Mosquito Chase (30 page)

My heart stopped as I dropped through the air. My feet plowed into his back. The man grunted as the momentum of my fall knocked him forward. I twisted to catch myself before hitting the ground. My legs nearly gave out upon impact, but I managed to steady myself as the man pushed up onto his hands and knees. I rushed up behind him and kicked him in the ass, sending him back to the floor again. I reached behind me and grabbed the pipe safely tucked inside my shirt. I swung and met the side of his head with a
crack
. He fell to the floor and stayed there, motionless.

I exhaled.
I guess it was that easy.

I circled the body, trying to determine if I’d killed him. Blood oozed from his nose, but I recognized his face. My eyes widened as I recognized his pock-marked cheeks. Tears pooled in my eyes, my body overcome with rage and vengeance as I raised the pipe over my head, gripping it tight with both hands. I closed my eyes and swung it down hard.
Crack
. If he wasn’t dead already, he’d certainly wish he was. I turned away, not wanting to see what I’d done.

Shots rang out inside the building.

If you hear gun shots, just hide.

There was no time to hide. I had to get out of here. What if that was Caleb? What if he came for me? I ran to the end of the hallway as the thoughts flooded my brain, but there was no time to focus on any of that. The hallway opened up into a dark warehouse. I gripped the bloody pipe and looked around, not knowing which way to go. Metal shelves lined the warehouse, but there were no exits. Where did the shots come from, and why was everything so quiet now?

I looked behind me and noticed the blood in the middle of the concrete floor pooling from the fallen body of the guard. There were three other doors much like the one leading to the room I’d just escaped. I wondered if there were other people locked up in those rooms. What if Mateo was in one of those rooms? I just wanted to get out of here. I took a step toward one of the doors and prayed that one of these rooms had a window I could escape through.

“Angie?”

My heart clenched at the sound of his southern drawl. My breathing ceased. I turned around as warm hands covered my cheeks. Tears pooled in my eyes. It had only been a few hours at most, but I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. Yet here he was, his strong hands holding my face as he gazed down at me with those blue, comforting eyes. I wrapped my arms around Caleb and clutched him tight.

“Thank God.” I buried my head into his chest. He squeezed me in his embrace, and I never wanted him to let me go. “I thought you were dead. I thought they shot you. I heard a shot when I was pushed into the car.”

“No, baby. I shot the guy in the leg so he wouldn’t get away. But you’ve gotta hide.”

I shook my head, pulling away from his chest. I looked up at him and saw the blood trickling down his cheek.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine, baby. You’ve got to go. You’ve got to hide.” He pulled me to him and buried his face in my neck. I closed my eyes and absorbed his strength.

“I think I killed him.”

He pulled back and looked down at the body lying in the middle of the floor.

“He’s the man who killed Simon,” I said, turning away to avoid the bloody sight in front of me.

Caleb stepped around me and crouched down to check for a pulse. “I think he’s still alive. But he’s going to need serious medical attention.”

Both disappointment and relief flooded over me. I wanted him dead, but I didn’t want to be a killer; not even if he deserved to die.

Caleb grabbed my hand and pulled me along. “Hide in one of these rooms.”

“I just came out of one of these rooms,” I said, pulling back on his hand.

He let go of my hand and went to each door. All three were locked.

“How did you get out?”

I pointed up. His eyes shifted upward until he spotted the open ceiling tile.

“What the—”

Another shot rang out inside the warehouse. Nervous and full of adrenaline, Caleb hurried to the door of the room I had just been held captive in and kicked it open.

“You have to get out of here. Please. Do it for Simon.”

I shook my head. This all seemed too familiar.

He pulled me to him, pressing his lips to mine. “I love you. Go, baby. Now. Go!” He pushed me inside the open door and ran back down the hall.

“Caleb!”

Another shot rang out. I jumped, clutching my chest. I would not stay in this room and leave him to die out there. I refused to lose him.

I darted out of the room, chasing after him.

“Caleb, no!”

I ran into the warehouse and realized I had no idea where I was going. A shot whizzed behind me. I turned around, clutching the pipe in my hand.

“Parker!” Caleb’s voice came from the distance, off to my right. I ran toward another hallway, following Caleb’s voice. I turned a corner and stopped instantly.

Caleb was kneeling down in front of Parker, who was lying on the ground, holding his arm. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. Mateo had his gun raised at Caleb. My heart plummeted to the depths of my stomach. I tightened my grip on the pipe and ran out from the shadows, raising it above my head.

“No!”

My arms swung down at the exact same moment a shot was fired.

The gun flew from Mateo’s grip. He bent over, holding his arm. I swung the pipe like a bat, smashing the side of the drug lord’s head. I turned away as blood sprayed across my shirt. I squeezed my eyes closed and listened to the wet thud of Mateo’s body hitting the ground. I felt sick. Weak. My grip loosened. The pipe clattered to the floor.

Caleb made a noise and I spun around to find him. He held his side as he fell to the floor.

“Caleb!” I ran over to him. “Oh, my God, where are you hit?”

“I’m fine, baby.” He grabbed my hand and placed it on his chest. I could feel the firmness of the body armor under his police shirt. Relief flooded over me as I crumbled into his arms.

“You’re okay?” he asked. I nodded. “Parker, are you okay?”

“Just a scratch,” Parker responded through gritted teeth.

Caleb grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine. Our tongues danced together as I melted into his body.

“It’s over?” I whispered.

He nodded and pulled me back, squeezing me to him. His chest vibrated with a chuckle. “I think you got him good.”

I glanced behind me. Mateo lay face up on the floor. His legs were bent behind him, one arm lying across his chest. It was over. It was really over. I could finally be happy.

“Did I kill this one?” I stood, offering a hand to Caleb. He reached up and took my hand for support, wincing as he stood. He stepped around me and crouched down over Mateo’s body, pressing his fingers to the drug lord’s throat.

I looked down and saw the gun lying by the wall. I stepped toward it and bent over, grasping it in my hand.

“I think he’s still alive.” Caleb stood, reaching for his radio on his shoulder.

I raised the gun, aiming it at Mateo.

I pulled the trigger.

I jumped back, eyes wide. Angie pulled rapid breaths deep through her nose. Her face held firm as she stared at what she’d just done. She gripped the gun, holding it down as she stared at the fatal damage she’d done to Mateo. The bullet had ripped through the skin, leaving his cheek non-existent. Blood seeped onto the floor around him. There was no chance of survival. The fireworks ceased in the distance. The silence was deafening.

Parker pushed to his feet and stood next to me, still holding his arm. The bullet that hit him had clipped a chunk from his arm, but no permanent damage. We looked at each other, an unspoken understanding passed between us. Mateo had been unarmed and unconscious when Angie deliberately shot him.

“We need a story,” Parker whispered.

I walked over to Angie and eased the gun from her grip. Her eyes filled with tears and she turned, wrapping her arms around me. I held her tight as erratic emotions poured from her.

“Why did you do that?”

She pulled back and shook her head. “It needed to be done.”

I looked down at his gun in my hand and then at Parker. He held out his hand for the gun.

“We can say I shot him.”

I shook my head, stuffing the gun behind my back, into the waist of my pants. “How would you have gotten his gun?”

“We were fighting. The bullet grazed my arm when I kicked the gun from his hand.”

“No offense, Parker, but I don’t think you’re Jackie Chan here.”

“I’m sure some people won’t believe I escaped from climbing up a pipe.” Angie was still looking down at Mateo. She looked up at last, locked eyes with me and added, “People will believe anything.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, Harris.”

I looked over to Parker and then back at Angie. She shrugged her shoulders.

“We could just tell the truth,” she said with clear, focused eyes. I knew she wanted everything behind her, but this could get messy. I walked over to her and glided my fingers across her forehead, tucking her bangs behind her ear.

“Did he do something to you, Angie?”

She shook her head and wiped the remnants of tears from her face. “He wanted to take me away from my family so he could parade me around like some trophy.” She exhaled, trying to relax herself. “I’ve seen him before.”

“What?” I grabbed her hands, holding them in between mine. “When?”

“The night Simon was murdered. Mateo was at the strip club, paying me to dance. This must have been some part of his plan. Kill the guy who crossed him and steal his girl. I guess it was some sick way to show others who worked for him what would happen.” She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes again. “I couldn’t let that happen. This is the end of Mateo Vargas. He won’t ever have the chance to get out of jail and ruin more people’s lives.”

I pulled her to me and held her tight. She buried her head in my chest and held me like she never wanted to let go. There was a lightness in my chest I hadn’t felt since all of this had started. It really was over. There might be issues to deal with after this ordeal, but they would be nothing compared to the storm we’d just braved. I turned to Parker who was still staring at the body. Neither one of us had ever dealt with this before, but we survived.

“Call the sheriff and radio the rest of the guys. And call an ambulance for the guy in the hallway back there.”

He stared at Mateo’s body a moment longer and then walked off. I turned back to Angie and tucked my head in the crevice of her neck, inhaling her scent; a fragrance I feared might have been lost forever.

“It’s over, baby.”

She nodded, lifting her head up. She didn’t need to be around this. I needed to make sure she was okay. I guided her away from the crime scene. We went back to the open warehouse and hid ourselves away in between rows of empty steel shelves. I stood in front of her while she clutched on to my waist. I wiped the tears from her eyes with my thumbs.

“Talk to me. Are you okay?”

She stared at me and shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. Everything happened so fast.”

“Sherriff Harmon is going to want to talk to you. We can come up with a story.”

She shook her head.

“Angie, if a cop claimed self-defense, it would just end up being paperwork.”

“Nothing will happen to me because of it.”

“I know, baby, but you’ve already been through enough.”

She grabbed my face, forcing me to shut up. “Let me get through this, and then it will all be over.”

I stared into her eyes. She amazed me. Now that this was over, would I lose her? I leaned in and kissed her. Holding her face in my hands, I kissed her over and over. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me flush to her body. I pulled away from her lips. The dullness in her eyes had vanished. Even in this dark warehouse, her eyes sparkled with hope. I couldn’t imagine my life with her not being a part of it. She’d said she loved me, but she had been scared then. So much had happened. What if everything was different now?

“Did you mean what you said?”

“What are you talking about? Which part?” Her brow creased and her head tilted slightly.