Protect and Serve: Soldiers, SEALs and Cops: Contemporary Heroes from NY Times and USA Today and other bestselling authors

by J. M. Madden

  “It’s going to be okay, buddy. Just hang with me.” He desperately searched for the source. Mutt must have caught himself on something, maybe caught himself on a jagged part of the fence. But there were no jagged parts of the fence. Cage and Nick had made repairs to it less than two weeks ago.

  The fall weather no longer felt refreshing. Humidity seemed to gather around him, feeding off Cage’s panic. Mutt opened his eyes and looked into Cage’s. His fragile whine made Cage’s throat tighten. “What happened to you?”

  As if he wanted to answer, Mutt’s mouth slacked open, his hot breath smelling of decay. Cage needed to stop the bleeding, but he couldn’t do that if he couldn’t locate the wound. Trying not to cause the dog any more suffering, he dragged his fingers slowly over the coarse fur, searching.

  His insides froze. On Mutt’s left hip, a hole nearly large enough for Cage to jam his index finger into.

  A bullet hole.

  Cage’s mind raced. Jaymee no longer had enemies in town. Neither did Nick. And in Cage’s experience, a person who shot an animal had little value for anyone’s life–including his own. Most criminals ran from fear of a dog, worried about being bitten or exposed. But a person who stood and fired at an innocent animal had a cold heart. Reasoning with such a person could be impossible.

  He immediately grabbed his phone and dialed Gina’s number. “Gina, I need help at Magnolia House. Jaymee’s dog's been shot and I'm afraid she and Nick are trapped in there with a madman.”

  Cage’s captain didn’t hesitate. “I heard about the report of shots fired. Are Roselea PD anywhere in sight?”

  Cage tried to slow Mutt’s bleeding with his hand. “Not that I’ve seen. And the dog can’t be missed if you’re walking to the front door. Roselea PD never came by.”

  “Big surprise there.” Gina’s voice was as hard as ice. “You sit tight and wait for backup. I’m on my way.”

  Cage grumbled his agreement. Approaching the house without backup was a rookie mistake. But he couldn’t sit around and do nothing while Mutt bled to death. Cage yanked his shirt over his head and wrapped it tightly around the dog in hopes of slowing the bleeding. Mutt cried out in pain, which Cage took as a good sign. Maybe he wasn’t paralyzed. The hip shot could mean the internal organs were missed, but Cage had no idea what sort of bullet had been used. No exit wound meant Mutt could have serious internal bleeding.

  His hands soaked with Mutt’s blood, Cage again reached for his phone. This time of day meant after hours for the vet, and he’d have to come from the south end of Natchez. Mutt didn’t have the minutes to waste. The captain would have Cage’s head, but he couldn’t sit here and let the dog die. He thumbed through his contacts until he found the private number of one of the EMTs he knew at Roselea General.

  “I need a huge favor.”

  The EMT listened as Cage gave the address and then promised to call the vet. “You know you’re probably going to get billed for this.”

  “I’ll deal with it.” Still applying pressure to the wound and trying to keep Mutt calm, Cage looked at the big house–a giant tomb. The cars in the driveway. Mutt lying there, bleeding to death, with no sign of Jaymee.

  Worst-case scenarios overwhelmed him. Jaymee would have fought for this dog. Cage rocked on his heels, fighting the urge to barrel forward. Leaving Mutt likely ensured his death. Jaymee would never forgive him for abandoning the dog to die. Yet every cop instinct he possessed told him something very bad was going on in the big, silent house.

  Cage tried Jaymee’s cell again. No answer. He tried again, his knees throbbing from being in the same position too long. His mouth felt swollen and dry as if he’d been stung by a hornet. Were his friends lying dead inside? Had Cage come too late?

  He thought of his sister’s body on the slab in the morgue, having to identify her. He couldn’t go through that again.

  He called again, and a man’s voice Cage didn’t recognize slithered over the phone. “We’re busy here.”

  “Who’s this?” He stared at the house, searching every window. Magnolia seemed to blur and swell into a grotesque blob, as if the pillars and shutters and numerous windows had turned the house into its own entity. Cage wiped the stinging sweat from his eyes, his vision focusing. The family area curtains opened a fraction, revealing a dark streak. As though the house had gone blank.

  “No one for you to worry about,” the man said. “I’m dealing with the problem.”

  “And what is the problem?” Cage tried to remember the hostage training he’d taken in Jackson several months ago. It had been cursory at best–a one-day event that catered more to meeting policy than about how to actually handle a real-life situation. “Do you know what happened to the dog?”

  “He got in the way,” the man said. “I don’t like being told I need to leave before I’m ready. Me and the lady of the house had some words. She seems to think my teaching my wife a lesson isn’t right. But she learned hers, didn’t she?”

  Jaymee.

  Where was Nick? He wouldn’t have stood by while someone was attacked, especially Jaymee.

  “Can I please talk to Nick or Jaymee?”

  “When I’m finished here,” the man said.

  The call ended, and Mutt’s cool body convulsed.

  THREE

  The ambulance screamed up the driveway. The EMTs didn’t say a word as they began treating the dog. Cage staggered to his feet, checking his watch. Gina would arrive shortly, but until then Cage had to keep his wits. He’d dealt with bad situations before. This one was no different. He had to compartmentalize, forget who the people inside the house were. Emotional attachment caused bad decision-making.

  “There’s a hostage situation in the house,” he said to the nearest EMT. “You need to load the dog and get him to the vet.” The young medic jerked a nod, her eyes still focused on her work as she prepared Mutt for transport. The tips of her ears had gone red, the cords in her neck strained. “Right,” Cage said. “Sooner you guys get out of here, the better.”

  Jaymee’s number flashed across his phone again. “Hello?” Cage prayed the man had come to his senses.

  “What the hell’s going on out there?”

  “I just called the ambulance to come get the dog.” He needed to appear neutral. Non-threatening. “No one’s going to come toward the house.”

  “They better stay the hell back.” A beep and then silence that made Cage’s heart sink. He just wanted to get Jaymee and Nick and anyone else trapped inside to safety.

  Cage weighed his options. The Adams County Sheriff didn’t have a trained negotiator. Most standoffs involved domestic disputes or drug deals gone bad. No one expected a picture-perfect historical town in sleepy, southern Mississippi to have a serious hostage situation. Most of the specialty teams were out of Jackson. Two hours away. Both the Roselea Police Department and the sheriff’s department were short staffed and stretched thin for the weekend. He and Gina would have to handle this one without much support.

  The EMTs finished loading Mutt. The medic turned to Cage. She looked him up and down, still blushing. “We’re heading out.”

  Another choking sensation gripped him. He hurried to the ambulance door, reaching in to scratch the dog’s muzzle. An oxygen mask had been fixed to it. “Hang in there, Mutt. Jaymee needs her boy to spoil.”

  After another glance at him, the medic slammed the back doors. The ambulance hurried down the drive just as Gina’s Jeep barrelled up. She swung into the grass to avoid them and then jerked to a halt. Her usually severe expression appeared even tighter as she stepped out of the car. Her short stature never prevented her from intimidating every one of her investigators, including Cage.

  “You called an ambulance and spent city dollars on a dog?” She tried to keep the displeasure in her tone, but he knew she was just playing her role.

  “I had to give him a chance,” he said. “Bill me if you have to.”

  Ironwood’s servants’ quarters might have to wait for their renovations. Da
ni would understand. She’d have done the same thing for Mutt.

  Gina scowled. “Watch your mail.” She glared up the house. “Do we have any idea who this is?”

  “Dani was here earlier.” He tried to control the shivers tearing through him. She and the baby had barely escaped the hell their friends were currently in. “She said a guest and his wife were causing trouble, a lot of fighting. Jaymee regretted letting them stay a few days longer. The guy I talked to said the lady of the house wanted him to leave before he was ready. It’s got to be the same guy.”

  “We need to find out what the situation is inside,” Gina said. “I’ve got backup on the way, but you know we’re short-staffed. Too many deputies on vacation, and the big Labor Day Festival in Natchez is going strong. Plus a domestic dispute that’s taking up too many damned bodies.” She continued to gaze at Magnolia. “I don’t know how we’re going to get eyes inside without this guy seeing us.”

  Before Roselea had built up around Magnolia House, its position at the top of a small hill had once provided the landowner the perfect view of his slaves and his fields. Now it gave their hostage-taker a dangerous advantage.

  “Let me do it,” Cage said. “I know my way around the property and the house.” He jerked his head toward Jaymee’s vegetable garden at the bottom of the hill. “The magnolia trees block the view of the garden from the house. You can’t even see it from upstairs. I’ll cut behind it, and then I can sneak up around the trees.”

  Gina rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s risky. If he sees you, he could do something stupid.”

  “We can’t just stand here,” Cage said. “If we know how many hostages, that’s a start. And I might be able to get a better handle on his state of mind.”

  Gina didn’t take long to make her decision. As if she had any other options. “Call Dani first and get a description of this pain-in-the-ass guest. See if she remembers a name.”

  He didn’t want to make the call. Dani didn’t need any more stress with Emma just ten days out of the hospital. He pictured her sitting in Ironwood’s screened-in porch, holding Emma and waiting for him. But he didn’t have a choice. She could handle it.

  She answered immediately. “I thought you’d be home by now.” Dani’s voice had a nervous edge, as if she somehow knew this call meant more than the bad news of Cage’s working late.

  “A call came in just before I left.” Cage didn’t have the time to ease Dani into this, and coddling her would just piss her off. “Someone shot Mutt. The shooter’s holed up inside the house. I think Jaymee and Nick are in there too.”

  Dani gasped, and Emma’s wail carried through the phone. “Shh, it’s okay. She’s having trouble going to sleep. Mutt, is he–”

  “He’s alive right now. Headed to the vet. I called the ambulance, so we might end up with a bill.”

  “I don’t care,” Dani said. “You’re sure the guy’s still inside the house?”

  “He answered Jaymee’s cell phone and said he’d had trouble with the lady of the house. He’d been told to leave.”

  “Oh my God.” Anger overshadowed the tone of Dani’s fear. “That jerk and his wife.”

  “I need you to tell me everything you remember,” Cage said. “Did you see him? Do you know what room he’s in?”

  “Three,” Dani said. “Jaymee told me he requested it because it was his favorite number. He’s odd, besides his temper. It sounds like he’s got some kind of OCD. Rituals at dinner, stuff like that. I never saw him. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” Cage said. “And they’re the only guests still staying, right?”

  “Yes,” Dani said. “The wife wanted to leave, but he didn’t. He nagged at Jaymee until she gave him an extra two days. That’s the word she used, ‘nagged.’”

  “What about the wife? Did you see her?”

  “Only briefly, when Emma and I first got to Magnolia this morning. She’s got long, dark hair. Really thick and wavy. That’s what I noticed.” Her usual pragmatic attitude had taken over, and her calm voice helped Cage think more clearly.

  “Good,” Cage said. “They were fighting?”

  “She’d come downstairs to get a stain remover,” Dani said. “Her husband had accidentally knocked a glass of something onto the rug in their room. Jaymee was pissed.” Dani’s voice hitched. “She said she was going to tell them to leave and refund the guy’s money after we left.”

  “And you left early because the couple was fighting upstairs?” Cage asked. Like most old houses, Magnolia had plenty of drafts. But its sheer size meant the guest rooms were located a good distance from the family area Dani and Emma would have been in. “Must have been one hell of an argument.”

  “It was. Emma got fussy over it. I guess she picked up on the energy.” Dani paused. “But I didn’t really think the wife was in danger. She gave it right back to him, you know? Every time he yelled, she yelled louder.”

  “Sometimes people just snap.” A name would have given Cage a shot at finding some kind of personal information he could use if he got the chance to negotiate, but the detail on the wife would help. A heavy sensation dropped onto his chest. The words came slowly. “I’m going to be late tonight.”

  Dani’s voice caught. For a minute he thought she was going to try to talk him out of working the case. But she only said, “Be careful. And get them out safely.”

  “I’ll see you later, I promise.”

  He turned to Gina, who held a black t-shirt in one hand and a police radio in the other. She thrust the shirt at him. “I found this in the back of your car. You might want to put it on before you go sneaking around through the bushes. Not to mention the Kevlar will chafe you.”

  Cage realized he’d taken off his shirt when he’d been taking care of Mutt. No wonder the EMT had been embarrassed. He snatched the shirt from her.

  “No radio. I’ll text when I get a visual.”

  Cage slunk down the hill, trying to keep his 6’4” frame low. He ducked beneath the hedge and then around the vegetables. Jaymee still had tomatoes on the vines, some of them loaded with bugs feasting in the tomato’s split skin. The cucumbers and green beans needed picking too. Dropping to his hands and knees, he started crawling up the slope toward the big house. This morning’s rain had left the ground damp, and the moisture soaked through Cage’s jeans and made his hands slippery.

  About a hundred rosebushes with mean thorns lined this side of the house. Cage made himself small as he crept between them and then eased up to the kitchen window. The big room was empty, but half-eaten dishes still sat on the table, with more in the sink. Flies delighted in the food. The newer kitchen connected to the big formal dining room. He couldn’t get a clear view across the hall and into the family area.

  Cage backed away, a thorn catching his arm. A pinprick of blood welled up on his skin. “Bastards.”

  Quietly, he moved around to the back of Magnolia House. Jaymee and Nick had spent all summer turning the large back porch into a private oasis. Fresh planks had replaced the aging deck, and they still had the gleam of green wood. Various flowerpots and the wicker furniture Jaymee had repurposed blocked Cage’s path to the back windows.

  He bent down to catch his breath. The Kevlar might protect him, but it felt like a cocoon, making his body heat up from the inside out. Sweat immediately dripped into his eyes. He wiped it off with the hem of his shirt and surveyed the porch. The back door opened from the new kitchen, but its blinds were closed. Several tall, flowering plants, including Jaymee’s favorite hibiscuses, enjoyed the afternoon sun. He needed to get to the back window. Three nicely connected rooms had wide arched doorways to allow airflow in the miserable southern summer.

  Cage gathered his nerve, and once again on hands and knees carefully made his way across the porch. His eyes fought to see past the color spots from the sun. His hands, wet from the ground and his own sweat, slipped and slid. His muscles strained for control. His right foot betrayed him, the wet shoe sliding into a chair and sending it sev
eral inches to the right. "Damn!" Cage froze and then dropped to his belly. He couldn’t see the window, had no way of telling if someone had overheard.

  And then he heard the back door ease open. The sound was so short the door could only be open an inch or two.

  Cage held his breath and hoped the plants hid him. His pulse slammed, his head pounded. His lungs threatened to burst.

  The door shut. He listened for footsteps. When he heard none, Cage exhaled a breath that left spit on the wood.

  He counted to 100 before starting again. This time, he stayed on his belly. Inch by inch, he pulled his long frame to the back of the house.

  Eyes stinging with sweat, he peered into the window. As he’d suspected, the guest had them holed up in the front room. Magnolia House’s original parlor now served as a sitting area, with two couches and an antique settee Dani and Jaymee had found stored in the attic. Jaymee sat on it now, glaring straight ahead, her jaw set in an expression of hatred. The bad guy must be near the entry to the wide main hallway. Cage tried to twist for a better view, but the man stood out of sight. Cage turned his attention to the couches. Nick sat on the one farthest from Jaymee, his rigid back to Cage. No one else appeared to be in the room.

  He settled in to wait, keeping his eyes on Jaymee. He’d known she wouldn’t shrink into the corner. She’d faced terrible situations before and knew how to handle herself. Nick too.

  Fortunately Cage didn’t have to wait long. A woman with long, dark hair suddenly pitched into view from the direction of the big hallway, as if someone had thrown her. She landed on her knees a foot away from Jaymee, slamming into the floor with such force Cage could see the arm she used to brace her fall shiver and then snap. She screamed loudly enough for Cage to hear through the closed windows, collapsing onto the floor.

  Jesus Christ.

  Jaymee jerked in shock and then dove forward to help the woman. The man must have shouted something because Jaymee’s head snapped up, the hatred clear on her profile. She’d grown up in an abusive home, and Cage knew she understood the psychology behind both the victim and the abuser. But she also had a temper.