Chapter 14
14
D oug stared at the blue-eyed perp. The mystery man might be wounded, but Doug didn’t believe for one second the guy was harmless. In his opinion, the perp looked more dangerous than Blaine and Cartega combined.
“Emily, tie his wrists, tightly.” He ignored the perp’s statement about more bad guys being on the way. The weather would give them plenty of time to prepare for a new arrival.
He hoped.
Emily didn’t look happy as she took a length of twine to bind his wrists as directed. Doug didn’t care for the way his sister seemed so protective of the guy. Maybe she’d be that way toward all her patients, but somehow, he doubted it. This guy had gotten to her.
Because she had a soft heart? Or was she suffering from a form of Stockholm syndrome? Either way, he lowered his weapon once the wounded man had been secured. Two down and one more to go. “Sit down,” he ordered.
The injured man sat.
He turned to Maya. “Get Blaine into another chair. I need to head back out to grab Cartega.”
Maya was already pulling her ex-husband to his feet. She pushed him toward the chair he’d been sitting in earlier. Zion was looking at Maya expectantly, so when Blaine was taken care of, she crossed to the dog. “Good girl,” she said in a low voice. Then she pulled the bunny from her pocket and tossed it into the air. Zion leaped up to grab it, shaking her head from side to side as if daring Maya to yank it back. Then the dog trotted around the room with her prize. It would have been funny if not for the seriousness of the situation.
“Is that how you found us? Did Zion track me here?” Emily asked.
“Zion helped, but Maya was the one who put it together.” He crossed to the front door and pulled it open. The blast of cold wind brutally slammed against his face. He still wasn’t warm and was beginning to doubt he ever would be.
Cartega was lying on the ground where he’d left him. A thin layer of snow covered his body, indicating the drug dealer hadn’t moved.
Earlier, when he’d pounded on the wall to draw the guy outside, Doug had lunged forward, bringing the hammer down hard on Cartega’s extended arm. He’d heard the crack as the guy’s wrist snapped in two. Cartega had screamed and dropped the gun, grabbing at his injured arm. Ignoring the flash of guilt, Doug had taken advantage of his pain long enough to strike him on the back of the head. His goal was to disable him long enough that he could get inside to help Maya.
He hadn’t intended to kill him. Yet the way Cartega was lying face down on the ground covered with snow wasn’t a good sign. He reached down, grabbed the guy by the back of his shirt, and lifted him up.
Cartega’s body was limp. He didn’t move or seem to know Doug was there. After rolling him over onto his back, Doug reached down to check his pulse.
And found nothing.
The drug dealer was dead. He swallowed hard, hoping God would forgive him. With a heavy sigh, he stood and turned to head back inside. Reviewing the steps he’d taken wasn’t helpful. This wasn’t the time to dwell on things he could have done differently. Cartega had chosen his life of crime. Even after being put in prison, the first thing he’d done upon his release was to return to his old ways. Only this time, Cartega’s drug dealing had morphed into kidnapping and murder.
The only good news was that with Cartega out of the equation, he had more confidence in their ability to hold off the so-called associate who allegedly was on his way to the cabin through the blizzard.
If the wounded perp was telling the truth. He didn’t trust the injured guy as far as he could throw him.
He stepped inside the cabin, closing and locking the front door behind him. All four of the occupants turned to look at him expectantly. Pushing away from the door, he shrugged. “Cartega didn’t make it.”
Emily’s eyes rounded in horror, and she darted a worried glance toward the injured perp. A bloody stain leeched through his long-sleeved woolen T-shirt, but the guy seemed oblivious to any discomfort.
Maya didn’t seem surprised by the news. She had shrugged out of her coat and was kneeling with a towel beside Zion. The booties had been removed, and the husky didn’t seem to mind as Maya used the terrycloth to warm the dog’s paws. Zion simply held one paw up at a time as if this was a familiar routine.
And it probably was. He stepped farther into the room and took off his coat too. The layer of snow that covered his winter gear made puddles on the floor, so he tossed his coat in the far corner, well out of the way. His feet were still numb, but he didn’t remove his boots yet. Instead, he turned his attention back to the stranger. “What’s your name?”
For a moment, the perp’s blue eyes flashed with anger, then it was gone. He lifted his good shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Owen.”
Doug waited for a last name, but it didn’t come.
“Owen was shot,” Emily said, breaking the silence. “I removed the slug from his shoulder, but he’s fighting infection. We really need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“No hospital,” Owen growled. “I’ll survive.”
Emily rolled her eyes. But before she could argue, Doug interrupted. “Save it. We’re not going anywhere. The storm is getting worse, and the SUV is well over a mile away. He’ll never make it that far, and I’m not carrying him.” He held Owen’s blue gaze. “Nobody will be arriving anytime soon.”
Owen looked away as if he didn’t care one way or the other. And maybe his wound was infected as the guy looked pale with beads of sweat popping out on his forehead.
“I really should get Owen back to bed,” Emily said with a frown. “He’s not looking so good.”
“No, stay back,” he barked when she moved as if to untie the guy. “Don’t touch him. He can sit there for a while yet.” He knew he sounded crabby. Because he was. He was also cold, hungry, and exhausted.
And the day was barely half over.
“But Doug...” she protested.
He clenched his jaw to keep from snapping at her. “We’ve been outside for hours, Em. On the road first, then hiking through the storm. Do you think you could make coffee and throw something together for us to eat?”
His sister’s expression softened. “Yes, of course.” She glanced at Owen, but then moved past him to reach the coffee maker. “Coming right up.”
Blaine hadn’t spoken a single word since learning of Cartega’s death, which Doug took as a blessing. He could tell the guy was a whiner, much like Craig Olsen had been. Both were far from being competent criminals.
Moving to the wood stove, he bent and grabbed a log. He opened the door, shielding his face from the blast of heat, and tossed it inside. After closing the stove tightly, he sat on the coffee table and unlaced his boots. His fingers were tingling with warmth, but he still couldn’t feel his toes. Glancing at Maya, he was glad to see she’d removed her boots, too, and had her feet facing the fire.
Seconds later, he was warming his toes too.
For a moment, his gaze locked with hers. He wanted to kiss her in the worst way but settled for a crooked smile. “We made it.”
“Yeah, we did.” She smiled back. He wanted to believe the awareness simmering between them wasn’t one sided. They’d struggled and survived against the odds. She and Zion had been amazing, the best partners he could have asked for.
In that moment, he knew he’d never forget her.
Yet he couldn’t focus on his feelings now. There was still work to do. As his toes began to come back to life, he glanced at Blaine. The guy’s expression was grim as he darted dark glances toward Maya as if upset at how easily she’d taken him down. As he should be. Although Maya had help from her protective K9.
The way Zion’s blue eyes remained focused on Blaine made him smile. The dog knew Blaine was the bad guy, and Doug suspected if the guy made a move toward Maya, the husky would jump him.
Blaine seemed to sense that too.
“Here you go,” Emily said, bringing two steaming mugs of coffee into the living room. She handed one to Maya, then turned to him. “There are several cans of beef stew available if you’re interested.”
“Very interested,” he said, taking the coffee. He wrapped his fingers around the mug nearly moaning with pleasure. He would never take being warm and having shelter for granted ever again. “Thanks.”
Emily rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment. “Thank you for coming to find me. I never imagined you’d hike through the snowstorm.”
He patted her hand. “You should thank Maya. I wouldn’t have made it without her help.”
“We worked together; no thanks needed.” Maya sipped her coffee. As Emily turned to head back to the kitchen, she said, “Maybe we should interrogate these guys to figure out what is really going on.”
Blaine scowled at her comment. “Nothing is going on. Your dog bit me, and you killed Cartega for no reason. We didn’t hurt the girl. We just needed her to care for Owen.”
“You may not have hurt Emily, but you killed Stevie,” Maya said. “We found his body.”
Blaine flushed red, then shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, you killed him,” Doug said firmly. “And you used his own gun to do the deed. But I’m not worried. It’s only a matter of time until you go down for the murder. I’m sure the crime scene techs have recovered your DNA from the truck.”
“I was never inside—” Blaine abruptly stopped, catching himself. Then he lamely repeated, “I don’t know anything about that.”
“And you assaulted me,” Maya said. “Either doing the deed yourself or getting Stevie to do it.”
Blaine stared at the floor.
“Fool,” Owen said harshly. “No wonder they were hot on our trail.”
Doug turned to glance at the injured man. Owen had claimed their associate was on the way, indicating the guy was their boss. Yet his gut was telling him that Owen was the real man in charge.
“Yeah, it’s really tough to get good help these days, isn’t it?” he said, watching Owen closely. “Especially out here in the middle of nowhere. Looks to me like you ended up with amateur hour.”
Owen’s blue eyes didn’t give anything away, but Doug could sense his frustration. Likely he’d been the one to demand they kidnap Emily to care for him. As the wounded perp remained silent, Doug got the impression he was planning his next move.
Oh yeah, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Owen was the guy in charge. The perp had to be lying about anyone else being on the way. It wasn’t likely anyone was willing to brave the elements to get to the cabin.
But Doug would remain alert just in case.
They’d made it this far. And despite feeling bad over Cartega’s death, Doug silently promised he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot to kill if additional bad guys managed to get through the storm to arrive on their doorstep.
Better to eliminate the threat before anyone else was hurt.
* * *
The warmth of the cabin had finally reached Maya’s core. But with the heat came a weariness that was hard to fight back. She’d used up every bit of her energy to keep moving forward and wanted nothing more than to curl up for a long nap.
She could see the weariness on Doug’s features too.
“Hey, nurse. Fix my leg,” Blaine said in a petulant tone. “That stupid dog bit me.”
“Shut up.” Doug’s voice was harsh. “Or I’ll find something to use as a gag to keep you quiet.”
Maya arched a brow at the alarm in Emily’s gaze as she stood warming the beef stew on the stove. Doug’s sister was too soft-hearted for her own good.
“I’ll take a look,” Maya offered, although touching Blaine was the last thing she wanted to do.
Blaine opened his mouth, glanced at Doug’s threatening glare, then closed it again. He moved in the chair so that his injured leg was before her.
Setting her empty coffee mug aside, Maya bent over to examine Zion’s bite marks. Thankfully, they weren’t as bad as she’d feared. Zion’s teeth had dug deep mostly because of the way Blaine had tried to fight her off.
The wounds were red, though, and she knew they could easily become worse. Dog bites were notorious for causing infections.
“I’d better clean this,” she said with a sigh.
Doug frowned but didn’t protest as she made her way to the kitchen. Her socks grew damp from the melted snow puddles on the floor. Once she’d taken care of Blaine’s wounds, she’d search for replacements for herself and Doug. She abhorred the idea of heading back out into the storm, but they needed to be ready just in case.
The beef stew smelled wonderful. She filled a bowl with hot water, found soap and a washcloth, then returned to the living room. Blaine’s expression was sullen as she quickly cleaned the bites. Her ex-husband was obviously biting his tongue, clearly believing Doug’s threat to gag him.
Emily washed her hands, filled two bowls with steaming beef stew and carried them into the living room. Maya sat in the chair Cartega had used, gratefully accepting the food.
Doug cradled his bowl on his lap too. He met her gaze, and she knew he was silently asking her to pray.
“Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for keeping us all safe in Your care. Thank You for guiding us through the storm and please continue to watch over us as we make our way home. Amen.”
“Amen,” Doug echoed.
Blaine snorted with derision, but Maya ignored him. She took a bite of the steaming meat, burning her tongue. The hearty mix of beef, potatoes, and carrots were perfect to replace the calories they’d burned getting there.
Especially since she feared there was more to come.
She and Doug ate in silence for several minutes. When she was finished, she set her bowl aside and rose to her feet. She took a few minutes to spread her coat out near the fire. Then crossed the room to grab Doug’s discarded coat. Both items needed to be warmed and dried out if they were going to survive another encounter with the storm.
She set both their boots near the fire too. When that was done, she turned and headed into the main bedroom. She’d figured the one Owen had been using was the primary room and began rummaging through the drawers.
There were plenty of items to choose from.
She removed her snow pants and quickly drew on an oversized pair of men’s sweats over her jeans. Then she pulled off her wet socks in favor of warm woolen ones. She looked for slippers of some sort but didn’t see any.
Poking her head in the bathroom, she found plenty of towels. To keep her feet dry, she hauled them along with her soggy snow pants into the main living area. She used the towels to mop up the pools of water, then put the snow pants along the back of the wood-burning stove. She shrugged when she saw Doug watching her.
“We need to stay warm and dry. There are more clothes in the dresser and closet back there.” She jerked her thumb to the main bedroom behind the kitchen. “You should change into whatever fits.”
He grunted, finished his beef stew, then rose. “Okay. You’re the expert.”
If they’d been alone, she’d have teased him, but Emily’s curious gaze had her holding her tongue. She picked up the dirty dishes and carried them to the sink.
Drawing Emily aside, she lowered her voice to ask, “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
Emily shot a telling glance toward Owen. “I’m fine. I was scared at first, but they truly only wanted me to care for Owen’s injury.”
Maya nodded, holding the younger woman’s gaze. “I’m here if you need to talk. None of this is your fault.”
“I know. It’s just...” Again, she glanced at Owen. He sat with his head down, his eyes closed as if willing himself to stay upright. “I was panicked and fought when they dragged me into the truck. They tied me up until we got to the motel. That’s where they had Owen. They released me to care for him. And I have.”
“You did a good job of keeping calm,” Maya said. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, but that’s my training.” Emily brushed off the praise. “Look at him, Maya. I hate seeing him suffer. You need to convince Doug to let me take him back to the bedroom. His wound is bleeding again. I’d like to change the bandages.”
Maya sighed. “He’s a dangerous man, Emily. Just because he’s wounded doesn’t mean he can’t hurt you.”
“He won’t.” She sounded completely convinced. “Besides, he’s too weak to do much damage, even if he wanted to.”
Maya highly doubted that was true. Sure, Owen’s pale skin and sweat-beaded brow were difficult to fake, but she sensed an inner strength that would easily carry him forward under the right set of circumstances.
“I’ll try.” She turned to refill her coffee mug. Keeping busy was one way to stay awake. Downing more coffee was another.
It wasn’t easy to stay focused on the potential danger now that she was warm, dry, and had food in her belly. She stepped aside as Emily turned her attention to Owen.
“Would you like more ibuprofen?” she asked. “You’re about due for another dose.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Owen’s gruff voice had softened. Maya frowned, wondering if his gratitude was real.
Or an act to sway Emily into taking his side.
She washed the dishes as Emily hovered over Owen, giving him the ibuprofen tablets and water. She took the glass and washed that, too, wishing she could convince Emily to keep her distance.
Some perps excelled at manipulating people, and she feared Owen was using Emily’s caring nature against her.
“I feel much better,” Doug said as he strode into the kitchen. He wore a lambskin-lined plaid shirt over his long johns and had borrowed a pair of the woolen socks. He gestured to his feet. “I don’t think I have any frostbite, but if we’d had been out there much longer, I’m sure I would have lost a few toes.”
Emily looked alarmed. “Frostbite can be serious.”
“No lie,” he agreed. “Maya, are you okay?”
“Yes.” She’d checked her fingers and toes thoroughly as well. “We have God to thank for protecting us.”
Emily darted a curious look from Maya to Doug. Then she nodded in agreement. “Amen to that.”
Owen groaned and slumped to the side. Maya shot him a suspicious glance, but Emily rushed over.
“Owen? He’s burning up with fever!” Emily swung toward her brother. “Doug, you need to let me get him into bed. Tie his arm to the bedpost if you must, but we can’t just let him suffer like this.”
Doug glanced at her for guidance. She shrugged. “Pretty hard to fake a fever. I don’t see how it matters if he’s here or in the bedroom tied to the bedpost.”
“Fine.” Doug scowled as he reached over to untie Owen’s wrists. “Don’t try anything or I’ll put you down so fast your head will spin.”
Owen barely grunted in response, swaying in the chair. Maya was tempted to pull her weapon just in case, but Owen didn’t put up a fight. He couldn’t stand under his own power, so Doug slung one of his arms over his shoulder to steady him.
Emily took the other side. Between the two half siblings, they were able to half carry/half drag the wounded man down the hall to the bedroom.
“You should untie me too,” Blaine complained. “My wrists are killing me.”
“Not a chance.” She returned to the living room where Zion was stretched out on the floor near the stove. Her K9 opened one blue eye, then closed it again.
Her dog was exhausted too. They all needed to rest and recover.
Yet even knowing that, she found herself moving through the cabin, going from one window to the next. The swirling snow hadn’t lessened one iota. Just the opposite. The gusts of wind caused a total whiteout.
She shivered, grateful they were warm and safe inside.
“Come on,” Blaine cajoled. “What if I lose my arms? How am I gonna work then?”
She whirled to glare at him. “You don’t work now from what I can tell. You’re here for the easy money, aren’t you? First, you convinced Stevie to stalk me, then when you realized I was helping Doug find his sister, you decided to attack me. You’re scum. Worse than scum.”
His face flushed red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She turned away, knowing there was no point in even trying. He was a liar, a cheat, and a crook.
Thank goodness she’d gotten divorced when she had.
She made another sweep of the room, going from the front of the cabin to the back patio doors. As she turned away, she thought she saw a glimpse of light.
Probably a reflection off the glass. Still, she lifted her hands to cup them around her face to peer outside.
And saw it again. A bouncing light. It took a moment for the image to register.
A snow machine!
“Doug!” She whirled and quickly shoved her feet into her boots. Then she drew her gun. “Hurry! Someone’s approaching the cabin on a snowmobile!”
“Where?” Doug ran into the room, his gaze full of alarm.
“Coming in from the back.” She gestured to the patio doors. “I hate to say it, but I think that’s the associate Owen mentioned.”
Doug grimaced and reached for his boots. “Stay here. I need you and Zion to protect Emily.”
“I don’t think you should go alone,” she protested. “He could have a rider behind him. Or another sled may be on the way too.”
Doug’s expression was grim as he grabbed his coat. “Keep Emily safe,” he repeated, then quickly turned and headed out the front door, disappearing into the swirling snow.