Chapter 3
This was exactly what Dom had been afraid of! That bullet had come far too close to striking Kendra. And him. But his safety was secondary. He couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt because some whack job had decided to kill him.
And he really didn’t understand how this guy had found them again. Especially after they’d ditched their phones.
“Lord Jesus, keep us safe in Your care!” Kendra’s whispered prayer only made him feel worse. She didn’t deserve to be in danger like this.
“We need to get out of here.” He straightened, tugging on Kendra’s arm to draw her upright. “I think that black truck that just left belongs to the shooter.”
“It looked like the one that barreled past me when I was driving toward the Redwood Motel.” She stroked her hand over Smoky’s fur. “We should stay to talk to the police.”
He swallowed hard, knowing she was right. They’d left the Redwood Motel without sticking around, so they needed to follow through this time.
Maybe the local cops could give him a ride so Kendra and Smoky could head back to the ranch. He was convinced she’d change her mind about sticking close after this.
“Fine. We’ll wait to give our statement.” He gestured to the SUV. “Do you want to wait in the car where it’s warmer?”
She shook her head. “There’s no point, that’s them pulling in now.”
Red and blue flashing lights lit up the sky as the police cruiser slowed and turned into the parking lot of the store. Across the street, he noticed their server from the Hitching Post stood in the front doorway of the café, watching with interest. She must have been the one to call the police.
Wishing he understood what was going on, he waited for the police officer to emerge from the vehicle. Kendra stepped forward, her hand resting on Smoky’s head.
“Hi, Burt.” Her smile was strained. “Thanks for coming.
“Hey, Kendra. What’s going on?” The burly officer turned toward him, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Who are you?”
Dom wasn’t sure if Kendra being on a first-name basis with the local law enforcement was a good thing or a bad one. “Dominic Lakeland, here visiting from Billings, Montana.”
Burt glanced back at Kendra. “He’s a friend of yours?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “Unfortunately, this is the second time he’s been targeted by gunfire in a matter of hours. The first incident was at the Redwood Motel in Greybull. Now this.”
Burt’s brows hiked up. “Twice, huh? Any idea who might be responsible?”
“No clue.” He hesitated, unsure of how much to tell him. “I recently learned the plane crash that killed my father and Kendra’s parents was intentional. The only thing I can figure out is that these recent incidents are related to the past.”
Burt stared at him for a long moment. “I’m not sure that’s a logical assumption. Maybe you have other enemies that you’re not telling us about?”
“I don’t.” He frowned. “I work for a computer firm. Nothing dangerous about what we do. I would never lie about something like that. If I knew who was responsible, I would tell you.”
Burt shrugged, then looked at Kendra. “Do your siblings know about this?”
“Not yet.” When the older cop scowled, she hastily added, “Don’t worry, I plan to call them soon.”
“Okay, tell me exactly what happened,” Burt said.
“We ate dinner at the Hitching Post,” Dom said.
“We had stopped at the store earlier and left Kendra’s SUV parked in the lot since the café is right across the street.
We were on our way back when I caught a glimpse of a man lifting a handgun.
He fired at us, then jumped into a dark truck and drove away. ”
“Dom saw more than I did,” Kendra said. “I didn’t see the man with a gun, I only heard the gunfire as Dom told me to get down.”
“Did you notice the make or model of the dark truck?” Burt asked.
“It’s a large pickup truck, maybe a GMC?” Dom wished he was better with cars. “I didn’t get a good look at it. Things happened fast, and from this angle, I couldn’t get the license plate.”
“I saw a dark truck leaving the area of the Redwood Motel in Greybull as I approached,” Kendra added. “I think that may have been the shooter.”
“It’s not much to go on,” Burt muttered. “Can you ask Smoky to search for shell casings?”
“Of course. In fact, Smoky found one earlier.” Kendra dug in her pocket and held up the brass. Burt pulled an evidence bag from his pocket so she could drop it inside. “That’s from the parking lot of the Redwood Motel.”
“Got it.” Burt tucked it away as Kendra turned to her K9.
“Are you ready, girl?” She injected enthusiasm into her tone. “Are you? Search! Search for gold!”
Dom watched with interest as Smoky lowered her snout and sniffed along the parking lot. Less than a minute later, the dog stopped and pressed her nose into the snow. Then Smoky sat and let out a sharp bark.
Kendra and Burt hurried over. Kendra tugged the stuffed hippo from her backpack. “Good girl, Smoky! Good girl!” She tossed the hippo into the air. Smoky leaped up to grab it.
“I’m always amazed at how quickly they can find brass.” Burt pulled another evidence bag from his pocket and used it like a glove to pick up the shell casing. Dom had to admit, Kendra’s K9 was impressive.
“Are they the same type of ammo?” Kendra asked.
“Looks like it, but we’ll need to get both casings to the lab. Even then we’ll have to match it with a weapon before we can say they were fired from the same gun.” Burt shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”
“If you need Logan to fly the brass to the state lab in Cheyenne, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Kendra watched her dog for a moment, then held out her gloved hand. “Come, Smoky. Hand.”
The fluffy dog trotted over and dropped the hippo into Kendra’s palm.
“Good girl.” She tucked the hippo away but then lavished the dog with attention. “You’re such a good girl.”
Smoky’s curvy tail wagged back and forth like a rapid metronome. Under different circumstances, Dom would have smiled.
But he hated knowing Kendra and her K9 were in danger because of him.
“Burt, can you give me a lift to a different hotel?” Dom figured staying at the Elk Lodge so close to the site of the shooting was a bad idea. “That way Kendra can head back to the ranch.”
“I’m not leaving.” Her exasperated tone annoyed him. She narrowed her gaze. “Stop telling me what to do, Dom. We agreed to work together on this.”
“That was before some creep started shooting at me.” He turned to Burt. “Tell her she needs to get out of here.”
“Kendra, you know Chase would want you to be safe.” To his surprise, Burt voiced his agreement. “Better for you to head home and let the police handle this.”
“Thanks, Burt. I’ll make sure Chase knows you told me to go home.” Kendra flashed Dom a look of reproach. “Let’s get into the SUV. I’ll take us to the Frontier. That’s another hotel my family has used before.”
The December wind kicked up, making her shiver. Since he wanted her to be warm, he reluctantly nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.”
“I’ll be in touch,” Burt said as Kendra opened the rear hatch for Smoky.
“I’ll call you with my new phone number.” Kendra closed the back hatch, then went to slide in behind the wheel. “We’re using untraceable devices.”
For all the good that had done, Dom thought sourly. Here he’d assumed they’d been tracked via his phone. Now he wasn’t sure what more he could do to cover their tracks.
Burt nodded, then turned back to his cruiser. She started the engine and backed out of the parking spot. Soon they were heading down the road to the other side of Cody.
A strained silence fell between them. Obviously, she was annoyed with him. Why he was the bad guy for wanting her to be safe, he had no idea.
“I don’t want you or Smoky to get hurt, Kendra,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “Why is that so difficult for you to understand?”
“I don’t want you to be hurt either.” She glanced at him, then focused back on the road. “Seriously, Dom, don’t you think we’re safer together?”
“Not really.” He shifted in his seat, trying to make more leg room. “You’re safer on your own, without me.”
“You don’t know that.” Kendra sighed. “Let’s just say this shooter has come after you because he thinks you know his identity.
Or the identity of the man who hired Stuart Ramsey.
Maybe he believes the confession included more details about the crime.
By now, he’ll assume we’ve talked and that I know everything you do. ”
He hated to admit she had a point. “But we don’t know anything.”
“Yeah, see, I’m not sure that matters.” She glanced at him. “The sooner we do know what’s going on, the better. And that’s why we need to work together on this.”
Normally, Dom was known as a team player. He led his software team without difficulty.
But maybe she was right about this shooter assuming they knew more than they did. Otherwise, why come after him with literally guns blazing?
“Fine. We’ll work together.”
“Good.” Kendra held his gaze. “We’re going to figure this out.”
He nodded without saying anything more. All he could do was hope that sticking with Kendra and Smoky wasn’t a huge mistake.
Kendra took several turns through town, doubling back more than once to make sure they weren’t followed. Clearly, her attempt to avoid being followed from Greybull hadn’t been good enough. She’d thought that by encouraging cars behind her to pass would work. But she must have been followed anyway.
She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
It irked her to think she’d inadvertently allowed this guy to find them. She was sure her older siblings would have done a better job, which only made her more determined to get to the bottom of this mess.
She’d repeatedly informed her family she wasn’t a kid anymore. It was time to prove it. To them, but more so to herself. She and Dom would crack the case, making sure the man who’d hired Stuart Ramsey would be found and arrested.