Trouble with a Badge

by Delores Fossen

  Levi tested the doors along the way. All locked. He brought up his foot, no doubt to knock one of them down, but a sound caused them all to freeze.

  Another shot.

  But this one sounded a lot closer than the others.

  That one shot was the only warning they got before the men barreled through the back door. Not two but three of them, all dressed in black and wearing ski masks. They took cover in the recessed area by the hall and started shooting.

  Directly at them.

  Tasha screamed, but Alexa wasn’t sure if the woman had been hit again because Levi pushed Alexa against the wall so she wasn’t able to see. In the same motion, he kicked at the door. Across the hall, Dexter did the same to that door. Jericho returned fire, and Alexa would have done the same thing if Levi hadn’t muscled her back into place. Protecting her again.

  The door that Levi was kicking finally gave way, and Jericho, Mack, Levi and she all hurried inside. Levi immediately pushed Alexa away from the opening, but she looked behind her, expecting to see Tasha.

  She wasn’t there.

  Neither was Dexter.

  Oh, God.

  For several horrifying moments, Alexa thought they’d been killed. Then she saw them in the room across the hall. Dexter had obviously gotten through that particular door.

  “No windows in here,” Jericho relayed to them when he checked out the room. “But there’s a door that leads to the next room over. And another door on that side.”

  Jericho tested the knobs, but both were locked. Good. That meant no one could get through without them hearing them. It also meant they might have an escape route if they got pinned down.

  “Do you need the flashlight?” Alexa whispered to Jericho.

  “No, and keep it off. If the gunmen see it, they’ll know exactly where we are. If they don’t already.”

  Maybe those men hadn’t seen which rooms they’d ducked into. But Alexa figured if they didn’t know, they’d soon find out.

  “Stay down,” Levi told her. He took up a position by the door he’d bashed in and glanced out.

  Just as a bullet smacked into the wall right next to him.

  Alexa caught hold of his jacket and pulled him back, but Levi didn’t go far. He was obviously watching to make sure those gunmen didn’t get any closer. Or to make sure some didn’t come from the other side of the hall. Maybe the person behind this had called for backup, as well.

  Two more bullets came.

  Then silence.

  Alexa wasn’t sure which was more unnerving, because the silence could mean the gunmen were on the move. Coming toward them.

  She glanced around. It wasn’t a big room and had likely once been a doctor’s office, since there was still an old desk and a toppled chair. That sparse furniture was the only thing in the room they could use for cover, but maybe it wouldn’t be necessary if they managed to shoot any gunman who tried to get in there.

  Maybe.

  Alexa slipped the flashlight into her pocket and got her gun ready. Waiting. And shivering so much that her teeth were chattering. She was wearing a coat, but the cold seemed to be going straight through it.

  She didn’t want to think of how cold Tasha must be. And how terrified. Here Tasha had probably thought she was close to being rescued, but now they were all being targeted by those men in the ski masks. Of course, the upside was that at least Tasha was alive, and that meant Violet wasn’t an orphan. Alexa ignored the little tug that caused in her heart.

  “It’s me,” someone called out. “I’m here to help.”

  Alexa instantly recognized that voice, and it put her heart right in her throat. She wasn’t at all sure this was someone who wanted to help.

  Because it was Marshal Lockwood.

  * * *

  LEVI WASN’T SURE who groaned louder. Him or Alexa. This was not the kind of help he needed right now.

  No way could he trust Lockwood, and it was entirely possible the marshal was one of the gunmen who’d been shooting at them. Especially if Levi went with the theory that the person behind this was using Tasha to draw out Alexa. The timing of Lockwood’s arrival was certainly suspicious.

  “Lockwood might call off the attack if I offer to surrender,” Alexa whispered.

  “Not a chance,” Levi said.

  Jericho added, “No way in hell.”

  “I wouldn’t actually surrender,” she argued. “But if he thought that’s what I was going to do, he might let down his guard.”

  “No, he won’t. He’s a marshal, and if he’s guilty, he’ll assume you’re trying to trick him.”

  She shook her head. “But we have to do something fast. Tasha and Mack need to get to the hospital.”

  “I don’t need you to make yourself bait for me,” Mack quickly assured her, though each word was indeed laced with pain.

  Levi made eye contact with her. Well, as much eye contact as he could manage in the dark room. “I’ll find another way,” he promised, and hoped like the devil it was a promise he could keep.

  “Did you hear me?” Lockwood shouted.

  Levi didn’t answer, but one of the shooters fired off three rounds. Maybe so they wouldn’t think Lockwood was in on this attack. Or maybe because the marshal was genuinely now their target, too.

  “Deputy Crockett?” Lockwood tried again.

  Levi used the sound of Lockwood’s voice to try to pinpoint his location. Definitely not in the same area as the shooters. He was at the opposite end of the hall, maybe trying to close in on them from that direction.

  “Don’t,” Alexa said when Levi made a quick glance out the door. Again, she pulled him back. And again, someone shot at him.

  “Did you see Lockwood?” Jericho immediately asked.

  “No. The hall’s too dark.” Especially at that end where there weren’t any windows or doors. “I can’t see Tasha, either.”

  Which was a good thing. It meant Dexter had moved her deeper into the room so he could stand guard by the door. That might prevent her from being an easy target if the gunmen rushed them.

  Levi’s phone buzzed, the sound knifing through the room, and he wasn’t exactly surprised when he saw the name on the screen.

  Lockwood.

  Levi answered it, but he sandwiched the phone between his ear and shoulder so it wouldn’t tie up his hands. Now he had to make sure the marshal didn’t tie up his attention, as well. Because this call could be a distraction.

  “What do you want?” Levi snapped. He didn’t sound even a little friendly, but he did keep his voice as low as possible. “And why the hell are you here?”

  “I’m trying to help you.” Lockwood didn’t bother with the friendliness, either, but he did sound riled that Levi had asked him that. “Where are you? I can try to come to you.”

  That wasn’t going to happen. “Where are you?” Levi countered.

  Lockwood didn’t hesitate. “East side of the building in the hall.”

  Exactly where Levi had thought he’d be from the sound of his voice. Levi wasn’t sure though if the marshal was actually still there since he could only hear him from the other end of the phone line, and Lockwood was whispering.

  “How’d you know we were here?” Levi asked, and he listened to try to figure out if Lockwood was moving closer.

  Again, no hesitation. “Tracking device on the cruisers and your truck. I put them there during the incident with the gunmen.”

  Levi had to bite back some profanity. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I wanted to be able to find Alexa if Marcos got to her.”

  “Or maybe you’re the one who wanted to get to her,” Levi countered.

  Lockwood didn’t hold back his profanity at all, and it wasn’t exactly a whisper, so Levi was able to determine the man hadn
’t moved since this conversation had started.

  However, Levi couldn’t say the same for the gunmen.

  It’d been at least a minute since they’d fired a shot, which meant they could be making their move. Levi did something about that. He leaned out just a fraction and fired a shot in their direction. He didn’t see the gunmen, but he heard them scurry around, and a few seconds later they sent two bullets right in Levi’s direction.

  Good.

  Levi didn’t like getting shot at, but he didn’t want to risk being ambushed, either.

  “I’m not the one trying to kill Alexa,” Lockwood insisted. “And why the heck did you bring her here?”

  Levi was asking himself the same thing. Yeah, he’d wanted to save Tasha, but he should have tied up Alexa and left her someplace safe. Too bad someplace safe seemed to be a pipe dream, what with Lockwood monitoring their every move. If Levi had left her at the sheriff’s office, Lockwood could have just gone after her there, and Levi wouldn’t have been around to protect her.

  “Did you shoot the kid with the explosives?” Levi asked Lockwood. “And don’t lie. I already know you were in the area.”

  More profanity from Lockwood. “I was there, but I didn’t shoot him. Someone shot me in the arm and I had to get to the ER for some stitches. If you don’t believe me, call the hospital.”

  Oh, he would, but not right now.

  “Who shot you?” Levi pressed.

  “Don’t know. Didn’t see him until it was too late. But whoever it was fired the shot through a silencer.”

  That would explain why Levi had heard the swishing sound. Well, it’d explain it if Lockwood was telling the truth. It was possible he hadn’t been shot at all but was using the injury to make himself look innocent.

  “Do you have a plan for getting Alexa out of here?” Lockwood asked.

  “Yeah,” Levi lied. “The plan starts with getting you out of the building. I don’t want you anywhere near Alexa.”

  Before Lockwood could come back with a quick answer or more profanity, Tasha made a sound. A sharp groan of pain that seemed to echo through the building.

  “She hit her arm,” Dexter quickly explained.

  So, not another injury, but Tasha’s groan had been loud enough for Lockwood to hear.

  “Is Alexa hurt?” he asked.

  “No.” And Levi debated how much he should say. He decided to go with the truth to see how Lockwood would react. “It’s Tasha who’s hurt. She’s not dead. Someone’s been holding her captive all this time here at the hospital. What do you know about that?”

  “Nothing. And that’s not right. I saw her body,” Lockwood insisted. “Tasha’s dead.”

  The marshal seemed as convinced of that as Levi had been when Tasha had called him. So, maybe that meant Lockwood hadn’t been involved in her abduction, after all. However, that didn’t mean he was innocent of coming after Alexa. Lockwood had a very strong motive for silencing her since her testimony at Marcos’s trial could end up sending him to jail.

  “Hell,” Lockwood said. Not a whisper this time. But a shout. “Look out!”

  Levi did just that. He glanced out the door to see what the heck had caused Lockwood’s warning.

  And Levi soon saw trouble.

  One of the masked gunmen tossed something into the hall. Metal canisters that immediately rolled toward Levi and the others.

  “Shut the door,” Levi warned Dexter.

  Not a second too soon.

  Because the canisters began spewing thick, white smoke right at them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Alexa wasn’t sure what the gunmen had thrown at them.

  Not until she got a glimpse of the smoke.

  Not wispy threads of it, either. This was a cloud that spread like lightning over the area.

  “Get back,” Levi warned her and slammed the door.

  Alexa tried to do just that. The smoke was seeping around the sides, bottom and top of the door and filling up the room fast.

  Coughing, she scrambled to the back where Jericho was working to get one of the locked doors open. There wasn’t a lot of space, what with Mack and the toppled furniture.

  Levi coughed, too, but he didn’t join her. Instead, he peeled off his jacket and put it at the bottom of the door to cover the gap where most of the smoke was coming in. It would help, some, but it wouldn’t be enough. Without any windows in the small room, it wouldn’t be long before they were overcome with smoke.

  But their attackers probably wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

  No. They likely had some kind of gas masks or they wouldn’t have launched an attack like this in the first place. This was obviously meant to draw them out into the open where they’d all be gunned down.

  Once again, this was her fault.

  She’d insisted on coming with them, and now because of her, Levi, his brother and two deputies were in danger. And it might all be for nothing. They might not be able to save Tasha, after all.

  Alexa stooped down to check on Mack. It was hard to tell, but she thought the bleeding had slowed some. That was something at least. However, that probably wouldn’t last when they had to go on the run. Judging from the look in his eyes, Mack knew that.

  “Just leave me here,” Mack said, his face bunched up from the pain. “You can come back for me when backup arrives.”

  “You’ll go with us,” Jericho insisted.

  No way would they leave Mack behind. He’d risked his life for Tasha and her, and Alexa would do whatever she could to help him.

  “We’ll find a way out,” she assured him.

  Mack nodded. “My aunt’s a nurse and used to work here when I was a kid,” he said in between the coughs. “I used to play here sometimes, and I’m pretty sure all these offices have connecting doors that lead all the way to east and west halls. Once you’re there, you can try to escape through the front of the building.”

  That was good. If they could make it through them then they’d eventually have a way out. Or at least they could get farther away from the smoke that was slowly smothering them. Of course, if they went east, they’d encounter Lockwood. The last time she’d seen the gunmen, they had been in the west hall.

  Either way led to trouble.

  But staying put wasn’t an option. At least if they made it out of this room, they had a fighting chance.

  Jericho cursed when the door wouldn’t give way, and he rammed his shoulder against it, not once but twice. Nothing. It held in place. So Alexa joined him, hoping their combined strength would do the trick. Levi went to the other locked door and got to work on it.

  “Answer it,” Jericho told Alexa when his phone buzzed. He took out his cell and handed it to her.

  She saw Dexter’s name on the screen and prayed the deputy didn’t have bad news about Tasha and him. With the doors closed between them, she had no idea if they were still even safe.

  Alexa pressed the button to answer the call, but since she didn’t want the sound of Dexter’s voice distracting them from hearing other things—like their attackers perhaps approaching—she didn’t put the call on speaker.

  “It’s me, Alexa,” she said. “Are you two all right?”

  “For now. How about all of you?”

  She was already short of breath from the smoke, and the fear was only making it worse. “We’re trying to get out through one of the side doors.”

  “Tell him to do the same,” Jericho insisted. But she didn’t have to relay it to Dexter because he clearly heard it.

  “There are two doors in this room,” Dexter explained. “Only one is unlocked, but it’s the one that leads to the east side of the building. I’m heading through it now and will call as soon as I’ve found a way out.”

  Alexa knew what that meant. It would get
Dexter and Tasha moving away from the smoke. Away from their attackers, too.

  But they’d be heading in Lockwood’s direction.

  “Jax just texted me,” Dexter continued. “He’s still about fifteen minutes out. The ambulance, too. I told him to be careful with his approach because there might be other shooters out there.”

  Yes, and she didn’t want Jax or the medics driving into the middle of an ambush.

  “I’ll call when I can,” Dexter added, and he hung up.

  Alexa relayed that to Jericho, and he cursed. Maybe because he didn’t like Dexter’s plan or maybe because the blasted door just wouldn’t budge. She glanced over at Levi, who wasn’t having any better luck.

  “Should I help Levi?” she asked.

  Jericho shook his head. “I’d rather go through this one and tangle with Lockwood. We can deal with the other dirtbags later.”

  Yes, of the two evils, she’d prefer Lockwood right now. Well, unless he had backup with him in that east hall.

  “Stand back,” Jericho said, and he waited only a few seconds before he took aim and fired into the lock.

  There was a loud shout. A man. Definitely someone crying out in pain. And for a few terrifying moments, Alexa thought maybe the bullet had ricocheted and hit someone in the room. But the sound hadn’t come from one of them.

  It’d come from the hall.

  Oh, God. Had Dexter been shot?

  “You’ve got to help me!” the man shouted. Not Dexter. But Lockwood. “I’ve been hit.”

  No one in the room moved to do anything about that. They were still trying to get the doors open.

  Alexa heard a welcome sound. A crack of the wood frame around the door that Levi was battering with his body.

  Finally.

  Levi had gotten the door opened, but going in that direction would lead them straight to the gunmen. Of course, first they’d have to get through heaven knew how many other doors. And then there were Tasha and Dexter to worry about, since by now they were likely heading toward the east hall. If they got there, they’d be without any backup.

  “Toss me the flashlight,” Levi said, peering into the dark room.