Rich holstered his pistol.
If they needed firepower, Dana was armed and he’d trust her training.
But if he could catch this guy as he entered, get him in a sleeper hold and subdue him, then his partners would be none the wiser.
Three to two.
With two upstairs and only one down, it might be possible to pick them each off without firing a shot.
The door edged open. A flashlight beam swept the room from left to right, illuminating Dana.
There was a sharp inhale from their stalker as he prepared to announce his find, but Rich was faster. Before the man could exhale a warning, Rich wrapped his arm around the perp’s neck and jerked him closer. Flexing his arm to tighten the pressure against the man’s jugular veins, he held on with all his might as the guy struggled and clawed, then slowly went limp.
Rich’s breath almost left him, too. He lowered the man to the ground, then grabbed the flashlight and aimed it at the shelf above the safe. “Duct tape. Cover his mouth first, then secure him. I’m heading out. You stay here. I don’t want you caught in the cross fire if it goes south.”
Dana reached for the duct tape. “I’m not hunkering down like a groundhog who’s seen his shadow.”
“Not arguing,” Rich hissed. “In the dark, can’t tell who’s who. Both of us out there is asking for trouble.”
In answer, she knelt and ripped a strip of duct tape.
Rich killed the flashlight then pulled out his phone to pass intel to Wyatt. Four men. Two up. One down. One subdued. Dana with gun safe. I’m moving out. He slipped through the door into the laundry room. Dana was a smart woman. His explanation should be enough to make her stay put.
Though he fully acknowledged that, in her shoes, he’d chafe at standing still, too.
Faint moonlight illuminated the hallway. Rich stopped at the threshold. Doors opened and closed upstairs, but there was silence down here. Had he made enough racket taking out their first target to alert the second to their whereabouts?
Where was Wyatt? The police chief was smart enough not to respond and set Rich’s phone abuzz, but not having intel made him a little uncertain. Did he take on the bad guys alone and risk getting himself or Dana hurt? Or did he wait an extra thirty seconds and hope the cavalry kicked down the doors?
The floor at the head of the hallway near the living room creaked.
Okay, then. Guess the choice was made. He steeled himself for another confrontation. This time, the footsteps were almost silent, stealthy, as though the man knew Rich lay in wait. Only the occasional creak gave him away.
Closer...closer...
A double crash. A curse in Spanish.
Chaos broke loose in the house.
Flashlight beams from every direction. Shouts of “Police!” Pounding feet reverberating throughout the house.
Moments later, members of the Mountain Springs PD rushed in through the front and back doors.
The man in the hallway ran for the office, and Rich itched to pursue, but he didn’t want to be mistaken for a bad guy and get himself shot.
Glass shattered.
“Got a runner!” More men ran for the exits.
A flashlight and a figure appeared in the doorway, the beam aimed at the floor. “Rich. You okay?”
He sank against the wall at the sound of Wyatt’s voice and exhaled in relief. “Am now.”
“Hang tight until I can get your generator up and running. We want to do a sweep with some lights on before we set you two loose.”
Two more flashlight beams bobbed closer up the hall, and the police chief directed the officers to take custody of Dana’s prisoner before he walked toward the back door.
Dana followed the officers as they escorted their suspect out. She stopped beside Rich. “I’m keeping your pistol until I get mine back.”
“Ammo, too?”
“Ammo, too.”
“With the police presence here now, I’m pretty sure our new friends are done wreaking havoc for one night.”
Her elbow brushed his as she shifted, and her shadowy form leaned against the washing machine. “Yeah? Well, you also thought we’d be safe here in the first place. Pretty gutsy on their part, trying to get the drop on a federal agent and a former soldier turned local LEO.”
“Yeah. Gutsy.” That’s what had him worried. Either there was a huge contingent tasked with taking Dana Santiago down, or someone had put a pretty hefty bounty on her head. Hefty enough to bring the local thugs out of their holes. “Say, who do you think is—”
A low hum drifted in from outside, echoed by a fainter one from the kitchen, and the lights snapped on. Rich sagged against the door, the remaining tension easing from his shoulders. At least now they could dispel the shadows that might hide another assailant.
He itched to help with the search of his own house, but Wyatt had ordered him to stay put, so he’d comply, even though he disagreed with the order. The army bred arguing with authority figures right out of a man.
“So we’re stuck here while everyone else does the heavy lifting?” Dana planted her palms on the dryer and hefted herself up to sit on the top. She arched an eyebrow with a half smile. “Got a deck of cards handy?”
Who was this woman? Two attempts on her life in as many hours, and she was cracking jokes about boredom? “Afraid not. But I’ll be sure to put some in the gun safe for next time.”
The amused glint in her eye dimmed. “There had better not be a next time. With at least one of them in custody, hopefully we’ll get the answers we need and can shut this thing down.”
Footsteps seemed to fill his entire house and the space between them. Doors opened and closed, followed by random shouts of “Clear!” as rooms were checked and likely double-checked.
Dana slid off the dryer and stood in the doorway beside him, although there wasn’t much to see from their vantage point. Like him, it probably made her feel better to pretend to do something other than sit.
While she wasn’t touching him, she was close enough for him to catch the scent of whatever soap or lotion she used. Amber had always smelled like flowers, some stuff from that place at the mall.
Now the faint scent of coconut, almost like sunscreen, floated around him. Reminded him of summer trips to the beach and the vague sense of happiness that permeated those memories.
Happiness? Right. The one thing in life that never lasted. It wasn’t an emotion to trust. When it got jerked out from under you, there was no way to find it again.
He backed away and turned toward the fridge in the corner of the laundry room. “Thirsty?”
“Hmm?” She kept her eyes on the door. “Um...no, thanks.”
Rich popped the lid on a water bottle and leaned against the refrigerator, watching the way her dark hair waved to a spot between her shoulder blades. So different than Amber’s dark blond ponytail.
So different from Amber in every way.
He chugged the water and crushed the bottle. Why was he even comparing the two? They were two different women who held completely different roles in his life. There was no comparing a fiancée to a stranger. None.
Tossing the bottle into the trash can by the dryer, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the wall. No comparison at all.
Why did it feel like she’d already been in this position once before?
Dana planted her feet on the hardwood floor and fought to stay upright on couch cushions that tempted her exhausted mind and body to sleep. Now wasn’t the time for rest. Despite her assertions earlier, she was pretty sure this was nowhere near over.
Then again, half of the Mountain Springs Police Department stood watch outside. Chief Wyatt Stephens stood by the TV, still wearing the jeans and button-down shirt he’d had on at the wedding. The tie was gone now, though. He eyed her as though he thought she had all the answers to tonight’s mysteries hidden in her brain.
Well, she didn’t. All she knew for sure, particularly now that Rich’s house had become a target, was that she was the one in the crosshairs.
After a silence that stretched past eternity, Wyatt scrubbed his hand along the back of his neck and exhaled slowly. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again.” He turned to look at Rich, who stood by the front window, staring into the darkness.
“It can’t become a way of life, for sure.”
They didn’t have to talk in code. She knew the dangerous past of Mountain Springs. Wyatt’s wife, Jenna, had been hunted down by a human trafficker who thought she was her twin sister. Wyatt had been an officer in the police department then. He’d protected Jenna, and Rich had stepped in as backup. She was a little less clear about what had happened to Jason and Erin Barnes, but somehow Rich had been involved. As for Jenna’s sister, Amy, she and Rich had both been separately involved in the mission.
But they were civilians. She was a marshal. Dana stood, drawing the attention of both men. “You guys remember who I am, right? I’m the one who helped take down Amy’s would-be killer. I’m the one who worked with Sam to keep her safe. I’m—”
“You’re the one who has a target in the middle of her forehead.” From the kitchen her team leader, Isaiah Evans, spoke. Wyatt had contacted him, and he’d arrived shortly after the house was cleared.
Other than a check on her status when he first came in, Isaiah had leaned against the kitchen counter taking in the scene, probably evaluating Wyatt and Rich. It was what he did. He might be six foot three and built like a linebacker, but his superpower was the observational skills locked in his brain.
She glanced over her shoulder at the man who sometimes felt more like a brother than a team leader. “Nobody asked you.”
With a shrug, he hefted his coffee and took a sip without looking away from her.
Dana rolled her eyes and made a face, then decided that ran counter to the point she was trying to make. She was competent. She could take care of herself. She—
Rich and Wyatt watched as though deciding whether to send her to her room without dessert.
Without commenting, Rich turned to the window, but a smile ghosted his face.
So, they’d seen her little-kid side. Everybody had one. “It’s not the first time I’ve been in the cross fire. Before I went into the cyber side of the house, I protected witnesses in situations just like this.”
“That’s the problem.” Wyatt put on a no-nonsense police chief voice. “You’re not in the cross fire. You’re in the direct line of fire.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Santiago.” Isaiah appeared at her elbow then dropped into the chair that angled to the couch. “We know you’re a rock star. You have nothing to prove. I’ve seen you in action on both sides of the house, with boots on the ground and behind a computer screen. You’re good, but you’re not faster than a bullet.”
As much as she wanted to sink to the sofa and close her eyes and ears, she stood her ground. “Precisely. I’m good at what I do, and I’m supposed to fly out in a few hours to go back to doing it.” She looked at Isaiah. “We have to get to Atlanta. Our entire team went off duty to be at this wedding. Sam’s gone for two weeks on his honeymoon...”
Sam. Wedding. Her eyes widened, and she leaned closer. “Tell me you kept your mouth shut and he’s halfway down the mountain to wherever he and Amy were supposed to stay tonight.” If she was responsible for wrecking his honeymoon, she’d never forgive herself.
Isaiah dismissed her concerns with a wave. “I didn’t even know anything until the reception had already wound down and Rich called. Sam and Amy took off around midnight in a classic ’Vette with tin cans trailing. They’ll be safely on a plane at first light.”
This time she did sink into the sofa. “Good. He’s got too strong a sense of duty. If he thought one of us was in trouble, he’d be here in a heartbeat.”
Isaiah nodded. “Good thing there’s no cell reception where those two are going, huh?”
“Look who’s talking.” Rich finally left the window and walked over to stand behind Isaiah’s chair. “I think the strong-sense-of-duty thing rubbed off on Dana.”
“She was born with it.” Isaiah scoffed. “What’s the plan?”
“There’s no plan.” They didn’t get to sit here and act like she was invisible, like she couldn’t handle this. “As I said, tomorrow morning, I get on a plane to Atlanta. I don’t think there’s another way to tell you guys I have a job to do. We have witnesses in the system. Agents in the field. I’m the cyber investigator for the entire region. I can’t be away from my duties any longer.”
“You’re not indispensable.” Isaiah sliced the air with his hand then sat back and stared at the dark TV screen.
Dana bit her tongue to keep from saying something she’d regret. But he was wrong. The job needed her, and she needed the job. She was the job. Her lab was her design, and she’d developed the proprietary software the team used to trace threats. Cyber wouldn’t look the same without her.
That wasn’t arrogance. It was straight fact. “I need to work.” She’d lose her mind sitting around with nothing to do. “It’s WitSec. We’re locked tight. I’m safer on the job than anywhere else.”
“It’s true.” At least Isaiah had taken her side this time.
“Well, I don’t like it.” Wyatt watched her as though contemplating how to handle a problem like Dana.
Well, she’d had enough. This was her life. Her job. Her choice. “Seems to me you don’t get a lot of say in it.”
“Also true.” Isaiah again.
Maybe she’d forgive him for his earlier comments after all.
“Y’all realize the testosterone in this room is out of control, right?” She stood and turned to Wyatt. It was high time she took back the reins of her life. “Since this place is better guarded than Fort Knox and they already know where to find me, I’d like my suitcase from the B and B, please.” She pivoted and looked at Rich. “My flight leaves at nine. I’ll need a ride to the airport. Now, I’d like to take you up on that offer of a place to sleep.” Because frustrated ire wasn’t going to keep her on her feet much longer.
“We’ll leave at seven.” Rich seemed to get she was done. He waved an arm at the stairs. “Pick a room.”
With a nod to the men, Dana headed for the stairs, praying all the way her legs wouldn’t give out as exhaustion kicked in. Being rude wasn’t her usual stance, but at least she’d regained control of the situation.
Even though the war had only just begun.