“We’re on the way. Stay on the phone, we’ll track it and make things a lot easier.”
“Of course.” He should have just suggested that.
A loud crack reached him and the back windshield shattered. Riley hollered and he heard Harper give a startled cry. “He’s shooting at us!”
“What’s going on?” Max hollered.
Another bullet rocked the vehicle and Riley dropped the phone. Max would have to figure it out for himself. Riley grabbed for the door handle and unbuckled his seat belt. Gravity pulled him toward her and while he did his best not to land fully on top of her with his entire weight, she still gave a grunt when his elbow dug into her side.
Bracing himself on the back of the seat, he climbed into the back so that he was standing on the shattered rear door window. Star lay above him in her secure area, her paws slipping through the barred door. “Come on, Harper, we’re sitting ducks. We’ve got to get out of here.” He reached around to release her belt and found she was already moving. “We’ll have to go out the back.”
“The back that he’s shooting at?”
“Afraid so.”
Two more bullets pinged off the undercarriage. She flinched, but lifted her chin. “He’s moved. Those bullets came from a different direction.”
“Yeah. I’ve got Star. I don’t want her walking and cutting her feet on the glass near here.” Riley released Star from her cage and caught her in his arms. She wiggled, but he held her tight.
“Star, stay.”
The dog flattened her ears, but immediately went still at Harper’s command.
Another bullet, then a rapid succession of them battered the bottom of the SUV.
Harper gripped his bicep. “He’s aiming for the gas tank. Go!”
SEVEN
Harper’s head beat a harsh rhythm in her skull as Riley awkwardly scrambled over into the back with Star still in his arms. She pressed a hand to her temple. She didn’t remember hitting her head in the tumble down the side of the cliff.
She figured it was just the rush of adrenaline, combined with her erratic pulse that caused it to pound like a jackhammer. She drew in several deep breaths while she fought her way to the back of the vehicle. Riley stayed at the very edge of the back. All he had to do was step out. She moved close to him. “Ready?”
“Ready when you are.”
Star whined in Riley’s arms, but continued to let him hold her as long as she could see Harper.
She drew in a steadying breath then nodded. Riley pushed Star out the back and clambered behind her. He turned and reached for Harper’s hand and she grasped his fingers to let him help her out.
Sirens sounded from up above, but Harper’s quick rush of relief didn’t last long as the crack of more gunshots split the air. Bullets pelted the ground and the SUV and Harper expected to feel the slam of one at any second. Or hear the explosion. “Go!”
Together they raced for the trees. Two more pops sounded and a bullet caught her in the upper back. She cried out and went down.
“Harper!”
Pain streaked through her. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Her hands clawed the ground, her lungs strained for air.
“Harper!” He dropped beside her. Star barked. The sound of the engine roaring away echoed through her head. “Let me see. Don’t move.”
Not moving was not going to be a problem. Finally, a breath caught and she pulled it in eagerly. Then coughed. The sirens screamed louder. She dragged in another desperate breath and grimaced. “He’s getting away,” she rasped.
“He’s just going to have to this time,” Riley said. “He shot you.”
Harper drew in another breath. “He shot...my vest. Just...knocked the wind...out of me.”
Riley raked a shaky hand through his hair and Star padded over to nudge Harper’s cheek. She scratched the animal’s ear. “Good girl.”
Star sat beside her with a woof. Harper continued to concentrate on breathing through the fire shooting through her, waiting for it to ebb. Riley stayed beside her, watching, his weapon ready. She appreciated his vigilance.
“Harper? Riley?”
Max’s anxious shout made Harper grimace. She gripped Riley’s hand. “Help me sit up.” He hesitated and she sighed. “I’m getting up with or without your help. With would simply make it easier.” She looked up. “Down here, Max!”
Riley’s jaw tightened and he pulled her into a sitting position. Fire blazed through her back and stars danced before her eyes, but she’d heard stories from others who’d been shot and hit in the vest so knew the feeling was normal. She’d be fine. Bruised and sore, but fine. Eventually.
But that was okay. It was better than being dead.
Max’s head appeared over the drop-off. “You okay?”
“Yes. Need a BOLO for a green truck.” She drew in another breath then gave him the license number. Wow. It hurt to yell, too.
“On it. Can you climb up or do we need to come get you?”
“We can climb, I think.” She muttered the last two words under her breath and saw that Riley heard them. He lifted a brow. “Let’s go,” she said before he could suggest they let someone come get them. “It’s not that far.”
“I’m not going to talk you out of trying, am I?” Riley asked.
“Probably not. Ask me again in a couple of minutes.”
“All right then, I’m game if you are.”
Together, with Star at her side, they made their way up the dirt hill. Some places were easier to navigate than others, but the drop-off hadn’t been straight down, more like a gentle slope. Which was what had saved their lives.
That and the tree.
She didn’t want to think about it. She knew the area had some really steep and deadly inclines, and that if one fell—or was run off the road—it could be fatal. Once back up on the road, Max, Ian and Zeke rushed over. A chopper roared overhead and Harper looked up. “We’ve got him looking for the truck,” Max explained.
“Come on,” Riley said, “let’s have a look at your back.” Harper let him help her off with the vest. She hissed as she moved her shoulder.
Ian stared at her with concern. “You got hit?”
“Yes. Well, the vest did. I’m okay.”
She rotated her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief that nothing felt broken. It hurt like crazy, and was bruised for sure, but it was nothing that would keep her from working.
Max stopped her. “Let me check it.”
“It should be all right in time. It’s just a bruise.”
“Do you mind if I take a look anyway?”
“Of course not.”
Harper waited while Max felt the area and in spite of her gasp and groan, he pronounced her correct in her own assessment. “Wouldn’t hurt to have it x-rayed to make sure there isn’t something small like a fracture, but I won’t force it if you say you’re good.”
She hesitated. “If it’s not better in a couple of days, I’ll go in.”
“You feel up to working?”
“Yes. I’m up to it.”
Max nodded. “Good enough, then.”
Star sat by her, panting. “Can one of you give her some water?”
“Sure.” Ian jogged to his vehicle and grabbed some from the back, along with a bowl. And two more bottles that he handed to Harper and Riley.
Satisfied that Star was fine, Harper could focus on the incident. She took a long swig from the bottle then recapped it. “That was Blackman in that truck. He’s quite determined to kill Riley.”
“And you along with him, apparently,” Max said darkly.
“No, he’s not one to worry overmuch about collateral damage,” Riley said.
“Well, killing either of us isn’t an option.” Harper set her jaw and narrowed her eyes. “We just have one more fugitive to catch in addition to Jake.”
Max nodded. “All right. We’ve got the BOLO out on both of them now. I’m not sure why, but neither one seems to be in a hurry to leav
e this area.”
“Well, we know why Jake is still here. It means he believes Penny is close by.”
“And Van knows I’ll track him wherever he goes,” Riley said. “The thing is he’s got a good setup here.” He rubbed his head. “He’s got everything he needs. Water, food and any number of hiding places. I’m pretty sure that’s why he’s still here. He grew up in this area and knows it like the back of his hand.”
“Where’s his family now?” Max asked.
“They live near here in Estes Park.”
“Have you talked to them?”
Riley nodded. “The detectives talked to them the day she was shot, of course. Then first thing after Charlotte’s funeral, I went by to see them.” He exhaled a quick breath. “I believe I told you before that he grew up in foster homes. But his family is located here. A scattering of them anyway. They’re still in trouble with the law and don’t have much use for law enforcement, but his mother seemed pretty horrified when I told her what had happened and cried the whole time I was there. She claimed she hadn’t heard from Van in years.”
“And yet he stayed in the area.”
He nodded. “I wasn’t so sure I bought her story so I had several former cop buddies of mine take turns sitting on his home, but he never showed. Either she really did refuse to have anything to with him or he’s just smart and figured there would be someone watching to see if he showed up. In any event, he hasn’t gone by there since. At least as far as I know. I check in with his mother pretty regularly and I have some buddies that make their presence visible a few times a week.”
“So what would keep him here? Why not run as far and as fast as he could?”
Riley shrugged. “No idea. If it’s not his mother, it’s very possible there was some connection with his dead wife’s family. Van and his wife, Susie, met in foster care. She came from an abusive situation as well. The way he talked, it sounded like their similar backgrounds bonded them. And that’s about all he would say about his past.” He scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “I talked to his last foster mother just a few weeks ago and she just said he wasn’t any trouble even as a teenager, but she still wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. Said he was just too quiet and introverted and she never knew what he was thinking.”
“What happened to his wife? Did he kill her, too?” Harper asked.
“No. She died in childbirth.”
“Oh. That’s sad.”
“Like I said, he refused to talk much about it. Just that he’d been married once. Charlotte told me a little bit about him and I looked up the rest.”
“All right, then.” Max nodded. “Let’s hope someone spots them and calls it in.”
Riley’s eyes turned toward the national park. “I think it’s time for an all-out search of that area. We’ll have to do it mostly on foot, though. There are places vehicles can’t go. What do you think?”
Harper looked at Max who shrugged. “It’s better than anything else we’ve got right now.”
Riley nodded. “The sun’s going to be setting soon. First thing in the morning would be a good time to get started.”
“If we don’t get any tips or anything else before morning, that’ll be the plan.”
“Works for me,” Ian said.
Zeke blew out a breath. “Yeah. Works for me, too.”
“What about the chopper?” Harper asked. “Do we need to bring it in?”
“Might not be a bad idea,” Max said. “I’ll them know.”
Zeke ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.
“We’ll find him, Zeke,” Harper reassured him.
“I know. The question is, who will we find? Simply a rogue agent who needs some serious redirection or a lousy traitor?”
Either one didn’t sound good. And Harper knew which one she was leaning toward.
Traitor.
Even thinking the word made her sick to her stomach. She grimaced and prayed no one else would get hurt before they could find Van and Jake.
* * *
Sitting in the back of Ian’s SUV with King and Star beside him, Riley had to admit he was worried. Worried about his nephew, worried about putting Harper in the crosshairs of a killer. And worried that if she—or someone else—died at Van’s hand, it would be Riley’s fault.
On the way back to the motel, he called his mother to check in on her.
“No change,” she murmured. “He misses his mama.”
Tears cloaked her words and Riley shut his eyes against the surge of hate that wanted to take over. He couldn’t let it. It would cloud his thinking, make him careless. For now, he had to bury it. “I know. I miss her, too.”
“We all do.”
He paused. “What should I do, Mom?” he rasped.
“What do you mean?”
He swallowed hard then forced the words from his throat. “Should I quit chasing Blackman? Should I come back and stay with Asher? What would be the best thing to do? The best thing for Asher?” His heart had never felt so torn. He wanted justice for his sister. He wanted Van Blackman behind bars. Or dead. And yet he didn’t want it at the expense of his nephew’s mental and emotional well-being. Asher came first.
“Asher will be fine,” his mother finally said after a lengthy silence. “He sleeps a lot because of the pain medicine. And while he asks about you every day, I think you need to stay after Van. Catch him and put him away so he can’t do this to another family.”
Riley’s heart squeezed with grief and anger. “Right.” It was what he’d hoped she’d say and yet, part of him had wanted her permission to quit so he could be there for Asher.
He drew in a deep breath and pictured his sister’s pretty face. Smiling, laughing, spinning in circles with the son she’d adored. His resolve hardened. His mother was right. He couldn’t let the man move on to find another woman to kill—another family to devastate. And Riley knew with everything in him that Van would do so the minute he thought he was free to pursue another woman without watching over his shoulder for Riley to show up and take him in. “Okay, Mom, give him a hug for me and tell him I love him.”
“You know I will.” She paused. “And son, please be careful. I can’t lose you, too. I... I don’t think I’d survive it.”
His heart hurt at her words. “I’ll be careful, Mom.”
He hung up and dropped his chin to his chest while his mind raced. Okay, so, in the morning, they’d start hunting again. God, if You’re listening, we could use some divine intervention here. Please?
A rap on the window snagged his attention. He opened the door to Harper’s lovely face and clouded eyes. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“I should be asking you that question. You’re the one who got shot.”
She offered him a faint smile and some of the clouds receded. “I’m still breathing, so I’m grateful and count that as having a good day.”
“I know the feeling. So, what’s the plan?”
“They’re finishing up here, gathering what evidence they can to ship back to Montana for the lab to go over.”
“But this doesn’t have anything to do with your case.”
She smiled again. “But Max agreed to let you have every resource at your disposal for your help in finding Jake. Our state-of-the-art lab is one of those resources.”
He nodded. “I appreciate that. Although, I feel like I’ve got the better end of the deal. We haven’t seen or heard anything more about Morrow.”
“That’s not your fault. We know he was here. We know Penny was here, could possibly still be here. As long as she stays in the area, Morrow will, too, and we’ll find him eventually. So,” she said, “it looks like you’re going to need an extra set of eyes. Now that we know the lengths Blackman will go to get rid of you, we plan to watch out for you and make sure he doesn’t have another chance to get at you.”
Riley was grateful for the help. He’d been fighting his own emotions for so long, his search for Van a mostly solitary endeavor, that the thought
of having backup was a huge relief. “I don’t see how you can prevent it, but I sure won’t turn down the offer of the resources—and the extra set of eyes.”
“Perfect. I guess we can head back to the motel. The tow truck will be here soon.”
“What are you going to do for a vehicle?”
She studied him. “What do you drive again?”
He laughed and shook his head as he realized she’d driven them everywhere they’d gone together. He found he didn’t mind that at all. Harper was strong, capable—and extremely attractive. “I have a blue pickup with a king cab.”
“That’ll work.”
Riley watched her walk toward one of the other Suburbans and let out a half chuckle. Then sobered. “Wait a minute,” he called. “Are you serious?”
EIGHT
Harper was serious. Until another vehicle could be delivered, they would have to improvise. She looked at Riley and smiled. “I would appreciate it, of course, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m not twisting your arm.”
“But?”
“But it would help us keep the investigation going at full speed if we don’t have to worry about someone being left without a ride for the next day or so. We can always rent what we need, but that means heading to the nearest airport or waiting to have something delivered—and then it won’t be equipped with everything we might need for a search out here in the middle of nowhere. If we use your truck, I can just transfer the stuff from mine to yours.”
His lip quirked into a half grin. “I get it. You don’t have to do any arm-twisting. I’ll share.”
“Thanks.”
Once they were finished with the scene, she, Star and Riley climbed into Max’s vehicle.
Since half of the backseat was taken up with Opal’s area, Harper directed the canine to the very rear. Harper let Riley have the front passenger seat and she settled in next to Opal. Max cranked the Suburban and they headed out.
“All right, let’s talk about Jake for a minute. What are we missing?” Harper asked.
Her boss shook his head. “I’m not sure. I think our best course of action is to stick to the plan. We’ll pull in the chopper and do a full-on search of the park area tomorrow like we planned. For now, though, let’s get some food.”
Bounty Hunter (Classified K-9 Unit) Page 8
