Trouble with a Badge

by Delores Fossen

  That revved up her heartbeat even more, something she hadn’t thought possible. Had Levi seen something?

  Alexa tossed him the flashlight, and as Levi reached to catch it, she saw the movement.

  Too late for her to react.

  However, Levi reacted all right. He took aim, ready to fire, but he didn’t get the chance to do that. Alexa heard the thudding sound.

  Levi had fallen to the floor.

  * * *

  THE PAIN EXPLODED through Levi’s head, and he got another jolt of it when he fell. His vision blurred. Breath, vanished. But, mercy, he could feel, and it seemed as if every inch of him was hurting.

  What the hell had just happened?

  Because of the pain, it took him several moments to figure out that there’d been someone in the room, and that someone had bashed him on the head. The person didn’t stop there, however. He—and it was a man—knocked the gun from Levi’s hand and dragged him to his feet. In the same motion, he jammed a gun to his head.

  Levi didn’t get a look at the guy’s face, but he was big, and his attacker hooked his arm around Levi’s neck, squeezing hard so that it was next to impossible for him to regain his breath.

  “If you want to stay alive,” the man growled, his voice muffled, “you’ll do exactly as I say. And don’t you dare move a muscle or your girlfriend will get the first bullet. Your brother, the second.”

  Levi’s head was still pounding, making it hard to figure out much of anything, but it sounded as if the guy was wearing a gas mask. Which meant he was one of the hired guns and he’d likely used the smoke bomb as a ploy so he could sneak into the room and come after them.

  It’d worked.

  Now Levi had to figure out how to undo the damage. And kill this idiot who’d just threatened Alexa and Jericho.

  Jericho and Alexa reacted. They both aimed their guns at the goon, but there was no way they could shoot since the guy was using Levi as a human shield. Worse, they were literally out in the open where they could be shot. The only one who was behind cover was Mack, and Levi doubted the deputy was capable of making a shot even if he got the chance.

  Dexter might be able to help. Might. Of course, Dexter no doubt had his own problems trying to keep Tasha safe. That left backup, and it wouldn’t be long before Jax arrived. But it might take his brother a while to find them in the building. Plus, there was the problem of other gunmen. Levi knew there was at least one more, and Jax would have to get past him first.

  “Don’t come a step closer,” the man warned both Jericho and her. “He can live or die. Your choice. If you want him to live, put down your guns now.”

  The guy did ease up a little on the chokehold, and Levi gulped in several large breaths. Not a second too soon, either. He had been on the verge of losing consciousness.

  “Your fight’s with me,” Levi bargained. “Let the rest of them go.”

  “My fight’s not with you,” the guy argued. “And no way am I letting them go. As long as I have them in my sights, you’ll cooperate. Now, put down your guns.”

  Levi saw the debate Jericho was having with himself. No lawman wanted to surrender his weapon, but Levi also knew Jericho carried a backup in a slide holster. That was probably why Jericho finally dropped his primary gun.

  “Your turn,” the man said to her, and it was a warning. The edge to his voice let them all know he would indeed shoot.

  Alexa dropped hers, as well, but it fell only a few inches from her feet. No doubt so she could still get to it.

  “Cooperate with what?” Alexa asked him.

  Levi didn’t want her engaging this guy in conversation. He wanted her to dive behind that desk and try to get out of the path of any bullets this moron might send her way. Levi wanted Jericho to do the same, but his brother stayed put, shoulder to shoulder with Alexa.

  “My boss has one demand,” the gunman said. “He wants Tasha McKenna. Now, where the hell is she?”

  Tasha. Well, that said loads about who was behind this attack. Because only one of their suspects wanted Tasha.

  Scottie.

  “Scottie?” Levi called out. “Why don’t you get in here and speak for yourself?”

  It was a risk calling him out like that, but Levi hoped if Scottie was indeed in the building that his arrival would be just enough of a distraction that he could wrestle the gun away from this hired thug.

  “Scottie,” Alexa repeated. Not a shout. But it was obvious she’d come to the same conclusion as Levi—that Scottie had been the one behind these attacks.

  Well, maybe.

  It was possible Scottie was only involved in this one, and that meant Marcos and Lockwood could still be responsible for the others.

  Levi heard the sound of the footsteps. Not from the office where Jericho, Mack and Alexa were. These footsteps were to his right, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the man step into the doorway. Perhaps Scottie. Levi couldn’t tell because the guy was wearing a gas mask.

  Levi didn’t wait for him to come into the room. He rammed his elbow against the thug’s gut, breaking the man’s grip just enough so he could pivot, ram him again and get free. It worked.

  But not the way Levi had planned.

  The goon fired. Not at Levi. But the shot went into the office, directly at Alexa. Levi’s heart slammed against his ribs so hard that he nearly lost his breath again. Hell. That bullet couldn’t have hit her.

  Thankfully, it hadn’t.

  She lunged to the side in the nick of time, and Jericho went with her, moving in front of her so he could try to protect her.

  “You want her dead?” the goon asked, dragging Levi back into a chokehold. He also yanked off his gas mask.

  “Of course, he doesn’t,” the second man answered. “He’s crazy about Alexa, and that’s why he’ll tell us where Tasha is.”

  Definitely Scottie.

  He closed the door behind him and shucked off his gas mask, as well. There was still some smoke, but it was already clearing out. That was the good news. The bad news was that Scottie hadn’t cleared out with it.

  “Isn’t that right, Deputy Crockett?” Scottie continued. “You want to keep Alexa safe.”

  “Yeah. I want her safe,” Levi admitted. “My brother and Mack, too.”

  Levi didn’t mention Tasha and Dexter, but Scottie probably knew they were in the building somewhere. Of course, maybe Dexter had managed to escape with her. If he had, Scottie was not going to be a happy camper. He’d likely take that unhappiness out on Alexa, and no way would Levi let that happen.

  “You kidnapped Tasha,” Alexa said with way too much venom in her voice. It definitely wasn’t the tone of someone negotiating for her life.

  “Kidnapped is such an ugly word. I merely set up the opportunity for Tasha to realize how lucky she is to have me in her life.”

  Alexa opened her mouth, probably to return verbal fire, but Levi wanted to beat her to it. If someone was going to push Scottie’s buttons, Levi would be the one to do it so that Scottie would turn his vicious temper on him rather than Alexa.

  “Lucky?” Levi challenged. “You kidnapped Tasha and killed a woman to make us believe Tasha was dead. Murder’s such an ugly word, too.”

  Oh, that got a bad reaction, all right. Scottie stormed toward him, and judging from his tight sneer, he was ready to grab Levi and start punching.

  Which was exactly what Levi wanted. Because Levi would punch back—hard.

  “Boss, it’ll be better if I keep the gun to the deputy’s head,” the hired thug warned Scottie. “Last thing we need right now is a fistfight.”

  Scottie stopped in his tracks, but Levi could still see the struggle for him to rein in that temper. So, Levi decided to push a few more buttons.

  “Want to know some other ugly words?” Levi didn’t w
ait for Scottie to respond. “Endangering a baby. You put Tasha’s baby in danger when you came after Alexa and me.”

  The muscles in Scottie’s jaw stirred. “I needed the kid. It was the only way I could get Tasha to realize the three of us could be a family.”

  “It was the only way you could get her to cooperate,” Alexa spat out. She looked ready to launch herself at Scottie.

  Levi shot her a warning glance, which she probably would ignore, so he got to work again.

  “Did it feel good to hurt Tasha?” Levi asked him. “To have your thugs shoot her in the head with a dummy bullet?”

  “All necessary,” Scottie insisted. “I needed Alexa to believe Tasha was dead or she would have kept looking for her.”

  “I would have,” Alexa snapped.

  Scottie shrugged as if he’d made his point. “Now, all I need is Tasha and the kid, and I can make sure all of us have good lives. She’s my soul mate, and in time she’ll see that.”

  “Good lives?” Levi challenged. Time for more button pushing. “That’s Tasha’s blood on the floor in the hall. Your hired thug didn’t have a soft touch when it came to handling her.”

  Scottie made a sound—part surprise, part outrage—and his gaze flew to his thug. “You hurt Tasha?”

  The guy frantically shook his head. “No, boss. He’s lying. You said don’t hurt her, and we didn’t.”

  Scottie came toward him. Not in a rush. Each step seemed slow and calculated. Judging from his enraged expression, Scottie didn’t believe the man. Which was exactly what Levi wanted. Scottie was coming closer, and when he was within reach, Levi could grab him and put an end to this.

  But that didn’t happen.

  “Don’t shoot,” someone called out a split second before the door to Levi’s right opened. “It’s me, Tasha.”

  Hell. He hoped the woman wasn’t surrendering. Because if she was, Scottie would grab her and order his thugs to kill the rest of them. No way would Scottie leave this many witnesses behind.

  Scottie and Levi both turned, and Levi saw Tasha. Clearly shaken. Still bleeding. But she wasn’t alone. There was a man behind her, and he had a gun pointed right at her head.

  Lockwood.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alexa could have sworn her heart skipped several beats. She’d braced herself for another gunman to come crashing through the door, had braced herself also for the fight with Scottie.

  But she hadn’t expected to see Lockwood holding Tasha hostage.

  “Don’t let him kill me,” Tasha said.

  Though Alexa couldn’t see Scottie, she heard him, and Tasha’s words got him running past his thug and Levi. With his gun lifted, Scottie came running into the room, and he cursed when he saw Lockwood.

  “Let her go!” Scottie shouted. “I’ll kill everyone here if you don’t.”

  “Go ahead. Kill them,” Lockwood said. There wasn’t a shred of emotion in his voice, but his body language was sending a different signal.

  For one thing, Lockwood was bleeding, and it appeared he’d indeed been shot in his left side. He seemed steady enough, but he had to be in pain. Tasha, too. Her arm was no longer bleeding, the tourniquet had done its job, but the muscles in her face were tight.

  “Where’s Dexter?” Jericho asked, and he sounded as dangerous as he suddenly looked. An identical expression to Levi’s.

  “Your deputy’s fine,” Lockwood insisted. “He’s tied up and probably pissed off that I got the jump on him, but he’ll be okay.”

  “Prove it,” Levi insisted.

  Lockwood huffed. Or maybe it was a grimace. “Tell them you’re all right,” he called out.

  Several seconds crawled by. “I’m okay,” Dexter finally answered.

  The relief was instantaneous, cutting through some of the fear, but the fear returned with a vengeance when Scottie pointed his gun at Lockwood.

  “Let her go!” Scottie shouted.

  Clearly, he was losing it. Not that he had far to go to jump completely off the deep end, but Alexa didn’t want him to start a gunfight. Not with Tasha in the middle. Plus, that other thug still had his gun trained on Levi.

  “I killed your hired idiot,” Lockwood said, looking at Scottie. “That leaves us and idiot number two here.”

  “Johnny?” the thug called out. Likely the name of his partner who’d helped with this attack.

  Nothing. No answer, not even when the thug yelled for him again.

  “Told you he was dead,” Lockwood explained calmly. “I thought I’d thin the herd before I came in and told you how this is going to work.”

  “It’s going to work by you releasing Tasha,” Scottie barked.

  “I will. Eventually. You’ve probably noticed I’m bleeding. That means I’ll have some trouble driving off because idiot number one shot me before I could get him. That’s where you come in. You come with Tasha and me, and once I’m someplace safe, I’ll hand her over to you.”

  Oh, God. Lockwood was going to use Tasha to bargain for his own freedom.

  Maybe.

  Lockwood looked at her. Just a glance, but he also lifted his eyebrow. Was he trying to tell her something?

  “Do as he says, Scottie,” Tasha insisted. “You, me and Lockwood will leave now.”

  “No.” Alexa couldn’t say it fast enough, either. “If Lockwood doesn’t kill you, then Scottie eventually will.”

  “I’m not a killer,” Lockwood insisted. “But Scottie is. You want to tell the Crocketts how you paid to have Todd and that other woman murdered? Or how you showed up at the sheriff’s office to save Alexa from the poison only so you could watch your plan in action?”

  Scottie didn’t deny any of that, but it explained why those explosives hadn’t been lethal.

  “Or maybe they’re more interested in what you did to Marcos?” Lockwood added.

  With his gun still raised, Scottie went closer to Lockwood. “Marcos doesn’t matter. Give me Tasha.”

  Scottie also moved closer to Alexa and Jericho, too. If he came just another foot, she might be able to grab him and get him off balance.

  “But Marcos does matter,” Lockwood argued. “Go ahead. Tell Levi and Jericho what you did, and then you can leave with Tasha and me.”

  Scottie stood there, obviously seething. The anger boiling inside him. Maybe it would bring all of this to a head before Alexa could figure out how to stop it.

  “Marcos is dead,” Scottie said to no one in particular. “His lawyer, too. I thought it best if I didn’t have any witnesses to a phone call I got from my stupid employee to tell me that Todd had been shot. I wasn’t sure that Marcos actually heard it, but I couldn’t take the risk, could I?”

  Scottie looked at Jericho then. Smiled. “Good thing you didn’t have time to frisk me when I came running into the police station.”

  She wasn’t sure if his story was true, but if it was, Alexa might have cheered because Marcos was no longer a threat. But right now, the danger was greater than ever.

  “Let’s go with him,” Tasha repeated. And she glanced down at Alexa.

  Alexa didn’t see surrender in her friend’s eyes. No. This was something else. The same thing she was seeing in Lockwood’s.

  Determination to get out of this alive.

  This was perhaps a plan to get Scottie out of there so Jericho and Levi could deal with the hired gun. But if that was true, this plan had failure written all over it. Lockwood and Tasha were both hurt, and Scottie might be able to overpower them. If not alone, then he could have another hired gun waiting outside to do that. Tasha could be going from the frying pan right into a deadly fire.

  Alexa looked at Mack to make sure he was okay. He was still behind cover. Then she looked at Levi, their gazes connecting. A dozen things passed between them, but she got hi
s silent message. He didn’t want her doing anything stupid or dangerous, but that might be the only two options they had left. She gave him a silent message, too. With that gun to his head, she didn’t want him moving or trying to fight his way out of this.

  Not yet.

  But she prayed they’d get an opportunity for that soon.

  After all, if Scottie did leave with Tasha and Lockwood, then the hired gun could just start firing. Levi would be his nearest target.

  Jericho leaned into Alexa just a little, and she saw him move his hand to the back of his jeans. He was going for his backup weapon, and she needed to do something to make sure Scottie or his man didn’t see what was happening and shoot him.

  “Tasha, do you really want to do this?” Alexa asked.

  Tasha nodded. “It’s the only way. If and when you find Violet, take care of her for me.”

  Scottie jumped right on that. “If? There’s no if in this. Alexa knows exactly where the baby is because with the help of the Crocketts they hid her from me. That’s why Alexa should come with us.”

  “No,” Levi snarled. “Alexa doesn’t know where the baby is. None of us do. We wanted it that way so that nothing would be leaked in case someone managed to tap the phones.”

  Scottie glanced at all of them. Alexa, Jericho, Levi and then Tasha. It was the truth, and Scottie must have sensed that because he cursed and glared at them. “I’ll find her. So help me God, I’ll find her.”

  Not that any of them had a say in it. Alexa didn’t want this monster anywhere near Violet.

  Scottie turned his glare back on Lockwood. “You could just kill me if I go with you,” Scottie said.

  “I could. But I’m the one holding all the cards here. Or rather the only card that counts for you—Tasha.” Lockwood tipped his head toward the hall behind him. “Now let’s get moving.”

  Scottie didn’t budge even when Lockwood and Tasha took a step back. “If you walk away from this and leave Tasha with me, I’ll tell you the name of the Moonlight Strangler. You’ll finally be able to catch him.”

  Alexa wasn’t sure who looked more surprised by that offer. Lockwood, Tasha or her. But Lockwood stopped moving, and his surprise turned to interest.