Читать книгу Truth And Consequences - Lenora Worth - Страница 12

THREE

The medic! She’d forgotten all about him. With a grunt, he lifted his right arm and hit the man on the head with a big jagged rock. Which didn’t do much in the way of injuries, so it wouldn’t keep him down long. But it gave David time to get up and Whitney enough time to react. Flipping the man over, she motioned to David, and he helped her control the man on the ground.

Hunter growled and danced, eyeing her for instructions.

“Guard,” Whitney ordered as she scrambled up, her breath leaving her body. David helped her, steadying her until she caught her breath and searched for her radio. The dog stood over the moaning man.

“He’ll bite you if I tell him to,” Whitney informed the man. “It’s up to you, but I strongly suggest you stay still and remain on your stomach.”

David glanced around and then spotted her gun. He grabbed it and held it on the man, who was now curled up with Hunter hovering over him. “Are you okay?” he asked Whitney.

She nodded and then reached out to David. “Give me the gun.”

David looked uncertain and then shook his head. “I’d feel better if you get him cuffed.”

Whitney debated and then nodded while she leaned over the suspect. “Now it’s your turn to stay still, or I will let my partner here tear you to shreds.”

Panic poured off the criminal on the ground. His eyes widened in fear, his gaze darting here and there. “My partner will be here soon.”

“No, he won’t,” David said. “I saw him heading the other way about five minutes ago. He left you.”

And the train was finally leaving the station. Once it was well up the tracks in a fading echo, the desert went quiet. Whitney reached for her cuffs, using her strength to hold the man while she tried to slap the restraints against his wrists.

But the man on the ground turned desperate. He rolled and came at her with both feet kicking, causing her to flip in the air before she ever got the first cuff secured. Hunter barked and danced while Whitney felt herself sliding on dry rock, her knees and hands burning with heat and friction, the cuffs slipping out of her grip. The criminal and she both reached and grabbed for the handgun he’d lost before, the weapon out of reach between them. Hunter went into frenzied barking while Whitney fought with a person who had twice her strength.

David grabbed the man and lifted him away before the criminal could get to the gun. This time, David put a booted foot on the man’s chest and held her gun to the man’s head.

“Don’t even think about it,” David said, his tone deep and full of rage. “I’ll shoot you in the leg and damage you for life. If you doubt me, I can show you which artery I’ll hit. You might bleed to death before help can come.”

The man spewed out a round of nasty words, but Whitney saw him eyeing David as if he didn’t believe him. She hustled into action, grabbed her lost radio and took her gun back from David.

She motioned to the man. “On your stomach again.”

This criminal would not give in. He gave both of them a quick glance and then stared at Hunter before he jumped up, knocked her down again and then sprinted across the rocks with all his might. David threw his body over hers, holding her gun aimed at the man who was now running toward the open tracks.

Pain shooting up her arms, she commanded Hunter to “Bite,” and then watched the man getting away, Hunter chasing him.

A black SUV slid up next to the tracks, its tires burning rubber and slinging dirt and rocks. The driver opened the passenger-side door. “Hurry. We’ll take care of this later.”

The man sped up, but Hunter nipped at his pants and tore part of the left pants leg away before the suspect threw himself inside the vehicle. It took off while he was still climbing inside. Hunter stood with the torn piece of fabric at his feet.

“Hunter, stay!” Whitney screamed at David, “Let me up!”

He rolled away, his gaze following the disappearing SUV.

“Give me my gun!” Whitney lifted herself up and started after them.

But a strong hand grabbed her and tugged her back.

David shook his head. “Let’s get out of here,” he said into her ear. “It’s too dangerous.”

“No,” she said, disbelief making her angry. “I have to go after them. It’s my job, and you’re hindering me from doing it.”

He held her there, his eyes as rich as dark leather. “They’ll kill you.”

If he thought that would hold her back, he was mistaken. Whitney pushed up again. Every muscle in her body hurt, and her skin burned with abrasions. “I said, let me go. Now!”

Hunter sensed she might be in danger and growled, his black eyes centered on David.

“I don’t like this,” she said. “Hunter’s reacting to my stress. He thinks you’re hurting me.”

But David wasn’t listening. He glared across the train tracks, watching, waiting, his hand holding her arm. “They’ve stopped. They might be coming back. They’ll ambush you again.”

Whitney took in a deep breath and called Hunter to come. She didn’t want to agree with the man, but she’d already messed up on so many levels. She couldn’t do this alone. Pushing back anger and frustration, she glared at him.

“I have to report in,” she said, reaching for her radio as she sank against a rock. After giving the dispatcher her location and a description of the men and the vehicle, she shifted away from David, her body still shaky. “We’ll up the search and the BOLO alert.”

When she tried to stand, one of her legs buckled. David tucked her weapon into his waistband and then scooped her up into his arms and started walking.

“Put me down,” Whitney shouted as David carried her through the heavy brush next to the train tracks. He might be tall and lanky, but the man had surprising strength. She should turn her weapon on him.

But when they heard a vehicle’s engine revving up down the tracks, Whitney looked up and into David’s eyes.

“They’re back,” he said. “We need to hide and wait for help.”

Taking her to a small copse of spindly pines, he gestured to a huge jagged rock, and they crouched behind it, David in front of her as if he were waiting for a battle to begin.

And maybe a battle was about to begin. These men were desperate and dangerous.

Whitney glared at him, her breath coming in huffs. “You should have stayed out of this. They know you. They’ve seen your face. That’s why they turned around. They have to eliminate any witnesses.”

He inhaled and stared through the bushes. “Yes, they saw my face when they came close to shooting me the first time. I’m trying to keep you from going after them because they know you now, too.”

Whitney struggled to find footing, his words sobering. “I don’t need your help. I mean it. Let me go.”

When they heard hurried footsteps, they stopped arguing.

David glanced at her, relieved. “That’s probably one of your patrol officers coming to check on us.” Then he gave her an imploring stare. “You heard those men. They’ll keep coming. To deal with this problem.”

Whitney had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t referring to the other bags of heroin.

* * *

“You shouldn’t have interfered.”

David glanced over at the woman who’d practically forced him to get into her vehicle earlier so she could take him in to give a statement and look at mug shots. After she’d been confronted by the same two men a second time, both Whitney and Chief Jones had decided now would be a good time to identify them.

After they’d both been checked over by the EMTs at the scene and she’d gone over the details with Chief Jones and handed over the suspect’s handgun and the torn fabric from his pants as evidence, David had been questioned. Then she’d brought him to the police station, where it seemed the whole rookie team had gathered for some sort of briefing.

David had noticed at least five other K9 officers, four men and one other woman, plus several older officers milling around. For a small-town department, Desert Valley sure had a lot of willing law enforcement personnel right now.

And they’d all checked him out in one way or another.

He’d glanced at mug shots for what seemed like hours. He’d also described what he’d remembered about the symbol he’d seen on the license plate of the SUV. “It looked like an arrow, pointing up. And feathers. Three or four, maybe, dangling down.” There was something else, but he couldn’t remember what he was missing.

“We get a lot of that around here,” Whitney’s fellow officer, Eddie Harmon, had said with a shrug. “And we don’t have an artist on site to sketch it out for us.”

“I saw a tattoo on one of the men’s arms,” Whitney had told David and Eddie. “Could be the same.” She’d glanced over at a tall female officer with short brown hair who had an Amazonian-type build. “Louise, maybe you can do some research on tattoos for us, based on the description.”

“I’ll see what I can find,” the woman had replied.

David had gone back to searching the mug shots, but he was glad Whitney had verified what he’d seen. Maybe it was some sort of cartel symbol or a popular Southwestern tattoo.

But he couldn’t match any of the faces in the books to the two men who’d caused all the trouble on the train. Now he wondered if they’d both disguised themselves.

“Go home, Godwin,” the chief, a tall man with a paunch and thick gray hair, had finally commanded. “And stay home and rest tomorrow morning. You look a little beat up, and I noticed you’ve been favoring that left leg.”

Whitney had frowned, but she hadn’t argued with the man. Instead, she’d made a couple of phone calls and seemed anxious to leave the station.

After the two hours or so they’d spent together, she’d also offered to give David a ride to the nearest inn. “It’s on the way,” she’d explained. “So get in and don’t argue with me.”

Now back in the squad car with her, and refusing to apologize for coming to her aid, David said, “I was trying to help. There were two of them, and they’re obviously ruthless. They might have killed you if I’d left you there.”

“But I’m a trained officer,” Whitney replied, her blue eyes popping fire. “I could have handled it.”

“You’re also a rookie,” David said. “And Desert Valley isn’t exactly a large town.”

She stopped the car in front of the Desert Rose B and B, which seemed to live up to its name. The big Victorian house was painted a blush pink and surrounded by rosebushes. “How did you know I was a rookie?”

David realized he’d made a mistake. But he’d learned to listen and observe during his years on the front lines. “I...uh...heard you talking back at the train station, to that other officer—Eddie. I think he was teasing you about it.”

Which was true. David had witnessed how the older officer’s teasing seemed to rub her the wrong way. To change the subject, he said, “Let me have a look at your hands again.”

“My hands are fine,” she said, her expression full of fatigue.

“Let me check,” he said, his gaze moving over her.

She reluctantly held out her hands.

“You should have let the paramedic bandage these scratches.” He reached for her, taking her right hand in his so he could turn it over and look at her palm. In spite of being tough, she had delicate, graceful hands. “Hard to see your wounds in this light, but you need to wash these scratches and cuts with soap and water and make sure you flush all the embedded dirt and rock out. And if you don’t have some antibacterial ointment, you need to stop and get some.”

“Okay.” She pulled her hand away, wincing. “Okay, I’ll take care of it. I have soap and I have ointment.”

“And stay off that ankle. It might be a light sprain. You need to—”

“RICE,” she interrupted, impatient with him. “Rest, ice, compression and elevation. I know the drill, Doc.”

David tried to get her to open up. “I guess you’re used to slamming bad guys against the rocks, huh?”

“Not really,” she admitted. “Only in training up to now. But I got in a lot of quality experience today, I guess.”

“You were amazing.” He meant that. He was still in awe of her.

Her suspicious stare mellowed to a confused scowl. “Eddie Harmon—the officer you heard teasing me earlier—is totally harmless and probably doesn’t even realize he’s insulting me. He likes to pick on me since I’m one of the few female officers around here. And he’s not much help with an investigation. He’s been on the force for thirty years, and I think he’s not really into chasing anyone or solving anything. He hates even issuing tickets.”

Glad he’d distracted her, David nodded. That older officer was a fine one to talk. “Explains why he left the scene before the rest of you did. If anything had happened to you—”

She shook her head and gave him an aggravated glare. “He likes to get home in time to have dinner with his wife and kids. Your overly protective attitude is kind of chivalrous but I told you, I had it covered.”

“And I told you, I wasn’t about to leave you there.”

“Would you have left a male officer?”

David glanced at her, hoping to make her understand. But she had him on that one. “Okay, probably yes.” Then he shrugged. “But I would have called 911 regardless.”

“But because I’m a rookie and a woman, you felt the need to rush in and help me. Don’t do that again.”

Wow. She sure had a chip on her shoulder. Seemed she also had a lot to prove.

“It’s not in my nature to leave a woman alone when she could be in danger. I’m not sorry I stayed.”

“Well, cowboy, I do appreciate your assistance, but ideally, there won’t be another time for you to play the hero.”

“I didn’t do it to be a hero.” David didn’t normally get this involved in trying to defend himself. But normally, he could at least form a complete sentence. “Look, I arrived here still reeling from what I’d been through over in Afghanistan. I saw all of this happening in front of my eyes, and I was concerned. Drug runners don’t mess around.”

She still wasn’t happy with him. With a dark frown, she stopped the squad car near the curb and motioned to the Desert Rose. “Go in and get yourself a room. I might need to question you again when I go back over my report, but right now I have to go.”

She glanced to Hunter behind a wired screen in the backseat, habitually checking on her partner. “At least we got a good look at their faces.” Giving him another serious stare, she added, “I’ll be in touch. Take care.”

“You take care, too.” David saw a flicker of concern pass through her eyes. “Look, if you’re worried about those guys—”

“I’m not.” Another blue-eyed glare. “I’d like to haul them in, but to do that, I have to go back over everything, including your part in this.”

Did she think he was part of this? Surely not.

Her next words confirmed that she didn’t. “If they see you hanging around, you’ll be on their radar. So be careful.”

“Same to you. They saw you. Up close.” He couldn’t stop thinking about that. “What if they come after you?”

“Hunter lives with me. He’ll alert.”

“And you feel comfortable with that?”

“Yes, I do.” She sighed and brushed at the hair escaping her ponytail. “Look, I appreciate your warnings, but...this is my job. I’ve trained for this, and I worked hard to become a K9 officer. I’ll be okay. You watch your back, all right?”

“Always.” He got out but turned and leaned back into the vehicle. She obviously wasn’t ready to listen to reason. And in spite of his misgivings, he wasn’t quite ready to blurt out the truth to her. “Thanks for your help today. I’m sorry I overstepped my bounds.”

“Relax,” she said. “You just got back from what had to be a lot of trauma. It’s natural you’d overreact.” Then her expression softened. “You remind me of my brother. He was always protective of me.”

David’s heart did a little lurch. He wanted to tell her that he’d known her brother. But not yet. Not after such a bad start.

He swallowed and looked over at her while he tried to hold it all together. “He sounds like a good brother.”

“He was.” She looked up and right into David’s eyes. “He was army—in Afghanistan. He died over there last year.”

“I’m sorry.” David stood there, wanting to comfort her, understanding her brother’s need to take care of her. She was strong and tough, but David saw that essence of vulnerability in her pretty eyes and let go of his courage yet again. “We lost a lot of good soldiers. I’m sorry I couldn’t save all of them.”

I’m sorry I couldn’t save your brother.

Compassion filled her eyes. “I’m sure you tried. You’re one of the heroes, David. But you’re home now, so take care of yourself.”

David decided he had to tell her the truth soon. She’d be angry at him all over again, but he thought she was the kind of woman who’d respect the truth.

He took a deep breath. “Hey, listen, I—”

Whitney gave him a distracted, impatient stare. Then she blinked and stared at the clock on the console. “I’m sorry, but it’s late and I’ve gotta go.”

David shut the door and watched as she sped off along Desert Valley Drive. She couldn’t get away from him fast enough. Or maybe she couldn’t get away from the emotions he evoked in her. Too many bad memories. That was what he carried around, too.

How would she react when she found out he’d promised her brother he’d come here to see her? How could he keep her safe when she was so bent on taking care of herself?

It had to be done. He needed to let Whitney know that he’d tried to save Lucas. And that he’d promised Lucas he’d do this. Tomorrow, once he was settled and acclimated to his surroundings, he’d find her and talk to her.

He wasn’t going anywhere for a few weeks at least. She’d get used to having him around. And he’d find a way to tell her exactly why he was here.