by Sharon Dunn
He grabbed the collar of her uniform at the back and pushed her forward. She fell on the concrete floor. He pulled the slide of his gun back and released a sinister chuckle. She rolled sideways and caught a glimpse of him, a colossus of a man with black wavy hair. His bulbous lips furled back from his mouth. He aimed the gun at her.
She took in a breath that felt like it was filled with jagged glass. Her stomach tightened into a hard ball as he lifted the gun. She couldn’t outrun the bullet.
Then she heard it—the faint barking of a dog. Her heart nearly burst with relief. Lexi was coming for her.
Panic filled the man’s features as he lifted his head and turned, comprehending what the sound of the approaching dog meant.
Valerie used his moment of inattention to pull herself to her knees. Before she could get on her feet, he had run toward her, yanking her by the collar and pulling her up. The fabric choked her. She gasped for breath.
“Up those stairs,” he commanded. He pushed her toward stairs that led to the second floor. She climbed, and he followed close on her heels.
The one thing she had in her favor was that this man did not want to be caught in the act of killing her. It had stopped him once. When she glanced behind her, he had the gun aimed at her. There was nowhere to go but up.
As she climbed, she could still hear Lexi’s barking, but it had grown more distant. Had the dog been thrown off by some other smell? Trevor would only be able to guess at the right commands.
Oh, please, God, bring her to me.
When they stopped climbing, they came out on what must be the fourth or fifth floor, which consisted of a plywood floor and the metal framing of the outside walls. As he pushed her toward the edge of the structure, she could hear only the faint sounds of Lexi’s searching.
“Back up more,” the assailant ordered.
She stood on the edge of the floor. He’d shoot her, and she’d fall off the edge. If the bullet didn’t kill her, the fall would. He lifted his gun and took aim. The trigger clicked. She closed her eyes and said goodbye to the life she had loved.
* * *
Lexi had taken the stairs to the second floor and then bolted up the ladder that led to the third without hesitation. Her ears were drawn back on her head as she focused only on moving ahead. As they reached the third floor, a popping sound slammed against Trevor’s eardrum. Fear sliced through him. He tilted his head. A gunshot.
Dear God, don’t let us be too late.
Lexi stopped and raised her head, letting out two quick barks. And then she ran for the ladder that led to the fourth floor. Helpless to do anything else, he followed the dog.
As they climbed, the sound of creaking metal surrounded them. Something crashed into something else on the outside of the building. Lexi came out on the fourth floor, which was empty except for some power tools and stacks of wood.
He heard another crashing noise and ran to the edge of the open floor. A large man with dark hair skirted around a work trailer and disappeared. Trevor’s heart seized. Had that man shot Valerie and then run off?
Lexi ran the length of the floor with her nose to the ground.
Trevor edged toward the perimeter of the open floor, fearing the worst. He braced himself for a vision of Valerie’s prone body on the ground, crumpled and deformed by the fall and bleeding from the bullet. When he peered over the edge, he saw only the construction materials and a work truck.
Lexi came to the edge of the floor opposite him, her bark insistent. She twirled in circles and barked again.
Trevor ran to where the dog kept returning. Lexi sat back on her haunches, barked and then got up, pacing. He peered over the edge. At first, he saw nothing. Lexi kept going to the edge of the floor, whining and looking up at Trevor. When he peered over the edge again, some of the scaffolding looked like it had given way and hung at a slant.
Lexi leaned over the edge and barked. Wild horses weren’t going to drag her away from that spot. The dog knew something.
He looked again. “Valerie?”
Dare he hope?
No response came.
And then he saw it. Beneath the scaffolding that was at a slant, a hand. Trevor leapt over the side of the building and climbed down the scaffolding. When he looked up, Lexi was watching him. Her big ears flopped forward.
He reached out for the metal frame that held the plywood floor of the scaffold. The whole structure creaked and swayed. It wasn’t as sturdy as it should be. He jumped to the scaffold that stood at a slant. Gripping the edge, he peered underneath it.
Valerie’s hand was twisted in a piece of broken cable. Her head hung to one side.
He said her name again, but she didn’t respond.
Aware that the scaffolding could give way, he inched toward her and reached out to grab her feet. He still saw no indication that she was alive. He shimmied to the edge of the plywood platform. The whole structure creaked. By leaning out and risking falling himself, he was able to wrap his hand around her waist and reach up to untwist the cable that had kept her from falling to the ground.
He gathered her into his arms. Her body was still warm. Blood stained the sleeve of her uniform. He brushed his hand over her face. She had hit her head on something, but she hadn’t been shot there. He touched her stomach and her shoulders, no sign of a bullet hole or bleeding. His hand moved to her neck. Her pulse pushed back against his fingers.
Joy flooded through him, and he drew her close. She was alive. She was breathing.
He pressed his face against her cheek. “I thought I’d lost you.” His throat tightened with emotion. He’d saved lives before because it was his job, but this was different. He had felt his heart open up to her in a way it never had before. He buried his face against her neck. “I didn’t want to lose you.”
In the distance, he heard the sound of sirens as backup pulled onto the street where they had received the false call for a domestic disturbance. It would be a matter of minutes before the cops figured out they were at the construction site.
Overcome with emotion he didn’t understand, he held Valerie close and waited for her to regain consciousness. She had to be all right. She just had to be.
EIGHT
Valerie felt as though she were being pulled out of a deep pit, upward toward light and sound. Voices around her became more distinct.
She heard her mother. “You gave us quite a scare there, Junebug. Thank goodness there were no broken bones.”
No matter how old she got, the sound of her mother’s voice would always be a comfort.
Then she heard her father’s gravelly voice, “She’s a Salgado. She’s made of indestructible iron, just like the rest of us.”
Her eyes opened. She blinked. The images in front of her were blurry. Three indistinct faces surrounded her.
“There you are,” her mother said again. A tender sound to her ears.
“Give her some space, people.” That was her dad.
“Her pupils look normal.” A third voice she didn’t recognize.
She could feel people fussing around her, tucking blankets underneath her. The smell of bleach filled her nose. She was in a hospital bed. That third voice was probably a doctor.
Her mind struggled to put the memory back together about what had happened at the construction site. Knowing she was out of options, she had leapt off the building seconds before the large man had pulled the trigger, hoping he would think he had hit his target.
Her father stood by the bed. Her mother had pushed the wheelchair close. Her brother David and his wife, Mary, sat on chairs not too far away. Standing away from the others toward the back wall was Trevor. Her vision cleared. Trevor lifted his chin to indicate he saw her. There was a brightness in his eyes she hadn’t seen before.
Then she remembered being held so tightly and someone crying over her. His voice had been a mixture of joy and anguish. She glanced again at Trevor, whose gaze was downcast. Was that really a memory or was her mind filling in blank spaces?
“Boy that dog was something else, wasn’t she?” Her father turned slightly to address Trevor.
While she had been absorbing her surroundings, a conversation that she hadn’t totally been aware of had been going on. The doctor had left the room.
Her mother leaned close to her and patted her hand. “We thought that dog wasn’t going to let the doctor have a look at you.”
“They had to call one of the trainers from the center to come over and get her,” said her father. “Trevor said Lexi insisted on riding in the ambulance. Nothing anyone did or said would change her mind.”
She’d come to in the ambulance only for a few moments. Lexi had licked her hand, and Trevor had hovered over her. He had brushed her forehead with a touch so gentle for someone who was so strong. The concern for her etched in his features burned into her memory.
From the back wall where he stood, Trevor cleared his throat. “Lexi really proved herself out there today. She is completely devoted to Valerie. I don’t think there is anything that dog wouldn’t do for her.”
Valerie settled back on her pillow. All the weeks of training she and Lexi had gone through had paid off. But it was more than the training that bonded them. She loved that dog and Lexi loved her.
Her mother rolled back from the bed. “I suppose we better let you get some rest. The doctor wanted to keep you overnight.”
“Overnight.” Valerie sat up. “Who is going to take care of Bethany?”
“Relax, honey, your friend Lucy said she could take her for the night. She’ll bring her by first thing in the morning when you check out. It’s all been taken care of.”
Pain sliced through her arm. She must have scraped it in the fall, and her head hurt. Uneasiness stirred inside her. She wanted to be home with Lexi and Bethany. They were a family. They needed to be together.
Her family filed out with Trevor being the last to leave.
Tears warmed the corners of her eyes. The day had been too long and too hard. She missed Bethany. Her arms felt empty.
Trevor returned a few minutes later. “I just called the station. There’ll be a night duty officer coming by in a few hours for protection. I can stay with you until he gets here.”
She turned her head away and nodded. Reality hit her like a semi truck. The syndicate’s desire to kill her had not gone away. If anything, what had happened today revealed how far they would go to kill her.
Trevor leaned over the bed. “You okay?”
She swiped at her eyes. “I’m missing Bethany. I know Lucy will take good care of her, but I’d feel better if I could be with her.”
He studied her for a moment. “Do you want me to see if I can get you something to eat?”
She wiped another tear off her cheek. Her distress was probably too much for him to deal with, so he was focusing on doing things for her. “Just a drink of water would be nice.”
He poured the water and held the cup, tilting the straw toward her mouth. She wasn’t that injured, she could hold the cup herself, but he seemed to like helping her in that way. Absently, she draped her fingers over his beefy hand.
He sucked in a breath of air, and his eyes widened. She searched the depth of his dark brown eyes as heat spread over her skin. He looked away. Did he really not want her to see what was in those eyes? It had taken courage for him to share the darkness of his childhood. Maybe he was still afraid she would reject him over it.
She could not imagine what kind of a home he had known if it had ended with his father killing his mother.
The sound of her swallowing augmented in the silence between them. She finished drinking, and squeezed his fingers, hoping to communicate her acceptance of him.
Your secrets are safe with me, Trevor.
He pulled away and placed the plastic cup on the tray at the end of her bed. Then he sat down in a chair. “So that had to have been the Serpent who sent that guy to kill you. The whole thing was a setup.”
Valerie pulled the covers up to her neck and shuddered. She didn’t want to revisit the attack and could only manage a nod. How far did the syndicate’s arms reach in this town, anyway?
Even as the fear returned over her own life being in jeopardy, resolve as hard as steel formed inside her. Her part in ending the control the syndicate had over Sagebrush was with identifying the Serpent and seeing that she was put in jail. Once she was back out on patrol, she could garner information that would lead to the downfall of the syndicate.
Trevor shifted in his chair. “I was thinking if Murke couldn’t get a gun from his sister, he’ll try to get one some other way.”
Valerie nodded, grateful the subject had changed. “People I’ve arrested have dropped names about where they got the guns they used in crimes. We might be able to track some of these people down. With his record, Murke’s not going to be able to get a gun legally.”
He patted her shoulder. “We’ll get started on it tomorrow.” His voice filled with tenderness. “You’ve been through a lot. Why don’t you get some sleep?”
She liked the way he used the word we. They were a team. Desire to catch Murke almost overshadowed her need for recovery. “You’re probably right.” She turned her head and closed her eyes. At first, her awareness of Trevor in the room made it hard to fall asleep, despite how exhausted she was. Gradually, the heaviness of unconsciousness invaded her mind like a fog. She drifted off.
She awoke once in the night. Trevor had propped a laptop up on a heater and was typing. He glanced in her direction when she stirred. His vigilance made her feel safe, but when was he going to sleep? He had been through almost as much as she had. She fell back asleep.
When she opened her eyes a second time, Trevor was gone. She stared at the empty chair for a moment as her heart filled with longing. The night officer must be stationed outside her door.
She stayed awake, listening to the sound of footsteps, the wheels of gurneys turning and faint conversations. She lay with her eyes open in the dark room. A chill crept beneath her skin. Though she told herself it was only the nighttime and the quiet of the room that was scaring her, she couldn’t let go of her fear that one of the Serpent’s henchmen would burst through the door or break the window at any moment. Her sleep was fitful until morning sun streamed through the crack between the curtains.
* * *
Trevor met Slade McNeal at the end of the long hallway that led to Valerie’s hospital room. The look on Slade’s face was grim. A sudden dread gripped Trevor that something had happened to Valerie in the night.
Even though he knew Valerie didn’t go on shift until later in the afternoon, he’d been anxious to check on her. He’d slept only a few hours at his hotel before worry over her safety had gotten him out of bed.
Though concern pressed on him, he kept his voice level and managed a smile. “McNeal, you coming to check on Valerie?”
“I was hoping to talk to her, but maybe she’d take the news a little better if it came from you.” The captain placed his hands on his hips.
Trevor shook his head, not understanding where McNeal was leading.
“In light of what happened yesterday, I’m going to ask Valerie to take a couple of sick days until I can think things through. Both you and Lexi were with her, and the syndicate still found a way to get at her.” The worry lines in McNeal’s forehead became more pronounced. “I just don’t know if she can do her job safely.”
Though he didn’t disagree with the decision, he doubted Valerie would be happy about it. “She wants to catch the members of the syndicate as much as you do. She’s been a big help in chasing down Murke, but I understand your reasoning.”
They walked together down the hall toward Valerie’s room. “I hate doing it to her, but I can’t put a good officer at risk. I’ll see that she has protection while she’s at home.”
“I can stay with her this morning. We’re trying to track down some of the guys that might sell Murke a gun under the table. We know from his half sister that he is trying to acquire one.”
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McNeal nodded. “Making some phone calls would be fine. It gives me some time to speak to the chief and move the duty roster around so we can provide her with more protection at her home.”
As they made their way toward Valerie’s hospital room, he saw Lucy enter, carrying Bethany in one hand and a car seat in the other.
Trevor had that sinking feeling that no matter how McNeal’s decision was presented, Valerie wasn’t going to take it well.
* * *
“There she is. There’s my girl.” Valerie thought her heart would burst into a thousand pieces when Lucy carried Bethany into the hospital room.
Bethany kicked her legs and reached out for Valerie, who was dressed and past ready to leave the hospital. The light blue floral dress with a ruffle offset Bethany’s eyes. Lucy had placed a sunhat on Bethany’s blond head. Valerie pulled her close and Bethany snuggled against her.
“She’s a busy little thing.” Lucy set the diaper bag down. “She kept me on my toes.”
“Thanks, Lucy, for watching her,” Valerie said.
“It was no trouble. I wish we could do more. You know that.” Lucy pulled a teething ring out of the diaper bag. “She was fussy last night. I’m not sure what is up with that. She might have some teeth coming in.”
Valerie looked into Bethany’s blue eyes while she sucked on her teething ring and clutched her pink bunny. “She’s still adjusting...to things. It’s hard for her to sleep at night.”
Lucy said her goodbyes, hugged Bethany and Valerie and left. Bethany wandered around the room while Valerie gathered her things. The shiny black buckle shoes made her little feet look so small.
Bethany pointed at the bed and said, “Ahh?” Her word for what is it?
“Bed. That’s a bed, sweetie.” Valerie held her hand out to her. “Come on, let’s go.” Bethany’s hand slipped into hers. Valerie took smaller steps so Bethany could keep up with her. In the hallway, she was surprised to see Trevor and McNeal.