Chapter Eight

And we did. They even added that nice little tagline: some viewers might find this video disturbing. Ya, think? They blurred our faces, but left our shockingly bloody, half-naked bodies for everyone to see. One of the local stations had gotten hold of a video of Mom and me doing our Annie Oakley shooting exhibition; they added in me roping Benjamin and had a field day with the Old West angle. Now, dozens of news outlets from all over the world were calling to interview Annie Oakley. Ugh, just kill me now.

"You come off as a hero and I'm pregnant with Thompson's love child. As if," Julie complained.

"Didn't you write that bitch at Channel Sixteen a speeding ticket?"

"I did."

"There you go."

"And she's getting another one too," Julie said with an evil smile.

Doctor Halliday entered our room with Mom right on his heels. "I want to take them home. There are dozens of reporters camped out in your parking lot, your security sucks and Thompson still hasn't been captured."

"There are two police officers stationed outside their door. Your family is armed to the teeth and if someone does manage to get inside this room, their bullet-ridden corpse will be hauled off to the morgue, like the last one," Doc Halliday replied.

Mom let out an exasperated breath. "How soon can I take them home?"

"They both have concussions, numerous contusions, and lacerations. If their CT scans come back clear, you can take them home tomorrow," Doc Halliday stated firmly.

"Okay, can I get a cot in here? I'm not leaving them unprotected."

"I'll arrange it." Doc Halliday quickly examined us. "You're both lucky the blast didn't rupture your ear drums." He injected something yellow into our IVs.

I frowned. "When will our hearing get back to normal?"

"In a couple of days. A week at the most."

Someone knocked on our door.

"Enter," Doc Halliday called.

Sheriff Maxwell walked in carrying two balloon bouquets. His gaze narrowed as he took in our battered condition. "How are you feeling?" He gave Mom the balloons.

The balloons bobbed wildly around Mom's head as she tied them to the bed frames.

"We're ready to go back to work, sir," Julie said.

I added, "Once Sergeant Thompson finds out Valdez is dead, he's gonna come after us with a bigger bomb."

"Leaving them here puts too many people in danger," Mom interjected.

Sheriff Maxwell turned to Doc Halliday. "Tess has a point. When will it be safe to move them?"

"I can't release them until I know they don't have a brain bleed, and I won't have all the test results back until tomorrow."

"Very well." Sheriff Maxwell rubbed his jaw. "I'll get a couple of our bomb-sniffing dogs to check the hospital."

"My patients need to rest, and I suggest we move this conversation to my office," Doc Halliday said.

I protested, "But we need to know what's going on too."

"No, you don't. Neither of you are in any shape to conduct an investigation," Doc Halliday exclaimed. "Your job is to get well, nothing more."

Julie grumbled, "Ever had anyone try to kill you, Doc?"

"No, I haven't."

"Do you actually think we're going to be able to rest?" I questioned.

"I do. The drugs I put in your IVs should be kicking in about now."

Shit! I was feeling sleepy.

"Not fair," Julie murmured as her eyes closed.

Mom patted my hand. "I'll be right back, sweetie."

"Who is interviewing you for the shooting?" I was praying it wasn't Sergeant Billington from Internal Affairs. He was such an ass. "I'm sure the security cameras caught everything. It was a righteous shoot."

"Relax. Your mother was justified in shooting Valdez, and I assigned Sergeant Dawson to do the interview," Sheriff Maxwell advised.

It was getting so hard to keep my eyes open. "Kay, thanks."

Sheriff Maxwell escorted Mom out of the room.

"If you're good, I'll bring you some chocolate ice cream later," Doc Halliday promised and dimmed the lights.

I drifted off. Sometime later, I opened my eyes and smiled. Dante was asleep in the chair beside my bed, and his fingers were intertwined with mine. The poor guy looked worn out. He was still wearing his soot-covered jumpsuit and there was a smear of dirt across his right cheek. God, I love him so much.

Turning my head, I blinked in disbelief. Lucas was sitting in the chair next to Julie's bed, and holy crap, he was holding her hand. How was that even possible? Lucas had taken an instant dislike to Julie, or had he? The expression on his face was a mixture of worry and tenderness. Dang. Did Lucas love Julie? Was that even possible? He had been on a top-secret mission in Afghanistan, when Maia, his skanky fiancée, dumped him for her stepbrother. Since then, he had only dated good time girls.

Lucas's eyes widened in horror when he realized I was watching him.

I grinned at him.

He gave me a one-finger salute.

My grin got bigger, and I made a kissy face.

Lucas did a zip-it motion.

I shook my head.

He pulled out his wallet and held up a bunch of twenty-dollar bills.

I mouthed, " N ot a chance" .

Lucas threw up his hands in disgust and gestured around the room.

That's when I noticed my entire family was here. Mom and Dad shared the roll-away bed, but the rest of my brothers were sleeping on the floor. Aw, they were our very own guardian angels.

The door suddenly swung open, and a nurse stepped into the room holding a tray.

Within a blink of an eye, my entire family, including Dante, had drawn down on the woman.

Her eyes bugged at all the guns pointed at her. She let out a blood-curdling scream, dropped the tray, and fled.

Lucas let go of Julie's hand like it was something nasty and jumped to his feet. "I'll go apologize to her." Giving me the evil eye, he hurried after the nurse.

"What's got Lucas so twitchy?" Julie asked with a frown. "That nurse isn't his type."

Mom gave Julie her Mona Lisa smile. "No, she's not, but I think Lucas just discovered who is."

"God, I hope it's not that bleached blonde bimbo he met at Gemma's last dance competition. All that giggling drove me nuts."

Dad's face split into a wide grin. "Let's just say Lucas is now drawn to feisty brunettes."

"Whatever. I can't keep up with all the women he dates," Julie groused.

Dang. How long had Mom and Dad known? My stomach rumbled loudly. "Anyone else hungry?"

"I'm starving. We didn't get to eat lunch today or get that ice cream Doc promised." Julie glanced at the clock on the wall. "Holy shit! It's a quarter to four."

I stared in dismay at the clock. We slept for about eight hours. "Whatever Doc put in our IVs really worked."

"You needed the rest." Dante gently brushed his lips across my mouth.

I rubbed at the dirt spot on his cheek. "How long have you been here?"

"Since midnight," Dante answered.

"Please tell me you arrested Thompson."

"No, he's gone to ground, but we did disarm the bomb he left at Sergeant Bergman's house and the one he planted on Frank's patrol car," Dante replied.

I tightened my grip on Dante's hand. "He's escalating and it's only a matter of time before he comes after you too."

"We have prepared for that." A predator looked out of Dante's eyes.

"What about your brothers? They need protection too."

Mom butted in, "Dante's brothers will be coming with us to the Refuge. Your father has promised to teach them how to fly fish, and to show them the cliff dwellings of the Sinagua people."

"And they're okay with that?" Call me worried.

Dante laughed. "There's no way they'll pass up horseback riding, swimming, fishing and exploring ancient cliff dwellings."

"Don't forget the hieroglyphs. They're pretty awesome too," Julie added.

I cupped Dante's face. "Maybe you could join us. The Refuge is twenty-acres of paradise at the base of the Mogollon Rim."

"I'll try, querida."

I kissed him. "Do more than try. The Refuge is a beautiful two-story log cabin with plenty of room and if shit happens, we have an underground bunker that's built to withstand a nuclear blast."

"You forgot to mention the picturesque red barn, windmills, and the babbling creek filled with trout," Julie added.

Dante cocked an incredulous eyebrow at my father. "Underground bunker?"

"I believe in being prepared," Dad replied.

My stomach growled loudly. "Anybody got anything to eat?"

"Even a breath mint would be good at this point," Julie said.

Nate stood up. "I'll go get us some breakfast burritos."

"I'll go with you." Devon glanced around the room. "The usual for everyone?"

We all nodded.

"Okey-dokey, we'll be back," Devon said and followed Nate out of the room.

Logan tucked his shirt in. "Where's the john?"

"I'll show you." Yawning, Jacob got to his feet. "I'm getting too old to sleep on the floor."

Logan rolled his shoulders. "You and me both."

Dante's cell phone rang. "Delgado. What? Are you sure? Dante pulled out a notepad and pen out of his pocket. "Give me the location." He wrote an address down. "Okay, got it. Are we sure Thompson was in the building when it blew?" Dante smiled and gave us the thumbs up. "I can be there in about an hour. Understood."

I grabbed his arm. "Please tell me Thompson's dead."

"We won't know for sure until the autopsy is done."

"Who tracked him down?" Julie asked.

"Sergeant Bergman. He knew Thompson had inherited an old mining claim outside of Wickenberg. He checked it out and he saw Thompson enter an old miner's shack just before it blew."

I frowned. "Huh? A bit convenient, don't you think?"

"Very," Dante agreed. "But Thompson had been getting careless with his bomb-making."

Julie interjected, "Or it's a setup."

"Another possibility," Mom said. "But to be on the safe side, I had the M60 mounted on the Huey."

Dante swallowed hard. "More cactus jumping?"

"Where's your sense of adventure, son?" Dad clapped Dante on the back. "And Tess will get you there in half the time."

"Yippee-ki-yay," I hooted.

Dante gave me the side-eye. "Where is the Huey?"

"It's parked on the hospital's helicopter pad." Mom handed me her backup gun. "Just in case and you have clean clothes in the closet."

"Thanks, Mom."

She kissed my forehead. "Let's hope this nightmare is finally over."

"That would be great, but I have a bad feeling about this." I tugged on Dante's hand. "Please, be careful."

Dante's lips closed over mine, and he slowly, thoroughly ravaged my mouth. "You are the other half of my soul, querida. I will always come back to you. Always. Never forget that."

"I won't."

He followed my parents out of the room.

"That man knows how to kiss," Julie sighed.

"Yes, he does."

Lucas dashed into the room and gave Julie his backup piece. "In case it's a ruse."

"Ah, thanks."

For a moment, I thought Lucas was going to kiss Julie, but nope, he ruffled her hair and left.

"Your brother is weird."

"And a coward," I sighed.

"Do you feel like a sitting duck? Because I do."

"Yep, with a big ass bullseye on my chest." I threw back the sheet and slowly slid from the bed like some old lady. Everything hurt. "Let's get dressed."

"God, I feel like the time I got drunk and tried bull riding. I thought Bodacious was going to kill me. How could I have been so stupid?" Julie limped over to the closet.

"Lucas egged you on and furnished the whiskey."

"Never doing that again," Julie said with a shudder.

I handed Julie her clothing and very carefully got dressed. "How bad is my hair?"

Julie pulled a purple T-shirt over her head. "Pretty awful."

"Terrific." I opened the bathroom door, took one look at the mirror and winced. My black T-shirt seemed to emphasize every bruise and cut. "I'm going to scare small children."

"Me too."

Doctor Halliday walked into the room and exclaimed, "What are you doing out of bed?" His gaze roved over us. "And why are you dressed?"

"We don't want to run for our lives wearing nothing but a hospital gown. The public has already seen enough of us," I answered, tucking the gun into the waistband of my jean shorts.

The door was abruptly thrown open, knocking Doc Halliday off-balance. Before he could recover, a large male wearing scrubs, and a black KN95 face mask cracked him upside the head with his pistol.

Doc Halliday fell to the floor with a grunt.

The goon motioned at us with his gun. "Get your hands up."

I cupped my left ear and yelled, "What?"

"Hands. Up," the goon shouted.

Julie pasted a confused look on her face. "You want to dance with us?"

"No!" He gestured at the door with his gun. "You are coming with me."

"I don't know where the restrooms are. Why don't you ask a nurse?" I hollered.

"Move it!" The goon shoved me out the door and tried to push me into a wheelchair. "You don't want to keep the boss waiting."

Thunk! Julie brained him with a metal bedpan.

The goon dropped to his knees.

Julie hit him again and he fell face down on the floor. "You know, bedpans make excellent weapons."

"Yep, unless there's urine in them, then it gets messy." I kicked his gun under the bed. "Why do they want to kidnap us and who is the boss?"

"Good question." Using the IV line, Julie tied the goon's hands.

"And where is the officer who was supposed to be guarding our door?"

"Another good question." Patting the goon down, Julie pulled out his wallet and cell phone. "Huh? His name is Aziz Salik."

Doc Halliday groaned and tried to sit up.

"You okay, Doc?" I patted his face.

"What? What happened?"

"You got conked on the head," Julie said, stuffing the suspect's wallet and cell phone in her back pockets.

I helped Doc sit up. "Can you stand? We need to move to a safer location. He might have a buddy."

Doc Halliday blinked. "I don't think I know him."

"He's a bad guy pretending to be an orderly," Julie advised.

"Why?"

"Dunno." I got my shoulder under Doc's arm. "Up we go." I sucked in a breath as pain radiated across my ribs.

Julie grimaced. "Damn, you're heavy."

"Why did he hit me?"

"You would have tried to stop him from kidnapping us." We managed to get Doc into the wheelchair.

Doc Halliday frowned. "Where's the officer?"

"I'm hoping he's just taking a leak." I glanced around. The corridor was empty except for a spilled cup of coffee.

Julie gestured toward a smear of blood on the wall. "That's not good."

"Hey! You! Stop!"

I glanced over my shoulder. A short, squat male wearing scrubs, and a black KN95 face mask was running after us with a gun in one hand.

"Get Doc to safety. I'll slow him down."

Nodding, Julie pushed the wheelchair down the hallway as fast as she could.

The thug fired at us. "Stop!"

The bullets took out an exit sign, a picture, and a fire extinguisher. White fumes spewed from the cylinder.

Dropping to one knee, I pulled my gun and shot the weapon out of his hand and put a bullet in each leg.

Shrieking in pain, the thug dropped to the floor. "You fucking bitch. I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna kill you." He reached for his backup piece.

I shot him in the left hand and retrieved his guns. Did I feel bad about shooting him so many times? Nope, not a bit. I was dizzy as hell and kept listing to the left. In a physical fight, I would lose. The kidnapping attempt didn't fit Thompson's MO. The only way to find out who was behind it was for the thugs to start talking.

I nudged the still-cursing bad guy with my foot. "Who sent you?"

"He's gonna fuck you up so bad, you'll be begging to die."

"Who?" I stepped on his hand.

The thug passed out.

Well, hell.

Joe, the night security guard, hurried up to me. "I called 9-1-1. There's an ambulance parked at the emergency room doors with two more men dressed like this one."

"Are they armed?"

"Yes, ma'am, with AK-47 rifles," Joe answered.

Oh, goodie. Just what we didn't need.

Sam Foster, the infamous Sun City playboy, hobbled up on crutches. "Damn. You look like hell, deputy."

"You really know how to make a girl feel special, Sam." I eyed the big bruise on his forehead. "What are you in for?"

"Car accident. Broke my ankle."

The thug tried to get up.

Sam whacked him in the face with a crutch.

The thug's head snapped back, and he slumped to the floor.

"Thanks, Sam."

"My pleasure. You look like you're about to pass out."

I braced myself against the wall. I felt like it too. "Got a cell phone I can borrow? I need to warn my brothers."

Sam handed me his cell phone. "What are you going to do with this one?"

"The Peoria officers can deal with him. He's not going anywhere." I dialed Nate's number.

"Why are you calling this number, Foster?" Nate growled.

"It's me. We have a bit of a problem."

Alarm filled Nate's voice, "What kind of problem, Gemma?"

I quickly filled him in.

"Do you have any idea who's behind this?"

"Not a clue."

Julie limped up with a nurse following behind her with a crash cart. "Holy cow! How many times did you shoot him?"

I scowled. "He went for his backup piece."

"Dumbass move," Julie said.

"Oh, my God! You shot him five times," the nurse cried in outrage.

My temper flared to life. "He tried to shoot us, and I stopped him."

"By shooting him five times?" the nurse huffed.

"If that's what it takes, yeah."

Julie jumped in, "Would you rather he killed someone?"

"No, but…"

I cut her off, "He's bleeding out while you debate the issue." If looks could kill, I'd be toes up, but at least she started slapping bandages on his gunshot wounds.

"Is it true you're having that Thompson fella's love child, Miss Julie?" Sam asked.

Julie shot him a one-finger salute.

"Just asking."

Aziz's cell phone rang.

Pulling it out of her pocket, Julie glanced at the call ID. "It just says boss."

"Let's see what the boss has to say."

Julie swiped right and hit the speaker button.

"Do you have them, Aziz?" a harsh voice asked.

I frowned. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

"Aziz?"

Shit! It was Chet Nargi or Chief as he liked to be called. "Aziz can't come to the phone right now."

"I'm impressed Deputy Stone. You are proving to be a worthy adversary."

My mind whirled. Adversary? Had I missed something?

Julie muted the phone. "What is he talking about?"

"Dunno."

"You should thank me for stopping Sergeant Thompson's bombing spree."

I unmuted the phone. "You booby-trapped the miner's shack. Why?"

"Thompson wanted you dead and you will only die by my hand."

My stomach knotted. Okey-dokey. That was a definite death threat. "What do you want?"

"Return what you took from me, Deputy, and I might let you live." The menacing note in Nargi's voice sent a chill up my back.

Julie tapped the mute button again. "What do we have of his?"

"Just his derringer and it doesn't make any sense he would kidnap us to get it back."

"Do not keep me waiting. I am not a patient man," Chief growled. Now, he suddenly had a thick accent.

I unmuted the phone. "To make sure there are no misunderstandings. What exactly do you think I took from you? Yesterday was the first time we met. The fire destroyed your semi-truck and there was nothing left to steal. I also arrested the man responsible for the accident."

"Foolish woman, you think to play games with me? I am the most feared warlord in Iraq."

Warlord? Seriously? My body hurt all over, I had a killer headache and was in no mood to deal with his macho crap. "You're the one playing games," I snapped. "Just tell me what you want. I'm not a mind reader. To my knowledge the only thing the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office took from you was the derringer and that was destroyed in the fire."

"Ichabod said he was going to marry you, until he discovered you're a whore, a liar, and a thief."

"Oh, my God," Julie whispered.

My temper flared to life. What had that miserable bastard done now? "What is Ichabod claiming I have?"

"Gilgamesh's Tablet."

I wasn't even sure what Gilgamesh's Tablet was. "And you believed him?"

"Yes."

"That was your first mistake. Ichabod worked for the Zetos brothers. They were big into stolen antiquities. I suggest you contact them. Oh, wait! They're in prison too. I find your story a bit unbelievable. Ichabod and the Zetos brothers are in solitary confinement. They have no access to phones, visitors, or computers."

"My men breached the prison and took Ichabod. He eagerly told us what you had done."

"Ichabod is a liar and a coward. You're a fool if you believed him," I shot back.

"Bring me Gilgamesh's Tablet or die."

A gun battle erupted in the parking lot.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Chief. The Alpha Dogs are the most feared hunters in the world. You are now our prey, and we will find you, no matter where you hide." I disconnected.

Joe frowned. "If he had attacked the prison, wouldn't it be on the news?"

"Not necessarily," I said.

Sam snorted. "An Iraqi warlord, please."

"Are you part of the Alpha Dogs?" Joe queried at the same time.

Julie proudly displayed the Alpha Dog tattoo on her upper arm. "Yes, we are."

"You got one of those too?" Sam asked.

I smiled. "I do."

"Can I see it?"

"No."

Nate and Devon charged down the hallway, their flip-flops in stark contrast to their black tactical gear.

"Code four," I called, biting back a snicker.

They slowed down and lowered their assault rifles.

"Was Florence Prison breached by mercenaries?" Julie asked urgently.

Devon scowled. "Yes, how did you find out?"

"We need to call a war council. Now." There was pure iron in my voice.

"Why?" Nate demanded.

Julie grimaced. "Let's just say it involves an Iraqi warlord, stolen antiquities and Ichabod."

"I knew we should have killed that little bastard," Nate groused.