Colton 911--Soldier's Return, page 19
Jones nodded once, and then slipped off into the darkness on the side of her house. Heart pounding, feeling like the worst kind of coward, Carly crouched in the darkness, petting her dog, hoping to keep her from barking.
But although Bridget appeared restless, on edge, she kept quiet. Other than occasionally growling low in her throat. She crouched low, allowing Carly to hold her, though she never took her gaze off the exit.
After what felt like forever, Jones finally appeared. “It’s okay to come out,” he said, slightly out of breath. “False alarm. I checked all sides of the house and up and down the street. Didn’t see another person. Let’s get back inside.”
Carly exhaled. “I’m beginning to think Micha might have a valid point about me going to stay with you or Heath,” she said, her voice shakier than she would have liked. “I can’t live like this.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that. But come on.” Jones took her arm. “I’ll feel safer once we’re all behind locked doors.”
Agreeing, Carly ran for the back door, Bridget keeping low to the ground but not leaving her side. Jones made up the rear.
Inside the brightly lit kitchen, Carly turned the dead bolt. “There,” she said, slightly out of breath. “We’re safe.”
Still on the leash, Bridget snarled, baring her teeth as she faced the hallway. The back of Carly’s neck prickled as she followed her dog’s gaze. A man wearing military fatigues and body armor stepped into the kitchen. He had a huge military type of gun pointed directly at her.
“Nobody move,” he ordered. “Lady, keep your dog under control or I’ll kill it.”
Nodding, heart pounding so hard the blood roared in her ears, Carly kept a tight grip on the leash. Bridget continued to snarl, struggling to lunge toward the stranger. “Bridget!” Carly ordered. “No.”
To her surprise and relief, the dog instantly quieted, though she never took her intent gaze from the man with the gun. Carly suspected Bridget would bite him if she got the chance, but Carly couldn’t take the chance of allowing her dog to be hurt or worse.
Eyeing the man, Carly recognized the pain behind the anger in his eyes. She’d seen it too many times before in the NICU, in both men and women as they tried to deal with the cruel blow dealt to them by fate as their newborns struggled to live.
“Did you know Micha over there in Afghanistan?” Carly asked, hazarding a guess. “Are you Andy Shackleford?”
Surprise flickered across the other man’s face, though he quickly buried it. Emotionless, he stared at her, keeping his weapon pointed in her direction. “Shut up. Both of you, back against the wall.”
Ignoring him, Jones stepped in front of Carly, his body language making it plain the man would have to go through him to get to her. “What do you want?” he asked. “Micha’s not here.”
Andy Shackleford—if that’s who he was—bared his teeth in a semblance of a smile. “I know he’s not here,” he said, the twisted grimace on his face making him appear to be in a weird combination of pain and glee. “Because I have him locked up. I’ll deal with him after I make him watch me slowly kill the woman he loves.”
Carly gasped. She pushed around her brother so she could see the other man. “Why? Whatever Micha did to make you hate him, killing me won’t change anything. You have to know this.”
Eyes narrowing, he shrugged. “Maybe not. But at least I’ll get to make him pay for what he did to me.”
“You are Andy Shackleford, aren’t you?”
“I am.” His response came without inflection. “Have you heard of me?”
Behind her, Jones grabbed her arm and squeezed, his way of warning her to be careful. While she understood his concern, she figured their only chance right now would be to keep this guy talking. At some point, Sean or Charlie would have to listen to their messages. Hopefully before morning.
She lifted her chin, deciding to respond without really answering his question. “Tell me what he did to you, Andy Shackleford. I at least deserve to know the reason you want to hurt me.”
Unblinking, he considered. “I’m sure he’s told you the story. He thought he was some big hotshot spy, but he got captured. I was part of the rescue mission to get him out.”
“And the chopper crashed.” Eyeing him, she put two and two together. “You were also injured in the crash.”
“I was.” He gave a jerky sort of nod. “Lost my leg. Nearly died. And that was the end of my military career. I was going places and it was over, just like that. Because of Micha. Now the time has come to make him pay.”
Chapter 13
The kids dropped Micha off at the end of the block, per his request. He thanked them, dug out a twenty and handed it to the driver. “For gas,” he said. He stayed put, watching them as they drove off, wondering if he’d made a mistake by not calling 911. For all he knew, Charlie Crenshaw might be on vacation.
Too late now. Second-guessing himself would only make him less effective.
When he reached Carly’s house, he was relieved to notice Jones’s vehicle parked out front. Good. At least Jones had stayed with her, so she wasn’t alone. Between her brother and her vigilant dog, she’d have plenty of protection. And who knew, maybe Micha was wrong by trying to guess what Shackleford would do next.
As a precaution, Micha swung around to the back. As he’d suspected, yellow light from the kitchen spilled into the backyard. Moving as quietly as possible, Micha noticed the back door hadn’t been closed all the way. He’d just reached for the handle when he heard voices.
“Because of Micha. Now the time has come to make him pay.” Andy Shackleford. Crossing to the window where the video camera had been placed, Micha peered into the kitchen. Jones and Carly faced the window, luckily. Shackleford should know better, Micha thought, standing with his back to the door like that. He must have gotten overconfident, complacent. Which again would work in Micha’s favor.
Then he saw the gun. He recognized it immediately. It appeared to be a Ruger SR-556, an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Overkill for something like this, but he remembered Andy Shackleford had never been subtle.
Damn. Judging from the way the other man held the weapon, Micha figured Andy’s finger hovered right over the trigger. If Micha went with his original plan and rushed him, Andy could easily squeeze off multiple shots and hurt or kill both Carly and Jones.
Not acceptable odds.
He’d have to come up with another plan.
Inside, a cell phone started ringing. Judging by the ring tone, Micha figured it was his. No one answered. Micha could only hope Charlie Crenshaw had gotten his message and was now trying to call him back.
That gave Micha an idea. He slipped back around to the front and rang the doorbell, then dashed around to the back door. Bridget started barking and Carly’s voice sounded frantic as she tried to calm her pet. Jones added his voice to hers, which led Micha to believe Andy must have threatened to hurt the dog.
Andy cursed. And cursed again. “Who is it?” he demanded. “Who the hell comes to visit after two o’clock in the morning?”
“I don’t know.” Carly kept her tone calm. “If we don’t answer, they’ll probably go away.”
“Good.” Andy turned and motioned toward the back door. “We’ll give them a few minutes to leave and then we’re going.”
“Going where?” Carly asked.
“To reunite you with your beloved,” Andy said. “We three have a lot of catching up to do.”
Looking toward the window where Micha crouched, Jones must have caught sight of him. His eyes widened, but that was the only reaction he showed. He turned away, stepping in between Carly and Andy. “You’re not taking her anywhere without me,” he said, arms crossed.
“Such devotion,” Andy mocked. “And all for nothing. Are you really willing to die for your girlfriend, knowing she’s messing around with another man?”
“She’s my sister,” Jones replied. “And you’ll have to go through me if you intend to try hurting her.”
Andy laughed. “Brave words from an unarmed man. You’re lucky, though. I still haven’t decided what to do with you.” With his back to Micha, he motioned to Jones. “Kill you or bring you along with me, that’s the question.”
The single, staccato whoop of a police siren sounded out front, making even Micha jump. A second later, someone pounded on the front door.
“Chicago Police. Open up.”
“Out the back door, now.” Motioning wildly with his rifle, Andy herded Carly and Jones toward the exit. Micha knew if he was going to get a chance to take Andy down, this would be it. Andy appeared to be barely able to hang on to the edge of his shredded self-control.
The back door flew open. First Carly, then Jones, ran out; Carly took off left, Jones right. While Andy tried to track them, Micha jumped him.
Andy went down, rifle flying. Jones scrambled for it as Andy rolled, swinging wildly to dislodge Micha. His elbow connected with Micha’s jaw, snapping Micha’s head back. Before Andy could take another punch, Micha hit him, hard. Once, twice and a third time. He forced Andy’s hands behind his back and sat on him, figuring it wouldn’t be long until law enforcement showed up.
“Chicago PD.” Two armed officers burst through the back door, weapons out. One focused on Jones, who held the rifle loosely. “Drop the gun.”
Jones immediately complied, slowly lowering the weapon to the ground before raising his hands up in the air. Carly emerged from the direction of the storage shed, also with one hand up and the other holding tight to Bridget’s collar. She walked the dog over toward the house, putting her inside. Then, both hands raised, she sat down on the back porch.
Though Andy continued to try to struggle, Micha had a good grip. He glanced up to see his friend Charlie Crenshaw grinning at him. “Looks like you just about had everything under control,” Charlie said.
Micha shook his head. “Could I get a little help here, please? Some handcuffs would be nice.”
A moment later, with Andy cuffed and scowling, Charlie helped Micha up off the grass. Carly rushed over, wrapping her arms around Micha’s waist so tightly he could barely breathe, and held on. Micha hugged her back.
“We’ll need to get statements,” Charlie said. “And I’m assuming you want to press charges against this guy?”
“Yes,” Carly answered. “And not just for breaking and entering, but kidnapping. He had Micha locked up somewhere.”
“In a shipping container,” both Micha and Charlie said simultaneously.
“He left me a detailed message,” Charlie clarified. “I take it this is Lieutenant Andy Shackleford?”
“Yes.” Still holding Carly close, Micha regarded his enemy grimly. “He not only set the bomb that blew up my rental car, but he’s the one who shot out Carly’s front window.”
“Attempted murder, too?” Crenshaw sounded almost gleeful.
“Chicago PD!” another voice shouted, and Sean Stafford ran into the backyard. He’d clearly come here straight from bed, as he looked as if he’d just gotten up. Right behind him came Carly’s cousin January.
“Carly! Are you all right?” She rushed over, wrapping up Carly’s other side in a partial hug.
“She was supposed to wait in the car,” Sean said sheepishly. “I’m just glad you guys took care of everything before we got here.” He glanced at Charlie. “I called it in, though. There should be a few more guys here shortly.”
They all filed inside, filling up Carly’s small living room. Cuffed with his hands behind his back, Andy glared at everyone sullenly. His face had started to swell, the bruises purple where Micha had hit him.
Carly gasped when she got a good look at Micha. “Your head,” she said, her eyes wide and worried. “The back of your head is all bloody.”
Grim-faced, Charlie eyed him. “I’m going to radio for a couple of EMTs.”
“No need,” Micha started to say. But Crenshaw shook his head and ignored him.
Carly put her small hand up along his cheek. “That needs to get looked at. At least let the EMTs clean it and see if it needs a few stitches. What did he hit you with?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m thinking the butt of the rifle.” Though he felt a little bit foolish, Micha had to admit his head hurt like hell.
She winced. “There’s an awful lot of blood. I can start getting it cleaned up and take a look at it.”
“Since you’re a nurse, I’d rather do that,” he agreed.
Her stern look coaxed a smile from him. “I still want the EMTs to look at it. Promise me you’ll let them.”
Since he could deny her nothing, he agreed.
Two more uniformed officers arrived after everyone had gone inside, ringing the front doorbell. Carly let them in and they took custody of a still-sullen Andy, escorting him to their squad car.
“He’ll be held downtown,” Sean told Micha.
“Locked up, right?” Carly asked. January had finally pried Carly off Micha and stood with her arm around her cousin’s shoulders, clearly trying to comfort her.
The EMTs walked right in, making Carly realize the front door sat wide open. Shaking her head, she went to close it, then led the paramedics over to Micha.
“There’s better light in the kitchen,” she told them. “Follow me.”
They had Micha sit at the kitchen table. With a gentle kind of competence, one of the men got to work checking out his wound while the other took his blood pressure. He almost protested that, but one glance at Carly’s steely gaze had him holding his tongue. She went and got a bowl of warm water and a clean washcloth and began carefully cleaning up his head wound.
“Are you sure you don’t want to let us take him to the hospital so they can do that?” the EMT asked.
“I’m a nurse,” Carly replied. “And I know he won’t go.”
“He might need antibiotics,” the man continued. “And as you know, only a doctor can prescribe those.”
“We’ll be all right,” Carly said, smiling. “I work at the hospital, so I can get him in to see a doctor if necessary.”
The man nodded. He shone a small light into Micha’s eyes. “You probably have a concussion,” he said, getting to his feet. “But if you’re absolutely against letting us run you to the ER, I think you’re in good hands here.”
Micha mumbled his thanks. Carly got up to let the two men out, and they spoke quietly for a moment at the door. He let his gaze follow her as she made her way through the still-crowded living room, the pounding in his head making him ache to close his eyes. He resisted, partly because he seemed to remember something about not going to sleep with a concussion, but mostly because he didn’t want to look away from Carly.
“Are you in pain?” Carly asked when she reached him. “Don’t even answer that. Let me get you something.”
She left again, returning to hand him a couple of pills and a bottle of water. “Nothing prescription,” she said. “But they should still help with the pain.”
The steady hum of voices from the other room made him long for quiet. As if she understood, Bridget scooted over under the table and rested her head on his leg. Micha stroked her head, glad to have her company.
More than anything, Micha wanted everyone to finish their business and leave so he could be alone with Carly. Soon, he told himself. Despite his aching head, he wanted to hold her and kiss her and show her exactly how much she meant to him. Catching him watching her, the heat in her gaze told him she wanted the exact same thing.
Charlie had Jones in the hallway, taking notes while Jones finished giving his statement. Judging from his exhausted expression, Carly’s brother couldn’t wait to get out of there and go home.
“Carly, I’m ready for you next,” Charlie said, motioning her over. She nodded but went to Jones first and gave him a huge hug. He hugged her back, his gaze meeting Micha’s over the top of her head. Once she released him and walked over to talk to Charlie, Jones dragged his hand through his hair and headed toward the front door. Micha pushed to his feet to join him.
“Thank you,” Micha told him, walking him out.
“For what?”
“For keeping Carly safe. I don’t know what Andy would have done to her if he’d caught her here alone.”
Jones shuddered. “That guy is seriously unhinged.”
“Yeah.” Micha considered his next words. “Some of what happened over there really messed with a lot of the guys’ heads. I didn’t know Andy all that well, but from what I was told, before the crash he was career military. They said he put all of his focus on an upward track. The chopper crash kind of ended that for him.”
“I understand being bitter about that,” Jones said. “But why blame you? Why not blame the pilot?”
“The pilot was killed,” Micha replied, his voice quiet. Even now, remembering the crash brought back a lot of pain. “And I guess Andy needed someone to pin his anger on, so he chose me. After all, if I hadn’t been captured, there wouldn’t have been a rescue mission at all.”
“That’s flawed thinking.” Jones shook his head and unlocked his truck. “I’m going to head home now. I’ve got a lot of unwinding to do before I can even think about going to bed.”
“Thanks again, man,” Micha said.
“You take care of yourself and my sister,” Jones said, giving a two-fingered wave before getting in his vehicle and driving off.
Micha watched him go and then turned around to head back inside. He made it as far as the front porch steps before he slid to the ground as everything went gray and then black.
* * *
Answering all of Officer Crenshaw’s questions, Carly kept one eye on the door waiting for Micha to return. Even though the danger appeared to be past, he had a beast of a head wound. She’d even begun to rethink making him go to the hospital. In fact, once the questions were over, she thought she’d just go ahead and drive him to the ER herself.
