Toby and I had the distinct advantage here. We could overpower the pair in seconds. The problem would be getting out of the building and off the grounds by ourselves. There were nearly two dozen guards stationed throughout the ranch. If we weren’t smart, we’d be back in the bland room in a matter of minutes. “You have my word. I’ll do my best to protect both of you.”
That was enough for Jared. He clutched my arm and I let him pull me forward. Lynette gave the all clear thumbs up signal and we left our prison behind us. The quiet hallway was long and dark, the air stale. A couple of dangling lights every so often dimly lit the way. We passed other closed doors and one room where the door was flung wide open. I saw cases of beer and other kinds of liquors neatly stacked inside. Lynette never said a word. Her red hair brightened the gloomy space as it bounced on her shoulders. Jared let go of me. The further we got from our cell, the quicker he moved. Lynette turned into an inky black space and Jared used his cell phone to light the area. About a dozen concrete steps went up to a pair of slanted, wooden doors.
Jared stopped in the semi darkness. “I can’t guarantee that when you open those doors, someone won’t be near enough to see you. It’s the only shot you’ve got. Make a straight line run to the nearest barn. There are two more behind that one. Use the barns for cover. When you clear them, there’s some brush and a ditch. Eventually, you’ll hit an old ATV dirt path. Follow that to a rusty gate. Once over the gate, you’re home free. Just don’t stray from the path. It meets up with a side road. There’s enough moonlight to guide you, but you can easily lose your way in the desert.”
“Thanks, Jared.” I began to turn, and his hand snaked out, stopping me.
“Does this mean you’re not writing a book?” He looked so disappointed, I felt kind of bad.
“Someday, I’m going to write a book about all of my adventures, and this case will make one or two chapters.” I offered a slight smile. “I think you have a good story to tell, too. Stop making excuses and get writing.”
He gave me a firm nod.
My heart rate had accelerated during our flight through the hallway and now it was booming into my throat, but I hesitated and faced Lynette. There wasn’t much time, but I couldn’t leave her without at least one question. I might never get this chance again.
“Why are you here, Lynette?”
Lynette might work in a brothel, but there was still something innocent about her doe-shaped eyes and round cheeks. I could imagine her in a cap and dress. Only four years ago that had been her life.
The young woman looked up at me with drooping eyelids and a frowning mouth. “To save my people.”
15
Jared’s directions were solid, and he was right about the moonlight. It was enough to light our way over the dusty, dry ground. Brushing against a bush with sharp thistles broke the skin on my arm. I hissed at the discomfort and ignored the dripping blood. If that’s the worst that I encountered before the sun came up, I was in good shape. Without cell phones or badges, I anticipated we still had some hurdles to cross, but for the most part, our bad situation had done a one-eighty in mere minutes. Escape had been almost too easy.
Toby finally slowed to a walk and I eased up alongside him. “That was too easy,” he said, echoing my exact thoughts.
He had the cowboy hat back on and was huffing a little. I could tell he was as lost without a firearm at his side as I was. I felt naked. Not being able to phone Daniel or Todd wasn’t making it any easier. I was fairly confident that warning bells hadn’t gone off yet for either men. Sunup was about the time Daniel would become restless. Todd might make it until noon. Bobby would try to squash their worries. Sometimes the coroner had too much confidence in my ability to take care of myself. Although it looked like Toby and I had dodged a bullet, we weren’t out of the woods yet. It would be nice to pick up the investigation without anyone being the wiser that we’d gotten into a jam.
“I was thinking the same thing. Either we’re incredibly lucky or Melinda changed her tune, looking the other way to allow us off the ranch.”
Toby sighed loudly. The desert was quiet, dark, and still. Silhouettes of tall, distorted bushes in the distance looked eerily like zombie people. Cool air brushed my face. In a few hours it would be in the nineties.
“This case has got me running in circles,” he admitted.
“Me too.” The adrenaline rush of escape dulled, and the investigation started to loom over my head once again. “It’s probably not wise to go back to the hotel. We don’t have keycards, so we’d have to get new ones at the desk. I’m sure Melinda has eyes on the place. But we have other guns in the room, and we need to make phone calls.”
Toby slowed his pace. “I’m tempted to say that this isn’t the Wild West, but actually, it is. We might not be as free as we think. The right calls will bring in a wave of back up. We’re still in an extremely rural area. Might take a little while for reinforcements to arrive.”
“Do we really need help right now?” I was dead serious and Toby’s stern look clued me in that he knew what I was insinuating. “We’re almost there, Toby. I can taste it in this dry, desert air.”
“What?” He scoffed. “Are you talking about arresting George Walker or getting to the bottom of your Amish crisis?”
“Both.” Headlights shined in the distance for a moment and then disappeared below the hill. We were almost to the road. “Let’s take the gamble that Melinda purposely let us go. The only reason she’d do that is if we were more valuable free. She has to know that our main purpose here is to bring in George. I think she wants us to take him down.”
“That’s mighty colorful, Serenity, and a lot of assumptions.” He grew silent and so did I. My mind was busy working all the angles and we walked silently for a few minutes before Toby spoke up again. “Let’s say you’re right. We still don’t have any idea where George is.”
I cast a sideways glance his way. “He might be a lot closer than you think.”
“If you’re wrong, and we do this on our own, we might end up corpses under cactus trees.” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “That’s what I was talking about earlier. I’m not the right person to talk you off the cliff. Dammit, I’m more likely to go over it before you do.”
“Okay. We flag down some random motorist, borrow their cell phone, and call in the cavalry. We’ll be safe and sound. I’ll head back to Blood Rock, which will make Daniel and everyone in my department thrilled. You’ll continue to search for the elusive Mr. Walker, probably coming up short. Amish teenaged girls will continue to disappear every four years, ending up in a whore house.” I slapped my hands together. “Yep, that sounds like a winning plan.”
“My God, Serenity. You’re like having the devil perched on my shoulder.” He shook his head. “Shoot, maybe I’m more concerned with keeping you safe than solving another mystery.”
There was more meaning behind his words. I rounded on Toby and smacked his arm. “What are you talking about? I’m a sheriff. If anything, I’m the one taking care of you.”
Toby tilted his head and chuckled. On the horizon, a light strip appeared. The sun began to rise. The new day dawning settled my nerves.
“I have no doubt of your abilities. As a matter of fact, I’d like to have you by my side in any bind.” He stretched his legs and made distance between us, then stopped and turned. “I made a promise to keep you safe, and that’s what I aim to do.”
My mouth dropped open. I strode right up to Toby. “Who did you make that promise to?”
Toby looked away and I grabbed his chin, forcing him to see me. “Daniel?”
His silence was as good as a yes.
“What in the world were you thinking? You know how Daniel is. You’re the one who’s always making fun of his overprotectiveness.” I threw my hands up in the air. No wonder Daniel had been so calm about me going to Nevada. He’d somehow coerced the marsha
l to his side.
“That was before you started trying to get pregnant. Who knows, you might be right now.” Toby showed more emotion than I’d ever witnessed from him. The subject bugged him.
“Did Daniel tell you that?”
“He might have mentioned it,” he shot back.
I rolled my eyes. “I suppose it could be true. I stopped birth control a few weeks ago and we haven’t been abstinent by any means.” I ignored his flinch and plowed on. “That doesn’t mean I’m pregnant already. Even if I was, I can still do a damn good job.”
Now it was Toby’s turn to throw up his hands. It registered that we had more important things to worry about. We shouldn’t be fighting over my pregnancy status, but here we were.
Toby got his voice back under control. “Serenity, look. Getting married is one thing. There’s a certain amount of duty we have as law officers to try not to get killed for our partner’s sake. You know the risk is always there. Introducing a baby into the mix changes everything. Daniel has the right to fret over your safety. When you’re possibly carrying his child, you have the responsibility to take care of yourself and not risk its life by throwing yourself in the way of danger.”
“Why did you drag me into this case in the first place? You knew I’d be fully invested if women were possibly being sold into sex slavery,” I shot back.
Toby gained control of his emotions and kept his voice level. “If I’d talked to Daniel first and knew that you were already seriously trying to become pregnant, I would have stayed away.”
I was angry that we were having this conversation, but even for my riled-up state, I recognized the flicker in his eye and it made me step back. “You’re jealous that Daniel and I are planning to have a baby.”
Toby rubbed his face with his hand and began walking again. I grabbed his arm and jerked him to a stop.
“It surprised me when you married an ex-Amish man. I figured it wouldn’t last. You two are as different as night and day. With the pressures and expectations of your job, there’s no way you’ll have a happily-ever-after with Daniel.” He grunted and pursed his lips. “Now you want to add a baby to the mix. Sure, a part of me is envious that you’re courageous enough to go for it. The part of me who considers you a friend thinks you’re making a huge mistake.”
Toby’s words sunk into my hyperactive brain. Was he right? I’d been plagued by my own doubts about starting a family for months. I wasn’t like CJ. She could rejoice in the baby growing inside of her. She didn’t have to risk her life on a daily basis. Although she’d encountered evil when Caleb Johnson had tried to kill her, she hadn’t lived and breathed all the wickedness that existed in the world the way I had. I wasn’t even convinced it was the right thing to bring a child into such a messed-up place.
I glanced at Toby and he stared back at me, a clear challenge in his eyes. This wasn’t about all of those things for him, though. He had a more personal interest in whether I had a baby. An event like that would cement my bond with Daniel. Toby had always flirted with me, but he’d never crossed the line—until now. His angst was personal, not professional.
I breathed in the cool air. Orange and gold splashed the sky as the sun made her appearance. The shadowy, scary bush people transformed into regular bushes. The distance to the road seemed shorter.
Toby was my friend. I respected him, and I could count on him. My realization that his feelings ran deeper than simply flirtatious made things awkward, but I wouldn’t allow this conversation to end our relationship.
I softened my tone. “Toby, I’m not even sure about having a baby with Daniel myself. It’s been a real struggle to get to a mental place where I actually considered it. There are so many reasons not to have a baby, but there’s one big reason to do it. And it’s Daniel. He desperately wants a child and I love with him with all my heart. If I fall in the line of duty someday, I’m confident he’ll be a great father. Even though his family drives me nuts half the time, they would help him, and along with my sister, Daniel and our child would be fine. I’ve seen too much death, Toby. I guess I’m ready for a new beginning. I wish you could be happy for me.”
Toby’s sigh sounded like a growl. “I’ll support you one hundred percent, Serenity. I just think it’s a mistake.”
“You know I’m a control freak. Not so long ago, I realized that some things are out of my hands. There’s freedom in accepting it and living in the moment. Have you thought about opening yourself up to romance and a family of your own? It might be just what you need.”
Toby began walking and I didn’t stop him this time. Instead, I fell in step with him.
“Eh, it’s not something I crave. If it happens, it happens.” Toby was back to unemotional marshal mode.
“We have a chance to get your man and help some Amish women at the same time. Can you just forget about your promise to Daniel and this whole baby thing, and go back to being the brazen U.S. Marshal I know and love?
Sun glare lit up the side of Toby’s face. He glanced my way, grinning. “You love me, huh? I guess there might be hope yet. We’ll finish the job on our own, if that’s what you want, Serenity. If luck is still on my side, I’ll survive to have your hubby chew me out.”
16
Sweat trickled between my breasts and the sun beat down on my head by the time we made it to the road. My cracked lips burned, and my throat was parched. About a mile ago, I’d decided I would happily take the rainy weather of Indiana over the brutal dry head of the desert. We flagged down a truck driver who picked us up with a friendly smile. He raised his brow at our disheveled appearances, but his only question was where we were headed. It took less than ten minutes to reach the motel.
After we thanked the trucker, we made our way slowly to the office. Toby and I were on high alert, expecting an ambush of some sort. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, and the same cleaning lady I’d noticed the previous day working her cart along the first floor, open-airway hall. The woman spared a glance in our direction and quickly looked away. My gaze returned to her as Toby went into the office and I stayed outside to keep watch.
She pulled out a phone, slid her fingers over the screen, and then held it to her ear. Dammit. I was about to go in and hurry Toby along when he walked through the doorway waving the new motel key card in the air. We fell in step.
“I think the cleaning lady just ratted us out,” I breathed.
“Who do you think she’s working for?” Toby asked.
“Hard to tell. If I was a betting woman, I’d put my money on Melinda. But a number of individuals or entities might be keeping an eye on this place.” The muscles in my back and neck tensed.
We stopped in front of our room and in a quick motion, Toby had the door unlocked and we were inside. The room was just like we left it. When the door closed behind us, the space was nearly dark, until Toby hit the light switch. I sagged a little, inhaling the stale motel air with relief. It wasn’t the best place to be if we were attacked by anyone, but for the first time in hours we had real cover and a telephone.
After Toby checked out that the bathroom was clear, he went to his small suitcase where his hands slipped beneath the clothes and pulled out a pistol. I was glad that he hadn’t gone for the phone.
I followed his lead and retrieved my own extra sidearm which was tucked in my bag. We loaded our weapons in silence. Once that chore was done, I went into the bathroom and shut the door. The bright light of the overhead bulbs hurt my eyes when I stared at my reflection. My blonde hair was windblown, and my face was slightly sunburnt. Freckles that weren’t there a day before were popping out over the bridge of my nose and across my cheeks from too much sun exposure. My eyes were bloodshot, but not as tired looking as I expected.
Is it really possible that I might be pregnant? Shrugging out of my jacket, I lifted my shirt and studied my belly. I didn’t look pregnant, but then again, I’d only be a couple
of weeks along. I wouldn’t begin to show for months.
I couldn’t think like Daniel or Toby. If I began worrying about the possibility that a baby was growing inside of me, it might affect how I did my job. I had made a lot of arrests and survived this long because of my total concentration on the task at hand. My mind and reflexes were at their best when I didn’t have other distractions.
My head dropped forward and I clutched the sides of the sink. The hell with my personal life. There were several young women who needed me at my best. I would not let them down. When I lifted my chin, the jitters were gone. Steely determination shined from my eyes, and I pushed away from the sink.
Toby stood in front of the pictures and the timeline he’d taped to the wall. Without looking my way, he said, “Our cover is blown. What’s your plan?”
I didn’t really have a plan and I hated to admit it. I crossed the room and pushed a corner of the curtain aside just an inch to peek out. The sun blazed down onto the parking lot. A couple of new cars were there. A man in a suit pulled a rolling suitcase behind him. I vaguely made out the screech of a hawk and searched the brilliant blue, cloudless sky until I found it.
What is the connection between the Mt. Carmel Amish and The Wild Colt Ranch?
I went back to my bag and pulled out my laptop. Toby still had his back to me when I finally found my voice. “Maybe we’re approaching this wrong.”
Toby turned his head. “What do you mean?”
I logged on and began the search. “How much do you know about the Bruno family?” I didn’t look up.
“They’re minor players in the Nevada crime syndicate. They’ve been investigated before, mostly tax evasion and prostitution. They’re not squeaky clean, but the feds and state authorities never found enough evidence to bring indictments. Besides the brothers we talked about earlier, there’s an uncle who recently went into an assisted living facility, and too many cousins to name. It’s a large family.”
Wicked Legacy (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 10) Page 11
