Page 9

9

“There’s his truck.” Kenzie pointed out as they approached the Bridges ranch. “He had the sense to park out here and walk in. It’s a good sign, Coy.”

“No. None of this is good. He’s in over his head.” Coy pulled over to the side of the road by Nash’s vehicle.

Kenzie pulled out her weapon and had it at the ready.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

“With you. Got your six, remember?”

“Like hell you are.” He warned, pulling his gun case from behind his seat and unlocking it. “You’re hurt. I’m having Ran send an agent to get you and take you back to the ranch.”

Kenzie grinned and leaned her back against her door to face him, “Are we really going to do this?”

“Do what?” he asked, pulling on his shoulder holster and loading it with additional firepower.

“This game where you say stay here, help is on the way, go with them when you know full well the minute you disappear into those trees, I’m hot on your heels.” She smirked. “I understand that as a man, a macho one at that, you feel inclined to protect the lady at your side, but might I remind you, I’m no damsel in distress. Don’t need saving. So, you either accept that I’m going in with you or know I’m no more than ten paces behind you at all times.”

“I forgot who I was dealing with.” Coy shook his head. “Kenz, what if you have a concussion, or what if that bruised rib is a cracked or broken one?”

“Then I guess I sweat through it like we’ve been trained, and ice it all later. There’s plenty of time to feel the pain and nurse wounds later.”

“Don’t take a single risk. You hear me? Not a single one. You get dizzy or feel… anything at all, you tell me so I can get you out of there. Deal?”

“I’ll consider it.” Kenzie agreed.

“Kenz…”

“Okay, fine, I’ll let you know if I need out, but don’t count on it. I’ve battled bigger demons with far worse injuries more than once in my career, and here I sit to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.”

Coy exited the vehicle, Kenzie immediately on his heels as promised. Though she winced a time or two, Coy noticed that Kenzie managed to adjust to her injuries and find a rhythm that worked. They methodically and stealthily moved through the trees and brush until the main ranch house came into view. A single light was on inside. Then… it went out.

“Shit,” Coy whispered, worry coursing through him. “Kenz, you sure you’re up for this? We’re literally in the dark, with no gear.”

“I’m not letting you go in alone.”

“Let me lead then. Fall in behind me.”

Coy didn’t wait for an answer. He simply moved ahead and proceeded toward the house where they knew trouble awaited them. It didn’t take long to clear the space between the tree line and the house, and they were inside before they knew it. It was almost too easy with unlocked doors and what felt to them like a roadmap right to trouble. The ease of the breach only heightened their alertness and made them more strategic and careful in their mission; using hand signals and body language to communicate, they advanced through the space in roaring silence.

“Don’t move.” Came a familiar voice. “Hands up where I can see them.”

Coy and Kenzie complied, squinting to make out the figure standing in the shadows.

“Charlotte?” Coy questioned, staring down the barrel of her weapon.

“Shit, Coy.” She said, peering around him. “Sheriff? What are y’all doing here? You scared the ever-loving daylights out of me.”

Charlotte lowered her weapon and waved them into the room she’d been staged in.

“We’re here to get you.” He said.

“Well, I left Nash a note and said I’d be back shortly.” She went on.

“You aren’t supposed to leave alone, Charlotte.” Coy scolded.

“I came to look for answers. I’m safe here. Daddy has this place set up like Fort Knox. Surprised you didn’t get caught in any of his booby traps.”

“Boobie traps?”

“Well, I think he’s graduated from snares to laser technology for security, but still.”

“Your dad sounds paranoid.” Coy chided. “Interesting detail.”

“He’s always been a little… cautious ,” Charlotte admitted. “We aren’t alone here. I was getting ready to leave, and I heard someone. I think they’re in Daddy’s den. I was nearly there when I saw y’all creeping in.”

“It’s probably Nash. He came looking for you. That’s why we’re here.”

“Oh, that boy. I suppose it’s better that it’s him and not someone looking for trouble. Come with me.” Charlotte said, leading them out of the space, seemingly with her guard down.

As they crept down the hall toward their target, a loud crash and gunshot could be heard in the distance. They weren’t alone after all, and Nash was in trouble.

“Get behind me,” Coy demanded, and Charlotte complied.

He led them through the maze of hallways in the large stately compound until they found their target, right where Charlotte had warned it would be. The sound of a scuffle on the other side of the door raised concerns. Nash wasn’t the only other person in the house. Danger was indeed present, just as Coy had suspected. He could hear grunts as skin met skin in a hand-to-hand battle.

“Where is she?” Nash could be heard saying.

“Oh my God. Nash.” Charlotte gasped quietly under her breath. “He thinks someone hurt me.”

“Kenz, stay with Charlotte,” Coy whispered. “I’m not walking you both into a trap. Wait here. You understand?”

Kenzie and Charlotte nodded in agreement. Before Coy could breach the door, the sound of shattering glass filled their senses, followed by the sound of more gunfire. Then, silence.

Coy broke every rule in the book and rushed in, gun ready, and scanned the scene, immediately training his weapon on the only target he found, which wasn’t the one he was looking for. Nash stood alone and breathing heavily, wiping blood from his mouth on the back of his hand.

“Took you long enough,” Nash said, kicking a chair out of his way as he traipsed through the room. “Son of a bitch jumped through that picture window and ran. Let’s go. I need to find Charlotte.”

“She’s safe. Right outside the door with Kenzie.” Coy said, following him out of the room. “What the hell happened here.”

Nash looked over his shoulder and waved a handout as if presenting the roughed-up room as evidence, “Isn’t it pretty clear?”

“Are you hurt? Shot?”

“No, I’m the only one who got shots off. Ambushed that asshole and knocked his gun out of his hand as soon as he walked in.” Nash shared, just as Charlotte entered the room and rushed to Nash’s open arms. “There you are.”

Nash picked her up off the ground and held her tight, “Thank God you’re okay. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you, Nash.” She said softly. “I didn’t think there would be any harm in coming here. I needed answers and wanted to help your family… Even if my dad knows something about all this, which I don’t think he does, I know he’d never hurt me.”

“It isn’t your dad that I’m worried about. It’s whoever was in here that I got into it with, and that worries me. Whoever that was and whoever they work for, don’t mess around. That guy tried to kill me, and he would have tried to kill you.” Nash shared.

“He’s right, Charlotte,” Coy said. “That’s why we locked down the ranch. Tonight could have ended much worse.”

Kenzie shined a flashlight on her face, “We can’t be too careful now.”

Nash and Charlotte gasped at the battle scars she was wearing.

“Honey, you need to let me fix you up, or you’re going to have some nasty scars.” Charlotte rushed to Kenzie’s side and began evaluating the injuries, “Where else are you hurt?”

“I’m okay. I’ll let you clean these up at the ranch. My point, though, is this could have been what was coming for you too.” Kenzie shared, turning off her flashlight. “We have to be more careful.”

“Whoever this was here tonight… they weren’t here for me,” Charlotte said. “They were already here in Daddy’s den when I arrived. They had to have been.”

“You saw them?” Nash asked.

“No, I had no idea. I heard someone enter the house, and I ducked into a room down the hall. I thought I’d been followed. I only made it another room or two before I heard Coy and Kenzie come in.” Charlotte shared. “If you walked in that room and found yourself a fight, that means they were already in there waiting for someone.”

“I caught them in the act.” Nash shook his head. “The place was already tossed when I went in. I started in that room because I saw a light go out.”

“As did we. We must’ve been right on your heels, Nash.” Coy shared.

“That means we have another problem,” Kenzie said. “If they were already here tossing the place, then they weren’t here for any of us.”

“They were looking for something.” Coy finished her thought.

“My father wasn’t here when I arrived. You don’t suppose…”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. If they were rifling through his things incognito like they were, then they likely waited for him to leave. I think Nash surprised the shit out of them. Did you get a good look at them?”

“It was too dark. All I can say is it was a guy, roughly my size, dressed in all black.” Nash shared.

“Close your eyes for a second,” Kenzie asked of him.

“Close my eyes?”

“Just… humor me.”

He tossed his arms out to the side in defeat and closed his eyes, “Alright.”

“Think back to when you first walked in. How did you know it was a man?” she asked.

“Size?”

“But it’s dark, Nash, and he was in dark clothing. How could you tell his size in the dark from across the room?”

“Well, I guess I couldn’t.”

“Okay, good. Think hard now. You’re standing in the doorway and see someone suspicious. It isn’t Mr. Bridges, so who is it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Describe him.”

“I can’t really see him yet. I…”

“Just stand there, in your thoughts, for a moment. What is he doing.”

“Going through files, I think.”

“How do you know they’re files?”

“Because the moonlight is coming through the window, and I can see that creamy color. He’s flipping through them.”

“Great. You saw the folders in the light. Keep looking, Nash. Don’t leave that place. Watch him. Tell me when he looks up.”

“He, uh, doesn’t know I’m there. He didn’t look up. He’s just flipping through…” Nash paused.

“What do you see, Nash?”

“He looked outside. He sees something. Maybe someone? He tossed the folders and grabbed his gun. He’s backing toward the door.”

“He’s coming toward you then. Be still. He doesn’t know you’re there. He sees me and Coy.”

“Shit. He does. He heard the back door open, too. He hears you.”

“You heard us too, then. That’s good. When he hears us, what does he do?”

“He turns around and heads for the door.”

“But you’re standing in the doorway. He can’t leave the room.”

“He sees me.”

“What did you do, Nash?”

“I charged him.”

“Back up. Don’t charge him yet. He’s looking right at you. He sees you, so you must see him. Remember the moonlight leaking in the window?”

Nash nodded.

“What does he look like.”

“It is a dude. I saw his face. That’s how I knew…”

“Describe him, Nash. Don’t move from the doorway and describe him first.” Kenzie demanded.

“About my age, height, build… He has a thick goatee, kind of a dark blonde, maybe.”

“Good. What color are his eyes?”

“Blue. Piercing blue.”

“Why do you notice his eyes, Nash? Why the eyes?”

“Because he has a thick scar that starts above his eyebrow and runs down his eye and cheek all the way to his chin. They aren’t piercing blue eyes. Just the one. It’s cloudy-looking and appears…icy blue. The other is dark, I think.”

“What else do you notice?”

“A tattoo on his throat. A… skull with flowers, maybe. I can’t really see anything else. He’s coming right for me. I have to…”

“It’s okay, Nash. You already saw him. You gave a good description. Open your eyes.”

Nash opened his eyes and scanned the room, “Don’t ever make me do that again. That was…”

“Helpful.” Coy deadpanned. “You gave us a good description. It could help.”

“Yeah, well, now I can’t unsee his damn face.”

“I’m sorry, Nash,” Kenzie said. “It wasn’t supposed to frighten you.”

“I’m not scared. It just makes me want to hit the son of a bitch one more time.” Nash admitted. “Can we get out of here?”

When they turned to leave, the sound of broken glass under footsteps stilled them.

“Don’t you fuckin’ move.” Came a voice from just outside the window as he stepped over the wide-open windowsill and a gun with a red laser fixed right on Nash. “Well, well, well. Nash Stone. I’ve been waiting a long time for a reason to shoot you.”