Chapter 27

TWENTY-SEVEN

Rio climbed from the snowmobile and waited for Rowley to join him. They'd found a cabin in the general area of where they believed the suspects were living. It was some distance from the fire road but accessible using the snowmobiles along an old hiking trail. He'd decided to part with the snowmobiles and walk toward the cottage to look like less of a threat to the occupants. He had no idea if either of the suspects resided here. He glanced at Rowley as they crunched through the ice-covered snow. "It's not signposted, so maybe the people living here are okay with visitors."

"I'm not planning on risking my life on that assumption." Rowley looked at him. "What's up with you today? Your mind is miles away. If you have a problem, spit it out. I'm not planning on getting shot anytime soon."

Rio snorted. "That obvious, huh?" He stopped walking and turned to him. "It's not working out between Em and me." He blew out a cloud of steam. "We want different things. I want a house full of kids and she wants to play with dead bodies until she's in her thirties. If a position comes up for sheriff in the future in a different town, I might spend some time there as a deputy and then throw my hat into the ring."

"You don't like it here?" Rowley's eyes widened. "What, is Serial Killer Central not exciting enough for you?" He scratched his head. "You just made chief deputy. Do you figure being a small-town sheriff will satisfy you after living here? You'll be bored shitless." He gave him a long look. "Or is it the long wait to have Emily at home surrounded by kids that's the problem?"

Shrugging, Rio met his gaze. "Yeah, that and I don't believe she's in love with me. We're great friends. Heck, she won't even make out with me. She said she promised her dad and she never breaks a promise."

"That's fair enough." Rowley pushed back his hat and stared at him. "Sandy was much the same. The thing is, are you in love with her?"

Rio shook his head. "Infatuated at first, but no, we're just close friends. I haven't looked at another woman, but right now my relationship with Emily doesn't exist. I can't see a future with her. We're heading in different directions. If I stay here, it still won't work. We want different lives and have different ambitions. The thing is, how do I tell her?"

"Easy." Rowley turned back to the trail. "Be honest with her and tell her what you've told me. She'll understand. I've never seen you or her looking like lovesick puppies. Maybe it's time for you both to call it a day. You can still be friends. It's better parting while you are, rather than ending it in a fight. Life is far too short to be angry, and working together would be a nightmare."

The cold seeped through Rio's clothes and he straightened. "Thanks for the advice. The cabin is just ahead. I'll call out. You hang back and cover me, just in case the occupant decides to draw down on me."

Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat.

Automatic weapon fire blasted Rio's hat from his head and disintegrated the trees beside him. Bark and splinters exploded into the air in a cloud of brown and green. He hit the ground and rolled, his face ending up buried in the deep snow. He lifted his head an inch, spitting out ice. "Jake, are you okay?"

Nothing.

He raised his voice. "Jake."

Only the whisper of the wind and the patter of overloaded branches creaking under their heavy burden greeted him. Concern overwhelmed him, and determined to find his friend, he crawled on his belly to where he'd last seen Rowley.

Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat.

Snow flew up all around him. Tree branches splintered and pelted him with wood shards, pine needles, and snow. He needed to get to Rowley, but it was pointless trying to return fire against an automatic weapon that could potentially fire up to twelve hundred rounds per minute. He didn't want a war. He'd try and reason with the shooter. "Sheriff's department. Hold your fire. We're not looking for trouble. We're hunting down survivors of the plane crash over at Bear Peak."

Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat.

Not needing to argue the point, Rio dived behind a clump of trees, one of them wide enough to give him cover. He scanned the area and made out the soles of Rowley's boots, tip up in the snow. All around him gunfire had shredded the trees. He pulled out his phone and, after pushing an earbud into one ear, called Jenna. She answered right away. "We're under fire, automatic weapon. One man I figure. Rowley is down. I'm pinned down and can't reach him to see how bad."

"Hold for one second." Jenna was speaking to someone close by in hushed tones. "Kane and Wolfe are on their way. Send me your coordinates."

Rio complied and as he sucked in a breath, a thousand ice-cold needles attacked his lungs. "I called out but they shot first. We're about thirty yards from the front of the cabin and on foot."

"I'm in Aunt Betty's but I'm heading back to the office now." A car door slammed. "Kane and Wolfe are collecting the trailer with the snowmobiles. They'll make good time in the Beast. Hunker down and wait for backup."

Rio's attention hadn't drifted from the soles of Rowley's boots. When one foot moved a little, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Copy that. I can see Jake moving. I'll need to get to him to see how bad he's been hurt." He lifted a broken tree branch and hurled it away from his position.

Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat.

As snow flew up all around him, he lunged in the opposite direction and dived behind a tree beside Rowley. His heart sank at the sight of three bullet holes in the front of Rowley's liquid Kevlar vest. Grabbing one of his partner's arms he dragged him behind the trees. "I have him, Jenna. I'm checking for injuries. He's taken three in the vest."

There was no excuse for anyone to shoot at a deputy wearing a vest clearly marked with the bright yellow sheriff's department logo on the front. They hadn't ventured onto a signposted property. In fact, all the cabins in this area belonged to the Forest Service. He removed a glove and dragged Rowley's clothes from his pants and slid his hand over his warm flesh searching for wounds. Under his palm, he could feel the rise and fall of Rowley's chest. "I'm checking him for injuries. He's breathing."

"The force of impact could have knocked him out. It hurts. I've been there." Jenna's footsteps echoed on tile. "Check for broken ribs sticking out. Blood in his mouth."

When Rio's hand came back clean from under Rowley's shirt, he sighed with relief. He couldn't find any injuries. Bullets hitting a vest could knock a person flat on his back. They stopped penetration but not the force. People had died from the force of the impact. Sometimes the victim suffered a break to the ribs or sternum. He covered Rowley and then examined his face. "No blood. I'm checking his head. Yeah, he has an egg. I figure he's out cold."

He pulled on his glove and grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it over Rowley's face. "Hey, wake up. Open your eyes, Jake. You're okay. The vest caught the bullets."

After a few moments Rowley groaned and his eyes flickered open. Rio leaned close. "Don't move, we have an active shooter."

"I'm not sure I can move." Rowley took shallow breaths. "I feel like I've been stepped on by a horse."

Rio nodded. "Yeah, after taking three bullets in the vest, I'm not surprised. Take some deep breaths. Jenna is on speaker. Kane and Wolfe are on their way."

"Did you call out and identify yourself?" Rowley wheezed and coughed. "Oh, jeez that hurts."

"Who does the cabin belong to?" Jenna closed the door to her office and her chair squeaked as she sat down.

Rio helped Rowley to sit up and leaned him against a tree. His friend was as white as the landscape. He bent to get a Thermos from his backpack.

Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat.

Bullets pinged all around them and great lumps of frozen snow fell like missiles bombarding them. Rio groaned as one as heavy as a brick hit his shoulder. He slid down behind a tree clutching his backpack to his chest. "We're okay. This guy just won't give up. The cabin belongs to Luke Sierra."

"I need to get to my backpack." Rowley's lips had turned blue. "We can't just sit here in the snow. We'll freeze to death."

"You'll need to distract the shooter away from you." Jenna was tapping away at her computer. "Use the foil blankets to sit on and wrap yourselves in one as well. Drink the hot coffee. Backup is on its way. I can't find anything good about Luke Sierra. He's violent. I've found info from a few different counties. Seems he likes causing trouble in small towns. He's been lucky and gotten himself a good lawyer. He's been fined most times or been given community service. He's been behaving himself since he arrived here, until now."

Nodding, Rio held up a hand to Rowley. "Copy that. I'll relay that to Rowley."

After explaining, Rio gathered some clumps of snow and hurled them into the trees to his left. The laden tree branches swayed and snow cascaded down to the forest floor. He threw more and then ducked back behind the tree.

Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat. Ratta-tat-tat.

Running on pure adrenaline, Rio ran back to Rowley, dragged him to his feet, and with one arm supporting his weight, they ran stumbling toward a huge boulder. As bullets rang out, peppering the forest from right to left, they fell behind the wall of granite. Visibility dropped as the blizzard hitched up a notch but the barrel flash from the weapon was visible. The shooter was on the move and hunting them down.