Like Arrows (Cedar Tree #6) (23 page)

K
im

"Hey... wake up, Kim."

The combination of a hand stroking my face and the low rumble of Mal's voice makes me want to linger here in that half-conscious state, which seems to keep all negative emotions at bay. Reality sneaks in anyway, and I suck in a deep breath and shoot up straight in my seat.

"Any news?" I want to know, rubbing sleep from my eyes and surreptitiously wiping my mouth to make sure no drool marks are visible. I look at Mal who smiles at me gently before turning his eyes back to the road.

"They're tracking down a lead on the Ford, just north of Durango. That FBI agent I told you about? Gomez? He's on it with his team, but keeping Gus informed. So far nothing, but it's early yet. In the meantime we've just passed Cortez. We're almost home."

I look at the vague landscape passing outside my window. It's dark outside, must be getting on midnight, and I can barely see what I'm looking at. We'd stopped at a gas station just before crossing the Utah border and stocked up on some drinks and food, since none of us had had a chance to eat anything. By now though, the threshold of my bladder has obviously reached its limit and I'm squirming in my seat.

"Me too," I hear Katie quietly talking to Emma from behind me and I look around at her. "Bathroom," she clarifies and I nod.

"Ahhh, don't say the word," Emma complains from the backseat. "I'll take the bushes at this point, I don't care!"

"Two minutes, ladies, and you can all breathe easy." Mal's mouth twitches, fighting a grin. To me he says, "We're meeting Gus at Caleb and Katie's. Easiest, since Caleb has the baby and the two dogs.

We pull into a tree-lined driveway that opens up to a beautiful old barn. A rather massive structure with a red steel roof and big arched windows in place of the barn doors I'd expected. A door is opened to the side and I recognize Caleb stepping in the doorway, a large dog by his side and my Boo trying to sneak a peek from behind him.

Mal is still getting Emma her walker when Katie starts pulling me inside, yelling over her shoulder, "You grab the downstairs bathroom, Em!"

I barely have a chance to say hello to Boo or look around me, before I'm being dragged up the stairs and pointed down the hall to a bathroom. Boo is still miserably wining at the bottom of the stairs when I come back down, so I give my baby the attention he deserves. He responds by promptly knocking me on my ass. 

"Boo." The firm use of his name does little from me, but when Mal says it, he immediately responds. Traitor. With a firm yank of Mal's hand, I'm back on my feet before the other dog comes sniffing. This thing may not be quite as tall as Boo, but looks a whole lot fiercer. Dark grey unruly fur and a lanky build, but the bright blue eyes scrutinizing me show a high level of intelligence. Not a dog to mess with. I'm obviously deemed acceptable when he saunters and plops down in front of a fire in the massive stone fireplace. It's much colder here than in Vegas and I'm drawn to the heat of the fire.

-

"A
nything?" I ask Gus, who's settled in with his wife tucked closed and a steaming mug of coffee in his hand across from me.

"Not yet. Neil is back at the office, monitoring the scanner. If Gomez doesn't call, Neil will let us know when something happens. Waiting is the worst part, honey. Hopefully we'll know something soon."

The words no sooner leave his mouth before the phone starts vibrating on the table in front of him.

"Talk to me."

His forehead creases and his eyes flick to me as he listens to what's being said on the other side. Cold starts penetrating my body again and I shiver. The look on his face is not promising.

"Have you notified the husband?"

Mal's arm pulls a little tighter around me.

"No offense, don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but find the second guy and make fucking sure you don't put holes in this one. We need him alive." With that, Gus ends the conversation and looks around the room, his eyes coming to rest on me.

"Found your girl. She's alive, but worked over. She's on her way to the hospital. Her man's been notified and one of Damian's guys is driving him up."

I jump up and plan to go straight for the door when Mal grabs my hand and pulls me back down. "Where are you going?"

"I've gotta get to Durango. See Kerry—be with Greg." I struggle to get my hand loose but he won't let go.

"Kim, look at me," Gus says and I lift my head to face him. "I'm sorry, honey, but one of the guys who was willing to shoot at FBI agents, got killed as a result. There's a second guy out there somewhere, probably pissed as hell, and we don't even have a good take on who they are or who they work for. They want you. That's clear. They went after Kerry to find you. Trust me when I say it's very likely they'll have eyes on her, which means if you go near, they'll have eyes on you too."

Realization starts sinking in. They took her...because they wanted me. I'm not a stupid person, but this is so far out of my comfort zone, it takes me a while to grasp the crazy turn my sedate and safe life seems to have taken.

M
al

"Sleep, baby. It's almost two in the morning, and as soon as they know more we'll get a call."

Kim had gone very quiet after Gus shut down her plans to go to the hospital to see her friend. I'm not sure what's going on in her mind, but I'd rather have her cry it out than watch her shut down. When I tried to get her to talk though, she only gave me perfunctory answers. Short and for the most part, monosyllabic. We left the barn at the same time as Emma and Gus, who wanted to get back to the office and monitor things from there. Boo seemed reluctant to leave his newfound buddy but once we got back to Beth's house, he plopped on the floor in the bedroom and was out like a light. I'd gone back out to grab our stuff from the truck and spent some time locking up the house before coming back up to the bedroom to find Kim already in bed.

"I don't understand any of this. I mean, I know on a practical level what's happening, but I just don't get it. This is not me. This is not my life. She's hurt, Mal, because of me?"

There they are, the tears I've been waiting for, rolling down her face as she turns to me. Without a word, I pull her in my arms. Nothing to say. Softly stroking her hair, I hold her until the tears finally subside and other than an occasional sniffle, she falls asleep on my chest.

I realize I must've dozed off too, when a few hours later, my phone buzzes in the pocket of the jeans I hadn't had a chance to take off. Kim is still in deep sleep and not wanting to disturb her unless I have to, I slip out from under her body, which is still draped over me. I watch her curl up on her side and walk out of the bedroom, pulling the phone from my pocket.

"Yeah."

"Thought you might want an update," Gus says. "She's got a broken arm, a few broken ribs, a body black and blue from the beatings and a nasty cut on her neck from a knife held to her throat. They expect her to make a full recovery though. Physically. Not sure how 'fine' she's going to be emotionally, but Damian says she's a tough cookie. She'll likely be released tomorrow or the day after and Damian is sending both her and her husband to a safe house."

"Kim will want to see her, at least talk to her," I point out.

"You and I both know seeing her is out of the question. At least if we want to keep both of them safe. Talking to her can probably be arranged in a few days."

"Any word on the second guy?" I suspect he would've led with news of any capture, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

"The rental was found in the airport parking lot, keys left in the Avis drop box. He must've slipped through before the FBI could get there, but the only possible flight he could've gotten on is one that stops in Phoenix before flying through to Austin. They're scouring the passenger manifest right now to see if anything pops up and have a team standing by at both airports. We nab this guy, it may be the break we need to tie it all together."

"Good. Not enjoying sitting on the sidelines while this plays out, Gus," I confess, my frustration growing with the inability to control the situation. I'm actually torn. The need to protect Kim obviously outweighing any urge to go out and try and get this case resolved. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be out there making sure that bastard can't do anymore damage.

"I hear you, my friend, but with the FBI now actively involved it would be difficult sticking our noses in anyway. Not just the state of Colorado, but the federal government doesn't take kindly to our natural resources being held hostage. And from what little information Damian has fed me, there is a strong suspicion the buck doesn't stop with the Texas oilman. There are indications the real power comes from outside our borders."

"Damn."

"Exactly. Too big for us to take on. So we worry about our little slice of that pie and make sure Kim stays safe." After a moment of silence, Gus continues, "And Mal? She seems like a sweet woman who is able to roll with the punches so far, showing a lot of grit, but this is a lot for her to process in a really short time. Be careful. If the events of the past month don't break her, I get the feeling that you easily could."

He hangs up before I can respond. I know I'm having an effect on her. Hell, I'd be lying if I said she wasn't having an effect on me too. Living without any emotional connections for many years was necessary to survive the criminal and often violent people I used to associate with. Since then my hard shells have started cracking under the influence of my brother and his family, but also the acceptance and friendships I've found here in Cedar Tree. Kim seems to be peeling away at the hardened shell, piece by piece, and she doesn't even know she's doing it.

The clicking of nails on the stairs announces Boo is awake and in search of relief. I unlock the backdoor and let him out. A quick glance at the clock shows it's almost seven—time for coffee. With a pot brewing I start pulling some things from the fridge: eggs, cheese, ham, spring onions, salsa and a roll of Pillsbury biscuits. I find a baking dish in the cupboards and butter the insides. While the oven heats, I split each of the biscuits in two. After covering the bottom of the pan, I add some ham I cut in strips, some chopped onions and top it with a pile of grated cheese. A couple of eggs poured over top, followed by chunky salsa, a bit more cheese and with the remaining biscuits I finish it off.

K
im

I startle awake when one side of the mattress dips down under the weight of Boo, who is apparently tired of waiting. He's not supposed to be on the bed, but I still take a minute to snuggle with my arms around his neck.

"Boo. Down."

It would seem Boo didn't come alone. A shirtless Malachi, with his jeans hanging loosely on his hips, is standing in the doorway. Of course, Boo listens to him and immediately jumps down. But a second later, the dog's place is taken by the man. The man smells a hell of a lot nicer, like food and Malachi. Both probably not very good for me.

"Your face just scrunched up. Do I smell?" he asks, chuckling as he lays beside me, his elbow in the mattress and head propped up on his hand. The other is pushing the strands of hair away from my forehead and tucking them behind my ears.

"Yes... " I say without thinking, watching his eyebrows shoot up. "Shit. I mean no, well... technically yes, but in a good way." One of Mal's rare smiles stretches wide on his face.

"A good way, huh?"

"You smell better than Boo."

"God, I sure as hell hope so. That dog smells like the bottom of a dumpster," he deadpans.

"Ew. Gross." I wrinkle my nose at the analogy before explaining. "You smell like comfort food and you. I was just thinking how it's quite possible neither is good for me."

The amused expression on his face dulls and I get the feeling I said something wrong. When he moves to roll away and get up, my hand shoots out to stop him. The confirmation that my words stung comes when he turns his now impassive eyes on me.

"I've got to get breakfast out of the oven," he says as he pulls his arm from my hold and walks to the door.

"Wait..." I call out after him, clambering off the bed to catch him. "I said something wrong, I know it, I can see it, but I'm not sure what it was."