by Sharon Dunn
Bryan laughed, relief spreading through him.
“Do you think this is a joke, son?”
Obviously, the ranger thought that they were teenagers out having some fun.
Bryan dropped his hand. “Sir, you have no idea how delighted we are to be busted for fire violations.”
The ranger aimed the light directly on each of their faces. “Just what is going on here?”
Bryan stepped forward. “Sir, I’m a police officer with the Discovery P.D., and we need to get this woman into protective custody.”
Bryan’s explanation didn’t seem to assuage the ranger’s suspicions, so he tried another angle.
“I worked several weeks fire spotting. I’m a friend of Michael Duhurst.”
The name-dropping must have finally won over the ranger. The defensiveness of his body language—shoulders back, chest out, gun pointed at them—melted. “Well, then, I guess I better get you down to my car and back to town. It’s up over the ridge.”
“You saw the fire from above?” Sarah sounded anxious.
The ranger pointed with his flashlight. “I patrol a road that runs along that ridge.”
If the ranger saw the fire, someone else might have seen it, too. “Let’s get to that car,” Bryan urged.
They hiked up to the road. The ranger swung open the driver’s-side door. “Don’t mind Angie, she’s friendly enough.”
After Nadia climbed into the backseat, Bryan grabbed Sarah’s damp sleeve. He glanced around the dark landscape. “If anything happens, you watch out for her.”
Sarah nodded.
Angie turned out to be a black-and-white border collie, who settled in between Nadia and Sarah, alternating between licking the two women’s faces.
The ranger turned around and grinned. “She likes people.”
Bryan climbed into the front passenger seat. In the light of the car, he could see that the ranger was an older man, his gray hair cropped close to his head. Leathery skin spoke of years spent outside in the sun.
Bryan held out his hand for the ranger to shake. “Bryan Keyes.”
“Daniel Monforton. Everybody calls me Ranger Dan.”
The headlights cut a swath of illumination down the road. Bryan leaned back in the seat, still not willing to give up the idea that Mason’s thugs would make another run at them.
In the backseat, Nadia laughed when Angie licked her fingers. She rested her forehead against the dog’s and said something affectionate in Russian.
Sarah locked gazes with Bryan. She was probably thinking the same thing. How nice it was to hear Nadia laugh for the first time.
The ranger glanced toward the backseat. “She took to you like a fish to—”
The honking of the horn interrupted Daniel’s sentence as his head fell forward onto the steering wheel. A sea of red spread out from Daniel’s shoulder. The shot had come through so cleanly it left only a tiny hole in the driver’s-side window.
The SUV veered off the road, rumbling down the hill. Nadia screamed from the backseat and Angie let out three quick barks. Adrenaline kicked through his body as Bryan grabbed the steering wheel. His feet fumbled to find the brake. The car rolled down the hill, gaining speed.
He brought the car to a stop.
Sarah leaned over from the backseat, placing her hands on Dan’s neck. “He’s still alive.”
“Help me pull him over to the other seat.” Though his voice remained calm, Bryan’s heart raced. “Nadia, stay put and stay down.”
The dog whined when Nadia let out a cry, but she did as she was told.
Bryan opened his door. He leaned in and wrapped his hands underneath Dan’s armpits and pulled while Sarah pushed his legs out of the way. Dan moaned—conscious, but barely.
He glanced up the hill, speculating on where the shot had come from. Sarah climbed into the backseat and positioned herself so she could prop Dan up from behind.
Bryan cranked the wheel, easing upward toward the road. He switched off the headlights. “We’re an easy target with them on.”
“But we’ll have to go so slow,” Sarah said. “We need to get him to a hospital.”
In the dark, he couldn’t assess how badly Dan had been hit. The terrain hardened, indicating that they were back on the road. Bryan pushed the accelerator as hard as he dared. He checked the rearview mirror. Nothing. He could feel if they veered from the road when the SUV slanted at an angle. On the other side, the high embankment brushed against the side of the vehicle. Bryan gritted his teeth. He could do this.
Daniel stirred, expelling a pain-filled breath.
Sarah touched his head and made soothing noises. “He’s still got a pulse,” she whispered. “But it’s getting weaker. I think he’s lost a lot of blood.”
Tension knotted through Bryan. The clock was ticking for Daniel, but if they all died, Daniel wouldn’t have any chance of survival.
Angie let out a high-pitched whine. The sound of the tires rolling over the hard-packed dirt filled the car. Bryan stared out at the blackness in front of him.
He drove through the dark until he was satisfied that they were out of danger. He clicked on the headlights, increased his speed and headed out toward the main road. They encountered no other cars on the country road and only a few on the highway leading into town. Bryan zoomed up to the emergency entrance and pressed the brakes, stopping in front of the wide doors. Even before he came to a complete stop, Sarah pushed her door open and disappeared inside. She returned a few minutes later with two EMTs and a gurney. Dan’s body was as lifeless as a rag doll when they loaded him onto the gurney.
“Nadia, come on, let’s go inside.”
Sarah ushered them into a waiting room while Bryan parked the car, then joined them inside. Bryan paced while Sarah stared down at the blood on her hands, Dan’s blood. “I wonder if he has any family.”
“I can call Michael, the guy who got me the fire spotting job. Dan seemed to know him.” Bryan took out his phone.
Sarah stood, as well. “I’m going to go check to see how Crew is doing.”
Nadia lifted her eyes. “Crew is here?”
“Yeah, he’s...he wasn’t conscious when we were here earlier. I’ll check and see how he’s doing and come get you if he can have visitors,” said Sarah.
“I like that very much,” said Nadia.
Sarah trotted down the hallway and disappeared around a corner.
Bryan clicked through the contacts list on his phone until he found Michael’s number. Once he got Michael on the line, he learned that Dan’s wife had passed away and his only child lived out of state. Dan had a brother who lived in town, though.
“I think his name is Harry,” said Michael. “I’ll let the other rangers know. Dan is sort of the grandfather around here. He’ll have lots of visitors tomorrow.”
Bryan gripped the phone. If he makes it. “I’ll see if his brother is listed in the phone book.” Bryan said goodbye and hung up. He wandered through Admitting and another waiting area before he located a phone book. He found a listing for Harrison Monforton and made the call. Harry promised he’d be right up.
Bryan clicked off his phone and hurried back to see how Nadia was doing. When he entered the emergency room waiting area, Nadia was no longer in the chair where he had left her. Panic spread through him as he searched the area around the waiting room, still unable to find her.
* * *
The armed guard stood outside Crew’s room as Sarah approached. When she walked up the hallway, a nurse raced into Crew’s room. She was alone and she wasn’t pushing a crash cart, but still, the drawn look on the nurse’s face and her hurried step made Sarah’s stomach do somersaults. Something wasn’t right.
Sarah recognized the armed guard from the station.
“I’m Sarah Langston, Crew’
s sister. Do you remember me from the police station?”
He nodded. “Bryan’s friend.”
“Yeah.” She glanced up and down the hall. “Have things been pretty quiet here?”
“No disruptions since they posted me.”
In the room, Crew remained motionless and pale as the nurse bent over him.
“Has he woken up at all?” Sarah tensed, afraid of the answer.
The nurse shook her head and then glanced at the monitor by Crew’s bed. “His heart rate and blood pressure have been dropping.” She stood up straight, gripping the handrail and looking Sarah in the eye. “I have to be honest with you, none of this is a good sign.”
“Can I sit with him for a moment?” Her throat tightened with emotion.
“Sure.” The nurse left the room.
Sarah pulled a chair up. Crew’s face could have been carved from stone...so lifeless.
She cleared her throat. “Hey, big brother, you have to pull out of this. ’Cause otherwise it just wouldn’t be fair.” She touched his cold cheek with the back of her hand. “You finally get your life together and then...” She sobbed. “And then it’s taken from you because you tried to help Nadia, to do the right thing. You’ve gotta wake up,” she whispered.
Sarah closed her eyes and prayed while she held Crew’s ice-cold hand. When she was done, she stood up and slipped back into the hallway.
Bryan rounded the corner, his eyes wide with fear. “Did Nadia come this way?”
Sarah shook her head and then looked at the police officer. “Have you seen a blonde woman, pretty but thin?”
The officer shook his head.
Bryan balled his hands into fists. “I slipped around the corner to find a phone book. That was all.” He turned back to the officer. “She’s a material witness in a crucial case, and she’s in a lot of danger. We’ve got to find her.”
The officer pulled his radio off his utility belt. “I’ll alert the other officer in the building. If she’s in the area, we can find her.”
“It’s been five minutes, she’s probably miles from here by now.” Bryan’s voice simmered with anger, threatening to explode.
“Let’s not give up that easily. Some of the staff might have seen something through the glass, and I think Nadia would have put up a fight.” Her words sounded upbeat, but Sarah feared they’d gone through so much only to lose Nadia to Mason.
As they ran through hospital corridors, Sarah wasn’t sure if it would do any good to search. Bryan was right about Nadia likely being long gone by now. Both of them had let their guard down. She pushed through the waiting room. On the other side of the glass, a staff member stood hunched over a chart resting on the counter.
“Let’s search the perimeter first and then question the staff, since time is everything now,” Bryan suggested. They pushed the doors open; the cool night air surrounded them. She scanned the parking lot. A car wove through the rows looking for a parking space.
“I’ll go this way,” Sarah said. “We’ll meet back here.”
“Wait.” He grabbed Sarah’s sleeve and pointed. “Is that...”
The emergency room, hospital and doctors’ offices formed a U-shape of connected buildings. On the opposite side of the U with the minimal light spilling from a distant lamppost, she could discern a person moving along the sidewalk.
Sarah squinted. Was that Nadia walking Angie on a leash?
Sarah took off running across the parking lot. “Nadia!”
Bryan ran behind her as the scene unfolded in slow motion. Nadia waved at them. The dog tugged her forward. The car she’d noticed earlier closed the distance on Nadia. Bryan ran faster, pushing past Sarah. Brakes squealed. A man jumped out from the passenger side, his hands reaching claw-like toward Nadia. Nadia screamed, pulling back as the man lunged at her on the sidewalk.
Sarah fought to keep up with Bryan as he sprinted across the lot.
Angie barked, jumping at the man. Nadia fell backward on the sidewalk. The assailant threw off the dog just as Bryan landed a hard punch against the man’s jaw.
The car tires spun, burning rubber as it sped away. The assailant left behind fought back, raising his fist. Bryan blocked him and responded with a blow to the man’s stomach, which bent him over. Behind him, the dog barked like a Gatling gun as Nadia held Angie’s leash.
Bryan pulled his gun. “Stay right where you are. Hands behind your head.”
“I’ll call the police,” Sarah said between breaths.
“Looks like your friend didn’t want to stick around and help you out.” Bryan jerked his head in the direction the car had sped away.
The man tightened his square jaw and sneered.
This was the first time they’d managed to detain one of Mason’s hired thugs. Maybe after a couple of days in jail, Bryan could get him to share information about Tyler Mason.
“Nadia, why did you leave the hospital?” Sarah asked.
“I worry about dog.” She wrapped her arms around the collie. “Can she stay with me? She protect me.”
Sarah looked at Bryan.
Bryan shrugged. “I’m sure Dan’s not going to be in any kind of shape to take care of her. If it’s okay with his brother, it’s fine with me.”
The police sirens sounded in the distance.
Once the assailant was taken into custody, Sarah took Nadia in to see Crew while Bryan checked in on Dan.
Nadia’s face fell when she saw Crew. She touched his forehead.
“Where did you two meet, anyway?”
“Rehab class. The only time Tyler not with me. He just friend, not romance.” Nadia smoothed the blanket that covered Crew. “I want for him get better.”
“Me, too.” A lump formed in her throat. “I’ll leave the two of you alone for a minute.” She stepped out of the room and talked with the guard at the door for a few minutes.
Bryan stalked up the hallway. She ran up to meet him.
“Dan’s going to be okay. He was even coherent enough to talk to me. He doesn’t have a problem with the dog staying with Nadia. We need to get her out of here and into a safe house.” He reached up and brushed Sarah’s cheek lightly with the back of his hand. “Once we get something set up, you might want to think about staying there, too.”
“How long? Until Mason goes to trial? Bryan, I have a job. I have a life.”
“I can’t keep you safe.” Frustration was evident in his voice.
“I don’t know if that’s part of your job description.” Sarah stared into his deep brown eyes. This was not the boy she had loved all those years ago. The kid who lost his sense of direction by trying to please everyone around him. Bryan had shown himself to be a man of integrity, willing to take on enormous responsibility. More than any man should have to carry on his own.
“It has nothing to do with the job.” His fingers brushed over her cheeks and skimmed her lips.
If he kissed me now, I wouldn’t pull away.
Bryan cleared his throat and looked behind him, aware of the officer in the hallway. The smolder in his eyes was enough to make her legs wobble.
“We better do what we need to do.” His voice had a husky quality.
Nadia emerged from Crew’s room, her eyes red from crying. They drove back to the police station. Bryan arranged for some food to be delivered and invited both women to rest on the couches in the police break room.
After they ate a meal of cheeseburgers and fries, Nadia settled down on a couch with Angie lying at her feet. Still a bit stirred up, Sarah closed her eyes but couldn’t sleep. Bryan’s desk was outside the break room; she could hear him making arrangements for a safe house for Nadia and for a lawyer to take her deposition. Slowly she drifted off to sleep. She awoke hours later with a blanket over her. Probably Bryan’s doing.
She stret
ched, placing her bare feet on the cold linoleum floor. Nadia rested peacefully on her side. Angie had jumped up on the couch, snuggling between the back of the couch and Nadia’s legs.
Sarah slipped into her shoes and peeked around the corner to where Bryan worked at a computer. He stopped when he heard her coming, lifting his fingers off the keyboard and turning to look at her.
“Hey.” His eyes still held that same fiery essence she’d seen when they were at the hospital. “Sleep okay?”
She nodded.
He pushed a ziplock bag toward the edge of his desk. “One of the female officers put this together for you.”
The bag contained a toothbrush and other toiletries. “Thank you.”
“Oh, and these.” He swung his chair around and picked up a pile of neatly folded clothing still with the price tags on them. “Officer O’Connor guessed at your size. There’s a shower in the women’s locker room.”
Sarah stared down at the bag. For a moment, she felt a terrific rush of excitement at the thought of finally being clean, in fresh clothes. But then she caught herself. Was this her life now? She missed her own deep bathtub. She missed her cat and the quiet summer nights on her porch watching the sunset. She missed working at the adoption agency.
He must have picked up on her sadness. “We’re hours away from setting up the safe house.”
“Where is it?”
“In a little town about sixty miles from here. We’ve hired extra security. The background checks are still in progress. We want to make sure there’s no way Mason can get to Nadia or to you. His network in Discovery is pretty extensive.”
“I don’t want to go.” She looked into Bryan’s rich brown eyes, realizing going to the safe house wasn’t just about being cut off from her normal life. It also meant she wouldn’t be with Bryan. The loss was like a hole blown through her heart.
“I know you don’t want to stay locked away like this, but it might be our only option. It wouldn’t be for all that long. Most of the legal case against Mason is already put together. Nadia’s testimony is what we needed.”
Sarah’s throat went tight. Her heart pounded. She wanted to share her feelings, but the words wouldn’t come. “Thank you for everything you’ve done...for Crew and for me.”
