The part about the Harkers moving again was true, but they had no plans to change their names. If they had, they would hardly have gone on national television to show their faces.
However, I thought the risk that Protégée would see through that was worth the effort to make it seem to him that time was running out. If his parents were right, he intended to kill them. The only thing that had held him in check all these years was the fact that he knew he would be the number one suspect.
Now that he was already a known killer and wanted for murder, becoming a suspect no longer mattered one whit. Still, Darrell Harker couldn’t be sure that he could find them again if they began using aliases, and so, if he were going to kill them, he had to do it soon.
I was pacing in the Harkers’ darkened living room, while jacked up on caffeine and trying to stay alert. I’d been getting in catnaps during the daylight hours, but spent the nights listening to the darkness, as I waited for my trap to be sprung.
The Harkers had been shipped off to another location by Lawson, and although I was alone in the house, there was help nearby and just a phone call away. I didn’t plan on making any calls until the job was done and I had Protégée captured and cuffed.
I missed Ramón fiercely, although we talked at least once a day, but being apart from him physically was something we had done a lot of lately for one reason or another. I looked forward to things finally settling down, which they would do eventually if I could only get my hands on Protégée.
Speaking of hands, I had the cast removed from mine the day before I entered the house. I was flexing it in an effort to relieve some residual joint stiffness when I heard the faint scrape of a shoe come from outside a nearby window.
The home had motion detectors to go along with the bars, gates, and cameras, but Protégée must have by-passed them somehow and made it to the house undetected.
The bars were in place at the windows because we thought their sudden absence might signal that this was a trap. I stood and listened as I wondered how Protégée planned to gain entry to the home.
He had promised his parents that he would kill them in their sleep and so that meant the bedroom, which was upstairs. I was tiptoeing up the steps when I heard the WHOOSH! as flames instantly surrounded the home and lit the dark with a ghastly, flickering orange light.
It seemed Protégée had no plans to break into the home, not when he could kill them in their sleep by simply burning the house down around them.
I bolted back down the stairs and realized that the exterior of the house was already engulfed in flames. Whatever he had used as an accelerant was brutal in its efficiency. Within seconds, the carpet and drapes inside the home began to catch fire, as windows shattered from the intense heat of the blaze.
I ran back up the stairs and looked out through the bedroom window. Even the surrounding lawn was on fire, which meant that jumping to safety was not an option.
I was trapped in a home set ablaze by the man who killed my father. If I didn’t think of something quick, I would soon join his list of victims.
Chapter 12
I rushed back downstairs as a plan of escape formed in my mind. I had been gone for only seconds and already the smoke was thick, while flames engulfed the window curtains.
I sprinted for the kitchen, where I grabbed the keys hanging by the back door, a back door that was making crackling sounds like a log in a fireplace.
The keys were actually hot and burnt my palm, but I barely noticed as I ran back the way I had just come. What had my attention were the flames that filled the hallway I needed to travel through.
The walls on both sides of the hall had been decorated by small oil paintings depicting the French countryside. They had looked very nice; now fire traveled along those picture frames, and seemed to leap from one to the other.
I got down on my hands and knees and crawled as low as I could as I headed for a doorway in the middle of the hall, by the time I reached it, the heat was so intense that it felt as if my skin might begin to blister at any moment.
I reached up, turned the knob on the door, which was surprisingly cool to the touch, and then shoved the door open. The sudden burst of new air fed the flames and I could smell my hair burning. I lunged through the open doorway, tumbled headfirst down a flight of four wooden steps and lay on my back in the attached garage.
When I recalled the scent of my hair burning, I began to roll about, but the flames had already died. My hair is long, and when I examined it, I found that the ends had been seared by flames. Those same flames were spreading into the garage in an attempt to mingle with their brethren eating away at the garage door.
I gathered up the car keys I dropped when I’d fallen and looked for the one that would fit Mrs. Harker’s Subaru, which was the only car left in the garage.
As I opened the car door, I noticed the vehicle was coated with dust. Apparently, Dr. Harker did most of the driving. I put the key in the ignition and said a silent prayer before I turned it.
If the car didn’t start, I was dead.
I turned the key.
Nothing, not even a click from the battery, but then I saw it; the car’s gear shifter had been left in REVERSE. I jammed it into PARK, turned the key again, and yelped for joy as the engine came to life. Next, I tried to raise the garage door with the car’s remote. When nothing happened, I realized that the fire must have damaged some vital component, such as the wiring. I would just have to open the garage door the hard way.
I put the car in DRIVE, mashed the gas, and collided with the burning door. It bent outward but just barely, and so I backed up and did it all again. On the third try, the car pushed under the heavy door and strained to be free of it, as the windshield cracked and the roof buckled from the large door’s significant weight.
When I finally made it through, I drove in and out of a wall of flames and entered pure clean air. I then lowered the windows and took in deep gulps, as the anxious shouts of the Harkers’ neighbors drifted to me.
I gazed about for Protégée, and that’s when I noticed him staring at me with a gun raised to fire.
I ducked down, turned the wheel in his direction, and headed toward him across the grass. Two shots clunked uselessly into the car. When I peeked out over the dashboard, I saw that Protégée had turned to flee toward the back of the house.
He was fast for a big man, but the car was faster still. I clipped him with the fender just as he made it to the tree line at the rear of the property. The force of the impact should have broken his leg, but still he kept going, hobbling off into the woods.
I abandoned the car to follow on foot and Protégée turned to fire at me. However, he was well lit by the car’s headlights, and those same lights were blinding him. I fired twice before he could get off a round.
One bullet struck him in the hip, while the other hit him high up in the ribs. He was lying on his back, wincing at the agony of his wounds, when I yanked the gun from his hand.
I stared down at the man who had taken my father away, the man who had killed my daddy.
I saw a glint of recognition light Harkers’ eyes as he stared up at me.
“You’re the daughter, right, the daughter of that Texas Ranger?”
“His name was Blue Steele.”
“He was my first, and he never saw it coming.”
“That’s because he was there to help you, you son of a bitch!”
Harker made a cry of pain, then spoke in a breathless voice.
“Arrest me already, but first, get me an ambulance.”
I had planned to arrest him, I really had, or at least… that’s what I told myself.
I shot him first in the heart and then the head, and watched as he died. I felt no pleasure from it, but simply relief. It was over, it was finally all over and there would be no long drawn out trial, no endless appeals, and no more lingering anguish for my family.
I took out my phone. When Lawson answered, I could hear him sigh.
“Th
ose flames had me worried, Blue.”
“You’re here?”
“Nearby, and Protégée?”
“Dead.”
“We’ll be there in a few moments. Do you need medical attention?”
“No, but I do need to see my hairstylist.”
“If the local cops arrive before I get there, say nothing. This case falls under Homeland’s umbrella.”
“Just do the job and go home?”
“That’s right.”
“Thank you, Lawson. I think this was something I needed to do.”
“You’re welcome, and I will see you soon.”
I stayed to the trees and drifted up toward the front, making it there just as the fire engines arrived. The house was a total loss. If they didn’t act fast, the fire could spread to other homes by way of hot ash drifting upon the wind.
The police arrived just after the fire department and paid me no attention, but I did receive a few odd looks from some of the neighbors gathered to watch the flames.
When Lawson arrived in a black Town Car, there were three dark SUV’s with government plates following along behind him. Several men in suits jumped out of each vehicle and began flashing their credentials as they took over the scene.
I joined Lawson in the rear of the Town Car.
“Your arrival was impressive.”
“It’s meant to be; it discourages dissent from the local authorities.”
I let loose a sigh.
“I hope you don’t need me tomorrow, because I have a big day planned.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“No, I’ll just be tying up some loose ends.”
“Where to?”
“The airport, I need to get home.”
“We’ll take my jet; I have a meeting in Dallas tomorrow.”
“That works for me.”
Lawson wrinkled his nose.
“First, we’ll stop by your motel and give you time to shower and change.”
“I do stink of smoke, don’t I?”
“It was close back there, wasn’t it?”
“It’s always close, Lawson; the trick is to come out on top.”
He smiled at me. “You do the trick quite well.”
A short time later, we boarded the jet and settled in. If Lawson was hoping for conversation, he was disappointed. I slept all the way home, and it was the best sleep I’d had in weeks.
Epilogue
I had returned my crappy rental before leaving for Montana, and so I caught a cab from the airport and had it take me to the cemetery.
There was a stone bench near my daddy’s grave. I sat on it and gazed across at his tombstone, a tombstone that bore my name.
“Hey, Daddy.”
I talked to him then, telling him about my life, the struggles I’d been through, the happiness, the pain, the joys, and even the disappointments. I pledged to him that I would always look after Mama and Jenny and broke the news that he would soon be a grandfather. I also let him know that the baby would be named Blue.
Now, I don’t know if he heard a blessed word of what I said, but I do know that it brought a peace to my heart that I hadn’t felt in ages. When I left there, I was ready to move forward with my life.
After the cemetery, I had the cab drop me off at a local charity, where I arranged to have them come by my apartment and collect my furniture. It was all old stuff, and in the spirit of new beginnings I was getting rid of it. They didn’t seem too happy about the short notice, but said that they would be by later that day, likely around six p.m.
My next stop was home, where I called my hairstylist, Gloria, for an emergency appointment. She was able to fit me in that afternoon, which was perfect, because I could use the time in between.
I had ordered my new truck before leaving, and it had arrived at the dealership while I was away. The paperwork was already signed. All I needed to do was drive it away.
My apartment was about two miles from the truck dealership down the road and I decided to walk there rather than call a cab. The sun was up high by that point and the weather was beautiful. As I made the trek, I gave Ramón a call.
“Is it over?”
“It’s over.”
“How are you?”
“I’m good, better than I’ve been in a long time.”
“When are you coming home?”
“I’m in Fort Worth already; Lawson flew me back on his jet.”
“I want to see you.”
“Me too, but I’ve got errands to run, such as picking up my new truck.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“I’ll come by later, how does eight o’clock sound?”
“It sounds great, and I’ll grab some Massaman Curry from that Thai restaurant you like.”
“Yummy.”
“Blue?”
“Yes?”
“Are you staying overnight?”
I smiled. “Yes, I certainly hope to.”
“Good, I love you.”
“I love you too, Ramón, bye-bye.”
I left the dealership in a new Ford F350 pickup that cost more than I’d made most years. It was tuxedo black with a tan interior they liked to call adobe. It was fully loaded with everything under the sun.
I paid for it outright. I wanted to own it and not have to worry about payments.
My old self would have cringed at such an extravagant expense and measured the cost of it as a delay toward owning a ranch. My new self just reveled in the joy of driving the shiny new beast. I laughed aloud from the sheer pleasure of it.
Ron Tenney gave me a warm embrace as I entered his office. He hadn’t seen me since the incident with Dirk Ward.
He was surprised when I told him that I was quitting bounty hunting. When he asked me what I planned to do next, I showed him my federal credentials. He beamed with happiness.
“I’m proud of you Blue, and you know something, girl, Ruby would be proud of you too.”
Ruby Wheeler was the woman who had introduced me to bounty hunting and trained me.
“I hope she’d be proud; and thank you for saying that you are as well.”
Ron took me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes.
“You are the best bounty hunter I ever knew, and you’ll make a hell of an agent.”
“Thank you.”
“Now don’t you be a stranger and forget all about us, you hear?”
“I hear you, Ron, and thank you for all you’ve done for me over the years.”
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and he waved me out.
“Get going before you make me cry.”
“All right, and I’ll see you around.”
He said, “You’d better,” as he wiped a tear from his eye.
Next stop was the Lone Star Mall and my hair appointment.
Gloria broke the sad news to me, that to make my hair look right again she would need to cut off about four inches, those four inches were in addition to the singed ends I had already cut off.
I am very vain about my hair, but thankfully, it does grow quickly, so I told her to do what she thought was best. While she went to work on my hair, I also got a manicure and a pedicure.
Afterward, I went shopping and bought a new red dress and shoes with stiletto heels. It was a scandalously short and slutty dress, and I hoped that it would drive Ramón mad with lust.
As I looked at myself in the dressing room mirror, I found that I actually liked my new hairstyle, maybe I’d keep it shorter, after all, I was closing in on thirty.
I had just loaded the last box of my belongings in the back of my new truck when the guys from the charity arrived to pick up the furniture I was donating. As one of the men left carrying the final piece, he looked back inside the apartment.
“Lady, there’s nothing left.”
I smiled.
“That was the plan.”
Once they were gone, I showered again and put on my red dress. As I smoothed a wrinkle out of it, I noticed that my hand was s
haking.
I was nervous, and with good reason.
Ramón opened his front door, looked me over, and said one word.
“Wow!”
I giggled; it was exactly the reaction I had hoped for.
He pulled me inside and kissed me deeply. When we parted, I asked a question.
“Would you still like a roommate?”
His smile lit up the night.
“Oh absolutely!”
“I want to live with you, but I have one condition.”
“Yes?”
I placed my arms around his neck and stared into his eyes.
“Will you marry me?”
BLUE STEELE 5
BLUE STEELE – ON THE HUNT - Book 5 of the Blue Steele Series
Chapter 13
Six months after I asked Ramón to marry me, I found myself sitting alone in a bar, hoping to find a man to take back to my motel room.
I was in Port Byron, Illinois, of all places, a town of less than two-thousand people.
The tavern was nice and reminded me of a place we have back home. I was seated on a corner stool at the bar. In the three hours I’d been sitting there, four men walked over and offered to buy me a drink.
I told all four, “No,” and each time wondered why they didn’t just sit down beside me and tell the bartender to bring me a drink.
They were too timid, and as the saying goes, faint heart never won fair lady. And if I do say so myself, I was a fair lady.
I was dressed in a short green silk skirt with a black lace top that displayed an enticing view of cleavage, and my make-up was sexy, but not slutty. It was a Tuesday night and so the pub wasn’t exactly rocking. But then, in a town of two-thousand, how raucous can it get?
The bartender was very cute, but barely out of his teens and what I needed that night was a man. Still, the kid kept me well supplied in peanuts and only spoke to me once out of politeness.
Blue Steele Box Sets 2 Page 6