Decoy Training, page 19
“I am. I can send you my location to track with my phone,” Shane said.
“Do that. Ava and I will catch up to you,” Brady said and hung up.
Shane fumbled with his phone to send Brady the text message with the tracking to his location. He had slowed while doing that, increasing the distance between him and the Jeep. So far nothing the driver had done indicated that he thought he was being followed. But as the car pulled off onto a side road and stopped, as if to see if he would follow, he drove past, hoping that the side road only led one way: to Piper.
He didn’t know why, but he was sure now that the man in the Jeep was Parker. Especially as he recalled how the man had looked, with a baseball cap pulled low and jacket collar turned up, as if to hide his features.
Which meant he had to follow Parker up the mountain.
Executing a K-turn, he headed back quickly to the side road, slowing as he neared it. In the early morning light, the Jeep’s taillights were visible along the side road, halfway up the mountain.
Shane shut off his lights, turned onto the side road and hurried after Parker.
* * *
PIPER HAD BEEN DOZING, trying to make up for the night of Josh’s constant interruptions, when she heard a car pull up.
Josh. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but it didn’t feel like long. She peered through the dirty glass and plastic on the windows. A white Jeep had pulled up, Josh at the wheel. The sun was still low on the horizon, hinting at the fact that he hadn’t been gone long, maybe an hour or so.
That told her that wherever they were wasn’t all that far from Jasper. If she could get free and make it down the mountain, she might be able to flag someone on the road to take her to town.
She shifted in the seat again as she had been doing all night, trying to restore feeling to her hands and feet with little luck. They were still numb.
Barely a minute later, Josh pushed through the door, carrying two bags. He walked to a small table at one side of the room and took out supplies: an ax, matches, a first aid kit and a few cans of food.
He fumbled with the first aid kit, opening it and cursing as he wiped his cut with an alcohol pad. Then he wrapped gauze around his hand, pushed the kit aside and picked up the ax. Sunlight glinted off the shiny metal as he ran a finger across the edge, testing its sharpness.
With a nod, he walked toward her, and it was clear that he had no intention of using the ax to cut firewood.
* * *
WITHOUT THE CHAINS Shane hadn’t been able to buy at the hardware store, he hadn’t made it past the first half a mile or so of slushy snow at the higher elevations. The car had slipped and slid until he’d lost control and almost hit a tree by the side of the road. He’d also worried that the sound of the engine would carry up the mountain and alert Parker that he had been discovered.
He needed the element of surprise if he was going to overpower Parker and save Piper.
Tucking his cell phone into his pocket so Jasper PD could keep on tracking him, he opened the door for Decoy and slipped off his leash. He grabbed Piper’s dirty sweatshirt and let Decoy smell it, hoping he’d pick up Piper’s scent to help guide him in case the road ahead didn’t lead straight to Parker.
Together, Decoy and he trudged up through the slush, snow and patches of ice where the snow had melted and refrozen overnight. It was slow going, his feet slipping beneath him regularly, but he pushed on, aware that time wasn’t on his side.
Parker had taken Piper in the late afternoon and had her overnight. He’d want her to tell him where she had the relics her husband had supposedly sent her, but he was as sure as Piper that Lambert wasn’t the one who had taken them. That left one person who might have them: Buck Devare.
Unfortunately, Parker’s good friend Buck had probably convinced him that he didn’t have the relics. Shane wasn’t as convinced.
He had gone about a mile up the road when he spotted something white through a thicket of trees. Looking more closely, he realized the road took a big bend to the left and that it was the white Jeep Parker had been driving, parked in front of a cabin that was in pretty bad shape. Broken windows, taped over with plastic. Missing planks of wood on the front porch and a gaping hole in one corner of a roof that looked ready to collapse.
He rushed up the last part of the road, careful not to make too much sound. Signaling to Decoy to stay close and quiet.
Decoy glanced at him and seemed to nod in understanding.
Creeping up the last few feet, hunched over to hopefully avoid being seen through the windows, he managed to get on the front porch noiselessly. Crouching low, he peered through the window.
Piper was duct-taped to a chair and Parker was circling her, an ax in his hand and a gun in a holster on his hip.
“You’ve been trying my patience all night and I’m done waiting. Next time I get an ‘I don’t know,’ it’ll cost you a toe or two,” he said, slapping the ax handle in his hand over and over.
Shane couldn’t delay as hundreds of scenarios raced through his brain.
The ax slicing through the air, catching Piper on the shoulder. The neck. Her lifeblood seeping from her as he stood there, waiting for the right moment to attack.
He slipped his Sig Sauer from the holster, hand trembling as he did so, but from fear. More fear than he’d ever experienced on any mission when he’d been in the Army because this time the woman he loved was in danger.
He couldn’t deny it any longer: he loved Piper.
Tightening his hand on the grip, he crept to the door, grabbed the handle and threw the door open.
It bounced against the wall with a noisy thud, snagging Parker’s attention.
He raised the ax and Shane issued one command to Decoy. He hoped that this time the dog wouldn’t hesitate.
“Attack.”
Decoy leaped at Parker, latching onto his biceps and driving him away from Piper and onto the ground with the force of his leap.
Shane rushed forward, snatched the ax from Parker and threw it across the room as the other man fought to get Decoy off him, rolling from side to side, but Decoy hung on.
Shane pinned Parker’s other arm to the ground with his knee, then took the gun from Parker’s hip holster and tossed it aside, well out of Parker’s reach.
“Stop,” he commanded, and Decoy immediately released Parker’s arm.
Parker swung his now-free hand up, trying to cuff Shane across the side of the head, but Shane blocked the blow with his left arm. He punched Parker with the hand that still held the gun, dazing him.
Rolling Parker onto his stomach, he placed a knee in the middle of his back and pointed his gun at Parker’s head.
“Don’t move, Parker.”
“She’s got the relics. Don’t let her kid you about that,” Parker said, his voice bordering on crazy.
“She doesn’t have anything, Parker,” he said and looked around for something he could use to bind Parker’s arms, but just then, the crunch of tires on ice and snow and a car engine told him the cavalry had arrived.
Ava and Brady rushed through the door, guns drawn, but they quickly holstered them as they realized Shane had Parker under control.
Ava immediately went to Piper to cut away the duct tape, while Brady came over to handcuff Parker and haul him to his feet.
Shane rushed to Piper’s side, knelt by her and cupped her cheek. There was an ugly bruise near her temple and an angry splotch of red on her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Piper nodded but grimaced with pain as she finally moved her unbound arms. At his questioning glance, she said, “He hit me with the gun butt but right now it’s a lot of pins and needles. Sore. He bounced me around in the chair and I landed on my arms.”
He stroked his hand along her forearm and down to twine his fingers with hers. “Let’s get you to the hospital where they can check you out.”
“I’m okay. I’d rather go home,” she said as she rubbed her wrists.
Shane shook his head. “We’re not going to take any chances. Hospital and then we can head home and get you into a hot bath. It’ll help the aches.”
She offered up a little smile and reluctantly nodded. “Hospital. Home. Together. That sounds like a great idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Piper lazed in the hot water of the bath that Shane had graciously drawn when they had first gotten home.
Home. It hadn’t felt like home when she had first come here from California, but little by little the area, dogs and people had worked themselves into her heart. But somehow deep inside she had sensed something else was missing.
But not anymore.
She swiped some errant soap bubbles from her arms and noticed the bruises on her biceps and wrists from being banged around and tied up. She ran a hand across one particularly larger bruise and winced. It was tender to the touch.
The water in the bath slowly grew tepid, her fingers wrinkly, warning Piper that it was time to get out.
Easing from the tub, she toweled down and slipped on a robe, grimacing as soreness awoke in another spot high up on her shoulder.
It would take days for all the aches to fade away, but there was another pain that would linger far longer. The pain of Shane leaving.
Their lessons were as good as over. Both Shane and Decoy were ready to go to the search and rescue group in Montana to continue their training. And now that the danger from Josh Parker was over, there was nothing keeping Shane in Jasper any longer.
Her heart clenched at the thought, felt like it was breaking into hundreds of pieces, but she belted the robe tight around her, as if that would keep the pieces from falling out of her chest.
As she walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, the smells of coffee, bacon and eggs snared her attention.
Hurrying forward, she caught sight of Shane at the stove, cooking. He turned and smiled as he saw her.
“Feeling better?” he said and raised the pan to tip out scrambled eggs onto two plates sitting on the counter.
She nodded. “Much. Thank you for everything.”
He picked up the plates and sauntered over to the dining table near the sliding doors. Set them down and waited for her to take a seat at the table, his hands clenching awkwardly on the top rung of a nearby chair. Waiting for her to sit, ever the gentleman, although she sensed his hesitation was about more than just manners.
She sat and he finally took a chair opposite hers, his movements tentative as he reached for one of the coffee cups on the table. He filled it from a carafe and handed it to her.
Her hands trembled as she took the cup, added cream and sugar, and stirred, over and over, the spoon rattling noisily against the cup until Shane reached over and gentled her with his touch.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, almost as if this nightmare wasn’t over.
Narrowing her gaze to gauge his answer, she said, “What aren’t you telling me?”
His lips thinned into a tight line, and he drew his hand away. She felt immediately bereft.
“Parker is insisting your husband took the relics.” He picked up his coffee cup and took a bracing sip, wincing at the heat of it.
“David was an honest man. He would never have stolen anything.” She grabbed her cup and cradled it between her hands, hoping the heat of the mug would help chase away the sudden chill in her heart.
“My friend had told me that the Marines didn’t believe David had taken anything. He had reported the relics, which makes no sense if he intended to steal them.”
“But?” she said, hearing what he wasn’t saying.
“Parker’s actions have forced the authorities to reopen the investigations. Since we’re sure there’s nothing here, they’re going to visit Buck Devare.”
“Josh’s partner. The other man who received the dishonorable discharge,” she said and finally lifted her cup to take a sip.
“Yes. They’re going there today,” he said and motioned to her dish. “Eat up before it gets cold.”
She did, forking up some of the eggs and a slice of the bacon. She hadn’t really felt hungry at first, especially with the earlier discussion, but after the first few bites, hunger kicked in, and in no time she had finished all the eggs and bacon and a few slices of buttered toast.
“That was delicious,” she said and rose to pick up the plates, but Shane laid a hand on hers to stop her.
“I’ll clean up. You should try and get some rest. You had a rough night,” he said and again she heard what he wasn’t saying: it might turn out to be a rough day as well.
She rose slowly, more aches and pains announcing their presence. As he headed to the kitchen sink with the plates, she went back to her bedroom, feeling the weight of the night before dragging her down. Closing the door, she slipped off her robe and slid beneath the sheets. They were cool against her body, but warmth soon built in the cocoon around her and the comfort of it and lack of sleep from the night before pulled her into unconsciousness.
* * *
SHANE HEARD HER bedroom door closing and laid his wet hands on the edge of the counter. Drawing in a long breath, he fought the urge to go comfort her.
She’d been through hell the day before, but he worried that whatever the authorities discovered after their visit to Devare would plunge her into an even worse hell.
His cell phone rang, and he dried his hands and checked the caller ID. Emma. He swiped to answer.
“How’s she doing?” Emma immediately asked.
“She’s...tired. Banged up.” He had seen the bruises and abrasions on her wrists as she’d held the coffee cup.
“How did she handle the news about the investigation?” Emma said, worry alive in her voice.
“Badly, I think. She defended her husband—”
“She loved him with all her heart, and he was a good guy, Shane. I met him several times and I can’t imagine him ever doing something like that,” Emma said, clearly as loyal to Lambert as Piper. Even though he hadn’t known him, if two women like Piper and Emma spoke for him, he must have been a good man.
“I know, but we need to let the investigation play out,” he said, urging a patience he wasn’t feeling. He wanted the investigation to be over sooner rather than later so that Piper could get on with her life.
“I got a call yesterday from the search and rescue group in Montana. With everything going on, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. They were asking for a recommendation from the DCA for you.”
A recommendation from Emma would help him continue with his training, only...
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that,” he said.
“Great,” she said, but her tone was ambiguous as if she didn’t really believe he intended to go through with it.
“I’ll keep you posted on what’s happening,” he said and swiped to end the call.
* * *
SINCE THE INCIDENT with Parker a few days earlier, Piper and Shane distracted themselves by working with Decoy and Chipper on the agility course. Decoy had mastered the basic obstacles as well as the more complicated chutes and tunnels they’d added. Chipper had proved herself adept despite her shorter legs.
“Maybe I’ll train her for the agility course competitions,” Piper said with a laugh as Chipper sped over the A frame and into the tunnel.
“She’s fast,” Shane said and shook his head at the little dog’s antics.
But as Chipper finished the course and raced right at Decoy to play with her best friend, Piper noticed the Jasper PD cruiser parking across from Emma’s ranch house.
Emma must have noticed it as well since she came out of the DCA offices and walked to join Shane and her at the training ring fence.
Ava and Brady exited the cruiser and walked over, their body postures easygoing and smiles on their faces.
“I guess you have good news,” Shane said and laid a hand at the small of her back, offering support even though she didn’t think she’d need it.
“We do. The authorities visited Buck Devare. At first, he denied everything, but little by little they wore him down. He admitted that he had taken the relics after your husband had reported their discovery, but before he and Parker went back to get them,” Ava reported, and relief filled Piper that her husband’s memory would be clear of any stain on his character.
“How did he get them out of Iraq?” Shane asked.
“They were small carved tablets and cylindrical stamps as well as a gold bracelet from Sumer. He hid them in his uniform pockets since he hoped he wouldn’t be searched. Once he got home, he found an antiquities dealer who wasn’t very concerned about their provenance,” Brady added to the report.
“What happens now?” Emma asked and shot a relieved glance in Piper’s direction.
“Devare will likely cop a deal in exchange for the name of the dealer. Apparently the last time something like this happened, the relic thief got eighteen months’ probation and had to make restitution to the dealer,” Ava advised.
Piper raised an eyebrow. “That’s all? After everything that’s happened?”
Ava and Brady shared a look that communicated they were as frustrated as Piper with the sentence. “At least Parker’s going to get more. Burglary. Assault and battery. Kidnapping. He’s going to spend a long time behind bars,” Brady said.
“And the antiquities dealer?” Shane asked.
“They paid him a visit and got the relics back. He hadn’t been able to sell them without the provenance. They’ll be returned to the Iraqi authorities,” Ava advised.
“So it’s over,” Piper said and suddenly her knees were sagging.
Shane’s arm was quickly around her waist, drawing her close to offer support.
