Page 33 of Forgotten Girls

In that second, Styles hit the second man, attacking him with an uppercut that sent him flying backward and sprawling motionless on the grass. Beth gaped in horror as the man in Bear’s grasp drew a knife, the sharp blade sparkling in the sunlight. Beth ran toward him. “Knife.”

A shot rang out, so loud Beth fell and rolled to the ground. She turned as Bear dragged at the motionless man’s arm and gasped. The ground was visible through the hole in his chest, tall pieces of wheatgrass sticking out of the bloody mess as if they belonged there. She turned her head as Carter swept the second leg from his attacker and the man fell on the ground.

“Get that dog off me.” The whites of the man’s eyes showed in his absolute terror.

Beth’s gaze moved to Carter. As if he had all the time in the world, Carter drew his weapon and aimed it at the man.

“Ask me real nice.” Carter’s mouth twitched up at the corners. “My gun has a hair trigger. It would be a shame if my finger slipped. Look around you. I have two FBI witnesses to say you drew a weapon on me.”

“Please call off your dog.” The man’s face twisted in agony.

“With me.” Carter waited for Zorro to come to his side. He flipped out his phone and stared at Beth for a few seconds and then nodded. “Morning, Cash. We have a few men for you to arrest. We’ll need Nate too. Someone jumped us in the park. One dead, three injured. Once you’ve arrested them, I’ll call County to come by and get them.” He disconnected and stared at their prisoners. “There you go. Duty of care satisfied.”

“Who sent you?” Styles had the man who had attacked Beth by the collar and was giving him a shake. The man whimpered. “You figure she can hit hard? You’ve gotten off easy. If I’d hit you, I’d have driven your nose out the back of your head.”

The conscious men said nothing, just looked at each other as if seeking support. Beth moved closer and found Bear at her side, looking from her to Styles. She patted the dog’s head. “Good boy.”

“It’s been a time since either of these dogs have seen action.” Styles rubbed Bear’s ears. “They never forget.”

Head thumping and aching all over, Beth crouched near the man who’d attacked Carter. She’d noticed he’d led the attack and must be the leader. “Look, you might just as well make it easy on yourself and give us information.” She leaned in conspiratorially and lowered her voice. “We know Doc is involved. He sent you to take us down, didn’t he?”

The man clung to his damaged leg and glared at her. Like the others, he refused to name anyone, but she’d seen a flash of recognition in the man’s eyes at the name of the doctor. “Have you ever heard the expression why come to a gunfight with a knife? Surely you must have known that we would be armed? Did Doc tell you to do that to make it a nice quiet death for us?”

“If I talk to you, he’ll sell my kids into slavery.” The man’s voice was so low, she almost missed it.

Leaning closer, she met his gaze. “We could’ve killed you in self-defense, but we spared your lives. If what you say is true, we can put you into witness protection for your testimony against the doctor. Your family will be safe.”

“No, they won’t.” The man shook his head. “We failed. It’s already too late.” He lifted his dark gaze to her. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, have you? We’re dead and you will be soon. Nothing can stop him.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

Styles and Carter assisted Cash with the three men, getting them cuffed and safely into the back seat of the sheriff’s vehicle. Dr. Nate Mace had bandaged the eyes of the man who’d attacked Beth and suggested he be taken with the others to County for further treatment. They’d agreed to remain with the dead body with Nate for the ambulance to arrive. The body would be transported to the local hospital morgue. Carter would go with Cash. Styles turned to Carter as he pulled open the passenger door to Cash’s vehicle. “Zorro won’t fit in there as well.”

“He’ll wait here until I return.” Carter gave him a long look. “Don’t try and move him. He only takes orders from me, and occasionally Deputy Dave Kane out of Black Rock Falls. This is why he’s a patrol dog. I raised him from a pup, trained him in detecting explosives, and he came with me and passed all the requirements to join the SEALs. Problem is he won’t eat or do anything else unless I give him the command. So if by chance I get hit by a meteorite on my way back from the sheriff’s office, call Dave Kane, or Zorro will wait here for me until he dies.”

Styles frowned. “Okay. Thanks for the heads-up.” He turned and walked to where Beth was standing irritably as Nate checked out her throat. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Beth’s voice sounded raspy and her neck was a mixture of red and blue patches. Blood splattered her face, but had missed her hair, thanks to her blue woolen cap. She met his gaze. “There’s going to be a ton of paperwork again to explain why you discharged your weapon.”

Styles took a packet of wipes Nate handed him with a meaningful stare and shrugged. “It’s part of the job and this time Carter is going to report the incident to the director. He took a ton of crime scene images. I don’t believe we’ll have a problem. It was self-defense.” He held up the wipes. “Do you mind if I wipe the blood from your face?”

“Thanks.” Beth’s gaze fixed on his face. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

He went to work but Beth had this way of looking at him with a mixture of gratitude alternating with waves of fear. How often had she been offered kindness only to be hurt? He could still see the frightened child inside sometimes. Right now, she was fighting a battle between the frightened child and the grown woman. He must find a way to make her trust him. If it took baby steps, so be it. She was worth it. “It’s not so bad. I’ll have you good as new in a few seconds.”

“I feel so dirty.” Beth took a handful of wipes, removed her gloves, and rubbed them all over her hands. “I can smell blood.”

With care, Styles removed the blood and then pulled off her hat. “It’s gone now. Most of it was caught by your hat.” He tossed the wipes and hat into a garbage can alongside the fence and searched his pockets. “Here, wear this.” He handed her his black woolen hat. “One thing about these hats: they fit everyone, well, except little kids, I guess.”

“Thanks. I feel so much better.” Beth pulled the hat down over her ears and her gaze moved past him. “Ah, there’s the ambulance.”

“I’ll follow the ambulance and complete the paperwork.” Nate collected his bag and straightened. “The ME will need to be contacted. I’ll call Dr. Wolfe. I’ll contact you when I know he’s coming. No doubt he’ll want to speak to all of you.”

Styles nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate your help, Nate.”

“Seems to me the FBI is similar to delivering babies.” Nate chuckled. “I usually get a call at dawn or in the middle of the night.” He gave them a wave and went to meet the paramedics.

“So we wait for Carter?” Beth indicated to Zorro. “We can’t just walk away and leave him here.”

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