Laying Down the Law

by Delores Fossen

  This nightmare wasn’t over. It was just beginning.

  “Try to level your breathing,” Cord told her. “I don’t want you to hyperventilate.”

  Since she was very close to doing just that, Karina tried to slow down her breathing. Tried to steady her heartbeat, too. She wasn’t very successful at doing either.

  “Jericho should be here any minute,” Cord assured her.

  She wasn’t sure if that was wishful thinking or if he’d gotten confirmation of that when he’d used the ambulance’s radio. Karina certainly didn’t hear any sirens.

  But then she also didn’t hear their attacker taunting them.

  “Is he still out there?” she asked, and wasn’t aware she was holding her breath until her lungs started to ache.

  Cord didn’t jump to answer her. He continued to look around. “I don’t see him. That doesn’t mean he’s not there.”

  True. “You’ll have to warn Jericho.” She didn’t want the sheriff driving into a trap.

  “He knows,” Cord assured her. He shifted his position, lifting his head.

  And then he cursed.

  He drew in several more breaths and cursed again.

  “Can you walk?” Cord looked at her first for an answer, then at the bleeding paramedic.

  “Yes,” Karina answered at the same time the paramedic mumbled a not so convincing “yeah.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  But it wasn’t necessary for Cord to answer her because she smelled two things that she didn’t want to smell.

  Gasoline.

  And smoke.

  “Did he set a fire?” she blurted out.

  Cord didn’t answer her question. “We’re getting out of here now. Now!” he ordered, glancing back at the paramedic in front.

  “What’s going on?” the paramedic asked, but despite being dazed and injured, he started climbing over the seat toward them.

  Now, Cord made eye contact with Karina. Their gazes held for a few intense seconds. “When you get out, start running as fast as you can and don’t look back.”

  Chapter Three

  Their situation had gone from bad to much, much worse.

  Cord wasn’t sure if he could get Karina and the paramedics out of there alive. Still, he had to try because he didn’t have many options here.

  “Stay out of the ditches,” Cord reminded them.

  Maybe their attacker had lied about putting explosives on both sides of the road, but it was too big of a risk to take. Especially since there had indeed been explosives somewhere near the ambulance. Where exactly those explosives had been placed, Cord still didn’t know, and he didn’t have time to find out if there were others.

  Cord stepped out of the ambulance. Not easily. He’d been banged up when they’d been tossed around. No broken bones, thank God, but he’d have bruises, and he was still recovering from injuries he’d gotten last month, thanks to the Moonlight Strangler. Those bruises and injuries made themselves known when he pivoted, looking for the idiot who’d done this to them.

  No sign of anyone.

  But at the moment the bomber wasn’t even his main concern. It was the thin line of fire snaking its way from the side of the road toward the ambulance. The fire line was too narrow and straight to have been spilled randomly or have leaked out from the ambulance.

  Which meant their attacker had set it.

  Probably before they’d even arrived at this point on the road.

  In addition to the smoke from the fire trail, there was white steam spewing from what was left of the ambulance engine. Normally, he wouldn’t have considered that a good thing, but he did now. Because the steam and the smoke just might conceal them enough so their attacker wouldn’t be able to gun them down when they made a run for it.

  “Stay low and move fast,” Cord told them, doubting either of the paramedics could do that last part.

  He had to keep watch, but he reached behind him, and with his left hand, he hauled out Karina. The paramedics followed after her, and once they all had their feet on the ground, Cord got them moving.

  Away from the spot where he’d last seen the man in the ski mask.

  Away from the ambulance.

  That meant jumping the ditch. Again, it wasn’t easy. Everyone was limping, hurt, struggling. But Karina and the paramedics all had a clear sense of how critical it was to put some distance between them and the fire.

  Cord sure had a clear sense of it.

  “Try to make sure the ambulance and steam hide you as much as possible,” Cord added.

  They each crossed the ditch while Cord kept watch. Still no signs of their mask guy or of Jericho. Cord figured both were out there, though. The trick would be to avoid another attack before backup arrived and not hit Jericho or one of the deputies with friendly fire.

  He braced himself for shots to come right at them. After all, their attacker was armed. But no shots came. Nor were there any sounds that the man was about to launch another attack. Just the stench of the smoking rubber tires and the gasoline.

  Cord was the last to jump the ditch, and as soon as he was on the other side, he hurried the others into a cluster of trees. Not ideal cover since someone could sneak up on them, but if the ambulance did explode, then they’d at least stand a chance of being protected from flying debris.

  “Get down on the ground,” he told them. “And stay low.”

  Again, not easy. The paramedic with the head wound tried to muffle his groans of pain, but he didn’t quiet manage it. Worse, he was still bleeding, and even though Karina was trying to add some pressure to the gash, he was losing a lot of blood.

  “The killer wants me,” Karina whispered. “If he has me, you and the paramedics might be safe.”

  Hell, no. Cord knew where this conversation was about to go, and he nipped it in the bud. “You’re not going out there. He wants us all dead. That’s why he set those explosives.”

  That was possibly true anyway. Obviously, the blast hadn’t killed them, so maybe this was all part of some sick plan to get them in the open.

  If so, it’d worked.

  They were indeed in the open with only one gun among them and a likely copycat killer ready, willing and able to do them all in.

  “Just stay down,” Cord snapped to Karina when she lifted her head. “I don’t have time to watch you and everything else.”

  Yeah, it was a jab that she probably didn’t deserve, since she’d certainly pulled her own weight getting out of the ambulance. But maybe it was enough of a jab to keep her head out of the path of a bullet.

  Or an explosion.

  Even though he’d tried to brace himself for it, the blast jolted through his body, shaking him to the core.

  The debris came bursting out from the fireball, all that was left of the ambulance. The trickle of flames had obviously made its way to the engine and heated it enough to cause the blast.

  That was probably what their attacker intended.

  A chunk of metal flew into the tree, inches from where Cord was standing, and he felt a sharp tug on the leg of his jeans. Karina pulled him to the ground next to her.

  “It won’t help us if you get yourself killed,” she warned, sounding a lot tougher than she probably felt right now.

  But she was right. Cord had to stay alive.

  The wave of smoke came at them. It was mixed with the stench of the burning rubber, and Cord had to cover his mouth to keep from coughing.

  “Y’all okay?” their attacker called out.

  Cord wished he could do something about that smug tone. Like beat the guy senseless. What Cord couldn’t do was answer him. It was possible the question was meant to help the fool pinpoint their location.

  “Because I’d hate to think I gave any of you more boo-boos,�
�� the man added. Then, he laughed. He was still somewhere on the other side of the road.

  That was the good news.

  It meant he wasn’t sneaking up behind them.

  But he could have hired guns. And probably did. It would have been hard for him to pull this off by himself unless he’d set the explosives before attacking Karina, and those hired guns could be anywhere.

  “What? Cats got your tongues?” the man asked.

  His taunts made Cord’s blood run cold. And made his temper run hot.

  “Being quiet won’t help,” he taunted. “I’ll find you.”

  “His voice,” Karina whispered.

  Even though he hated to risk looking at her, Cord did, to see what the heck she was talking about. “What about his voice?”

  She opened her mouth. Closed it. Shook her head. “It’s the same man who attacked me in the barn.”

  Of course it was. There’d been no doubt about that. So, what exactly had Karina meant to say?

  Or rather what was she trying to keep from him?

  Well, whatever the heck it was, Cord would find out. As soon as they got out of this mess.

  The seconds crawled by, turning into minutes. Cord forced himself to listen through the crashing of his heartbeat in his ears. Each tiny sound put him on full alert.

  Until one sound caused him to pivot in that direction.

  Footsteps.

  “It’s me,” someone said. Jericho.

  Cord didn’t ease the grip on his gun, though, until he actually spotted the sheriff. He was weaving his way through the trees, coming toward them.

  “He’s over there,” Cord informed him right off, and he tipped his head in the direction where he’d last heard the guy. “Did you bring backup?”

  Jericho nodded and glanced at Karina and the paramedics, before focusing on the area Cord had pointed out. “My brother Jax is somewhere nearby.” He motioned toward the area just south of the attacker. “My other brother, Levi, is on the way.”

  So, maybe Jax was already close enough to stop him. Cord didn’t know Jericho’s brothers that well, but Jax had been a deputy sheriff for years. Hopefully, that was enough experience so he wouldn’t walk into a trap.

  “There might be other explosives,” Cord pointed out.

  Another nod from Jericho. “We got your warning and then heard the blast. Jax will be watching for anything suspicious. If Jax gets a shot, though, he’ll take it.”

  Cord knew what that meant—they might not be able to take this guy alive. Part of him wanted the moron alive. Because he wanted answers. But since he was convinced this was a copycat, they could perhaps get those answers even if the man was dead. Besides, if he stayed alive and managed to get away, he’d likely just come after Karina again.

  “I can’t stop the bleeding,” Karina mumbled.

  Her hands were covered with blood now, and the paramedic was barely conscious. They needed an ambulance and needed one fast. It was time to try to end this stalemate and maybe distract the man so that he wouldn’t hear Jax approaching him.

  “Just how long do you think you can stay out here like this?” Cord shouted.

  The guy laughed. “Well, you’re alive after all. And to answer your question, I can wait as long as it takes. But I’m guessing that’s not true for you, huh? Just how bad are Karina-girl and the others hurt? I didn’t get a good enough look to know when y’all ran like rats.”

  Cord had to get his teeth unclenched before he could answer. “If you’re so concerned about them, why don’t you surrender and find out for yourself how they’re doing? We can have a chat about them after they’re on the way to the hospital.”

  Silence. It went on way too long. “Nope. Not in a chatting mood right now. I’m thinking it’s time for me to get myself out of here. Another time, another place, Agent Granger.”

  And almost immediately Cord heard some footsteps. Not the light treading ones as Jericho’s had been. Someone was running.

  Karina would have gotten to her feet if Cord hadn’t pushed her back down. “He’s getting away,” she argued.

  Not if Cord had something to do about it. “Wait here with them,” Cord told the sheriff.

  He was about to bolt after the man when Jericho moved in front of him. “I’ll go. My brothers and I have signals already worked out. Keep watch, though, because this could be a trick.”

  True. The man could be pretending to leave so he could ambush them. With Jax already out there somewhere, Cord didn’t want him to get caught in friendly fire.

  Jericho headed out, hurrying but threading his way through the trees to keep his cover. Cord figured Jericho wouldn’t cross the road until he was clear of all the debris from the burning ambulance. Or until he was sure this clown wouldn’t spot him and shoot him.

  All Cord could do was wait.

  The paramedic who’d been driving took off his shirt and moved closer to Karina so he could help with his bleeding partner. Cord tuned them out and listened. No more running footsteps, but he did hear something. A sort of loud pop.

  Karina obviously heard it, too, because her gaze slashed in the direction of the sound. “Did he hit someone?”

  Cord shook his head. Too bad he knew from a case he’d worked the sound a hammer made when hitting a human body.

  The next sound was one he had no trouble recognizing.

  A shot.

  It cracked through the air in the same general area where their attacker had been. And it was soon followed by another bullet.

  Damn. He hoped Jericho and his brother hadn’t become this snake’s next targets.

  Waiting had never been Cord’s strong suit, and it didn’t help that he had a guy literally bleeding to death next to his feet and a would-be killer was out there who thought this was a sick game.

  Finally, he heard another sound that wasn’t more shots. It was footsteps, and they were heading right in Cord’s direction.

  “It’s me,” Jericho called out again. He wasn’t running exactly, but it was close. And the lawman was all in one piece.

  The breath Karina blew out was loaded with relief. Relief that Cord shared. Jericho hadn’t been shot. But that didn’t mean all was well.

  “Your brothers?” Cord asked.

  “Are in pursuit of the guy in the ski mask.” Jericho looked up the road. “An ambulance will be here in just a few minutes.”

  Good. That was a start.

  “You can’t let that man get away,” Karina said, standing and meeting Jericho’s gaze.

  “We’ll do our best. In the meantime, there’s a note for you nailed to a tree over there.”

  That explained the sound of the hammer Cord had heard. This guy had taken the time to leave a note. Why?

  “A note for me?” Karina asked.

  Jericho nodded. Frowned. Or maybe that was a scowl. “I didn’t touch it because it might have prints or traces on it. It’s handwritten. Or I should probably say it was hand-scrawled, as if he’d written it in a hurry. Which is a given, I suppose.”

  “And?” Cord persisted when Jericho didn’t continue.

  The sheriff stared at Karina. “It said, ‘Remember what I told you, Karina-girl.’”

  Her shoulders snapped back, and she shook her head.

  But a head shake wasn’t the answer Cord wanted. “What did he tell you?” Cord demanded.

  “‘This will show them,’” she said. “He repeated that a couple of times.”

  Cord stepped closer to her, getting right in her face. “And that’s it?”

  Karina looked ready to give him a resounding yes. But then she paused. “No. He said something else.” Now, she shook her head again. “But it doesn’t make sense.”

  Or maybe it was something she didn’t want to make sense. “What did he sa
y?” Cord asked.

  “He said, ‘You know exactly who I am, Karina-girl, don’t you?’”

  Chapter Four

  Karina was hurting in nearly every part of her body. She felt like one giant bruise, probably looked it, too, judging from the glances Cord kept giving her from across the hospital treatment room that they were sharing. Sympathy mixed with plenty of frustration.

  She understood both.

  The bald paramedic was in another room getting stitched up and also receiving a transfusion since he’d lost so much blood. The second paramedic had two broken ribs, one of which had punctured his lung. He’d already been admitted to the hospital.

  And then there was Cord.

  Karina wasn’t exactly sure what his injuries were because he had refused medical attention and had instead been making a string of phone calls. However, he looked as banged up as she did. Maybe more. Because she knew he was still recovering from the injuries he’d gotten last month.

  Stab wounds.

  And he’d gotten them when the Moonlight Strangler had taken him hostage.

  Of course, Cord and everybody else on the planet believed that Willie Lee had been the one to do those horrible things to him, along with killing all those women. Despite the latest attack, Cord was still convinced that Willie Lee was the Moonlight Strangler. But Karina knew differently. The only thing that made sense to her was that the Moonlight Strangler had set up Willie Lee to take the blame not just for that attack on Cord, but for all the other murders.

  She’d had zero luck proving it so far.

  The nurse finally finished with the last of the stitches. “Wait here,” she said.

  She glanced down at Karina’s bare legs and the blue paper examining gown she was wearing. Her bloodstained T-shirt had already been bagged for evidence.

  “I’ll see about getting you a pair of scrubs, and I’ll talk to the doctor about releasing you,” the nurse added and left the room.

  “Good,” Karina said before she thought it through. She didn’t want to spend the rest of the night in the hospital, but she wasn’t sure where she could go.

  Certainly not back home.