Page 22 of Fear for Her Life

“Yeah, sure, as soon as I get cleaned up. Zorro, stay.” Carter took off at a run toward the cottage, zigzagging as he went to avoid a sniper’s bullet.

Jenna stared at Zorro, who stood for a few seconds before sitting down and turning into a statue, his eyes locked on the disappearing figure of his master. “Maggie, how long has it been since the doctors arrived to examine her?”

“They just went in now. I’m standing outside in the hallway of the secure area.”Maggie sounded as strong and dependable as always.“I figure you have some time before they’re through examining her. They’re familiar with the rape protocol and mentioned taking pictures, blood tests, swabs, and CT scans. From previous experience, I would say they’ll take one or two hours. I’ll wait here for as long as it takes. I promised I’d stay with her until her folks arrived.”

Heading back toward the kitchen, Jenna scanned the expectant faces of the women. “Okay, we’ll be right along. Don’t allow the parents into the secured area until I’ve spoken to her. Thanks for helping out, Maggie, I really appreciate you.”

“Thanks, but I’m just doing my job.”She disconnected.

“Tell me you’re not planning on leaving the ranch, are you?” Jo glared at her. “Dave asked you not to leave the ranch because it isn’t safe, and the second his back is turned you want to go into town. Have you lost your mind?”

Leaning her hands on the table, Jenna looked from one to the other. “I’m the sheriff. The team is burned up and we’re the last men standing. Whoever is doing this couldn’t possibly know we’re heading for the hospital. We’ll use the underground parking lot and take the elevator to the secured floor. That means we’ll be going from the Beast into a secure area. We’ll do the same on the way back. Carter will be driving and I’ll sit in the back with Jo. No one could possibly see us behind the blacked-out windows. If anyone is watching us, they’ll see two blond-haired people leaving in a black truck.” She looked from one to the other. “Jo, can you get Carter something to eat? I’ll feed the dogs and then get ready.” She looked at Beth. “There are liquid Kevlar vests in the hall closet. Can you grab one for Carter?”

“Sure.” Beth headed along the passageway.

Pumpkin, Jenna’s black cat, jumped onto the chair, and Jenna ran her hand down the cat’s silken black coat. She smiled at her. “I’m sure you can care for yourself while I’m gone.” She turned as Tauri came running through the door to Nanny Raya’s separate quarters. “There you are.”

“I saw Uncle Ty running toward the cottage. Is Daddy home?” Tauri peered behind her.

Swinging her son into her arms was out of the question now. He’d grown so fast and weighed a ton. She bent to hug him. “He’s out fighting fires and hunting down bad men with Uncle Shane. I’m not sure when he’ll be back but he sent you a hug.”

“Okay.” He held up paint-stained fingers. “I’m very busy painting.” He frowned when Beth dropped Kevlar vests over the back of a chair. “Are you going to work?”

Nodding, Jenna straightened. “For a little while. A lady was hurt and I need to go and see her at the hospital.” She clicked her fingers and Duke came running. “Duke would like to stay with you today.”

“Okay. I’ll go and finish my painting.” Tauri hugged her around the legs. “See you later.” He scampered off through the connecting door. “Come on, Duke.”

“He’s a beautiful boy.” Beth leaned her back against the sofa. “Was he in foster care for a long time before you adopted him?”

The question came from left field as Jenna had pushed the fact that they’d adopted Tauri from her mind. He was her son in every sense of the word. She assumed Beth’s time in the system had influenced the question. “From birth until four and then Blackhawk became his guardian. He lived with him and his mother until he came to us. It was a remarkable day, the moment we arrived, we had a connection to him and he told us he’d been waiting for us. He believes we’re his parents, even though he knows his father was a Native American. I figure his father is dead. We know his mother died soon after giving birth. Blackhawk has this crazy idea their spirits sent us to find him.”

“That’s truly remarkable.” Beth folded her arms across her chest. “Not just for the fact you found each other, but that he came through the system unscathed. He’s one of the lucky ones.”

Jenna searched Beth’s face but the woman hid her emotions as well as Kane. “I’ve run across many serial killers who came out of the system or from abusive parents. There’s no doubt in my mind, the majority of psychopaths are triggered by abuse in one form or another. As long as I draw breath, I’ll fight to keep the children safe.” She met Beth’s cynical gaze. “Abuse of women, men, and kids, and the use of cohesive control, is just another word forprolonged torture. The worst thing is when kids, especially, try and speak out, most times no one believes them, or they blame the child. Women are told their husbands have a right to bash them and tell them what to do. Domestic abuse is out of hand. There’s no place a woman or kid can go for help. The shelters are filled to overflowing, and you don’t want to know my opinion of the foster care system. Here in my county, we introduced stringent rules and frequent visits. This is why we founded the Her Broken Wings Foundation. It started small and now it’s growing by the year. It’s funded by donations both in money, time, and expertise. It’s no good just talking about helping or pretending terrible things don’t happen behind closed doors. People need to face the facts and actually do something.”

“Trust me,” Beth nodded slowly and her lips curled into a small smile, “you’re preaching to the choir.”

TWENTY-FIVE

STANTON FOREST

Disoriented, Mason Margos, the Ice Pick, blinked eyes filled with dust and tried to straighten. Somehow, he’d fallen sideways on the sofa and the top of his head was resting on the floor. Pain shot through his temples and his stomach rolled with even the slightest movement. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he moved a dry tongue around a dryer mouth, tasting spew, and yet he couldn’t recall vomiting at any time during the evening. In fact, he couldn’t remember the evening. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of smoke, and slowly the events over last night dropped into place. Holding his head to prevent it from rolling off his shoulders, he turned slowly to look at Callahan and Romero, stretched out on the filthy rug in front of the hearth with bottles of moonshine clutched in their hands.

Muted sunlight pushed through the smoke-filled air and cut into his corneas like knives. He quickly looked away as a rush of nausea gripped him. Where was the woman? “Kitty kitty, get your ass in here.”

Shouting split his head in two and he groaned in agony, but no sound came from the bedroom or the kitchen. Staggering to his feet, Margos kicked Romero and Callahan to wake them. “Wake up. The woman has gone. She’ll be able to bring the sheriff’s men right here. We need to leave now.”

Moans and complaints greeted him, and it took two more kicks to get them fully awake. He found a water dispenser in the kitchen, poured a cup, and drank greedily. The cool water slid down his parched throat like honey. He splashed his face in the kitchen sink and hunted for provisions. As he threw a few things into a box, a bunch of keys hanging on a peg by the door caught his attention. He grinned at seeing a key fob with the name Ford written on it. “Move it! We gotta leave now. From the smoke, the fire could be heading this way.” He grabbed the keys, the supplies, a rifle and ammo he’d found earlier and then headed for the back door.

“I ain’t going anywhere until I’ve had a drink.” Callahan grabbed him by the arm. “You sent me out to lock the cops inside the cabin last night. No one is going to be chasing us. That place was secure and no one would have gotten out alive.”

Turning slowly and eyeballing him, Margos waved a hand around the room. “I don’t care about them. The woman escaped and she’ll be on her way to town to tell them exactly where we are. They could be waiting out front for us right now ready to take us down.”

“Listen to him, Callahan.” Romero went to the sink and stuck his head under the tap. He shook his head like a dog before turning, grabbing a cup, and taking his fill of water. With fluid running down his chin, his dark eyes settled on Callahan. “Drink some water and let’s get the heck out of here.”

Holding up the keys triumphantly, Margos smiled. “It looks like we have a ride into town.” He looked at Romero. “Souza made provisions for us to get to a pickup point. Call the big man and tell him we’re ready to leave this place.” He pushed open the back door and headed down the steps.

The only building standing in the small yard was a barn. Margos pushed open the doors and inside discovered an older-model Ford pickup. He climbed behind the wheel, inserted the key, and the engine roared into life. He smiled as the others piled into the truck. “The gas tank is full. Now we just have to find our way out of this darn forest.”

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