Hidden Prey (Lawmen)

by Cheyenne McCray

  She hesitated only a moment before climbing out. Her voice shook. “Oh God, I hate heights.”

  He held on until she had a good foothold. “At least you won’t be dead.”

  “I will if I fall.” But she still climbed out the window even as her arms shook with obvious fear.

  The men rammed the door hard, and the bureau moved several more inches.

  As soon as Tori was on her way down, Landon held his weapon with one hand and swung his leg out the window. He was climbing over the sill when the men forced the door all the way open.

  Landon managed to get a shot off at the first man who came through. The man dropped. A second man stepped over the body and saw Landon, who was now out of the window, trying to gain purchase on the trellis with his bare feet.

  The man aimed his gun, and fired. Landon bit back a shout as pain slammed into his left shoulder, instantly weakening him.

  He almost fell off the trellis. He barely managed to grab it with his right hand, but lost his grip on his weapon, and the Glock tumbled to the ground below. Somehow he managed to hang onto the trellis with one hand.

  Another shot hit the sill and fragments of wood exploded near Landon’s face. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold on for long with one hand. He looked down and saw that Tori waited for him at the bottom of the trellis.

  “Run!” He gritted his teeth as she hesitated. “Go, damn it!”

  A man leaned over the sill and Landon had no choice but to drop to the ground. More pain erupted through his shoulder as he hit the dirt and his vision grayed. A bullet whizzed by his ear.

  He felt the hard imprint of his Glock beneath him. He rolled off of the gun, grabbed it, and aimed at the face in the window that he could just make out in the darkness.

  The man trained his weapon on Landon, who lunged to the side. He ignored the explosive pain in his shoulder the best he could and got off several rounds at the man now leaning out of the window.

  A cry from the man and then his body tumbled over the windowsill. His body landed with a loud thump. He lay still just feet from Landon who didn’t have time to think as a larger man’s form filled the window above. Bullets slammed into the ground a few inches from Landon. He was almost certain he couldn’t be seen well in the darkness as he pressed into the deeper shadows against the wall.

  Men shouted in Spanish. Landon was fluent in the language but he couldn’t hear clearly. His mind spun from the pain in his shoulder, his hearing buzzed, and his adrenaline was sky high.

  There was no sign of Tori. Hopefully she’d listened to him and ran into the mountains, and was as far away as she could get.

  Keeping low, he ran from the house and through a back gate that had been left wide open.

  The house exploded.

  The power of the blast flung Landon forward. He hit the ground with such force it jarred his teeth and the pain in his shoulder was excruciating.

  Something slammed into the back of his head. His vision dimmed and he struggled to maintain consciousness.

  Then there was nothing but black.

  A tremendous explosion, and Tori screamed as she saw the house go up in a fireball. “Landon!” Fear for him tore through her body. Her heart pounded even harder, a hard rock of a lump forming in her throat.

  Stones and twigs jabbed the soles of her bare feet as she ran back toward the house even though she knew no one could have survived that explosion. Her mind rejected the thought that Landon was dead. No, he couldn’t be. He’d gotten out and he was okay. He had to be.

  Smoke roiled to the sky above towering flames. No one could have survived that. Were some of the cartel’s men still around? Or had they all been inside?

  In spite of the danger, she had to see if Landon was there. She was almost to the back gate when she saw a large form on the ground. It was a man, a big man, and he was lying on his side. Landon? She couldn’t tell. She raced to the body and dropped to her knees beside the man who was naked from the waist up and wore no shoes.

  “Landon!” The cry came out as a sob. He was so still. She touched his shoulder and her hand came away covered in blood.

  Horror filled her. He was shot. Was he dead?

  He groaned and moved.

  A measure of relief went through her as she frantically tried to think of what to do. She glanced up and saw nothing but the fire. No men coming after them with guns. No one anywhere.

  She had to bind Landon’s wound. All she had on was the long T-shirt she’d worn to sleep in, and the jeans she’d managed to get on before climbing down the trellis. She hadn’t even had time to put on her panties. She tore at the bottom half of her shirt and managed to rip apart one seam.

  Panicked, she searched for something to help her, then spotted a knife on his belt, next to his phone holster. She jerked the knife out and cut the shirt enough to get it started and tore off as much of the material as she could.

  Heat from the fire ravaged what was left of the house and warmed her skin. She coughed from the smoke and ashes floated around her.

  Sirens blared in the distance.

  She had to shift Landon’s body to wrap the T-shirt under his armpit and up around his shoulder where he was shot. He groaned with obvious pain. She tied the cloth as tightly as she could, and it grew wet with blood almost at once.

  “Come on.” She grasped his good arm. “You’ve got to get up. They might find us.”

  He held his hand to his forehead as his eyes opened and she tugged at his arm. He sat up and shook his head, as if trying to rattle his thoughts back in place.

  “What are you doing here, damn it?” His words were a little slurred and she thought he probably had a concussion. “I told you to run.”

  “I had to come back for you.”

  “How the fuck did they find us?” He tried to stand. “It shouldn’t have been possible.”

  Somehow she managed to tug him to his feet. He stumbled. He was so much bigger than her that he almost took her down to the ground with him. “I hear sirens, Landon.” She glanced over her shoulder at the burning house. “We can go to the police.”

  “No.” He steadied himself. “We don’t know who’s been compromised or if every bit of this was a setup and the cartel managed to get their hands on law enforcement vehicles.” He spotted something and she looked to see that it was his weapon. She scooped it up before he could attempt to and she slid it into the holster on his belt.

  “If we can’t trust anyone, let’s get out of here.” She grasped his hand and started toward the darkness of the tree line, the gateway to the forest.

  He seemed to gain his bearings and then he was moving faster, keeping up with her. They entered the forest just as red and blue lights flashed in the street behind them. The blare of a fire truck’s horn and sirens came on the heels of the police.

  Landon dropped to one knee. The light from the blazing fire was enough to illuminate him and she saw so much blood coating his side. Her heart thumped in her throat. It had to be bad.

  “I’m going to see if I can find something to cover that wound.” She started to get up. “Maybe at a neighbor’s house. I’ll be right back.”

  He grabbed her hand using his good arm. “We stay together.”

  “But you’re hurt.” She hesitated. “Shouldn’t you be still?”

  “Just stay with me.” He took her hand and they ran within the tree line. More houses were along the street. “There.” He pointed to one of the houses. “An old truck in the driveway.”

  This time he pulled her. She didn’t know where he was getting his strength from, but he looked like a fierce warrior as they hurried.

  A porch light illuminated the front door of the home, but the light didn’t reach the truck. The windows were dark and she hoped they would stay that way. Although with the loud explosion, she didn’t know how anyone could still be asleep.

  When they reached the older model truck, Tori tried to open the door but it was locked. She whirled around, searching for something heav
y but not too heavy. After a moment she spied a brick paver along a walkway. She snatched it up and smashed the driver’s side window with a loud crash and knocked out the glass.

  Down the street came shouts and yells as firefighters fought the blaze and the police cordoned off the area.

  Landon reached into the truck, unlocked the door, and jerked it open before taking the paver from Tori and busting the steering column with it. He brushed some of the safety glass off the seat, climbed in, and hotwired the old truck. With his injured arm he struggled, and it probably took him longer than it would have if he hadn’t been shot.

  In moments the engine revved and he scooted over to the passenger side. “I hope you can drive stick.”

  “I hope so, too.” She gave him a concerned look. “It’s been quite a few years.”

  “Like getting on a horse.” His smile was strained. “Just don’t kill the engine.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  He gave her a few quick directions, including releasing the parking brake first. Her blood still rushed in her ears as she did what he told her. She stepped on the clutch, released the parking brake, and eased the clutch out, praying the whole time the truck wouldn’t stall. Fortunately the truck faced the street, so she didn’t have to back out.

  Just as she drove out of the driveway, the lights came on in the house. She didn’t look back as she stomped on the gas and tore out onto the street, tires squealing.

  Behind them the fire reached for the sky, the light flickering and illuminating everything around it.

  She looked at Landon who had found a dirty rag on the floorboard and was holding it to his shoulder. Thank God part of her T-shirt was covering the wound or that rag would likely cause an infection.

  “I need to get you to a hospital.” She swallowed as she looked at the road. “It’s been so long since I’ve been to Sierra Vista that I don’t know where one is.”

  “We can’t go to a hospital.” He sounded like he was trying to talk through gritted teeth. “I have a friend who’s a doctor.”

  “Okay.” Tori let out her breath. “Then that’s where we’ll go.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Tori followed Landon’s directions to a neighborhood across town from where the safe house had been. “How did the cartel find me?”

  “I’m not sure.” Landon’s expression was grim as he pressed the cloth to his shoulder. “Damn, I hate to think that any DHS agent could be working for the cartel.”

  When Tori glanced at Landon, he appeared even paler and sweat beaded his forehead. He didn’t look like he was going to be able to hold up much longer.

  “Turn here.” He gestured to a street on their left. “Last house on the right.”

  She sped down the street and came to a hard stop in front of a large house. At first glance she could see that it was a beautiful home in a very nice neighborhood.

  The truck jerked and the engine died as she forgot to put in the clutch.

  Tori scrambled out of the truck and barely made it to the passenger side before Landon started to tumble onto the sidewalk. She helped him balance before he climbed out and they hobbled up to the house. He had to lean on her and he was such a big man that she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep him from falling without going down with him.

  He came to a stop. “Wait.”

  “Landon, we have to hurry.”

  He shook his head and dug in his jeans’ pocket. He pulled out Tori’s cell phone and the battery. His hands were surprisingly steady as he examined the phone in the glow of a streetlight.

  “Shit.” Landon growled the word.

  “What?” Tori felt utterly confused.

  “Take a look at this.” He indicated something small and metallic that glinted in the light near where the battery would normally be. He dropped the phone and the battery on the ground. “Grab that rock.” He pointed to a large landscaping rock that was a part of the desert landscaping. When she returned with it, he said, “Now smash the hell out of that phone, especially what I just showed you, and then pick up the pieces.”

  She frowned but did as he told her and smashed and smashed the phone and battery until he approved and said nothing could have survived what she’d just done to it. She scooped up the tiny pieces like he’d instructed and pushed them into her pocket. “Why did we just murder my phone?”

  “What I showed you was a small, sophisticated tracking device.” Landon looked both weak and grim. “Someone planted it there. It could have been someone close to you, like your ex-boyfriend.”

  She stared at Landon. “Gregory. He used to show up at places I went and I’d always wonder how he found me.”

  Landon’s features were tight. “He must have given the information to the cartel.”

  She felt light-headed from thoughts of Gregory, what he’d done, and his death. She shook it off. “We’ve got to get you inside.”

  Thankfully, he didn’t argue. With his good arm over her shoulders, they made it up to the door and she pressed the doorbell. A frantic feeling caused her skin to prickle and she pressed the doorbell again and again until she heard the bolt lock being disengaged and the door opened.

  An alert-looking woman wearing a white bathrobe opened the door. She was tall, and managed to look beautiful even though she wore no make-up and her hair was sleep-tousled. She must be the doctor’s wife, Tori thought.

  “Hi, Beth.” Landon looked exhausted and pained and it sounded as though he could barely speak. “Dr. Fallon, this is Tori. Tori, meet Dr. Bethany Fallon.”

  Tori wondered how he even had the presence of mind to introduce them in the condition he was in.

  “We need your help.” The frantic feeling inside Tori ramped up. “He’s not doing well.”

  “I can see that.” Dr. Fallon turned to Landon. Concern was in the woman’s voice as she looked him over. “This way.” Dr. Fallon turned and hurried into the house.

  As she supported Landon, Tori was too distracted to pay attention to the décor before the woman headed out of the room and down a hallway.

  Tori helped Landon into the house and closed the door behind them before heading after the doctor.

  They followed the doctor at a slower pace, Landon grimacing with every step. When they reached the hallway, Dr. Fallon was standing beside the first door on the left. “Gunshot wound?”

  Tori nodded. “Yes.”

  “Come on in.”

  Tori helped Landon hobble into what appeared to be a game room. A billiards table took up the center and a wet bar was to the side.

  “Help me get him up.” Dr. Fallon’s tone was no-nonsense as she spoke to Tori.

  Even though he was covered in blood, the woman didn’t flinch at having him on what looked like a very expensive billiards table. When he was flat on his back, Beth told Tori where to find clean bar towels behind the wet bar.

  As Tori left to do what she was instructed to, Dr. Fallon hurried from the room. Tori grabbed a stack of towels, went to Landon, and pressed a bar towel against the wound. Moments later the doctor returned with a medical bag. She pulled on surgical gloves and started attending to Landon.

  “It doesn’t look good.” She narrowed her gaze as she examined his shoulder. “No exit wound. It’s going to require surgery and we need to get you to a hospital. I’m not fully equipped here.”

  “Can’t.” Landon set his jaw and spoke in short staccato sentences as he tried to tell her why. “Tori’s a protected witness. Security was breached. Might be found if we go to a hospital.”

  Dr. Fallon frowned. “I suppose we’ll just have to make do. But I’m afraid you’ve lost a lot of blood.”

  “Not as bad as it looks.” He grimaced. “I trust you to patch me up just fine.”

  The doctor shook her head. “What’s your blood type?”

  Landon shifted and winced. “AB positive.”

  “What’s yours?” she asked Tori.

  “A positive.” Tori couldn’t remember if A could give to AB or if AB co
uld only take AB.

  “Thank God George is type O positive.” Dr. Fallon started cleaning and sterilizing the wound as she spoke to Tori. “Go upstairs to the last room on the right and wake my husband. Tell him I need him in the billiards room now.”

  Tori hurried, her bare feet pounding on the carpeted wood staircase. She went to the room she’d been instructed to go to and knocked. Moments later a man in pajamas, who was about sixty, opened the door. Tori gave a very brief explanation and the man grabbed his bathrobe and tugged it on as they hurried down the stairs.

  As Mr. Fallon pulled up a stool to sit on next to the billiards table, the doctor set up an IV between the two men and gave Tori instructions on how she could help.

  Dr. Fallon told Landon she was going to give him an anesthetic strong enough to knock him out but he refused. “I need to be fully alert. I’ve got to be able to protect Tori.”

  The doctor looked through her medical bag. “She’s safe here.”

  “We can’t stay for long.” Landon bared his teeth as if more pain slammed into him. “We have a stolen truck in front of your house that clearly does not belong in this neighborhood.”

  Dr. Fallon looked down at Landon. “I’ll use a local anesthetic then, but it won’t relieve all of the pain. It’s going to hurt like hell.”

  Landon’s lips were tight. “Just do it.”

  She gave him the local and prepped him for her impromptu surgery. When she was ready, she started working on his shoulder. Landon clenched his jaw and his face screwed up as he tried to hold back a cry. His skin was pale and sweat glistened on his forehead. His face became a mask of agony, but he refused to make more than a grunt.

  Tori used one of the cloths to gently mop the sweat from Landon’s brow. She gripped his biceps with her other hand, trying to give him some comfort.

  As the doctor continued to work to dig the bullet out, Landon’s body suddenly went limp and his eyelids fluttered and closed. Tori caught her breath and her eyes widened.

  Dr. Fallon noticed Tori’s reaction and paused. Her gloves were bloody so she asked Tori to raise Landon’s eyelid and also to check his pulse, which beat sure and strong beneath her fingers.