by Jenna Night
Harry didn’t have time to talk to the cops. Toni could do that. Instead, he said a quick prayer, asking for help and protection for Ramona as he turned down the street to the right of the town houses. The trees and shrubs along that road appeared thicker and there were more cars parked on the street. That meant more places to hide. If he were being pursued, that’s the route he would choose.
He drove down the street, frantically looking for any sign of Ramona, until he got to the end. Nothing. And there was no one out on the street that he could question.
He must have made the wrong choice. A couple of quick turns took him to the other street he’d considered. Realistically she had to have run down one of them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lost sight of her.
His windows were lowered and when he was halfway down the road, he heard a commotion off to his right, where a narrow pedestrian passage cut between two houses and intersected with an alley. Several dogs were barking furiously in the surrounding yards and he heard a metallic crash that sounded like an industrial garbage container getting shoved against the side of a building.
Jumping on the possibility that was Ramona over there running for her life, Harry turned down the narrow passage, his truck barely fitting between the houses, and roared over to the intersecting alley.
He quickly realized that the so-called alley was less of a narrow service road and more of a parking lot when he barely avoided crashing into a faded orange-and-yellow motor home parked crosswise, leaving a gap too small for Harry’s truck to fit through. He shoved the truck into Park, got out and took off on foot.
Harry spotted a man in faded jeans and a green sweatshirt holding a broom and dustpan standing outside the open back door of an apartment building.
“Did somebody just run by here?” Harry demanded, grabbing the phone clipped to his belt and getting ready to call in the location to the police. “A woman with a man chasing after her?”
“Maybe.” The guy shrugged. “I heard noises, but there’s always something going on back here. I hardly pay attention it.” He tightened his grip on the broom handle. “I didn’t see anything.”
Harry’s jaw tensed in frustration. Maybe the guy hadn’t seen anything. Or maybe he had but he didn’t want to get involved. The second possibility was an aggravation Harry ran into on a fairly regular basis.
A sudden yelp, like the sound of someone in pain, snapped his attention away from the man. “Call the police!” he shouted as he started running down the alley.
The alley mirrored the turns of the curving roads in this part of town, so Harry couldn’t see to the very end. There was a mixture of residences and businesses here. Shadowy pedestrian passages, like the one he’d driven through, branched off and led to streets on either side of him. Trash cans, wooden pallets and discarded cardboard boxes were stacked up behind some of the businesses. From the alley, it was impossible to see beyond them. For all Harry knew, Ramona could have run down one of those passages instead of staying to the main alleyway. She could be long gone.
Or she could be nearby, hiding, not realizing he was trying to save her.
Or—the most frightening possibility—the creep who’d been chasing her might have captured her. Made her hide with him behind some boxes or trash cans until the coast was clear. He could have a gun pressed to Ramona’s head right now, forcing her to be silent until Harry passed them by.
The thought that she could be almost within reach, but he still might not be able to get to her to save her, unleashed a feeling of furious determination that Harry knew only too well.
His experience as a soldier had taught him to tamp down those emotions, to focus on the possibilities inherent to the situation at hand and quickly consider his actionable options. It was never easy, but it was the smart thing to do.
An image of Ramona’s face, fearful yet determined as she’d sat in the Rock Solid Bail Bonds office, flashed through his mind. He thought of the bits of pine needle and twigs tangled in her dark hair, and the shadowed expression in her greenish-brown eyes. She’d been a combination of strength and fragility that made his heart ache. Made him want to protect her.
Stop.
She’s not Willa.
If you ever truly loved your wife, how could you even consider replacing her with anyone else?
“Focus,” Harry muttered, snapping his attention back to the alley.
So far, he hadn’t called out Ramona’s name because he was hoping to take advantage of the element of surprise. Best-case scenario—assuming the creep had Ramona—Harry would sneak up and capture him before the guy realized what was happening. But Harry felt like he had already wasted too much precious time in this search. The cops should arrive any minute. If the assailant was still in the vicinity, with Ramona as his hostage, the chance of sneaking up on him had come and gone.
Harry ran until he was past the final curve in the alley and stopped. He could see where the alley dead-ended at the back of the row of town houses. There was a red brick wall with a wrought-iron pedestrian gate left hanging open. On the other side of the gate was a small park. Could Ramona have gone through it?
In front of the brick wall were two more pedestrian passages, one on each side, leading out to the main streets on the left and right of the alley. At this point, it looked like Ramona and her pursuer could have gone anywhere.
Rather than give into despair, Harry spun around and decided to work from the assumption that she was still nearby.
“Ramona!” he yelled as loudly as he could while praying the police would hurry up and get there. With enough people, they could block all the exits off the alley and then search every inch of the area. If she wasn’t there, they could send out media alerts and scour the entire town.
One thing was for certain, he would not give up on her.
He called out her name again and then listened carefully for a response. He didn’t hear one.
As he grew increasingly worried, his heart thudded heavily in his chest. It was hard to believe she’d been in his life for less than twenty-four hours. He already felt a connection with her. Something beyond the straightforward fact that if he helped her and caught Linder, he would earn his fugitive recovery fee.
He continued walking quickly down the alley, looking around, fully aware that he was now making himself an easy target. Harry had a handgun, but he left it holstered. He would use it if he absolutely had to, but he’d rather not. There may not be people in the alley right now, but there were windows on the nearby stores and apartments and town houses, and he didn’t want to risk hitting someone with a stray bullet.
He stopped and called out Ramona’s name again. Almost immediately, a heavy truck rumbled down the adjacent road, drowning out every sound except for the deep, low growl of the engine. Just after that sound reached its loudest point and started to fade, Harry heard something.
It was up ahead, off the main alley. A metallic, rattling sound.
Harry started moving cautiously toward it, rounding the corner and stepping into a side passage. A neatly organized stack of pallets that he’d noticed as he passed earlier were now askew.
Sitting on the ground and squeezed between the pallets and a section of chain-link fence were Ramona and her captor. Ramona’s foot was near the fence. She must have kicked it. That must have been the sound he heard.
Harry saw them before they realized he was there. Both of them were soaked in sweat, and the bad guy had pulled off his knit mask. Harry recognized him. He was the one Ramona called Skinny Guy when she’d described him to the police. He had Ramona pulled close to his right side, his arm wrapped around her shoulder and his hand clamped across her mouth. He held a gun in his other hand. And he kept glancing away from the direction of the alley, toward the street.
Harry heard approaching sirens. It felt like the police response had taken forever. But at least the guy outside the apartments had apparently ca
lled the police.
Harry pulled his weapon from his holster and quietly took a step back so he was hidden behind the corner of the building. The smartest thing would be to keep an eye on the two of them and wait for the cops to arrive. He could coordinate with the cops and make sure they caught the guy. Hopefully, they’d be able to get some information out of him that would take them closer to capturing Linder and ending the wave of violence he had started.
But it turned out Harry couldn’t wait.
The silver SUV he’d battled with earlier suddenly appeared on the street at the end of the passage. It looked like the bald guy from the attack at the cabins last night was driving.
The criminal holding Ramona got to his feet and dragged her up with him. She moved slowly, obviously terrified and exhausted. But she still had enough fight left in her to not make things easy for Skinny Guy, twisting and turning and trying to wrench herself free from his grasp.
Harry had to admire the woman. She was no quitter.
Her efforts bought Harry enough time to move up quickly behind them. He was nearly close enough to jump on Skinny Guy and knock him to the ground when the thug must have heard his footsteps and spun around.
His eyes grew wide and he uttered a curse as he started to lift his pistol so that it was pointed directly at the side of Ramona’s head.
“Stop!” Harry called out, aiming his gun at the man. “Don’t move another inch or I will shoot you.”
Ramona tried to scream, but the guy still had his hand over her mouth. Her eyes grew wild with fear and her chest started heaving, like she was having trouble catching her breath.
Skinny Guy froze, a panicked expression on his face.
The police sirens were getting louder. The SUV driver impatiently gunned the engine.
Harry really wanted to catch these bad guys and lock them up. But more than that, he wanted Ramona to be safe. There was every reason to think this guy would shoot Ramona now if he thought he had to. Harry couldn’t wait for the police. The situation was too volatile.
The SUV on the street started slowly moving forward. The driver obviously wasn’t going to wait around until the cops arrived.
“Just let her go,” Harry said.
And that’s what Skinny Guy did, shoving Ramona at Harry while he turned and fled for the SUV.
Ramona stumbled and fell forward until Harry caught her just before she hit the pavement face first.
The SUV peeled out while Ramona started to sob uncontrollably.
Harry wrapped his arms around her. “You’re okay,” he said softly. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Silently he prayed, Thank You, Lord. Thank You.
* * *
“If you think of anything else you want to tell me or if you remember any further detail from this attack, no matter how small, call me,” Sergeant Bergman said.
He started to hand his business card to Ramona, but she wearily waved it away. “I still have your card from last night.” Hard to believe it was just the previous night when this mess had started. When she had started it by going to Darrin’s cabin at the Western Trails Resort. It already felt like a nightmare that had been going on for multiple days, or even weeks.
The sergeant was wrapping up his interview with her at her parents’ house. The two of them had been sitting off in a corner where she’d just related the incidents of the attack for the fifth or sixth time as Bergman dug for any details she might have forgotten during the previous recitations. She’d also taken a look at some mug shots the sergeant had shown her on his tablet, hoping she could identify the two assailants working with Linder. Unfortunately, none of the men in the photographs looked familiar.
Ramona appreciated the cop’s doggedness. The assailants had managed to get away and Bergman was trying to dig up every bit of information that might help them identify the two men.
She glanced over at her mom, who was calmly moving around the living room, making sure the visitors were comfortable. This, despite having been terrorized herself earlier when her car was bashed into and her daughter was kidnapped right in front of her.
The only sign of Toni’s anxiety was when she would stop every now and then, take a deep breath, cross her arms over her chest and look around the room as if assessing the situation. Ramona often saw her do that at the diner when they were short-staffed and swamped with customers. It was how she calmed and centered herself.
Ramona’s dad sat perched on the edge of a chair. He shifted his gaze back and forth between Ramona and Toni, looking like he was just waiting for the opportunity to jump up and do something for one of them.
A uniformed officer had accompanied Sergeant Bergman to the house. Cassie and Leon from the bail bonds office had arrived just a few minutes ago. And of course, Harry was there. He’d stayed within eyeshot even when they’d been separated for their police statements. While it was comforting to know he was there, she was trying hard not to look at Harry. Whenever his gaze connected with hers, she found it nearly impossible to turn away.
He had saved her life. Twice. But what she felt toward him wasn’t just gratitude. It was a tug of attraction. Allowing herself to be pulled in by that feeling was a very bad idea. The last thing Ramona needed right now was to be distracted by the bounty hunter helping her. She had problems she needed to focus on. Serious problems.
There were several moments today when she’d been certain her life was over. The masks worn by the thugs might have hidden their identity from any onlookers, but within a few seconds of being grabbed, Ramona had known exactly who they were—men who’d already tried to kill her once and wouldn’t shy away from trying to again.
There’d been a few seconds in the alley when she’d ducked behind an industrial trash can and thought she might have escaped, but Skinny Guy found her, dragging her out of sight and keeping the end of his pistol pressed to her temple while he called his partner to come get them.
The feeling of overwhelming fear from that moment came rushing back like a torrent even though she knew she was now safe at home. Her eyes began to burn and tears formed and rolled down her cheeks despite her efforts to blink them back. It horrified her to realize she’d been so overwhelmed while being held hostage in that dirty passageway she hadn’t thought to pray.
But then Harry had showed up and everything was okay.
Not that she was complaining, but now that she thought about it, how was that possible?
“Why didn’t one of those creeps just shoot me?” she wondered aloud.
Bergman looked at her for a moment, the expression in his gray eyes hard to read. “Executing someone at point-blank range in broad daylight is very different from firing wildly at a vague figure in a dark forest,” he said. “And it’s risky. You never know when there’s a witness around that you didn’t see. Linder probably isn’t paying them enough money to take that chance.” He slipped his pen into his front pocket. “It’s also possible that Linder’s decided he wants you taken alive. Maybe use you as some kind of bargaining chip.”
A few more tears rolled down Ramona’s cheeks. She couldn’t stop them.
The sergeant reached for a box of tissues on a nearby end table and handed it to her. “We’re doing everything we can and using every available resource to find these thugs as quickly as possible.” He stood and began to walk toward the door.
Ramona followed him. He stopped at the small entryway. “I probably don’t have to say this, but don’t go anywhere alone.” He glanced toward her parents, who were now standing with their arms around one another. “It would be wise for her not to stay in the house alone, either.”
Ramona cringed inwardly at the thought of her parents having to take more time away from the diner. Anytime one of them was away, it meant someone else had to be paid to take their place. And while the diner was successful, they still had to keep a close eye on costs.
“We’
ll be here to help protect Ramona,” Cassie spoke up. So far, she and Leon had mostly sat quietly, sipping the coffee that Eric had given them.
Ramona was surprised by the bondswoman’s comment. She thought Cassie had come to listen to details about the case that could help in her pursuit of Darrin Linder. Which was perfectly reasonable. She hadn’t expected Cassie to offer her protection.
Bergman glanced at Cassie and nodded. “I’m glad to know you’ll be helping her. And I’m not surprised.” He said his goodbyes and left with the uniformed officer.
“I live on a horse ranch with husband-and-wife caretakers, Jay and Sherry Laughlin,” Cassie said after Bergman was gone. She shifted her gaze to include Ramona and her parents. “Jay used to be a cop until he got injured on the job. Sherry is a veterinary technician, which is helpful since the main focus of the ranch these days is boarding horses. My dad, Adam, also lives at the ranch. He founded Rock Solid Bail Bonds and worked there until a couple years ago when he retired—kind of. The truth is he can’t keep his hands out of the business. Somebody’s always around, so you wouldn’t have to worry about being alone, and all of us are armed and capable of providing some protection. Plus, the place has pretty good security due to the business I’m in. Please, come and stay with us.”
“I’ll be there, too,” Harry said quietly, moving so that he was standing beside Ramona.
Ramona looked at him and felt a familiar fluttering her in stomach when their gazes met. Later, when she was stronger, she would find a way to make that feeling stop.
“Maybe you should stay home,” Toni said. “In case you get sick again and need me to take care of you.”
“Sick?” Harry asked, looking ashen.
Ramona sighed. “I had pneumonia recently. A bad bout that took a few months to clear up. I have asthma, too, which might be why things got so bad so quickly. That’s the reason I had to move out of Jasmine’s condo and come back home. I couldn’t keep working to chip in money to help Jasmine with her mortgage payments. I figured that if I moved out, she’d find someone else to move in and help out. Plus, there was a stretch of time when I could barely get out of bed and I did need a lot of help. Sometimes exertion, like running, makes my lungs ache. But otherwise I’m healed up and fine, now.”