After events most people would consider total horseshit, being outside, listening to the crackle of branches and leaves under his boots, this wasn’t a bad way to spend a day.
Britt turned and held his finger to his lips. He’d warned them before they started hiking to stay quiet when they neared the den. Which meant…close. A burst of excitement filled him.
Behind him, Sam huffed and puffed with each step. His baby sister needed to up her cardio. Get in better shape.
Maggie took up the rear, more than likely making sure they didn’t lose Sam, because one thing was for sure. Everything in these woods looked the same. If one of them got lost, it’d take a day to figure out how the hell to get back.
They’d need a damned search party.
Britt dropped to peer through binoculars, then waved them down.
They all hit their knees just as Britt handed Jay the binoculars. “Through those trees on the other side of the creek. Stay quiet. The babies are big now. Almost as high as their mama.”
And there they were. A half dozen wolves, a few standing, the rest lazing around, their red fur bright against the dull brown bark of the trees.
Jay drew a breath. Damn, they were beautiful.
One of the wolves swung his head, seeming to stare straight at Jay with tawny eyes screaming of suspicion. Before the animal spooked and took off, he handed the binoculars to Sam.
“Wow,” she breathed. “Stunning.”
Pop-pop-pop.
Three rapid shots cracked the air and Jay froze. What the hell?
Pop-pop.
Two more.
“Goddammit!” Britt said.
A hunk of the tree sheared off behind Jay’s head and old instincts kicked in. He tackled Sam, smothering her with his twice bigger body.
“Everyone run!” Maggie grabbed the back of Jay’s jacket. “Behind those trees. Now!”
She let go and Jay swung his head around, found her on the move, weapon in hand. The hem of her long-sleeved shirt caught on a waist holster that had been hidden while they walked.
“Britt,” she said, “stay with them. And don’t touch that tree. We might get the bullet.”
“Take these.” Britt tossed her the binoculars.
Jay hopped to his feet, shielding Sam while they ducked low and ran for the cover of the thick clump of trees twenty feet to their left.
Jay shoved Sam behind a thick-trunked oak tree. “Don’t move.” He squatted behind another huge tree. “What the hell was that?”
“Hunters,” Britt said, pulling his own handgun from a waist holster.
“Should they be up here?”
“Hell no. But we’ve had problems before. The wolves are endangered and it’s no secret they’re here.”
“Trophy hunters?” Sam asked.
“Might be. You okay here? I don’t want Mags out there alone.”
Jay waved him off. “We’re fine. Go.”
* * *
Maggie squatted behind a towering hickory tree and scanned the area where the shots came from. At least she thought it was. At the time, she’d been busy fantasizing about Jayson’s voice whispering naughty things to her.
Idiot, Maggie. Letting her stupid hormones distract her—again—when they all could have been killed.
A low whistle sounded behind her. Britt’s whistle. Smart man knowing not to sneak up on her. She glanced back. Ten yards behind, Britt duckwalked under the cover of a clump of trees.
He moved closer, his boots crunching over leaves and twigs. “Get behind that tree.” She pointed to an oak wide enough to shield him. “I think the shots came from the ridge across the creek.”
“Did you see anything?”
She shook her head. “Only the tip of a hat. The person was running and then ducked into the brush.”
“Male?”
“No idea. All I saw was the hat before he—assuming it was a male—ducked away.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I called it in. Blaine’s coming up the other side. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“I’ll call Reid. If he’s at the training center, we’ll have him check the backside of the property.”
A nice idea, but by the time Reid saddled up and got here, their shooter would be gone.
She stared out over the bluff, then checked the binoculars again. Where are you, you little shit? Two minutes of scanning the area resulted in zero movement and she lowered the binoculars. “I think he’s gone.” She handed the binoculars back to Britt. “Let’s head back.”
With Britt in tow, Maggie strode through the trees to Jayson and Sam, still huddled behind the protection of the ancient oaks.
“You two okay?”
“We’re fine,” Jay said. “But your wolves took off. I don’t think they were hit.”
“They’ll be back,” Britt said.
Sam, sitting with her back against the tree, got to her feet. “Did you find anyone?”
Maggie shook her head. “We called down to one of my deputies and to Reid and told them to check the roads around the property. Whoever was out there, they got up here somehow.”
Her mind tripped back to the shots. Pop, pop, pop.
Not a shotgun.
Maggie stayed quiet, her instincts drawing her a few feet to the right. Scanning the trees, she visualized the trajectory if the bullet ricocheted.
That way. She whirled around.
“Maggie,” Jay said.
She held up a finger. “Give me a second.”
Where are you? Where are you?
A sliver of sunlight sliced through a puffy cloud and illuminated the area to her right.
“There,” Britt said. “See it?”
Her cousin pointed and she followed his direction, spotting the splintered surface of a tree. She moved closer, studying the marred flesh and—there. Lodged inside was a mushroomed bullet. “Got a bullet,” she said. “I’m calling it in. We’ll get the forensics team up here.”
Jayson’s head jutted forward. “What do you mean forensics? I thought the shooter was a hunter.”
She paused for a few seconds. No sense sugarcoating it. If her instincts served, the man had a right to know. “Jayson,” she said, “that was rapid semiauto fire. Most hunters don’t use semiautomatics. At least not when they’re hunting animals.”
7
After overseeing the collection of the bullet, Maggie worked her way down the mountain, moving fast and cutting through trees to shorten the trip to her vehicle. For safety, Britt and one of her deputies had taken Jayson and Sam to Maggie’s office. If someone wanted another shot at Jayson, they’d have to do it in the sheriff’s office.
Fresh air filled her lungs, sharpening her senses as she moved. Whoever took that shot wasn’t aiming for a wolf. Too far off. That, or the shooter needed to work on his aim.
Security team. She’d have to check in with Jayson’s people. See if any of the threats indicated this level of violence. If so, they’d have some leads. And Reid could check video footage from his security system. Maybe he caught a plate or something.
She hit the dirt path leading to the road and grunted. Crap. Beside her vehicle stood Alexander Westlake, the one and only full-time reporter for the Steele Ridge News, circulation 2,505 after picking up five readers last month. Growth spurt.
Xander met her at the rear bumper of her SUV. “Xander, what are you doing here? You know you’re trespassing on Steele property, right?”
The reporter waved his notepad. “Heard the call on the police scanner. Shots fired up here. What’s that about?”
Hoping to brush him off, Maggie marched by and opened her driver’s side door. “It’s nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, why did I see Jayson Tucker and a woman hightailing it out of here with Blaine? Does this have something to do with him?”
“Xander, I have nothing for you.”
“Well, then I’ll have to go with what I have.”
“Which is nothing.”
Before
hopping into her SUV, she gave him the same you dopey boy smile, she’d given him when he thought it would be fun to announce Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins spent Friday evenings doing the nasty in the park.
He held up his notepad. “What I have is Jayson Tucker and an unknown female hiking on Steele property at the same time someone with a semiautomatic fired shots. That gun isn’t generally used for hunting, Maggie.”
Now the persistent little weasel was pissing her off.
After the press caught wind of the knife-wielding nut, they’d sent social media buzzing. She shut the door. “Xander, you need to be careful here. You saw the chaos created in town by Mr. Tucker’s presence. You were also at the press conference where a woman showed up with a knife. What we don’t want are further incidents that might prove dangerous. To Mr. Tucker or the residents of our town. And we certainly don’t want to create widespread panic due to irresponsible, sensationalized reporting. Am I clear?”
Xander twisted his face, pinching everything tight. “I never report anything but the facts.”
“Maybe so. But I don’t even have all the facts. How could you?”
“Look, Maggie. I’m not the only one who listens to the police scanner. I know the area and got here first. Everyone will be chasing this thing. Give me something I can run with.”
What didn’t he get about this? “Xander, you’re not listening. I don’t have anything for you.”
“I’ll go with what I have.”
Maggie bit off a curse she’d love to unleash. This must be what major-metropolitan law enforcement dealt with. The constant press inquiries. She’d only had a few days of it and it irritated the crap out of her.
“How about I give you a heads-up if there’s anything interesting?”
“What? Like an exclusive?”
Nice try, buddy. “Not an exclusive. But if there’s a press statement, I’ll get it to you first. That’s the best I can do.”
Xander clicked his tongue while mulling it over and Maggie made a show of checking her watch.
“Okay,” he said. “How much of a head start?”
“Thirty minutes. Long enough for you to load it onto the newspaper’s website.”
Ah, the digital age.
“An hour.”
Having had enough of Xander, Maggie opened her car door and hopped in. “This isn’t a negotiation,” she called back. “Thirty minutes is all you’re getting. And get off Steele property before I slap you with that trespassing charge.”
With that, she fired the engine and hit the gas before any other reporters showed up. They weren’t the only ones with questions. She had them, too. A lot of them. In their first meeting, Jayson had been flip about hate mail. Hopefully, after her discussion with him about not putting her town in a dangerous position, he’d heeded her advice and not held anything back.
She’d find out when she got to her office.
She dialed Reid.
“Mags, what’s happening?”
Exactly what she’d like to know. “I just found Xander roaming around near that path where Britt parks to check on the wolves. I informed him he was trespassing, but if I were you, I’d send someone up here in case he decides to play dumb and wasn’t clear on the message.”
“I’ve got two men heading up. I wanna know how the fuck this guy got on the property.”
“The shot definitely came from higher ground, so he must have been on the ridge. Do you have video surveillance up there? Please say yes.”
Reid hesitated and Maggie huffed. Could she get one tiny break here? “Cuz,” she said, “you’re not instilling confidence.”
“Eh,” Reid said. “We might get lucky.”
Might? Zero confidence. “Meaning?”
“We have video surveillance on all physical structures on the property, but there’s a shit-ton of land up there, Mags.”
“What about that shack at the base of the ridge? Is there a camera on it?”
Her cousin, having been stranded in the wilderness as a Green Beret, understood the need for emergency supplies. He’d asked Britt to rebuild an old shack on the northwest side of the property and stocked it with what seemed a month’s supply of water, protein bars, and ready-to-eat meals.
“Yeah,” Reid said. “We’re looking at the footage now. If the shooter used that path, we should get some kind of visual.”
“Good. How soon will you know?”
“Mags, I’m on it. Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back.”
“Thank you.”
She disconnected and hooked a hairpin turn that would lead her into town. If they worked quickly, she might be able to find this shooter before he got too far.
* * *
Upon entering the station, Maggie breezed past the reception desk where Shari, their office assistant and girl wonder manned the phones Monday through Friday. On the weekends, it was every man for himself and Deputy Blaine now sat at his desk with the phone to his ear.
Blaine pointed down the short hallway. The sheriff’s office wasn’t fancy, but she’d managed to squeak enough out of the budget to give the building fresh beige paint and new floors that replaced cracked laminate. Given what she had to work with, the place at least had some warmth rather than the tired, worn look she’d inherited.
She made her way to the windowless conference room next to her office. The door stood open and inside Jayson and Sam sat at the table playing with their cell phones. The muted sound of Blaine’s voice drifted from the bullpen, but otherwise a tension-filled quiet settled over the room.
Apparently sensing her presence, Jayson set his phone down and brought his gaze to her. He wore the bombed-out look of a man desperate for sleep.
Maggie stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. “Are you both okay?”
He glanced at his sister and she nodded. “We’re good. Did you find anything?”
“Nothing new. I sent the bullet to the lab. I just got off the phone with Reid. He checked their surveillance video.”
Jay’s eyebrows hitched up. “Good news?”
“Debatable. Reid had cameras installed on all physical structures. There’s a shack along the path our alleged shooter may have taken and the guy—it’s a man—walked by. The angle is bad, though. We only have a partial profile view. I’ll send it to someone I know at the FBI and ask him to run it through their facial recognition program.”
“You have a friend at the FBI?”
She nodded. “I do. Technically he’s Reid’s cousin—on his father’s side. No relation to me, but he’s a good guy.”
A good guy living the life she’d wanted. Once upon a time, she’d had dreams of Quantico. Dreams that blew up when her mother, the career woman, earned the promotion of a lifetime and was forced to relocate to South Dakota. Riley either had to go with them or stay put and be chaperoned. The obvious candidate had been Maggie. Being the oldest sibling—and female—she’d been more settled into her career and a routine than her brothers. Plus, she could have said no, but Riley only had six months of high school left and it hadn’t seemed fair to uproot her baby sister. Which left Maggie putting off her application to the FBI and eventually being promoted to Chief Deputy. Fate, being a fickle sort, decided to further complicate things by having the then-sheriff drop dead of a heart attack and leave Maggie as interim sheriff. Soon after, she’d been elected to the job.
And here she was. Seven years after moving back into her childhood home to play guardian, she still hadn’t applied to Quantico.
“And we’re sure it’s not a hunter?”
Huh?
Hunter. Jayson.
Focusing might be an option, Mags. “I can’t say for certain. As I mentioned, semiautomatics aren’t generally used by hunters. But Britt’s already had a run-in with trophy hunters so it’s possible.”
Jay glanced at an owl-eyed Sam. The woman was completely spooked. And really, she might not need the particulars. If Jay chose to clue her in, that was on him. She’d let him make that decision.
>
“Sam,” Maggie said, “I need to speak with Jayson privately. Could you give us a minute?”
Sam’s gaze shifted to Jay for a long few seconds. “If it’s okay with Jay.”
When her brother nodded, Maggie opened the door again and stepped out into the hallway. She listened for a few seconds. Nothing. “Blaine?”
“I’m here,” came his reply.
“I’m sending Sam out while I talk to Jayson. Would you do me a favor and see if Randi has anyone who can run us over some food?”
Sam and Jay had to be starving. Besides, the food might offer some comfort by getting their minds off the sound of a semiauto rifle.
Maggie reentered the conference room where Jayson sat with his head down and arms crossed. She slid the chair next to him out and sat facing him. Inches away, he bounced one knee up and down, up and down, up and down and she itched to set her hand on it. To still him.
Being the sheriff didn’t give her that luxury.
She rested one arm on the table. “You’re sure you’re all right? Can I get you anything?”
He finally looked up at her and dug his palms into his eyes before letting them fall against his jeans with a fwap. “I’m fine. You think they were after me?”
“I think it’s a possibility. You’ve had a long week with a lot of negative attention. We know from the woman at the press conference that people are highly charged right now. Have there been any other threats in the last day or so? Anything you haven’t had a chance to share?”
“No. I’ve given you everything. I didn’t speak to my security people today, though.”
“When did you hear from them last?”
“Yesterday. Daily e-mail updates. Unless they need to talk to me.”
“All right.” She pointed at his phone. “Let’s see if we can raise them.”
* * *
The security team was a bust.
Nothing new to report. That news should have brought Jay relief. Should have. Instead it left frustration and helplessness. For a guy who thrived on controlling his surroundings, not a good combination.
Maggie set the phone in its cradle and pushed it back to the middle of the table. Everything nice and neat and in its spot. That was Maggie.
Craving Heat Page 9
