Wounded at the Lake

by Mitzi Pool Bridges

  Leonard laughed and bent to pet Thor. “I had a German Shepherd once. Don’t forget that I owe you more than a couple hours of my time, Doc.”

  “He’s not a German Shepherd, he’s a Belgian Malinois. Isn’t he beautiful?”

  “He is indeed.”

  Doc waved him away. “After today, we’ll call it even. Get set up and let me know when you’re ready.”

  “How do you feel?” she asked Lori when Leonard disappeared down the hall.

  “A little nervous. Anxious.”

  “Understandable.”

  Doc shuffled a handful of papers. “I know you can’t fill these out since you don’t know the answers, but there are a couple of questions I have to ask.”

  “Okay.”

  “This is the important one. Could you be pregnant?”

  “I can’t have babies.”

  Doc gave her a sharp look. “Really? Who told you that?”

  Lori shrugged. How did she know? “It’s another one of the things I know about myself. I have no idea how I know some things and not others.”

  “You don’t remember if a doctor told you?”

  “No.”

  Doc let out a long breath. “Do you want to have children?”

  “Of course I do.” The answer came swift and sure. When she thought of Coop, she realized she’d gladly have a dozen of his.

  “Can you tell me if you’ve had relations in the last two months?”

  Ohmygod! Did she have to answer? She had to tell Doc how she went to Coop’s room Christmas Eve and he came to hers a week earlier? How could she do that?

  “Lori, you look a little pale. Want to tell me why?”

  She tried to talk. Couldn’t. Cleared her throat. “I…”

  “It’s okay, Lori. I’m a doctor. You can tell me anything and it stays right here.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s embarrassing.” She knew her face was flaming red, but couldn’t help it. “The answer is yes.” She didn’t have to give details, did she?

  If so, how could she tell this wonderful friend she’d never had an orgasm until Coop? That she’d never made love with anyone until Coop?

  But Doc said nothing. She stood, left for a few minutes, and came back. “You’ll have to take a pregnancy test. You can’t have a CT scan if you’re expecting.”

  “I told you I couldn’t have babies. Isn’t that enough?”

  “No. It’s not. I have to have proof.” Doc handed her a box and pointed to the restroom. “Follow the instructions. If you have questions, give a yell. When you’ve finished bring it to me.”

  “It’s a waste of time, but you’re the doctor.”

  “That’s what I keep telling you.” Smiling, she walked down the hall.

  Lori went into the overly large restroom. Besides the usual, it had a closet with a large lock, which probably meant it held drugs. The lock was open; maybe Doc had just unlocked it.

  Less than five minutes later, Lori held the stick in her hand and blinked her eyes. She was seeing things. She blinked again. Opened them.

  This can’t possibly be right.

  She had been so sure. Sinking to the floor, the stick in her hand, her head whirled in disbelief. Maybe she wasn’t reading it right.

  She fumbled until she found the directions. Read them again. Looked again.

  The line hadn’t changed.

  She stood, only to sink back to the floor when the room tilted.

  Lori struggled to her feet and held onto the cabinet until the room settled around her. She willed herself to be calm. Think!

  It couldn’t be right, the test strip had to be compromised. She’d take another test and prove it.

  Opening the closet, she saw rows of samples. It took a minute to find another pregnancy test. She ripped it open and repeated the procedure.

  Her hands shook so hard she couldn’t hold the strip and had to set it on the counter.

  When it showed positive again, her knees went weak. At the same time she felt joy. It rocked through her in a wave of love so deep she could barely think.

  She was pregnant!

  She splashed water on her face, willed the room, and her nerves, to settle.

  Coop hadn’t used protection. She’d told him she couldn’t have babies.

  Why had she thought that? Who had told her?

  It didn’t matter. She was going to have Coop’s baby.

  Nothing in the world would ever sound as great.

  She reached for her cell phone. She had to talk to Coop.

  ****

  Coop had his hands full. Twenty minutes after he drove up at Bill’s he had been shocked to see the Wong sisters about to enter the restaurant. He’d started after them only to see an SUV swing to the curb. Two men, who were as big as prizefighters, got out. Each of them picked up one of the women and threw them in the back of the SUV before taking off.

  Coop ran back to his truck and was now right behind them, his mind going a hundred miles a minute. This was the break they’d been waiting for. Staying close, he reminded himself that he couldn’t lose them now.

  When they pulled into the drive of a two-story mansion in a fairly new section for the newly rich area off Memorial, he dialed Matt. Coop thought the place a little too much. Too many curlicues on the iron fence and gates, and too many columns on the house, made it look gaudy. “I found the sisters. They were picked up by a couple of gorillas and taken to this address.” He gave it to his brother. “Get the owner’s name to me ASAP.” With that, he hung up.

  He had to get in there. If he was any judge of what was going to happen, the sisters were about to be killed.

  His phone rang. “The house is listed under the name of The Natane Corporation. Donald Shafer pays the taxes. I’ll get info on him to you as soon as I can. I’m on my way.”

  “Bring the army. I don’t know what’s going down.”

  “Stay put until I get there.”

  Coop had opened the door to his truck when his phone rang again. He was about to turn it off when he saw it was from Lori. She had the test results. He sat back down.

  “I have something to tell you, Coop.”

  “About your tests? What did you find out?”

  “I haven’t taken the test.”

  “Look, honey. I found the women I told you about. I’m sitting in front of the house of a man by the name of Donald Shafer. I don’t know what the hell he has to do with all of this, but I’m going in there to find out. We’ll talk when I’m finished.”

  He shut his phone off. Less than a minute later, he walked through the gates and up to the house where he turned the doorknob and walked inside.

  The sound of voices led him to the back.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Donald Shafer?

  No! Lori’s mind screamed. Dizziness sent her to the floor.

  She wasn’t Lori, she was Lanie. Lanie Shafer, wife of Donald Shafer. Her mind screamed no. It couldn’t be.

  Absorbing the truth sent her to her knees. She held her head tightly with both hands to keep the reality of her life out. It didn’t work. Her life tumbled through her head in a kaleidoscope of memories. Now she knew why she wanted to remain Lori. Lanie had made mistakes that ruined her life.

  How could she have married a man like Shafer? What was wrong with her? What kind of person would marry and stay married to a man like him? Was she that weak? That frightened?

  Her life roared and tumbled through her like a bad dream.

  Five years she’d given him. Five years of hell. Five years of no freedom. Threats. Worse.

  Coop! He can’t go in that house. Donald will kill him. He’d tried to kill her. He wouldn’t miss again.

  The life she wanted lay in ruins. It would never happen now. But she had to save Coop.

  Frantic to get to the house, she forced her feet to move—to leave the restroom. Her glance swept the hall. Empty. Voices from the rear told her Doc and Leonard were in the lab. She had to hurry—had to get to Coop. Doc would stall her. Lori could
n’t let that happen. She called Coop back, but his phone went to voice mail.

  Terror sent her running.

  Thor was right behind her when she hurried into Doc’s office. The keys to the Cadillac were in the other woman’s purse. Lori, she wanted to be Lori and refused to acknowledge herself as Lanie, scrambled through the bag. Where were the damned keys? Finally, they were in her hand and she was out the door. Thor jumped into the passenger seat as she gunned the motor and took off.

  She had to hurry. Coop could die.

  ****

  His Glock leading the way, Coop followed the voices, which were louder now.

  At the door to the den, he knelt behind a decorative tree to recon. He couldn’t go in, gun blazing, without info. One of the gorillas had the two sisters in a corner of the room; a meaty hand gripped the arm of each. They couldn’t get away if they tried.

  Across from them, two men argued. He didn’t know one, but the big guy with his gut hanging over his forty-inch waist looked exactly like the photo of Natane’s CEO, Bart Mallory. He held a gun down at his side. The other guy had to be Shafer.

  The sight of Mallory with a gun must have terrified the sisters. Somehow, they’d managed to wrap an arm around each other. One of them had her face buried in her sister’s shoulder.

  Coop wondered how the hell he was going to figure out what was going down. The sisters were crying, the men screaming. He listened.

  “I don’t condone mistakes.” This, from the man who had to be Shafer. His face was contorted in anger as he spouted at Mallory. “These women let our prized package escape. They have to be punished.”

  Was their prize package, Christie? Where the hell are you, Matt?

  The women heard the threat.

  “Please, Mr. Shafer. We always did as you ask. Everything. Just like you want. We take care of babies. Keep them clean and healthy.”

  Bingo!

  The sisters were the keepers. Shafer, his face flushed with anger, played a part in this. So did Mallory. But who played what part? Matt could figure it out if he’d ever get his ass here.

  Shafer turned to the sisters. “You let her escape. I was going to get a half a mil for her and now she’s gone. It’s your fault and you’ll pay.”

  “No, Mr. Shafer. Please.”

  Shafer wasn’t listening.

  “I can’t say I’m pleased with your performance either, Shafer. For years, I groomed you for this job. I taught you everything. Gave you everything. Yet you screwed me over. This franchise was yours to manage. It wasn’t your private piggy bank. After all I’ve done for you, you’ve let me down. Now that can’t be tolerated.”

  When Mallory raised his gun, Shafer’s face paled.

  The back door flung open and a woman raced inside, a dog on her heels. “Where is he?”

  Shafer didn’t move. Just stood and stared.

  Coop thought the guy was going to pass out. His face went from pale to concrete-gray. Staggering, he grabbed the bar behind him and held on.

  Coop turned his attention to the woman. Was it…? No. Not possible. Lori and Thor? How did she know this man? Why was she here? Disbelief vied with denial. He blinked his eyes. Surely he was seeing things, but it was Lori. His thoughts scrambled to understand. Nothing about the scene made sense.

  She gave Thor the signal to sit. He did.

  Rooted, Coop watched the scene unfold. “They told me you were dead.” Shafer sounded as if he was gargling rocks.

  Mesmerized, unable to believe his eyes, Coop came to his feet, the gun steady in his hand.

  He’d never seen Lori angry. But right now, she was past anger. Her chin jutted out. Her eyes were cold and determined—such a deep turquoise they were like ice. He didn’t know this Lori.

  “You wanted me dead, you bastard. But you screwed up. I’m here. Where’s Coop?”

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. What I want to know is where is it? Where did you hide it?”

  “It’s my turn. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The hell you don’t!” Shafer yelled. “It was in my office until the day I caught you snooping. So don’t lie. I know when you lie.”

  “You know nothing.”

  Shafer’s face flushed bright red. “Where’s the flash drive? I know you have it.”

  Lori laughed. Coop had never heard that hardness before. Lori had disappeared and this stranger had taken her place.

  Shafer advanced—closing the distance between them. “Give it to me.”

  “Are you talking about that tiny little flash drive?” She laughed again. Ice crept up Coop’s spine at the sound. “It’s in good hands.”

  Shafer’s lips curled in contempt. Coop wanted to hit the man, knock that supercilious expression off his face. Evidently, Lori had taken the flash drive Shafer held so dear and was shot for her trouble.

  “Why did you want me dead?”

  “I overheard you talking to your trailer-trash friend. I heard you tell her you were filing for a divorce. Did you think I would simply let you walk away? You were nothing but trash yourself when I found you, and even dumber than I thought. I took you out of your menial existence and gave you everything your heart desired.” He waved his arms around the room. “Wasn’t it enough? Now, I think you have something I want.” He wasn’t finished. “When I saw you in my office I knew you were up to no good. It was the final straw.” He held out his hand.

  Lori ignored him. “I was your pawn after I married you. You spoke, I moved. Everything was for you.”

  Married? Lori was married to that jerk?

  Coop’s vision blurred. He couldn’t believe his eyes or his ears. His knees felt so weak he almost fell.

  Knuckle down. You’re a SEAL. Act like it.

  “I don’t want to hear another word about your marital problems.” Mallory barked. “It seems the old saying is true, what goes around comes around. You may have taken this woman and given her more than she ever had, just remember who did the same for you. So let’s get to the reason I’m here. You have something that belongs to me. I want it. If this woman has it, get it.”

  Shafer’s face went from angry red to deathly gray once more. Whatever kind of trouble he was in with his boss, it was serious business. Otherwise the guy wouldn’t be holding a gun.

  “It’s missing. But not for long.” He turned to Lori. “Turn it over.”

  “Or what?” She stepped up to him, her chin jutted even further. “Are you going to try and kill me again?”

  “This time I’ll do it myself. It seems I can’t count on anyone to do what they’re supposed to.” His eyes flicked to the corner of the room where the gorilla stood with his mouth open. “This time, I’ll pull the trigger. You won’t get up and walk away again.”

  “I think that’s my line,” Mallory said.

  Shafer turned to him. “I don’t understand. This is the first time I haven’t come through.” He pointed to the Wong sisters. “It’s their fault.”

  “Is it their fault you skimmed money off the top before you made your report? Is it their fault you’re a slacker? Is it their fault you stole confidential information and put it on a flash drive? What did you do, hack into my computer? You’re an idiot.”

  Shafer looked as if he might pass out.

  Coop thought it was time to make his appearance known. His Glock pointing the way, he took a step into the room.

  “I don’t think so,” a voice whispered in his ear.

  Damn it to hell. Coop had been so engrossed in the unfolding scene he hadn’t watched his backside. What kind of SEAL was he?

  “Who’s the guy?”

  Lori started to open her mouth; Coop gave her a look he hoped she understood.

  She stayed quiet.

  “Found him listening at the door.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Shafer glared.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Mallory said, his voice lethal. “You’ll be the first to go. He’ll be the second. After that, we’ll see who is
next.” The gun exploded. Shafer fell like a stone, a bullet in his head.

  The sisters screamed.

  “Fass,” Lori screamed. Before the guy could turn Coop’s way, Thor was on him.

  One down. The steel against the back of his head dropped a fraction. It was now or never. Coop ducked, punched the guy in his gut with an elbow, pivoted and gave him an uppercut to the jaw. The guy fell, unconscious.

  Coop found his gun and looked around. Chaos reigned. The sisters were screaming their heads off. Mallory was trying to sit up. “Pass Auf.” Coop gave Thor the signal to guard. He snarled and pressed his front legs against Mallory’s chest. The man would go nowhere.

  Coop checked to make sure the guy who’d held a gun on him was still unconscious.

  The gorilla with the sisters stood in shock, as if he didn’t know what the hell had just happened. But his grip on their arms didn’t lessen.

  Coop’s gaze found Lori. Not Lori, but a criminal’s wife, no, his widow.

  Their gazes locked. He shook his head in denial as the outer door opened and a voice he knew well, yelled, “FBI.”

  A dozen men in black windbreakers with FBI stenciled on the back swarmed into the room.

  Coop walked over to Lori. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded.

  He turned away and went to help his brother.

  Coop couldn’t think beyond the fact that Lori had been married to a man in the child sex-slavery business.

  She wasn’t the woman he’d fallen in love with. She wasn’t the woman who loved the dogs and begged to work with them, or the woman no one could keep out of the kitchen. And she wasn’t the woman who seemed at home at the homestead when she was accustomed to luxury.

  So who the hell was she?

  His throat too clogged to talk, he walked over to the sisters.

  Two FBI agents were putting them in handcuffs. He had to make his mouth move and force the words out. “Take it easy on them until we hear their story.”

  “FBI Special Agent Montgomery told us these people were most likely involved in child sex-slavery. I don’t feel the urge to go easy on anyone here.”

  “Then change your attitude. Agent Montgomery will separate the innocent from the guilty. Until then mind my words.”