Line of Fire Read online

  Two men gone, which left Levine, Tiny, and the other two who’d been sent to the third building. I tested my bonds. Too strong. I wasn’t going anywhere.

  Another semi edged out from the far building.

  “Inside,” Levine said, waving his gun.

  I could do nothing but follow him.

  The second building was almost warm compared to outside. A wood stove burned in the middle of the room, its black exhaust pipe snaking up through the ceiling. After the bright moonlight in the clearing, the place was dark, though I could make out boxes of supplies and bedding. Someone had been staying here, had maybe hoped to stay a long time. Would they really give it up now? Unless they found Shannon, they’d have to. It wasn’t a complete win for our side, but it was something.

  “Wait.” Levine ordered. “Search them.”

  Tiny felt my pockets and grinned at me as he emptied first my phone and then the half dozen magazines full of bullets from my pockets. “So that’s where they went,” he said.

  “They made a nice collection,” I lifted my chin.

  “Sure they did.” He spun me around, slamming my face against the door and began patting me down.

  An imprint came through the skin of my cheek. Immediately I knew who’d left it. I knew who’d looked out the small opening at eye level in the door only minutes ago.

  Shannon was alive! It was the only thought of my own I could manage as the strong feelings in the imprint overtook me.

  Relief at seeing Autumn unharmed. She was tied, looking more angry than scared. That’s my girl, I/Shannon thought. Was Levine going to put her in the truck? I’d follow it if he did. Maybe the back doors were open, or the doors to the car that thug was hooking to the back. Calculating the steps to the semi. How long would I be in the open? They had guns, which unlike mine, were loaded. The truck moving on, and Levine coming this way with Autumn. Hide. A surge of agony in my thigh as I pushed off the door.

  The imprint ended, and Tiny pulled me away from the door, though not before I saw the second semi stopping outside. No one emerged from the cab to hook up a vehicle to the back as Dale had with the first truck. Whether that was good or bad, I couldn’t know.

  Shannon was here, and I knew he’d act before Levine killed the commander and put me in a car, driving off to wherever Levine had planned.

  I’d have to be ready to move when Shannon did. We had to hurry, before Kirt found Jenny. I tried not to dwell on that too much because somehow it involved Cody.

  “Levine, think what you’re doing,” Huish urged, as Levine turned on a light that looked like a lantern but operated on batteries.

  Levine straightened. “What I’m doing is a favor for you, commander. Think of it this way. You won’t have to see your wife die or your son overdose. You won’t care at all about them where I’m sending you. I might even give your son a job. What do you think of that?”

  “I’ll kill you!” Huish lunged, but Levine punched him in the face, and he staggered back, knocking over a stack of supplies as he fell.

  “Gag him.” Levine ordered before turning to some files and shoving them into a box. “I’ll need these but we’ll torch the rest. We won’t be able to use this place anyway, not until we’re sure how much the sheriff’s deputies know. The insurance will pay us more than it would cost to upgrade the buildings anyway, and the fire will do us the added benefit of disposing of the commander.”

  I tried to catch Huish’s eye, but he was glaring at Levine as Tiny hauled him to his feet and tied a dirty rag over his mouth. I squinted into the dark, looking for Shannon. Where was he? Had I imagined the imprint?

  No. He was here, and I knew he wouldn’t leave.

  The imprint told me he had no bullets in his gun. By gun I didn’t know if that meant the backup he normally carried or the weapon he’d said he was going to borrow from the sheriff’s office to replace the Glock they’d confiscated after the shooting at the hospital. Either way, I knew he’d have a 9mm, because that’s what he liked best. A few of the magazines I’d confiscated were 9mm. I didn’t know if any might fit his gun, but it was worth a try. Maybe I could lean over the box where Tiny had set them and pick out those that looked to be the right size.

  I stumbled forward, bumping into the box and sending the magazines skittering to the floor. I groaned. So much for helping.

  Levine stopped shoving papers into his box and turned to me. “Tiny, maybe it’s time we gave Ms. Rain something to relax her. I’ve got exactly the thing in one of these boxes.” He smiled at me. “Can’t guarantee you won’t have a headache when you wake up, but that can’t be helped. Ah, here it is.” He glanced over at Huish. “Would you like some, too? Ha! Sorry, commander. Too expensive to waste on a dead man.”

  Tiny grinned and lumbered toward me with a needle.

  That was when Shannon rose from the shadows behind Levine.

  Chapter 22

  Before Shannon could strike, Levine turned toward him, warned perhaps by a sound or some innate sense of self-preservation. I dodged Tiny, bringing up my tied hands and swinging them with all my strength at Levine. Not exactly something taught in my martial arts class but good enough to send his bullet wide.

  Shannon leapt past me toward Tiny, who’d probably reached for his own weapon. I struck Levine again as he recovered his balance, this time succeeding in freeing his gun from his fingers. Sidestepping a punch to my face, I kicked out, surprising him, but his left fist caught me in my stomach where Kirt had struck earlier.

  Fighting the urge to vomit, I swung my arms again, following with a straight kick between his legs. Not as effective as, say, keys to the eyes, but his abrupt intake of air told me I had his attention.

  Behind me Shannon and Tiny were knocking over boxes. I heard a groan I was sure came from Shannon. If he’d lost a lot of blood, he might not be able to hold his own against Tiny.

  I paid for my inattention as Levine, his eyes gleaming with fury, landed a punch to my left shoulder, sending pain reverberating down my arm to my old wound. He followed with another to my face, but I was back in the game and blocked it with my tied arms, taking the blow primarily on my right. It’d leave a telling bruise.

  Levine was a little taller than average height for a man, and though he was thin, he had a good thirty pounds on me. He also had a long reach and was in good physical condition. My hands were tied, my arm and thigh ached, and I was exhausted. The only advantage I had was desperation.

  Levine laughed. “Give it up. There’s no way you can win.”

  I faked a blow to his head with my tied hands, missing him on purpose and allowing my momentum to give me the height I needed to swing my left leg high enough to slam my foot into his head. I was off by a few inches, catching him in the jaw instead, but it had the same effect.

  He stumbled back, stunned, but recovered quickly, launching himself at me as I let fly another kick. A kick I immediately knew was going to fall short.

  Huish rammed into Levine, knocking him forward into my foot. Pain shot through my toes and up my leg. Levine tripped, crashing into a crate and landing hard. It shattered under his weight, and household items spilled over the floor. A toaster smacked him on the forehead.

  I jumped into the mess, landing on his stomach and slamming my fists at his face. That’s for Cody, I thought. And that’s for those poor little girls.

  A hand fell on my shoulder. I prepared to swing my tied fists at this new threat when Shannon spoke. “I got him covered.”

  I sagged when I saw the gun he held pointed at Levine. Behind him Tiny lay on the floor motionless. Since Shannon’s own gun was unloaded, he must have taken the thug’s gun.

  “Don’t move,” Shannon told Levine. His face was grim, the rugged lines harder than I’d ever seen them. His hand on the gun looked pale, as though he clenched the weapon too tight.

  He was close to pulling that trigger. Too close. I knew if he did, it wouldn’t be for the drug trafficking, or even for the girls, but for what Levine had put me throu
gh.

  “Move, please,” I told Levine. “So he can shoot you.” I made myself laugh, though I felt no mirth. “Of course, if we killed you we wouldn’t be able to find out more about those partners you’ve mentioned.”

  “Like I’d tell you anything,” he spat.

  “Oh, I think you will.” Shannon’s grip relaxed slightly. “Anything to save yourself.”

  The tight knot in my stomach was gradually untying. Shannon was in control now. He wouldn’t shoot.

  “I think I’d still rather you move,” I said to Levine. “How about it?”

  Levine laughed. “You’re just mad because you were starting to fall for me. Women like you hate to learn they’re wrong about someone.”

  “Falling for you?” I made a sour face. “More like I felt bad for you. You were so … pathetic.” In my peripheral vision I saw Shannon smiling. “But that wasn’t the real you, was it?” I continued. “The real you I feel nothing for but disgust.”

  Levine glared but didn’t speak.

  Shannon offered me a hand up before bringing out a knife and cutting my bonds. His jaw tightened again when he saw the marks on my wrists, clear even in the light of the lantern, but his grip on his gun didn’t change. “Better check the commander while I cuff this jerk.”

  I limped over to where the commander still lay after hitting into Levine. Lying too still, I thought. But he had a pulse, and as I found Levine’s keys to unlock the handcuffs, he began coming to.

  “Thanks for helping,” I said, as I untied his dirty gag.

  He spat onto the floor before saying in a soft undertone, “It’s all my fault. I should have been more aware.”

  I felt sorry for him, but things hadn’t been right in his unit for a long time, and he was ultimately responsible.

  “I should have taken a leave,” he added. “I should be with Janine. But it’s …”

  “Hard.” Hard watching someone you love die. Like I had with Summer the year she battled breast cancer. I’d been only eleven at the time. It had been far worse mourning for Winter.

  Huish nodded, and I thought the deep line in his brow softened with my understanding. Maybe it wasn’t forgiveness he craved.

  Shannon finished cuffing Levine and started gathering up the magazines I’d scattered, looking at them carefully one by one. “I noticed you’ve taken up a new hobby,” he said.

  I shrugged. “They’re shiny.”

  “Yeah, but totally wrong for my gun.” He removed the bullets from one of the magazines, filling his empty one before slapping it into his gun and racking it.

  Levine groaned. “You didn’t even have bullets? I can’t believe it.”

  It was then I noticed Tiny’s gun under the scattered household supplies where it must have fallen during the fight. Shannon hadn’t borrowed the thug’s weapon but had stopped Levine with an unloaded gun. There was some cosmic irony in that.

  “You’re lucky I didn’t. Now don’t move, not even to stand up, or I will shoot you.” With an eye on Levine, Shannon walked over to where Tiny sprawled and began securing him with the cuffs I’d removed from Commander Huish.

  “You’re hurt,” I said, going to help. Shannon had tied a cloth around the top of his thigh, and drying red stains covered the front of his jeans. An awful lot of blood. Remembering the pain from the imprint, I wondered how he was even still on his feet.

  Shannon flashed me a crooked smile that warmed me to my toes. The next minute he was holding me, and I could feel his heart beating against mine. “Just a scratch,” he whispered. “But next time don’t come after me. I had it under control.”

  “I can see that.” I rolled my eyes. “How did you know Levine was involved, anyway? I mean, Commander Huish told me you’d seen him taking files and that he left when he was supposed to be doing something else. But that didn’t mean he was behind all this.”

  “I heard him talking on the phone after you called me from the restaurant. He mentioned you and Cody, but I was the only one who knew Cody was with you. After you went missing, I saw him take the files, and it all clicked.”

  That was Shannon, using his mind even when the stakes were high.

  His arms tightened briefly around me before he glanced at Huish.

  “If you’ve got this, commander, we need to get Cody to the hospital. He’s been shot.”

  I felt guilty I hadn’t been the one to remember. “You saw us.”

  Shannon nodded. “Only when you reached the little house. Didn’t dare step in or signal you, not when he was so close. Besides, the guys I’d been tracking had found reinforcements, and I knew they’d be back any minute to help their boss.”

  “Apparently you took out quite a few,” I said.

  He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug and looked at the commander again. “That reminds me. You probably should search for any that are still breathing. They’ll freeze to death out there, and I’d rather they stand trial.”

  I was reluctant to step from his embrace, but we had to get Cody. “Tracy will have people here soon, too. Probably the FBI. I didn’t know who to trust. They can round them up.”

  As if on cue, the outside door opened. Detective Greeley loomed in the doorway, looking odd with his wavy hair matted to his head.

  Huish grinned at Levine. “You really think I’m stupid enough to have come alone? Detective Martin here didn’t wipe out all your guys alone.” But as Greeley edged further into the room, Huish’s grin faltered. “Greeley, where are the others?”

  Greeley shook his head. Now we could see that his hands were behind his back and he was bleeding from a wound in his shoulder. The man who’d shot Cody was behind him, holding a gun to Greeley’s head. With him was another thug, also armed, who pointed his gun at Shannon.

  “Don’t anyone move,” the first man said, “or we’ll start shooting. This deputy and his buddy already tried to stop our truck, and they learned their lesson the hard way.”

  With Levine and Tiny cuffed, Shannon had lowered his guard, along with his gun. Now I could see him calculating his chances of threatening Levine with it so his thugs would step back. Maybe he thought he could lift it fast enough to be shot only in his arm or some other less vital place.

  Levine jumped to his feet, chuckling. “I was beginning to think you’d failed me.” His barbed tone made it clear that failing him would have been fatal. Levine turned to Shannon. “Put down your weapon, detective.”

  As Shannon hesitated, the man I didn’t recognize shifted his gun from Shannon to me. “Do as the boss says, or I shoot her first. And I won’t miss. Slowly, now. I have a twitchy trigger finger.”

  Jaw clenched, Shannon set down his gun carefully on a box in front of us.

  “Slime!” Greeley snarled at Levine. “I started suspecting you were involved, but I still can’t believe you’re actually working with these scum.”

  So that was what Greeley had been hiding, the suspicion that his friend and partner wasn’t all he seemed to be.

  Levine barely spared him a glance. “No hard feelings, partner. Don’t take it personally.”

  “Your thugs just killed Greg out there!” Greeley said. “How’s that for personal?”

  “Maybe it will help to know that I’m not really Billy Levine. I just took his place when he was transferred here.”

  “Two years? You’ve been working us for two years?” Greeley’s voice rose an octave. “When I get my hands on you, you’ll wish you were dead!”

  Levine ignored him. “If you’ll do the honors.” He held out his cuffed hands toward us.

  Shannon went for the key in his pocket.

  “Easy,” Levine warned. Illuminated by the lantern, his face appeared calm, as if everything was going according to plan. “Don’t do something you’ll regret. Hurry. Before your backup arrives. Or we’ll shoot Ms. Rain. I know how much you care about her.”

  I wondered what Shannon planned because we had to do something. If we didn’t act, Levine would use the fire to kill Commander Huish and Greel
ey and likely Shannon as well. Yet even if I could knock Levine into the stack of crates behind him and get an arm around his neck, his thugs would have time to shoot the commander and Greeley. Maybe even Shannon.

  They were all as good as dead whatever I did. We were all dead. The certainty made me feel sick. Levine’s eyes met mine, his face sharp and vicious, as though he knew exactly what I was thinking.

  I told myself that Huish and Greeley had to know the stakes and would be ready to act. I knew them well enough to know that neither wanted to see Levine get away regardless of personal cost.

  Shannon dropped the keys to the cuffs. “Oops.”

  “Hurry!” Levine barked. “I swear I’ll shoot her. Her gift might be useful, but I’ve done quite well without it.” He shook his outstretched hands and the cuffs clinked together. “Her life. It’s your choice.”

  I took a step forward. My foot throbbed.

  “Not so fast,” yelled a gruff voice.

  I blinked as a man emerged from behind the crate framing Levine. His black-gloved hand held a pistol, a .45, and it was aimed at Levine’s head.

  Cody. Though I could see him from my position, the men closer to the door wouldn’t be able to see enough of him to get off any shots.

  “Put down your guns, boys,” Cody said, “or your boss will be strumming harps. Well, or shoveling coal.”

  When no one moved, Cody stretched and touched his gun to Levine’s head. “I’ll admit I’m a lousy shot,” he said, “but even I can’t miss at this range.”

  “Do what he says!” Levine yelled, his eyes bulging.

  Ha. He wasn’t so calm now.

  Shannon swooped up his own gun and turned it on the thugs, but Huish and Greeley had already taken control.

  Cody stepped away from the crate and sagged, the gun lowering to his side. I rushed over while Shannon dealt with Levine. Cody was still wrapped in the sheet strips, but blood seeped through the white cloth, and his skin looked gray. “Are you okay?”