“Mama, I want spaghetti for my birthday lunch!” an excited little girl shouted right behind Lauren. A second little girl and a boy jostled around beside the birthday girl as the family got situated in a booth. The young mom and dad looked frazzled but happy. They also had an infant in a carrier.
This sweet family was within twenty feet of a wanted criminal, and they had no clue. Along with the current accessory-to-murder charges, Matthew had some old assault charges and an illegal weapons–possession charge that he’d served time for. He also had some recent large-scale theft charges that he’d somehow managed to beat at trial. He was a violent thug. He needed to be locked up. People needed to be kept safe. Lauren could help with that. It was why she loved her job.
She texted Al, the bail bondsman, with an update on the situation. In his response, he let her know that Kevin’s dad was going to be okay. She sipped her way through two refills on her coffee, all while keeping a close eye on Matthew.
Finally, he finished eating and set a few dollars beside his plate as he stood up to leave. It felt like he slowed down as he passed behind her on his way to the cashier, but maybe that was just her imagination.
Her heart started racing again. And it wasn’t just from the caffeine. It was that thrill of the hunt that made her look forward to going to work every day.
She wouldn’t turn around and look at him. Not just yet. She could see a vague reflection of him in the glass in a nearby picture frame, so she knew where he was.
Finally, she glanced over her shoulder and saw him getting his change back from the cashier. It was go time. She stood up, grabbed a twenty from her pocket and tossed it on the counter. She didn’t have time to deal with the cashier. She needed to catch up with her target.
The glass door at the front of the diner was falling shut behind him just as Lauren got to it. She hesitated, glancing through the glass to see if he was waiting there to jump her. He wasn’t.
He was walking to his truck in the parking lot. Perfect. She walked outside, picking up her pace, adrenaline sparking energy throughout her body, ready to do whatever was necessary to get this violent criminal off the streets.
“Mathew Cortez,” she yelled out as she got closer to him. “Stop right there!”
* * *
Matthew. It had been a long time since anyone had called Jason Cortez by that name.
A flicker of nostalgia came and went. Times changed. People changed. There was never any going back.
He turned around and saw a woman heading purposefully toward him. Of course he recognized her from the counter in the diner. She’d been sitting only a few stools away from him. Even if she’d been farther away, he would have noticed her.
Four years had passed since he’d returned stateside after serving in the army in Afghanistan, but the habit of situational awareness, of paying attention to his surroundings, had not completely gone away. And it had its benefits. Fortunately, the hyperalertness that triggered panic attacks had finally faded after he’d been stateside for two years.
Thank You, Lord. He offered up a short, silent prayer, just as he did nearly every time he thought of those harrowing couple of years. Without his faith, he might not have made it through that time.
“You’ve mistaken me for someone else,” he said to the woman as she drew closer to him.
She was cute, with amber-colored eyes, dark blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and a light scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. Her skin was already turning red from the cold air. She looked like an earnest type of woman who was probably in student government when she was in high school. She certainly didn’t look like the type of woman who would want anything to do with Matt Cortez.
She was also carrying a pistol, he guessed, after noticing the bulging drape of her sweater at her waistband and the way her hand kept hovering near it. If that were the case—if she went through life armed with a deadly weapon—then she just might be the kind of woman who’d be looking for Matt, after all.
“Nice try, but I haven’t made a mistake,” she said. “I know exactly who you are, Matthew, and you’re under arrest for failing to appear before the court in Denver yesterday morning to face charges of accessory to murder. Your bond is forfeited.”
“Who exactly are you?” he asked, realization slowly dawning on him. “Some kind of bounty hunter?”
“My name is Lauren Dillard. And yes, I’m a bounty hunter.” She reached beneath her sweater and removed a pair of handcuffs that had been attached to her belt.
“Well, you’re making a mistake, Lauren.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “My name is Jason Cortez. Matthew is my brother. We’re identical twins.”
He maintained a neutral expression even as his heart dropped to his feet. Accessory to murder. Matt seemed determined to throw his life away. There was no denying that he’d become a dangerous man. He’d been arrested several times. More recently for charges ranging from commercial burglary to highway cargo theft to assault.
And somebody, somewhere, had put forth the money to hire a very good lawyer to keep Matt from doing serious time in prison on those recent charges. That fact worried Jason the most. Because he knew the unknown person would want something from Matt in return.
“I’m not buying your story about being an identical twin, though you do get points for creativity,” the bounty hunter said. “Now turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
“No. Why don’t you turn around, head back to the bail bonds office you work for and do some research.” He wasn’t angry, but he was getting annoyed. “You’ll find out Matt has a twin brother. Better yet, take a picture of me. Then compare it to whatever picture you have of Matt. He has a scar over his left eye. I don’t.”
She bit her lower lip for a second, like she was considering what he’d said. Then she arched an eyebrow. “I’m going to cuff you and take you down to the local police department. They can run your fingerprints. And if you are not Matthew Cortez, they’ll know.”
Not a chance. Jason had places to be this afternoon. His welding business was just starting to pick up momentum, and he still had a couple more appointments scheduled to do some on-site metal repairs before the day was over. Why should he waste his time just because this bounty hunter targeted the wrong Cortez brother?
“Like I said, do your research.” He reached into his pocket for his keys.
The bounty hunter went for the canister of pepper spray attached to her belt.
He could appreciate that she was just trying to do her job. But he was not going with her. He was not going to let her pepper spray him. And he did not want to hurt her.
He let go of his keys and eased his hand out of his pocket. He needed to get control of this situation, and he had to move quickly. He’d grab her arms before she could target him with the pepper spray.
The sound of a car engine roaring up the driveway into the diner parking lot followed by the squealing of brakes caught his attention. He turned in time to see a black sedan with its windows rolled down. And then he saw a glint of metal pointing out of the space where the passenger window would have been.
“Gun!”
The shots exploded at the same time that Jason and the bounty hunter both hit the deck, pressing themselves down onto the icy asphalt.
Screams and shouts sounded across the parking lot, along with the scuffling of other people taking cover.
Jason’s heart pounded in his chest. At the same time, his military training kicked in. He forced his thoughts to stay logical and focused. Shielded by his pickup truck, he got to his feet, but he stayed in a squatting positing so he’d keep out of sight of the shooter.
The bounty hunter likewise got to her feet but stayed squatting down. She had her pistol in her hand instead of the pepper spray. “Who are your friends?” she asked, glaring at him.
He shook his head. “I have no
idea who they are.” But if he had to guess, they were people who, like the bounty hunter, had mistaken him for his twin brother. In fact, this bounty hunter might have led them directly to him.
“Cortez! You still alive?” a voice called out from the direction of the sedan. Jason could hear the car’s engine idling. “This is what we do to traitors,” the voice shouted again. “We finish them off.” Then he heard the sound of a car door opening and slamming shut, followed by the sound of footsteps crunching across the blacktop. The shooter was coming after him.
The bounty hunter started to raise her gun. She looked toward the back of Jason’s truck, the direction where it sounded like the footsteps were coming from. She started to move, and it looked to Jason like she was going to confront the shooter.
“Lauren, wait!” he called out in a loud whisper. Another time and another place, he’d be all about a full-out attack on anyone who’d attacked him first. But there were kids in that diner. For all he knew, there were kids crouched down with their parents right now in this freezing-cold parking lot. He didn’t have a gun with him. But even if he did, he wouldn’t want a gunfight in a parking lot. Not if there was any possible way to avoid it. Once a bullet was fired, you couldn’t control where it went. He didn’t want to risk anyone getting hit.
The bounty hunter turned to him, her brows furrowed and her eyes tense with impatience.
He shook his head. “There’s no need for a shoot-out here.” Still crouched down, he reached up and quietly opened the passenger door of his truck. He took off his cowboy hat and tossed it in. “I’m going to drive out of here. They obviously think I’m my brother. They’ll follow me. I’m sure somebody’s called the cops by now. You stay here, make sure the gunman doesn’t go into the diner. When the cops get here, tell them what you saw.”
Hopefully, the gunmen hadn’t gotten a good look at the bounty hunter and didn’t think she was somehow connected to Matt. But maybe they had seen her, and maybe they’d target her as a way to get to Matt. “Be careful,” Jason warned.
“What exactly is it you think you’re going to do?” she asked.
He nodded his head toward the exit on the other side of the parking lot. “I’m going to drive out that way. Lead them out of town and away from people.” And he’d pray the police would find him and the shooters who were chasing him before things got too far out of hand.
She nodded and then used her free hand to once again reach for the pepper spray. Good. Maybe that meant she’d leave off using the gun unless she absolutely had to.
“You and I still have unfinished business,” she said to him. “Matthew or Jason or whoever you are. I’ll find you again. And we’ll straighten things out. Now go!”
Jason climbed into the passenger seat of his truck. He glanced out the window just as the gunman spotted him and started running toward him. Which meant he would also be running toward Lauren.
Despite Jason’s intention to lead the fight away from the parking lot, he couldn’t leave the bounty hunter to face the gunman on her own. He got out of the truck in time to see her spring up from the spot where she’d been hidden and fire pepper spray into the shooter’s face, temporarily blinding him.
The guy started screaming and swearing, stumbling around and covering his eyes with his free arm while wildly firing his gun. Several of the rounds went into Jason’s truck, near the engine, before the guy finally smacked his hand on a side-view mirror. His weapon flew out of his hand and slid under the truck.
Meanwhile the black sedan was creeping closer, the driver screaming to the shooter, who had now dropped to his knees and was trying to retrieve his gun.
Jason looked around for the bounty hunter. He spotted her racing across the parking lot, away from the black sedan. Good. She was getting out of the way where she’d be safe.
The driver got out of the sedan, carrying a pistol and screaming threats as he headed toward Jason. “You’re dead, Matt Cortez. Dead!”
Jason reached into the bed of his truck, where he kept his work tools. He put his hand on a heavy wrench and pulled it out. If the shooters caught up with him, he’d use it as a club. Not the best weapon to have when facing an enraged guy with a gun, but it was something.
Meanwhile, he could still follow through with his plans to draw the bad guys away from the diner. He’d just have to do it on foot. He started moving away from his truck, staying crouched down and shielded by the parked cars and trucks. He scurried away from the shooters and toward the exit on the other side of the lot. Eventually he would run out of cover. He could only hope that neither of the thugs was a particularly good shot.
He reached the edge of the parking lot just as a dark green SUV pulled up in front of him on the street and squealed to a halt. The passenger-side window was rolled down. From the driver’s seat, the bounty hunter gestured furiously at him, yelling, “Get in!”
Jason hesitated for a split second. Behind him he could hear the gunmen hollering. They were bound to start shooting again at any second. He didn’t really know this woman at all. But what other choice did he have? He yanked open the door and climbed in. The bounty hunter hit the gas, and they sped down the road.
TWO
Lauren made quick, random turns down the residential streets of Sweetwater. Not that there were very many streets. Behind her, she could hear the sirens from cop cars arriving back at the diner. She glanced in the rearview mirror. There was no sign of the bad guys in the black sedan behind them. She eased off the gas, and after a couple more turns, she was fairly certain no one was following them. She would call the police later and return to Sweetwater to give them a statement describing what had happened if they needed one from her.
She continued down the road until it led to a wooded area where they were no longer in front of any houses. She steered toward the side of the road, stopped and put the SUV into Park. Then she pulled out her pistol and pointed it at Jason.
He’d been looking at the side mirror. He turned and saw the gun, and his eyes widened. “Easy,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Put your hands on the dash. Keep them where I can see them or I’ll shoot you.” And she was prepared to do that. For all she knew, this guy really was Matthew Cortez and she’d just helped a man who’d participated in a murder get away from the cops. Her own father was a con man—she knew anyone could be fooled by a skilled liar.
“Are you part of some kind of rival criminal gang who’s also after my brother?” Jason asked, his voice hardening. “Is that what’s going on here?”
“Hands on the dash,” she repeated. “Move slowly.”
He complied. Glaring at her all the while.
Without taking her eyes off him, she reached into the file folder tucked beside her seat and pulled out a full-size printed picture of Matthew Cortez that had been taken in the bail bond office a couple of weeks ago. She brought it up to eye level so she could glance back and forth between the photo and the man claiming to be Matthew’s twin brother.
“If you still thought I might be Matt, why’d you drive me away from the shooters?”
“I’m a bounty hunter, not a vigilante,” she said. “I don’t want to see anybody shot up by a couple of thugs.”
Plus, his concern for the safety of the people in the diner and the parking lot had her thinking he wasn’t the hardened criminal she was looking for. But that appearance of concern could have been a calculated ploy to win over her trust.
Now that she was looking at the photo alongside the actual man in the vehicle with her, Lauren could see the difference between the two brothers. Both were handsome men. But along with the scar over his eye, Matthew looked like he’d had his nose broken at some point in his life. He also looked haggard, with a hint of exhaustion in his eyes that said he’d need a lot more than just a few nights’ sleep to have the same robust look of good health that his twin brother had.
“Okay, I bel
ieve you. You aren’t Matthew Cortez.” Lauren tucked the picture back into the folder and holstered her gun.
Blowing out an audible sigh of relief, Jason leaned back in his seat. All the while, he kept his gaze locked on her.
“Tell me where I can find your brother,” she said.
“I don’t know where he is. It’s been a long time since I talked to him. I think he still lives in Denver, but I don’t know that for certain.”
“He gave us a fake home address on his bond application. What’s his real address?”
Jason shook his head. “I don’t remember his actual address, but I might remember how to get to his apartment if I went to Denver.”
Lauren sighed. “Let’s exchange phone numbers. I’m sure I’ll have questions for you as I get further into the hunt. And if you think of something that might help, call me.”
He gave her his number and she tapped it into her phone.
“You can go now,” she finally said, waving her hand toward the car door beside him.
He raised his dark eyebrows. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
She shrugged. “What more do you want? I rescued you from a couple of killers. You’re welcome. Now, get out of my car. I still need to find my bounty.”
“Rescued me?” he said, crossing his arms over his chest but otherwise not moving. “You led those people directly to me. You put me in danger.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I tracked you for hours this morning. Nobody was tailing me. They found you on their own. I should probably say they found the man who they believe is Matthew Cortez on their own. I understand you not wanting to walk the streets of Sweetwater with a couple of gunmen on the lookout for you, so I’ll drop you off somewhere. Maybe the police station? I wouldn’t go back to that ranch right away. If I know Matthew used to stay there, the thugs who are after him probably know that, too.”
He stared at her with an expression she’d seen countless times before, and it triggered a warm feeling in the center of her chest. It was the look of a man who’d just realized he’d underestimated her. She never got tired of seeing it.
Colorado Manhunt Page 10