by Aimée Thurlo
Drew did as he asked, then pointed to the monitor. “Did you see that?” she asked, freezing the image.
“What?” Nick asked.
“I was watching the weapons rack, the one with the long-barreled guns. Watch the guns on the right as I take the feed from the moment right before the gap to the time immediately afterwards.”
Drew played through the sequence again, flipping back and forth. Some of the weapons jumped slightly from left or right, and two of them changed lengths in the before and after images.
“That M-16 rifle was replaced by another similar weapon while the cameras were shut off,” Nick said. “The barrel’s longer now. Someone switched the guns.”
But there were more glitches in the recoding system. In every instance, the evidence-room clerk on duty had been on break, or out to lunch. During that time, someone replaced the guns there with lookalikes that could pass the scrutiny of a casual observer.
“At least we know who isn’t guilty. The evidence-room clerk has no direct access to those security cameras,” Nick said. “There are only two people who have access to both the room and the cameras, so that narrows it down. The way I see it, this had to have been done by either Captain Wright or Chief Franklin…or maybe both.”
“Progress. Now all we have to do is get out of the station without attracting attention.”
They were halfway down the hall when they heard Chief Franklin reaming out an officer for screwing up a report.
Nick pulled her back quickly into the darkened hall. “We can’t leave the station right now. If Franklin sees us walking past the bullpen, we won’t have a leg to stand on.”
Just then, around the corner of the hall, she heard the desk sergeant greet Travis.
Nick whistled a few notes.
“What are you doing? You’re going to give us away!”
“Whistling in a place filled with good ol’ boys won’t even raise an eyebrow,” he said, then heard the answering strains. “Good. He’s coming.”
“Was that some special kind of signal between you two?”
“It goes all the way back to when we were kids. If one of us got in trouble, the other would be there to help. We had our own signals and codes….” His voice trailed off as he heard footsteps.
Travis came around the corner and grinned at his brother. “It’s a good thing that you and I joined the same PD, bro. You’d have been lost without me.”
“Dream on. You still owe me for saving your butt a few times at the police academy. Now I’m collecting. I need a way out, one that doesn’t take me right past the chief. If he sees me here, it’s going to hit the fan, and I can’t exactly explain what we’ve been up to.”
“The weight room is usually empty this time of night,” Travis started, then shook his head. “No, wait. There’s that civilian self-defense class going on right now. However, you could pass through without raising an eyebrow, and a little later, if Drew walks in, the instructor will assume she signed up. She could stay for the class, then exit with the others when it’s over, out the back.”
“No way. We can’t afford to waste that much time. And what if Franklin decides to look in on the session, like he does sometimes, and spots Drew—without me?”
Hearing a commotion down the hall, Drew peered around the corner and saw three ladies of the evening being booked. Some of the male suspects that had been brought in on other charges were whistling and making off-color suggestions.
“I have an idea,” Drew said quickly. “You can go through the weight room like your brother suggested. Then you,” she said, looking at Travis, “can pretend to have arrested me, then offered me a deal, providing I identify my pimp. With a cover story like that, we’ll be able to go right past the other women out front, and step out the door.”
“You’re not dressed the part,” Travis said, shaking his head. “You’ll stand out.”
“We can make it work. I just have to make sure no one looks at my face,” she said, then glanced inside one of the open offices. “I’ll need a pair of scissors…and your pullover,” she added, looking at Nick.
He protested, but she insisted, pointing out that they were out of options.
Nick stripped off his pullover, then handed it to her. “Now what?” he asked, putting his leather jacket back on and zipping it up.
“Give me a few minutes,” she said, ducking into an open office and closing the door behind her.
THREE MINUTES LATER, after doing some extensive scissoring work on her wardrobe, she emerged and tossed Nick her ballistic vest. Instead of jeans, she was now wearing super-short shorts, with a dropped waistline that exposed her belly button. She’d also recut what had been Nick’s pullover, so that it sported a low neckline and tied directly below her breasts. Her lipstick was on extra thick as well.
Travis stared at her for a moment, his gaze taking her in from top to bottom. “I’ve decided to give you a run for your money, bro.”
“Don’t go there,” Nick growled, then glared at Drew. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“No one’s going to be looking at my face while I’m wearing this cheesy outfit. Your brother will be able to escort me out the door easily.”
“She’s got a point,” Travis said. “But I’ll have to handcuff you.”
Nick pushed him aside. “I’ll do it. Give me the cuffs.”
Nick placed them around her wrists and adjusted them so they weren’t too tight. “All right. You’re all set.”
Drew turned around, just a foot away now, and had to bite back a smile. Nick’s expression, a mixture of possessiveness and desire, spoke louder than words ever could have. He wanted her, and that knowledge made her feel powerfully feminine. More important, it also gave her the confidence she needed to complete what she started.
As Nick turned and walked down the hall, Travis grasped her arm, then urged her to the exit. “Keep looking down, and I’ll lead you past the bullpen as fast as I can.”
Taking advantage of the confusion still surrounding the booking desk, Travis slipped through the noisy group. Although she got some wolf whistles, no one, including Chief Franklin, glanced at her face.
Less than a minute later, Nick met them outside. “Here you go, bro, safe and sound,” Travis said, unfastening her cuffs.
“You okay, Drew?” Nick asked, taking off his leather jacket and placing it over her shoulders.
She slipped her arms into the jacket, feeling his warmth and enjoying his scent. As she glanced up to thank him, the look on Nick’s face made her breath catch in her throat. No one had ever looked at her like that. Heat spiraled inside her, making her ache for him. Although Nick had taken all her ideas of what she’d wanted her future to be like and flipped them upside down, the pull to follow her heart was stronger than ever.
“Time to get out of here,” Nick said.
As the truck roared to life, she thought about Travis and his passion for these kinds of toys. He would be a handful for some woman someday. The Blacksheep brothers… They were a family like no other she’d ever known.
They’d driven about a mile when Nick’s cell phone rang.
“I’ve been monitoring the tracking device and the AK’s on the move,” Koval said. “It’s in Chief Franklin’s car, but I can’t absolutely confirm that Chief Franklin’s driving.”
“What’s your heading?”
“North on Pine Street.”
“Stay on him,” Nick said, then punching another number, called Travis. “Has Chief Franklin left the station?”
“Yeah. He stormed out of here less than five minutes ago.”
“Did you see him leave?”
“No. I just heard some of the officers grousing after he left. Apparently the chief’s decided to retire. Word has it that he got another job offer.”
“Interesting timing,” Nick said. “How about backing us up on the takedown? I’ll fill you in when you get here.”
“So it’s the chief?” Travis asked.
“Sure looks
like it,” Nick replied, and gave Travis their location.
No sooner than he’d hung up, Koval called back.
“Chief Franklin’s car is now parked on Bosque Road, but I’m too far back to get a good look.”
“We’re en route to back you up,” he said.
Nick updated his brother and then filled Drew in. “I want to catch Chief Franklin with the goods, but in situations like these things can go wrong fast. You’ll need to do as I say—no arguments. Our lives may depend on it.”
“All right—with one exception.” She saw him clench his jaw. “Don’t expect me to run off and leave you if you need help.”
“Don’t you ever do what you’re told?”
“No.”
He expelled his breath in a hiss. There were millions of available women out in the world. Why had he fallen in love with Drew? The woman was impossible. She insisted on questioning even the most simple of requests. Ever since she’d come into his life, nothing had gone according to his plan.
As he glanced over at her, she gave him a gentle smile and the gesture blasted through his defenses.
Exasperated, he clenched his hands around the steering wheel, unclenched them, then tightened his grip again. She was impossible to deal with, but he knew one thing: his life would never be complete without her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, eyeing him closely.
“I’m fine,” he growled. Along with his heart, he’d obviously lost what was left of his mind.
Chapter Twenty-Three
As they drove down Bosque Road, Nick could see Koval’s car, parked by the side of the road. “Call Koval and tell him we’re here.”
Drew took the phone and did as he asked. “All I’m getting is voicemail.”
“Something’s wrong. Let’s see what we’re up against, then we’ll call Travis and give him our new location.”
Nick drove by Koval’s unmarked car at the posted speed. No one was visible inside. Chief Franklin’s vehicle was parked two blocks farther down, on the opposite side of the road, but facing them. Nick signaled for a right turn, deciding that it would be too risky to pass that close to the chief.
As he went down the side street, he noticed a second car pulling up behind Chief Franklin’s. If he hadn’t turned, whoever that was would have seen them coming.
“Did you see who that was in the second car?” Drew asked.
“No, but it looks like a meeting or a weapons deal’s going down. We’ll have to go in on foot for a closer look.”
Once out of sight of both cars, Nick killed their headlights and parked on the shoulder.
They climbed out, and as they came into view of the cars, they took cover. Working through the brush, they stopped almost even with the front of Franklin’s car and peered out.
The driver of the car parked behind Franklin’s climbed out and stood behind his open door for a moment, looking all around.
“That’s Coyote,” Nick said, seeing the man’s face clearly, thanks to the dome light in the arms dealer’s car.
Coyote’s glance swept past their location, but if he saw them he didn’t react. A moment later, he walked toward Franklin’s car.
Franklin climbed out of the vehicle to meet him and the two men stood face to face, talking. Their voices were muted, too much so to be understood.
“Where’s Koval?” Drew whispered. “Shouldn’t he be around here somewhere?”
Hearing someone walking toward them through the brush and making no attempt to hide his arrival, Drew tilted her head toward the approaching figure, expecting to see Koval.
As Nick turned to look, the man raised a pistol and fired. There was a flash and Nick felt the tug on his sleeve from the near miss, but all he heard was the low thump of a silencer.
Nick grabbed Drew’s hand, dropped down into an empty ditch, and raced into the bosque—the forested area that lined the river.
Nick led Drew into a thick grove of cottonwoods and stopped, pulling her to her knees and against him as he ducked. Over their own labored breathing, he heard people moving toward them from two different directions, and could see beams of flashlights flickering through the underbrush.
“We’re outnumbered,” he said. “We can’t outrun them or hide here for long. We’ll have to go after them individually. That’s our only chance.”
“What do we do?” Drew asked.
“I’m going to get the attention of the guy closest to us, the one with the silenced pistol, then lead him past you. As soon as he goes by, aim for his legs and Taser him,” he said, handing her the nonlethal device. “You’ve gone through our security workshops, right? Then just aim and shoot.”
“In theory, I know what to do. But what if I miss, or the connectors don’t make contact?” she asked, suddenly more afraid than ever.
“His slacks won’t be as thick as his jacket, so there shouldn’t be a problem. You won’t miss. Crouch as low to the ground as you can and stay perfectly still until he goes by. You’ll hear me first, then him. As he passes by you, I’ll do something to make sure he looks in my direction.”
As he slipped away, Drew stared at the yellow device in her hand. She’d held one once during an orientation, and knew how it operated, but she’d never actually fired one.
Hearing a noise to her right, Drew ducked down and listened.
The man trailing Nick taunted him softly. “Man up, Indian. If you show yourself now, I may let the woman live.”
She’d been afraid before, but now she was just ticked off. If this idiot thought that she’d stand by while he shot Nick, he was about to get one huge reality check.
Nick hurried past her, snapping twigs and brush, deliberately being noisy so he could give away his position.
Drew remained totally still, then saw a shape emerge out of the dark, pistol in hand. As soon as he moved past her, Drew rose to full height and fired, hitting him in the back of his thigh. The man fell to the ground instantly, his body twitching.
Nick ran over and picked up the man’s gun while Drew turned off the Taser. Working together, they quickly handcuffed their assailant’s arms around a tree about three feet in diameter. Taking off one of the dazed suspect’s shoes, Nick jammed the man’s sock into his mouth so he couldn’t yell out a warning.
Nick prepared the Taser for another shot, then handed it back to her. “Keep this handy. We have at least two more bad guys to deal with.”
“Do you know who this man is?”
“He’s an ex-con named Johnson, another one of Coyote’s associates.”
As they stood, a twig snapped behind Drew. Nick pushed her to the ground, but before he could reach for his pistol, Coyote stepped out of the brush, his gun pointed at Nick’s chest.
“Put your weapon on the ground, boy. Don’t make this any more difficult on yourself,” Coyote drawled, then waited as Nick did what he asked. “You’re both going to die. The only choice you’ve got is whether the lady goes first or you do.”
Nick stepped in front of Drew, knowing that was the only way he had left to protect her. He wouldn’t be able to draw his backup pistol before Coyote fired.
Drew stepped out from behind Nick. “If this is where it ends for us, then we’ll go side-by-side.”
Nick watched the gunman’s eyes. If Coyote hesitated, trying to decide who his first target would be, he’d have the opening he needed.
“Who gets it first?” Coyote asked in a bored voice, moving the barrel of the weapon from Nick to Drew. “Any last requests?”
Suddenly a shot rang out and a hole appeared in Coyote’s chest right over his heart. Coyote looked surprised, but his expression soon faded as he slumped to the ground, blood oozing from the wound in his chest.
Nick dove to the ground and rolled, taking Drew with him. Weapon in hand, he was ready to fire when Chief Franklin stepped into full view.
Franklin’s pistol was aimed at Nick’s head from a distance of less than ten feet—a sure killshot.
“I can see you’re wearing a
vest, Blacksheep, so I’ll have to make it a head shot, I guess.”
“Lower your weapon, Chief, before it’s too late. I may go down, but you’ll be dead right along with me.”
Franklin looked at both their faces, his weapon never wavering. “I can’t put my weapon down. It’s gone too far for that. But if you shoot, I shoot, and we both lose. So let’s negotiate instead. I’ve got a real win-win solution for you. I’ve got more cash than I’ll ever use, and I’m about to retire. So how about this? You get the credit for bagging Coyote and Johnson, and I reward you with, say, a hundred thousand in untraceable bills. We both walk away wealthy. You’ll be a live hero, and we’ll all get to finish our lives in relative comfort.”
Nick rose to his feet, his gun still pointed at Franklin’s chest.
Drew also stood slowly, reaching into her pocket as she did and putting her hand on the Taser. “Listen to him, Nick. That’s a lot of money. We could make a brand new future for ourselves,” she said, stepping away from Nick ever so slightly. If she could widen the gap between them, then Chief Franklin would have two distinct targets. With his attention divided, she’d be able to draw the Taser and fire. But it wasn’t a quick-draw weapon. What if it snagged on her pocket? She pushed back her uncertainty.
Franklin kept his focus on the person he considered his greatest threat, Nick. “Listen to me, son. I spent all of my life working for the citizens of this town. And what thanks did I get? A pension that’ll barely make my house payment. A man gets few chances to break out of the middle ground, and I took mine. Do you have what it takes, or do we die out here for nothing?” He paused. “And just so we’re clear. Your lady will go, too.”
“Not where you’re going,” Drew said, yanking the Taser from her pocket and firing.
As the contacts hit, Franklin’s body twitched and his hands jerked uncontrollably. His gun went off, but the bullet went wild. Franklin hit the ground, his body contorted, his muscles seizing up.
Their enemy incapacitated, Drew flicked the power off. While Nick worked to securely tie up the chief with his own belt, Drew called for backup.
