Montana Standoff

by Sharon Dunn

  He turned slightly away from her. “Family is everything.”

  She caught a tinge of bitterness in his voice. Was he thinking of the family he didn’t have with her? Of the daughter they’d put up for adoption?

  Sarah closed her eyes. She’d been foolish to think that they could take up where they’d left off. An unhealed wound would always exist between them, one that time couldn’t fix. She couldn’t bring their daughter back into their lives. Marie was with a family who loved her. They were her parents now. She couldn’t reverse the events of ten years ago. If only they had gone slower, waited until they were married and settled. Things could have been so different.

  “Guess I’ll go take that shower.”

  Bryan focused on his computer screen. “Down the hall and to the right.”

  Sarah took a steaming hot shower, dried off and dressed. She combed out her wet hair and padded down the long hallway to the main part of the police station.

  Bryan wasn’t at his desk. Only two other officers worked at their computers. The clock said it was only 7:00 a.m. When she checked the break room, Nadia and Angie continued to doze.

  Bryan came up behind her, touching her shoulder lightly. “Might want to wake her up.”

  “Where have you been?”

  “In the interview room. That man who tried to grab Nadia at the hospital isn’t giving up anything. He won’t even admit that Mason hired him. It’s entirely possible he’s never met Mason. Second-or third-party associates could have hired him. Mason’s really good at keeping his hands clean, but this has his fingerprints all over it.”

  Sarah gazed in at Nadia, who slept so peacefully. “Why do I need to wake her?”

  “The safe house is ready.”

  Sarah’s heart sank. “Guess this is it then.”

  She wouldn’t be seeing Bryan Keyes anymore. She was out of excuses for being with him, and they couldn’t seem to build a bridge over the chasm they had created ten years ago.

  SEVENTEEN

  Bryan deliberately didn’t look at Sarah as she rode in the passenger seat while he drove the two women to the safe house. The sadness in her eyes stabbed at his heart. Over and over, his desire to hold her met him at every turn. The memory of the kisses they’d shared haunted him. But every time he looked in her eyes, all he felt was pain. The reality of them being separated drove the point home. As long as they were together, he could entertain the fantasy that they would be a couple again. The truth was the damage was too extensive. He’d failed his daughter. And then he had torn Sarah to pieces over that. He couldn’t get past the self-condemnation. No matter how hard he tried or how much he wanted Sarah. He wanted to change the past and he couldn’t do that.

  “I think you will like the house,” he said. They passed a sign indicating they had entered the small town of New Irish.

  Sarah turned her head and stared out the window.

  “The case against Mason can be assembled within a month. We’ll be able to put him in jail even sooner. There’s a huge flight risk because of his connections in other countries. No judge is going to grant bail.”

  Sarah smoothed over her shirt. “That doesn’t mean Mason won’t stop giving orders to do us harm. I’m sure he’ll find ways to get things done even from a jail cell.”

  He couldn’t argue with her.

  Nadia spoke from the backseat. “Will I be able to go outside with Angie?”

  “There’s a fenced backyard, and we have security people at the house all the time.”

  “But no running through the hills with the dog?” Disappointment colored her words.

  “We don’t want you to have too much exposure, and you can’t go anywhere alone,” Bryan explained. “The woman who lives at the house is a retired police officer. She’ll provide your cover to the community, probably say you are her nieces or something.”

  “Not a lot of freedom,” said Nadia. “But someday. I come to America for freedom. First I am Tyler’s slave and then slave to drugs.” Nadia’s words sunk in deep, reminding him of why he wanted to take Tyler Mason down. He destroyed so many lives.

  They pulled up to a blue house with a chain-link fence and blooming flower beds. A woman with silver hair cut in a bob walked down the steps to greet them. “Hello, I’m Evelyn.” She ushered the women in. Angie stayed close to Nadia, wagging her plumagelike tail. “Why don’t the three, or rather, four—” she smiled down at Angie “—of you come in and I’ll show you around.”

  Bryan followed them inside to where a tall man with a buzz cut and high cheekbones sat at a table. The man stood up, revealing the gun on his belt. He held out his hand. “Jason Smith from Firelight Security.”

  Bryan shook his hand. He had a vague memory of looking over Jason’s profile before sending it to another officer for a deeper background check. Firelight had a solid reputation for security. The department could not afford to lose officers for the 24/7 watch Nadia required.

  Nadia’s exclamations over features in the house floated in from another room. Sarah slipped out into the backyard. Bryan followed her. Her hair shone in the sunlight. How many times had he buried his face in that hair, enveloped by the soft floral scent? Her shoulders were slumped. All of her body language communicated sadness.

  “I’ll get one of the other officers to bring some things from your house if you want to make a list.”

  “We went there once to get the backpacks. Everything was okay. Why can’t I get my own things?”

  “Sarah, we need to think in terms of high security here. Not take any chances. We’ve come this far. You can have your stuff, just let us be the ones to get it for you.”

  “And my cat? Someone will bring Mr. Tiddlywinks?”

  He smiled. “And your cat.”

  She turned to face him. “I know this has to happen. I see how badly Mason wants to take me out of the equation along with Crew and Nadia.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I just don’t like it.”

  He descended the steps. “Wish it could be some other way.” From the moment he’d climbed in the car to bring her here, an ache had entered his heart. Being away from her would be torture.

  “I know you’re doing the best you can.” She touched his jaw with the softness of a feather and then leaned in and kissed his cheek.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. His lips covered hers. He kissed her for the beautiful memories they shared, not the ugly ones. He pressed harder, kissing her for what might have been. He rested his palm against her neck, holding her close, not wanting to let go. “I’m sorry.” He kissed her again. “I’m so sorry.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

  He pulled away. “I have to go.” He turned, knowing that looking back at her would rip him to pieces. He said goodbye to Jason Smith, who still sat at the table. Bryan stepped across the threshold of the front door.

  He climbed into the police vehicle and zoomed toward the road. What tore him up more than anything was that he wanted to be the one to stay with Sarah, to keep her safe rather than leaving her in the care of some stranger. He hadn’t protected her heart all those years ago. Maybe if he could make up for it then the ache inside would go away.

  His cell phone rang.

  “Yeah.” Bryan pulled over on a shoulder.

  “Bryan.” He recognized Officer Grant Pittman’s voice. “I know we’re done with the background checks for the safe house, but I found something when I did a little digging.”

  “What did you find?”

  “It’s not a big thing, but you said to flag anything that didn’t feel right. I didn’t catch it on the first pass ’cause it’s not what you’d normally look for. But I read over the resumes of the guys we hired from Firelight and something caught my eye.”

  “One of them worked through Mason’s te
mp agency?” Certainly they would have flagged something like that.

  “No, not that tight a connection. I started doing some cross-referencing and turns out one of them used to live in Spokane and work for a restaurant Mason owned.”

  Bryan tensed. “Which guy are we talking about?”

  Grant’s reply was like a sword through Bryan’s chest. “Jason Smith.”

  * * *

  Angie’s intense barking alerted Sarah to trouble inside the house. She ran up the stairs from the backyard, flinging the door open. The living room was empty. Persistent barking and scratching led her to the downstairs bathroom where Angie had been shut away.

  The dog burst into the living room, sniffing the furniture frantically and darting back and forth. Sarah ran into the kitchen and peered out the window. Nobody was in the front yard. She sprinted halfway up the stairs. “Hello, Nadia? Jason? Evelyn?”

  Silence.

  She bolted the rest of the way up the stairs, searching the first bedroom and bathroom. In the second bedroom, Evelyn lay on the floor, unconscious but breathing. A heavy weight pressed on Sarah’s chest, making it hard to breathe. What exactly was going on here?

  Sarah fell to her knees as fear spread through every fiber of her being. “Evelyn, can you hear me?”

  Evelyn’s eyes fluttered open. “Hit from behind,” she mumbled.

  Evelyn didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere else. No cuts, no bleeding. Sarah grabbed a pillow from the bed and placed it underneath Evelyn’s head. “Just lie here, I’ll figure out what’s happened.” She noticed Evelyn’s gun in a holster and belt draped over a chair. She pulled the gun out and placed it in the older woman’s hand. “Just in case.”

  Sarah hurried downstairs and out onto the front porch. She ran to the edge of the yard. A small compact car still sat in the driveway, as did the larger black truck. Nobody had left the house in a vehicle, anyway. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to call Bryan.

  Bryan’s car roared up the road. He braked and rolled down the window. “Where’s Nadia?”

  Sarah shook her head. “I’m not sure. I think—the cars are still here, but I don’t see any sign of Nadia. Evelyn was knocked out. They must have got to Jason, too.”

  Bryan turned off the engine and jumped out of the car. He grabbed Sarah by the elbow and headed toward the front door, glancing in one direction and then the other. “They’re not in the house?”

  “Not that I can find.”

  He pulled her inside.

  “Evelyn is upstairs,” she whispered. “She’ll be okay.”

  He pressed against the wall. “Stay close to me.”

  “What’s going on here?”

  “Jason is in on this,” he said. He put his finger across his mouth, indicating she needed to be quiet. He raised his head to the second floor, listening. His hand wavered over his gun. Only silence.

  Angie barked from a room off to the side. Bryan pulled Sarah in that direction. The room contained a washer and dryer and a wall where coats were hung. Angie scratched at the outside door.

  Sarah shrugged. “They couldn’t have gone out the back door. I was in the backyard. They didn’t go out the front. I would have seen them going up the street. They had to have gone out this side door.”

  He eased the door open, peered outside and ducked back in. “There’s a field out there and beyond that a barn.”

  “You think that’s where they went? Why not just jump in the car and escape with Nadia?”

  “Maybe you interrupted him when you came in from the backyard.”

  She clutched his shirtsleeve. “We need to call for help.”

  “We don’t have that kind of time.” His finger trailed over her cheek and across her lips. “You stay here. I’m going to see if I can sneak up on him.”

  “No, you can’t go. That’s too dangerous.”

  “Sometimes you don’t have a choice.” He kissed her full on the lips.

  The intensity of his kiss burned her to the core as he pulled her back into the living room. “We’ll get a better look at the barn from here.” He pointed toward the window.

  A shot boomed through the air, shattering the window. He jumped on top of her, taking her to the floor.

  Stunned and trembling with terror, Sarah lay on her stomach. Angie barked and tugged on Sarah’s shirt.

  “That’s where they are. Jason has sniper training. Maybe he gets a bonus if he takes us out, too.” He crawled toward the front door. “Pull those drapes.”

  Avoiding the shards of glass, Sarah crouched and moved across the floor, shutting all the curtains. Bryan slipped out the front door. He’d have been a sitting duck if he’d gone out the back door where the sniper would’ve seen him coming.

  She pulled herself up just above the windowsill and peeked out. Bryan had circled around to the back of the house. As she watched, he dove down and crawled through the tall grass toward the barn. No more shots were fired. The sniper hadn’t seen him.

  Sarah took in a deep breath that did nothing to calm her nerves. She felt helpless. She couldn’t just sit here. Bryan could die. She needed to help him somehow.

  Thudding noises came from the second floor. Sarah met Evelyn as she careened down the stairs. She held her gun. “I saw from the window. There’s two of them. One is still up in the barn and the other is headed in this direction.” Evelyn lifted up the gun. “Do you know how to use one of these?” Still unsteady on her feet, Evelyn swayed.

  She’d gone hunting with Crew and with Bryan when they’d dated. She didn’t really know if she could shoot at a person...but maybe the bad guys wouldn’t realize that. “Yes, I think I can remember.”

  “Get the car.” Evelyn handed her the gun. “Take the road that loops around to the back of the barn. They won’t see you coming. I’ll cover you and Bryan from the attic window with my husband’s rifle.”

  Sarah sprinted out to the car, hopped in and drove. Instead of taking the fork that led back out of town, she turned onto a dirt road. The car was an electric one that didn’t make much noise. She’d be able to get pretty close without being detected. Off to the side, she could see the top of the barn. A rolling hill shielded the rest of the structure from view.

  She prayed for strength and courage.

  Two shots in rapid succession boomed through the air. Sarah cringed and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

  EIGHTEEN

  Bryan ducked down in the tall grass. A shot whizzed past him and another traveled over his head toward the barn. He stared back at the house, unable to discern anything. Was Sarah shooting from a high window?

  He lifted his head. In the exposed door of the barn loft, he caught a flash of motion. Then he heard it—the swishing sound of someone moving through the tall grass.

  Two men? Bryan pressed his stomach hard against the ground and listened. Wind rustled through the grass.

  He sensed eyes on him.

  Heart raging in his chest, Bryan flipped over, scanning everywhere, aiming his gun—right, middle, left. Someone was here...close.

  Still unable to shake the feeling of being watched, he dragged himself forward in the grass. His belly scraped over hard dirt and pebbles. Three feet from him, he spied drops of blood.

  A hand grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him upward and choking him. Bryan flipped over and managed a boot to the man’s knee. The assailant released only a small grunt of pain before he swiped Bryan hard against the jaw with the butt of a rifle.

  The blow to his face stunned Bryan, made his eyes water. He rolled to one side as the man came after him again, realizing a moment later that he’d dropped his gun. When Bryan reached for it, the man crushed his fingers with his boot.

  Bryan craned his neck. One of the man’s hands was bloody, the fingers curled in at unnatural angles. Someb
ody had gotten off a good shot. With his hand still anchored to the ground by a boot, Bryan swung his legs and hit the man in the back of the knees. The assailant buckled to the ground. Bryan stood up, landing a hard blow to the man’s head. A shot whizzed through the air. Bryan hit the deck. Another shot from the other direction stirred up dirt not too far from Bryan’s head. He was in the middle of a firefight.

  The man who had attacked him fell onto the ground face-first, not moving but not dead. The bullet hadn’t hit him. The blow Bryan had given him knocked him out. Bryan grabbed the man’s rifle and scampered through the grass. When he lifted his head, he detected no movement by the loft door. He’d be exposed the remaining distance to the barn, but he’d have to take his chances. He was running out of time before Jason Smith gave up and just took Nadia. He pushed himself to his feet and sprinted toward the barn.

  A rifle shot exploded the air around him and then another.

  * * *

  From the back side of the barn, Sarah heard the volley of shots, cringing each time. She eased the car toward a small door, slipped out and pressed the barn door open. The door squeaked on its hinges. Sarah held back, her heart pounding in her chest.

  After a moment, still in a crouch, she peeked into the building. Footsteps pounded across the loft. The scent of hay and manure hung in the air, though it looked like the barn hadn’t been used in some time.

  The lower half of the barn consisted of a series of stalls. She started checking them, but found no one. Nadia must be up in the loft with Jason Smith.

  Sarah pressed against the rough wood of the stall. What could she do to get Nadia away from the shooter? Maybe she could create a distraction that would bring him to the edge of the loft so she could shoot him. Then she could climb the ladder and get Nadia. They’d have to jump from the loft to the ground outside to avoid Jason.

  She looked around for something to make noise with. When her search brought her to the next stall, she stopped. Nadia sat hunched over in a corner, her hands and feet bound, a gag in her mouth.