His time ran out, and the message ended.
Shala dropped her phone, curled up against her pillow, and cried herself to sleep.
On Friday morning, three days later, Sky was over at Redfoot’s. He’d taken the day off to help set up. The mayor had also seen fit to help with their plan. His help had included calling Shala and insisting she come down for a town meeting and the night’s spur-of-the-moment powwow. Of course, Sky’s threatening to hand the mayor his resignation had probably increased the man’s help-fulness.
Sky looked at his watch. Shala was probably already on the road. His heart swelled at the thought of seeing her again, and he hoped Redfoot was right about this plan. So far, it was bringing Shala back to him. That in itself felt like a miracle.
His cell phone rang. Probably it was Matt wanting to know how things were going. Sky looked around for Maria before answering, but when he glanced at the screen, it wasn’t the right number.
“Hey, Lucas.” These last few weeks, his loner friend had changed. He’d even agreed to help set up the powwow.
“Where’s Shala?” Lucas’s tone was gut-clenchingly serious.
“On the way here. Why?”
“We were wrong. Not you, but your buddy Phillip and I. Charlie Rainmaker wasn’t behind those attempts on Shala’s life.”
“What do you mean?” Sky demanded.
“She’s not out of danger yet, Sky.”
“Fuck! Who is it?”
“I’m not supposed to say, because the investigation is ongoing, but…ah, screw the investigation. It’s Senator Blanton and his people.”
“What? Why? And how long have you known this, Lucas?” Fear was rioting through Sky’s heart.
“I just found out. I mean, I knew he’s being looked at for some nasty stuff. Let’s just say, when he travels, he’s not real particular as to the type of brothels he visits. He likes girls young, and he doesn’t care how they got to him. Doesn’t much care what condition they are in when he leaves them, either. The guy was going to be renouncing his run for presidency and stepping down from the senate in a few weeks. He just hadn’t gotten that memo yet.”
Sky felt sick just listening. He also felt confused. “What does that have to do with Shala?”
“It appears the married senator spent a weekend in a rented cabin outside of Precious, accompanied by his play toy. It was the same week Shala was taking pictures. I’m not even sure if she got him on camera, but remember the shot she took of two people going at it in a car? I think that’s our man. They are running that image now, seeing if they can get anything for sure.”
“Aw, shit,” Sky said. “All this because the guy couldn’t keep his dick in his pants?”
“I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
“What do you mean?” Sky’s grip on the phone tightened.
“You heard about the girl’s body that was found about sixty miles west of Precious.”
“Yeah, but I hadn’t heard they’d indentified her. I’m assuming you’re saying that the girl was the play toy.”
“That’s what I’m saying.
“It hasn’t been leaked yet, but when they checked her place, well let’s just say she wasn’t as discreet as the good senator would have liked. There’s evidence linking him and the girl in an earlier affair. But…no evidence putting him with the girl the week she died.”
“Except Shala and her pictures,” Sky said, and gritted his teeth.
“Right. And while the senator is scum, it may not even be him connected with Conners. They leaned hard and heavy on some of his hired bodyguards, mostly idiots with guns, figuring someone helped him make ‘the problem’ disappear. The FBI has been watching and waiting for one of them to screw up.”
“And?” Sky asked.
“They got one of them on tape, talking to a Bradley Conners. They couldn’t say for sure, because they talked in mumbo jumbo. But the FBI said from the conversation, they surmised that the man had originally just hired Conners to steal something, but due to some new discovery, the stakes went up. Which is probably because they now have the senator connected to the girl. And while they couldn’t swear on it, it sounded like the guy on the line was ordering a hit.”
“Shala?” Sky asked.
“He called her a reporter,” Lucas said. “But yeah, we think it’s her.”
Sky still was trying to grasp it. “How the hell do you know all this?”
“When they ran a check on Conners, it came up that my friend had just done the same thing. They called him, and he told them it had been for me, and then I got pulled in for questioning.”
Sky tried to think. “Okay, I’ll find out exactly where she is and send state troopers to find her.”
“Which way is she coming? I can start that way,” Lucas suggested.
“I think she’d take the freeway. I’ll have to call her.”
He hung up, his heart thudding against this breastbone, and started dialing Shala’s number. Then he remembered she wouldn’t answer. Instead he dialed Pete with the highway patrol, who was still at his office, and told him what he was going to need. With Pete on hold, he yelled out, “Maria?” She called back, and he followed her voice to the kitchen, finding her sitting at the table. “Give me your phone,” he ordered.
She frowned. “Why?”
“I need to talk to Shala,” he growled.
“No! I’m not tricking her like that.”
“Get me your god damn phone! She’s in danger!”
Maria’s eyes grew round. Running to the counter, she snatched up her phone. She started to hand it over, then pulled it back. “One condition. When she gets here, you tell her you love her.”
“Deal.” He grabbed the phone and started punching in her number. “But for the record, I was going to do that already.”
He started outside. Shala’s line rang, and he prayed she’d answer. Her voice spilled over the airways. “Hi Maria, I’m about an hour from Precious now. Do you want to meet me at the café?”
“Shala? Don’t hang up. We just found out that Charlie Rainmaker wasn’t behind those attempts to take the camera or to hurt you. We know who it is, and he could be following you. Shala?” He repeated her name when she didn’t answer. Reaching his car, he dove behind the wheel.
“I’m here,” she said. “But I swear, if this is a trick—”
“It’s not.” He heard her inhale. “Where are you at right now? What road, and I need a mileage marker.”
“I…don’t see one.” Her voice sounded tight, scared. He pulled out of Redfoot’s driveway, his own gut a pretzel of fear.
“Wait, there’s one.” She called it out. “Do you want me to pull over?”
“No, just keep driving.” Sky headed toward the freeway, tallying in his mind where she’d be by the time he met up with her. “And I need you to hang on one second—don’t hang up, okay? I’ve got DPS on another phone and need to let them know where you are, okay?”
After hearing her weak agreement, he switched phones and spat out the mileage marker to Pete. He heard Pete repeating the information into a radio. Then he told the trooper to call Lucas on another line and give him the info, too.
“Sky,” Pete said a few seconds later. “There’s a car within a few miles of her. He’s going to catch up and escort her here.”
“Great! I’m already on the road, too. Tell them to look out for my truck and Lucas’s.”
“We don’t need a motorcade,” Pete grumbled.
“Well, you’re getting one.”
Shala could hear Sky on the line, and just his voice sent mixed waves of pain and calm into her. Pain, because she’d given up trying to convince herself that she didn’t love him. She was undoubtedly in love with this man who wanted nothing to do with commitment or happily ever after. Calm, because somehow he helped her forget that one of the four cars behind her on the freeway could have a man with a gun in it who was thinking her head made a good target.
“Shala?”
“Yes?”
“We’ve got a trooper only a few miles off. He should be pulling up any minute. And I’m on my way. Lucas is, too. It’s going to be okay.”
“Sky?” Even saying his name hurt.
“Yes?”
“Who is trying to kill me and why?”
He explained some, but she assumed he didn’t tell her everything. Silence filled the line.
All of a sudden, a car pulled up next to Shala, close. Too close. “Oh, God,” she muttered.
“What?” Sky asked.
“A car’s trying to pass me, coming up along the median. I think he’s trying to run me off the road.”
“Is it a DPS car?” Sky asked, sounding panicked.
“No.” Shala saw the man reach down, and when his hand came back up, he held something out. Shala didn’t look carefully. She just punched the gas.
“Where the fuck is your guy?” she heard Sky yelling right before she dropped her cell.
“I said, where the fuck are your guys?” Sky shouted into the phone.
“He’s there,” Pete answered. “She’s running from him. Tell her slow down. The guy is trying to show her his badge.”
“Is he not in a squad car?” Sky demanded. Pete didn’t answer. Sky heard him talking into a radio.
“No.” Pete came back. “He’s off duty. He’s driving a blue Saturn.”
“Shala!” Sky yelled into his phone. “Listen to me, is the car trying to pull you over a blue Saturn? If it is, he’s a trooper, baby. Talk to me, Shala. Talk to me.”
Seeing the WELCOME TO PRECIOUS sign should have eased the burning in Sky’s stomach, but it didn’t. This wasn’t just about saving Shala’s life; this was about convincing her to share her life with him. But Sky would still love to kick the trooper’s ass for neglecting to inform Pete that he wasn’t in a black-and-white. The idiot had put everyone through some unneeded panic.
Shala’s phone was low on battery, so after the situation calmed down, and after he’d met up with her, they both hung up. Sky had since called Phillip, who was going to meet them at the station house in a few hours.
Sky’s gaze kept shifting to Shala driving behind him. He’d run onto the curb twice trying to catch glimpses of her in her car.
The trooper escort phoned and said he’d let Sky take it from there, which was fine. Sky called Shala back and told her to head to the police station/jailhouse.
“I’m supposed to meet Maria at the café,” she argued.
“Not until we know it’s safe,” he snapped.
He heard her sigh, but she turned down Main Street the right way. All he could think about was getting her out from behind the wheel and into his arms. And into his life. Permanently.
When she parked, Sky leaped out of his car to meet her. His heart lurched at the sight of her. She wore jeans that fit like an oiled glove, and the same red shirt he’d once watched her slowly strip off in his office. Awestruck at the sight of her, he didn’t even acknowledge Lucas walking up. As Shala got closer, Sky ached to touch her. Then Sky watched as Shala ran straight into his friend’s arms.
He swallowed a lump of disappointment when he heard Lucas whisper, “It’s going to be okay. I got you.”
It hurt like hell to know she’d turn to Lucas and not him, but he deserved the pain. Lucas was her friend, and Sky would bet his right arm that never once had Lucas told her that he was just a temporary fixture in her life, that as soon as the new wore off the relationship he was out the door. And that’s exactly what Sky had told her—maybe not in those words, but after replaying their argument in his head, he begin to see how Shala would view his fucked-up excuses.
“We should get her inside,” Sky said, hoping his jealousy didn’t show. Then he looked around again to make sure it was safe.
He obviously didn’t look hard enough. The moment they turned for the door, the bullets began.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Down!” Sky yelled, and threw himself on top of Shala. He rolled them behind his truck. Another shot rang out. The ping sound told Sky his truck had taken the hit. He saw Lucas duck behind his truck’s front wheel. They both pulled their weapons at the same time.
Rising up, Sky peered over the bed of his truck and saw the shooter. He was across the street, leaning over the top of a Dodge Charger. The sun caught a glint of metal, and Sky saw the rifle was propped on the roof of the car. “Cover me,” he said to Lucas.
“No!” Shala grabbed Sky’s arm. Electricity from her touch shot through him, and he forgot to breathe. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss.
“I love you,” he said.
“That’s real romantic, guys,” Lucas said, “but—”
Sky shot out from behind the truck. Shala yelled again, and Lucas started popping off shots, trying to give him some cover.
Sky felt a bullet move past his ear. He ducked behind Martha’s Cadillac. When he heard the pings hitting her car, he was more frightened of his secretary learning about the damage than at taking any himself. Swearing like a sailor, he shot out from behind the vehicle.
More pops from Lucas’s gun echoed through the hot, humid air. The shooter remained behind the Charger, which gave Sky enough time to get closer. He pelted across the paved parking lot. Close. Almost close enough. Sky only had to cross the street when he saw the killer pile into the car.
“No!” He raised his gun.
Unfortunately, the man had the car moving almost immediately. The roar of the engine rang in Sky’s ears. Aimed right at him, the vehicle burst forward. Sky jumped straight up in the air. His feet hit the hood. He fought to remain standing as he unloaded his weapon into the windshield. The car swerved, and so did Sky. Sky knew he was about to hit the pavement. Probably hit hard. He hated being right.
He twisted in midair, hoping to protect his head when he went down. Air gushed out of his lungs when his elbow hit the concrete, and then his shoulder landed, followed by the rest of him. He hadn’t stopped rolling, the pain hadn’t even registered, when he heard the crash. He glanced up toward the sound, thankful he could still move his neck, and saw that the Dodge Charger had T-boned Martha’s Cadillac. Martha was going to have—
And then the pain registered. “Son of a bitch,” he growled.
He didn’t try to move again. He wasn’t even sure he could. He saw Lucas, gun drawn, moving toward the crash site. A mental flash of the guy taking a chest full of bullets filled Sky’s mind, and he felt confident about what Lucas would find. Then he saw Shala on her knees beside him.
“Oh, God.” She pressed her hand to her trembling lips.
“It’s just my arm,” he managed to say, and he hoped it was true, but honestly he wasn’t sure where all the pain was coming from.
Her blue eyes, wet with tears, met his. God, he loved this woman! Right then, his pain—with the exception of his arm—faded.
“Is that how the Hollywood cops do it?” he asked, and tried to smile.
Redfoot adjusted Matt’s headdress. It was late afternoon, and everything had gotten a little behind, with Sky being hurt, but the spirits had taken care of him. From the look on Blue Eyes’s face, maybe Sky’s injury had even helped her see past the issues keeping them apart. Redfoot hoped so, because he didn’t think Sky would be up to taking part in the plan tonight. He certainly wouldn’t be performing.
Now, if he could only fix things with Matt and Maria.
“Do I really have to wear this thing?” Matt touched the cascade of feathers on his shoulder.
Redfoot frowned. “Do you want to win her back or not?”
“Yes,” Matt muttered.
“Then you have to wear it. And you have to dance properly. Have you been practicing like I showed you?”
“Yes, but I have two left feet.”
Redfoot glanced down and grinned. “You are slightly bowlegged, as well.”
“Oh, please,” Matt argued. “With your skinny legs, you shouldn’t be criticizing mine.”
“Ahh, but my skinny
legs are not so pale, hairy, or bowlegged.” Redfoot gave Matt a pat on the shoulder. “You will do fine.” This last week, Redfoot had discovered that Maria had good taste. The white boy had spirit, and a good spirit at that.
“I’m going to make an ass out of myself, aren’t I?” Matt asked despondently.
Redfoot hid a grin. “That is yet to be seen.” And it was. In his vision, he had heard the spirits howling with laughter, but he had also seen Maria with love in her eyes.
“You lied! Why would you lie?” Veronica’s voice rang out behind Redfoot. He turned. She stood there, arms crossed, dressed in a colorful beaded dress that hugged her body perfectly. Seeing her sent a spasm of pain to his heart.
“I did what I had to do,” he said.
“You made yourself look bad so my son wouldn’t force me to marry you.”
“I told you I would fix it. And I did.”
“But now my son thinks badly of you.”
Redfoot met her gaze. “What does it matter?”
“It matters to me.” Anger filled her voice.
“Should I leave?” Matt asked.
“No!” Redfoot snapped, and then looked back at Veronica. “Woman, you are difficult. I fix it so you do not have to marry me, and now you are mad at how I fix it.”
“But why? You never lie.”
“I did it for the reason that I didn’t care that they were going to push us into getting married. I did it because I love you.”
“You are the most stubborn old coot I know,” she muttered.
“And you are the most stubborn old hag!”
Someone cleared their throat at the entrance of the tent. Redfoot, Veronica, and Matt all turned. Ramon stood there. “You’re a stubborn old coot, she’s a stubborn old hag, and I’d say that makes you two perfect for each other.”
Redfoot nodded. He’d left a message on the young man’s phone, inviting him to participate tonight, but Ramon hadn’t returned the call and Redfoot hadn’t known if he would come.
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