Colton tilted his chin toward his left shoulder where his radio was clipped on his jacket. His weapon was in the hand that he also used to steer the wheel after they’d bolted from around the back of the motel.
Peach would be safe as he drew the perps away from the building and onto the highway. River had been shot and it looked bad for him, but he was still talking and alert, and that was a good sign.
Getting Makena out of the building and Birchwood had been his first priority. River was right about one thing. She’d be safer if she kept a low profile.
Colton also realized the reason the perps were shooting was probably because they didn’t realize they were shooting at a sheriff. Even so, it had been one of his better ideas to slip out the back of his office yesterday and take his personal vehicle, because it seemed as though the perps had zeroed in on Makena’s location at the RV.
They also seemed ready and able to shoot River though he was an officer of the law. With River’s professional reputation tarnished, plus the charges being lobbed against him, they must think they could get away with shooting him.
“Gert, can you read me?” He hoped like hell she could, because she was his best link to getting help for River and for him and Makena.
Birchwood was in Colton’s jurisdiction. One of his deputies passed by this motel on his daily drive to work, and Colton hoped that he was nearby, possibly on his way into work.
Gert’s voice came through the radio. “I read you loud and clear.”
“I have two perps who have opened fire on my personal vehicle. And an officer is down at the motel. Makena is in my custody and we’re heading toward the station, coming in hot.”
“Do you have a vehicle or a license plate or can you give me anything on who might be behind you?”
“The shooter was on foot.” Colton took a moment to glance into his rearview mirror in time to see the pair of perps running toward a Jeep.
With the weight of his truck, he didn’t have a great chance of outrunning them. “It’s looking like a Jeep Wrangler. White. Rubicon written in black letters on the hood. I don’t have a license plate but I imagine it won’t take them long to catch up to me. If they have one on the front of their vehicle, I can relay it.”
He heard Makena suck in a breath. She scrambled into the seat and practically glued her face to the back window. “What can I do?”
“Stay low. Stay hidden. I don’t have a way to identify myself in the truck. My vehicle is slow. But I’m going to do my level best to outrun them.”
Makena didn’t respond, so he wasn’t certain she bought into his request. He was kicking up gravel on the service road to the four-lane highway. He took the first entrance ramp, and despite it being past seven o’clock in the morning on a Friday, there were more cars than he liked.
“Where are they now?” Makena asked.
“They’re making their way toward us on the service road.” Colton swerved in and out of the light traffic, pressing his dual cab truck to its limits. What it lacked in get-up-and-go, it made up for in size. If nothing else, he’d use its heft to block the Jeep from pulling alongside them.
Of course, the passenger could easily get off a shot from behind.
Colton leaned his mouth to his shoulder. “Where’s the nearest marked vehicle?”
“Not close enough. I’m checking on DPS now to see if I can get a trooper in your direction. How are you doing? Can you hold them off until I can get backup to you?”
“I don’t have a choice.” Colton meant those words.
The Jeep had taken the on-ramp onto the highway and it wouldn’t be long before it was on his bumper. He glanced around at the traffic and figured he’d better take this fight off the highway rather than endanger innocent citizens.
River was in trouble at work. Colton knew that for certain. What he wasn’t sure of was his partners.
Colton relayed the description of the perps to Gert. “Call Chief Shelton at Dallas PD and see if any of his officers matching those descriptions have been connected in any way to River Myers. I want to know who River’s friends were. Who he hung out with in the department and if any of them had visited the shooting range lately.”
Most beat cops couldn’t pull off the shot Red had at that distance and through a glass door. Whoever made the shot would get high scores in marksmanship at the range. Other officers would take note. Someone would know.
Between that and the physical descriptions, maybe River’s supervising officer could narrow the search.
“Hold on, I’m going to swerve off the highway,” he said, noting his chance.
At the last minute, he cranked the steering wheel right and made the exit ramp. It was probably too much to hope the perps lost him in traffic. There were plenty of black trucks on these roads.
He cursed when the Jeep took the exit.
“Gert, talk to me. Do you have someone at the motel?” Colton’s only sense of relief so far was that he’d drawn the perps away from Peach and River. He also had a sneaky suspicion that Peach could take care of herself and could keep River there at gunpoint. Colton had no doubt the woman could hold her own until River received medical attention.
He could only hope that River would come clean with names.
Again, all they needed was a puzzle piece. At least now they knew that River had some connection to Red and Mustache. There was something the three of them had concocted or were doing they believed would land them in jail if someone found out. That someone, unfortunately, ended up being Makena. And again, he was reminded of how timing was everything.
If Makena had gone out to that garage five minutes before, maybe the men wouldn’t have been there yet. Maybe River could’ve convinced her to go back to bed and she could be living out a peaceful life by now after the divorce.
His mind stretched way back to college. He’d wanted to ask her out but hadn’t. Again, the ripple effect of that decision caused him to wonder about his timing. Now was not the time to dredge up the past. Besides, the Jeep was gaining on him. At this pace, it would catch him.
There were fields everywhere. One was a pasture for grazing. The other was corn stalks. The truck could handle either one and so could the Jeep. Colton couldn’t get any advantage by veering off road. Except that in the corn, considering it was already tall, maybe he could lose them.
The meadow on the other side of the street was useless. The last thing he needed was more flat land. And while he didn’t like the idea of damaging someone’s crop and potential livelihood, he knew that he could circle back and make restitution. What was the point of having a trust fund he’d never touched if not for a circumstance like this one?
“Hang on tight, okay?” he said to Makena.
When she confirmed, he nailed a hard right. The truck bounded so hard he thought he might’ve cracked the chassis but stabilized once he got onto the field. The last thing he saw was the Jeep following.
Colton’s best chance to confuse them was to maybe do a couple of figure eights and then zigzag through the cornfield. It would at the very least keep the perps from getting off a good shot. He was running out of options.
So far, the Jeep hadn’t gotten close enough to them for him to be able to read a license plate if there was one on the front. Law required it to be there. However, many folks ignored it.
Considering these guys had good reason to hide any identifying marks, they most certainly wouldn’t have a plate up front.
Gert’s voice cut through his thoughts. “I got you pulled up on GPS using your cell phone. I have a location on you, sir. Can you hold tight in the area until I can get someone to you?”
“That’s affirmative. I can stick around as long as I keep moving.” He tried to come off as flippant so Gert wouldn’t worry about him any more than she already was.
Makena was getting bounced around in the floorboard. At this point, it would be safer for her to climb into the seat and strap in. So that was exactly what he told her to do.
She managed, without being thrown around too much.
The crops had the truck bouncing and slowed his speed considerably. He cut a few sharp turns, left and then right...right and then left. A couple of figure eights.
There was a time in his life when a ride like this might’ve felt exciting. His adrenaline was pumping and he’d be all in for the thrill. Even having a couple of idiots with guns behind him would’ve seemed like a good challenge. A lot had changed in him after he’d become a dad last year.
He took life more seriously and especially his own. Because he knew without a shadow of a doubt those boys needed their father to come home every night. And he would, today, too.
He checked his mirrors and was feeling pretty good about where he stood with regard to the perps. Until he almost slammed into the Jeep that had cut an angle right in front of him.
Slamming the brake and narrowly avoiding a collision, Colton bit out a few choice words.
Gert’s voice came across the radio again. “Sir, I have names. Officer Randol Bic and Officer Jimmy Stitch were known associates of River Myers and fit the descriptions you gave. Bic is a sharpshooter. They’re partners in East Dallas and both of their records are clean.”
A picture was emerging. Was River taking the fall for Bic and Stitch?
Had they threatened him? Were they holding something over his head?
“I’ve heard those names before,” Makena said.
Gert’s voice came across the radio. “Sir, I think the GPS is messing up. It looks like you’re driving back and forth on the highway.”
Colton couldn’t help himself; he laughed. “Well, that’s because I’m presently driving in a cornfield near the highway. GPS probably can’t register that location.”
“I feel like I should have known it would be something like that.” Now Gert laughed. It was good to break up some of the tension. A sense of humor helped with keeping a calm head, which could be the difference between making a mistake or a good decision.
The Jeep circled back, and Colton could hear its engine gunning toward him. He cut left, trying to outrun the perps.
“Gert, how are you doing over there?” Colton needed an update. Actually, what he needed was a miracle. But he’d stopped believing in those after losing Rebecca, and he figured it was best to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground and his head out of the clouds.
“Sir, I have good news for you. Do you hear anything?”
Colton strained to listen. He didn’t hear anything other than the sound of his front bumper hacking through the cornfield. He hated to think what he was doing to this farmer’s crops. But again, he would pay restitution.
“I don’t hear much more than the noise I’m making and the sound of an engine barreling toward me.” He was barely cutting around.
The Jeep was close, he could hear and feel it, if not see it.
“Well, sir, the cavalry is arriving. If you roll your window down, I think you’ll be happy with what you hear. DPS got back to me and a trooper should be on top of you right now.”
Well, maybe Colton had been too quick to write off the likelihood of miracles happening.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” When he really listened and got past the sounds of corn husks slapping against his front bumper, he heard the familiar wails of sirens in the distance.
Makena was practically glued to her seat, with her hands gripping the strap of her seat belt.
“If you like that news, I’ve got more. An ambulance is en route to the motel. Help is on the way, sir.”
“Gert, remind me the next time I see you that you deserve a raise.”
“Sir, I’m going to hold you to that when it’s time for my review.” Again, lightening the tension with teasing kept his mind at ease and his brain able to focus. The minute he thought a situation was the end of the world was the minute it would be true.
Colton circled around a few more times, ensuring that he was on the move and as far away from the Jeep as possible. He figured the perps had probably given up once they’d heard sirens.
Since they were cops with clean records, they would want to keep them that way. When he really thought about it, they’d concocted the perfect scenario. The puzzle pieces clicked together in one moment.
They had some type of hold over River. That was obvious and a given. They believed that Makena could possibly link them to River and so they would get rid of her. All the while implicating River, who was already known to have a temper and a bad relationship with his wife.
When the different parts of their plan made sense like that, he realized the genius of their plot. However, he had seen them. He knew who they were. That was where they’d messed up. Now they’d gone and left a trail.
“Are they gone?” Makena looked around as Colton slowed down.
“I believe so.”
Makena sank back in the chair. “I hear the sirens.”
Colton nodded as he tried to navigate back toward the highway.
“I can patch you through to Officer Staten,” Gert said.
“Ten-four. Great work, Gert.” But before Colton could speak to the highway patrolman through the radio, he saw the cruiser. Colton flashed his headlights and cut off his engine.
Hands up, he exited his truck and told Makena to do the same.
After greeting Officer Staten, Colton said, “It’s a shame I didn’t get a plate. A white Jeep Rubicon in Texas doesn’t exactly stand out.”
“The two of you are safe. That’s the most important thing to me right now,” Officer Staten said.
There was no arguing with that point.
“Do you need assistance getting back to your office?” Staten was tall and darker-skinned, with black hair, brown eyes and a deceptively lean frame. Every state trooper could pull his own weight and more in a fight. These officers traveled long distances with no backup in sight. To say they were tough was a lot like saying Dwayne Johnson had a few muscles.
Colton looked to Makena. “Any chance I can convince you to take a ride back to my office with the officer?”
Makena was already vigorously shaking her head before he could finish his sentence. He figured as much. It was worth a try. He wanted her to be safely tucked away while he circled back and checked on River and Peach.
She seemed to read his mind when she said, “I’m going with you.”
There was so much determination in her voice he knew better than to argue. No use wasting precious time.
Colton turned to Officer Staten and said, “Can I get an assist to the motel where an officer was fired on? I’d like to go back and investigate the scene. And considering I have a witness with me, I think it might be best if I have backup.”
Staten seemed to catch on, because he was already nodding. “I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
Professional courtesy went a long way and Colton had gone to great lengths to build a cooperative relationship with other law enforcement agencies.
Once their destination was agreed upon, Colton retreated to his truck with Makena by his side.
The drive back to the motel surprisingly took half an hour. Colton didn’t realize they’d gotten so far from the motel, but then he was driving back at normal speed limits, whereas he’d flown to get away from there.
There was a BOLO out on the Jeep. If they were as smart as they appeared to be, they would ditch the vehicle. The new problem was that they’d been made and now they had nothing to lose. Dangerous.
They couldn’t possibly realize that Colton had figured out who they were. So Colton had that on his side.
By the time they reached the motel, it looked like a proper crime scene. An ambulance was there. The back had been closed up and it looked as though they were about to pull away.
“Hold on a sec,” Colton said to Makena.
He hopped out of his pickup, knowing that Makena would want to know River’s status.
He jogged up to the driver’s side of the ambulance and the driver rolled down the window. Fortunately for him, he still had on his windbreaker that had the word SHERIFF in big bold letters running down his left sleeve, so it was easy to identify that he was in law enforcement.
“How is your patient in the back?” Colton asked. “I was here at the time of the shooting. I had to get a witness out of the building. What is the status of your patient?”
“GSW to the back, exit wounds in his chest. We need to rock and roll, sir. No guarantees on this one. Still breathing, but a lot of blood loss by the time we got here.”
Colton took a step back and waved them on. “Go.”
It wasn’t good news, but River was still alive and Colton had learned that even a tiny bit of hope was better than none. As done as Makena was with the relationship, and he had no doubt in his mind the marriage had been over for a very long time, she was the type of person to be concerned for someone she’d once cared about.
He wished he could give her better news.
Glancing toward the truck, he expected to see her waiting there. A moment of shock jolted him when he saw that she was gone. Then, he knew immediately where she would go. He raced inside to see her standing next to Peach, who was sitting in one of the chairs on the right-hand side.
Makena was offering reassurances to the older woman while rubbing her shoulders. Peach had blood all over her flowery dress.
“I did everything I could to help him, but there was so much blood. He was already pale by the time we got help. His lips were turning blue.” The anguish in the older woman’s voice was palpable.
“Peach, what you did was admirable. If he has any chance at all, it’s because of you,” Colton said.
Peach glanced up at him, those emerald green eyes sparkling with gratitude for his comments.
“I mean it. You very well could’ve saved his life here and I know you saved ours. I would work beside you in law enforcement any day.” He meant every word.
Her chin lifted with his praise.
“I appreciate your saying so, Sheriff. It means a lot.”
Colton crouched down to eye level with her before taking her statement. And then Makena took Peach into a back room where she washed up.
Makena stayed by the elderly woman’s side long after the blood had been rinsed off and Peach had changed clothes.
The highway patrolman stayed outside, guarding the front door in case the perps returned. The front door was cordoned off with crime scene tape.
“My deputy here is going to process the scene. Can one of us give you a ride home?” Colton asked Peach.
“I’ll be all right in a few minutes,” Peach said. Her hands had steadied. “I have my car out back and I don’t want to leave it here overnight.”
“What’s the owner’s name? I’ll give ’em a call and ask for someone to cover your shift.”
Whatever he said seemed to tickle Peach.
“You’re looking at the owner. I owned this place with my husband, God rest his soul.”
“Can I call someone? It’s not a good idea for you to be alone right now.” The shock of what had happened would wear off and her emotions could sneak up on her. Colton didn’t want her to suffer. She’d shown incredible bravery today.
“I have a daughter in town,” she said. “I’ll see if she’ll make up the guest bedroom for me tonight.”
“Any chance you could get her on the phone now?” Colton asked.
“My purse is underneath the counter where Rapture was hiding.” She motioned toward her shotgun that was sitting on top of the counter. It had been opened and the shells looked to have been removed.
As he waited for Peach to call her daughter, Colton took stock of the situation. He now had names. He had motive. All he needed was opportunity to seal Bic and Stitch’s fate.