Chapter 17
Raider grabbed Piper’s hand and pulled as he dodged between the shots. When he’d heard the whomp whomp of the approaching chopper he knew his team was coming for him. He caught a glimpse of Lane and Harlan hanging out of the open door of the chopper, firing their weapons as they flew overhead. Raider pulled Piper along as fast as he could and aimed for the SUV. Fucking keys had better be in the ignition.
Suddenly Piper let out a small screech and Raider’s arm jerked backward. She was down. His heart skipped a beat, then another. Piper had to be okay. He couldn’t lose her like this. She couldn’t die. The smile on Kasinski’s face was deadly as he fired at them again. Thank fuck his aim was horrendous. Most people didn’t have a clue about keeping a weapon steady as they ran. The metallic ping of a bullet hitting the SUV beyond Raider was terrifying. Taking advantage of the brief reprieve, Raider bent and scooped Piper into his arms as the chopper swung around and opened fire, once more providing him cover.
Raider made it to the SUV and put Piper in the passenger seat. He ran around and slid behind the wheel. He hit the button to start it but no dice. He cursed a long time in his head. He’d decided running back toward the tree line was too risky. It was too far, but now that Piper was shot, he was second-guessing his choices.
Kasinski must have the keys and he was running toward them gun raised. Raider hunkered down as bullets burst through the windshield and also went into the engine block. Raider knew there was only one thing for it. “Hang on, Piper,” he said as he counted off the seconds and then once Kasinski was close enough, he hit the start button and the SUV roared to life. He threw it in reverse and pulled a K-turn. They were rocketing down the road in seconds.
In the rearview mirror, Kasinski and Chambers were racing toward the other car when Harlan and Lane shot it to pieces. Raider grinned and then glanced at Piper. She was pale and her fingers, where they were pressed to her side, were bright red.
But she was alive, goddammit. “I’m okay,” she mumbled. “Just a flesh wound.”
He didn’t like the look of her so he hit the gas. About two miles down the dirt road, the SUV sputtered and died. “Fuck,” he growled. He pulled out his cell phone, but he couldn’t get a response from any of his teammates. They’d be in the chopper and not hearing their phones. He dialed nine-one-one and gave details. He asked for police as well as an ambulance. He explained the situation and told them help was needed ASAP.
“Piper, how’re you holding up?” He didn’t like the gray pallor on her cheeks.
“I’m okay.” She offered him a small smile. “How long until help arrives?”
“Could be a while. The dispatcher didn’t like to say.” And that caused him panic but he wasn’t gonna share that with her. It helped that his team had shot the shit out of the other SUV. Hopefully they’d disabled it.
“John and Kasinski aren’t that far behind. Maybe we should look for a place to hide,” Piper suggested. Her voice was breathy, and her hand was pressed tightly to her side.
Raider glanced out the window. There were fields and a distant tree line. One house was in view but it was quite far off. Even if he got Piper there, it would be the first place that Chambers and Kasinski would look. It was also far from the police and ambulance, if they ever showed up.
“It’s better to stay put.” He didn’t want to jostle Piper too much. “How bad is it?”
“Well, it’s not a simple graze,”
“Shit.” He had no idea where the bullet was and moving her might do more damage. He opened the center console. Kasinski must have taken Denlo’s weapon because there was a Glock inside. “Thank God,” he muttered as he checked for ammo. Not a full clip but he had six shots. Good thing Waylen wasn’t the only crack shot on the team.
“Do you have a number for Fielding?” Raider asked. Piper didn’t respond. “Piper?” he said again. Still nothing. She’d passed out. At least that’s what he was telling himself. There was a tremble in his hand as he reached out to check her pulse. Clenching his fist, he sent up a prayer, then flexed his hand, and laid his fingers on her neck, praying for a pulse. It was there, although a bit slow.
He ran a hand through his hair and then glanced over at her. Two things were abundantly clear to him. He was still madly in love with her, and he was royally pissed with her. Like so mad he wanted to spit nails.
She groaned and then her eyelids fluttered open. “Raider?” she said.
“I’m here.” He reached over and grabbed her hand.
“How long was I out for?” she blinked slowly.
“Only a few minutes.” He alternated looking at her and checking the mirrors for any signs of Chambers and Kasinski. Seeing her like this was twisting his gut into knots when he should be focused on saving their asses. She just had to be okay.
“Raider, I just want to say how sorry I am. I never should’ve dragged you into this. I never should’ve gotten on the airplane. I suspected…no, I knew there was something off about the whole thing. I guess I gave in to my impetuous nature one too many times.” She shrugged and then grimaced. More crimson blood oozed between her fingers.
To distract her he gave a harsh laugh. “It won’t be the last time. It’s who you are.”
Raider glanced at his watch. They’d been sitting still for ten minutes. Time was running short.
“But I think it might be the last time. I’m thinking of quitting the ATF. I…it’s not the same anymore. I…Anyway, I just wanted you to know how sorry I am.” She looked right at him. “For everything.”
He knew what she was talking about. She was sorry about running after the fucking perp, which caused her to lose their baby. He ground his teeth. He still wasn’t ready to talk about it. It was gonna take a while for him to work out all the shit on his mind.
“You’ll feel better once you get to a hospital. Don’t plan your future just yet.” He deliberately ignored what she was saying. Now wasn’t the time to deal with the idea of her being pregnant. Nor did he have the capacity to examine his emotions at this point. His job now was to keep them alive.
She stared at him but then just nodded.
He fucking hated sitting in the car on the road. They were too exposed but he didn’t see they had a choice. He kept the Glock in his right hand and swiveled his gaze. “Piper, don’t pass out on me,” he added as he glanced at her.
“I won’t. I’m good.” She glanced in her side mirror. “Do you think John knows who the head of the arms ring is?”
He grabbed at the question like it was a lifeline. He didn’t want to talk about them any more than she did. “If I had to guess, I’d say no. The smart money says this ring is pretty compartmentalized. The right hand doesn’t even know it has a left hand. One thing they do all know is that the list was out there but no one mentioned a name attached to it. I think whoever is at the top, knows what they’re doing. I think this fuck up is on Chambers and Kasinski.”
“You don’t think it’s Fielding on top?” she pushed.
“It would be convenient, but I don’t think so. If it was, he wouldn’t be anywhere near here. He’d want as much distance as possible between this mess and him. Whoever is running this is smart and keeps a tight ship.”
A figure was running up behind them. The way he moved, Raider was pretty sure it was Chambers. “Heads up,” he said as he watched in the mirror. Kasinski was nowhere in sight. The sky was gray and dotted with fine bits of ash. He longed to see the chopper with his friends on it, but he had a feeling they were putting it down somewhere. They’d come to check on him but only after he didn’t show up in a bit.
“Piper, Chambers is coming. He doesn’t have a gun in his hands. I’m going to get out of the SUV and face him. I want you to do me a favor, hunker down in the wheel well as best you can. If this turns into a firefight, you’ll have a much better chance down there.”
“Raider?” she said, her voice raised in a question.
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ve got this. Just get low.”
Piper bit her lip and stared at him. He gave her a nod of encouragement, but she still didn’t move. He was watching Chambers get closer and closer.
“Come on, Piper, get down. What I say, when I say it, right? That’s what you agreed.”
She nodded and then started to move but grunted in pain. “Raider, in case things go badly?—”
“It’s gonna be fine. Just get on the floor.” He was losing his patience.
“Raider,” Piper said again, her tone was odd, so he turned to glance at her. “I love you,” she declared and then did as she was told.
Raider didn’t have time to process those words. He was out of the SUV and standing with the driver’s door open behind him facing Chambers. “Stop right there,” he said. He didn’t bother to raise the gun. He knew he could shoot the other man before he could get his gun out of wherever he’d stashed it.
Chambers crashed to a halt about twenty feet behind the SUV. He raised his hands. “Kasinski is dead,” he called.
Raider didn’t respond.
“I need your help.”
Raider still stayed silent. Whatever this was, it wasn’t what it appeared to be.
“Seriously, I need your help.” Chambers’ face was beet red, and he was sweating profusely. “I have to give my boss the thumb drive or he’ll kill me.” Chambers holds out his hands. “I didn’t have a choice in any of this. I mean, I was stupid and I accepted some money for some information and it all went south from there.” Chambers pointed to his own chest. “I tried to get out of it, I did. But they threatened my children.”
Raider kept his gaze on a swivel. From the set-up he was pretty sure he knew what Chambers was trying to do. “Who’s your boss?” he finally asked playing along.
“What?” Chambers called back.
“Who’s your boss?”
Chambers’ face went blank and Raider’s instincts juddered. Chambers hadn’t thought Raider would ask about his boss. Now, the jerk was trying to recover.
“I…I can’t tell you. He’d kill me for that, too.”
“Then I guess you’re gonna die,” Raider responded calmly. He was calling Chambers’ bluff. If the man told him who his boss was then he thought Raider was going to die. If he maintained the secret then he wasn’t confident in his plan.
Chambers growled, “Come on, Raider, you don’t know what these people are like. They’re stone-cold killers, and they have no problem killing my family.”
“I don’t really care, Chambers. You can tell me who your boss is and maybe I won’t shoot you, or you can keep your secret and die. Either way works for me.”
“Asshole,” Chambers said in a much quieter voice, but Raider caught it anyway. Chambers shrugged, and Raider knew that he’d decided to share the boss’s name which meant he was pretty sure of his plan to get out of there alive.”
“Senator Josh Atlee.”
Raider vaguely knew who Chambers was talking about. His talk with Lane made him think it would be someone high up. No one has access to military-grade weapons without having some kind of connection. In the end, it didn’t really matter. Chambers had told him so now as far as Chambers was concerned, Raider and Piper’s death warrant was signed.
“I need that thumb drive,” Chambers called.
“You’re not going to get it.” Raider was done playing.
Chambers” face hardened. “Just give me the fucking drive. You can’t open it anyway. It’s encrypted.”
“I may not be able to, but I sure know some people who can and they’re going to be very interested in what’s on it. I’m guessing Atlee isn’t the only politician on the list. I bet there’s all kinds of interesting names on it.” A sudden thought hit him. “That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? You were getting the list for yourself. You planned on blackmailing all the other SOBs whose names are on the list.”
Chambers’ face suffused with color and then it turned pale.
Bull’s-eye.Raider snorted. “Where did you think you were going to hide out?”
“Give me what I fucking want right now,” Chambers yelled, frustration dripping from every word. He was royally pissed now. His body was vibrating. The man was starting to lose it. Then his head turned slightly to the right and his right hand closed into a fist.
Raider immediately turned to his left and fired through the SUV. He hit Kasinski in the middle of his forehead as he approached Piper’s side of the vehicle. Then Raider swung back and aimed at Chambers’ forehead.
The other man’s eyes widened. He had his hands up for real this time. “Don’t shoot me.”
“I can’t think of one good reason why I shouldn’t.” This was the man who was responsible for Piper getting shot, for Marta dying, and for all kinds of other shit, he was sure.
“Raider?” Piper’s voice reached him. “As much as I want him dead for Marta, I think I’d like him alive and in jail even more.”
The sound of vehicles approaching had Raider immediately turning sideways, still pointing the gun at Chambers but watching to see who arrived. Three cars pulled up and Raider immediately recognized Fielding coming out of the second one. Then an ambulance arrived.
Other ATF agents exited the vehicles and swarmed Chambers like ants on a hill. Raider lowered the gun to his side and turned toward Piper. She was sitting in the seat again but looking pale.
“I love you too,” he said. And then turned and walked away.