Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Cap slid down the wall, vision doubling as he hit the floor.
Pain radiated from his right shoulder, where he’d slammed into the corner of the kitchen counter during the fight.
A rib or two felt cracked; each painful breath was the sure sign.
Better that than a gunshot wound. His knuckles throbbed, and the blow to his head from the Colombian’s fist made his ears ring.
They’d each fired off a round as the Colombian charged him.
Cap blinked rapidly and focused on the Colombian who lay sprawled over the braided rug, blood spreading around his head. If Cap’s bullet had hit the man, it would have hit in his torso, not his head.
That meant only one thing. The deputy.
When Cap glimpsed the deputy in the doorway, with as much effort as he could, he shoved the Colombian away from him, hoping the deputy could get a clear shot.
Deputy Landers, pale and sweating, leaned against the wall with his service weapon loose in one hand, and his fingers from his other hand hooked around the top of his ballistic vest. He sucked in air, breathing hard, recovering from the impact of being shot in the vest by the Colombian, Cap supposed.
How had the guy lying dead on the floor slipped past the deputy?
Cap returned his gaze to the dead man. He’d bet once they rolled him over, they’d find he’d been hit in the chest as well.
Oddly, though, he himself hadn’t been hit.
Considering the proximity, that seemed impossible.
He glanced at the closet door leading to the crawlspace to find a bullet hole.
Cap’s heart seized. The Colombian’s first shot had been aimed at Emma.
Cap grabbed his weapon lying on the floor beside him, sprang to his feet, and headed to the crawlspace door. “Emma!” he yelled out.
“He—he pointed his gun at me. Hit me in the vest,” the young deputy panted. “But I got him before he could finish you.”
Cap let out a labored breath. “I know. But there’s no time to talk about that now. We need to find Emma. She may be hurt.”
“This is all my fault,” Landers wheezed.
“We’ll sort this out later. Get me up and help find Emma.”
Cap leaped down into the crawlspace and pulled the string to turn on the light. His gaze darted around the small room. The first wave of relief sifted through him at the sight of the open cellar doors. There was no trail of blood on the natural rock floor, nor on the wooden steps.
He suspected it would be safe to go outside. If another of the drug gang were on the grounds, he would have entered the firefight for sure.
“Emma! It’s me, Cap,” he yelled out as he ran across the small yard to the tree line.
Something rustled ten yards ahead. He froze. “Emma?”
Silence.
Then her voice came, small and broken. “Cap?”
He almost sagged with relief. “I’m coming to you. Stay where you are.”
Turning his head, he focused on the deputy. “Keep watch here. Make sure there are no others. I’m going in to get Emma.”
The deputy nodded.
“I’m coming, sweetheart. Whistle so I know where you are.”
A faint whistle sounded. She wasn’t that far, but far enough to conceal herself.
As he closed in on her, he could hear her ragged breathing.
“Emma,” he said softly.
She unfolded her arms from around her bent knees and wobbled as she stood.
He caught her by the arms before she could fall. “You okay? Are you hurt?”
“I tripped and fell. Just bruised my forearms, is all.”
“I was so worried about you when I heard the shots,” she whispered and sniffled.
He pulled her to him. “I’m okay. Everything is fine.”
Sirens blared in the distance, growing closer.
“We need to get back to the cabin. I’ve got a lot to deal with in there.”
Her glossy eyes studied him.
“The Colombian?” she whispered.
“He’s dead.”
Relief flashed in her gaze, and her shoulders sagged.
Cap took her hand and guided her forward. She winced, and her grip tightened.
“What’s wrong?”
“My feet.”
When he looked down, he realized her feet were covered in flimsy-soled slippers. Christ, he’d sent her into the woods in those. During the urgency, he hadn’t given that any thought. The poor thing probably had cuts and bruises.
He turned toward her and scooped her into his arms, ignoring the screaming protest of his ribs, then made his way out of the woods.
“How do you do this?” she asked.
“Do what?” he asked as he chose his next careful step.
“Walk so quietly in the woods, carrying me. Not even cracking a branch. When I ran out here, you would have thought a herd of buffalo was crashing through the woods. I could barely see and tripped more times than I can count.”
“It isn’t my first rodeo walking in the dark in the woods.”
“Huh?”
“I deer hunt. I go into the woods early in the morning, before daylight, and then leave after dark. You get used to walking in the woods in the dark. You learn where to step.”
He hurried back to the cabin.
Chief Mertz’s squad jerked to a stop by the garage. A sheriff’s deputy parked his squad next to the chief’s, saving room for the ambulance to pull up to the porch.
Cap glanced around. Where was the Colombian’s vehicle?
Adrenaline surged through his veins. He set Emma down and ran into the cabin. Relief washed over him when he confirmed the body was still there.
“He’s dead?” Emma’s voice shook.
“Yes.”
He hadn’t intended for her to follow him into the cabin and see the dead body. But maybe it was for the best that she saw it and believed it.
Two EMTs entered the cabin. Their gazes landed on the dead guy, then they focused on him.
“Is anyone else hurt?”
Cap pointed to Emma.
“I’m fine. Just bruised up.”
“They’re here, sweetheart. Let them look at you.”
“No, really, I’m fine,” she insisted.
Cap shook his head. “She hurt her arms and feet.”
One of the EMTs reached out to her. “Let me help you into the ambulance, and we’ll take a look.”
Emma looked at him, and he nodded. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
He watched as she limped along with the EMT.
“What the hell happened? How did they find you?” Chief Mertz asked.
“I don’t know,” Cap replied.
Deputy Lander’s gaze hit the floor.
Chief Deputy Styles stepped into the cabin. “Deputy Landers, what happened? How did he slip by you?”
The guilty look on the deputy’s face said it all.
Landers swallowed audibly. “I fell asleep, sir. The gunfire woke me up.”
Cap’s face heated, and he bit back his anger. The truth mattered more right now. He gave the kid some credit, though, for telling the truth. Fessing up was better than not fessing up, and Cap was sure the chief deputy knew the answer to the question before he asked his subordinate.
Chief Deputy Styles’ laser gaze bore into his subordinate.
There was going to be hell to pay for Landers.
“Well, that explains why he slipped past you, but how in the hell did he find the location?” Chief Mertz asked.
“I don’t know,” the young deputy replied.
“Radio chatter?” Mertz asked.
“All our radio communications were on the secure channel,” Chief Deputy Styles replied.
Landers sighed heavily, and his shoulders slumped.
“What?” Styles asked in a tone that made Cap want to hide in a hole.
Slowly, Landers lifted his gaze to meet Styles’. “When I checked in here, I did it on the regular channel.” The deputy paused and swallowed hard. “I mentioned Glidden cabin. It was so quick I thought…”
The glare Styles shot Landers silenced the room. This kid was in deep shit.
Styles’ cell phone rang, and he pulled his phone from his hip and tapped the screen. Lucky for Landers for the moment.
“Uh-huh, okay. Call for a tow and stay with it.”
Styles clipped his cell phone back on his hip.
“Deputy Schneider found a dark SUV parked on the side of the road a quarter mile north of here. Ran the plates. They came back as stolen.”
“Our guy’s,” Cap said.
“Probably.”
“We’ll tow the vehicle to our impound and see what we can find,” Styles said.
“We need to find another safe house. Only this time, I’ll pick it and not tell anyone,” Cap said.
“No. Absolutely, not,” Mertz interjected.
“Unless you know for sure how they found us, it’s the safest way.”
From the facial expression Chief Mertz wore, he knew his former boss was conflicted and understood Cap’s logic. There could be a leak within the police or sheriff’s department.
“In case I am being monitored, I’ll need a burner phone, cash, and a non-department vehicle,” Cap said.
Mertz nodded. “I’ll get you what you need. Communication will only be between you and me.”
“I don’t know…”
Mertz’s silencing glare shot to Styles, cutting him off.
Cap hoped there wouldn’t be a jurisdiction war here.
“We need to get Emma to the hospital. She needs sutures and X-rays,” an EMT informed them from the doorway.
Cap’s heart kicked hard. He hadn’t realized how badly hurt she was.
“How bad?”
“Manageable, but she needs care. The wounds on her feet need to be cleaned, and one cut needs to be stitched on the side of her foot. The X-ray is just to confirm her left arm is only sprained.”
Chief Mertz looked at him. “Go with her. I’ll work on what you need and meet you at the hospital.”
“We’ll sort out this mess here and comb through the SUV,” Styles added.
Mertz looked at the EMT. “Have you had any radio communication regarding this potential transport?”
“No, just that we are at this location.”
“Radio that there is no transport and you are back in service. Then run to the hospital with no lights or sirens.”
Cap pulled his feet out of his slippers and eased them into tennis shoes. Then, he quickly stuffed his and Emma’s belongings into their duffel bags. He retrieved the weaponry he’d stashed throughout the cabin.
“Never know how much you need,” he said to Chief Mertz in response to the man’s arched brow.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come back to work for the police department?” Mertz asked.
Should he feel ashamed at how much the thrill of danger invigorated him? He only wished the danger didn’t include Emma.