Shooter (Burnout)

by West, Dahlia

  Hayley was slow to rouse from sleeping. At first she forgot that Chris was gone. She was trying to focus on what had woken her when the door bell rang, presumably for the second time. She glanced at the clock and Chris’ side of the bed. 11:27 pm.

  Cautiously she got up and crept down the hallway. She was reaching for her cell phone, charging on the breakfast bar when a baritone voice she didn’t recognize said, “South Dakota Highway Patrol.”

  Hayley’s hand froze. A knot of fear tightened in her belly. She snatched the phone off the counter and flew to the door. She flipped on the porch light and peeked through the blinds. A gold highway patrol insignia glinted from the Trooper’s hat. Beyond him, a white cruiser with a red stripe was parked against the curb.

  “Yes?” Haley barely managed to get out.

  The Trooper turned his gaze from the door to the window. “Ma’am,” he drawled. “Highway Patrol, Ma’am.”

  Hayley punched in the code for the alarm system and unlocked the door.

  “Ma’am,” the Trooper repeated. “I’m sorry to have woken you. But we’ve had an accident. Up on 90, outside of Sturgis.”

  Hayley’s knees threatened to buckle.

  The Trooper checked a small notebook in his hands. “A, uh, Christopher David Sullivan gave this address. For family notification. A,” he glanced back up at her, “Hayley Turner? Is that you, Ma’am?”

  Hayley nodded and frowned at her phone. Why hadn’t Hawk or Tex called? As if he read her mind, the Trooper said, “It’s a hell of a mess, Ma’am. I wasn’t there myself. Got radioed because I was closest to Rapid City.”

  “He has friends with him,” she replied, hoping against hope.

  Hayley couldn’t help but fear the worst, though. The Trooper looked down at his little notebook and shook his head. Her heart threatened to stop, but instead of delivering another blow he simply said, “Don’t have anything on other possible injured. I-” He cleared his throat. “I do know it’s a tractor-trailer involved. They might not know more yet.”

  Hayley’s hands shook so badly that she nearly dropped her new cell phone. She wouldn’t be able to stop shaking long enough to call Jimmy, anyway. She pocketed the phone, spun away from the Trooper, and grabbed her shoes that were sitting by the door.

  “My- our- friend lives next door,” she practically shouted in her nervousness. “We need to get him.”

  The Trooper gave her a nod. “Yes, Ma’am. I can either give you both a ride to Lead Regional or you can go with him if you feel he’ll be okay to drive.”

  Hayley faltered while putting on her shoes. Okay to drive. How was she going to tell Jimmy that one or more of his brothers was seriously injured? Possibly dead? She could barely deal with the news herself.

  She shook her head and yanked on her shoes. Whatever happened, she had Jimmy and he had her and they would face it together. She got her keys off the counter and set the alarm for the the door. She locked it behind her.

  “He’s just next door,” she told the Trooper, nodding at the little blue house.

  The Trooper turned to gaze in the direction she’d indicated. “Looks like he’s asleep,” he replied, noting the dark windows.

  “I’ll get him,” Hayley announced turning away from the door and moving quickly down the steps.

  “I’ll go with you, Ma’am.”

  Hayley blacked out before she made it to the bottom step.

  *************************

  Chris sighed and drummed his hands on the wheel of his truck. The custom bikes were tarped and secured in the bed, all squared away for the delivery to Sturgis, though it had taken much longer to load it than he would have liked. Between loading and increased traffic, the usually 30 minute drive to Sturgis was beginning to seem like a long haul.

  Traffic in and out of the smaller town during the rally was always a nightmare. But this year it was much worse. There were fewer Troopers by far this year, directing traffic in and out of the city. Sturgis PD was a small force and in no way had the manpower to handle the massive influx into their tiny town by themselves. But the rally in Sturgis had been an annual event for longer than Chris had been alive and it was unusual for the town to be caught with its pants down.

  As Chris nudged approximately six inches forward before stopping again, he rolled down his window and nodded to the Statie who’d parked his cruiser in the center line. The Trooper set his gold-insigniad hat back on his his head and walked over. Chris smiled at him.

  “Trouble this year?” Chris asked, nodding at the standstill traffic.

  The Trooper did not return the smile but nodded. He fixed his mouth into a grim line. ‘Short-handed,” he confirmed.

  “How’s that?” Chris asked.

  The corners of the Trooper’s mouth turned down, revealing etched lines that made him look much older now. “One of ours disappeared on shift.”

  Chris shot a surprised look at the Trooper, then Tex, and Hawk in the rear cab. “Damn,” Chris muttered. “Keep my mouth shut, then.”

  The Trooper’s mouth twitched a little.

  “Good luck to you,” Tex offered from the passenger seat. The Trooper nodded his thanks and walked away.

  Chris put the truck in park, surrendering to the battle of Sturgis traffic in August. He dug out his phone and called Hayley. She didn’t answer but he wasn’t surprised. It was two and a half hours past the time he’d estimated they’d be in Sturgis.

  He listened to her voice mail greeting and waited for the beep. “Hey, Slick. It’s late. You’re in the rack. Don’t blame you. We’re here, or near enough,” he corrected, looking around. “Call you tomorrow morning.” He disconnected the call and pocketed the phone.

  He loved his job. He normally loved the Rally, which he’d been going to since he was old enough to hitch there. But given the way things had gone lately, he’d just rather be home with his woman. He sighed in frustration.

  An hour after that, they had made it into Sturgis proper, by six inch increments, and pulled into the parking lot of the motel where they’d booked rooms in advance. He backed the Ford into the space in front of his own room. He preferred a motel to a hotel so they could keep an eye on the bikes until delivery tomorrow. It was another reason he was glad Slick hadn’t wanted to come. A motel wasn’t nearly as safe and she didn’t need to be staying in one.

  He hit the rack in room 1D, with Hawk and Tex in the two adjacent rooms. He set his cell phone on the nightstand and plugged in the charger. He set his boots on the floor next to the bed and closed his eyes. He would’ve liked to sleep in a little tomorrow morning given how worn out he was. But between Hawk’s commitment to breakfast, his own desire to connect with Hayley, and his army training, he wouldn’t put odds on getting any extra sleep.

  As it turned out, he was woken up by none of those things, but instead by his phone ringing at just before seven. He glanced at the screen and pressed a key. Before he could say anything, Easy cut him off. “Hayley’s gone.”

  Chris sat all the way up immediately.

  “I got up this morning, went to see if she was thinking about breakfast. The door was locked, alarm turned on, but she wasn’t there. Her keys and phone are gone, too.”

  “Caleb,” Chris said, launching himself to his feet.

  “I already called him,” Easy replied. “He’s on patrol. He’s on is way here.”

  Chris slammed his fist repeatedly against the wall above his bed then grabbed his boots.

  “I’ve tried calling her cell,” Easy reported. “Not getting anything, though. Jesus Christ, Chris I’m so sorry. I went to bed, everything was fine and then she’s just gone!”

  He stalked over to the door and unchained it. Tex, barefoot and shirtless entered the room. Taking in Chris’ expression, Tex pounded on Hawk’s door in the same way Chris had pounded on the Tex’s wall.

  “I’m coming back,” Chris barked into the phone. “Right now. Do not leave in case she comes back. Call the bar, see if she’s there but I doubt she will be. Get Cal
eb to canvass the neighbors and ask if they’ve seen her.”

  Chris hung up and grabbed his keys off the nightstand. By the time he was dressed, Hawk and Tex were already in the back of the truck, unloading the custom bikes.

  “You and the cowboy are heading back,” Hawk informed him, tossing off the tarp and laying down the tailgate. “I’ll stay here and change the delivery to a pick up here at the motel. I’ll find a ride back as soon as the deals are done.”

  Chris and Tex jumped in the cab and left Hawk to handle their business alone while they hauled ass back in the direction they’d come. Thankfully more people were trying to get into Sturgis than trying to leave it and Chris floored it down the highway. If Tex was nervous, he didn’t mention it. He simply dug his boots into the floorboards as Chris tamped down on the accelerator, pushing all 6 cylinders to 120 on the speedometer.

  Chapter 35

  Hayley came to, but slowly. She was disoriented and only really cognizant of being in pain. She blinked and looked around for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the harsh light coming in from a window across from her. She was hurting. All over, pretty much. At first she’d woken up when he’d pulled her out of the back seat of the state police cruiser. It had still been dark then and she saw brick walls on both sides of them. Bright headlights had blinded her for a moment. Then she was shoved into the back seat of another car. By the time she was really fully aware of what was happening, she’d opened her mouth to scream, but he’d zapped her two times in quick succession with the stun gun. She hadn’t remembered anything else after that.

  Now she could see that she was in a room. A nice room. With pine walls and thick quilts on the bed. Her hands were cuffed together. She tested the metal bands, trying to squeeze one of her hands through, but it didn’t work.

  She got up off the bed and went straight to the door. It was locked. She wasn’t all that surprised. She went to the window. They were on the second floor. It was a straight drop to the ground. If she landed just right, she might not even hurt herself. As she reached for the lock, she heard the other lock (the one on the door) click and she spun away from the window. She backed herself into the farthest corner as the door began to open.

  When he stepped into the room, Hayley wanted to scream. Partly from terror and partly from rage. She managed to keep herself together, though. He shut the door behind him and turned the lock. He smiled at her. “Hello, Sarah.”

  In the bright light of day, it was easy to see how she had failed to recognize him when he’d rung the doorbell. He’d lost weight. A lot of it. And put it all back on in the form of muscle. His face was more chiseled than it had been before. His hair was several shades lighter and his eyes were now blue, not brown. Upon closer inspection, his nose was crooked, she hadn’t recalled that before. She noted with no small amount of satisfaction that someone must have broken it. She hoped whoever that was felt at least some vindication for having hurt him before they lost their life at his hands.

  As she was studying him, he frowned. “Well, it seems your inability to recognize me made it much easier to take you. But I have to say it hurt my feelings, Sarah. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you.” He moved a step closer and Hayley backed up until she was pressed against the wall.

  Now he wasn’t just frowning. His eyes grew dark as he assessed her coldly. “Did you miss me, Sarah?” he asked.

  Hayley’s breath caught and her eyes darted to the window.

  “Did you miss me?!” he shouted.

  She flinched and brought her attention back to him. She licked her lips nervously. It would be smarter to placate him. To tell him ‘yes’. But she couldn’t imagine doing it. She was here now. Nothing could change that and something closer to rage than fear started rising inside her. Oh she was afraid. Anyone would be. But if she was trapped and going to die, she was going to keep as much of herself as possible.

  “No,” she told him.

  His face contorted and he took a step toward her. She gasped and shrank back but couldn’t go anywhere. Thankfully, though, he caught himself and stopped just a few feet away. “It’s him, isn’t it?” he demanded.

  Hayley knew enough to know that no answer to that was the right one, so she remained silent.

  When she thought he was going to lash out at her again, he merely sighed. “You’ll forget about him soon enough,” he declared as though it were already fact. He smiled at her again. A sleek, predatory smile that made her want to vomit. He reached into his pocket and then stepped toward her again. She tried to move away but he reached out and caught the silver chain linking the two handcuffs. Her heart nearly pounded out of her chest as he unlocked restraints. He pocketed both the key and the cuffs.

  “Now,” he said calmly. “Take of your clothes so we can begin.”

  Hayley didn’t take time to think about all her possible options. She chose the one that sprang into her mind first. She shoved off the wall and broke into a dead run for the door.

  **********************

  Chris had made it back to Rapid City in record time. By the time he got back to his house, two police cruisers were parked outside. He sprang out of the vehicle and ran up the steps. Inside he found Doc and Easy facing a third, older man in an officer’s uniform. Chris dismissed the officer with a mere glance and looked at Caleb. “Doc,” he said. It was pretty much a command.

  “They found the state police cruiser in an alley downtown,” Caleb announced. “No sign of either of them. Or the Trooper. Trooper’s from Pierre, has no reason to be in Rapid City. He went missing on shift last night between the badlands and the capitol.”

  Tex came in through the front door and took up a position next to Chris.

  The older officer cleared his throat. “But we have no reason to believe the disappearance of Trooper Reynolds is any way connected to this girl. Who we don’t even have confirmation of being missing.”

  His tone was snide and his air was haughty and for a moment Chris was about to unload on him until he realized that he recognized him. Chris stifled an inward groan. Lieutenant Harlan Rawlins. For some reason he’d always had a hard on for what he considered “trash” in “his town.” Chris could admit that he’d been born poor white trash but to Rawlins, color wasn’t important. White trash, brown trash, red trash, at least the man didn’t discriminate.

  But Chris had been away from Rapid City for almost a decade and when he’d returned to start his custom bike business, he was no longer trash. If Rawlins, whom he hadn’t seen in over ten years, had been keeping an eye on him since his discharge from the army, Chris had been too busy building his business to notice.

  “She’s in serious danger,” Chris intoned, trying to keep his cool.

  “I’ve explained the situation to Rawlins,” Caleb replied, also trying to maintain peace.

  “She was attacked five years ago,” Chris told the man. Even though Caleb had already told him, it couldn’t hurt to highlight the fact that she was in the hands of a psycho. “She was raped and stabbed repeatedly. She’s been running from him for years.”

  Rawlins looked unimpressed. “Well, so far I’m not really hearing anything that warrants issuing a missing person’s report.”

  Chris was about to respond when Easy intervened. “She’s not here!” the younger man snarled. “So where the fuck is she if she isn’t missing?!”

  Rawlins ignored Easy entirely. “According to Officer Barnes, you were in Sturgis and your friend came over to, uh, have breakfast with your girlfriend?”

  A noise came out of Easy that was something halfway between a snarl and an actual growl. Chris, however, wasn’t such an easy mark. “That’s right. They’re friends. I asked Jimmy to look out for her while I was gone. Because she could be in danger. Turns out I was right.”

  “And you’re sure Mr. Turnbull here didn’t move in on your woman while you were out of town?” Rawlins’ eyes brightened as he waited for an answer from Chris.

  “No,” Chris said sharply. “He did not.”r />
  “Ah, but you don’t really know, do you?” Rawlins prodded. “Maybe they’ve been knocking boots every time you go out of town. Living next door like he is. Maybe they had a little lover’s spat and she left.”

  Caleb sighed loudly. “She didn’t take any of her stuff, Rawlins.” It was obvious to Chris that Caleb had explained this before.

  “Women,” Rawlins proclaimed, as that explained everything. “You left town,” he said to Chris. “And your transient girlfriend-”

  “She’s not a transient!” Chris seethed.

  “Well, now, you said she’s moved around a lot. Never staying in one place for long. That’s transient, son.”

  Two people in Chris’ life had called him “Son.” He wanted to beat the shit out of both of them. “Did you not hear me when I said she was raped and nearly murdered?”