by Aimée Thurlo
Preston’s phone rang and he answered. He mostly listened, then said, “I think that’s an excellent idea, Mr. Leland. We’ll be there shortly.”
“What’s going on?” Daniel asked.
“That was Bruce Leland, calling from his home. He told me that he’s been searching for reasons his brother was killed, something that might also link up to Hank’s work or presence in Spain. He checked on Google for the dates and discovered that there was a large jewel heist in Rota while Hank was there. Bruce thinks his brother may have been blackmailed into shipping the jewelry, mostly diamonds, to the U.S. He says that if this meshes with what we already suspect, we might consider going over to his mobile home and searching the place. His brother and he weren’t on great terms, but Hank had a key.”
“Hank didn’t go to his brother’s mobile home when he returned, and we already know what he shipped back wasn’t jewels, but this is still a good opportunity to get a closer look at Bruce Leland,” Kyle said. “It’s possible that Hank mailed a third package also containing detonators to Bruce’s place for safekeeping. If that’s the case, Bruce may have opened the box and realized those would get him into a hell of a lot of trouble.”
“So he calls us over, knowing we’ll find them,” Preston said.
“Yeah, and he can claim Hank put them there the night he returned. He has no idea I was tailing Hank and know exactly where he went,” Kyle said.
“Not so fast, little brother. That’s a bit of a reach,” Daniel said. “Something about this has a real bad smell.”
Kyle nodded. “I agree, and we’ll need to watch each other’s backs, but we still have to go check it out.”
“Maybe you should leave Erin here,” Daniel said.
“No way. I’m going,” she said. “I may not like Bruce, but I know him better than any of you.”
“Forget it, she comes,” Kyle said. “Erin’s under my protection.”
Erin smiled. She sure did like the sound of that.
* * *
THEY DROVE TO Bruce’s residence, Kyle leading the way, and Daniel with Preston in his police unit.
“The double-wide mobile home is beside the access road, which is next to a deep arroyo,” Erin said, checking the Google map on the MDT screen. “There’s also a lot of brush around the mobile home—at least when this photo was taken.”
“No other buildings in the area?” Kyle asked, racing down the narrow highway.
“One shed at the far end of the property,” she answered. As they made the turn onto the dirt road, Kyle noted two distinct sizes of tire tracks. “Looks like he’s had visitors recently.”
There was a loud boom from somewhere ahead, then two more. Kyle touched a button on the steering wheel and contacted Preston. “Gunfire!”
“I heard it,” Preston said.
“Assume Bruce is under attack and go in hot,” Daniel said.
“Come up and pass me, then keep going until you reach the residence,” Kyle said. “I’ll stop where the road is narrowest and use my vehicle to block the escape route. I’ll advance on foot while you two give me some cover fire. Erin will stay behind the SUV. Preston, give me a situation report as soon as possible.”
“Copy,” Preston answered.
As Preston drove up behind them, Kyle inched over to the right. The deep arroyo’s rim was now only a few feet outside Erin’s door.
“You’re close enough, Kyle. Any farther and we’ll go over the edge,” Erin said.
He nodded, slowing even more. Preston shot by a moment later.
“I just got a call from Leland,” Preston said. “He says he’s under attack. He’s got a pistol and a thirty-thirty, but the two men firing at him have assault weapons of some kind. Leland’s taken cover behind his pickup, and the men have taken firing positions behind their car.”
They could hear the sound of rapid gunfire.
Ahead, Kyle saw Preston swerve to his left as he reached an open area. To the right, beside the ruins of an old wooden building, was a car. Two figures were hunched down behind it at opposite ends. One swung his weapon around and fired at Kyle’s SUV. The bullet dinged off the front bumper.
“Hang on!” Kyle hit the brakes and slid to a stop, swerving at the last second so his vehicle was at a forty-five degree angle in the road. A big cloud of dust rose into the air. “Out my side,” he told Erin, “and stay behind the vehicle.”
As Erin slid down onto the ground, she handed Kyle his radio.
“Two shooters, beside the car,” Kyle said, pistol in his right hand as he looked toward the scene.
“Bruce’s pickup isn’t even close to his house. Why would he park in that location unless he planned to ambush someone coming in?” Preston pointed out.
“Looks like Bruce set these guys up,” Kyle said.
“Problem is, they have more firepower than we do, so we need a new tactical plan,” Preston said. “I’ve called for backup, but it’ll be at least ten minutes before they can get here.”
“Okay, here’s what we do,” Kyle said. “I’ll grab the assault rifle and come up in line with the arroyo, cutting off their retreat. Once I’ve distracted them, Preston, you can circle around behind the mobile home and flank them. Daniel, you provide cover fire.”
“How soon?” Daniel’s voice came over the speaker.
“On my mark.” Kyle reached into the SUV and brought out the assault rifle from beneath the seat.
“What about me?” Erin asked.
Kyle handed her his pistol. “Take it, just in case, but I want you to stay here, behind the SUV. If they get close, jump in, shut the door and hunker down. You can listen in using the vehicle’s radio. I’ll keep the connection open.”
“I’d rather go with you.”
“It’s too risky. You’ll be safe, I won’t let them get close to you, darlin’.”
“Thanks for sharing, Kyle.” Preston’s voice came over the radio. “Now, can we get on with it? I’m about to doze off.”
“Yeah, okay, moving out now. Cover me.”
Kyle circled around the back of the SUV and for the first time saw how close he’d come to the edge. He had to inch sideways down the passenger side. The embankment to his right was too steep to walk along without risking a slide to the bottom in the loose sand and gravel.
Once at the front bumper, he gave his brothers a quick wave. Daniel started shooting, aiming high to keep their attackers pinned while Preston raced toward the house.
Kyle ran forward, zigzagging and crouched low, his assault rifle up and ready. One of the suspects saw him just then and began firing. Bullets whistled by him, then one struck the receiver of his rifle, knocking it out of his hand. The weapon fell to the ground precariously close to the ledge of the arroyo.
Kyle flattened and reached out to recover it, but had to roll away as slugs dug into the ground right around the fallen weapon.
He looked over at Daniel, who was changing magazines, unaware of what was going on.
“Kyle!” Erin ran toward him, firing her pistol at the car as she moved.
“Erin, get down!” Leaping forward, he grabbed the assault rifle and rolled. Groping for the pistol grip while bringing the weapon against his body, he cut his fingers on the edge of the trigger guard. It had been ripped loose and twisted around by a bullet strike, the same hit that had broken off the trigger. The weapon was damaged, useless now except as a club.
Cursing the lucky hit, he looked up and saw Erin down on one knee, shooting, one round at a time, at something behind him.
He glanced back. The shooters were now in their car, racing straight toward him. Scrambling to his feet as the vehicle bore down on him, he lunged toward the opposite side of the road, diving into a tuck and roll, feeling the rush of air as the car brushed by.
He sprang to his feet and spun
around to look. Erin, still on one knee, fired two more shots at the car. It angled to the left, heading right at her.
“Jump!” he yelled, knowing it was her only chance.
She dropped and slid headfirst over the embankment just in time. The car cut right again, accelerated and raced down the road, barely squeezing by his SUV.
Kyle raced to the edge of the arroyo. He’d never had anyone outside his family step out into the open in the middle of a gunfight and risk everything to save him.
“A little help?” she called out.
Shaken, he looked down and found her about five feet down the embankment, struggling to climb back up.
“I’ve got you.” He flattened, reached down, grabbed her by both wrists, then pulled her up to the road.
“How could you have done something so crazy!” he demanded, pulling her all the way to her feet. “You were supposed to stay behind the car. You could have been killed!” He gripped her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake.
“Kyle, you needed my help,” she said firmly, holding his gaze and refusing to back down. “You would have done the same for me—and not just ’cause you’re NCIS.”
Her words broke him. Putting all the emotions raging inside him into it—fear, possessiveness, protectiveness—he kissed her hard.
When he finally stopped to take a breath, his body was rock hard.
“Save it, Romeo,” Preston’s voice came over the radio that had ended up on the sandy earth. “In case you haven’t noticed, the bad guys are getting away.”
“This isn’t over,” Kyle whispered in her ear. “We’ll settle things later.” Not giving her a chance to ask what he meant, he took her hand and raced down the road to where his brothers were questioning Bruce.
Bruce’s gaze shifted to Erin as they came up. “You again! You’re part of this, aren’t you?”
“Still trying to point the finger at someone else, huh, Bruce?” Kyle said. “Won’t work, we already know the truth. You set this little gunfight up, but it almost got you killed, didn’t it?”
“What the hell are you talking about? I called you here to search my house. Those guys showed up before you did and I had to defend myself. They were demanding that I give them the detonators or they’d kill me. I had no idea what they were talking about. What detonators? I thought this was about stolen gems,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Nice try, but your story’s full of bull. What really happened?” Kyle said, his voice flat and menacing.
“Dude, you still don’t you get it, do you? These guys are real, actual terrorists, not just gun-happy nut jobs. When I told them I didn’t know about any detonators, they pulled out pistols and threatened to kill me. I told them yeah, okay, the stuff’s in my pickup. When I reached in and brought out my thirty-thirty, they ran back to their car. I thought they’d take off, but once they whipped out those assault rifles, I knew I was screwed. If you people hadn’t shown up when you did, I’d be dead.”
“So you got a good look at these two men. Did you recognize either of them?” Daniel said.
“No, but they seemed to know a lot about me. Go ahead and search the place all you want. I’m not spending another night here. I’m going to move into my brother’s house.”
“You’re not going anywhere, not until we’re finished with you,” Preston snapped.
Bruce rolled his left shoulder as if working the kinks out, then froze and sucked in his breath. “Ow!” Moving carefully, he reached up with his right hand. When he brought it back down, his fingertips were bloody. “Holy crap! I’ve been shot!”
Daniel came up just as Bruce opened his shirt and pushed it away from his shoulder.
“The bullet just grazed you, guy. I’ve seen worse rope burns. You’re fine, just wash up and put some disinfectant on it,” he said.
“Dude, I’m bleeding!”
“Man up, will ya?” Preston said, staring at Bruce with barely hidden contempt.
“I need medical attention right now! I need an ambulance.”
The brothers looked at each other and Kyle rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. You can go to an urgent care and get the injury cleaned and bandaged up,” he said, nodding to Preston.
“I’ll have a patrol officer take Mr. Leland to be treated. No way I can justify calling an ambulance,” Preston said.
Leaving Daniel to guard Bruce, Preston, Kyle and Erin went inside the house, which was unlocked.
“My gut’s telling me that Bruce has been working with these people all along, maybe not even knowing who they were and what they were really doing until they killed his brother,” Kyle said.
“He’s thinking he’s next, and that’s why he turned on them,” Preston answered.
They searched the mobile home until they heard the patrol car pulling up. Stepping back outside, they watched as Bruce was loaded into the unit.
Preston hurried to speak to the officer, then met with Daniel. “The officer will have to go back on patrol once he delivers Leland to the urgent care center. Until I can assign a detective to keep him under surveillance 24/7, will you stick with him?”
“You’ve got it,” Dan said, then walked over to the squad car.
Preston rejoined Kyle and Erin, who were still outside the mobile home. “We may not have been able to identify these two gunmen, but we do know we’ve got at least three suspects running around.”
“Ed Huff, Mike Bewley and Ron Mora,” Kyle said with a nod. “I think that Huff is their leader, the one who organized the cell and recruited most of the others.”
“They’re still looking for the detonators, so that’s going to put you two in the crosshairs,” Preston said.
“By a process of elimination, I’m sure they’re now convinced I’m the one who has them,” Erin said.
“The best advice I can give you two is to stay on the move,” Preston said.
“That’s what I intend to do. You know where to find us,” Kyle said, leading Erin back to the SUV.
“We’re just going to drive around?” she asked.
“No. There’s something I need to pick up first, then afterward we need to prepare. They’re going to throw everything they have at us,” he said. “Things have been rough so far, but they’re about to get a whole lot tougher.”
Chapter Twenty
Kyle drove directly to Hartley’s downtown district, his gaze continually darting to his rearview mirror.
“I know you’re figuring out our next move, so I haven’t interrupted you, but it’s been twenty minutes and I’d really like to know where we’re going,” Erin said.
“We’re here,” Kyle answered, parking in front of a small store off Main Street called Southwest Treasures. “A good friend of Hosteen Silver’s, Pablo Ortiz, owns the place. He hand carved the fetishes that were given to my brothers and me.”
She sat up, excited. “Am I going to get a fetish?”
“Yes. I’ve finally figured out the right match for you. Receiving a fetish is a family tradition for us and now you’ll be part of that.” He reached for her hand and held her gaze. “You matter to me, Erin.”
He saw it in her eyes. She’d wanted to hear him say that he loved her, but those words didn’t come easily. He’d never spoken them to anyone before.
Before she could answer him, a short, rotund man came out and met them by the car.
“So, you gonna sit out here forever?” he said.
“Pablo, it’s good to see you,” Kyle said, laughing as he climbed down out of the SUV.
Once they were inside his shop, Erin, as if sensing the two men wanted to talk privately, walked off to look at an exhibit of pueblo pottery.
“So what brings you here today?” Pablo asked Kyle.
“I need a special fetish—Black Bear.”
He gave Kyle a long look. “There are many kinds of bear fetishes. Some are for hunting, others have different uses. What are your plans for it?”
“What Fox is to me, Black Bear will be to her,” he said, his voice quiet.
Pablo watched Erin as she strolled slowly around the shop, looking at the merchandise. “You want a bear fetish that will give her courage in times of trouble, and strength in the face of changes.”
He nodded, not surprised by Pablo Ortiz’s insight. “Yes.”
Pablo considered for a while before replying. “I have one I finished carving yesterday. Something told me it would be needed.”
“May I see it, uncle?” he asked, using the term out of respect.
“I’ll bring it out to you,” he said. “Although I usually use jet to carve Black Bear, this one’s made from black marble. I started it a while back, and even as I worked on it, I knew its destiny was set,” he said going through the door leading to his workroom.
A minute later Pablo returned. The inch-and-a-half-long carving depicted Bear standing on its hind legs as if surveying the area. Its marble surface gleamed in the light. The fetish was carved with painstaking attention to detail. Each of Bear’s paws, held high, showed extended claws, yet its muzzle was in a relaxed position. “It depicts power in stillness, and the wisdom to discern an enemy from a friend.”
“I’ll take it, uncle. It’s perfect,” Kyle said.
“I’ll place it in a jish,” he said, referring to a medicine bag with pollen inside.
“Thank you.”
Erin came over after Pablo left to get the fetish ready. “He carries so many beautiful and interesting things here,” she said, gesturing to a display cabinet across the room. “The fetishes are over there behind the glass.”
“Those aren’t for you. What I have in mind has to be a special carving.”
Her eyes lit up and she smiled. “Did you have to order it, or is he getting it right now?”
“He’ll bring it out, but you’ll have to wait a little longer to see it. There’s a place we need to go first. It’s my way of honoring the tradition Hosteen Silver began when he gave my brothers and me our own fetishes.”
