Chasing Eve

by K. J. Dahlen

“Maybe but I’m sure by now Grayson has found the cabin. It could be compromised.” Chase shrugged. “If he did find it, I’m sure the radio is toast. He wouldn’t want us getting a message of any kind out.”

  “What else can we do?”

  Chase shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we can contact Barry and he can make the call for you. Would that work?”

  Eve lifted her head off her knees and stared at him through the gloom of the cavern. “Maybe. If he could get through to my boss and explain the situation here, Ron could get some troops together to track the Trainers down and neutralize them. Then he could raid the warehouse and get his hands on the shipment. It would be a close call, but maybe it would work.”

  “Well, sweet Evie, all we can do at this point is try,” Chase reminded her.

  She almost smiled at the silly use of her name. “Okay, so how do we get in contact with Barry?”

  Chase just stared at her for a minute before he suggested, “Maybe I should go alone to do that? They have no reason to stop me if they do find me alone.”

  Eve shook her head. “No I don’t think so. You said it yourself, they would shoot you and not think about it. After all, they supposedly have the law on their side.”

  “That might be true but if they find us together, they will shoot us both and call if a justified shooting. They’ve already labeled you a suspect in Ian’s murder.”

  “Yeah but if I go with you, I can watch your back,” Evelyn argued reasonably.

  Chase narrowed his eyes at her. “You are one stubborn woman, Eve.”

  She bit at her lip and slowly nodded her head.

  He chuckled as he got up to get everything ready.

  ~*~

  Getting down from the caverns hadn’t been easy on the horse or them. It was fairly treacherous. Once they cleared that downhill slope, traversing the rest of the area seemed to go easier.

  They were about to break out of the tree line when Chase backed his horse up. Evelyn peeked over his shoulder to see what the holdup was and that’s when she saw the parade of police cars coming down the road.

  Four police cruisers, all with their red and blue lights flashing came right at them. It wasn’t until the cars passed where they were that Evelyn exhaled the breath she’d been holding. Turning her head, she watched as the four police cars split up at the off ramp. Two went left and the other two went right. The two cars that went left took the off ramp to the interstate road and the two cars that went right were going toward the small town of Benton.

  “I wonder whether that parade has anything to do with us,” she asked.

  “You can bet Grayson won’t like the extra cops around,” Chase murmured.

  “What do you mean?” She frowned.

  “If Grayson and Travis are out at my place with a crew, you can bet they aren’t police officers. They’ll have the few men who don’t mind breaking the law for the Trainer family. They can get away with a lot if Grayson and Travis are in charge. They can even get away with murder.”

  “Yes, I learned that one the hard way,” she whispered.

  Chase paused and reached around to squeeze her hand. “I’m sorry, Eve…I didn’t mean—”

  She grasped his hand and squeezed back. “I know you didn’t.” She sighed. “The sooner we get to a phone the better. The bureau can take you into protective custody until this is over.”

  Chase was instantly dismissive. “I go to jail while Grayson and Travis break the law? Somehow, that doesn’t sound right.” He scoffed.

  “It wouldn’t be for long and you won’t go to jail.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ll be going to a safe house until we have everything we need to put them away for life.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Chase murmured as he moved his horse toward the road.

  Chapter Eight

  As Evelyn approached the restaurant the more intensely she felt that the events of the past few days would dominate her actions, to the point of distracting her from the objective of this mission. Making contact with her chief had to be paramount. The next few moments were all she had to collect and sort the newest developments in the case against theses Drug Lords. Now she had to find out was what the others might know about the death of her brother.

  When they crossed the road and reached the payphone, she felt more than saw Chase dismount the horse. Evelyn turned, lifting her right leg over Beau’s rump and slid off the horse right into Chase’s arms. As much as she wanted to stay right there and let the rest of the world go by, she pushed herself away. Inside the phone booth, she dialed the operator, asked for a collect call, and gave the number.

  When her boss Ron answered the call, he expressed his concern, “What the hell happened to you guys? We got the call about Ian two days ago. Where the hell are you and are you safe?”

  Evelyn had to chuckle. “Yes Ron, I’m ok and for now, I’m safe but that might not last very long. Long story short after Ian was murdered, the killer found out I was a witness and in my escape, he ran me off the road. I crashed and the guy who found me is hiding me but we can’t stay hidden forever. I only just got some of my memory back. When I crashed the car, I bumped my head pretty good and I couldn’t even remember my own name for the last few days. Then I saw that pig on the TV blame me for killing Ian and I started to remember. Here’s what I know…” She went on to tell him what happened in the alley and what she could remember so far about the case she and Ian were working.

  A few minutes later, she returned to Chase. “Well, that’s done.”

  “What exactly is done?” Chase asked.

  “Within the hour, the DEA will raid the warehouse and arrest everyone inside. They were able to stop the boats from bringing in the shipment so that part is under wraps. Now they’ll move in and arrest the handlers. Hopefully, all the way to the top of this particular food chain. They were able to trace this shipment back to the big wigs in Canada and they are working with the Mounted Police to take them into custody as well. Ron is sending agents on the way to your ranch to arrest the Trainer brothers and anyone else who happens to be at the ranch. If they find drugs at the warehouse, that will close the case. At any rate, Travis Trainer will go to jail for the death of my brother.”

  “What about Grayson Trainer?”

  Evelyn shook her head. “I had to tell them I couldn’t see the face of the man in the shadows. If Grayson is involved, we’ll have to find the evidence to connect him to the crime and to his brother.” She shrugged. “It’s possible if Travis gets arrested, he’ll turn on his brother and give us the evidence we need to take him down as well.”

  Chase rolled his eyes. “Somehow, I doubt that very much, Eve. But it might work. Travis certainly wouldn’t be man enough to take the fall without dragging Grayson down as well, but I guess we’ll see.”

  “We’ll see? What will we see?”

  “We’ll see if old man Trainer allows his son to go to jail in the first place. Seth Trainer isn’t a good man, he’s a bastard. One that isn’t going to want family secrets told to make a deal and believe me that family has secrets he doesn’t want known especially by the police. Oh, and he hates the law. Like I said before it’s ironic that both his sons are cops.”

  “Travis isn’t going to be making any deals.” Evelyn vowed. “I won’t let him get away with murdering Ian, even if it’s the last thing I do. He’s gonna fry for killing a DEA agent.”

  Chase watched her intently as he rubbed her arms up and down with his hands to try to calm her. “Fierce Much?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. “Sexy, stubborn, and fierce. I think I like you Eve Carlyle.”

  Evelyn felt her body heat up at his expression and his compliment. She’d never heard these words from a man before. In her line of work, as a woman, she’d had to fight and earn every ounce of respect she’d never really gotten from her male counterparts.

  “So what are we supposed to do now?” he asked.

  “We are supposed to wait here. Someone will pick us up after the arrests are made.” Ev
elyn looked around. She didn’t really want to spend the morning in a bar but then she noticed there was a restaurant too. “Let’s go get some breakfast. I’m starved.”

  “As much as I’m starving too, I don’t know that it’s wise to be out in the open like this.” He warned her looking around. “We might not see them but they could be watching us right now, just waiting to take the shot.”

  “I know. I can feel it too.” She searched the area carefully. “Maybe we could get something to go and then hide somewhere until the agents get here?”

  Chase nodded. “We could do that. But let’s do it soon.”

  They went inside the restaurant for food to go. When they returned a few minutes later, they both froze as they could hear the whine of a police car coming toward them. They couldn’t see the car but they could hear it and it was just around the corner.

  “Oh, shit.” She swore as they both rushed over to where Beau was hitched. Chase vaulted up into the saddle and he reached down to haul her up behind him. She made sure to clutch the to go bag close to her. Then he turned the horse around and raced toward the trees on the other side of the road.

  He didn’t stop until they were far enough into the wood line he was sure they weren’t being followed. Even then, they continued traveling.

  Chase told her under his breath that they were leaving tracks in the fresh snow but it couldn’t be helped. They couldn’t afford to get caught now.

  After twenty minutes or so without anyone following them, Chase slowed Beau and began circling back. Staying hidden within the trees, they watched the diner and bar. There were two police cars parked outside with the red and blue lights flashing.

  Chase waited and watched from a place well-hidden in the trees. He wouldn’t expose either of them to the possibility of getting shot. Peeking over his shoulder, he asked, “Do you see any of your fellow agents there yet?”

  Evelyn shook her head. “No I don’t. Now I’m getting worried. They should have been here by now. What do we do now? Do we wait and see who shows up or do we leave and try again to make contact with Ron?”

  “At this moment I’m not sure. How good is this Ron?”

  “Oh, Ron is very good,” she assured him.

  “Can he really do what he claims he can?”

  “Yup, without a doubt.” She nodded.

  “Then I guess we find a place where they can’t see us.” He nodded at the police cars. “And we wait.”

  “Ok.” She nodded as she opened the food bag and lifted out a burger. Her mouth nearly watered from the smell of it.

  “What are you doing?” Chase asked form in front of her on the horse.

  “I’m eating dammit.” She handed his to him around his waist. “I haven’t had meat in days.”

  He snickered. “Well, that’s not exactly true.”

  Evelyn stopped chewing and realized what he meant. She laughed and almost choked on the food. Swallowing, she grabbed a napkin from the bag. “Here…” She handed it to him. “Wipe that dirty mouth, soldier.”

  Chase grabbed it and kept chuckling.

  ~*~

  After they ate, Chase rode to a point where they couldn’t be seen from the road and dismounted Beau. He helped her down and tied the horse up to a tree. Keeping an eye on the bar and grill they waited

  Finally, about two hours later, chilled to the bone, they saw four officers rush out to their vehicles. Sirens blaring and lights flashing, they left in a hurry.

  Eve looked over at Chase and wondered what was going on.

  Chase shrugged and kept watching.

  A little while later, they watched as an old pickup truck pulled into the lot. A single man got out and went inside the bar/grill. Chase nudged her. “Come on that’s Barry. Maybe he can fill us in on what’s going on.”

  “Good a cup of something hot wouldn’t be too hard to handle right now.” She said as she stumbled along behind him.

  Chase left Beau tied up to the tree in case they had to make a quick getaway. They broke the tree line after surveilling the entire area for a while. Seeing nothing out of order, Chase grabbed her hand and pulled her across the road and into the grill.

  They chose a table in the corner of the room far away from the front door yet close enough to the back door to make their escape if they had to run. Neither of them said too much while they ordered coffee and waited for Barry to join them.

  When Barry sat down, he stared at her for a moment then turned to Chase.

  Eve kept a close eye on the front door while they exchanged pleasantries.

  Then when Chase asked how things were going at the ranch Barry fidgeted in his seat. “Well nothing much happened all day but they were there. I saw signs there were several men waiting in the out buildings. I heard snowmobiles too, off and on all day. They were searching the property. I assume they were looking for the two of you.” Barry paused then addressed the situation regarding Eve. “Did you really kill that guy in Coven Glade?”

  Eve shook her head. “No I didn’t. Travis Trainer shot Ian in an alley. He put the blame on me to try and smoke me out. He and his brother want me dead, so I can’t tell anyone who really shot Ian.”

  Barry glanced at Chase before he turned back to Eve. “And you are?”

  “My name is Evelyn Carlyle. DEA agent, Evelyn Carlyle.” Then she paused. “Ian Carter was my foster brother, he was also the closest thing to family I had.”

  “Ok.” Barry nodded. “Then what I’m about to tell you will make sense then.”

  “And what is that?” Chase asked.

  “Six dark sedans pulled up to the front door a little while ago. Men swarmed all over the ranch looking for something or somebody. They heard the snowmobiles take off and four of the vehicles left but there are still two sitting there and about six armed men waiting and watching. They had me show my ID before they would allow me to leave.” He sipped his coffee. “They said they were there looking for Grayson Trainer or his men.”

  The waitress came over to fill their cups. She hesitated a moment before she looked at Chase.

  Chase nodded at her. “Sally, how are you?”

  Sally bit at her lip and then spoke, “The cops were in here earlier looking for you. They said whatever happened the other night in Coven Glade was coming here.” She met his eyes. “One of the cops here today went to make a phone call. I overheard him warn someone on the phone about the guy that got shot being DEA. I think he was talking to Travis Trainer.”

  “Thanks Sal.” Chase nodded.

  Barry nodded and stood up as he dropped a five bill on the table. “I’ll be watching everything from my truck.”

  “Thanks for everything Barry.”

  “We stick together man. We always have each other’s backs.”

  When he walked away, Chase looked over at Evelyn.

  She had her elbows on the table with her head in her hands. “Oh god, what if Travis was warned before Ron got to the warehouse? Travis was going down for murder, so one more wouldn’t matter would it?” She looked up at Chase. “What kind of hell did Ron and the others walk into?”

  “You can’t think like that.” Chase reached over to grab her hand. “If Ron is any kind of agent, he would have been prepared for anything. Even losing the element of surprise. We just have to wait and see how it all came out.”

  “Maybe I should call Ron again.” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

  “Let’s just wait a while and see if he comes or sends someone,” Chase offered. “He might be tied up cleaning up the warehouse.”

  Eve nodded and watched the front door. As time passed, she began to get more and more nervous.

  When the door finally opened, a stranger walked in.

  Eve smiled and waved at him.

  He came over to where they were sitting and slid into the last chair at the table. He smiled at the waitress who brought another cup of hot coffee to the table. He took a sip and groaned out loud. Then he looked at Eve and chuckled. “You want to know how it went dow
n, don’t you?”

  “Well, duh.” She rolled her eyes while looking like she might explode at any minute.

  Chase hid a smile. Firecracker may become his nickname for her as he enjoyed seeing her get riled. He thought of ways to work her up that might be even more enjoyable. He figured they would win this now with her team arriving, so he relaxed and just watched this play out.

  Eve narrowed her deep green gaze at the man. “Did you get Travis Trainer or not?”

  “We got him.” Ron nodded grimly. “We would have walked into a shit storm but just before we stormed the warehouse, one of our men called and said they picked up a patrol car coming to warn Trainer. The two police officers inside claimed they thought Travis was being railroaded. We’re holding them until things get straightened out.” He shifted in his seat. “Apparently, Grayson bolted when he saw the DEA and FBI moving in. He and three other people got away. We chased them but they all separated and as we didn’t have snowmobiles, we just watched them go.”

  “Good luck with that.” Chase shook his head.

  Ron turned and studied him. “What does that mean?”

  “Grayson is Travis’ brother and he has a mean old bastard for a father. Neither one of them is going to take Travis being behind bars very well. They won’t break the law outright, but they will bend it until it cracks. Expect a visit really soon by the best crooked attorney they can find. And Grayson is also a cop, so he might use his badge to get his brother out. And if Travis gets out, you’ll never see either one of them again, unless its seconds before they or the old man puts a bullet in your head.”

  “Nice family.” Ron sneered.

  Barry showed up seemingly out of nowhere and sat down. “Oh, you have no idea. Seth Trainer would just as soon beat you half to death as look at you. Especially, if you cross him or his sons.”

  “I think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the man.” Ron grimaced. “We no more than got back to the station, when this older man walked in demanding to see his son. Between the liquor on his breath and that sickening cologne he was wearing, I couldn’t get too close to him without throwing up.”