18. Stella
Chapter 18
Stella
I stopped at the back of the old barn, scanning the area for booby traps or cameras, anything that would alert these assholes that I was about to be on their ass. Voices from inside rose as I shifted to see in through a crack in the boards.
“Where is the bitch?” Kurt seethed as he stormed toward Davenport. The two stood, braced for a fight.
“She was coming here. You stupid idiot! I told you, I had her, but you had to go and call her!” Davenport snarled.
Had me? Bitch, please.
“If you had her, why isn’t she here?” Kurt clenched his fists. “I’m going to kill her slowly!”
“Don’t worry, she’ll come after her brother. I told you he’d be an easy target.”
A red haze colored my vision. Davenport had set this up? He. Was. Dead. Period. I didn’t care what anyone said, that bitch was mine.
“As soon as she’s dead, we leave. If she’s gone long, Tracey will come looking for her. Where is she? She left before I did—” I hurried to find a split in the boards again. Had he spotted me? It was dark in there, but I could see. Davenport was looking around, his eyes wide.
I silently cursed. Carter was tied to a pole, his head hanging forward. He wasn’t moving. I was going to truss these fuckers up and skin them like a deer. Carefully, I moved past the opening in the boards. There was an old ladder that led to the open hayloft. If I could get above them… That thought was interrupted by a loud grunt.
“We should go. She’s going to?—”
“I’m not going anywhere!” Kurt lashed out and clocked Davenport in the jaw. The big man rocked back a step then turned his hard gaze on Kurt. Maybe they’d kill each other—no, that would spoil my fun. I looked up at the ladder hanging from the open loft door above me. It was about six feet off the ground, having been broken for years. No way I could climb that and hold my bat. Plus, if I got up there and hit a rotten step, I’d break my neck. Carter needed me on my feet.
While they were distracted with each other, I moved around the barn. I could hear them, but they were muffled as they wrestled for control. Morons. I felt a jolt of energy curl in my gut. There were boards missing from a space I thought I could fit through. I glanced around, trying to figure out how to get in there without making noise. There was so much that could go wrong.
I shook my head, stopping those thoughts. We were going to walk away from this. Failure was not an option.
“I’ll just kill him now!” Kurt’s words sent a spike of fear along my spine.
“That wasn’t part of the deal!” Davenport growled.
I started to slip into the opening when a faint whistle caught my attention. I looked around. Charlie and another PD Officer were crouched by a bush on the other side of the fence. He waved, a gesture for me to come to where he was. Nope. Not happening. I shook my head and signed one word: Carter.
I made sure my badge was on the vest I wore so I wasn’t mistaken as a bad guy if cops came rushing in. I slid between the boards, sucking in all I could. My vest got caught, then a flashlight, but thankfully, I got through and silently. I took a deep breath, but the stale air made me wrinkle my nose. Dust motes surrounded me. If I sneezed now, Carter was toast. I shook the feeling off, pulled my bat up, and twirled my wrist. Stalking closer to the main part of the oversized barn was easy. The narrow walking path and its shadows hid me well. Other than hay, there was nothing back here, which was good. I could keep my eyes forward and not on where I was stepping.
Their heads came into view, so I stopped, peering across the area before landing on Carter. He was bleeding. His shirt was soaked on the left side. His poor face… Rage fueled my silent steps as I moved closer to the men. Kurt kicked Davenport in the gut where he lay on the floor, then moved to where Carter was slumped. He grabbed a handful of his hair and jerked his head back. “His death will be on your hands.”
The hell it would. I watched in slow motion as he raised a hand, the slim bit of sunlight glinting off the blade he held. I charged him, swinging the bat to crack against his hand. The knife flew, and Kurt spun, cursing.
“You!” he seethed. Spittle flew as he charged toward me. His mistake was underestimating a Malone. I swung at him from the side, landing a solid hit to the ribs. I heard the crack as it made contact. It didn’t even seem to slow him down. I aimed the next swing at his knee, but before it made contact, he lunged. We slammed into the ground, the air whooshing out of me. Before I could react, he belted me in the face. My head spun.
“I’m going to kill you slowly, let you feel every bit of it.” He looked crazy. His eyes were dilated. Jesus, he had to be on something. That would make him a lot harder to subdue. Even I wasn’t stupid enough to think I was as strong as a man his size. He grabbed my throat and started to squeeze. He was trying to take me out first. But again, he should have learned. I had all kinds of tricks up my sleeve.
My fingers scrambled to find the small metal rod we used to bust windows. I had to hurry; the blackness was starting to fill my vision.
Got it! I’d use it on his head. Make him think twice about his next move. Carter started to struggle, so my eyes naturally went to where he was. Davenport was holding a knife toward his middle.
“Sissy!” He sounded so weak. Tears stung my eyes. They were not going to hurt him again. I brought my hand up, my fist balled around the rod, and slammed it into the side of Kurt’s head. The metal dug into his ear. He howled with pain and let go of me.
I sucked in air, my lungs burning. My throat felt as if it were on fire. With a growl, I shifted, bringing my legs up, wrapping them around his upper body and slamming him back to the ground. It hurt. Something in my leg twisted with him. I cursed, scrambling to get his hands away from my legs.
Tracey
The cell rang in my pocket, and I answered it quickly when I saw Derek’s name pop up.
“What’ve we got, kid?”
“Charlie called on the radio. Stella’s made it inside. They don’t have a visual but are moving closer. And…”
“What?”
“Davenport’s in there, too. Charlie said he pulled up in one hell of a hurry too. From the looks of it, there was no struggle, and he’s been arguing with the asshole inside. They haven’t moved any closer for fear of being seen.”
“Son of a bitch!” I cursed. “I’ll kill him. What in the hell is she doing in there? She should have waited for help!”
“She’s saving her brother. Did you think she wouldn’t go running in there after him?” Derek’s words were almost a growl. I swallowed hard. “She’s armed. Charlie said she was decked out in tactical gear and had her bat.”
“She’s got this, man. One thing I know about her, she ain’t letting anyone hurt her family. Especially her brother.” The truck moved a little faster as the cars in front of us sped up.
Ten minutes later, we slammed to a stop, out of sight of the old barn. Everyone was out of their cars, vests on and guns drawn. Gabe barked out orders as Chip and I grabbed our badges and slid them on over our vests.
“You two,” Gabe called out, “with me. Everyone split up, the goal is to surround the barn.” That changed when a rage-filled scream split the air. Gunfire sounded, then the snarl and barking of a dog. As one, we moved in quickly.
I slammed through the half open barn door, cursing as pain lanced through my leg. The scene had everyone coming to a complete stop. Stella lay on the floor, her thighs tight over Kurt’s neck. Blood streaked her cheek, but she held her upper body slightly off the floor, pointing her gun at Davenport. He was on his knees, clutching a bleeding hand. Carter slumped against his restraints.
“Stella, sweetheart, I need you to put that gun down and release the man on the floor. Can you do that for me?” Gabe asked, putting his gun away.
“He did this!”
“I know, and they’ll both be going to jail. Let’s do this by the book, okay?” Wayne pushed through the crowd, walked over to where Davenport was knelt, and snatched the man up by his throat.
Everyone moved then. Gabe lunged for Wayne, Drew at his side. Kruger, Charlie, and I moved to Stella. Jackson and Derek went for Carter.
I took her gun and slid it in the back of my jeans. “Baby, are you hurt?” The blood was coming from a cut above her eyebrow, and her throat had a handprint all around it. I didn’t have time to be mad. The moment she released, Kurt he went after her again. He got a boot to the face for his efforts. The scream of frustrated rage that accompanied it made me wince.
“You sack of shit!” Stel reached for her other weapon, but I laid across her, blocking him from her sight.
“Stop it. He’s going to jail. Please, baby, you can’t kill him. I can’t lose you to life in prison. Think of the babies.” She went limp and stopped struggling. I didn’t move, though. I knew my girl. If she got a half a second, she’d find a way to get at him.
“Stell, your leg’s bleeding.” Charlie ripped her pant leg up the side and grimaced.
“I shot myself.”
“How?”
“I shot him, and my leg was in the way.” She glared up at Kurt. He was grinning. The sick fuck was bleeding, beaten, and cuffed, but he was still smiling.
Stel yelped and jerked as Charlie prodded her leg. “Get off of me, Charles .” Murder raged in her eyes underneath her rolling tears.
“Stay still, crazy. I have to stop the bleeding.”
“Sissy,” Carter rasped. He dropped to his knees beside us, then fell against me. I held him up.
“Whoa, kid.” I tried to see what all he had for injuries. Stella jerked up, her arms going around him.
“Carter. My God. I’m so sorry. I got here as fast as I could.”
I pulled a wound dressing from my vest, yanked the packet open, and pressed it to the cut on his temple. He winced, but I held him in place. I pushed another one up and pressed it to Stella’s eyebrow. She flinched back, but my hand followed her. Reluctantly, she stopped moving and scowled.
“We need a bus down here, now!” Charlie snapped. “We have a suspect and a civilian with a gunshot wound.” The radio crackled as Anna responded.
Gabe, Drew, and Chip were holding a raving Wayne back as Kruger cuffed Davenport. Now I knew where Stella got that rage from. This was a disaster, even though we got the kid back and everyone was walking away in relatively okay condition. Carter and Stella would have to heal, but they’d survived a situation that could have been deadly. My heart ached. I could have lost her and the baby. I pulled her chin up with my free hand.
“I love you. I’m sorry. I was a dick.”
“I love you, too. You were a dick, but so was I.” She winced as Charlie taped down the dressing on her wound. He shifted around to Carter.
“Hold on, kid. Jesus.”
Twenty minutes later, Carter and Stella were loaded into a bus, heading for the hospital. Kurt and Davenport were secured to gurneys and being loaded into buses. They’d be going to the hospital under guard. Word came down through Derek that the FBI agents in charge of his case would be taking over their charge as soon as they got there. Good riddance.
I climbed into the truck. Chip was behind the wheel, and Wayne joined us in the back. We followed the ambulance with Stel and Carter. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight again.