by KJ Dahlen
“Sounds good to me.” Skeeter ran his hands over his head.
Boone glanced over at the girls. “Gunner wants to start their searches while you guys are on the road. He needs to know your birthdays and where you were born?”
“My birthday is in three weeks, July 10th,” Zoey replied. “I’ll be eighteen years old then and I was born here in Dallas. St. Angelo’s hospital.”
“I will be seventeen in two months and I was born at home.” Mercy nodded. “My birth was never registered. My mama wanted no paper trail for her family to find.”
Skeeter grabbed her and hauled her to him in a hug. “Oh baby girl, I’m so sorry you had to live like that.”
“Do not feel sorry for me Senor.” Mercy shook her head. “Life was good for me when my mama was alive. No matter what, she loved me and I had a good life. After she was gone, I survived and I have a feeling life will be good again for me.”
The men stared at her and looked impressed by her attitude.
“Ok girls, let’s get on the road, and get you guys back home.” Skeeter hugged Mercy one more time and released her then grabbed their bags and led them down the hall.
Boone brought up the rear and watched their back all the way down to the car.
There, Skeeter found two agents waiting for them. He knew them both and he shook their hands as the girls got into the vehicle. Skeeter nodded at the agents, Jim Finley and Daniel Moor. “My MC is meeting us at the halfway point, so you should be home tonight sleeping in your own beds.”
Jim shook his head and asked, “Did she really come here and shoot the place up?”
“Yup, she sure did,” Skeeter replied. “Had someone looked through the peephole they would have gotten a bullet in their eye. That bitch is bat shit crazy.”
“You’re telling me.” Daniel Moor shook his head. “She damn near killed Jerry during her escape. He’s in the hospital with a severe concussion because of her..”
“Dayum. She’s a Marshal turned criminal and that makes us all look bad,” Skeeter swore under his breath. “Well, I shot back and she’s wounded. I’m not sure how bad but she was dripping blood when she ran down the hall.”
“Let’s get you guys on the road.” Jim nodded as both men looked disgusted.
Skeeter settled in behind the wheel and made sure the girls had their seat belts on. He didn’t trust Calista any further than he could throw her at the moment.
Boone came up to his side of the vehicle and rapped on the window. When Skeeter lowered the glass he told him, “Gunner said the boys will meet you at the wayside near Jacksonville. He also said to watch your back.”
Skeeter agreed with this of course, “You guys watch your backs too. Calista isn’t going to like being hunted and she’s likely to put a bullet in you if she’s cornered.”
Boone nodded. “That’s why he’s sending Jett and Moose up here while he and Thor escort you home.”
Skeeter reached over and started his truck then nodded at Boone before he drove out of the parking ramp.
He found the US 69 exit and turned onto it. His eyes caught the sight of Jim’s vehicle following them.
He kept his eyes open to any threat as well and the first half of the trip went well.
They were almost to the Jacksonville wayside when a car pulled out to pass Jim’s vehicle. The car sped up recklessly and at the last minute, turned into the front bumper of Jim’s car.
Skeeter was watching as the driver forced Jim and Daniel’s car off the road and into the ditch then he saw the woman behind the wheel rush at his back bumper. “Hold on girls. She’s playing bumper cars.” He growled as he braced for impact.
She hit the back of his truck hard as metal crumpled and glass shattered but Skeeter kept his head and refused to be forced off the road.
Calista pulled out on the other side of the road again, as if to pass but then she lowered the passenger window in the front and stuck a gun out the window, aiming it downward, to the front of the truck.
“Oh shit, she’s going after the fucking tires.” He slammed on the brakes. The truck skidded and he held on as she shot forward.
She quickly whipped into a u turn and was aiming straight at them when Skeeter noticed another vehicle coming behind her at a high rate of speed. It slammed into her rear and she was pushed down the highway. She couldn’t stop even if she tried, as it steadily veered her car away from the carnage she’d intended to leave in her wake.
Skeeter pulled over to a stop and gripped the steering wheel hard.
The girls had tried not to scream the whole time and as he came to a stop, they burst into tears.
Skeeter shook his head and turned to ask, “Are you girls okay?”
They were holding each other and crying but they both nodded their heads.
He turned to Janice and saw real fear in her eyes too. “How about you? Are you good?”
Janice looked at him and nodded. “I think so. That was her, right?”
Skeeter sighed in disgust. “Yeah, that was her. I saw her face when she rolled down the window to take the shot.”
Then he looked up to see Gunner walking from his vehicle to theirs.
“Are you guys alright?” Gunner demanded.
“We’re shaken but okay,” Skeeter replied. “Thanks for the assist.”
Gunner nodded. “Moose is checking on Jim and Daniel.” Shaking his head he said, “That bitch is crazy.”
“I better call Dallas and let him know what she just tried to pull.” Skeeter seethed. “He’ll have to send more agents to collect his men.”
“I’ll have Moose and Jett stay with them until he gets here.” Gunner looked concerned. “But you and the girls need to get under our watch. It isn’t safe for you out here.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t try that again,” Skeeter stated.
Gunner grunted. “Her vehicle isn’t going far. I hit her pretty good in the back end after she rammed you hard and she had to flip around. Won’t be long now, and she’ll be on foot. Her car is in bad shape. We’d better get you guys the hell out of here before she figures some way to come back to finish the job.”
Skeeter nodded.
Gunner went back to his vehicle and got behind the wheel and although his truck took some minor damage it was still drivable. He led the way.
Skeeter pulled in behind him, then Thor pulled in behind Skeeter.
Just as they got to Jasper, Gunner’s truck started smoking. He knew if he stopped, he’d never get it going again. So when he pulled into the compound, he drove it as far to the maintenance building away from the other vehicles and clubhouse as he could get it.
Skeeter and Thor stopped at the clubhouse. The girls got out and Skeeter hustled them inside quickly while Thor then went on to assist Gunner.
A few minutes later, they both came in and Gunner was pissed. “Lock this place down.” He growled loudly.
The brothers that were there, scrambled to obey his orders.
Gunner came over to where Zoey and Mercy were and he shook his head. “Are you girls all right?”
They both nodded.
He could see tear tracks on their cheeks. Gunner looked over at Janice and she nodded at his unspoken question.
Jackson rushed over to her. “Are you okay, sis?”
“I’m fine,” Janice told him.
Gunner looked over at Zoey. “We got a problem little girl.”
Zoey frowned. “What kind of problem?”
“We looked up your birth certificate and it says you were indeed born on July 10th eighteen years ago, but it lists Calista Jones as your mother. We need to know what the hell is going on here.”
Zoey looked as surprised as Skeeter did at the news. She sat down hard on the chair next to her. “What the hell?” she whispered. “She always told me she was my aunt and that my mom walked out on me two days after I was born.” She looked up at Skeeter. “I swear I didn’t know any different.” Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “I swear it.”
Ch
apter Ten
“What the hell do you mean Calista Jones is listed as her mom?” Skeeter asked.
Gunner walked over to the table Zipper was set up at. He searched through the papers on his desk, picked one out then walked over and handed it to Skeeter. It was Zoey’s birth certificate.
And it did list Calista as her mother. Skeeter looked up at Gunner. “Did you run her driver’s license?”
“Why should we do that?” Gunner asked. “We know what she looks like.”
“Just do it please,” Skeeter urged.
Rigger looked over at Gunner and at his nod, he got into the DMV and ran the license of Calista Jones. Several names and photos came up but funny enough, the Calista Jones they met the other day wasn’t one of them. Rigger looked up, cleared his voice, and said, “Boss we have a problem.”
Gunner snapped his head around to glare at him. “What kind of problem?” he growled.
“She’s not there,” Rigger told him.
“What the fuck do you mean, she’s not there?” Gunner demanded as he joined his IT man at the table.
“She’s not here in the system at all,” Rigger insisted as he turned his monitor toward Gunner.
Gunner checked each and every face on the monitor and he had to growl. None of the faces were hers. He turned his head to look at Skeeter. “Who the hell was that woman if she wasn't Calista Jones?”
Skeeter shook his head. “I’ve known her for seven years. She’s Calista Jones or at least that’s who she’s pretended to be.”
Gunner looked over at Rigger. “Can you run a facial ID on her?”
“I can try.” Rigger then hacked into the Texas Rangers data frame and got the picture off her ID form and then began running a facial ID.
Gunner walked over to Zoey and squatted down in front of her. “Skeeter told us about a second house, one in your name.”
Zoey nodded. “I told him about the house. I never knew she had it. She bought it ten years ago in my name. Ten years ago, I was only seven years old.”
“How did you find out about the house?” Gunner wanted to know.
“I got the mail one day before she came home and there was a letter in my name. When I opened it, it was the tax statement for a house on Hubbard street. We didn’t live on Hubbard street. So I went there. When I looked at the house, I couldn’t believe it. It was a very nice house. I found a way inside and walked through it. She was living there. Her clothes were there, and there was food in the fridge. I also found at least three guns there, plus the one I’m sure she always carries. Then I found a safe in the bedroom closet. I knew better than to try and open it so I don’t know what’s in there, but it must be important to her if she has to put it in a safe behind lock and key.”
“One of the men I sent to Dallas can get it open, we’ll find out what she’s hiding,” Gunner assured her.
Zoey looked a bit rattled. “Tell your men to be careful. If she’s running from the Rangers, she might go there to stay if she can’t go back to the house she lived in with me. She might think the cops don’t know about the second house, so she figures she’ll be safe there. I wouldn’t put it past her to shoot any of you in the head.”
Gunner smiled and tapped her leg. “Don’t worry about my men, they can take care of themselves. They are trained to be careful.”
Zoey shook her head, “But she’s beyond crazy now. She knows if she’s caught, she’ll go to jail for a very long time and I don’t think she’d do well behind bars.”
“Did you ever figure anything else out over the years?” Gunner asked staring at her curiously. “Anything that would help us find her?”
“Once a year, she would get drunk and start yelling about how Trace might still be alive if he’d only loved after her instead of her sister. She always thought I was asleep but I heard every word she said.”
Gunner looked over at Rigger. “Can you put a family tree together for Calista? Maybe she took over her own sister’s life.”
Rigger nodded. Then he began typing on his keys. He was zipping from program to program but wasn’t finding what he hoped he’d find. “Boss, this is fucked up.”
Gunner got up and went over to his desk. “What are you finding?”
Rigger looked up and explained, “Calista’s real mom died from childbirth complications right after Calista was born. Her dad never remarried but he died under suspicious circumstances when she was fifteen. The police had a suspect but she too was only fifteen, Calista’s friend Karen Hall. Now Karen was an orphan at the time and had been in the system for the last five years. Her own parents died in a house fire that was suspected as an arson case when she was around 9 or 10 years old.”
Gunner paused at this then shook his head at the information. “Dig up as much of a timeline as you can. We need all the details of what you find.” He ran his hand over the back of his head and while he looked over at Zoey. “That girl is very lucky to be alive I think.”
“Senor Gunner,” Mercy called out with a frown. “May I tell you something I remembered?”
Gunner walked over to her and nodded. “Yes, you can tell us anything.”
Mercy rubbed the crease in her forehead as she tried to remember something her mother told her a long time ago. “I remember something my mama said before she was killed. We had to share a bed when I was small and one night she was telling me about my papa. She made him sound so nice, then she got sad. She said something about him not wanting to take us with him over the border to America because we could be in danger. He said it wouldn’t be safe for us where he was living. When I asked her why he would say that, she shook her head and told me he had a stalker. A woman who was obsessed with him. She would follow him everywhere. That he was glad to get away from her for at least a little while. But then my mama told me of an American woman who showed up in the village we were living in when she and my papa were together. She would watch him all the time but she never let him see her. When she saw my mama was with child, she got upset and she came after her. Mama wouldn’t let her in the house and the woman said that one day, she would get her. Her and the baby she carried.” Mercy had tears running down her cheeks when she finished telling her story. She looked up at Gunner then over to Skeeter. “Could this Calista be that woman she told me about?”
Gunner looked over at Skeeter and nodded.
Skeeter had a cold burning in his belly from the news that Calista wasn’t who she’d pretended to be and at Mercy’s words... that cold burn got bigger. “Holy shit. I didn’t know she followed him across the border and that she knew where we were.” He looked over at Gunner. “I have to inform Dallas about this newest wrinkle. Our mission was compromised by someone in our own organization.”
“But you said she only came to the Rangers seven years ago,” Janice reminded him. “She wasn’t in your organization back then.”
“That’s right but if she followed us across the border, she could have easily turned us over to the cartel. In fact, she could have been the one who turned Mercy’s mother’s location over to her family.”
Jackson shook his head. “And I thought my wife was evil, this bitch has her topped by a long shot.”
“I almost hate to ask this but could she have been the one that shot Trace and pinned you down long enough to let him bleed out?” Gunner asked. “In its own weird sense, it fits in that timeline.”
Skeeter shook his head. “Hell, I don’t know. I didn’t see the shooter that night. The shadows hid him or her from view. Could she do it? After all we’re finding out about her. So yeah, I think she could. Was she even there that night? Who knows, I was pinned down and in too much pain at the time.”
Zoey looked over at Skeeter. “In the house on Hubbard street, she has awards on the wall for her shooting skills. Maybe she has hidden the gun she used to kill him away in that safe.”
Gunner looked over at her. “What name are these awards listed under?”
“Calista Jones is on four of them but that name your man mentioned, Ka
ren Hall I think that was on the oldest one.” Zoey shook her head. “I don’t know why I remembered that. It didn’t mean anything to me when I saw them on the wall. When I saw the oldest one the date was seventeen years ago, she would have only been seventeen herself at the time.”
“Boss I found her,” Rigger piped up. “I ran the DMV records for Karen Hall and I found her.”
Gunner frowned and looked at Skeeter. “Why would she get a driver’s license in her own name when her whole life revolves around being known as Calista Jones?”
Janice stepped over to where Skeeter stood. “Don’t you see? She’s been setting up her alibi all these years. She’s been living a double life this whole time. That way, if she gets busted, she can claim she’s the other person.” Janice began to pace as she thought about her theory. “Oh, this bitch is clever, I’ll give her that much.” She looked over at Rigger and asked, “Can you check on properties under Karen Hall’s name?” Looking back at Skeeter and Gunner she shrugged. “She’d have to make sure she covered all her bases. Having two identities she’d have to have two houses.” She glanced over at Zoey. “In this case, three houses.”
“But why three houses?” Gunner asked, perplexed. Then the more he thought about it the more he realized what the answer was. He looked over at Zoey with astonishment. “No, she couldn’t, could she?”
“What do you want to make a bet?” Janice looked grim.
Zoey glanced at Skeeter with tears in her eyes. “She had to take care of me all these years didn’t she? She had to let me grow up. T-then she was going to become me i-if she had to.”
“Oh baby, we don’t know that for sure.” Skeeter moved over to Zoey and grabbed her up into his arms. “You can’t think that. She must have known I would let anything happen to you.”
“Are you forgetting the fact that she tried to kill you twice today?” Zoey reminded him. “She isn’t going to stop until someone stops her.” She sobbed into his chest.
Skeeter lifted her chin and looked down into her tear filled eyes. “Then we stop her.”
“How do we do that Senor?” Mercy asked with a whisper.