“What’s wrong?” Kelsey’s voice was barely a croak.
He gave her a sharp look. “We’ll be fine. It just means that we need to head to the closest airport.”
More panic gripped Kelsey. “What happened?”
Kade blew out a harsh breath. “They put a bullet in the gas tank. Rather than chance going over the mountains to Bisbee, we’ll land at the airport outside of Douglas, by the prison.”
Rivulets of water streamed down Kelsey’s face and her wet clothes clung to her body. His handgun dug into her hip, but she couldn’t pry her fingers from the seat cushion to take it out of her pocket. He radioed ahead and she berated herself for putting him in such danger by not getting away from the ranch as she’d promised.
When he approached the field by the prison, an air traffic controller informed him that for security reasons they wouldn’t be allowed to land and would have to go to the airport in Douglas. Kade argued that it was an emergency, but the controller insisted he take the plane to the next airport and that it would be prepared for the landing.
“What the hell?” he muttered. He cut a look to Kelsey and managed a small smile. “It’s a slow leak. We’ll make it.”
She tore her gaze from Kade’s and closed her eyes.
And prayed.
Chapter 33
Lightning flashed and the plane bounced with the turbulence. Kelsey gasped and Kade looked at her again. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her face ashen. He thought about the day he’d met the woman at his side. And now he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He could only hope that would be longer than it took to get the plane landed.
“It’s all right,” he said. “We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
She didn’t answer, and he wished he could take her in his arms and hold her tight.
Head pounding, he struggled to concentrate and control his clumsy hands. That bang on the head must have banged up his coordination, too. He forced himself to focus on the air traffic controller’s voice and the approaching landing strip. The blue runway lights blurred in the rain.
“I’m taking us down now. It might be a bit bumpy.” Kade tried to keep his voice calm and soothing. His hands were a little shaky from the concussion, but he wasn’t going to worry Kelsey with that. “We’ll be fine, honey.”
“I trust you,” she whispered, but when he glanced at her, he saw that her eyes were still closed.
Steady. Steady. Kade gritted his teeth and eased the plane down.
The nose dipped in the wind, and the plane pitched. Kelsey’s gasp was audible over the engine’s noise.
He swore under his breath, fighting the wheel more than he should have. Five hundred feet. Four hundred. Rain made visual impossible. He was flying on instruments, and on his gut instinct. Hopefully the concussion didn’t affect his instincts as much as it had affected his hands.
Two hundred feet.
One hundred.
The plane dropped hard, skittering. Kelsey screamed and grabbed her knees. He dragged hard on the brakes, his breath catching with each shimmy and bump until they rolled to a stop in front of the hangar.
Kade leaned back in-his seat, his muscles slack with relief. He looked at Kelsey’s pale face.
“Did—did we land?” she asked, eyes squeezed closed, lips trembling.
He squeezed her hand again. “We’re safe.”
She opened her eyes. Her breasts rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “Fm so sorry I put you through this. I should have listened to you and gone straight to Bisbee.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Kade hooked his forefinger under her chin. “Fm just glad we made it. Now let’s get out of here.” He grabbed Sal’s Glock from where it lay between the seats and tucked it into his waistband at his back.
Damn Sal. Kade’s lips drew so tight he was baring his teeth. How could he have been so blind that he’d never seen it coming?
After he helped Kelsey climb out of the plane, she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Rain poured down as he squeezed her to him and kissed her wet hair.
“Senor,” a man said behind them.
Kade released Kelsey and spun around. Instinct had him moving his hand close to the Glock.
“We have been expecting you.” Dressed in coveralls with the airport insignia, the man nodded toward the closest hangar. “Please come in out of the rain.”
Kade nodded, his head swimming with pain from his injury.
They followed the wiry man into the hangar, which was so dim he could barely see. Only a black truck was parked inside the building. Kade’s skin crawled.
Even as he reached for Sal’s handgun and tried to push Kelsey outside, something struck him in the small of his back. His breath knocked from him, he pitched forward and hit the floor.
“Kade!” Kelsey screamed.
A boot pressed into his back.
“Don’t move or I’ll have your reporter shot,” a familiar voice said as the man in coveralls frisked Kade, then took his Glock. The door of the hangar slammed shut, the only light coming from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Kade’s vision swam. He turned his head to the side—his blood ran cold as he saw the man in coveralls holding Kelsey by one arm, the barrel of an automatic to her temple.
“Get up, Owen,” Stevens ordered, a toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth. “Hands where I can see them. I’ve got this here gun pointed at your head. Don’t want to leave a mess.”
Heart pounding, Kade eased to his feet and faced Stevens. Dominguez stood about a foot away.
Kade’s eyes met Kelsey’s and he tried to tell her everything he wanted to say with that one look. Her lips parted, but she looked calmer, stronger than he’d expected. He tried to keep his face calm, but inside he was dying. One wrong move and Stevens could have her killed.
Kade fixed his gaze on Stevens. “How’d you track us?”
The rancher’s face was impassive. “Valenzuela let me know you’d gotten away. 1 called in a few favors and had you routed here, everything kept quiet. I pump a lot of money into this town.”
“What—” Kade fought for focus, his injury making it difficult to think clearly or even to speak. “What do you want with us?”
“Sorry, Owen. You should’ve turned in your resignation.” Stevens cocked his head toward where Dominguez held Kelsey. “She’ll come with me. For now.”
Rage filled Kade. Adrenaline pumped through his body, making his vision sharper. He had to keep Stevens talking. Find some way out of the mess they were in. “What kind of man smuggles people across the border and leaves them to die?”
Stevens’s tone was calm. “Payback for all the damage done to my property. Payback for the thousands of dollars I’ve lost. Might as well see some of the cash if they’re gonna be crossing my land.”
Kade gritted his teeth, then spoke. “You killed Pedro Rios, didn’t you?”
Stevens rolled his shoulders. “Rios revealed too much to the reporter. He might’ve spilled his guts to the wrong folks.”
Kade fought back a wave of nausea. “Don’t add another murder to your charges.”
A smile tugged at the rancher’s mouth. “I’ve been doing this for years, and with you gone nothing’ll change.”
Kade shook his head. “You’ve been under surveillance. Jose Hernandez, aka Gordo, a known coyote, has been seen going to and from your ranch. Your phone has been tapped, conversations recorded. It’s over.”
The smile faded from Stevens’s face. Kade’s heart thundered as Dominguez suddenly looked nervous and his hand started trembling, the weapon still pointed at Kelsey’s forehead. His eyes darted back and forth from Kade to Stevens.
Stevens worked the toothpick between his teeth as if chewing on what Kade had just said.
Kade lowered his hands. He glanced at Dominguez—the man’s attention was on Stevens.
“With a name like Bull, it wasn’t too sharp, allowing yourself to be called El Torero. A matador
,” Kade said. “And you left one of your toothpicks at the crime scene with Rios. A DNA test of the saliva on the pick’ll prove you were there.”
Stevens spit out his toothpick and gripped the automatic even tighter. “You’d better be shiftin’ me.”
It was what Kade had been waiting for—to get Dominguez’s attention completely off Kelsey.
Kade charged Dominguez, jamming his arm upward, away from Kelsey’s temple. He drove Dominguez back, back toward Stevens and the other handgun.
Stevens fired.
Pain exploded in Kade’s arm.
Dominguez slammed to the ground, striking his head. Hard.
Kelsey screamed.
A hot knife split Kade’s chest. He felt the bullet before he heard that second shot, and then—darkness.
***
“No!” Rage swept over Kelsey, fast and furious. She spun around. “You bastard.” With all the strength she possessed, Kelsey rammed her knee into Stevens’s groin.
Total shock crossed his features. The weapon toppled out of his hand and he dropped to his knees.
“Son of a bitch.” Kelsey reared back, and as Stevens tried to straighten, she kicked him in the balls again as hard as she could.
The man gasped and collapsed onto his side, curling into a fetal position, vomiting and whining.
Kelsey kicked Stevens’s handgun to the back of the hangar, well beyond his reach. Then she kicked Dominguez’s gun to the back of the hangar, near Stevens’s weapon.
She pulled Kade’s handgun from her front pocket and trained it on the rancher as she checked on the other man and saw that he was completely still—knocked out. She didn’t have the slightest idea how to use the weapon, but Stevens wouldn’t know that. She hoped.
Sirens approached as she ran to Kade and tried to keep the handgun pointed at Stevens. “Oh, God,” she sobbed when she saw blood pooling across Kade’s shirt and mixing with the mud covering his clothing. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t die. I love you, Kade. I love you so much.”
His eyelids fluttered and his hand clenched hers. “I know, honey.” A weak smile, then his face went slack and he passed out.
She caressed his stubbled cheeks, her lips trembling, hot tears spilling down her face. His skin was clammy. “Damn it, Kade. Don’t you dare die on me.”
Dominguez moaned beside Kade. She turned and saw that the rancher still writhed in pain on the floor. She held Kade’s gun with both hands, keeping it pointed toward Stevens. Her heart screamed for help as she looked from the vomiting Stevens back to the other man, now moving.
Sirens wailed and brakes screeched outside the hangar. She checked to see that both Stevens and Dominguez were still down, then threw Kade’s handgun to the back of the hangar near the others. She ran to the door and yanked it open and saw police cars and an ambulance crowding the runway.
“Help, please!” she cried to the first officer that approached her. “John Stevens shot Kade Owen. And there’s another man that held a gun on me. Kade knocked him out, but he’s coming around.”
Officers poured into the building and in moments had cuffed Stevens and Dominguez. When the building was secure, paramedics rushed in and started attending Kade.
Everything was a whirl of action, flashing lights, shouts, conversations, and her cascading emotions.
Kelsey turned to follow when Don Mitchell took her by the arm.
“How is he?” Don asked.
She blinked, for a second unable to process his question, then told him what had happened.
She started to shake. “There’s so much blood. He can’t die. He just can’t.”
Don patted Kelsey’s arm, then pulled her to him in an awkward hug and she sobbed against his shirt.
“Kade’s one tough hombre.” Don rubbed her back like an affectionate father. “He’ll come through.”
Unconsciously Kelsey clenched the fabric of his shirt—and felt something hard beneath it.
“His vest.” She looked up at Don, hope blossoming within her. “He was wearing a vest. I’m sure of it.” She broke out of the man’s embrace, turned, and ran into the hangar.
Kade was lying on the stretcher, his shirt and vest gaping open, the paramedics working on him. An enormous bruise covered the left side of his chest, below his heart.
“He did. He had on his vest.” Her voice quavered and she was dizzy with relief.
Don walked up behind her as one of the police officers came to Kelsey’s side. “Sure enough did.” The officer nodded toward Kade. “Saved his life.”
“But the blood.” Her knees weakened and she grabbed Don’s arm to keep from falling. “So much blood.”
“From the flesh wound to his arm,” the officer replied as Don pulled Kelsey against him and held her up. “He’s got a bunch of bruises and he’s lost blood, but other than that, the paramedics think he’ll be fine.”
Kelsey’s stomach roiled. She tore away from Don, ran outside, and vomited. Even after there was nothing left, dry heaves continued to rack her body.
Kelsey sprawled in a chair in the hospital’s waiting room, her hair drying but her clothing still damp from rain. She was cold and exhausted, but all she could think about was Kade.
She drew the blanket that a nurse had provided earlier around her shoulders, seeking warmth even though nothing would take away the chill of her fear for Kade.
“You need to let a doctor examine you,” Don said as he watched her.
“I’m fine.” Her stomach churned again as she inhaled the horrid antiseptic smells, but she was sure there was nothing left in her belly to throw up.
“You’re in shock.” Don stood and started pacing. “That’s why you’re vomiting and still shaking.”
Kelsey pulled the blanket tighter around her. She wasn’t about to tell Don the real reason she was throwing up. Maybe shock had something to do with it, but she was pretty sure it had a lot more to do with her pregnancy. Not to mention the hospital’s pea-green walls. They were ugly enough to make anyone puke.
“How did you know where we were?” Kelsey asked, trying to draw Don’s attention away from her and how she was feeling at the moment.
Don shrugged. “When Kade tore home after you, Sal followed. I’ve had a strange feeling about him lately, so I checked in with Miguel and found out that Sal never called for backup like he said he did. So Miguel called the Sheriff’s Department and also sent out the closest Border Patrol units. They arrived as Kade’s plane took off.”
Kelsey shuddered at the mention of the plane but only nodded. “Sal had just put down the cell phone when the agents and deputies surrounded him and the other two men. They were all arrested.” Don stared at a framed print of yellow gladiolas. “There was some confusion as to where Kade was landing, or we would’ve arrived sooner. We were misdirected to the wrong airport while you were told to land in Douglas.”
Don sat in a chair across from Kelsey as he asked, “When’s Kade’s family getting home?”
“Late tonight,” Kelsey said. “They have seats on the last flight out of San Francisco to Tucson.”
A silver-haired woman in a white lab coat came through the double doors into the waiting room and Kelsey sat up in her chair. “I’m Dr. Taylor,” the woman said. “Is either one of you a family member of Kade Owen?”
Before Kelsey could speak, Don said, “This is his fiancee, Kelsey Nichols. The rest of Kade’s family is out of town.”
Kelsey blushed as the doctor shook her hand with a firm grip but didn’t contradict Don. “How’s Kade?”
Dr. Taylor smiled. “He’ll be fine. He lost a lot of blood so we’re going to keep him here a couple of days and then he’ll be able to go home.”
Kelsey’s head spun and her stomach cramped. She was so relieved that she barely heard the doctor’s explanation of the extent of Kade’s injuries.
“May I see him?” she asked when the doctor finished.
Dr. Taylor nodded and indicated to Kelsey to follow her. “Only for a few minutes. He need
s his rest to help him recover more quickly.”
A humming noise filled her head as the doctor led her into Kade’s room. Her chest tightened when she saw how pale he was. Bandages were wrapped around his upper arm. Bruises covered one side of his face and his eyes were closed.
Her hand trembled as she caressed Kade’s cheek, his stubble rough to her fingertips. He opened his eyes and gave her a weak smile.
“Kelsey,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Shhh.” She touched his lips with her finger. “Get some rest, cow-boy.” She kissed him and watched him drift off to sleep.
Chapter 34
Kelsey pulled off her glasses and set them on the desk. She was so tired that the words had begun to blur across the screen.
After leaving Kade at the hospital last night, she hadn’t been able to sleep, too wired after the traumatic experience. Instead, she’d plunged into writing the story of yesterday’s fiasco and sent it off to her editor. She’d deal with the feature article later.
Theresa had sent Kelsey a quick e-mail, promising to call. She’d raved over the article, apparently ecstatic over Kelsey’s involvement in bringing down a notorious smuggler who just happened to be backing a candidate for U.S. Congress. But she’d also expressed her relief that Kelsey and Kade were both fine.
Of course Montano had called a press conference, claiming ignorance of Stevens’s activities. But the damage had been done, and it was possible that the mayor’s candidacy for Congress was in jeopardy.
Once she had returned from visiting Kade in the hospital that morning, Kelsey had thrown herself into her work and finished the last of the interviews by telephone. She had a bit more to do, but it could wait until tomorrow, when she could think clearly. As clearly as anyone who’d just been through what she and Kade had been through could.
It was now late afternoon and Kelsey was ready for a nap. She yawned and started to get up but stopped when her cell phone rang.
She looked at the caller display, then said, “Hey, Theresa,” as she put the phone to her ear.
“Girlfriend.” Theresa’s voice held excitement, as if she couldn’t wait to give Kelsey some kind of news. “I wanted to call you first thing this morning, but I was practically held hostage by the boss woman herself. Do you realize that you’re national news? Major U.S. media has picked up your story.”
Kade: Armed and Dangerous Page 24