Guarding Forever (Police and Fire Operation Alpha)

by Steele, C. M.

  “Same here. I just want you. Until they come, let’s play with this little guy and forget that Cummings may or may not be after us.”

  “Wait, what’s this?”

  She looked at the surveillance screen he pulled up. All she saw was woodgrain. “What is it? Something’s blocking the camera.”

  “No. I think the camera fell. That’s the fence post. Shit. I don’t have time for this. How the hell could it have fallen? I’m sorry, but I need to call Bill and deal with this. We didn’t have a big storm last night. Damn it, I’m going to contact Cavanaugh and complain about his equipment.”

  * * *

  The nurse entered the isolated, well-guarded room after getting cleared from the officer outside the door. “Mr. Cummings, how are you feeling?”

  “Like I’ve been run over by cattle.” He quietly laughed, which caused him to wince in pain.

  “Well, it looks like you have. I’m sorry, but this will make you feel better.” She injected a dose of morphine into his IV to ease his pain. Just then, Daxton Chambers came to speak with the barely lucid man.

  “Ah, Chambers, come to help me?” The sneer in his expression showed that he had no intention of stopping the shit talking.

  “Not on your life, but I need to know how you were injured.” Dax pulled up a chair next to Cumming’s bed.

  “I was beaten. Didn’t you hear?” There was humor in his voice, but he groaned since the pain meds hadn’t kicked in yet.

  “That’s what you say, but the beating seems too perfect.” Cummings read the accusation in his voice and narrowed his eyes.

  “Too perfect? That makes no damn sense. I could have died,” he roared, although the drugs had started to work and dulled his bark.

  “More’s the pity you didn’t, but I need answers.”

  “You won’t get them.” Dax turned to the voice at the door. “I think you remember me, Ranger Chambers, and you know my client has nothing to say to you. Please leave, or I’ll file a harassment case against you and your department.”

  “Fine, but we’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

  “Good. Then you can find the one out there trying to kill me.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Dax left the room with a load of questions for the Emergency Department staff who received Cummings. From the appearance of where the attack happened, nothing seemed out of place. No real scuffle took place.

  An hour after leaving the hospital, Dax was called in on another incident, forcing him to take all he learned and put it on the back burner.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, but this email was sent through a type of untraceable source.” The Cybercrimes Department at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office came about two hours later like Dax had said.

  “Untraceable?” Hope asked, unaware of a lot of things outside of her home, but Gage knew exactly what that meant. He couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. The bastard had a way around it. In his gut, he knew they wouldn’t find anything. Cummings wasn’t stupid enough to leave a trail.

  “Yes, well, it bounces around to throw us off the trail. The origin of the email has led to a place just outside of Moscow. Do you know anyone that lives in Russia?”

  “No. I don’t have friends.”

  “I haven’t dealt with a Russian in years, and he was deported.” There was no doubt in Gage’s mind that this had everything to do with Cummings. He looked around the room, trying to control the fury building. His wife’s sperm donor had played his cards well. Gage wondered if Cummings had actually been injured or had faked it. The more he thought about the spiderweb of IP addresses, he knew that it couldn’t be anyone else. No one would put in that much effort and not point it to Cummings directly.

  The tech added, “Give us the name, and we’ll see if he’s behind it. It’s a long shot because I’m sure the email came from much closer, but we can still check it out.”

  “Good, because I’m certain it’s him. That lawyer of his gave me a funny feeling. I bet his ass is crooked.”

  “We’ll do what we can.” They packed up their gear and left.

  Gage and Hope went about their day like nothing had happened, although in the back of both their minds, trouble was a moment away.

  Just as the techs pulled out onto the main road, Bill came running up the steps. “The bull is missing. I checked the area, but I can’t find him. There’s another hole in the fence in a different spot. The camera’s there and recording, but the pole has been knocked over.”

  “Shit. Have the men scanned the area?”

  “Yes, but there’s no sign of the bull. And it’s worse.”

  “What?”

  “I found this by the camera.” He opened his hand to reveal a spent shell casing from a long-range rifle.

  “So someone shot down my camera.” Gage paced the room, thinking of everything he learned. This all must lead to Cummings—but how?

  “It would appear that way.”

  “I need all of you out looking for the bull. Cummings is in the hospital, so I doubt he’ll come after us. I need to review that camera’s feed and see what time it happened.” Bill left right away to send out a search party.

  An hour later, Gage found the time of the shooting, which had been at four in the morning, just before they began their day. What it didn’t show was what happened afterward. A loud rumble and shout could be heard out of the speaker, but that was it and then it went silent.

  His phone rang as he stood up to check on Hope, who had gone to feed the baby.

  “What’s up, Bill? Please tell me you have some good news.” From the long pause, Gage knew the answer would be no.

  “I’m afraid I don’t. I found the bull. He’s dead.”

  “Son of a bitch!” He slammed his phone down on the desk. Regaining his cool, he picked it up and said, “What do you know?”

  “It wasn’t an accident or anything. He’d been shot and left in Colt’s field.”

  “Shit. Okay.” That was a message. Colt would have wrangled up the bull and called me, so who shot the fucker?

  “Colt said he’d handle it.” Gage nodded to himself. His cousin was a truly professional rancher and was used to dealing with dead animals.

  “Thanks. I’m going to need a drink.”

  “Sorry, boss.”

  “Thanks again. Finish up the work for today and get some rest. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Colt called Gage twenty minutes later with a lead on the suspect. “I’m sorry about what happened. I pulled my footage, but the only thing my cameras picked up in passing was a dark blue Ford pickup. The model was unclear as well as the plates, but at least that’s a start.”

  “Thanks, man. Can you send me a picture of it?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Good. I need to call this into the police.”

  A loud sigh came from Colt. “Um…Gage. I’ve got more shitty news for you. Silas Perkins is out of jail now.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, on good behavior.”

  “Great. Things are just getting better and better. Damn. Silas Perkins.” A light went on in Gage’s head. He thought back to the scrawny old bastard with his schemes. Several people had been convicted of stealing, but Silas had been the ringleader. “That son of a bitch. With Cummings out on bail, I completely forgot about him. Do you know where he is?”

  “He’s back at his place as far as I know. How is Hope?”

  “She’s taking care of the baby right now.”

  “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Don’t do anything with the bull until the cops come. They may want to check it out.”

  “I took pictures, but I had to get it off my field. The other animals won’t graze with it there.”

  “Understood. Talk to you later. Thanks for everything.”

  “No problem. Call me anytime.”

  Gage made the call to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office again. This time they came out wit
h two detectives. “You’ve got a lot going on today, Mr. Gibson.”

  “Yeah, way too much bullshit for my liking.”

  “So you say someone trespassed on your property, damaged your cameras, and killed one of your cattle?”

  “Yes, it happened at four in the morning. My crew came up to me this afternoon to tell me the bull got out again.”

  “This happened before?” Gage tried to keep his cool. They weren’t the ones who worked the case, so they didn’t have to know about it. The FBI handled the matter because it crossed state lines.

  “Did you hear about the Cattle Auction Ring that happened last year?”

  “Oh, yes. I read about it.”

  “Well, I was the one who turned the people in after they were caught on camera stealing my cattle back.”

  “Do you think the two events are connected?”

  “It’s hard to say. I know that the email had to be from Cummings regardless of the fact that he was in the hospital with severe injuries. One of his lackeys could have been the one to hit the button.”

  “True. We’re going to ride over to Colt’s ranch and get all we can from the bull and then have a talk with Mr. Perkins. Do us a favor and don’t contact Perkins. Understood?”

  “I won’t. I’m not interested in going to jail. I have a family to look after.”

  It was already five when he went looking for Hope and their son. His stomach was rumbling, so he was sure hers would be too. His stomach had been in knots with everything going on, so he hardly touched the lunch Hope brought him after Bill left to search for the bull. They were in the baby’s nursery just outside their bedroom. “Are you hungry, Hope?”

  “No. I want to spend time with Johnny.”

  Gage stared at his wife as questions circled in his mind. Was she pushing me away? Did she blame me for spending so much time away from her? “Do you want me to join you?”

  “Of course. Unless you don’t want to.” She seemed unsure. The both of them were shaken by the constant danger they’d had to go through—the doubt and fear challenging their young love.

  “I always want to be with my two favorite people.” Gage got down on the floor with Hope and Johnny, who sat around his playmat and toys.

  “Ouch, shit. I think I got a toy up my ass,” Gage said, digging a toy phone out from under his rear.

  “I’m not even going to go there.” She giggled, which made Gage’s heart swell.

  “I always want to go there,” he growled with his hand cupping her ass.

  “Gage,” she whimpered, pressing her ass back into his hand for even more attention. “I love you.”

  “God, I exist for you, Hope.” Gage crushed his mouth to hers, biting on her bottom lip. The softness of her plump lips always drove him insane. He arched up onto his knees, thrusting his fingers into her hair.

  The sound of their son cooing stopped the passionate moment and they returned to playing with their little boy. For an hour, they gave him his tummy time, helping him strengthen his already large body. Gage’s mother informed them that he had been a big baby as well, so little Johnny was taking after his daddy. “He has everything from you. If I didn’t give birth to him, I wouldn’t know I had anything to do with making him.”

  “And I’m sure any little girl we have will look just like you—stunningly beautiful.”

  “Thank you, my sweet husband.” She rested her head on his shoulder as they watched their baby try to crawl. He’d get one leg up and then one hand on one side and accidentally roll over onto his back. He could flip himself onto his tummy again, and he did it after two tries.

  “He’s going to…” Hope yawned “…be crawling soon.”

  “He will be for sure. Then he’ll run amok just in time for our other little one to arrive.” Gage brushed her hair away from her face and could see the fatigue in her eyes. “Baby, if you’re tired, you can lie down.”

  “No, I don’t want to miss any time with you two. If it wasn’t for the attack, you’d be working with the guys.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I work a lot, but as soon as I find enough hands, I’ll take a step back.”

  “You don’t work too much. I’m just greedy. It’s never enough time alone with you.”

  “Damn, I fucking love you.” He stole another kiss before taking their son and setting him in his bouncer with the hanging toys. The baby giggled with each bounce before yawning. A wail and a pungent smell set Gage on his feet to change his little boy. After a fresh diaper and a bottle, he set the baby down for a nap. When he finally came out, he found his wife asleep on the floor. He scooped her up despite the soreness in his muscles and carried her to bed.

  “My hero,” she whispered.

  “Always.” He sat her down on the bed and then took off her bra while she rested her forehead on his chest. Once he got her down to her T-shirt and panties, he tucked his beautiful, sleepy wife into bed and then went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. After making it, he walked into his office and went about contacting his friends who’d set up the surveillance system. He needed more protection for his family.

  “Hey, Sean. This is Gage Gibson.”

  “Hey, what’s up, man?”

  “Did you catch the news?”

  “Not in the past two days. It’s been one hell of a shit storm around the office.”

  “One of my bulls was killed and one of the cameras shot down. I don’t know what happened exactly, but I’m going to need more of your services.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “I’m sure this is just the beginning. Hope is getting further along in her pregnancy and I have to work on the ranch full time, especially with all the damn problems that keep popping up.”

  “I have a couple of guys without a detail assignment. Do you want me to send them over on a temporary basis?”

  “Do you trust them?”

  “I only hire those I can trust.”

  “Good. Send me two if you can spare them. I don’t want them doing anything other than guarding my family.”

  “I’ll have them out first thing in the morning.”

  “Great.” Gage ended the call and then sent a text to Bill to meet him with the six ranch hands for a staff meeting in his garage. He would have called it in the barn or the bunkhouse, but he didn’t want to be that far away from Hope.

  They leaned up against the wall in a relaxed pose. “Dalton, James, Chris, Hugh, Joe, and Jack, I can’t thank you boys enough for stepping up to the plate and making sure everything runs smoothly. I know many would have cut and run when shit got real, but you all stayed and made me proud.

  “Here’s the thing, fellas. I’m grateful for all that you’ve done to keep the ranch going while I was out. We’re going to need more of that. I want the same independent initiative that you all have shown, but I’m not sure where the danger’s coming from. So if any of you feel the need to bow out, I’ll understand.”

  “Nah, I’m not going anywhere. Things are good. I can’t ask for a better gig. Although, cooking for ourselves hasn’t been that appealing.”

  “Well, sorry, fellas. Maybe we can hire a cook for you guys at least three times a week.”

  “Damn, that would be fucking incredible.”

  “I’ll ask Hope to look into it.” The ranch had been doing extremely well to the point that they weren’t in the red any longer, so they could afford it.

  “That sounds good to us,” Dalton said, rubbing his stomach like he was starved. The men had gotten spoiled with Hope cooking for them almost daily. Gage hadn’t minded until she’d gotten a little further along in her pregnancy, but she insisted. After Johnathan was born, they scaled back the cooking. Most of the time, they’d order from the diner or drive into the city for a hearty Mexican-style meal.

  “Speak for yourself. It sounds fucking fantastic.” Joe nudged his brother Jack in the ribs.

  “I second that!” Chris roared. Cheers and laughter went around the room.

  “Now, keep your eyes out for anyone
looking around here. We shouldn’t have anyone other than a couple of buyers, but you know that I’ll have that scheduled in advance. By the way, we’ll be having additional men coming on board as security for Hope. I’ll make sure to introduce you all tomorrow at lunch.”

  “Ooh, do we get some homemade lunch?” Hugh asked with his eyes as wide as saucers.

  “I’ll see what we can do.” They looked so excited that Gage felt he’d do the cooking just so they’d get their hot meal. When he walked back inside, Hope was pacing the living room.

  “Where have you been?” The fear in her eyes was too strong to deny.

  He crossed the distance and cupped her face. “Sorry, I needed to talk to the hands. We were in the garage, so we didn’t wake you.”

  “Oh, okay. Sorry. I thought maybe you went out to go after Cummings or Perkins.” She sobbed out of control.

  “God, I’m going to make them pay. I don’t like seeing you like this. So damn afraid. I’d do anything, but I won’t risk not coming home to you. Let’s sit down and talk. There’s a lot to go over.”

  “Let me guess. The guys want food.”

  “Ha. Yep. That sure is one thing they mentioned.” Hope knew they could eat all day long with how hard they worked. She made lots of food that they could reheat later if they needed. Most of the time, they would eat it the same night and be starving the next day. She cooked most days of the week, but they deserved it, although she had to say that she was too worn out to keep up the pace for all those men.

  “Do you think we could hire a cook?”

  “Ha. Were you listening to us? I suggested that to the guys for at least a few days a week, so you could get some rest and they could get the meals they need.”

  “Great minds think alike.”

  “I’m glad that you’re up for it. I actually try not to get jealous that you cook for all of them.” He may have looked like he was teasing, but both of them knew he was serious.