Gunfire ensued, only not from their guns.
Raul stood in the middle of the street—snow falling around him and on him, cold embracing him. The wintry backdrop and long, deadly fall mere feet behind him.
Sirens rang out in the distance. Someone had called 911, or had Sierra? He honestly couldn’t recall, he’d been so intent on keeping the truck on the road.
But this would be over long before anyone could come to their aid.
He edged around the truck. A bullet pinged against it.
Sierra’s hands pulled him back. “Don’t get yourself killed. Don’t do it, Bryce. Not for me.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to shoot us both if we let him. Like you said before, we have to be proactive.”
They’d thought the man had moved on, but he’d shown up here today like he knew exactly where they would be. It was time—past time—to end this.
Then Raul emptied rounds into the vehicle as Bryce pushed Sierra back, back, back to the far side behind the front right tire. The truck provided good cover, but it wasn’t foolproof. Some bullets were bound to make it through.
“I’m worried about any innocent people standing by. Cars are already lining up along both sides.” He realized several were honking. He’d completely blocked out the sound as he focused on surviving.
Didn’t they see a crazy man had a gun and was shooting?
“I really don’t want to engage him in a gunfight in public like this,” he said. “People could get hurt.”
Bryce glanced to the ridge behind them. It opened up about ten yards away to trees and rocks—the portion of the road he’d been hoping to reach in the truck. Could they make it that far on foot before Raul was on them? And if they did, what would they do—just cower again? He wanted to stand out there and face off with this jerk, but his most important responsibility was to protect Sierra. Second to that, he wanted to keep any bystanders from harm.
Sierra had pulled out her cell and pressed it to her ear. “Sheriff,” her voice shook. “We’re pinned here on the highway. Raul is standing in the road shooting at us.”
“Take him out!”
Bryce heard the words shouted over the cell. That was all he needed. What he’d been waiting for.
“You got it.” He stepped away from the truck and aimed his weapon to shoot to kill, but Raul was nowhere to be seen.
“What?”
Raul wasn’t in the vehicle. He... He’d just vanished.
A car at the end of the line of waiting commuters backed up, turned around and sped away. A man stood at the side of the road, his hands on his head.
Had Raul just hijacked his car?
A SWAT helicopter swept toward them and hovered in midair.
Bryce and Sierra put down their weapons lest there be any confusion about what had just happened. Bryce pushed her behind him.
“Call the sheriff again. Make sure he’s communicating with these guys. Tell him that Raul took off in a red crossover—that he hijacked a car to escape.”
“Okay.” Sierra called again and explained. “Please tell them we’re not the bad guys here. That he tried to kill us again and almost succeeded.”
She ended the call and pressed her hand onto Bryce’s shoulder.
Sirens grew louder, and a Colorado State Patrol vehicle expertly maneuvered around cars and parked next to the vehicle Raul had driven. It was probably also hijacked or at least stolen. What had he done with the driver?
Another vehicle pulled in behind the troopers. Sheriff Locke hopped out and rushed up to the state officers, telling them Bryce and Sierra had been attacked. His form was intimidating and he didn’t back down even when facing off with state LEO. He approached, his expression filled with concern. “Are you okay?”
Bryce stepped aside for the sheriff to see Sierra for himself. She shivered and he turned to wrap her in his arms. “Give these guys your statement. We’re out of my county now. Then I’ll take you home.”
“But... We needed supplies.”
“All right. I’ll take you into town and we’ll get those, then I’ll bring you back.”
“Sheriff, that’s too much trouble. You’ve done so much for me already. You have a big county to take care of—you shouldn’t spend so much time on me.”
He lifted his hat then sat it back on his head. “You’re part of the people entrusted to me, Sierra. Not only that, you’re one of my deputies. Now, come on. You guys are going to get hypothermia standing out here. You can sit in my vehicle and get warm.”
A half hour later, they’d given their statements to the state officers. Bryce held his tongue on numerous occasions to keep from demanding some answers of his own. He wanted to ask why they hadn’t already caught Raul Novack and put him back where he belonged.
Sheriff Locke would drive them all the way into Montrose to get supplies. While they waited on him to finish up a conversation with one of the patrol officers, Bryce sat in the back with Sierra. They watched as traffic once again flowed, only in a single lane around them. John’s truck had been shot up and the engine was damaged, plus it would be used as evidence of this vicious attack.
Sierra’s sniffles drew his attention. He should have been focused on her, but his adrenaline had long ago crashed and he was barely keeping it together himself. He brushed away tears from her cheeks. Her eyes widened as she swiped at him, refusing to give him the honor.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could stop crying.”
Concern for her rippled through him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her so shaken, even the night that Raul had broken into her home.
“I thought we were going to die. The last time I felt like that, Raul was hovering over me, pinning me on my bed. So I just kept seeing his face and hearing his words.”
She pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed. Bryce held on to her with everything in him. “Shh,” he whispered. He wanted to sob too, honestly. “It’s good to get this out.”
It was, wasn’t it? Sierra was a strong person, but even strong people could be crushed, and it was best to let the pain out rather than to keep it inside. He knew that this was just the process that she had to go through.
Sheriff Locke finally climbed into the vehicle, and Sierra pulled away from Bryce. She looked up at him with swollen red eyes. “You need to leave.”
* * *
They didn’t have a chance to discuss her order right away. True to his word, Sheriff Locke had assisted them in getting supplies in Montrose and then ushered them back home where she could inform her father that his truck was toast. Once the county vehicle was unloaded, Bryce stood in the kitchen, looking like he was lost.
She understood. He was confused at her proclamation that he needed to leave. Sierra was spent. Her arm throbbed. She wanted to lie down, but she owed him an explanation.
“I have cowboy soup simmering in the slow-cooker if you want some.” Dad eyed them both but said nothing more. He didn’t have to. Anger was evident in his features. Anger at Raul. He probably had plenty he wanted to say to Sierra too, but he held back for now.
“In a bit, Dad.”
Bryce.
He had to go.
“Can I talk to you?” She ushered him over to the sofa. Dad had a big fire going. He disappeared upstairs. Good. He probably sensed she needed to have a heart-to-heart talk with Bryce.
Samson made sure she knew he wanted in on the conversation, planting himself right at her feet. She hugged his big head to her and kissed him. When she glanced up, Bryce was watching her.
Bryce.
He was everything she could ever want in a man. But she wouldn’t subject herself to more pain.
And that’s why... “You have to go, Bryce. You could have been killed out there today. You were going to sacrifice yourself for me. You would have... You would have died!” Sierra realized she was shouting but she con
tinued. “You walked out into the middle of the street to shoot him. If he had still been standing there, you would both be dead. This isn’t some Wild West reenactment.” She couldn’t take the look he gave her and shoved from the sofa. Samson whined.
Sierra moved to stand near the fire and rubbed her hands. Her arm throbbed even a week after surgery.
Still Bryce said nothing in response. Maybe he was waiting for her to get it all out before he made some argument to stay.
“I don’t want you getting hurt on account of me. Protecting me at the cost of your own life. I can’t have that on my conscience.”
Bryce was behind her. She could feel his presence. She wanted to escape. She needed to escape. But she couldn’t make herself leave. She leaned back into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Please... Just leave.”
He gently turned her to face him. “You know why I can’t,” he whispered.
And then he kissed her. All this time they had fought it, and now he pressed his lips gently against hers. The emotion that poured from him was enrapturing, and more than she remembered from before. It took her breath away, and yet she knew he was holding back so much more of what he wanted to give.
She wanted to slide her hands over his chest and up around his neck and wrap her hands in his hair and pull him closer. How long had it been since they’d shared a kiss—years?
And why now were they finally giving in to that longing?
Back then, she’d pushed him away from her for emotional reasons. Now, it was so much more than mere emotion. “Bryce,” she whispered breathlessly.
He eased from the kiss. “You want me to leave so you won’t have to live with my death. But I can’t have your death on my conscience, if I were to leave. I’m here until it’s over. Whatever the cost.”
And that’s what scared her the most.
His breath tickled her cheeks. “And I know that I shouldn’t have kissed you. I know why you won’t let yourself love. You understand why I can’t either. We’re both broken in the same way.”
She closed her eyes as he left her standing there next to the fireplace, listening to his footsteps.
He would leave now. Head to his hotel and perhaps get some rest.
As for Sierra, she wouldn’t sleep after what happened today with Raul...and with Bryce.
She wouldn’t sleep after that kiss. But he was right—they were both broken.
When this was over, he truly had to leave because she couldn’t bear for him to stay. She might fall for him again and that was something she couldn’t risk.
That night Sierra took forever to fall into a fitful sleep. She tossed and turned and would wake up and do it all over again.
A sudden shrill noise startled her awake. Gasping for breath she sat up and grabbed her gun, then realized her cell was ringing. She answered the call. “I’m here.”
Silence met her on the line.
Then, “Sierra.”
“Sheriff Locke, what is it?” The clock glowed 4:30 a.m.
“We got him.” He was breathing hard. “We got him, Sierra.”
SEVENTEEN
Bryce didn’t like this at all.
But he was in it until the end, and so he stood with Sierra at the jail where Raul waited for transport back to the penitentiary. Sheriff Locke had procured a way for Sierra to see Raul, hoping to give her some closure.
Bryce could not believe she’d requested to see Raul. A clerk hit the buzzer to open the door. Grabbing Sierra’s arm, he prevented her from entering. “Sierra, are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” Her grim expression seemed set in stone. “Yes. I need to look him in the eyes and let him know he didn’t get to me. He didn’t kill me or destroy me. All his attacks were for nothing.”
Together, they walked down the quiet hallway—a gray polished floor, contrasting with bright green cells and bars. Every county jailer’s dream decor. Their shoes squeaked in the quiet. Two state officers escorted them.
Sheriff Locke also accompanied Sierra. Raul had come after his deputy, after all, and terrified his wife at his home and his friends in his county seat, and the man was now in his jail.
When they reached Raul’s cell, the man sat on the edge of a cot, hanging his head. Though he was jailed, his wrists and ankles were chained together ready for transport back to the penitentiary. Was that protocol for a dangerous, escaped convict finally retrieved, or were they making an exception for Raul Novack?
Raul lifted his head, his features somehow euphoric. When he spotted Sierra, a grin took over his face. He slowly got up and lumbered toward them. Bryce wished they weren’t standing so close to the bars. He would remain with Sierra but he wished she would take a step back.
He understood why she couldn’t. That would show weakness when she’d come here to show strength.
He stood close enough to her that he felt the slightest tremble in her body, and he put his hand closer to hers. Not holding it, just touching fingers. She responded.
Raul approached and held on to the bars, his chains clanking against them.
Sierra said nothing.
Had she planned to speak to him? Or just simply show him that he hadn’t gotten to her?
Bryce wouldn’t say anything, though he wanted to reach through the bars and do much more than say words to this man. He wanted to wrap his hands around Raul’s throat. But that was the difference between him and this monster. Bryce would never act on such impulses.
Raul kept his grin in place. A grin that went all the way to his eyes. An evil grin.
“You’re going to die.”
Sierra’s pinkie finger flinched.
“You’re going to die, girl.”
“We’re all going to die,” she said. “It’s just a matter of when.”
His laugh was sick. “And how, girl. You’re going to die and I’m going to enjoy it.”
“How’s that possible now that you’re once again in jail?”
He gave her a knowing look and just laughed. As if to dismiss her, he shuffled back to his cot, sat down and stared at the wall.
The officers ushered them back down the hallway. Sheriff Locke escorted them to his county vehicle.
Sierra didn’t say a word. None of them did.
Once inside the vehicle they all sat in silence. Sheriff Locke didn’t start the ignition. He just sat there.
Bryce knew exactly what he was thinking, but Bryce wouldn’t say those words out loud.
“What do you think he meant?” Sierra finally asked. “When he told me I was going to die and that he was going to enjoy it?”
Sheriff Locke started the vehicle. “I think he’s crazy, Sierra. I thought you needed the closure or else I never would have agreed to arrange this meeting. But now it’s over. It’s done with. He’s going back to prison and will be under extra security. The best thing we can do is forget about him. Forget everything that happened. Put it behind us. You especially, Sierra.”
She rubbed her arms. She sat in the front seat next to the sheriff, and Bryce in the back, so he couldn’t hold her. He stared out the window and watched the trees pass by and the day grow colder and grayer.
It’s over.
Just keep telling yourself that.
Back in Crescent Springs, Sheriff Locke dropped them at the toy store. Bryce followed Sierra inside where she shared what had happened with her father and Jane—everything except Raul’s words to her. John hugged her fiercely.
He gripped her arms. “Now you’re free. He’s back in jail. We don’t have to think about him ever again.”
If only it was that easy.
By going to face off with her stalker, Sierra had meant to make a statement, but in Bryce’s opinion, things had gone horribly wrong.
She turned her attention to Bryce. “Let’s take Samson for a good, long walk. It
will be nice to do that without having to worry about someone attacking us.”
He nodded. He hadn’t taken his coat off yet, so was ready.
She led him out the back door of the apartment into blinding white. Fortunately someone had shoveled within the hour so they could easily walk.
Samson was leashed for the walk and they kept to the wooded lot, not encroaching into the National Forest. Bryce had so much he wanted to say to her about what had happened since the first day he’d been here, especially about today. He needed to process through his thoughts and he wanted that to happen with Sierra if only he could find a way to tell her. If only he could turn back time and prevent her from confronting Raul while he was behind bars. He wasn’t so sure that Raul’s threat had been idle, but how did he tell her that? He didn’t want to scare her. This had to end. And it should have ended once the man was put behind bars.
Since Raul had threatened Sierra, Bryce had a reason to stay. He should stay. He wanted to stay to make sure that Raul’s threat wasn’t real—that Sierra was truly safe now. That was the only reason. It had nothing at all to do with being with Sierra—her bright blue eyes and golden hair. Her smile and her laugh. The way she loved on her dog, Samson.
Or the way she’d kissed Bryce back last night. Bryce struggled to push aside the emotions battling inside him. He struggled to find the words to express what he wanted to say to her.
Samson took his time, seeming to enjoy the pleasant relaxed pace of the walk. He moved from tree to tree to see what was what.
The quiet between Sierra and Bryce wasn’t their usual comfortable silence. Tension seemed to waft off Sierra. That could be Raul’s doing.
Or it could be Bryce’s doing. He needed to jumpstart a conversation. “When do you think you’ll start training again?”
“Tomorrow, if possible.”
“But...your arm.”
“I’ll make it work.”
Not “we’ll” make it work. It was now or never if he was going to convince her that he should stay on longer. “Listen, I think I—”
Fugitive Trail Page 15
