But that didn’t mean the guy wouldn’t be waiting for them at the bottom.
Kay leaned close. “What’s wrong?”
When the mob knocked an older woman into Kay, jostling Kaleb, he whimpered. Kay helped support the lady until she got her footing. Kaleb began crying.
“I’m so sorry. Is he all right?” the stranger asked.
“Yes, just surprised.” Kay used her body to shield the fragile woman until a large man plunged through the multitude.
“Grandma, you okay?”
“Thanks to her.” The lady nodded toward Kay, then latched onto her grandson, who took Kay’s position of guarding his grandmother.
Drake glanced at Kay, who immediately returned her focus on Kaleb. “We’re almost to the bottom. If you have to, hold on to the back of my jacket.”
On the first floor, even more people crammed the small space, all trying to get through the single exit to the outside. Screams and shouts filled the stairwell. Drake veered in the direction of the door into the hospital. He felt the tug on his jacket as Kay battled to stay right behind him.
The hard part was wedging himself through the entrance while others wanted out. He received glares and frowns, but he kept going, trying not to get caught up in the raging river of people determined to escape. He grasped Kay’s hand and sidestepped through the throng. When he burst free of the human plug at the door, he pulled Kay to him, then kept going in the direction of the security office, where Pierce was waiting to help with the plan that they had come up with earlier to get Kay and Kaleb out of the hospital—Drake hoped undetected.
Pierce stood by the door, a flashlight in his hand. “No use staring at blank TV screens.” He started toward the back of the building. A few stragglers passed them in the hall. Dallas kept his attention on them while Drake concentrated on who was in front of them.
“The hearse is parked at the loading bay. Some patients are being moved to safety from there, so it will be hectic.” Pierce stopped at the entrance to the morgue while Drake took Kay and Kaleb into the room.
Kay stared at the gurney with a black body bag on it. “Did I tell you I think I’m claustrophobic?”
“No, but if someone is watching the exits, they won’t be sure you and Kaleb are in the bag. It’ll give you two a better chance to get away without anyone trailing us. It’s your choice.”
She turned her back on Drake so he could assist her with getting out of the baby sling. Then while Drake held Kaleb, she climbed onto the stainless-steel table. Kaleb didn’t take his gaze off Kay. As she lay down, his mouth screwed up in a frown. He let out a cry.
Kay opened her arms, and Drake nestled Kaleb against her side. “I’ll leave the very top unzipped. When you’re in the hearse and away from the hospital, the driver will tell you and you can open it farther.”
“Okay.” She rose and leaned over to kiss Kaleb on the forehead. “We’re gonna be all right, sweetie.”
Drake wanted to kiss Kay, but he had to shove that thought away. There was no place for emotions right now. He would see her soon—he prayed.
As he zipped up the body bag, the last thing he saw was Kay’s large dark brown eyes. A police officer dressed as an orderly wheeled the gurney out of the morgue. Pierce followed them at a distance while Drake and Dallas went back to the security room and knocked on the door. A female Texas Ranger, dressed like Kay with a light brown wig on, opened the door.
“Ready?” Drake asked.
She nodded, grabbed a large blanket-wrapped doll and held it against her. “Yes.”
Dallas chuckled. “Abbey, I never thought you would be holding a baby.”
She shot him a withering look, then took dark sunglasses and a baseball cap from Dallas. “It’s just a prop, like these are. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to the real thing.”
Drake shook his head and strode toward an exit near the front by the visitors’ parking lot. Abbey kept the fake baby up close to her face. If Soto was after his son, he wouldn’t risk shooting her while she held “Kaleb” like that.
When Drake reached the SUV he would be using, he huddled close to Abbey as she slipped into the back seat of the car with dark tinted windows. The stench of smoke drifted on the light breeze. As he rounded the front, he panned the area for any sign of Soto or his thugs.
Dallas came around the other side and climbed in behind Drake in the driver’s seat. He started the car, headed to the street and pulled out into traffic. The vicinity around the hospital was blocked off while firefighters and police swarmed the building.
As Drake drove away from the chaotic scene, he centered his attention on the traffic in front and to the left of the SUV while Dallas did behind and to the right.
Three blocks away, Dallas said, “There’s a white van behind us. It’s been there since the hospital.”
Drake made a sudden sharp left at a yellow light, then a hundred yards away took another left, then a right.
“It’s gone.” Dallas paused. “No, wait it’s still back there, and another car is behind the van. They may be together.”
“It’s time we make our stand.” Drake followed a series of turns, pushing the speed limit as much as he could. “We’re almost at our destination.”
“Both the car and van are still on our tail.”
Drake spied the row of warehouses ahead. The abandoned one at the end was where they would make their stand against Soto and his cohorts. Several DEA agents were waiting inside.
From the other end of the warehouses, a black pickup drove toward Drake. A third vehicle? He couldn’t take the chance. He spied an opening up ahead and raced to make it.
He made a hard right and ran into a dead end. He slammed on the brakes, and the SUV fishtailed, the building only feet from them. Drake turned the wheel so the side of the car would be facing their pursuers, missing the barrier by a few inches.
The van came around the corner first and stopped while the vehicle behind it blocked off their escape.
“Get out!” Drake scrambled from the SUV, grabbing his rifle as backup.
Abbey, minus her disguise and baby, did the same with Dallas right behind her.
Trapped, Drake positioned himself behind the front tire, using the hood as cover.
*
As the police officer wheeled Kay and Kaleb to the loading dock, she felt sealed tightly in the body bag. When the gurney went through the double doors and down what must be a ramp, only one small opening let dim light into the bag. She could barely make out Kaleb in the crook of her arm, quiet for the moment. Added to the trapped feeling, alarms and sirens bombarded her. The dark cocoon seemed to calm the baby, even as her heart beat at a maddeningly fast rate. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she dragged in sips of stale air.
Who had lain in this bag before her?
The question sent her mind toward a full-fledged panic.
She couldn’t let that happen. She quickly centered her thoughts on Drake. He and Dallas had set up a decoy to entice anyone looking for her to follow. If the plan worked, Soto and his men could be captured shortly.
She needed the nightmare to end.
Suddenly the gurney was lifted and shoved into what must be the hearse on its way to a funeral home. The jostling roused Kaleb.
He moved, babbling.
“Shh, Kaleb.”
“Mama,” he said, clearer than ever before.
The word brought tears to her eyes. Kassandra was gone.
The back door to the hearse slammed shut. Kay rolled partially onto her side and cuddled Kaleb against her. “I’m here, Kaleb.” She lowered her head within the confining bag and kissed the top of his head. “I love you. We’re going to be all right.”
The sound of another door closing and the engine starting was her signal she could lower the zipper a little more to let fresh air inside. She did, then stroked Kaleb. “See, we’re out of the hospital and safe.”
His hand reached up and explored the contours of her face, as if Kaleb were reassuring him
self that his mama was with him. She’d loved being a twin, but in this moment, she was even more grateful. The sight of her would give Kaleb stability in a world gone mad—much like Drake had been a comfort to her when she didn’t even know who she was.
As the hearse drove away from the hospital, there was a lot of stop and go until they were blocks away from the commotion. The funeral home was on the other side of El Paso, according to Drake a thirty-minute ride. It didn’t take Kaleb long to fall asleep again. Soon, with the smooth ride, fresh air and light around her, Kay couldn’t fight the heaviness of her own eyelids. They slid closed, and she relaxed for the first time today.
The sound of a door closing dragged her awake, followed by two male voices, talking quietly. Kay lifted her head to peek out the dark window at where they were. A white brick building dominated the scenery. Not far away another hearse was parked.
Then her gaze latched on the two men talking—one was the driver and the other Texas Ranger Pierce. Their frowns and furrowed brows warned her something had gone wrong with the plan.
*
After placing a call to Pierce, Drake rose and pulled the trigger, then ducked back down. A shot struck the wall behind him. There were at least six assailants. The DEA agents were only two warehouses away. Even with the sounds from the gunfire, he had Pierce call and let them know they were trapped in a dead-end alley. With the SUV the only barrier between them and Soto’s men, he didn’t know how long they could last. Their vehicle was riddled with bullets, and behind them was a brick wall with one door, bolted, in it. Even if they could get inside, in order to make it to the entrance, they would have to run two or three yards in the open.
When two guys climbed into the truck and backed away, Drake fired repeatedly at the truck’s windshield, which shattered. But he missed both of the assailants, and they left the scene. A barrage of bullets from the remaining four kept them pinned down.
Why did they leave? To get more help?
Drake glanced over his shoulder and saw a window on the second floor above the door. Were the two men moving around front and breaking into the warehouse so they could come up behind them? A plan began to form in his mind. He wouldn’t let them be ambushed that way. Besides, if he could get into the warehouse, he could use the window for a better shooting advantage.
“Abbey. Dallas.” Drake spoke low, hoping to get his partners’ attention without letting their attackers know.
Abbey turned toward him. “I’m running out of ammo.”
When Dallas looked their way, Drake quickly told them his plan to make it to the door, open it and get inside before being shot. “I need you both to shoot at the four remaining guys at the same time.”
“Three now. I just shot one.” Dallas changed the clip in his gun.
“Good. Better odds.” Drake told them about his suspicions concerning the two men who’d left. “After I shoot the lock, I’m going to make a break for the door. Just keep them pinned down for thirty seconds.”
Drake swiveled around and aimed for the door’s lock. It burst apart and fell to the asphalt. While Dallas and Abbey fired, Drake dashed toward the back of the building. When he reached the entrance and jerked it open, a bullet struck a brick inches from him. He dived inside.
Drake quickly moved through the small warehouse’s first floor, then hurried up the stairs and found the window that overlooked the dead-end alley. He cranked it open, steadied his rifle on the sill and targeted one of the assailants near the front of the van. The bullet hit his right shoulder, and the guy went down. He quickly searched for another vulnerable attacker and sighted him in his scope, but before he could fire his weapon, three cars converged on the scene.
*
Kay wiggled free of the body bag and knocked on the hearse window to get Pierce’s attention. He turned toward her, said something to the police officer, then came to the vehicle and opened the back door.
“What happened?” Kay asked before he could say anything.
“Got a call from Drake. They’re pinned down in a dead-end alley with six attackers shooting at them.”
Too many people had already died. “Then we’ve got to help them.”
“Backup is on the way to them. The one thing he wanted me to do is get you to the safe house and protect you.”
“You think they followed both vehicles?” She picked up Kaleb and held him close.
“No, but we have to act as though that’s possible. The police officer will stay here and let me know if anyone comes. But right now, our concern is your safety.” Pierce offered her his hand and helped her from the hearse. She reached in and grabbed her backpack with their belongings that had been in the body bag.
She climbed into the back of the Texas Ranger’s vehicle with Kaleb. Pierce drove away from the funeral home while Kay crouched behind the driver’s seat with her nephew in her arms.
“Who knows where the safe house is?”
“Only four Texas Rangers—me, Dallas, Drake and Flynn Winchester. He’s there now to make sure the place hasn’t been compromised.”
“Compromised? You think Alejandro knows about it?”
“Since we didn’t even decide on the exact location until an hour ago, not likely. Flynn has been posted there since we implemented the escape. No one in any other law enforcement agency knows. The fewer the better.”
Lord, please protect Drake and the others. I wish I could do more, but it’s in Your hands now.
*
The DEA agents swarmed the alley, turning the tables on the assailants. Dallas and Abbey moved in from one side while Drake covered them from the second-floor window. He took down another thug before the last two surrendered. When the scene was secured, he rushed downstairs, keeping alert in case the two that had driven away returned.
Outside, Abbey worked with the DEA agents to take the assailants in while Drake and Dallas climbed into the bullet-riddled SUV.
“I hope this car makes it to the garage,” Drake muttered as he steered the vehicle through the narrow opening at the end of the alley.
Once clear of the area, Drake called Pierce and told him what happened. “There are two assailants in a black truck that left. I couldn’t tell if Soto was one of them. Have someone check the traffic cams in this area for around eleven thirty to see if they can pick it up. After getting a new vehicle, we’ll be coming to the safe house.”
“We’re almost there, and I haven’t seen anyone tailing us. See you soon.” Pierce disconnected.
“Soto is still out there. I feel like we’re back to square one.” Drake slanted a look at Dallas.
His partner frowned. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“I agree. We were supposed to be leading them into a trap. But instead, we ended up trapped in that dead-end alley.”
“It’s like they knew what we had planned. We only devised that plan this morning, since there was a good chance Kaleb would be released today.” Their conversation had been between Dallas, him and Kay. Then he’d called Pierce on his cell phone and told him to make the arrangement. The DEA agents hadn’t been dispatched earlier than planned until the transformer went. “They had to have time to put their end together. We need to have Kaleb’s hospital room checked for a bug.”
“The only people allowed into the room were a couple of nurses and the doctor.”
“I hope I’m wrong, but we need to know one way or another.”
Dallas withdrew his cell phone. “I’ll call Abbey and have her get to the hospital right away and check the room for bugs.”
“The one thing we didn’t talk about in the room was where the safe house was located.”
Dallas placed a call to Abbey and arranged for her to inspect the room.
“If she doesn’t find anything, that doesn’t mean someone didn’t bug the place. In the middle of the evacuation and all the confusion, the person could have come back into the room and removed it. Soto got the information he needed to set a trap.”
“I wish we knew more a
bout Soto. Has Kay remembered anything besides that he killed her sister?”
Drake shook his head. “Not about Soto. Just memories from her past.”
“Something made her hide in her sister’s bedroom when Soto came inside.”
“Yes, I think she’s blocking another memory. When she talks about him, her voice is full of fear.”
After leaving the SUV and picking up a four-wheel-drive Jeep, Drake headed for the safe house. The last time he’d talked with Pierce five minutes ago, everything was fine. They had arrived with no incident and the place was secured.
He needed to see Kay, hold her and reassure her he would be there for her. The more he discovered about Soto, the more troubled he was. Men like Soto who didn’t value a human being’s life were the same as the ones he’d encountered in the human trafficking market. All they wanted was money and power. People didn’t matter.
Halfway to the new safe house, Drake’s cell phone rang, and he answered the call from Abbey. “Was there a listening device in Kaleb’s hospital room?”
“No, but I got a list of the people who went into the room while Kaleb was there. I’m tracking down the ones who were here today. I’m going to do some digging into those first. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks. We’re almost to the safe house.” Drake ended the call and told Dallas what Abbey said.
“If there wasn’t a bug, then how did they know to set up an ambush at the warehouse?”
“Good question. There still could be the possibility that a bug was in the room until the evacuation.” Drake turned into a driveway and parked in front of the garage next to Pierce’s SUV, then grabbed his duffel bag. The beauty of this place was a glassed-in turret that gave a 360-degree view of the area, coupled with a top-notch security system.
Pierce opened the door before Drake could ring the bell. “Kay finally got Kaleb down for a nap.”
Lone Star Christmas Rescue Page 16