Trouble with a Badge (16 page)

“Hell,” Lockwood said. Not a whisper this time. But a shout. “Look out!”

Levi did just that. He glanced out the door to see what the heck had caused Lockwood's warning.

And Levi soon saw trouble.

One of the masked gunmen tossed something into the hall. Metal canisters that immediately rolled toward Levi and the others.

“Shut the door,” Levi warned Dexter.

Not a second too soon.

Because the canisters began spewing thick, white smoke right at them.

Chapter Seventeen

Alexa wasn't sure what the gunmen had thrown at them.

Not until she got a glimpse of the smoke.

Not wispy threads of it, either. This was a cloud that spread like lightning over the area.

“Get back,” Levi warned her and slammed the door.

Alexa tried to do just that. The smoke was seeping around the sides, bottom and top of the door and filling up the room fast.

Coughing, she scrambled to the back where Jericho was working to get one of the locked doors open. There wasn't a lot of space, what with Mack and the toppled furniture.

Levi coughed, too, but he didn't join her. Instead, he peeled off his jacket and put it at the bottom of the door to cover the gap where most of the smoke was coming in. It would help, some, but it wouldn't be enough. Without any windows in the small room, it wouldn't be long before they were overcome with smoke.

But their attackers probably wouldn't suffer the same fate.

No. They likely had some kind of gas masks or they wouldn't have launched an attack like this in the first place. This was obviously meant to draw them out into the open where they'd all be gunned down.

Once again, this was her fault.

She'd insisted on coming with them, and now because of her, Levi, his brother and two deputies were in danger. And it might all be for nothing. They might not be able to save Tasha, after all.

Alexa stooped down to check on Mack. It was hard to tell, but she thought the bleeding had slowed some. That was something at least. However, that probably wouldn't last when they had to go on the run. Judging from the look in his eyes, Mack knew that.

“Just leave me here,” Mack said, his face bunched up from the pain. “You can come back for me when backup arrives.”

“You'll go with us,” Jericho insisted.

No way would they leave Mack behind. He'd risked his life for Tasha and her, and Alexa would do whatever she could to help him.

“We'll find a way out,” she assured him.

Mack nodded. “My aunt's a nurse and used to work here when I was a kid,” he said in between the coughs. “I used to play here sometimes, and I'm pretty sure all these offices have connecting doors that lead all the way to east and west halls. Once you're there, you can try to escape through the front of the building.”

That was good. If they could make it through them then they'd eventually have a way out. Or at least they could get farther away from the smoke that was slowly smothering them. Of course, if they went east, they'd encounter Lockwood. The last time she'd seen the gunmen, they had been in the west hall.

Either way led to trouble.

But staying put wasn't an option. At least if they made it out of this room, they had a fighting chance.

Jericho cursed when the door wouldn't give way, and he rammed his shoulder against it, not once but twice. Nothing. It held in place. So Alexa joined him, hoping their combined strength would do the trick. Levi went to the other locked door and got to work on it.

“Answer it,” Jericho told Alexa when his phone buzzed. He took out his cell and handed it to her.

She saw Dexter's name on the screen and prayed the deputy didn't have bad news about Tasha and him. With the doors closed between them, she had no idea if they were still even safe.

Alexa pressed the button to answer the call, but since she didn't want the sound of Dexter's voice distracting them from hearing other things—like their attackers perhaps approaching—she didn't put the call on speaker.

“It's me, Alexa,” she said. “Are you two all right?”

“For now. How about all of you?”

She was already short of breath from the smoke, and the fear was only making it worse. “We're trying to get out through one of the side doors.”

“Tell him to do the same,” Jericho insisted. But she didn't have to relay it to Dexter because he clearly heard it.

“There are two doors in this room,” Dexter explained. “Only one is unlocked, but it's the one that leads to the east side of the building. I'm heading through it now and will call as soon as I've found a way out.”

Alexa knew what that meant. It would get Dexter and Tasha moving away from the smoke. Away from their attackers, too.

But they'd be heading in Lockwood's direction.

“Jax just texted me,” Dexter continued. “He's still about fifteen minutes out. The ambulance, too. I told him to be careful with his approach because there might be other shooters out there.”

Yes, and she didn't want Jax or the medics driving into the middle of an ambush.

“I'll call when I can,” Dexter added, and he hung up.

Alexa relayed that to Jericho, and he cursed. Maybe because he didn't like Dexter's plan or maybe because the blasted door just wouldn't budge. She glanced over at Levi, who wasn't having any better luck.

“Should I help Levi?” she asked.

Jericho shook his head. “I'd rather go through this one and tangle with Lockwood. We can deal with the other dirtbags later.”

Yes, of the two evils, she'd prefer Lockwood right now. Well, unless he had backup with him in that east hall.

“Stand back,” Jericho said, and he waited only a few seconds before he took aim and fired into the lock.

There was a loud shout. A man. Definitely someone crying out in pain. And for a few terrifying moments, Alexa thought maybe the bullet had ricocheted and hit someone in the room. But the sound hadn't come from one of them.

It'd come from the hall.

Oh, God. Had Dexter been shot?

“You've got to help me!” the man shouted. Not Dexter. But Lockwood. “I've been hit.”

No one in the room moved to do anything about that. They were still trying to get the doors open.

Alexa heard a welcome sound. A crack of the wood frame around the door that Levi was battering with his body.

Finally.

Levi had gotten the door opened, but going in that direction would lead them straight to the gunmen. Of course, first they'd have to get through heaven knew how many other doors. And then there were Tasha and Dexter to worry about, since by now they were likely heading toward the east hall. If they got there, they'd be without any backup.

“Toss me the flashlight,” Levi said, peering into the dark room.

That revved up her heartbeat even more, something she hadn't thought possible. Had Levi seen something?

Alexa tossed him the flashlight, and as Levi reached to catch it, she saw the movement.

Too late for her to react.

However, Levi reacted all right. He took aim, ready to fire, but he didn't get the chance to do that. Alexa heard the thudding sound.

Levi had fallen to the floor.

* * *

T
HE
PAIN
EXPLODED
through Levi's head, and he got another jolt of it when he fell. His vision blurred. Breath, vanished. But, mercy, he could feel, and it seemed as if every inch of him was hurting.

What the hell had just happened?

Because of the pain, it took him several moments to figure out that there'd been someone in the room, and that someone had bashed him on the head. The person didn't stop there, however. He—and it was a man—knocked the gun from Levi's hand and dragged him to his feet. In the same motion, he jammed a gun to his head.

Levi didn't get a look at the guy's face, but he was big, and his attacker hooked his arm around Levi's neck, squeezing hard so that it was next to impossible for him to regain his breath.

“If you want to stay alive,” the man growled, his voice muffled, “you'll do exactly as I say. And don't you dare move a muscle or your girlfriend will get the first bullet. Your brother, the second.”

Levi's head was still pounding, making it hard to figure out much of anything, but it sounded as if the guy was wearing a gas mask. Which meant he was one of the hired guns and he'd likely used the smoke bomb as a ploy so he could sneak into the room and come after them.

It'd worked.

Now Levi had to figure out how to undo the damage. And kill this idiot who'd just threatened Alexa and Jericho.

Jericho and Alexa reacted. They both aimed their guns at the goon, but there was no way they could shoot since the guy was using Levi as a human shield. Worse, they were literally out in the open where they could be shot. The only one who was behind cover was Mack, and Levi doubted the deputy was capable of making a shot even if he got the chance.

Dexter might be able to help.
Might
. Of course, Dexter no doubt had his own problems trying to keep Tasha safe. That left backup, and it wouldn't be long before Jax arrived. But it might take his brother a while to find them in the building. Plus, there was the problem of other gunmen. Levi knew there was at least one more, and Jax would have to get past him first.

“Don't come a step closer,” the man warned both Jericho and her. “He can live or die. Your choice. If you want him to live, put down your guns now.”

The guy did ease up a little on the chokehold, and Levi gulped in several large breaths. Not a second too soon, either. He had been on the verge of losing consciousness.

“Your fight's with me,” Levi bargained. “Let the rest of them go.”

“My fight's not with you,” the guy argued. “And no way am I letting them go. As long as I have them in my sights, you'll cooperate. Now, put down your guns.”

Levi saw the debate Jericho was having with himself. No lawman wanted to surrender his weapon, but Levi also knew Jericho carried a backup in a slide holster. That was probably why Jericho finally dropped his primary gun.

“Your turn,” the man said to her, and it was a warning. The edge to his voice let them all know he would indeed shoot.

Alexa dropped hers, as well, but it fell only a few inches from her feet. No doubt so she could still get to it.

“Cooperate with what?” Alexa asked him.

Levi didn't want her engaging this guy in conversation. He wanted her to dive behind that desk and try to get out of the path of any bullets this moron might send her way. Levi wanted Jericho to do the same, but his brother stayed put, shoulder to shoulder with Alexa.

“My boss has one demand,” the gunman said. “He wants Tasha McKenna. Now, where the hell is she?”

Tasha. Well, that said loads about who was behind this attack. Because only one of their suspects wanted Tasha.

Scottie.

“Scottie?” Levi called out. “Why don't you get in here and speak for yourself?”

It was a risk calling him out like that, but Levi hoped if Scottie was indeed in the building that his arrival would be just enough of a distraction that he could wrestle the gun away from this hired thug.

“Scottie,” Alexa repeated. Not a shout. But it was obvious she'd come to the same conclusion as Levi—that Scottie had been the one behind these attacks.

Well, maybe.

It was possible Scottie was only involved in this one, and that meant Marcos and Lockwood could still be responsible for the others.

Levi heard the sound of the footsteps. Not from the office where Jericho, Mack and Alexa were. These footsteps were to his right, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the man step into the doorway. Perhaps Scottie. Levi couldn't tell because the guy was wearing a gas mask.

Levi didn't wait for him to come into the room. He rammed his elbow against the thug's gut, breaking the man's grip just enough so he could pivot, ram him again and get free. It worked.

But not the way Levi had planned.

The goon fired. Not at Levi. But the shot went into the office, directly at Alexa. Levi's heart slammed against his ribs so hard that he nearly lost his breath again. Hell. That bullet couldn't have hit her.

Thankfully, it hadn't.

She lunged to the side in the nick of time, and Jericho went with her, moving in front of her so he could try to protect her.

“You want her dead?” the goon asked, dragging Levi back into a chokehold. He also yanked off his gas mask.

“Of course, he doesn't,” the second man answered. “He's crazy about Alexa, and that's why he'll tell us where Tasha is.”

Definitely Scottie.

He closed the door behind him and shucked off his gas mask, as well. There was still some smoke, but it was already clearing out. That was the good news. The bad news was that Scottie hadn't cleared out with it.

“Isn't that right, Deputy Crockett?” Scottie continued. “You want to keep Alexa safe.”

“Yeah. I want her safe,” Levi admitted. “My brother and Mack, too.”

Levi didn't mention Tasha and Dexter, but Scottie probably knew they were in the building somewhere. Of course, maybe Dexter had managed to escape with her. If he had, Scottie was not going to be a happy camper. He'd likely take that
unhappiness
out on Alexa, and no way would Levi let that happen.

“You kidnapped Tasha,” Alexa said with way too much venom in her voice. It definitely wasn't the tone of someone negotiating for her life.

“
Kidnapped
is such an ugly word. I merely set up the opportunity for Tasha to realize how lucky she is to have me in her life.”

Alexa opened her mouth, probably to return verbal fire, but Levi wanted to beat her to it. If someone was going to push Scottie's buttons, Levi would be the one to do it so that Scottie would turn his vicious temper on him rather than Alexa.

“Lucky?” Levi challenged. “You kidnapped Tasha and killed a woman to make us believe Tasha was dead.
Murder
's such an ugly word, too.”

Oh, that got a bad reaction, all right. Scottie stormed toward him, and judging from his tight sneer, he was ready to grab Levi and start punching.

Which was exactly what Levi wanted. Because Levi would punch back—hard.

“Boss, it'll be better if I keep the gun to the deputy's head,” the hired thug warned Scottie. “Last thing we need right now is a fistfight.”