Why Pinter had chosen a life of crime was beyond Cochise. He came from money, dated money, and now, he was facing decades in jail after beating up a couple he’d robbed at gunpoint for a measly sixty dollars and a wedding ring.
Sky came up beside him, a shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds raised, with the stock against his shoulder, and cupping a flashlight against the barrel. He gave Cochise a nod.
Cochise quietly turned the knob then shoved it open. Sky preceded him through the door, turning his body to the left then the right.
Cochise went to the bed and flipped the mattress off the frame. Nobody huddled under it. He quietly slid open the nightstand drawer, the place where Mr. Anderson said he kept a handgun. Shining the light inside the drawer, Cochise noted it was empty, except for a bag of cough drops and loose change. Catching Sky’s glance, he shook his head.
He moved to the bathroom door while Sky sped to the walk-in closet.
As he turned the handle, he heard the scuff of a foot and froze. Withdrawing his hand, he signaled to Sky, who quickly edged to the opposite side of the door.
Pinter had plenty of warning they were there. He had no place left to hide. Likely had the gun. Cochise’s best route would be to get him to surrender.
“Randy,” Cochise called out, “you’re not getting out of this house. We’re bounty hunters, and we’ve been tracking you for days. A whole goddamn team to take down your sorry ass. We have deputies in the road out front in case you decide to be stupid. You’re not going to be stupid, are you?”
Sky moved a step backward. “We think we have him cornered in the upstairs bathroom,” he whispered to the team. “Get eyes on the side of the house beneath the window.”
“Already there,” Dagger said.
Sky moved closer.
“Buddy,” Cochise said, keeping an even tone. “Your best move is to come out with your hands up where we can see them.”
Ten seconds passed. Not a sound came from behind the closed door.
Again, Cochise reached out and gripped the knob. It was locked. Stepping in front of the door, he raised a foot.
But he heard a click and pitched to the side. An explosion ripped through the door.
On his back on the floor, Cochise stared at a circle with splintered edges right where he’d been standing a second earlier. He rolled to his feet, his weapon aimed at the hole.
“What the fuck?” Jamie shouted in his ear. “Coming up the stairs.”
“Deputies are running for the house,” Lacey said sounding breathless, like she was running, too.
In the distance, he heard several sets of footsteps stomping quickly up the stairs. No way was he letting the women anywhere near this vicious pig. He aimed at the door. “Better get on the ground, Pinter.” Then he fired two shots, just to make sure the dirtbag was taking cover, and kicked in the door.
Inside the room, he made out the glint of metal coming from around the side of the shower stall. He ducked into the stall as a shot was fired. Then he darted out again, reaching out his left hand as the handgun appeared around the corner. With his back to Pinter, he gripped the weapon, shoving it, and the hand that held it, to the side. A bullet hit the toilet, shattering porcelain. Water spilled out onto the floor.
A punch landed against his ribs, knocking the breath from his lungs, but Cochise didn’t let go of the gun, he spun and shoved the hand holding the gun against the edge of the stall.
The gun clattered away.
More punches hit his sides—much good that did, because his Kevlar vest took the blows—but Cochise couldn’t end this while all he held was Pinter’s hand. He jerked Pinter forward then backed him into the shower stall, crushing him against the tile with his body, unable to turn because he still held his own weapon outstretched. With his elbow, he beat backwards, catching Pinter in his sides.
Searing pain in the corner of his shoulder sucked away what was left of his breath. “Motherfucker, did you bite me?”
He beat back his elbow and aimed a backward kick at a knee.
The lights to the bathroom flashed on.
Sky filled the doorway, his glance taking in the gun on the floor. He moved forward and reached out. Gladly, Cochise gave him his weapon, and then turned and pummeled Pinter, clipping him in the jaw, the ribs, then giving him another punch to the jaw.
As Randy Pinter sagged toward the gray stone floor of the shower, Cochise kept his fists balled. But Pinter’s eyelids lowered, and his jaw relaxed.
A clap against his shoulder made him wince. “Think we have him,” Sky said.
Cochise lowered his eyebrows. “We?”
Sky grinned. “Hey, I freed your hand.”
“Fucker.”
“Tell me that wasn’t satisfying.”
Cochise grunted.
Just then, Jamie rounded the corner, two deputies crowding in behind her. One tall, burly male and a female with scraped-back, blondish hair and angry eyes.
Suddenly, the spacious bathroom was too crowded.
“Do we have to call an ambulance?” Jamie asked.
Sky leaned over Pinter and ran his hands over his body, doing a quick search for weapons. When he straightened, he aimed a kick at his hip.
Pinter stirred and moaned.
“Nope, he’s conscious,” Sky said, his mouth curving into a smirk. “Jail’s just fifteen minutes away. They can take him to the ER to be checked out.”
Cochise bent and rested his hands on his knees, dragging in deep breaths to clear his head of the anger still pounding through him.
Jamie came up beside him and plucked at the neck of his tee. “Too bad he didn’t get a mouthful of Kevlar. That has to hurt. Buddy, you might need stiches. Sky and I will make sure this one gets to jail, and that they know to test Pinter for any nasty diseases. Your vehicle’s still back at the office; I can have Lacey take you to the ER.”
Cochise straightened, inwardly cursing the fact his truck was back at the agency parking lot. He’d ridden with Sky and Jamie on the way over.
“I’d love to,” Lacey said, her blonde head peering around the corner, “but I can’t wait on you. Dagger and I have to drive to Whitefish to meet up with Reaper. He texted that he may have found Wallace’s hideout.” She gave a hundred-watt smile. “We’re riding into the mountains on horseback.”
Jamie groaned. “Good Lord. Last time Reaper was on horseback, he nearly drowned in a stock pond.”
“You can drop me at my truck. I can get myself to the ER,” Cochise said, and warmed to the idea. Anything to avoid listening to Dagger give Bounty Hunter Barbie another long lesson about how not to get killed doing her job. “You two need to get on the road, or you won’t get any rest.”
A throat cleared to his right. The female deputy’s frown was fierce, but she lifted her chin. “I can drop you, but I won’t wait around.”
He nodded. From her expression, she was about as thrilled with the idea as he was. She’d dump him at the entrance, and he’d be on his own. The way he liked it. “Suits me fine. And I appreciate it.”
* * *
The bite took seven small stitches. With a script for amoxicillin, and a sample-sized tube of antibiotic cream and gauze pads in his pocket, he strode toward the hospital entrance. Once outside, he’d find a bench and call an Uber or Brian Cobb, who lived in the apartment at the back of the agency’s offices.
However, when he stepped outside into the early morning sunshine, Officer McCallister, the female cop who’d delivered him to the ER, was standing there, leaning against the door of her squad car.
He slowed his steps. “You waiting on me?”
“Nope, but I was in the area and checked with the ER desk. They said you were on your way out…” Her light brown eyebrows nearly met in the middle. “Do you want a ride or not?”
His lips twitched. “Not a morning person?”
Her green eyes narrowed. “I’ll drop you at Montana Bounty Hunters. That’s the end of my good deeds. My shift ends in half an hour.”
&nbs
p; He opened the passenger side door and slid onto the bench seat. Once there, he stretched out his arm across the back and leaned against the door. His shoulder ached like fire. The doctor had recommended ibuprofen for the pain, but he had a bottle of tequila chilling in the fridge that would work just fine.
“Seatbelt?”
He grimaced and reached to secure his belt. Then he settled back against his door again. The better to scope out Officer McCallister. “Name’s Cochise Mercier,” he said, deciding someone needed to be polite.
“I know who you are.”
And he waited. When she didn’t reciprocate with an introduction, he cleared his throat. “I haven’t been in Bear Lodge that long, but you know who I am…”
Her gaze went to her rearview mirror than back to the windshield. “Sheriff likes to keep tabs on everyone working at MBH.” She shot him a quick glance. “You were with Denver SWAT. Must have fucked up bad to wind up here.”
He barely suppressed a grunt of surprise at her blunt words. But he had fucked up. Still, he wasn’t unhappy about the change of place or pace of his current circumstances. A man could breathe here—crisp mountain air, without the traffic and mass of humanity. “Yeah,” he said, not willing to get into it with a woman who seemed ready to pick a fight. “Something like that.”
“Should have applied for a patrol job. Sheriff’s always looking for officers with experience. He’d overlook a lot.”
“Thanks for the suggestion, but I like what I’m doing now, and the money’s better.”
Again, her gaze cut his way, and that frown dug a line between her eyes.
“You don’t like bounty hunters.”
“Didn’t say that.”
“Didn’t have to.” He eyed her profile—stubborn chin, cute nose, freckles on her pale cheeks. Her hair was a dark blonde with glints of red as the dawn’s light struck it. Her body was sturdy—not too slim, muscled. He doubted she’d like that description, but he liked a strong woman. “You got a first name, Officer McCallister?” he asked, still watching her and knowing he was making her a little uncomfortable, because her eyebrows remained lowered.
Or maybe that was her permanent expression.
Again, his mouth twitched.
“Samantha.”
“Sammy,” he drawled.
“My friends call me Sammy.”
This time, he let the smile creep across his mouth.
Just as they were nearing the turn that would take them to the agency, a car pulled out from a side street, nearly clipping the squad car.
Officer McCallister hit the brakes then cussed under her breath.
He knew the feeling. This close to ending a shift and some asshole forces a decision.
When the blue Taurus swerved into the center of the road, she sighed and reached for the toggle, turning on her blue lights.
The car indicated to the right and pulled onto the shoulder of the road.
“Stay in the car,” she said, not looking toward Cochise.
He watched with interest as she approached the vehicle, keeping at a safe angle as she neared the car. She reached for the radio on her shoulder. “Dispatch, I need you to run a plate.” She gave the dispatcher the plate information while he listened to the radio inside the car.
A few seconds later, dispatch responded. “The car’s registered to Loretta Mackinaw. She has an outstanding warrant for possession of a controlled substance.”
The officer’s body tensed.
Cochise rolled down his window to listen as she shouted for the driver to put her hands on the dash.
The first hint there was trouble was Officer McCallister flicking the strap on her holster and drawing her gun. A shot rang out, and she dove beside the car.
Cochise slid across the bench, lifting his legs to get past the equipment blocking his way, and settled into the driver’s seat just as the Taurus pulled out onto the road, a black cloud gusting from the exhaust pipe.
Putting the squad car in drive, he pulled up beside the officer and shouted through the open window, “Get in!”
She didn’t argue, sliding into the passenger side seat, flipping on the siren, and reaching for the radio. “Dispatch. Shots fired. I’m in pursuit of that blue Taurus.” She gave her location while Cochise concentrated on keeping on Mackinaw’s tail.
“You okay?” he asked, not taking his gaze off the car ahead.
“Missed me. Not that she meant to.”
They passed the outskirts of town and entered the open highway.
“Just thirty fucking minutes,” she muttered.
“How long do we follow?” he asked, wondering if they’d run up against the county line and pass the problem to the next jurisdiction.
“There’s a crossroads up ahead. Open. No trees or buildings. Think you can get close enough to perform a PIT maneuver?” She cussed again. “Goddamn, I should be behind the wheel. Sheriff’ll have my ass.”
He grinned and gunned the accelerator, closing the distance between the vehicles. Further down the road, he saw the crossroads, no other vehicles in sight. “Let’s do it.”
Another punch of gas, and he pulled into the left lane. Coming even with the left rear wheel of the Taurus, he turned into the car, giving it a solid slam. The Taurus began to spin left, and Cochise braked, slowing the car to watch as the Taurus continued its spin and took out the stop sign across the intersection before coming to a halt. The driver faced them through the windshield.
All Cochise saw was frizzy mud-brown hair and a red face.
Officer McCallister toggled the loudspeaker and raised her mic. “Loretta, put your hands on the dashboard.”
The woman complied, although her frown didn’t abate.
Officer McCallister gave him a quick glance. “There’s a rifle in the trunk. Key’s on the ring.”
He gave a nod, turned off the engine, and let himself out of the car, making sure to keep the driver’s side door open as a shield. He retrieved the rifle and returned, crouching behind the door. He glanced across the empty seat to where the female officer stood, crouching behind her open door. She finished calling in a request for backup, and then her gaze met his across the expanse.
“Whatever move you want to make,” he said, “I have your back.”
Also by Delilah Devlin
Montana Bounty Hunters
Reaper (#1)
Dagger (#2)
Reaper’s Ride (#3)
Cochise (#4)
Hook (#5)
Wolf (#6)
* * *
Uncharted SEALs
Watch Over Me (#1)
Her Next Breath (#2)
Through Her Eyes (#3)
Dream of Me (#4)
Baby, It's You (#5)
Before We Kiss (#6)
Between a SEAL and a Hard Place (#7)
Heart of a SEAL (#8)
Hard SEAL to Love (#9)
Big Sky SEAL (#10)
Head Over SEAL (#11)
SEAL Escort (#12)
* * *
Night Fall (paranormal)
Sm{B}itten (#1)
Truly, Madly…Deadly (#2)
Knight in Transition (#3)
Wolf in Plain Sight (#4)
Knight Edition (#5)
Night Fall on Dark Mountain (#6)
Frannie and the Private Dick (#7)
Sweet Succubus (#8)
Truly, Madly…Werely (#9)
Bad to the Bone (#10)
Long Howl Good Night (#11)
First Knight (#12)
Big Bad Wolf (#13)
* * *
Texas Cowboys
Wearing His Brand (#1)
The Cowboys and the Widow (#2)
Soldier Boy (#3)
Bound & Determined (#4)
Slow Rider (#5)
Night Watch (#6)
* * *
Triplehorn Brand
Laying Down the Law (#1)
In Too Deep (#2)
A Long, Hot Summer (#3)
* * *
Texas Billionaires Club
Tarzan & Janine (#1)
Something To Talk About (#2)
Who’s Your Daddy (#3)
Love & War (#4)
Some Standalone Stories
Begging For It
Hot Blooded
Raw Silk
Warrior’s Conquest
Rogues
Enslaved by the Viking Short Story
Conquests
Smokin’ Hot Firemen
S*x on the Beach Page 10
