by Moxie North
“She’s in the shower, oh captain my captain. I’m making breakfast, as I said I would. Do you want to talk to her? I’m sure I can interrupt her in there and hand her the phone,” Eddie offered, just to torment him.
“Don’t you dare go in my bedroom. I was just calling to make sure she was okay. I need to stick around and figure out how they found her. Keep an eye on her,” Tanner ordered.
“Will do,” Eddie said and hung up.
Tanner went back to the station and looked over the notes Brian had taken at the scene. Betty called in the fire. She’d been just coming on shift when she saw the flames. Something twisted in Tanner’s gut. He picked up his phone and dialed the motel.
Betty answered. “Apex Motel, gateway to the Olympic National Forest, don’t blame us if you get lost, this is Betty.”
“Betty, Sheriff Rochon. Was Lowell working last night?”
“Why yes, he had the overnight shift, why?”
“Can you put him on the phone, please. I have some questions for him,” Tanner said, trying to remain calm.
There was some rustling in the background, and Tanner heard Betty barking at her son to wake up.
“Sheriff?” the sleepy voice answered.
“Lowell, did anyone come into the motel last night asking about Brooklyn Nishi?” Tanner’s bear was telling him he already knew the answer to that question.
“Uh, yeah, some cop dudes were looking for her. I told them she wasn’t there, that she was in the hospital,” Lowell said with a yawn.
“Cops? Did they show you any badges?”
“Uh, no. They just were wearing suits and said they were, like, detectives or something,” Lowell mumbled.
“Lowell, when someone says they are a cop, you really should ask for ID before giving out information on anyone renting a room from you. Those were not cops. These were the men that set that car on fire, you dumbass!” Tanner didn’t bother to hold back his bear.
The sound must have shocked poor Lowell. “I’m sorry, Sherriff. It was late, and I was tired, and they seemed nice,” he said dejectedly.
“I’m going to strongly suggest to your parents that military school would benefit you greatly,” Tanner said, then hung up the phone. He didn’t want Lowell in the military any more than Lowell wanted to join, but maybe the idea would wake the little fucker up some, all the better.
Tanner dialed the hospital and got his cousin Jayne. She said two men came in asking about Brooke but since Jayne wasn’t a dumbass, she didn’t tell them anything, didn’t offer any information that she was still there and told them if they didn’t have ID or could prove they were family, they would have to leave. So the men left.
“Thanks, Jayne,” Tanner said hanging up.
So he knew two men were in town. They were in a firebombing mood, and Brooke wasn’t even close to being safe.
Getting into his truck he headed back to the station. He’d only made it halfway there when a call came over his radio.
“Sheriff, 911 call just came through from your address. No one was on the line. We tried a call back and got a busy tone,” the voice said.
“Shit! Shit, shit!” Tanner slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. Grabbing his microphone, he called back, “I’m on my way. Send Brian that direction and keep trying to call back.”
Dialing Cage, he filled his cousin in quickly. “The men after Brooke are in town. I think they might have hit my house. Can you call in the family and set up road blocks? I’m deputizing everyone. They can’t take her out of town,” Tanner growled.
“I’m on it. No one is leaving with her,” Cage said, his voice full of anger.
Tanner knew that he was breaking all the rules, but he also knew that these men weren’t going to risk killing her in a small town. They would want to get her out somewhere there was no chance of finding her body.
He would give up his career and his life to keep her safe.
Chapter 41
“You assholes are in so much fucking trouble!” Brooke screamed, kicking the back of the seat of goon number two.
Brooke was tied at the hands and feet after being tossed in the back of a white van. So fucking cliché. She thought she’d be terrified when these men caught up with her. Instead, she was psychotically mad. These assholes tricked poor Eddie into going outside, bashed him over the head and grabbed her in the middle of her French toast. She’d just fucking buttered it!
Brooke was having an awesome morning. She woke up happy, content, and loved. Her new friend Eddie was in the kitchen cooking up breakfast. Tanner had called to check on her; life was not sucking too hard at that moment.
Until goon one and goon two showed up. If they hurt Eddie badly, she was going to scratch their eyes out.
“Why didn’t we bring a gag?” One asked.
“You didn’t tell me to bring one,” Two answered.
“You two are fucking rocket scientists, do you know that? You think killing me is going to keep you safe? How do you know I haven’t given a detailed description of both of you assholes to the cops, FBI, and that motorcycle gang?”
“You haven’t. Nobody messes with the Valentinos,” the driver said.
“That’s not what I heard. I heard the Sick Devils have been slapping your bitch asses all over San Francisco.” Brooke knew she was taunting them, but she didn’t care. Better to go down fighting, she figured.
“Bullshit, those bastards are like dogs, all bark, and no bite,” the passenger laughed.
“Talking about dogs, you idiots are in it so deep you have no idea,” she growled.
“Oh, is your little sheriff going rescue you? You know this town talks a lot. We just had to sit our asses in that restaurant in town and lap up all the information on where you were.”
Brooke didn’t blame the town; she blamed these assholes for being murderers and thugs. Brooke also knew that it wasn’t just Tanner out there; it was all the Rochons. Cassie had assured her she was already family, and nobody fucked with the Rochons.
Watching the trees pass by through the front window, Brooke realized they had to be on one of the roads leading out of town. Tanner wouldn’t have any clue which direction they were heading. She didn’t even know if her 911 call had connected. The phone had been sitting on the kitchen table in case Tanner called. She’d dialed the numbers, but Goon One had been on her before she was sure she hit the send button. She could be hours away before he figured out she wasn’t there.
That thought had her stomach twisting in fear, but she reminded herself that Tanner would never give up on her. He’d hunt these assholes to the end of the earth for her. She knew she had to keep them guessing to give Tanner more time.
“You know the whole town knows about you? They have your pictures from the surveillance cameras at the hospital. The FBI was here yesterday. They’ve been working with me to testify against you , that’s a federal case in you don’t understand. I’ve already given my deposition; they have it on record. You guys are screwed. Getting rid of me won’t help your case.”
Brooke was bluffing, but she had to try.
“We have good lawyers. No eyewitnesses, we can say the videotapes were doctored. That it wasn’t us. You are the only one who actually saw us. Well, and those dogs with the guns, but they aren’t talking either.” Goon Two laughed.
Guns. That’s what they were loading in the ambulance. Brooke wasn’t dumb, it was either drugs or guns. Either was bad news.
“You realize killing me is just going to add to your troubles. You should just head back to California and deal with the Sick Devils. I’m guessing they aren’t too happy with you right now. In fact, Sherriff Rochon told me that the Devils were looking for you two specifically. I’d be more worried about them than I would about me,” she tried.
“Shut up, bitch. We will be heading back to California once your body is rotting in the woods. The Devils are no worse than an annoying fly. They just need to be swatted enough to learn they aren’t going to win,” the driver said, lau
ghing.
“What are your names? I’m going to die anyway, why don’t you at least let me know who is doing the killing?” she asked. Brooke didn’t give a flying fuck what their names were; she just wanted more time.
“Yeah, right, like we’re just going to tell you who we are. The cops know us, that’s enough. Now shut up, you’re giving me a headache.” Goon Two rubbed his head.
“Ahh, poor baby, would you like an aspirin?” Brooke asked in a singsong voice.
“Man, next time we bring a gag,” Goon One said.
“Oh yeah, why don’t we just bring a kidnapping kit. That would be easy to explain if we got pulled over, stupid,” Two said.
Clearly these two were the dumb and dumber of the Valentino organization. Brooke was guessing the higher ups weren’t too concerned if these two numbnuts got pinched.
“What the fuck?” the driver yelled and slammed on the brakes hard enough that Brooke shot forward, colliding with the front seats.
“Ouch, fucker!” Brooke yelled out.
“Shut up, bitch!” the man yelled back.
“What the hell is this?” Goon Two asked.
“Maybe it’s broke down. He was probably turning around, and it stalled,” the driver offered.
Goon Two leaned back with a glint in his eye at her and said, “Stay down and be quiet.” Brooke didn’t want to be quiet, but the gun pointed at her head now was a good motivator.
“Should I turn around?” Goon One asked.
Goon Two looked in the side mirror and cursed under his breath. “That’s not gonna happen.”
What Brooke couldn’t see was there was a fully loaded logging truck blocking both lanes of traffic across the road. Flares were laid out on the ground like the truck was broken down. Behind them, another truck that had been following them was also now sideways across the road.
There was no one to be seen, no drivers, nothing but the trucks.
“Shit man, this is not good,” the driver said.
“Don’t fucking panic. Just grab your gun and see if the truck driver is around,” Goon Two ordered.
Brooke wasn’t sure which man was in charge, but she could tell whatever they were seeing was not instilling any confidence in either of them. She figured they were distracted enough she could lean up and glance out the window.
What she saw made her smile.
“You guys are sooo screwed.” She giggled.
“Bitch, I can shoot you right now, just shut up!” the man with the gun threatened.
“Sure you can, but you think that is a broken down truck? Really? You’re that stupid? I told you this wasn’t going to end well for you,” she said with a wicked grin.
“There’s the driver,” Goon One said, looking out the front window.
A huge man in jeans, a work jacket and a black knit cap pulled low over his head, was walking towards the van, his hands in his pockets.
Brooke peeked up to see who it was.
Cash.
If anyone would put the fear of god in these two, it was that goliath.
“Shit, he’s big,” Goon Two murmured. He was hiding his gun now. “Get out and talk to him before he sees her,” he demanded to the driver.
“Fuck that, you go out there,” he said.
“Why is he just standing there?” Two asked.
“Oh, like I know,” the driver scoffed.
“You’ve got a gun. Get out there and tell him to move,” the passenger urged.
“He fucking looks like the Hulk. The bullets would probably bounce off that asshole,” Goon One said under his breath.
Brooke resisted the urge to laugh. She didn’t think Cash was bulletproof, but he sure looked like he could be.
“Here goes,” said One, getting out of the car.
“Bitch, not a word,” the passenger ordered. Brooke could see he was terrified. It didn’t take shifter senses to smell the fear on him.
Brooke had maneuvered herself so she could see what was going on. Goon Two’s eyes were on his partner in the road. She could see Cash talking to him, not sure what he could be saying. She bet it was good, though.
Outside on the road, the driver walked towards Cash. “Truck broke down?”
“Nope,” Cash answered, keeping his hands in his pocket.
“Well, then you mind moving that thing? I’ve got somewhere to be,” the driver said, trying to sound tough.
“Can’t,” Cash answered.
“Why not?” the man asked nervously.
“I’m waiting for him,” Cash said, giving a chin lift to someone behind the man.
The goon turned and saw the sheriff walking toward him carrying a shotgun.
As Tanner approached, he propped the gun on his shoulder. “I believe you have something that belongs to me,” Tanner stated, his eyes glowing yellow. Fuck this guy, he didn’t care if his bear shifted right now. He could smell his mate in that van, and he was in a killing mood.
“I don’t think so. We were just leaving town,” the man stammered.
“This is not a smart one, Sherriff,” Cash said with an evil grin.
Tanner didn’t acknowledge that statement. He just stared at the man until he could see the sweat dripping down his face.
“I don’t want blood spilled on my roads. Even though I am more than willing to do it. Here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to give me Brooklyn Nishi. I promise you I won’t arrest you, and my family here won’t harm you in any way,” Tanner said.
The man stammered in confusion. “Family?”
From the tree line emerged every male Rochon under the age of fifty, striding from the woods surrounding the sides of the road.
“You see, Brooke Nishi is mine. I don’t appreciate when people try to harm things that are mine. My family doesn’t appreciate it either. Now although I feel I’m in my right to shoot you where you stand, I am more concerned about the welfare of my woman.”
The man’s eyes were darting around at the huge angry-looking men surrounding them. “You promise you won’t kill us? We were just following orders, you know,” the man said in a whining voice.
“You’re a murderer. I’ve seen the videotape. You enjoyed what you did, so don’t try to bullshit me. You are an impotent little prick who thinks he’s a big man with a gun. You hand over my girl, and I won’t kill you,” Tanner promised.
The goons knew they were so far outnumbered it was comical. “I, uh, need to talk to my associate,” Goon One said, his voice cracking.
“You do that. And man, if you’ve harmed a hair on my woman’s head, I may break my promise,” Tanner growled.
Chapter 42
Tanner was holding his bear back, and his muscles were rigid with anger. Only the smirking Cash was anchoring him to his human form. Cash wasn’t enjoying the situation, but he was enjoying making this asshole practically piss his pants.
The man walked over to the window of the van where the passenger rolled down the window so the two could argue. Finally, the man in the van got out and made a show of adjusting his tie. He slid the door on the side of the van open and reached in. There was a moment when Tanner couldn’t see Brooke and then she came into view.
She looked unharmed, but her hands were tied together with zip ties, and Tanner had to assume the pause in getting her out was him cutting her ankle ties.
The man walked Brooke towards him, as he pushed her toward Tanner, Brooke paused and kicked the man hard in his shin.
“Dick,” she said, and then calmly walked toward Tanner.
He wanted to grab her and never let her go, but there was still business to take care of. Cupping her cheek with the hand not holding the gun, he asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, how is Eddie?”
“He’s fine – pissed and embarrassed, but fine,” Tanner assured her. His cousin hadn’t been knocked out getting clocked with the garden gnome, but he was stunned enough for them to grab Brooke and run.
“Cash, take Brooke, will you?” Tanner asked over her shoulder.
Cash came over and scooped Brooke into his arms. “Don’t worry. He won’t shoot me.” Cash grinned at her.
Brooke wasn’t so sure. Tanner was radiating a level of anger that made him appear to be a ticking time bomb.
Cash walked her over to the other side of the logging truck and sat her down out of sight. He pulled out a knife and cut through the zip ties releasing her wrists.
“Is Tanner actually going to let them go?” she asked. If he let them go, they were just going to try for her again and again. Brooke rubbed at the angry welts on her wrists, pissed that they’d tied her up.
“Not exactly,” Cash said cryptically.
“Well, do you have any extra zip-ties? I wanna cinch their tiny dicks until they fall off,” she growled.
A wicked grin spread over Cash’s face. “No extra ties, damn shame,” he mumbled.
“So we can go? You said you weren’t going to arrest us, and your family wouldn’t hurt us. We’ll go back to California. We won’t cause any trouble.” Goon Two was pleading now.
The ring of Rochons had crept in now that Brooke was out of danger.
“Well, see that’s the problem. I can’t let you go because you are the type of stupid fuckers that will keep coming back because you know your bosses won’t accept anything less,” Tanner explained.
Goon One sputtered. “So what? You going to kill us now?”
“No, I don’t break my promises,” Tanner said.
The two men looked at each other in confusion then they saw over Tanner’s shoulder a break in the line of men. Walking between the Rochons were four rough-looking men all wearing Sick Devils cuts.
“Fuck, man! You said you wouldn’t kill us!” the first man blubbered.
“I did, and I have no plans on killing you. The Devils, though, they would like to have a word with you,” Tanner said, stepping back.
He turned to their leader, a man with a ragged scar down one cheek who was smoking a cigar like it was a casual Sunday morning. “Keys are still in the van,” Tanner said with a head gesture.