Page 39 of Operation: Return

“Unless they are still really looking for you and know that you used to live with Trace. They may have been watching Trace this entire time, thinking you might connect with him. They may have assumed you left Wayside Ranch to stay safe after the first attack and are only now finding out you stayed.” Cole hated to sound negative, but he wasn’t about to let either of them get taken for a few packs of cigarettes.

“I’ll go in. What kind does he want?” Cole insisted.

Trace made a soft growling sound and opened his door. Dominic reached back to grab him and Cole stopped him. They were never allowed to touch the guests in any way unless the guest reached out to them or verbally asked for something and never a romantic touch.

Dominic gave him a look, then changed tactics and rushed out of the car. Scarlet slid across the seat and followed after Trace. “Trace! Wait!”

Two men rushed out from behind the building, guns drawn. Trace froze in place, his arms spread like a prize fighter.

“Thanks for leading us to the goods,” one of the men said then laughed.

Two cars pulled out of the lot and everything seemed to go silent. Cole couldn’t focus on anything else as he drew his weapon and used his car as cover. They were just in too much of a populated area to do any good. How could he get Trace and Scarlet out of this safely?

Dominic took a few steps toward them and one of the gunman switched his aim from Trace to Dominic. “Hold up there, Goliath. You stay right where you are. Scarlet is going to come with us, nice and easy, and you can just get back in your car and drive away.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Cole called, adjusting his sights until he had a bead on one of the men’s foreheads.

“Isn’t it?” He reached for Scarlet and gripped her arm.

She whimpered slightly. In that moment, Trace howled and charged the one holding Scarlet. Her attacker was knocked back onto the pavement. The other shooter seemed unsure what to do, stuck between shock and desire to watch the fight.

Trace pummeled the man’s face as Dominic moved in slowly toward the other. The second shooter drew his pistol and cocked it, then aimed at Trace’s head. “All right. I think that’s about enough.”

His friend groaned as Trace raised his hands. Cole searched the parking lot but realized Scarlet had disappeared. His heart raced. Had there been more than two men? Were these two a diversion so he’d be distracted and lose sight of her? It had worked.

“Don’t move a muscle,” Cole warned. “Dominic, help Trace up off that guy.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the man with the gun growled.

Dominic leveled his pistol. The combination of his military style gear and his stature gave the attackers enough pause that Trace was able to get off the ground and move behind Dominic. He seemed to notice Scarlet’s absence at that moment, because his eyes widened and he glanced around frantically, even standing on his toes to hunt for her.

“You’re under arrest,” Cole said. “Anything you say can and will be used against you. Dominic here has a body recorder just like the police.”

Gunman two reached down and helped his bloody comrade to his feet. “We’re not going anywhere with you.” He quickly aimed at the front window of the gas station and shot two rounds, shattering the bulletproof glass, but it didn’t fall.

Screams from inside were just the distraction the men were looking for as they pointed their guns at Cole and Dominic and backed away. Cole relinquished the feeble safety of the car and headed for them.

One of the men took a shot at him and it barely missed, pinging off the metal support beam holding up the huge awning over the gas pumps.

“Don’t draw any more fire. If he accidentally shoots a gas pump, we’ll all blow,” Dominic’s voice was low and steady.

Scarlet slowly opened the door of the gas station and made a run for Cole’s car.

One of the men opened their car window as they sped by. “You haven’t seen the last of us. You’ll be back where you belong before you know it.” His tires screeched as he pulled out onto the street and raced away.

Scarlet tossed a bag at Trace and climbed into the car without saying anything. Police arrived as she locked the back door. Both Cole and Dominic left their weapons on the hood of the car. After a situation like this, they’d have to stay until they were cleared to leave. This was going to bring even more eyes on Wayside.

Trace climbed in the other side and ripped open the bag like he couldn’t wait to get to the packages inside, then fumbled with the tear off around the top until Scarlet reached out and helped him.

Dominic leaned against the car as one of the police went inside and the other came toward Cole’s car. “You’d better call the ranch and let them know we’ll be here a while. I’ll talk to him first.”

Cole nodded, agreeing with his idea. Dominic could give them a copy of his body cam footage and that would prove they’d only reacted to an attack. They hadn’t provoked it.

He dialed up Edwyn’s number and waited. It rang seven times, then went to voicemail. Cole’s neck tingled with apprehension. Edwyn never missed a call. He even went so far as to transfer calls to his cellphone and even took good-natured ribbing about taking that thing with him into the restroom.

He tried calling Teddy and again got no answer. Cole swallowed hard and glanced up to find Dominic easily taking care of the situation with the officer. Trace had calmed slightly, cradling his cigarette between two fingers and letting Scarlet lean against him.

Cole tried to control his breathing in order to manage his deep worry over a situation he couldn’t control. Something was very wrong. Finally, he dialed Erica. She would answer him and wasn’t as connected to the ranch as everyone else. On the second ring, she answered.

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