Chapter 24 #2
Holding up a hand, he shook his head. “Follow protocol. It’s there for a reason. Without the sheriff’s cooperation, we’d still be hunting for a warehouse to search. He pinned down the location. We need our local police partners. This isn’t a contest to see who brings in the bad guys first.”
Sam shuffled his boots. “Rafe’s right. We need to chill. We can outfit you with tactical gear, mike and radio in the meantime, Rafe.”
It killed him to say it, but he said it. “I’m not going with you.”
Jase made a strangled sound. “Rafe, this is your takedown, your case. Hell, you’ve been running this task force since it started. You’re backing out now?”
“Shut it, Jase,” he told him.
The younger man went quiet.
“I’m suspended. I have no authority. I’m not going with you and risking the case. I’m following protocol.” He jabbed a thumb at his friend and subordinate. “Either you follow as well or stay here with me.”
Jase took a deep breath. “Deal. Have I told you lately how much I respect you?”
“Yeah, and I love you, too.” Rafe chuffed his head.
With his gold shield dangling from a chain around his neck, Greg was getting updates on his phone. He frowned. “Son of a bitch Hernandez is home.”
Rafe pulled out his phone. “Two of those bears they took have AirTags in them. Let’s make sure we know where they are before we chase our asses.”
Rafe used an app to find the network to use an anonymous relay through other cell phones like his. Fortunately, the app showed the AirTag was active and located in a warehouse in Randall, North Carolina, the same warehouse they suspected the bears were being transported to.
The same town as Paul’s warehouse. Suddenly everything fell into place. Rafe turned to Greg.
“You’re sure Hernandez is home?”
“Dead certain. We have a tail on him now.”
“Son of a...” Rafe squeezed his phone until his knuckles whitened.
His voicemail chimed again, reminding him of a message. Rafe listened to it and his heart dropped to his stomach. All the protocol, control and reason flew apart.
“Allison’s going after her sister. She thinks Diana is being held captive in her fiancé’s warehouse here in town. It’s got to be the same one. I’ll meet you there.”
“Rafe, wait!”
But Greg’s protest met with deaf ears as Rafe jumped on his Harley and sped off.
* * *
When she arrived on the outskirts of the town of Randall, Allison followed the GPS to the road leading to Paul’s business.
After parking her bike a few hundred yards away from the building, she hid it in the brush.
Light from the lemon wedge of moon hanging low in the sky helped her see the way. Sticking to the shadows, she made her way on the road to the front gate. It was locked.
No matter. She tested the chain-link fence. Not electrified. Allison climbed it, dropped down and made her way in the shadows to the oblong building.
Sodium lights in the parking lot showed only three cars. One she instantly recognized as the sedan Diana had taken. Next to it was the white panel van Rafe had mentioned.
Her sister was a victim in all this.
Aware of a building security camera pointed at the parking lot, she made her way toward the back. With so few cars here, she might be lucky enough no one would catch her.
A door was propped open near the loading dock. Two tractor trailer trucks sat at the dock. She walked inside.
Listening to the frantic beating of her heart, she allowed herself a minute to calm down and control her breathing.
Furniture was stacked up in the warehouse near the loading dock.
The warehouse seemed divided in half, with the storage for transport in the back half of the building.
Light spilled into the room from the rest of the building.
Using the piles of furniture for cover, she slipped around them to the doorway of the next room. Stacks of wood near the door allowed her to hide while she studied the layout.
Near one of the work tables, Paul examined a tan teddy bear while a man she vaguely recognized stood guard with an automatic rifle.
It looked like an ordinary warehouse, with piles of lumber stacked to one side, metal shelving and work tables scattered with tools. A staged living room was near an office with large windows, far from the work tables.
A leather sectional sofa, which looked perfect for snuggling up to enjoy movies, had a lovely white oak coffee table before it.
The sofa was flanked by two hand-carved white oak end tables, accented by the soft glow of table lamps.
Lucy Martin, her sister’s nemesis and Paul’s ex, lay on the sofa asleep.
The cozy space was accented with an opulent high-backed sturdy armchair. On the buttery soft leather sat her sister, a dirty rag gagging her mouth, her feet and arms tied with frayed rope to the chair.
Allison bit back a gasp. Damn them. Damn them all for doing this.
A crash echoed through the building. Paul and the gunman looked up.
“Marty, check it out,” Paul ordered. “It had better be the guys returning. They’re running late. We have to get all these bears stripped, loaded and out of here by dawn.”
As the gunman advanced toward the front of the warehouse, a dark figure crept toward her sister from the opposite direction. He dropped to his knees and began fiddling with her bonds.
Rafe. Allison clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp.
Diana frantically struggled. Rafe was trying to assure her.
But her struggles got noticed by Paul, who glanced over. Oh damn. Allison’s heart leaped into her throat as Paul pulled out a gun.
She ran toward Rafe, her instinct urging her to keep him safe. “Rafe, watch out,” she screamed.
Turning, Rafe saw Paul and ran. He was protecting her sister, she realized. Diverting Paul’s attention so gunfire wouldn’t harm her.
Rafe withdrew his pistol and ducked behind some crates as she raced toward her sister. Paul pulled the trigger as she ran. The bullet whizzed toward her, but Rafe jumped in front, grimacing as it grazed his arm.
Rafe pushed her behind him as they took cover behind a stack of crates. Bullets zinged through the air.
“Get out of here,” he told her. “I’ve got this.”
“I’m not abandoning you.”
He pushed her downward. “Stay down. Backup will be here any minute.” Rafe pulled out his cell phone and called, telling someone they were under fire and to proceed with caution.
As the men exchanged fire, she kept low and made her way toward a terrified Diana, struggling to free herself. Allison crouched down and fiddled with the knots but didn’t dare draw attention to what she was doing.
Gunfire rang out from the opposite direction. Rafe whirled, dropped to one knee and returned fire at Marty, taking cover behind a stack of crates. Now he had to defend himself from two positions.
Sirens sounded in the distance. “Get to the loading dock,” Paul screamed. “Hold them off!”
As Marty ran to the loading dock, Rafe paused to insert another magazine into his firearm. Paul rushed him, knife in hand, gleaming in the harsh fluorescent light. He swiped at Rafe’s arm. The gun fell from Rafe’s grip. He kicked it away and struggled to keep the knife at bay.
The two men wrestled on the floor. Fretting, she wished she had a weapon. The knife in her back pocket—maybe she could stab Paul, but they were moving too much...
Suddenly she knew what to do. Allison unplugged one of the table lamps. Fishing out her switchblade, she cut the cord from the lamp and then stripped the covering to expose bare copper wires.
“Trust me and play along,” she whispered to Di.
Allison plugged the cord back into the socket. Making sure to grab the protected part of the lamp cord, she screamed out. “Rafe, keep him busy! I almost have Di freed!”
Paul glanced up, and Rafe landed a solid punch to his jaw. Paul staggered and stabbed him in the chest.
Rafe dropped with a grunt of pain. Allison went still, panic rippling through her. Instinct urged her to rush forward, help him.
Don’t panic. You can do this, and you can save him. You’ve got one shot at this, Allison.
For a wild minute the memory of her frozen in the river, her sister screaming for help, overcame her.
You can’t save everyone, Rafe’s voice echoed in her mind. But you can try saving some, and live to fight the good fight another day.
She started on Diana’s bonds, watching Paul as prey eyes an advancing carnivore.
Fury in his eyes, Paul came toward her, crimson coating the gleaming blade. Rafe’s blood.
“You bitch. Diana’s mine. We’re going to marry and you’ll be dead. No bridesmaid dress for you, stupid bitch. Everything would have been fine, except for you yammering at her to elope. Chew on this, Allison. I’ll still have Diana, and nothing you can do will stop me.”
Blood streamed from Rafe’s chest. He crawled for his weapon. “Ally, hang on, I’ve got you!”
Even wounded, he had her back. Always. She kept her eyes on Paul, holding the live wire behind her.
Almost there. Almost.
As he lunged at her, Allison sidestepped Paul and touched the bare copper wire to his bare arm.
“Chew on this, asswipe.”
Paul screamed, his body going into spasms as his grip on the knife automatically tightened. She wanted to cheer.
He fell downward, convulsing. Knowing he was paralyzed momentarily, she stomped on his hand and freed the knife, kicking it away.
Shouts of “Drop your weapon!” followed. Relieved, she glanced up and saw armed men wearing FBI and DEA flak jackets.
Ignoring them, she unplugged the wire to prevent anyone else getting hurt and then untied her sister. Diana tore out the gag and fell into her arms, sobbing.
“Hey, jellybean, it’s okay. I need to take care of Rafe now. You’re going to be fine.”
Quickly, Allison checked on Lucy on the sofa. No pulse. Not sleeping.
Sniffling, Diana ran to Paul. Allison had a moment of fear, thinking Diana still loved the guy...
“You bastard! I hope you rot in prison.” Diana kicked him between the legs.
Allison beamed. “Bull’s-eye!”
She raced to Rafe lying on the floor. Blood streamed from the wound. His skin was pale and clammy. She checked his pulse. Weak and thready. He was losing too much blood.
Ripping open his shirt, she assessed the wound. Allison sliced his shirt into strips and bundled them up to apply pressure to the stab wound. She listened to see if air escaped. He moaned.
“Sorry, babe. I know it hurts like hell, but I’m not going to let you bleed out on me.”
“Feels like he landed a hard punch to my chest,” he wheezed.
“He stabbed you, sweetie. Adrenalin dump. The pain is setting in. Have to keep you from shock. Di, grab that blanket on the sofa and find something to elevate his feet.”
While her sister did, Allison went into trauma mode. Didn’t matter that this was Rafe, her heart, her love. He was a patient and she had to save him.
“What can we do? Damn, Rafe, you should have waited.”
She glanced up at Sam’s worried face as the US Marshal lowered his shotgun. “Tell me what you need, Ally.”
“I need an ambulance, stat. Tell the EMTs Rafael has a penetrating chest trauma to the right upper quadrant. Checking him now for a pneumothorax.”
Diana draped the blanket over Rafe and placed her shoes on the floor, putting his feet atop them.
“We’ll need two ambulances.” Sam spoke into a shoulder microphone.
“Rafe gets the first ambulance. That bastard Paul can have a slow ride to the hospital,” she muttered.
Allison jerked her head toward the sofa. “And you’ll need the coroner. Lucy Martin is dead. Possible drug overdose.”
She stroked his sweat-dampened hair. “You’re not going to die on me, Rodriguez.”
Diana told the agents what happened. Allison listened as she treated Rafe.
“Paul came to the cabin that night you were gone, Ally. He wanted to elope that night. I was in my room, gathering my things when I overheard him in the living room talking in Spanish, so I snuck into the hallway to eavesdrop. He was talking with Lucy. They were still sleeping together. She was his mistress!” Diana sniffed. “He never realized I was eavesdropping.
“I was ready to tell him to go to hell when I heard him mention his uncle and I realized Paul was smuggling drugs. I knew if I went with him, I might never make it out okay. So when Paul came into the bedroom, I said I needed time to organize my things and I’d meet him at the hotel in Ashville.
“I left the veil for you, Ally, and the clues. I was hoping and praying you’d find me. I figured if you saw the blood on the veil and the ring, you’d know I was in serious danger.
“I hid in the old barn for a while, but he found me through my cell phone. Paul had placed a tracking app on my phone to know where I was at all times. He brought me here, and Lucy kept an eye on me. But she got stoned tonight and couldn’t pick up the bears.
They needed a woman to make it less suspicious, so Marty, Marty held me at gunpoint and forced me to do it. ”
As the EMTs rushed into the warehouse, pushing a stretcher loaded with equipment, Rafe opened his eyes. His breathing labored, his pain-wrenched gaze held hers.
She stroked his hair. “I’m here, Rodriguez. I’m not leaving you.”
Ever.