Devoted Defender

by Rachel Dylan

  Another shot was fired and her entire body shook. Caleb lifted up off of her for one second and returned fire—getting off three shots in quick succession.

  “Stay low!” He held onto her and pushed her toward the door. He reached up and grabbed the knob. “Go inside. Go to an interior room and lock yourself in. Do not come back out here. I’ll come and get you once it’s safe.”

  She listened to him as her pulse continued to race. The dogs were going crazy jumping and barking. They knew something was wrong. She did as he directed and moved toward the bathroom on the first floor. Buddy and Bailey followed her, sensing the imminent danger that surrounded them.

  As she locked the three of them into the bathroom, she realized that fresh, hot tears were pouring down her face. Someone was trying to kill her. All because she’d witnessed a murder. She should’ve never been at the Perry’s in the first place. Why had she needed to try that recipe so badly? This all could’ve been avoided. But now here she was, caught in the crossfire again.

  She highly doubted that the bathroom door would keep her safe against an armed assailant, but she had no other option. Her mind flashbacked to the last time she had locked herself in a room trying to protect herself from danger. But this time was different, she reminded herself. This time she didn’t have a gun, but she wasn’t alone either. She had to count on Caleb to protect her. He was putting his life on the line for her. To defend her.

  She huddled in the corner of the bathroom hugging tightly onto Buddy while Bailey stood guard by the door. She could feel the rapid beat of Buddy’s heartbeat. But he was right there with her. Providing her comfort. As the minutes ticked by, she knew it hadn’t been that long, but it felt like an eternity.

  What if the gunman had killed Caleb? Taking a few deep breaths she had to calm down. Lord, I can’t get through this alone. I need You now to protect us from harm. Be with me, dear Lord.

  When she heard Caleb’s voice calling to her from the other side of the door, relief flooded through her that he was alive. Thank you, Lord.

  “Open the door, Annie. It’s me.”

  Bailey and Buddy started barking when they heard Caleb’s voice. Slowly, she stood up and tried to gather herself. She knew she looked like a hot mess.

  She opened the door and gasped. Blood was streaked down Caleb’s cheek. Instinctively, she reached out and touched his face. “You’re bleeding.”

  “I got slashed by a tree branch in the backyard when I was chasing down the shooter. It’s nothing serious.”

  It looked bad to her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. I promise. I’ve had much worse than this.”

  “Did you get him?”

  “No. He got away.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I hate to do this to you, Annie, but we need to get out of here. It’s not safe anymore.”

  “What about the dogs?”

  “Mac’s going to take them. I just called him on my way back inside, and he’s on his way over here. Can you pack up your things?”

  “Yes.” She tried to process everything he was saying, but she was still in a state of shock. Seeing the blood that had run down his face made everything even more real.

  “Annie,” he said softly. “You know that I’d lay down my own life to protect you, right?”

  His words broke her already fragile mental state and the tears started flowing freely. “Caleb, I don’t know if I can handle all of this. Maybe I should just go away and hide on my own. All I’m doing is bringing danger to your doorstep.”

  “Absolutely, not.”

  “But what about your job? You can’t just up and leave.”

  “My deputy is fully able to handle things here. He’s had decades of experience as a police officer. You need me more right now.”

  And wasn’t that the truth. If it weren’t for Caleb, she wouldn’t be alive. “I’ll go start packing.”

  “Everything is going to be okay,” Caleb said.

  She could only pray that he was right.

  **

  Caleb gripped the wheel tightly as he drove through the night. He was worried about Annie. She’d barely spoken since they’d started driving. And he couldn’t really blame her.

  The situation at his house had been far too close. What had he been thinking, suggesting that they sit outside on the back porch? He’d allowed himself to let his guard down. He was a professional—not just in law enforcement, but also given his military background.

  It occurred to him that his feelings for Annie were starting to cloud his judgment. He was usually so cautious and measured, but he had wanted to make her happy by going outside instead of focusing on her safety first. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. One of the first lessons he’d learned in the military was that you couldn’t make decisions based on emotions.

  God, please give me guidance to get through this battle and to keep Annie safe from harm. I’m not strong enough to face another loss in my life right now.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” She finally broke the silence.

  “Just taking it one step at a time. Wanted to put a little distance between us and Maxwell. I’ll stop in a bit. I know you’re exhausted.”

  “Me? What about you? I wasn’t the one hunting down the shooter.”

  “My military training helps a lot with that. I can function on very little sleep. But we both need to be on the top of our games to deal with the threats coming at us.”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

  Uh oh, he thought. He wondered what she was about to say. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Why does Silva care so much about me? I’m just one woman. He has a huge criminal enterprise. What could he really fear from me?”

  “Guys like Silva hold grudges and they don’t like leaving loose ends. He wasn’t there that night. So he doesn’t know how much you heard and what you’re going to do with the information. He has to be cautious. You could be a witness in a criminal trial that would implicate him. And he doesn’t want to take that kind of chance. He has too much riding on it. There is big money in criminal enterprises like this, Annie. We’re talking about millions of dollars.”

  “But I can’t run my entire life,” she said flatly.

  “I’m not asking you to, but in the short term what happened tonight shows that you are a primary target of the Silva crime syndicate. They’re not going to just let this go anytime soon. So we have to take action accordingly.”

  His phone rang and he saw that it was Mike calling. “I have to take this. It’s my deputy.”

  He answered knowing that Mike would want to talk to him. Mac was supposed to have called Mike to fill him in on the situation.

  “Caleb, hey, it’s Mike.”

  “Did you talk to Mac?”

  “Yes, and he told me about what happened. But we’ve got another problem. A big one.”

  “What happened?”

  “The prisoners escaped.”

  “What? How?” Just when Caleb thought things couldn’t really get much worse.

  “McCoy tricked our officer on duty to open the cell door. McCoy was able to disarm the officer and knock him out. Then McCoy took the officer’s keys and took Phil with him according to our video cam footage.”

  “This is not good,” Caleb said. But at least they were on the road. McCoy wouldn’t know where to find them. And then it occurred to him, what if McCoy was the shooter tonight? “Mike, what’s the time stamp on the prison break video?”

  “About eight o’clock tonight. I’m just calling you now because I only found out about it a bit ago and was trying to get everything under control and make sure the facility was secured. Our officer was knocked out cold for a long time. And then Mac called and told me that you were on the run. What’s going on here, Caleb?”

  “I can’t go into all the details. It’s not safe for Annie to be in Maxwell right now. But I need you to hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

  “Are you sure you need to be doing thi
s alone? This all sounds very dangerous. I don’t think we’ve ever had a jailbreak in Maxwell.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just keep your focus on the town. I need to know that everything will be taken care of and our citizens will be safe.”

  Mike sighed. “I’ve only been an officer here for decades, Caleb.”

  “I know. And that’s why I’m entrusting this to you.”

  “I’ve got it under control. But what should we do about the escaped prisoners?”

  “Call Mac and get him involved. I think they’ll be long gone. Especially when they realize that Annie is no longer in town.”

  “All right. I’ll give Mac a ring and make sure all our officers are on the lookout. Be careful out there. These guys seem like the type to shoot first and ask questions later.”

  “Thanks, Mike. I’m so thankful that I can count on you.” He ended the call and took a deep breath.

  “What was that all about?” Annie asked.

  “McCoy escaped and took Phil with him.”

  “Oh no. He might kill Phil.”

  “Yeah, once he got clear of the surveillance video, he might have taken Phil out right then and there. And there’s a possibility, given the timing of the escape that McCoy was the shooter at my house.”

  “I can’t believe all of this.”

  “Just hang tight. We’ll figure out a plan.” He looked in his rearview mirror and noticed the headlights that had been behind them were getting closer and closer. He realized that he might be paranoid at this point, but a sinking feeling in his gut had him accelerating to see how the car behind would respond.

  “Why are you speeding up all of a sudden?” Annie asked.

  “Make sure your seatbelt is secure.”

  “Caleb, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

  “We may have a tail.” It was just as he feared. The SUV behind them was gaining ground, matching his speed with each acceleration. He pushed down the gas pedal.

  Annie turned around. “Caleb, they’re going to hit us!”

  He pushed the gas all the way down, but he didn’t have to look in his mirror to know that the impact was going to come any second.

  Annie screamed as they were rammed from behind by the large SUV.

  He feared that if he didn’t make a sudden move the next hit was going to get them both hurt. And he had to do his best to try to shield Annie from this killer. “Brace yourself!” He gripped the wheel harder and did the only thing he could, taking a hard right and ran off the road.

  Chapter Six

  Caleb knew he was taking a risk when he made the move to suddenly turn off the road into the wooded area. He pressed the gas and made it about three quarters of a mile before things went from bad to worse. By the time he saw the large tree in front of him, it was too late. The impact was hard enough to deploy the airbags.

  He withstood the hit, but his first thoughts went to Annie.

  “Annie,” he said. He unbuckled his seatbelt and looked over at her. Fear like nothing he’d ever felt ripped through him. “Annie,” he said again louder. But still no response from her.

  He reached over and checked for a pulse in her neck. It was fast and strong. She must have been knocked out by the impact, but at least she was alive. He hated to move her, but he couldn’t take the risk that they were followed by the SUV into the woods.

  Without wasting another second, he went around to the other side of the car and pulled her gently out—cradling her in his arms. He was thankful that he’d continued his military style workout routine so he would be able to carry her without any issue if they needed to hike a distance.

  He needed to get Annie to safety. Then he’d come back and gather up the rest of their stuff. Just as he started walking with Annie in his arms, he saw the headlights approaching. He ran a few steps and placed Annie down on the ground behind some tall trees to provide her cover. Then he crouched down beside her, ready to act.

  The area they were in right now was wooded so that the assailant would be forced to get out of his car if he was going to try to get to them. He couldn’t drive straight up to where they were. And when he got out of his car, Caleb would be ready to pounce. He pulled his gun out and waited as he heard the SUV stop. The headlights illuminating the area.

  If the man in the SUV was McCoy, he knew from previous experience that McCoy would be willing and able to use lethal force. The only lights were those coming from the SUV. But the darkness actually worked in his favor. He’d done so many missions in the dead of night—although in the military he would have had his night vision aids. Now he’d just have to improvise. His opponent was going to be in the same boat. The fact that the attacker was following them into the woods let him know his intentions were deadly. There was no doubt that McCoy had received the kill order from Silva. And McCoy probably worried that if he failed, then it would be his hide on the line.

  He could see enough of the man getting out of the SUV to recognize by the silhouette that it was McCoy. Caleb planned to make sure that McCoy wasn’t able to go through with his mission. But regardless, Caleb was still a police officer—an officer of the law, not a mercenary like McCoy. He couldn’t just shoot him without it being in self-defense or in defense of Annie. He had to try to attempt to take him in. Unlike the officers that had betrayed Annie years ago, Caleb had vowed to serve and protect with honor.

  But if McCoy pulled his gun, Caleb would have no hesitation in acting. McCoy started walking toward the abandoned vehicle. Caleb’s best opportunity would be to jump him from behind.

  McCoy left his SUV running so the headlights worked in Caleb’s favor. Making sure that Annie was still safely hidden behind the large tree, he then started to inch forward. Timing his steps with McCoy. This wasn’t the first time that Caleb had engaged in a sneak attack. But as he took a step forward a flashback hit him hard. Vivid pictures ran through his head.

  He was back in the mountains of Afghanistan. Dirt filled his mouth. His arm ached as the bullet grazed through his flesh and fresh blood poured out of him. He could hear the whirling noise of the chopper pounding in his ears. The sound of AK-47 fire ripping through the night. The final scream from his brother in arms before the life left his body—Caleb helpless to do anything but evacuate with the rest of his SEAL team that had just arrived at the scene.

  A loud crunching sound brought Caleb back to reality—but not quickly enough.

  McCoy grabbed onto Caleb’s arm catching him off guard, his gun dropping from his right hand to the ground. The physical contact jarred Caleb back to life though and he fought back. With a swift upper cut that connected to McCoy’s jaw, followed by a kick squarely in the solar plexus, knocking McCoy back a few steps.

  Caleb used the moment to grab his gun from the ground. “Hands up, McCoy. I will shoot.”

  McCoy moved slowly. But Caleb knew that the man had a gun, probably in his waistband. If McCoy went for it, Caleb would have no choice but to shoot.

  “This isn’t about you, man,” McCoy said. “Just hand over the girl and walk away. She isn’t worth the trouble.”

  “You’re wrong about that. Keep your hands up.”

  “One thing you’ve let me know over the short time I’ve known you is that you’re the type to do the right thing.” McCoy turned around and took off running into the woods. McCoy knew that there was no way Caleb would shoot him while he was retreating. And he was right. Caleb wouldn’t shoot a man in the back that was fleeing the scene.

  Caleb started in pursuit, but McCoy was fast. And even more than that, Caleb couldn’t afford to leave Annie alone. He chased him for about a quarter mile, but then quickly turned back.

  He couldn’t believe he’d had a flashback. He hadn’t had one in almost a year. And it almost cost him his life and Annie’s too. And that would’ve been another unforgivable mistake.

  **

  Annie tasted blood in her mouth and opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She looked around in the darkness and was disoriented. Where in
the world was she? Nothing seemed familiar. She took in a breath and it seemed like she was outside.

  Her pulse quickened as she tried to figure out what was going on. Then she remembered that they had been hit from behind by the SUV and that Caleb had made a sudden turn off the road. But then what happened? She couldn’t remember a thing.

  She wasn’t in the car anymore. Looking around she realized that she had been propped up against a large tree in the woods. And where was Caleb? What if he was hurt? Or worse? Dear Lord, help me.

  She tried to move and her body ached. Especially her head. She reached up to her temple as it pounded. Being out in the middle of the woods didn’t seem like somewhere she needed to be.

  “Caleb, are you there?”

  No answer. She didn’t know if she should stay put or try to get away. It occurred to her that Caleb had to have gotten her out of the car. Because if it had been one of Silva’s men, then they would’ve killed her. They wouldn’t have left her behind a tree in the middle of the woods. She wouldn’t still be breathing right now if Silva’s men had gotten to her. But that didn’t mean that Caleb was all right. What if he was injured and needed her?

  “Caleb,” she said, raising her voice louder this time. Panic started to set in as there was still no answer. Where could he be? Should she try to find him? It was dark, but there was a bit of light coming from the opposite direction, from a car that was a couple of hundred feet away.

  She tried again. “Caleb!”

  “Annie, I’ll be right there,” he said.

  A huge flood of relief came over her as she tried to stand, but stumbled, as her legs gave out on her. She grabbed onto the tree to try to steady herself and fight off the sick feeling in her stomach. With only the limited light, she couldn’t see him. After a moment, she sensed his presence in front of her as he reached out and touched her cheek.