Ranger Protector

by Angi Morgan

  “What? Work for what?” Jack demanded, slamming on the brakes at a yellow light. “Explanations now.”

  “First we rescue your partner. The less you know, the better this should play out. After you drop me off, you can call Major Clements if you want and he can fill in whoever he’s sending.”

  “No.” Jack pulled off his mirrored shades and let them dangle from his fingertips. One arm perched on the steering wheel, one on the armrest. “No more working in the dark. Turn on a light bulb or I take you to the police.”

  Jack’s weapon was now in his lap, at the fingertips of his right hand.

  “Megan’s probably told you that I left the academy. Truth is, I never did. I’ve been undercover, working my way up through the Reval organization. One of his fast moneymakers was selling properties that were in probate and torching them before the buyer discovered he didn’t have the right to sell.”

  “Was Harry Knight in on it?”

  “I don’t have a lot of details, but with him out of the picture, they needed another scapegoat.”

  “Me?”

  “When my supervisor wouldn’t stop your takedown, I called Wade.” She put the scarf back over her hair. “I wasn’t going to let you die in order to save this operation.”

  “What are they looking for?” Jack asked, turning another corner.

  “That’s not only another story, it’s classified. Today involves saving Wade. When I finally got to speak to him this morning, he told me about the message. If you barrel in there with SWAT and Rangers, he’ll be killed and everything we’ve been working toward is done. But if you go in alone, you could make it look like he escaped. Take a look at this map.”

  Megan looked at a simple map with rights and lefts and a couple of codes.

  “Memorize it. I can’t let you keep it.”

  Trinity, fence, three rights, two lefts, nine, eight, four, three, eight, six. She repeated the combination in her head. Nancy. Elephant. Fat. Tommy. Elephant. Sexy. Nancy’s elephant’s fat. Tommy’s elephant’s sexy.

  “No! She’s not going with me,” Jack said, returning to the police-station parking lot.

  Therese took the paper and opened the door. “I’m not sure how much longer Wade will be at that address. I wish I could do more.”

  Therese was gone before Jack could slide the gearshift to Park.

  “Write down what she showed you.”

  “No. You heard her. There’s not much time. You can’t do this alone. We go together. Or you wait for SWAT. The team who breaks down doors first and who will most likely get your partner killed.”

  He put the car in gear. “Dammit.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “The only way in just had to be coming up through a marshy riverbank. My feet are never going to be warm again.” Megan laughed, but it was pretty much the truth.

  “Time for silence,” Jack whispered. “We’re at the place where we should cut the fence.”

  They had ten minutes—tops—before the Rangers arrived with Dallas SWAT. He’d received the stand-down order from both units. Unfortunately, he knew that Megan was right. The men were the best, the top of their respective organizations, but Wade was a dead man if they waited.

  If Therese was right and he wasn’t dead already.

  Jack had seen the numerous surveillance cameras along the street, at the corner of every building. Too heavy for the stores selling refurbished home parts. Old bathtubs, sinks and doors stored behind the locked gates weren’t that valuable. Maybe the new, unfinished five-story building at the water’s edge needed the upscale security. After all, they were about to break into it.

  True to Therese’s directions, there seemed to be a clear path between two of the junkyards once they were through the fence.

  “This building seems out of place down here.”

  “Whoever Rushdan Reval is, he’s building in anticipation of this turning into a Dallas river walk like the city of San Antonio. Now, no more questions or observations unless someone’s on top of us holding a gun. Got it?”

  “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Well, maybe it is for, like, this specific—”

  He shot her a look, and she knew what it meant. Wire cutters in hand, he clipped through the chain links quickly, efficiently and in silence. He’d verified he had the mag in his gun and the one in his pocket. Megan was unarmed.

  They ran across the ground littered with building materials for the out-of-place office midrise. The door leading inside had been unlocked for the crew—all of which had conveniently left for the day. When you’re about to murder someone, you tend not to want too many witnesses.

  You better be here, Wade.

  As they entered the building, Megan kept a hand on his back. She shifted it to his right or left to indicate which way the map had shown to go. They were a good team. Anticipating each other’s steps and hesitations without encountering anyone.

  It seemed like their luck was too good to hold, but they made it to the locked door where Wade had been kept a few hours earlier.

  “Nancy’s elephant’s fat. Tommy’s elephant’s sexy,” Megan chanted behind him. “I mean, nine, eight, f...four. Tommy. Elephant. Sexy.”

  It took him a minute to translate. “Nine, eight, four, two, eight, six?”

  “Three, eight, six. I forgot there are two t’s. It’s nine, eight, four, three, eight, six. Sorry. I’m just so nervous.”

  Jack punched in the code as she said it. The electronic lock indicator changed from red to green. He shifted the handle down to open the door, expecting something. Anything. He stopped Megan and verified the same code worked from the inside. Then they both stepped through and shut the door, plunging them into the pitch-black.

  They both turned their cells on, using them as flashlights.

  Lying on his stomach in the middle of an empty room about the size of a supply closet was Wade. Easily recognizable in a green camouflage hoodie that belonged to Jack. Kneeling, Jack felt for a pulse. “This isn’t going to be easy. He’s unconscious.”

  “Pick him up and let’s go before someone—”

  They both heard the footsteps in the hall and scrambled to get behind the door. Beeps from the electronic lock let them know they wouldn’t be alone for long.

  Jack pushed Megan behind him, protecting her as much as he could. The handle pushed down; the door cracked open. He was ready to hold them off until Dallas SWAT surrounded the building.

  “Naw. This one’s done and going upstairs to the boss. The dude in there still out?”

  The door pushed open enough so someone could see Wade, then closed. The conversation was muted and stayed directly outside the door. Megan took out her cell phone and typed, then showed him the message.

  Why do they have Alvie Balsawood from my office?

  Jack shrugged. She typed again.

  We can’t leave him here.

  He typed while the conversation involving the new prisoner grew louder. He shook his head and showed her the screen.

  No choice.

  But yeah, there was. If they had a cell signal... They did. Dammit, he could coordinate an assault on the building. He’d give the code to the Rangers and have them pull Wade and Megan free. When SWAT hit the front, he could be up the stairs, where it seemed they were taking her coworker.

  He could save him. Why hadn’t Therese seemed concerned? Why had she scoffed that he was arriving and not given them details?

  “Reval’s ready. Bring him up,” a louder voice said.

  When all the voices faded, Megan brought her lips to his ear.

  “What if he’s the one who tried to frame me? It would make sense. Then again, what if he’s not?”

  His phone vibrated. They were out of time. The cavalry had arrived. He swiped the phone, placing it on speaker so they could both hear the plan.

&nbs
p; “The major said I was to leave the yelling to him,” Slate Thompson from his company said. “Don’t think I’m going soft, but are you okay?”

  “Great. Wade’s the one in bad shape.”

  “Ambulance is around the corner. Do you have your location?”

  “We entered from the rear of the building. It’s about the size of a closet with an electric lock. Texting the keypad code.”

  “SWAT will be in position in three. We’re going on four,” said a voice from the background noise on Slate’s end.

  “Just warn everyone I’m here. We think the man responsible for framing Megan was taken to the second or third floor. I’ll be securing him.” Jack looked at his watch. “Three minutes. We’ll be ready.”

  “Keep your heads down,” Slate said. “Don’t try to do anything heroic, Jack.”

  * * *

  “YOU ARE GOING to be a hero, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “I should go after your friend.”

  Coworker.

  Megan checked Wade for broken bones and to make certain he could breathe okay. “His ribs are probably broken. When I touch them, he’s moaning even completely unconscious.” Behind her, Jack discussed—softly and firmly—who would come to safely remove her from the building.

  “Don’t go all goo-goo-eyed over Slate. He knows he’s handsome, so there’s no reason to feed his ego,” Jack teased. “You’ll be fine here.”

  She wasn’t arguing. With no weapon, she needed to stay put and be rescued. She’d have to think carefully about her word choices before she explained everything to her mom and dad. He’d want to know why she’d followed Jack into a hostile building without a weapon of her own.

  Come to think about it, there had been plenty of pipe or even a board that she could have picked up. She hadn’t thought about it until now. She took another look at Wade. The swelling around his left eye was huge. She spoke to him, but he was unresponsive.

  Jack texted the code and then knelt by her to check on his partner. “He looks pretty bad.”

  “For the record, I’m glad I’m here to help you. Don’t worry about us when you go up those stairs after Alvie.”

  “You’re going to miss me?” He checked his watch.

  “I’ve sort of gotten used to having you around.” They stood and she hugged him. “Be careful.”

  “Kiss me for luck. One minute.”

  She raised her lips to his, and he captured them in a fierce, exciting rhythm. When they parted, he turned and put his hand on the door, waiting for the SWAT team to start all their fireworks.

  The breach echoed through the building’s steel. Jack was out the door without a second look. The door closed, and the light changed from green to red.

  All she could do was wait. Muffled noises of shouting and running. Shots were fired. The door handle shook, but no one entered the code to release the lock. She stood close to the door, listening, trying to make out real words or sentences.

  “Thanks.”

  “Oh my God. You’re awake?”

  “If I’d known you were so pretty, I would have made more of an effort to pick you up myself.” Wade got the words out and coughed. A lot. Then did it some more as he pushed himself to a sitting position against the wall.

  “You shouldn’t try to talk. Or sit.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “Phone. You got one?” He coughed, grabbed his ribs and moaned.

  “Really. You shouldn’t try—”

  “All a trap. Building’s rigged to blow.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The second floor of the building was a shell like Jack had thought. Outside walls and windows were in place. That was about it. Heating and air-conditioning ducts were loose, some installed with many still lying on the concrete floor.

  It only took a second to verify no one was waiting to ambush the men coming into the building. Everyone had to be on the third floor or maybe even higher. If he could give the major an estimate of men and guns, then rushing up those stairs after a potential murderer might be worth it.

  Following someone into a building, even while on border patrol, had been limited and never without backup. While undercover, he’d mainly had backup from the gang.

  Normally, he was much more prepared, forewarned about the number of men, their weapons, what to expect. He knew nothing about the man who owned the property or the man Megan had caught a glimpse of through the door-hinged gap. She seemed certain it was one of the men from her office.

  Jack had no reason to doubt her. He trusted her. But the TDI employee showing up meant he was a victim like Megan or that the whole thing was his brilliant little scam.

  Brilliant as in his father’s words from the night before. Jack hadn’t even had time to soak in the detailed information Therese gave them in the car. Approaching the third floor with caution, he slowed, not making noise.

  The men downstairs were making enough noise to mask anything he created.

  No one was around. These guys were either extremely confident or really understaffed. He didn’t know which it was, but it was freaking him out a little.

  Until...

  Opening a door, Jack stepped into a very luxurious office. Lots of space. Lots of breakables. A view of the Dallas skyline that wasn’t too shabby, but glance down and all you could see was junk.

  One of the SUV guys was waiting for him in the center of the empty room.

  “Great.”

  The one he’d rammed with his truck and pushed into the ditch. Bald, massive hands on hips, feet spread wide, smirk on his face. He looked like nothing could move him from his spot.

  Jack didn’t have a truck this time.

  “I think somebody’s been watching one too many movies,” Jack said, pointing to the very large fish tank and a sheet of plastic over the carpet. “Let’s hope your boss was protecting the rug from construction dust.”

  Why wasn’t anyone else around? They must have run down another staircase in the front of the building. Shots fired, proving his theory that someone else had been there.

  “So what’s your name?” Jack asked.

  The man three times his size cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. Then Jack heard the crack of a spine as he tipped his head from side to side, getting ready to fight.

  The witty insults normally came from Wade. “You look pretty tough. I could call you Sue, like the Johnny Cash song. But I’d need to know about your family history. Wanna share?” Occasionally Jack had his own. Like this one that had jumped into his head. The big guy didn’t seem very impressed as he cracked his knuckles.

  Should he wait for Sue Dude to ram him and knock him out with one punch? Each step the man took toward him meant he wasn’t afraid Jack would fire. So Jack did the only thing he could... He fired.

  He missed the fish by keeping his eyes on Sue Dude instead of looking away to where he aimed. He hit a very nice-looking painting or portrait. He put the bullet hole in the middle of the guy’s head without trying.

  “Well, would you look at that? I guess all those dates with the practice range have paid off.”

  Evidently, Sue Dude thought so, too. He dropped to his knees, raising his hands behind his head.

  Cuffing this guy wasn’t going to work. Jack didn’t have any flex cuffs, and his metal bracelets wouldn’t fit around the man’s wrists—even if he’d had them. He pressed Sue Dude’s chest into the plastic. Did he have time to wait on the SWAT team to secure the first two floors and begin this one?

  Or the other option... Take Sue Dude with him.

  That wasn’t an option. Too many things could go wrong. What he needed was to find the TDI employee or get back to Megan. He couldn’t leave this man to ambush SWAT or the Rangers.

  “Dammit.” Jack spun around the corner and aimed his weapon at a man with
his hands in the air. “Who the hell are you?”

  The cowering man stepped sideways, toward the fish tank. “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot. I’m Alvie Balsawood. These men abducted me and tried to force me to perform illegal activities.”

  Sue Dude harrumphed into the plastic. What wasn’t he buying? That Balsawood had been abducted or forced? Jack’s bet was that no one had forced him into a business relationship. Megan’s coworker took another step.

  “You’re good where you are.” Jack raised his hand and pointed.

  Jack couldn’t tell if Balsawood was purposefully getting to a position or if he was trying to shrink into the corner. Either way Jack didn’t trust him, so he shifted his aim between the two men.

  “Who are you?” Balsawood asked, his arms sinking to a more relaxed position.

  “Lieutenant Jack MacKinnon, Texas Rangers.”

  “Texas Rangers?” Balsawood asked, dropping his hands to smack his thighs and moving forward. “Thank God. You’re here to help.”

  “I gotta get up. This plastic smells funky.”

  “Stay back, Balsawood. Show me your hands.” Jack kept both men in his view and wondered what was taking SWAT so damn long to get there. “Stay on your belly, Sue Dude.”

  “But aren’t you here to protect me?” the weaker man whined, then looked at his watch.

  “We can determine that as soon as—”

  A blast from downstairs shook the building and rocked the floor under Jack’s feet. Ceiling tiles fell, and building dust filled the air, making it hard to see.

  “Finish him or lose everything,” the cowering man shouted from the corner. He shoved the teetering fish tank and then ducked out the second door where he’d come in.

  Jack lost sight of Balsawood when Sue Dude pushed himself from his knees, shoving a shoulder straight into Jack’s gut. He kept his grip on his gun, hitting the thick man in the side of the head.

  No luck.

  Sue Dude didn’t flinch, just locked his arms around Jack’s midsection and tried to ram him into the wall. Sue Dude lost his balance, tripping over fish-tank decorations. But he kept his grip as they crashed to the floor.