Page 61 of Shelter for Sharla

It didn’t take long before Carter was tired, but he tried to think about Sharla and the kids. Once these guys got what they wanted, they’d leave her and the kids alone. Yeah, they wouldn’t have him, but that was okay. He thought Lionel wasn’t really very fond of him anyway, and he chuckled. “What’s so funny, copper?” one of the guys asked.

“Nothing. Just thinking about something somebody said to me one time. That’s all.”

Angelico rolled his eyes. “You could spit that capsule out if you want.”

“Not a chance.” Carter went back to work digging. The ground was packed and it was slow going.

They’d managed to dig five holes deep enough to stand in when Carter’s shovel blade hit something solid. He hit it a couple more times and it made a clanging sound. “Found something.”

“Keep digging. You,” Angelico barked at one of the other guys, “get over here and help him.”

“Yes, CapoPaolo,” the man answered and jumped into the hole with Carter.

“I’d say we should dig around the edges here,” Carter said, shoveling a little more away from whatever it was. As they dug, it became obvious that it was some kind of metal sheet, maybe steel, and it was painted dark blue. Carter gave it a hard stomp. “Hollow. There’s something inside there, I’m betting.”

“Good going. We’ll let you live until the lid comes off and you can see what you’ve died for,” Angelico said, not a shred of humor in his voice. The men continued to dig, and Carter knew his time was dwindling. He tried to picture Sharla in the morning, sleeping peacefully in his bed, her hair fanned out over the pillow, a languid smile on her face and one breast uncovered. It made him smile, thinking of her softness, her warmth, the dampness between her legs when he teased her, the puckering of her nipples when he sucked them. God, she was all he’d ever wanted, and she had to come along at the very end. That was just his luck.

“Got an edge here!” one of the other guys called out.

Angelico clapped his hands. “Good. Dig along it and let’s see if we can get that thing open.” They shoveled a little more out. “Clean it up, guys. Clean it up. Yeah, just like that. Can you get it open?”

Carter stuck the blade of his shovel under the edge and pried. “Yeah, I think so. It should come open.”

“Get the fuck out of there. Guys, drag him up.” Hands were all over him, pulling at him, lifting him, and in seconds, he was lying on the dirt at the edge of the hole while Angelico stared down into the hole.

“Got a light?” one of them called up.

“You got a light in that fuckin’ truck?” Angelico barked.

“Yeah. Under the front seat. Long silver flashlight.”

“Go get it, dumbass.” They watched as the guy ambled over to the truck, found the light, and brought it back. “Now we get to see what we’ve been looking for all these years.” Angelico trained the light down into the hole and Carter leaned over just enough to see what was there.

Bags. Canvas bags. He had to believe they were full of money. And there, sitting on a huge HarleyDavidson ElectraGlide, was a skeleton, its bony hands gripping the bars and its head lying about three feet away. “Lost your head there, DonEduardo!” Angelico cackled, and the other guys laughed too. Carter could see with no trouble that the ring finger of the corpse was missing. The rumors were true. That big, tacky ring on Angelico’s hand had indeed come from that corpse, and it appeared Taliq had quite a sense of humor to boot. “Get down in there, Weasel, and check out those bags.” One of the men jumped down into the metal enclosure and threw a bag out. When Angelico picked it up, money fell out onto the ground. “Aha! There it is! After all these years.” He kissed a stack of what looked like twenties, then turned to Carter. “Looks like you’ve outlived your usefulness. Boys, get that money out of there and put the cop down there. Nobody will ever find him. Hell, look how long it took us to find it! But I’ll send you to your grave with one thought. I’ll keep my word. Your woman and those kids are safe. We don’t need them for anything. The cops already know us, so it’s not like they’re going to spill any beans, and we have no use for them. But it’s time to go, so get your ass on down there in that hole and stay put. Here. Take a bottle of water. You’ll survive an extra day with that.” Angelico threw the bottle down into the top of the enclosure and pointed for Carter to follow it.

This is it, Carter thought as he walked toward the gaping maw of the excavation. That was when he caught it, something he recognized immediately. Through all the odors of rust, oil, rotting tires, and old gasoline, rolled the slight but distinctive smell of something only a law enforcement officer would recognize?brand-new Kevlar. Carter did the only thing he could think to do.

He sat down.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Angelico screamed.

“I’m sitting right here. You’ll have to drag me down there or shoot me.”

“Not a problem. Boys, get up here and throw the pig into the pig sty.” The two men who’d dropped down into the hole scrambled up as the others stood with their weapons. They were all above ground and that was exactly what Carter wanted.

Something whizzed through the air and he squeezed his eyes shut just before the flash bang cannister went off. There was a lot of smoke, and yelling, and gunfire. He was scrambling, crawling, clawing, trying to get out of the middle of that infernal hell when he felt something on his neck. There was more yelling and gunfire, and he rolled toward a stack of crushed cars out of the middle of the melee. As soon as he was tucked away under the edge of something rusted and red, he slapped his hand on his neck, and when he drew it away, it was drenched.

Blood. Too much blood. Carter pressed against his neck, and he could feel it oozing between his fingers.Shit. I’ve got to find somebody or make somebody see me.He tried to roll, but it was too hard. The gunfire was quieting, and he wondered if anyone could hear him if he called out. “Guys! Hey, guys! Over here!” was all he could think to yell.

He could hear a distinctive Texas drawl in the voice wafting out over the carnage. “Carter? Carter! You out there? CARTER! It’s Cruz, Carter! Where are you? He’s not down there.”

“Where the hell is he?” another voice asked.

“Hey!” His voice was thin and small to his own ears, and a buzzing sound had set up in his head. “Guys! Over here!” He felt weak, too weak to move. Couldn’t they hear him? Or see him?

A sudden beam of light pierced the darkness and he heard a voice yell, “There! He’s over there!” Footsteps came closer and he looked up. “Carter! He’s over here! Hey, buddy. It’s okay. We’re gonna get you out of here,” the voice said, and he caught enough of a glimpse to see a headful of blond hair. Sam.

“I’m… Look,” he said, turning his hand over.

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