed eyelids. Was it morning already?

  Hands slipped under Jonah’s armpits and hauled him out onto the ground. Jonah slammed against the earth and opened his eyes. They were inside a lit barn, the trailer backed nearly all the way in the door so there was no way anyone outside would be able to see what his neighbor was off-loading.

  Where were they? It looked like a normal ranch, but whose?

  His neighbor turned, both his hands gripping the barrel of his gun. Was he going to shoot Jonah right here? Jonah didn’t especially like the idea of bleeding out onto a dirt floor, all alone. He wanted…

  Elise.

  And Nathan.

  He wanted the chance to live in the way he’d never lived before—a full life with family and laughter. A wife. Kids of his own.

  Love.

  If it wasn’t too late, Jonah was going to do everything in his power to convince her to take a chance on them. But first, he had to get out of here alive.

  “Back up.”

  Jonah twisted so Tucker could see his hands, tied behind him.

  Tucker didn’t look impressed. He motioned Jonah back with the gun. “Scoot.”

  Jonah inched back, cataloguing his aches and pains. Fresh bumps and bruises made themselves known, but Jonah kept his face impassive. He’d been shot in the stomach, weeks ago. He had no desire to repeat the experience.