Within His Sight

by Denise A. Agnew

  Mary made a scoffing sound. “No way.”

  Hannah frowned and pinned her with a no-nonsense look. “How do you know he’s not gay? Have you ever seen him date since he started work here?”

  The small sheriff’s department station, thank goodness, didn’t have too many people running around at this noon hour. No one would overhear this outrageous conversation.

  “I don’t know for sure, but the way he looks at women tells me he’s not gay.”

  “Yeah?” Hannah winked. She tilted her head to the side and dishwater blonde hair slipped over her shoulders. “Does that mean he’s looked at you that way?”

  “Ahem. Ladies, do you have a minute?” Captain Sherry Carmichael walked into the administration section, her tight military bearing attesting to ten years in the Air Force and another ten in the Sheriff’s Department. “A storm front is coming in again.” Sherry shifted and her leather holster creaked. “The sheriff is stuck clear across town at a meeting, but he just called in and said non-essential personnel should head home before all hell breaks loose.”

  Outside, as if Mother Nature had heard the captain’s words, the wind escalated to a bone-chilling howl. Snow whipped across the windows. Late afternoon turned darker by the minute.

  “Whoohoo!” Hannah twirled her chair in a circle. “This is a great way to end a week. Off early.”

  Sherry smiled. “Get outta here before I change my mind.” She strode out the door.

  As Mary shut down her computer, Hannah groaned.

  “Something wrong?”

  “I forgot. My car won’t be out of the shop until later today. Sandy over in dispatch planned to give me a ride over to the repair place. But she’s essential personnel. She won’t be leaving early.”

  Mary reached for the desk drawer to retrieve her purse. “No problem. I can drop you off at the garage. Give Sandy a call.”

  “Oh, thank you. That would be great.”

  Before too long they jumped into Mary’s blue Ford Focus and headed down the main drag. Few people lingered on the streets. She knew Dace would work through the weather—cops didn’t quit because snowstorms came along. She sighed with disappointment. If this snowstorm materialized, she wouldn’t make it over to his house tonight for a friendly conversation.

  Damn. Damn. Damn.

  She really, really wanted to get together with him in every way possible.

  Once she scratched this crazy itch for him, she’d be happy.

  Though a local rock station blared music in the car, and Hannah sat beside her, Mary chafed at the isolation she felt. Thanksgiving wasn’t far away. She’d weathered the loneliness before, but this year it hit her stronger, was more gut-wrenchingly precise. God, she didn’t want a pity party, but with the festive, cozy air of a winter storm in the air, it would have been nice to have a family waiting at home for her. A wild vision entered her head of Dace coming home to her, a smile on his face.

  She’d planned to spend the long Thanksgiving weekend alone, enjoying the peace and quiet. She wouldn’t deviate from that plan now or get herself worked up thinking about Dace in an impossible future.

  “Something wrong?” Hannah asked.

  “Not a thing.” Liar.

  Just outside of town, Dixie Miller’s old, run-down garage rose up at the end of a dirt road surrounded by pine trees.

  “I wonder if DK is home.” Hannah’s voice oozed with derision.

  “God, I hope not. He’s just too creepy.” A shiver raced over Mary’s skin. Snow came down heavier, and a gust of wind battered her small car.

  “Maybe one of the other guys in the shop will be there. I like dealing with them better.”

  She couldn’t blame Hannah’s reaction to Dixie’s good-for-nothin’ boomerang son. Awkward, petty, argumentative and in serious need of some medication, the forty-five year old man had lived with his mother for ten years. He claimed it was to look out for his widowed mother.

  “At least he’s a good mechanic,” Mary said as they pulled into the driveway.

  Several cars resided in the front lot, maybe repaired and ready for owners to return.

  “Hmm, that’s weird.” Hannah pushed her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose. “There aren’t any lights on in the shop.”

  “Or the house.”

  “I don’t see my car out front.” Hannah sighed. Mary parked and Hannah left the car. “I’ll be right back.”

  Mary waited, her thoughts swirling around when and if she’d see Dace. Man, she couldn’t believe how fast he’d wormed his way under her defenses, how he made her forget her past. Okay, she hadn’t forgotten her past at all. That’s why she needed to sleep with Dace, get him out of her system, realize what she felt for him couldn’t be anything but temporary. Satisfied that she’d seduce him one way or the other before Thanksgiving, she smiled.

  Her cell phone chirped and made her jump. She dug around in her purse and answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Hi.”

  “Dace?” She couldn’t mistake that sexy voice for anyone else.

  “You expecting another guy to call you?”

  She heard the teasing in his voice. “Would it bother you if I said yes?”

  “Yeah. It would. But it shouldn’t. I’m only your friend, remember?”

  Dace, jealous? Those treacherous, wild feelings dancing inside her blossomed to full life. “So what’s up?”

  “This storm. I heard you’ve been let go early.”

  “And not a moment too soon. I’m over here at Miller’s shop waiting for Hannah to pick up her car.”

  “Be careful. The roads are already getting slick. Call me when you get home so I can be sure you’re safe.”

  “I will. You’re very sweet to care.”

  “Of course, I care. Listen, I don’t know if I’ll even get off shift on time to see you tonight.”

  “I expected that might be the case.” She sighed. “Oh, well. Such is life, eh?”

  “Yeah. I wouldn’t want you driving in this later tonight anyway. If I do get off I could stop by your place.” Soft, husky vibrations filled his voice and stroked over her skin like a gentle touch. “That is, if you want me to.”

  “Oh, yes. That would be great. I could make us some dinner.” Her eyes snapped open. “Dace, I…”

  She stopped cold as Hannah walked out of the front door, DK Miller’s arm locked around her neck, a gun pointed to her head.

  For what seemed an eternity, Mary couldn’t register what she saw in front of her. Until she heard Dace’s voice prompting her, and a cold, cold fear iced over her soul.

  “Mary? Are you there?”

  “Oh, my God.”

  “What?” His voice turned sharp and hard. “What is it?”

  Before she could speak, Miller pointed the weapon in Mary’s direction and fired.

  * * * *

  Dace heard the crack of gunfire and glass shattering, and jerked the phone from his ear at the piercing sound. He’d just walked out of the convenience store toward his squad car when Mary’s shocked and frightened exclamation had stopped him dead outside the doorway.

  He gripped the phone and put it back to his ear. “Mary!” When he didn’t get an answer he dashed toward the squad car as fast as he could without falling on the ice. “Mary, answer me! Are you all right?”

  He heard another gunshot, then a scream. Never in his years as a deputy sheriff or a United States Marine had his soul filled with dread as it did in that moment. “Mary!”

  No answer. He switched the cell phone to his other ear, yanked open the police cruiser door, and jumped inside.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Kelso asked sharply, his eyes hard with concern.

  “Something’s happened to Mary. She took Hannah over to Miller’s to get her car. She said, ‘Oh my God,’ and then I heard a gunshot.”

  “Son of a bitch!” Kelso slammed the car into gear and roared out of the parking lot, back tires fishtailing on snow and ice, siren blaring.

  D
ace called in the situation to dispatch and they alerted SWAT. He kept the cell phone to his ear and tried periodically to get an answer from Mary. The line went dead.

  “God, Kelso.” Dace swallowed hard. “If anything’s happened to her…”

  He couldn’t finish.

  Kelso drove as fast as he could without wrecking the cruiser. “She’s fine. She’s going to be fine.”

  His heart wanted to stop. To seize with the terrifying possibility that Mary could be seriously hurt or … God, no … dead. “If someone’s hurt her, I swear to God…” He swallowed hard again. “I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”

  “I’ll help.”

  Before he knew it, they reached the edge of town and Kelso switched off the sirens. Other units would approach in the same way.

  “We’re almost there.” Kelso took a turn a little fast and the tires squealed. “We’ll hang back and wait for the others.”

  Then a report came over the radio that terrified Dace. “Unit eight, this is base. DK Miller’s cousin Vincent just got a call from DK. He’s holding two hostages. And he shot his mother.”

  Dace hit the dash with his fist. “Fuck.”

  “I’ll second that,” Kelso said.

  Dace grabbed the hand mic. “This is unit eight. Are there any report of injuries to anyone other than Miller’s mother?”

  “Unit eight, no confirmation.”

  Dace’s throat felt as if someone was trying to hang him with a noose. “Ten-four, base.” Dace put the mic way. His gut churned. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Easy, buddy. We don’t have a clue yet what’s happening. Hang in there.”

  “Damn it.” Dace’s voice sounded harsh even to his own ears. “You’d feel the same if it were Irene.”

  Kelso let out a hard breath. “Of course, I would.”

  Dace clenched his fists, his breath coming too hard. He drew in one deep breath and then another to calm the rage threatening to loosen his training and blow his control. Nothing mattered more than racing to Mary. Nothing mattered more than extracting her from the situation and holding her safe in his arms. He had to wrestle his emotions under control.

  Snow came down relentlessly, but at least it hadn’t reached blizzard conditions. They stopped far enough away from Miller’s that no one inside the property could see them. They jumped out of the car and opened the trunk. Quickly and efficiently they put on the necessary SWAT gear, preparing for the situation. Dace and Kelso grabbed their MP5 weapons and made certain they were ready. Within a shorter time than even he expected, four other cruisers arrived with additional team members, followed by a hulking SWAT mobile command station.

  Tension bunched Dace’s muscles as he waited while two snipers prepared to take positions around the perimeter and report intelligence.

  Kelso put his helmet on and secured the chinstrap. He clasped Dace’s shoulder. “She’s okay, dude.”

  “Damn straight.” Dace would make it happen if it was the last thing he did.

  * * * *

  “Move it.” DK waved his gun at Mary and Hannah as he urged them toward the garage front area.

  Mary walked into the garage office followed by Hannah. DK brought up the rear. Mary’s heart thumped an anxious beat, her stomach tumbling and aching. Nausea threatened.

  “Walk faster.” DK’s voice went rough and crackling.

  Mary obeyed without question—she knew by the strange light in his eyes that he meant business.

  She wished to hell she hadn’t dropped her cell phone in the car when he’d pulled the trigger.

  At least Dace knows something is wrong. He must have heard when DK had pointed and shot. Had she screamed? She didn’t think so. She kept replaying the horrific moment on an endless loop. When DK had come to the driver’s side with Hannah in tow and threatening to kill them both, she thought her heart would stop.

  It hadn’t, and now she had to deal.

  She stopped in the main office area, and couldn’t suppress a gasp. “Oh, no.”

  DK’s mother sat at her desk, head thrown back, mouth open. Her once white button-up long-sleeved shirt was half soaked in red.

  The red seemed alive. Pulsing.

  That’s when she realized—

  Mary’s breath caught in her throat. “She’s alive. DK, she’s alive. Let me help—”

  “Shut up!”

  DK’s brutal tone made her hair stand up. She tensed and waited.

  DK’s enraged face eased into calm. Mary heaved a slow breath, her throat aching with tension. I will survive this.

  Hannah’s eyes went frantic. Her body shook. “Please don’t hurt us, DK.”

  “I ain’t going to hurt you unless you disrespect me like that old bitch in the chair over there and like everyone else in this town.”

  Mary knew she had to keep this situation as calm as she could. “We respect you, DK. What is it you want?”

  His hair was cut seventies style, shaggy and peeking over his shirt collar. Grease streaked his overalls. His thin, hawkish face reminded her of a cadaver. He’d lost considerable weight from the last time she’d seen him. He looked far older than she knew he was.

  “We have money.” Hannah looked as if she had a tight grip on the crazed man’s forearm. “If you need it.”

  He grunted and pulled Hannah to his side. “What I want is to die.”

  A chill ripped up Mary’s spine. From what she’d learned working with law enforcement, this meant DK had decided he had nothing to lose. This didn’t bode well for her survival or Hannah’s.

  “Let’s talk about this.” Mary kept still, conscious of not moving her hands or making other sudden movements.

  “Please let us go.” Hannah shifted in the man’s grip, her tone pissed but also shaky. “If you want to hurt yourself, we can’t stop you, but please don’t use us to do it.”

  “Bullshit.” He dragged Hannah toward the large picture window to the east side of the junky office. “You wanna die, too, just keep talking like an idiot.” He placed her in front of him and anchored his arm around her throat as her dragged her back against him.

  “No.” Hannah’s squeak of fear was desperate. She strangled and coughed. “DK, stop it. Let me go.”

  She’s losing it. Damn, damn. She’s making this worse. Mary’s tension rose. Instinctively she knew it wouldn’t help to mention the police. This dickhead wanted suicide by cop, and that scared the spit out of her. Her mind scrambled for answers as DK turned his back on her and held Hannah in front of him. He made a damned big target for a sniper, but maybe that’s what he wanted. He figured the deputies would take him out with one shot. Which she knew they could do in a heartbeat. She couldn’t charge him from behind—that path led to death.

  “DK?” she asked softly. “Can I help your mother? She needs help.”

  “Forget about her.” DK’s voice was cold. “I have.”

  Mary turned and looked at his mother and realized help would come too late anyway. Wide-open eyes stared into heaven. Mary hoped the woman had found peace. Guilt rushed, coiled hard in her stomach, and filled her mind and heart. She drew in an uneven breath. I didn’t help her. I should have thought of some way. For a moment she flashed back to her father, to the guilt. To emotions chaotic and raw.

  She returned her attention to DK and Hannah. Hannah whimpered, and Mary wanted to yell at her to shut up. She understood the woman’s fear, the paralyzing realization that they might take their last breaths here in this greasy, dirty home garage. This isn’t how I planned to go. At the same time, they had to keep their cool if they wanted any chance of escaping this unscathed.

  Or at least alive. Please, just get us out of here alive. A little broken, a little anything, but just not dead.

  A mental picture of Dace’s hard, sometimes unforgiving face filled her mind’s eye. What she wouldn’t give to see his damned frown right about now.

  She jerked from her meandering mind long enough to notice that Hannah had gone limp in DK’s grip.

  “S
hit,” he growled, and then he dropped his burden.

  Hannah fell flat onto her side and lay still.

  Mary started to move forward. “Hannah.”

  “Stay put!” DK turned the gun on her.

  She halted, her breath catching. “No problem.”

  Before she could say anything more, the phone on the desk, next to his mother’s body, started to ring. DK stared at it. It rang six times.

  Mary glanced at the phone. “Shouldn’t we answer it?”

  “No.”

  The phone continued ringing.

  DK twitched, his face contorting with something that almost looked like pain. “Fuck!”

  He took a bead on the phone and blasted it all to hell with one precise shot. Mary jumped. Pieces went flying. One segment slapped her in the forehead, gouging and falling away. She cried out and slapped her hand to her head. Her fingers came away bloody.

  “Damn it, woman, get out of the way unless you wanna get dead.”

  He sounded like some bad B western gunslinger, and if the situation hadn’t been so serious she would have laughed her ass off at his antics. Instead she reached for a tissue on the desk and held it to her forehead.

  His eyes were as bloodshot as a hell hound, his mouth a cruel line. “No chance to cry for help.”

  Her forehead stung like crazy. “That was probably the cops. If we don’t answer the next time, they might come in.”

  He shrugged. “So? It’s what I want. They can come in with guns blazin’ for all I care.”

  Her heart thumped slowly, painfully. She recognized panic trying to overtake her. She drew in a slow breath, determined she wouldn’t lose it. She must get out of here alive.

  She had to live.

  She had to see Dace again and hold him tight even if only for one night. One mindless, beautiful night.

  DK stalked toward her. “Get over here. You’re my new shield.”

  Chapter Five

  Dace moved with agitation, ready for action. He wanted to get in there. “I’m not dressed up like this to go to a party, damn it.”

  Craig MacGilvary clamped one hand on Dace’s shoulder as they stood at the ready. “You know the drill.”

  Craig’s brother Trey, a sniper, was set up nearer to the Miller house and had reported what he could see. The information wasn’t good. Fucking not good at all. First, Hannah and DK had stood in front of the big picture window. Hannah had fallen to the side. Trey reported that DK hadn’t shot her, but she hadn’t moved. Right after they’d tried to establish contact they heard another shot. That scared the shit out of Dace, but he held his emotions back with steel-hard discipline.