Love or Justice (11 page)

Then Dante checked the two assailants in the living room. Both of them were dead. He moved into the kitchen and checked Cheyn’s vitals. He was still alive, though unconscious. He had been hit in the arm, but the gunshot had knocked him back and he’d hit his head on the counter. The gunmen must have thought he was dead. Dante said a silent prayer, then checked on the gunmen. They were both lifeless.

Dante closed doors, locking them. He went back upstairs. He washed Max and David’s blood off his hands. Then he pulled a fresh shirt from his duffle bag. He washed and bandaged his own wound, bleeding freely from his bicep. He was relieved when he saw the bullet just grazed him, instead of lodging in his flesh. He couldn’t go in for surgery and protect his witness at the same time.

His witness, the foolish woman in the safe room that had twice now defied his orders. The woman was going to get them both killed.

With his arm tended to as well as he could, he grabbed his bag, and Laurie’s bag, taking them downstairs. He knew it was cruel to make her wait, but she had earned it. He couldn’t let her out until back up arrived. If another attack came, they would think she fled the house.

After he set down the bags, he tended to Max. Dante heard sirens and a helicopter. They were here. He squeezed Max’s shoulder as the young man struggled to remain conscious. Several police cars pulled up. Dante ran to open the front door.

The police came through the door to find the dead body of an assailant, and Dante standing there, hands in the air above his head. He had on his Marshals vest to send a clear message.

“I’m U.S. Marshal Dante Stark. Is Lt. Jameson with you?”

Dante knew all of the local lieutenants. He knew Jameson would be on the night shift. The lieutenant pushed his way to the front of the group of officers.

“Jesus Christ, Dante! What happened?” Lt. Jameson gestured to the fallen men.

“We were attacked. A four-member hit team. I have two men down and one agent dead. All assailants are dead. I need the medic in here now.”

“You need the medic yourself!” Lt. Jameson pointed to his bandage. “Secure the rooms, gentleman. Get the medic and get them in here!”

Dante looked down to see his makeshift bandage sopping with blood.

“Scratch,” he muttered. “Dick, my witness is in the safe room. I need to get her out of here to a secure location.”

“All right. We’ll get you outta here. But I’m going to need your gun for the crime lab.”

“Fine. I have a backup.” He handed over his gun to Lt. Jameson, who bagged it. “I need the black SUV swept for explosives or other assailants. I have to get the witness out of here.”

“Not a problem. I’ll sweep it myself. Give the detective here a rundown of what happened.”

Dante took them room by room, as the medic rushed Max out to the waiting helicopter, and then came back for Cheyn. Dante felt numb as they rolled Cheyn out onto the patio in the gurney to the medevac waiting in the field behind the house.

“He should be fine, Mr. Stark.” The paramedic tapped his clipboard. “He was knocked in the head pretty good by the fall, but his vitals are good. We’ll run an MRI and a CT scan, but he’ll be just fine. The other guy—Max—lost a lot of blood. They’ll both need surgery.”

“Hilo Medical Center?” Dante nodded to him.

“Yes, sir.” The paramedic sped by him.

“Good. I’ll notify our supervisor.” He clenched his jaw as the paramedic ran out into the field and jumped in the helicopter. His team was shattered.

“Dante, the vehicle’s as clean as a whistle. I’m clearing you to leave with the witness. But I’m going to need to follow-up with you.” Lt. Jameson patted him on his good shoulder.

“You have my number. Do me a favor and call Rick. Tell him what happened and that I’m taking the witness to another safe house. I’m going to have a hard time getting her out of here,” Dante told him as he took the bags out to the waiting SUV. Lt. Jameson had stationed officers around each side.

“Certainly, certainly. She must be scared out of her mind. Does she know the one man died?” he opened the side door for Dante.

“Yes. She doesn’t follow orders very well.” Dante tossed in the bags, turned on his heel and walked back toward the house.

He jogged as he went into the house and up to the safe room. He was anxious to get to Laurie now. His head was still spinning, but he needed to make sure she was okay. He also knew he needed to get on the road. A four-man hit on a well-protected safe house was an unprecedented attack. He didn’t need a repeat.

He walked up to the hidden safe room door. He knocked on the shelf and yelled.

“Laurie, it’s me. I’m opening the door.”

He slid the door to the side.

Laurie launched herself into his arms.

“Dante!”

She wrapped her arms around him.

He wrapped his arms around her in return. As angry as he was at her, her touch was exactly what he needed.

Tears were streaming down her face, and she shook like a palm tree in a hurricane. Her breath came in short gasps, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. Now he felt like a beast for making her wait in there, alone and unarmed, after what she had seen. The guilt was sharp as it wrenched in his chest.

“Are you all right?” He knew the officers on the landing were staring, but he didn’t care. He cupped her face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers.

“Breathe,” he said.

He coached her through a few breaths, until her trembling ceased. He felt the pulse at her neck return to normal. Her eyelids, heavy with teardrops, fluttered open.

“I’m sorry.” She stared up at him with her watery blue eyes. “I just wanted to help.”

Her lower lip trembled. He didn’t have the heart to fight her right now.

“I need to get you out of here. We need to leave.”

“Cheyn? Max?” Laurie glanced at David’s body for a second, before she flinched and looked away. “You’re bleeding!”

Her fingertips grazed the soaked pad of cloth on his arm.

“It’s just a scratch. I’ll be fine. We need to go to another safe house.”

“Yes.” She looked up into his eyes. She hugged him again.

Wrapping his arm around her back, Dante led her down the hall. As he led her past David’s body, he tried to turn her toward him to shield her from it.

She turned her head, and it was too late. A raw sob tore from her throat.

“Oh God. He’s never going to be a father.”

Laurie lost it. She flat out lost it.

Dante pulled her against him hard.

She struggled at the unexpected contact.

Dante grimaced as his muscles screamed against his bullet wound.

“Laurie, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you grieve right now. I need you with me. Okay, do you understand me? I need to get you out. I’m sorry!” He shook her.

Her knees buckled. She fell against him. She was shaking again, and there was nothing he could do.

He half dragged her down the stairs, through the house, past all of the officers. They stared, but scampered out of his way. The Lieutenant waved goodbye as Dante helped Laurie into the SUV. He got in the driver’s seat, turned on the truck, backed up and drove away from the house.

The cool night air, the darkness, and the distance brought Laurie back to herself. She hugged herself, letting the tears just stream down as she rested her head against the cold window. She cleared her throat several times before she could speak.

“What about Max and Cheyn?”

“Max has been shot.” Dante took a steadying breath. “They’re both on their way to the hospital. Cheyn was shot in the arm. He was knocked unconscious by the fall.”

“Will they be okay?”

“I don’t know.”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Dante wished he could do the same.

“I’m sorry they were hurt, Dante.”

He almost choked on his own emotions, but he clamped down on them. He had to get to the next safe house. He couldn’t do that if he broke down. So, he turned his mind to anything he could think of except what had just happened. He would deal with the present moment when he and Laurie were safe.

***

Laurie

Dante drove to Kona.

Laurie sat, staring out into the black distance.

Neither spoke.

Dante pulled off Route 11 and onto a dead-end street where the safe house was located. He gunned the engine to get up the steep incline, then braked suddenly and swerved to miss the line of trees in front of them.

Laurie gripped the seat.

Dante parked in front of a small square building, with little awnings over each window.

Laurie couldn’t tell what color it was in the darkness, but it wouldn’t have mattered to her anyway.

Dante shut off the engine.

Laurie reached for the door, put he laid a hand on her arm. She looked at him. He took a small pistol out of the console in his truck, loaded it, and handed it to her.

“I don’t…”

“Just point and shoot, Laurie. I don’t normally give witnesses a gun because they can hurt someone without meaning to, but there isn’t going to be a team for a couple of days. Maybe one or two men, until we can fly in someone else. I need to know you’re protected. I’ll show you how to load it and clean it tomorrow. Tonight, I just need you armed. I go into the house first. You stay with me, until I’ve checked every room, okay?”

Laurie nodded. She blinked at the gun in her hand. It was cold, shiny, and heavier than she expected. Even on the shooting end of it, it was intimidating.

“Let’s go. I’ll bring in the bags once everything is secure.”

Dante moved like clockwork. Opening doors, checking each room. There was nothing in the house but blank walls. Once the house was clear, Dante turned to her.

Her hands clutched at the gun as her whole body shook in slight tremors.

He grimaced.

“House is clear.” He gently took the gun from her. “We’re safe.”

She nodded. Her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. She blinked in slow motion as all her energy seemed to evaporate.

Dante wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Let’s get some sleep.” He kept his arm around her as they walked into her room.

“I’ll go get our bags—rest.” Dante jogged out of the room.

When he returned, Laurie was making the bed. She pulled soft, dark blue satin sheets onto the mattress. Dante grabbed a pillow and a matching pillowcase and started stuffing one into the other. A thought struck him, and he swore under his breath.

“I forgot the sleeping bag.”

Laurie turned to him. She considered him for a long moment, her bleary eyes taking in the grim set of his mouth and the stark stain of blood soaking through his bandage. Laurie didn’t want to sleep alone. She knew she shouldn’t allow him to sleep with her again. He had a strong, steady, and comforting presence, which she was beginning to crave. She should be cautious, but she decided to throw caution to the wind. Her need to have him beside her won out over her logic.

“I don’t think I can sleep alone tonight. Can you just sleep beside me?”

Dante hesitated, giving her a sidelong glance.

“Please? Just this once.” She wrapped her arms around herself.

His whole body softened.

“Yeah. It’s been a tough night. I would feel better if we were in the same room.”

“Thank you.”

Laurie hugged him. She wanted to cry. The unshed tears tightened her throat. She had waited in that horrible safe room. Then she walked out of the safe room, only to see David gunned down by someone trying to get to her. Her mind was numb as she released Dante, grabbing her bag of toiletries. She went across the hall to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She went through the motions of it, one minute at a time. When she came out, she saw Dante standing beside the door, looking almost guilty.

He coughed and looked away.

“Sorry—just wanted to be sure you were okay.”

Laurie nodded with the barest hint of a smile. At least there was one thing that remained the same. Dante would do whatever it took to protect her.

Laurie dumped her clothes into her bag, knowing she could deal with separating the dirty from the clean tomorrow. Then she fell into bed and pulled the covers over herself.

A few minutes later Dante re-entered. He closed and locked the door. Then he turned off the light.

Laurie’s heart started pounding, but she ignored it. It was silly. He had already slept with her before. Why should she be nervous? She chalked it up to anxiety hanging on after the attack.

Laurie rustled around in the bed, throwing back the covers for him.

He lay down beside her. She felt the warmth radiating from his body. As he settled into bed, Laurie cuddled up beside him. She laid her head and hand on his chest.

Dante hesitated, but after a few minutes, he wrapped one arm around her.

Soon after, they both fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.