by Dale Mayer
He crept forward to the front of the car and around to squat quietly beside Robert and Sienna.
“Hey, Jimmy, is that you?”
Damn. Rhodes had hoped for a minute’s window before the other guy realized his buddy was not answering. Still, Rhodes had a weapon now.
At the sound of running footsteps, he huddled at the front of the vehicle and waited. If he could take out both these assholes, that would give the SWAT team a chance to come in. They needed a clear entrance into the building.
He could see Robert had his phone out, sending a text, alerting the police probably. That was all fine and dandy, but Rhodes wanted these two out of here before the bloodshed started.
“Jimmy?”
Silence.
Rhodes’s muscles tensed as he waited. The second gunman’s footsteps slowed, and Rhodes heard the shifting of the weapon in his hands. But he no longer called for his friend. Rhodes heard the gunman’s footsteps coming closer, and he counted them off in his head. Three. Two. One. He stood up and fired. One single shot. The second gunman dropped, his weapon banging to the ground.
Rhodes raced over and kicked the second weapon free. One bullet to the upper shoulder, but he was unconscious and bleeding heavily. He dragged the gunman over to join his buddy, then went back and picked up the second weapon. Using his shoulder as a harness, he threw it over his back and went around to Robert and Sienna.
“That’s the two who were on guard down here,” he said. “Come on. We’ll head toward the ramp. With them down, that leaves law enforcement an avenue to get in.”
He ushered them quickly through the rows of parked vehicles to the exit. Up ahead he could see one single bar across the road. At least there was no floor-to-ceiling gate at the entrance. They should be able to get out without any trouble.
He pulled them back just as they were about to walk up. “We have to be careful, in case a sniper is out there.”
They both froze.
Sienna looked at him. “Is that likely?”
He shot her a look and said, “Would you have thought this building would’ve been taken over by gunmen? Was that likely?”
Robert made a single call. “We’re free down in the parking garage. We’ve taken out two gunmen watching this entrance. We’re standing by the ramp. Not sure if there’s any snipers to stop our escape. Vehicles can come in here. It’s clear.” And he hung up.
Two minutes later a SWAT vehicle came ripping through to the underground parking level. Several men jumped out and raced toward them, weapons raised. Rhodes held up his hands. Robert stepped forward and quickly explained.
As much as he didn’t want to, because they still weren’t free and clear, Rhodes quickly gave up the confiscated weapons. They were ushered as a group outside to the street level. There they were quickly moved around to the corner of the block where the police had a control center set up.
Sienna clung to Rhodes’s side. They were quickly checked over, and when he turned around, Robert was gone.
Realizing the SWAT focus would be on the building, he pulled Sienna farther back out of the way and said, “Feel like sneaking off and getting out of here?”
She looked up at him gratefully. “Can we?” She pointed at the front of the building. “Isn’t that where you parked?”
He stared over at the vehicle, then at the surrounding chaos. He made a fast decision. “Stay here.”
And he bolted for the truck.
Chapter 11
She wanted to call him back but knew it would be useless. He was already on the move. Besides, they needed the wheels. But she wasn’t sure the law enforcement officers would let him grab the vehicle and go. They were likely to shoot him first and ask questions later. At times like this, it was just crazy out there.
Still, acting like a man who knew exactly what he was doing, he walked over and unlocked the truck, got in, started it up, pulled it forward and around the corner. Several policemen converged on him at that point. When he quickly explained who he was, they allowed him to pass. He pulled up beside her and opened the window. “Get in.”
She didn’t need a second urging. She raced around to the far side, opened the passenger door and got in. They were moving before she got the seat belt buckled. “Should we tell anyone we’re going?”
“Send a text to Levi and tell him to inform Robert we’re leaving. Or better yet”—he pulled out his phone and tossed it toward her—“find Robert’s number under the contacts and send him a text.”
She did as he said. The response came in very quickly. “He says, Thanks for the update. And a bigger one for the rescue. I owe you.” She laughed. “There’s a lot worse things than having the DA owe you a favor.”
She glanced around as he drove the small truck through the city streets. “Should we stay and give a statement?”
“Do you want to? I thought you wanted to get home.”
“I want to get home and stay there,” she corrected. “If we have to come back to give one, then there’s no point in leaving just now.” She sat there in frustration. “But then, this might not be settled for hours yet.” She glanced at the time and added, “It’s almost six o’clock. And we’ve already been there once today.”
“We can go to the police station and do something about it right now if you want.”
“It’s an option.”
She could see him wavering. Sure enough he turned the corner and then several more.
They pulled up outside the station. “Let’s go in and take care of our citizens’ duty,” he said calmly. “After that, we’re either grabbing dinner and a hotel, or we’re going home. You decide.”
Only it wasn’t that easy. By the time they walked in and talked to someone, and that person realized they were actually in the building, part of the mess going on downtown, they were quickly ushered into a room and told to wait. Several people came in and asked questions; proof of identity was handed over. And then finally the same man they had spoken to earlier walked in and sat down.
“Rhodes, it’s good to see you again.” He reached over and shook hands. He turned his gaze to Sienna. “Now, young lady, why is it that you were likely to be one of the targets all over again?”
She glanced at Rhodes and then back to the big man. “Same reason as last time. I was helping the DA gather information for a case. Only I was kidnapped and just released from the hospital. We dropped off the DA’s laptop I’d been working on. That’s when we found out the building was taken over.”
“You’ve just had a shitty day then, haven’t you?”
She laughed. “That’s one way to look at it.” After that, she was asked a series of questions. She gave the details she could remember. Several times she just said, “You will have to ask the DA about that.”
When she finally answered all his questions, he turned his attention to Rhodes. “Now, as I understand it, you have a very different take of what was going on. Let’s go through it from the top.”
Sienna collapsed back into her chair, tuning out most of the conversation going on around her. After all the questions, it was like the stuffing had been ripped out of her. She should’ve just stayed in the hospital. At least there she would be resting right now. She was feeling woozy again.
All she wanted to do was sleep. With her head pounding, body aching a whole lot more, she realized a hotel might be the better answer for tonight. It also looked like they weren’t getting there any time soon. She glanced down at her watch and saw it was well past eight and she groaned.
She closed her eyes. Tried to silence her thoughts.
“We’re leaving, now.” Rhodes stood up. “She was only released from the hospital just before three and got involved in that downtown mess within the hour,” he said to the detective. “I’ll take her to a hotel, get her some food. She needs to lie down.”
The detective stood up. “Please stay close. I don’t know how quickly we’ll get downtown wrapped up, but we’ll probably have more questions for you. And I understand tha
t your home is a few hours away. You don’t want to come all the way back here to do this again.” He glanced at Sienna, who was now shaky but standing valiantly and holding on to the table. “You need to rest.”
She gave a half laugh. “I believe I have been trying to do that since I left the hospital.”
Rhodes walked over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “If you have a card, I’ll call you from whichever hotel we’re at.”
The detective immediately pulled one out of his wallet and handed it to him. “Just send me a text. Let’s make sure you guys don’t disappear off the grid for a third time.”
Sienna stared at him in shock. “Please don’t even joke about that.” She moved toward the door, but it was suddenly looking very far away. Even with Rhodes’s arm around her shoulders, she felt the room spin. “I …” she muttered. She stopped and grabbed the chair for support. She glanced over at Rhodes. “I’m sorry.”
She registered his stare of surprise as her knees sagged.
He quickly swung her up in his arms and said, “That’s it. Back to the hospital.”
With the last of her strength she whispered, “No. No hospital. Just a hotel. Just let me have a bed so I can lie down.”
*
With the detective walking alongside him, holding open the doors out to his truck, Rhodes carried Sienna carefully in his arms. “You sure you don’t want to be taken to the hospital?”
The detective used Rhodes’s keys and unlocked the door. “Head wounds are tricky.”
Rhodes said, “Unfortunately, I know that all too well.”
He carefully placed her in the seat and buckled her in. He turned and thanked the detective, accepting his keys back. He shut the passenger door and walked around to the driver’s side. “I need a place where I can carry her into the room without raising alarms. Any ideas?”
“Several motels about four miles down the road. On the right.”
“Good enough.”
Rhodes hopped in and turned on the engine. Checking traffic, he pulled out and kept going down the same street. It was getting late, so darkness was falling. He didn’t want to be anywhere close to the mess downtown. By now they should have all the gunmen secured, but he wouldn’t count on it. Often they would just hold off, wait and see what the gunmen did. It depended whether they had a whole parcel of hostages or not. They didn’t have Sienna or Robert now, and for that, he was glad for the decision to pull out.
Life didn’t always work out that way.
There were several motels, just as the detective had described. Rhodes pulled into the parking lot of one and went to turn off the engine, but instinct prodded him.
What were the chances somebody might have overheard or that the detective wasn’t on the up-and-up? Suspicious by nature, he couldn’t quite leave it alone.
He pulled back out onto the main road and found another motel on the opposite side, about two blocks down. He pulled into that one. Leaving Sienna locked inside the vehicle, he walked in and booked a room on the main floor. With the key and receipt in hand, he drove around to the far side and parked outside the room with the coordinating number on the key.
“This is good,” he muttered under his breath. “Now for Sienna.”
He got out of the truck and unlocked the room, then returned to carefully unbuckle her. He lifted her in his arms and carried her into the hotel room, laying her down on top of the king-size bed. There hadn’t been any twin beds on the main floor, and he wanted to exit fast if they needed to. So one bed was what they had to share. With the shape she was in, she just needed to be comfortable.
Another trip out, and he brought in their luggage and the picnic basket. He quickly locked the truck and then the hotel door behind him. They needed food, or at least he did. She needed to sleep for as long as she could. But when she woke, she would be starving. There was still some of the traveling food from Alfred. But it was looking less than prime.
He opened the night table drawers for any brochures of fast food places close by. A pizza shop was across the street. If need be, he could make a quick phone call and have that delivered. He didn’t care how close the place was, he wasn’t leaving Sienna’s side again tonight.
Chapter 12
She woke up several times in the night, and each time she felt a strong hand reach out and stroke her arm. At one point, her arm was tucked under the covers, and the blanket pulled up to her neck. He still managed to find it with a reassuring pat.
“Just sleep. You’re safe.”
Realizing Rhodes was on watch, she tumbled back under.
When she woke the next morning, instead of feeling refreshed and wide awake, her body was heavy, resisting movement of any kind. It was the first full sleep she’d had since the kidnapping. And therefore, it was actually the day after the event, and everything hurt. She had to go to the bathroom in a big way, but just the thought of standing, let alone walking that far, made the throbbing pound even heavier and harder.
She rolled over slightly to see Rhodes sleeping atop the covers beside her. He was still fully dressed, in warrior mode just in case. A sleeping giant. But all alpha when awake. And she had to admit—she loved that. She lay there as long as she could before her need grew too intense to ignore.
She eased back the covers, slipped out from underneath them and straightened. She caught her breath, but she managed to get to the bathroom. She wished she had something for the pain. She didn’t really want to take anything chemical, but holy crap, she hurt. After she used the bathroom, she eyed the shower and wondered. She wasn’t sure she could stand long enough for that, but a soak would be lovely. She glanced back into the room to see Rhodes still napping.
Decision made, she filled the bathtub with hot water. Stripping off her clothes, she sank into the warm heat. And that’s when she realized she had more than just bangs, bumps, and bruises. There were several scrapes. They stung as she eased into the tub, and it took several moments of biting her lip until she felt she would not cry out. Finally, she lay there totally submerged—the warmth washing over her, easing deep into her sore muscles. This was more like it. She hoped this would give her flexibility to move easier.
Using the soap available, she did a quick shampoo and rinse, being careful with her head wound. Dried blood remained in her hair, but she did her best to get most of it. She soaked as long as she thought she could, then pulled the plug. She stood, still a little wobbly, and grabbed a towel. Dry and wrapped up, she headed back into the main room. It didn’t look like Rhodes had moved at all. She was sorry he’d had such a poor night looking after her. A good night’s sleep was so necessary for healing.
Taking her bag off to the side, she lifted it onto a chair and selected some clean clothes. She managed to pull on her underwear and then dropped her towel and quickly dressed.
It was light outside, and she was very hungry. She walked back into the bathroom and hung up her towel. While in there, she brushed her teeth, and feeling ready to start the day, returned to the room and found Rhodes sitting up in bed, looking as alert as she’d ever seen him.
“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
He bounced to his feet and said, “I’ve been awake. Just dozing off and on.” He checked his watch, opened his phone and made a quick call.
Realizing it was business as usual, and hopeful maybe they could go home, she quickly repacked her bag and sat down on the bed to wait for him.
When he was done, he turned to her. “Robert wants to know if we can meet for breakfast.”
“I presume you said yes”—she nodded at the phone in his hand—“especially as the phone call is already finished.”
He laughed and took her gently in his arms. “I figured you didn’t want to meet him. But if we have to eat breakfast anyway, might as well combine the two.” He studied her critically, then kissed her gently on her temple. “You obviously had a good night. You’re looking so much better.”
“You are definitely right about not wanting to mee
t him. But if we can meet, eat, and then leave …” She smiled. “It’s the best of both worlds.” She stopped and said, “I’m starved.”
He shook his head as he reached for her bag. “You’re just rushing me along so we can get to the food faster.”
She grinned. He loaded the luggage in the truck, came back and went into the washroom. When he returned, he stopped in the doorway. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
They were fifteen minutes away from the restaurant where they had arranged to meet. As they walked in, they found Robert already in a booth by the window. He waved at them, and they sat down on the same side, facing him.
“Good morning, Sienna,” Robert said in a low voice. “You’re looking much better.”
“Then it’s a facade,” she said with a half laugh. “I woke up this morning to find I had more muscles than I ever remembered feeling before, and every one was screaming.”
He nodded in commiseration. “You went through a lot yesterday. Take several days off just to rest and relax.”
“That’s all I plan to do for the next three days. I’m hoping to go home and crash on my bed and just do nothing.”
Robert turned his attention to Rhodes. “I wanted to thank you personally for getting me out of there yesterday.” He nodded toward Sienna. “For getting us both out.”
“Not an issue. I did what I could.” Rhodes laced his fingers on the table in front of him. “How did the armed gunmen situation downtown end?”
“Unfortunately, all six are dead.”
“Six?” Sienna shook her head. “I thought there were only two.”
“Two on the garage level,” Rhodes clarified. He turned to gaze back at Robert.
“Actually, four were in the main building. Plus, the two we encountered on the garage level.”
“I didn’t kill the men in the garage. I only knocked out one and shot the other in the shoulder.”