Sheltered by the Lawman (Lawmen of Wyoming Book 5)

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  Fear trickled down her spine. “And I’m telling you I’m not ready.” Overstepping the broken glass, she didn’t bother cleaning it up. She needed some space between the two of them. “You have to be patient.” But on the other end, she knew she’d never feel the same about him.

  “Patience? I’ve been patient. Let me ask, did you sleep with the lawman?”

  “Burke...” She turned to walk away but he was on her, clutching her shoulders and roughly turning her around.

  “Did you fuck the lawman?” he ground out.

  “I won’t talk to you when you’re acting this way. I’m going to the bedroom and I suggest you sleep off your drunk,” she said through tight lips.

  “Like hell you will.” He grabbed her, this time ripping her shirt at the shoulder.

  “Don’t touch me again! I’m leaving!” She didn’t know who this monster was, but he scared her.

  “Leaving? You think you will. Over my dead body,” he slurred.

  She felt both his hands on her, then he pushed her to the floor. She felt a sting on her elbow, but she reacted with a swift kick to his knee, sending him down as well. She scrambled to get back up and made it to her feet, but he was quick, seizing her ankle and knocking her down.

  He climbed atop her, pressing her chest and cheek into the hardwood. He was heavy and she could barely breathe.

  “Why are you doing this?” She could barely talk. Pain reverberated through her body.

  “I’m tired of the amnesia act, sweetheart. We both know you remember how you left me, disappearing into the night. I’ve looked for you for six long months. You thought you could shack up with some fucker in the country and I’d never find you?” He laughed and it hurt her ears. “You’re mine and the sooner you realize that, the easier this will all be.”

  “You’re wrong! I don’t remember you, but I’m quickly realizing why I left you from the start. Get off me. I won’t stay here with you!” She sipped at her breaths, trying to fill her lungs. When he finally lifted off her, she sucked in a deep breath. She rolled over and pushed herself a few feet away, scrambling to get off the floor. He was quicker and grasped her hair, his fingers woven in the strands. She tried to fight but each time she struggled, she heard roots rip from her scalp and pain washed over her head.

  He dragged her down the hall, gave her a push into the bathroom and she hit the floor hard. Bringing herself up, she looked at his face and all she could see was pure evil. How could she have fallen for his manipulative attitude? He wasn’t nice. Not at all.

  “Stay in here and cool off,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “You won’t get away with this!”

  “Do you think your hero lawman will come and save you?” He snorted. “He’s probably already forgotten you. Men like him don’t want a half-wit girl like you.” He closed the door and a second later she heard the lock click. How did she not notice that there was a lock on the outside? How could she have been so stupid?

  Jumping up, she raced over to the door and tried the knob. She pounded on the door. “Let me out! Now!”

  She was met with silence.

  Pressing her ear to the door, she listened for any sounds and she heard nothing.

  She started pounding harder until her hands ached. Stepping away from the closed door, she hurried to the window and pulled back the curtain. She gave the window a try, but it wouldn’t budge. A nail had been pounded into the wood to keep it from opening.

  Tears filled her eyes and her heart slammed into her feet. How did she get into this condition? She should have listened to Cull when he warned her that she needed to be careful. In a hurry to get her memory back, she’d walked right into the wolf’s den.

  Chapter 27

  SALLY WASN’T SURE what woke her, but she fluttered her eyes open to the bright sunshine coming through the window. She had fallen asleep on the bath rug. Burke still hadn’t unlocked the door for her.

  Sitting up, she was curious what time it was when she heard muffled sounds coming from outside of the room. Getting up, she crossed the room and pressed her ear to the door, listening. Voices! Her heart sped up. Could it be possible that Cull had shown up?

  Lifting her hand, ready to pound hard on the wood, she heard yelling, followed by two loud cracks that sounded like gunfire.

  She jerked back from the door and covered her mouth, shock barreling through her as fear trickled down her spine. She took three steps back, hitting the edge of the sink and staying focused on the door. Thudding of footsteps on the hardwood sounded just outside the door, then the jiggling of the knob.

  Crouching down by the wall, she tucked her knees to her chest. Everything became eerily quiet.

  Bang!

  The door slammed hard against the wall.

  “Who are you?” she sputtered. “Where is Burke?”

  ****

  Cull heard the ringing of his phone. He squinted against the bright light and glanced at the clock. Way too early to be up when he’d drank himself into oblivion last night. Clumsily, he grabbed his phone from the nightstand and clicked ‘talk’, “This better be good,” he mumbled.

  “Whitlock here. Sounds like you had a rough one.”

  “You could say that again.” Cull sat up and a pain shot through his temples. Why the hell had he done this to himself?

  “I hate to bother you so early, but I have some news I thought you might like to be aware of. It’s concerning the woman you spoke to me about. Sally Holloway. You wanted me to let you know if I heard any news, and I have.”

  At the mention of her, Cull suddenly became very alert. “What is it?”

  “I had an elderly man come into the precinct last night wanting to report a missing person. He owns some flower shop here in Cheyenne and was worried about his friend, Sally. He said he hadn’t seen her in a while and that wasn’t like her.”

  Cull’s heart skipped a beat. “Okay?”

  “He said her ex is an asshole and she’d been in hiding.”

  Stomping over to the dresser, Cull pulled out a pair of jeans. “An ex you say?” His throat tightened.

  “Yeah, the owner couldn’t remember the name, but he did say that the boyfriend had a violent history with Ms. Holloway. She’d left him six months ago.”

  Not waiting for the conversation to finish, Cull clicked off and was calling Sally on the number she’d called him from yesterday. When he didn’t get an answer, he tossed his phone onto the bed, grabbing a T-shirt from his closet. He had it on, as well as his boots, in record time.

  He knew exactly where he was headed.

  Chapter 28

  CULL HAD GOTTEN into the apartment—he’d kicked in the door, but he’d wasted no time. “Hello?” he called out. His weapon was drawn as he carefully stepped into the quiet living room. The smell of death hung in the air and his stomach dropped. What if he was too late? He’d never forgive himself.

  The room was cast in a shadow and he slowly made his way toward the center of the room, all instincts on high alert. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the familiar loafers. One was laying on its side and the other was still on a foot. Swallowing hard, Cull stepped around the side of the couch and there he found Burke lying in a puddle of blood. The man was cold with no pulse.

  Cull’s heart slammed into his stomach.

  Peering down the hallway, the floor was covered in splintered wood and the door to the bathroom had been busted in. It was empty inside…the entire apartment was empty except for Burke’s body.

  “Shit!” Cull clenched his teeth. Where was Sally?

  Grabbing his phone, he dialed Detective Whitlock’s number and told him what he found.

  “Stay there, partner. I’ll be there soon,” Whitlock said.

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Sally Holloway is missing and I’m going to find her!”

  A lawman learned to keep his emotions out of a case and stay clear headed, those were Cull’s thoughts as he stomped down the hallway toward Deke’s office. He found the pl
ace empty.

  Slamming his fist against the top of the desk, he upset the pen holder and an empty cup that rolled to the floor. Bending over to pick the cup up, he saw something in the trashcan that caught his suspicions. He looked closer, realizing there were bloody bandages and an empty tube of wound care in the can. He remembered that his buddy had been limping. Had he been injured? Why didn’t Deke say something?

  Narrowing his eyes, Cull grabbed a pen and used the tip to push the used bandages aside. Instinct warned him something wasn’t right, although he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He found message receipts, a Little Debbie plastic wrap, and a wadded piece of paper at the very bottom. Spreading the sheet of paper on the desk, he smoothed the wrinkles out and tried wiping at the coffee stain. It was written in Deke’s sloppy handwriting. A flight itinerary, an international address, and an exchange rate for Dirham. His buddy was planning a trip? Out of the country? Again, why didn’t he say something?

  Reaching for his phone in his back pocket, Cull made a few calls and got the information he needed. Morocco. Deke was planning a trip to Morocco tomorrow. This didn’t make any sense.

  The bloody bandages. The limp. His buddy’s odd behavior.

  Cull remembered what Deke had said, “I’d take this case myself for the money.”

  Deke’s wife was a piano teacher. Yates was killed with piano wire.

  Then it all clicked for Cull with the velocity of getting smacked in the face with a baseball bat. His buddy needed someone good at tracking—a tracker not within law enforcement. Fuck! Cull slammed his fist down onto the desk, this time not bothering to pick the cup up again. He rubbed his forehead in stress. He’d led Deke right to the girl’s apartment. It had been a complete coincidence that Sally showed up returning the purse and Deke thought it was Monica, struck her over the head, hoping she’d die in the fire. The cigarette butt Cull found by the apartment garage steps didn’t belong to a hand, but rather it was Deke’s.

  He knew where Sally was all along. Cull had told him almost everything.

  Deke was working for the widow?

  Cull could barely breathe.

  Deke had taken Sally. What did he have up his sleeve?

  “Can I help you?”

  Cull brought his chin up to look at the middle-aged woman standing in the doorway. “I’m looking for Deke. Do you know where he is?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t seen him in two days.”

  “Have you spoken with him?”

  She hesitated as if she wasn’t sure she should share any information. “He’s on vacation. He won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”

  Cull knew the gauze in the trashcan was long enough strip to cover a wound…possibly a gunshot wound? So, he had been right when he thought he’d shot the gunman the night of the fire.

  That was enough for him. Enough facts fell into place.

  And he knew exactly where his friend would go.

  He made record time to his truck and did a U-turn on the street, heading for the mountains. Reaching for his phone, he dialed a familiar number. It was answered on the second ring. “Phoenix, I need your help…yeah, I’ll meet you at the crossroads in two hours. I need to do something and hopefully I’ll have more information to tell you…” He clicked off, trying hard not to allow his emotions to outweigh his logic. He needed to keep his head on straight. Cull could easily fuck up here because he had something personal at stake. The woman he loved. He’d grown to love Sally and now her life was in danger. How could he have been so stupid and missed the clues? It all made sense now.

  He pounded his fist against the steering wheel and growled. Why did he let her go with Burke in the first place? Where the hell were his honed instincts? He thought he just didn’t like Burke out of jealousy.

  What would Deke do? A man who would sink this low was capable of many things. Killing anyone who could take him down. Cull had to believe that she was still alive.

  His heart sank. If one hair was harmed on her head he’d search the world over to find the person who did it. Morocco certainly wouldn’t be far enough. His mind automatically filled with images of Burke dead, lying in a pool of his own blood from a gunshot wound to the head and one to the chest. There were no signs of struggle at the front door so that meant Burke willingly allowed Deke in. Had Sally hid in the bathroom? Had she been scared? Of course, she had been.

  How could his friend, a man he’d known so long, sink so low? Was it for the money? Had he lost his mind when his ex-wife left him?

  The drive seemed to take a lifetime and as he drove up the lane that took him to Deke’s fishing cabin, a place Cull had spent numerous vacations. His adrenaline skyrocketed. He was barely in park before he jumped out. Unsure of what Deke would do, Cull didn’t race right up to the door. His buddy—his old buddy—was smart and skilled. And a bomb expert. He worked in bomb disposal in the military and knew everything there was about explosives.

  Cull stopped to look in Deke’s car and found more bloody gauze, this time they were abnormally soaked. He guessed that meant his wound wasn’t healing right. A disposable cell phone sat on the passenger seat along with a thick envelope. Cull felt the hood and it was still warm.

  Pulling out his gun, he gripped it and made his way carefully up the two steps to the rickety porch and knocked on the door. “Deke, I need to speak to you.” He didn’t get a response, which didn’t surprise him. He slowly turned the knob and it opened. Cull peeked in, waiting for a bullet to whizz by his head, but it didn’t come.

  “I’m in here,” Deke said from somewhere in the shadowed cabin.

  It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and then Cull saw the man sitting in a chair close to the unlit fireplace. It was cold inside the house and there was an eerie silence.

  “I knew you’d come,” Deke said in a low voice.

  “How’s the gunshot wound?” Cull stayed by the door, listening and scanning the interior of the cabin, looking for any signs of Sally.

  With a shrug, Deke touched his thigh. “Hurts like a bitch. I guess my sewing skills leave a lot to be desired.”

  “You could have gone to the hospital.” Taking a small step, Cull peered into the kitchenette, but it was empty.

  “Yeah, and then they would have reported the gunshot wound and things would have gotten messy.”

  “I think things are already messy, wouldn’t you say?” Keeping his gun aimed at Deke, Cull covered the short distance into the living room. He stopped and stood at a careful distance. Deke’s gun was sitting on the coffee table. “Push the table away from you,” he commanded.

  “The gun isn’t loaded, my friend.”

  “Don’t make me tell you again.” Cull didn’t want to shoot the man, because this time he’d shoot to kill.

  With a tight chuckle, Deke kicked the table with his boot, overturning it and the contents scattered the floor, including the gun.

  “Where is she, Deke?”

  The man brought his gaze up to look at Cull. “She’s not here.”

  “Now I’m sure you won’t take offense if I don’t quite believe you, will you?”

  Deke’s hands rested on the arms of the chair and he wore a stoic, almost unnerving, expression. Cull’s gut was warning him that Deke was telling the truth that Sally wasn’t there, which made this situation even more unpredictable.

  “We don’t have much time,” Deke said in a low, threatening tone.

  There was the surprise Cull had been expecting. It took him a good five seconds to find it, but when he did, he felt his breath swoosh from his lungs. A bomb. The screen of red numbers was counting down. “Tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”

  “You triggered it when you opened the door.”

  “What the hell, Deke. Disable it. Don’t let things go down like this.”

  The man’s laughter was raw and made the hair on Cull’s neck stand. “That won’t happen. It’s too late for that.”

  Cull’s heart sunk to his boots. “Where is she, Deke? Tell me.
”

  Deke’s voice was toneless when he said, “Don’t you want to know why I did this, or have you already figured it out?”

  “I’m guessing it was because of the money.” Cull’s eyes navigated toward the bomb.

  “She was just some chick who used men, Cull. Yates was just a dumbass who allowed pussy to lead him. No one would miss either of them. And I needed the money.”

  “You haven’t been the same since your ex left. You made some bad choices. Disable the bomb and let’s get you the help you need.” Cull didn’t have time to play counselor. Right now he had a bomb ten feet away and the love of his life was in danger.

  “I know you’ll never understand. You’re a good man, always doing what’s right. I could have killed that woman, Sally, but it must have been my loyalty that kept me from it.”

  “She’s alive?”

  “Yes. I guess. I don’t know.” He sighed. “It’s ironic you know. I did everything by the book. Never stole a dime from drug money or sniffed a line of free coke. Then I found out I have a brain tumor. Can you believe it? The ex lives in a mansion and could care less. All the bad guys walking the streets, healthy as an ox and here I am. The money was my ticket to live the last of my days having fun. Hell, who gains a moral conscious at the final hour? I did.”

  Cull gritted his teeth. “Who has her and where have they taken her?” The red numbers on the screen seemed to glare brighter.

  “She’s probably dead by now.”

  She wasn’t dead, Cull could feel it. He wouldn’t stop until he found her. “Time is ticking. Do the right thing and tell me where she is.”

  Deke curled his lip and shook his head. “How the hell would I know? Do you think the widow shares her schedule with me? I just was supposed to jump through another hoop before I’m paid. Funny, really, especially when I have the evidence.”

  “You’re supposed to kill me, aren’t you?” Cull didn’t even need to ask.

  Sniffing and shrugging his shoulders, Deke said, “Of course. They were taking care of the girl, Sally, because I failed, and I’m supposed to take care of you.” His eyes met Cull’s. “Make it look like an accident they said so that’ll keep the rest of the Cade’s from suspecting anything.” His laughter echoed off the walls. “That shows their ignorance, right? How the hell would I make it look like an accident?”