by Carolyn Lee
Nikki: Scratch that.
Thank God she had chosen the last stall. The only one with a window. As slow footsteps sounded and each stall door was kicked open, Nikki worked the window open, ignoring the searing pain that had set in with her wound.
"You can run but you can't hide forever." Another stall door slammed open. He was way too close for comfort.
Standing on the toilet seat, Nikki shimmied through the partially opened window, biting back a scream when she landed on her injured hand. She could feel her phone vibrating over and over in her pocket. Keegan had to be going nuts but all she could think of was getting back into the trees. As she pulled herself from the ground and took off running, she heard the last stall door crash against the wall.
"Son of a bitch!" Her pursuer let out a long string of curses. She had just immersed herself in the trees when gunfire sent bullets raining all around her. Nikki crouched low and ran for all she was worth, ignoring the lightheaded feeling that was beginning to build. She could hear the kidnapper crashing through the brush in pursuit and that was the only thing that kept her going. All of sudden she broke free of the trees and there was the parkway. Of course, there wasn't a car in sight. Nikki ran across the two lanes and plowed into the trees on the other side. To her left was an outcropping of rocks. Continuing to ignore the white heat that was throbbing in her palm, Nikki ran for the rocks and climbed up and over. She had just ducked down on the other side when her pursuer crashed into the trees. Nikki held her breath and prayed he would run the other way.
What she heard instead was the squeal of tires and a lot of yelling. The man disappeared and seconds later a car raced off. Nikki sagged against the rocks, letting out the breath she had been holding on to before pulling her phone back out.
Three messages from Keegan.
Keegan: What's happening?
Keegan: Are you okay???
Keegan: Nikki! What's going on??
Nikki: I'm fine now. They came back but I got away. Hiding in the woods.
Keegan: We are at mile twenty five now. Be there soon!
Nikki: Okay. I'm not feeling so great.
The screen of her phone faded in and out of view as Nikki sagged against the rocks. She knew she was across the road from the rest area. Keegan was five minutes away. She needed to get back there so they would be able to find her. It took whatever strength she had left, but Nikki managed to get out of her hiding place and through the trees to the edge of the road. She crossed the street and stumbled over to the tree covered picnic tables. Nikki knew she should find cover and hide out. She even tried to make it to the trees. Unfortunately, her weak legs and dumped adrenaline had other ideas as she collapsed in a bed of pine needles.
25
Keegan
Keegan slammed the gas pedal to the floor sending the truck flying forward, trying to ignore the panic that had been threatening since Will had called with the news Nikki was missing.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Kaiden said as he braced himself against the dash- board.
"No. I'm trying to get to her. Have you heard from Will?"
"He texted a second ago. They are almost to the drop point. No sign of the Honda."
"Damn it!" Keegan drove a fist down on to the console beside him.
"Hey, let’s just concentrate on finding Nikki and then we will meet Will and take those bastards down."
Keegan didn't answer. The rest area was just up a head. He barreled into the parking lot, sending up a cloud of dust and gravel. Slamming the brakes, he stopped the truck in front of the building and jumped from the driver's seat. His eyes honed in on the drip trail of blood leading into the women's restrooms.
"Kaiden! Here!" he called to his brother as he ran in the bathroom. There was blood on the floor under the paper towel dispenser. Tiny drops led him to the last stall where the door hung off of broken hinges. A bloody palm print was on the sill and smears colored the window sash.
Kaiden pulled to a stop right behind. "Those bastards shoot her?"
"I don't know." Keegan shoved past his brother and ran back outside. "Nikki!"
The only response was the echo of his voice so he called again, "Nikki! Where are you? It's safe! You can come out now."
Kaiden now stood beside him, both men staying silent but hearing nothing. Keegan cupped his hands to his mouth and was about to yell again when Kaiden put a hand on his arm.
"Shhh. You hear that?"
From under the trees by the picnic tables they heard a very faint, "Here! I'm here." As he ran toward the sound, a very shaky, very disheveled Nikki pulled herself to her feet using a picnic table for support. She had blood on her face, dirt on her clothes and pine needles stuck in her hair and she looked absolutely beautiful.
"You found me," she said with a weak smile when they reached her.
"Of course, we did." Keegan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "Where are you hurt? We saw blood."
She held up her hand and showed him her mangled palm. "I did it myself with this." She pulled a screw driver out of her waist band. "It's how I got the trunk open. My hand slipped and the damned thing went near all the way through."
"We need to get you a hospital. You need stitches and a tetanus shot."
She shook her head. "Um, no. This is my case. Take me to the drop point. I want to be there when the whole thing goes down. Then you can take me to the hospital."
"I think you need to go now."
"No. Kaiden? Will you talk some sense into your brother?"
Kaiden held his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, but I am on his side with this one. That tool is pretty rusty and who knows what else was living on it?"
His cell phone rang and Kaiden checked the incoming message. "It’s Will. They are about ten miles up the road. There's already people there. He thinks one of them is Salvatore Ricci."
"Let's go. I want to be there!" Nikki pulled out of Keegan's hold and started toward the truck. "I'm going, with or without you."
"Will says we need to get there now or it will be too late," Kaiden said.
Keegan looked from him to Nikki. Her determined look promised him that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Fine. Tell him we are on the way."
He scooped Nikki up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the truck. Opening the front door, he deposited her on the front seat and dug in to the glove box for a first aid kit. Pulling out a roll of gauze, he took her hand and wrapped it quickly.
"This needs a good cleaning but at least the dressing might stop the bleeding some and prevent any more debris from getting in there."
Nikki nodded. "Thanks."
Kaiden was already in the back seat so Keegan ran around to the driver's side, slid in behind the wheel and took off. Six minutes later, they pulled off the road in another rest area. Will waved to them from the wood line. Kaiden jogged over there while Keegan helped Nikki from the truck.
"You sure about this?"
"It's not like I am doing anything. You macho men will probably have the guys hogtied and handcuffed before I pull my gun. If I still had my gun, I mean."
Will handed her the gun that had been in her purse. "I know you think we took over your investigation—"
"Think? I know. Once the ATF got ahold of things I figured we would work together. But you James men swoop in like the heroes you are and take over. And thanks for finding my gun."
"I'm sorry. I know we can be overwhelming when we are all together."
Nikki grinned. "Sorry? For what? It's a damn good thing the lot of you function the way you do or I might have been fish food by morning. Now let's catch us some gun runners so you and I can have some time alone. We need to talk."
She wanted to talk. She wasn't mad. The future suddenly looked so much brighter than it had even a week ago. Returning her grin with one of his own, Keegan offered her a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am. Your wish is my command."
They joined the others so Will could bring them up to speed. The afternoon
had passed quickly and the sun was sinking low, casting shadows from the trees.
"Logan? What are you doing here? Angie?" Keegan was surprised to see his cousin and shocked that Logan's wife was there with him.
"She refused to stay home. Not that I blame her. I'd do the same thing," Clara said, stepping into the little clearing they were gathered in. "Had to make me a trip to the little gal's room. Nikki, you looked like you've taken a real beating today. Why didn't my son take you to the hospital?"
"Angie's not the only hard-headed woman in this crowd, Ma," Keegan replied, dropping an arm gently over Nikki's shoulders and pulling her close.
"Good. You need you a stubborn one to keep you on your toes, boy." She winked at Nikki. "Someone like your momma."
"Someone's coming." Will held a finger to his lips, indicating they should be quiet. "It's an unmarked box truck. Just like we expected."
The truck parked not far from where they hid. Three men piled out, guns on their hips. One of the men had a rifle slung over his shoulder. As they watched, a second truck pulled in and backed up by the other one. Two men stepped out of that one. The five stood quietly, eyeing each other as a black Lincoln Town Car with tinted windows pulled in.
"Salvatore," Angelina whispered, as a tall, broad shouldered man in a perfectly tailored black suit stepped from the car.
As the dark stranger joined the group of men, a black Honda pulled into the lot and blocked the entrance. Keegan heard Nikki gasp. He reached over and squeezed her unbandaged hand. Will motioned that he and his agents were going to work their way west through the trees and that Kaiden and Clara should move to the east side. Keegan and Nikki stayed where they were with Logan as back up. Angelina disappeared into the trees to watch everything go down.
Once they were all in position they waited. For the next half hour, wood crates were moved from one truck to the other while Salvatore and his body guard, the driver of the Town Car, looked on. When they were done, one of the men from the first truck stepped forward and handed Salvatore a briefcase. They shook hands and Will shouted, "Now!"
Will, his team, Kaiden, and Keegan rushed through the woods to surround the group, weapons aimed.
"What the hell is this?" Salvatore yelled.
"Drop your weapons!" Will commanded. "Now!"
Four of the men complied but one hit the trigger instead, sending a shower of bullets toward Will. Keegan aimed his weapon and fired once, dropping the man. He lay motionless on the ground.
"All of you! On the ground, faces down!"
The other men dropped to their stomachs, hands clasped behind their heads. "Don't shoot!" one of them begged.
"Watch out!" Nikki yelled to Kaiden. The two guys from the Honda were running toward them, guns firing. Kaiden spun and ducked, narrowly missing being hit in the chest.
"You got some nerve shooting at my boy!" Clara ran after the men, shotgun aimed.
The man who shot at Kaiden spun to Clara, gun raised when he came face to face with two steel barrels.
"You even think about hurting me or one of mine and I'll blow your head off."
"Crazy bitch!" The man lunged for the weapon but his mother was faster. She dove out of the way, firing off a round that split the tree behind them in to two pieces.
"You called my mother a bitch?" Kaiden whacked the guy on the head with the butt of his gun. His partner took off at a run.
"I got that one!" Logan called tackling the man to the ground and knocking him out with one punch.
"Where's Ricci?" Will called.
Keegan spun and caught a glimpse of the man running in to the trees toward where Nikki was. He took off at a run. "This way! I'm on him!"
"Right behind you, cousin!" Will yelled after him.
Keegan broke through the tree line and stopped dead in his tracks. "No!"
"Let me go. All you have to do is let me go and I won't hurt the woman." Salvatore had his arm around Nikki's neck and a gun to her temple.
"Don't let him go, Keegan."
"You don't have to do this, Ricci."
"Oh, but I do. I am not going back to prison. How the hell did you even figure all this out?"
"Doesn't matter. Right now, you are only on the hook for running guns. If you add murder of a federal agent to the list of charges you'll go away for life. You have to know that."
Logan broke through the trees at a run, coming to a stop when he saw what was happening. "You are some kind of stupid fool."
"Don't you know who I am? I got away with murder before and I will do it again. Drop your weapon."
"No."
Salvatore jammed the barrel of his gun against Nikki's temple. She let out a sharp yelp. Keegan took a step toward them but Salvatore waved his gun at him. "Stay back!"
Keegan met his stare, weighing his next move. No one said anything until they heard a little click. He knew that sound well—the click of a safety being taken off a weapon.
"Hello, Salvatore." Angelina had stepped out of the shadows and now held her pistol to the base of Salvatore's skull. The man froze.
"Ang—Angelina, that you?"
"You know it is. Let my friend go."
"Sorry, can't do that."
"You can and you will. If you don't, I will be forced to shoot you and who is going to question a pregnant woman on a hormone trip?"
"You've gotten vicious, Angelina. I like it."
"Let her go, Sal, or you will be eating your dinner through a straw from now on."
Salvatore looked at Keegan and then Logan, who both had their guns on him as well. Very slowly he lowered his weapon and let Nikki go. As she slipped from his grip, Nikki kicked a leg out and slammed her heel against Salvatore's knee cap. He sprawled on the ground, his gun flying from his hand. Keegan run up and kicked the gun away from him just as Will slapped cuffs on Salvatore and hefted him to his feet.
Logan ran to Angelina and wrapped his arms around her. She kept repeating, "I got him. I got Salvatore."
"Yes, you did. Good work."
"I think I'm ready for that trip to the hospital now," Nikki said. He didn't like how weak her voice was getting.
"You got it, lady." Without waiting for permission, he scooped her up and took off for his truck.
"Keep in touch!" Clara called after them.
26
Nikki
”A couple stitches, a shot or two, and some antibiotics and we will have you fixed up as good as new." The kindly emergency room doctor patted her on the arm. "You probably should have come in a little bit sooner, young lady."
"We were on a case," Nikki replied.
"Was it worth risking your life to a case of tetanus?"
"Yes."
The doctor chuckled. "I suspected you would say that. Dedication to the job is something I can surely understand. I'll be back in a jiffy to get you stitched up once the nurse cleans out the wound for you."
"Thank you, doctor."
The soft-spoken man left the curtained space. Nikki leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes. She was so tired. Keegan had wanted to come into the room with her but she had asked him to wait out in the sitting area. So many things had happened in such a short amount of time, she needed time to process it all. When Keegan was nearby, she had trouble thinking straight. No man had ever had that influence on her before. It threw her off her game and pissed her off.
"You ready for me to clean that mess up?" one of the nurses asked as she pushed aside the curtain. Did everyone at this hospital smile all the time?
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
"My name is Sabrina. This might be a little uncomfortable but I'll be as gentle as I can, I promise."
"I'm tough. Just do what you need to," Nikki replied.
Sabrina nodded and started readying a tray with a shallow bowl, some sterile water, tweezers, gauze and a few other little items. She pushed a rolling table over the bed and set her tools on it. "Okay, young lady, let me see that hand."
Nikki held out her injured h
and. Sabrina inspected the wound. "This is pretty nasty. How did it happen?"
"Rusty screwdriver."
"Is that the newest in law enforcement tools?"
Nikki laughed. She liked Sabrina. "I suppose. Comes in handy when someone whacks you on the head, stuffs you in a trunk, and tries to drive you to Mexico. I used it to pry open the trunk lock. As you can see, it slipped."
Sabrina dumped some of the chilly water on her hand making Nikki shiver. "I know, it's cold. It helps a little with the pain."
"Don't worry about it. I just want to get out of here."
"That your hottie out there in the waiting room pacing a hole in the linoleum?"
Her hottie? Was Keegan hers? Did she want him to be?
"We work together."
The nurse nodded and smiled. "Ah, partners with benefits?"
"We aren't partners. This was a sort of joint task force case. Multiple agencies were involved."
"Even better. No company policy against dating then."
"We're not dating. We just met a few days ago."
"Does the hottie know that? Because I could swear that man was in love with you."
"You know this because he is in the waiting room?"
"I know this because of the fear in his eyes when he brought you in and the hurt when you told him to wait outside."
"Oh." Nikki frowned. "He is a pretty intense guy."
"I know I'm just here to clean out your wound but since you're a captive audience at the moment, I'm going to offer my advice based on my own experiences. Free of charge, of course." Sabrina smiled as she patted the wound dry after washing it with saline.
"It's not—"
"Like I said, it's just based on my personal experience. The world we live in is not conducive to finding love. I suspect that in your career, it's even harder. So, when that one opportunity presents itself for something really great, you should treat it like the golden ticket and hold on tight. Give the guy a chance. I can see you really like him too."
"I do. A lot. That might be what scares me the most."
