Warrick

by Dale Mayer

  *

  He directed her to his favorite Chinese restaurant and said, “You sit here. I’ll go in and get our orders.”

  “It’ll take time though,” she said. “We may have to wait ten or fifteen minutes. You only ordered it a few minutes ago.”

  He shook his head. “They are really fast here.” And without waiting for her to reply, he hopped out, closed the door and walked inside.

  Even with a walking cast, he moved with a lion’s grace. He was big; he was lean; he was muscled, and there was just so much power radiating from him. She was pretty damn sure George had taken one look and realized it was already over, and, even though he held the weapon, no way in hell he would get away from Warrick. She watched as he had a quick conversation with the clerk, and the next thing she knew, a large bag was placed on the counter, and Warrick was at the cash register taking care of the bill. He was outside and getting back into the vehicle in no time.

  She smiled. “I thought you’re supposed to be off your foot.”

  He chuckled. “I am. Who knows, besides you, that I’m not being as good as I should be?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  He said, “Now let’s head to the beach.”

  There was a spot in her mind that she wanted to go.

  On the way he pointed out a Starbucks. “Let’s swing by there and grab coffees to-go.”

  They hit the drive-through and soon had hot steaming coffees beside them. She drove the last leg to the parking lot above the beach.

  As she got out and collected the coffees, she said, “Can you walk in the sand in that thing?”

  “Don’t you worry,” he said. “I’ll be just fine.”

  She wondered if she’d insulted him. From his tone of voice, she thought she might have.

  She deliberately headed toward a large log that overlooked a section of rougher beach area where the ocean slammed in waves against the big rocks, leaving seaweed behind. On the log they were far enough back to get a little spray from an exceptionally large wave, but most of the time they would be dry. She had her cardigan wrapped around her tight. She figured they could start on the log, and, if it got too cold, they could sit on the sand up against the log and be out of the wind more. She deliberately didn’t watch Warrick’s progress as she worked her way toward the log. She scrambled up on top, closed her eyes and sat with her face tilted into the wind and the remaining sunshine. Immediately she could feel the stress and tension of the day drifting off her shoulders. It felt so damn good to get out and have that fresh air and warm sunlight wafting over her.

  When she heard him sit down beside her, she smiled and said, “Isn’t this beautiful?”

  “You’re beautiful.”

  His words surprised her. She opened her eyes and smiled. “That’s not quite what I meant.”

  “Maybe not, but it’s what I meant.” He opened the bag and pulled out a box with a little metal handle on the top and set it at her feet. Then he gave her a pack of chopsticks. At the same time he took his coffee from her hand and buried it partway in the sand, so it wouldn’t fall over. Then he pulled out his Chinese food.

  It looked like something still remained in the bottom of the bag, but he put it down on the other side of him. She followed suit with her coffee and then opened up her Chinese food. She didn’t know what the heck he’d ordered, but the smell was intoxicating.

  She took her first bite and moaned in joy. “This is perfect.”

  He chuckled, and they sat in amiable silence enjoying the moment.

  Every once in a while she gave her head a shake and let the wind ripple gently over her face, her eyes closed. “I needed this tonight.”

  “It’s always good to have something like this,” he said. “There’s a sense of wildness, a sense of freedom out here.”

  “Freedom.” She nodded, mouthing the word again. “I like that. That’s exactly what it is.” She went back to her Chinese food, and, when it was gone, she sighed and stared at her empty carton. “I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”

  “Are you still hungry?”

  There wasn’t any surprise in his voice. As if he’d expected her to polish off the whole thing. “I wouldn’t normally eat that much,” she confessed. “But I think you’re right. After everything today, I have an appetite now.”

  “I’m almost done with mine.” He took the last couple bites of broccoli and folded up the two empty cartons, put them back in the bag, then pulled out a tinfoil container with a cardboard top.

  She stared at it. “More food?”

  He took off the lid, and, sure enough, inside were several egg rolls.

  “Oh, now that’s a good idea.”

  Ignoring the chopsticks, she reached into the container and pulled out a big fat one. Then she picked up her coffee. With coffee in one hand and the egg roll in the other, she munched her way through it. And, when she was done with that, she had a second one. After that she was full. She waved the rest of them at him. “Those are all yours.”

  The wind had picked up. She pulled her sweater a little bit closer around her shoulders.

  “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. I was thinking, if I got much colder, I could sit in the sand, but that will be cool too.”

  Just then a big gust blew through, and she shuddered and hunched a little lower. Warrick polished off the last of his food, cleaned up the garbage, turned so he was straddling the log, and then pulled her into his arms, under his windbreaker, so she was a little more protected from the wind.

  Tucked against his chest like that, no way she could be cold. The man was a bloody furnace. She snuggled happily, let her head rest against his chest and smiled. It wasn’t exactly what she thought the evening would bring, but she was all for this. “He won’t get out, will he?”

  “I hope not.”

  “I keep thinking he’ll escape, or they’ll let him off on a technicality or something stupid.”

  “The only way he could get off or get out is if he escaped.”

  “That doesn’t bear thinking about. Poor Nina. She needs to heal and recover.”

  “So do you,” he said. “There’s never an easy answer after something like this.”

  She nodded and smiled.

  They stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms for at least another forty minutes. She kept thinking it was time to go home, but she never wanted to break the moment. She couldn’t remember the last time she just sat and relaxed, enjoying being with a man.

  When his phone rang, disrupting the silence of the evening, she shifted so he could pull out his phone. When he answered it, she felt the change come over him immediately. His body stiffened, and, though he kept an arm wrapped around her firmly and kept her tugged tightly against him, she could only hear his part of the conversation. But what she heard was enough to set her blood running cold.

  She tilted back her head when he hung up and said, “Did I hear that?”

  He nodded. “Yes. The asshole got loose.”

  Chapter 5

  “How the hell is that possible?” she cried out.

  “He was escorted to jail by two men. Somehow he managed to strangle both with his handcuffs on.”

  She stared at him in horror. “Are you saying he just killed two police officers?”

  “And he now has their weapons.” Warrick’s tone was grim.

  She shook her head. “Oh, no, no, no. That’s not good.”

  “None of it’s good,” he said.

  “What about Nina?”

  “The hospital is on full alert. The police are sending extra men to help protect the staff and the patients at the hospital. They have even enlisted the navy’s help to safeguard all those people. But that was a warning phone call for us. It’s not just about Nina. It’s also about you.”

  She stared at him and frowned. “But I did what he asked me to do,” she said.

  “No, in his mind you’re responsible for Nina leaving him, then bringing me in, and I’m the
one who took him down. You started this chain of events—in his demented mind. So now he’s likely to come back after you, and he’s likely, as we all know, to go back after Nina.”

  “Dear God,” she whimpered. “This is not at all what she or I need.”

  “Given that scenario, I highly suggest I sleep on your couch tonight.”

  She brightened. “Now that would be something I’d really appreciate because he might show up there.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because he has been to my place. With Nina. He knows where I live.”

  “In that case, maybe we should go to my place,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Would he know who you are? Would he be able to check the navy’s database and find out where you live?”

  Warrick frowned. “If he had my training, the answer is absolutely. I’m not sure what his clearance is, but it’s possible. He’s going to be well trained regardless.”

  “So maybe we shouldn’t go to either place,” she said. “The last thing I want is to face him again.”

  “I’m not sure we’d be facing him at all,” Warrick said quietly. “There’s a good chance he’d shoot us in the back, instead of facing us, so that we can’t see who it is or when to evade the attack.”

  She stared at him. “Why would he do that?”

  “Because now he’s got some dedicated purpose to his madness. I don’t think he wants to reconcile anymore. He’s moved from wanting Nina to be with him to killing two cops.”

  “Maybe we need to figure that out. We need to go where he isn’t.”

  “That’s a good point.” He pulled out his phone and sent several texts. “I’m trying to get more details right now.”

  “If he was shooting wildly on base earlier today targeting parked cars in an apparent temper tantrum, then escaped capture there, surely he’s not returning to the base now, right?”

  Warrick nodded.

  “So, if we were to go on base, since George would be avoiding the base now, where the hell would we go?”

  “I could find us a place,” he said. “Even though I live off base, I still spend a lot of time there.”

  “Still, to play devil’s advocate here, if we’re off base, won’t we have a better chance of hiding from him?”

  “Not really. He just made the dumbest move of his life. Once he killed those cops, every law enforcement officer in the city is after him.”

  “So we need to lay low,” she said with a nod. “I think we can do that. We could pick a hotel anywhere in the city. George won’t have time to track us with so many possible locations to check.”

  “That’s true enough. So,” he said with a grin, “where do you want to go?”

  She thought about it and said, “I haven’t a clue. But I do know I no longer want to go to work tomorrow.”

  “I’d be all for that.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” she said. “How about I just sit here all night and listen to the waves?”

  His arms tightened around her, and he pulled her even closer. “I don’t have a problem with that.”

  Her phone rang. She sighed. “Of course somebody is trying to get hold of me.” She pulled it out. “It’s Nina.” She hit the Talk button. “Nina, how are you?”

  “He’s free,” she shrieked into the phone. “He’s free! He’ll be coming after me.”

  “I heard that, and the police and the navy have men coming to protect you and the other patients and staff,” Penny said, trying for a soothing voice. Obviously that wasn’t working though. Nina screamed even louder. “Calm down, please. I can’t understand you.”

  “You have to run. He’s coming after you too.”

  “I know that,” Penny said. “Warrick is here with me right now. We’re just figuring out what to do next.”

  “Somebody needs to go to my girlfriend’s. She doesn’t deserve to come home and find him there.”

  “Tabitha?”

  “Yes. I was staying with her. She’s not answering her phone. I’m afraid he’s already there.”

  “Did you tell the cops?”

  “Yeah. They said they’d get somebody out there, but they didn’t think he’d go there. They figured he would either come here after me or go after you.”

  “We can go and make sure she’s okay. And then we’ll probably get a hotel room or something for the night so he can’t find us.”

  “Oh, good,” Nina said with relief. “I also heard how they’re bringing cops and navy guys down here, and security is on high alert. But he got in before, so I don’t know how good that’ll be. I won’t sleep again until he’s caught and put away.”

  “I know. I can’t say I’m feeling very secure at the moment either.” And yet later, as she put her phone away, she knew that was a complete lie because, cuddled up in Warrick’s arms like she was, it was hard to imagine anything more secure than being right there.

  “Who’s Tabitha?”

  “The girlfriend Nina has been staying with this week after George broke her two ribs.”

  “So we need to make sure her friend is okay. He might or might not know where Tabitha lives but he’d have no trouble tracking the address down as one of many possible places she’d run to.”

  “Did he take the cop car too? Or did he find something a little more subtle to drive around town in?” she asked.

  “I doubt he took the cop car. Too obvious.” As he was busy sending texts, more came in with tidbits of information. “He did take the cop car, and it had been found abandoned. They suspected he’d picked up another vehicle.” Warrick added, “I’ll let them know we’ll run to Tabitha’s place and take a quick look. The last thing we want is another friend involved in this.”

  “God no,” Penny said. She hopped to her feet on top of the log. “Let’s go. The sooner we find this guy the better.”

  “We’re not trying to find him,” he corrected. “We’re making sure Nina’s other friend is safe.”

  With that, they walked to her car.

  “I’ll drive.”

  She stopped, turned and looked at him with a frown. “Why?”

  “In case he tries to track us down, or we accidentally come up on him.”

  It took her a minute to realize what he was saying. Then she handed him the keys without a word.

  He dropped their garbage into the trash can on the side of the parking lot and went back to the car to find she was already inside, buckled up.

  *

  Just the thought of him even considering driving for that reason made her cringe. She wasn’t a scaredy-cat. But a psycho with a gun, well, anybody with a brain should be terrified of that.

  He pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot and asked, “Where are we going?”

  She gave him directions and hoped Tabitha wasn’t even home. Trying to explain this nightmare wasn’t something Penny looked forward to.

  They pulled up to the front of an apartment building. Tabitha’s apartment was on the third floor. They got out and hit the number on the intercom. There was no answer.

  The door to the apartment building opened, and somebody came out. He held it for them, and they walked in.

  She glanced at him. “I suppose you think that’s not a good thing either, or is it?”

  “Of course not,” Warrick said. “Security exists for a reason. What’s the point of it if you’ll just let in every stranger when they come to the door looking to enter?”

  She shrugged. “Honestly I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “No, most people don’t.”

  Upstairs on the third floor they walked to Tabitha’s and knocked. When there was no answer, Warrick knocked several times hard. On his third knock the door unclasped and slid open.

  He shoved Penny against the hallway wall and placed a finger to her lips. She stared at him, her eyes huge. He whispered, “Stay here.”

  And she realized what the unlocked and open door meant.

  *

  Warrick stepped to the side of the hinges and gently p
ushed open the door. No lights were on inside. He couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t have a weapon and had no way to know if somebody was inside or not. He dared not call out, but, at the same time, now that he had knocked, somebody on the inside knew he was here. He waited, listening.

  When he thought he heard a thump, he slid in through the front door and assessed the small hallway ahead of him. As soundlessly as he could with his bloody walking cast, he made it to the living room and peered around the area. There was no sign of anyone. A light was on in the hallway down at the other end. Knowing this was likely where the gunman—and/or Tabitha—would be, Warrick approached cautiously.

  He hadn’t heard another sound since he’d first entered. A bathroom was beside him. The door wasn’t fully closed, and there was enough of a halo light for him to see in.

  Crouching down low, knowing the gunman would likely shoot at chest level, he gently pushed on the door. No shot was fired. He stood and peered around the corner. And his heart sank. Lying facedown was a woman with blood pouring from the top of her head. A large pool surrounded her on the floor.

  He quickly checked to make sure she was dead, knowing in no way could she survive that kind of blood loss with her head injury. He checked the master suite, checked the en suite bathroom, did a quick sweep around the rest of the apartment and then brought Penny inside. She took one look at his face and cried out.

  He shook his head. “She’s been shot in the head. No way to save her.” He already had his phone in his hand and called it in. He motioned to the couch. “Sit down and don’t move.”

  She sat like a little schoolgirl, her hands on her lap and just stared at him.

  He answered the questions as fast as he could, saying he could already see the intruder was gone. He needed to find out where he’d go next and how long since he’d been here. They would need the security cameras’ feed from the apartment complex, though that wasn’t his job. He wouldn’t have access. The city police would completely shut out all navy personnel and would have nothing to do with Warrick. At least not until there was evidence George had killed Tabitha.

  The cops were at the door within minutes. Warrick let them in. He gave a statement; then the police wanted them to leave the apartment, and that was fine with him. He pulled Penny’s hand, helping her to her feet, and led her out in the hall again.