Chapter 28

TWENTY-EIGHT

Even in the Beast, driving through a blizzard was a nightmare. Snow piled up on the wipers and ice was forming patterns around the edges of the windshield, visibility was limited but confident that his truck could handle the conditions Kane kept moving. They turned into the fire road. The snowplows had been by recently and cleared the thick crust, but with the relentless snowfall it still had a good coating of snow. Once the snow began to fall it became prolonged and paralyzing to the entire state. The skiers would be overjoyed to have a new powder coating every few hours, but it didn't make traveling any easier, especially through the forest over a snow-laden gravel road. Kane didn't care about the noise of the engine advertising their arrival. He figured it just might give the shooter something else to worry about apart from Rio and Rowley.

Unlike the deputies, Kane and Wolfe had opted to wear tactical gear. With liquid Kevlar vests underneath camouflage jackets, they both wore helmets and would be carrying rifles. Kane's sniper rifle gave him an advantage in the field. He could immobilize anyone from a great distance. Jenna's instructions to take the shooter alive were imperative. She wanted to question him as a suspect in the current murder case. With the last message from Rio saying they were under attack, and knowing he and Rowley were crack shots and would return fire, he wondered just how he'd be able to comply with her orders. Right this second, the future of everyone in the game was in the lap of the gods.

"Rowley says the shooter is heading their way. We'll leave the snowmobiles on the trailer and drive to his front door and then circle around behind him on foot." Wolfe's voice sounded muffled from behind his scarf.

Kane pushed the Beast through the snow, glad of the snowplow attachment and snow tires. "That sounds like a plan. He'll have trouble shooting up the Beast."

"Will you miss the old girl?" Wolfe patted the dashboard. "I was hoping they'd give her to me."

Kane raised one eyebrow. "Yes and no. I do have a sentimental attachment to my truck. It holds a ton of memories, but my family's safety is my priority and the new Beast is incredible. I heard on the grapevine that this one is going to provide safety for diplomats or something, so it will be well cared for." He slowed. "I hear gunshots. I guess we walk from here."

He parked against a clump of trees, gathered his rifle, and slid with Wolfe into the forest. It wasn't often he worked alongside Wolfe on missions like this, but they fit together as if they'd been partners during their tours of duty. They had in one respect, of course, but Wolfe had been in Kane's ear, not beside him in the field. The last five years or so working in Black Rock Falls, Wolfe had proved his worth as a very experienced soldier. It was no wonder he'd been chosen as Kane's handler. Then and now, Wolfe needed to know exactly what danger Kane would be facing and together they made an indestructible team.

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

"Give me your position." Wolfe had lowered his voice to just above a whisper as he spoke to Rowley on the phone. "We're coming in on the left of the shooter. Stay down. Kane will take him out from here. Do not, I repeat, do not return fire. We will be in your direct line of fire."

Taking silent steps through nature's white blanket, Kane moved through the forest and then held up one hand for Wolfe to stop. He moved to a small clump of trees. "We wait here until I can get a clean shot. Taking down a target in a forest is a nightmare. I can see him heading in their direction, if he keeps moving that way, he'll cross that small clearing just ahead."

"You're the expert." Wolfe blinked away snowflakes. "But make it in the arm or we'll need to carry him back. He looks like a big guy and I'm not as young as I used to be."

As Kane rested his rifle across the branch of a tree, his time as a sniper came back in a rush. It was like a second sense. His body relaxed and everything around him slowed. It was as if the snow fell in slow motion. His heart rate followed and he fell into the zone, where he could complete a shot between a heartbeat. As the shooter stopped to reload, Kane took a breath and let it out slowly. His finger dropped to the trigger. The man walked into the clearing and turned to face them as if sensing they were there. The ammunition clip slid into place and the shooter raised his weapon.

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

As the forest exploded around him, without a second's hesitation, Kane squeezed. The shot struck the shooter's right shoulder and went straight through. The automatic weapon in his hand spewed bullets in all directions until it fell to the ground. The man cried out and clamped his hand on his arm and staggered around cursing, his head swiveling around searching for the shooters. From behind him, Rio appeared, weapon drawn.

"Sheriff's department. Get on your knees. Hands on your head." Rio moved forward, his aim not moving from the man's center mass.

Wading through thick snowdrifts, Kane ran forward with Wolfe on his heels. He reached the clearing, picked up and unloaded the automatic rifle as Rio cuffed the shooter and then patted him down. He looked at Wolfe. "I guess you'd better check him. It's a through and through. I didn't plan on messing him up."

"He'll wait. There's little blood loss." Wolfe frowned at Rowley. "I need to check Rowley. If he has a punctured lung, he could die."

"Jake took three in the vest and was out cold for a time. He has an egg on the back of his head." Rio straightened. "He never complains. He's as stubborn as a mule."

"He'll need X-rays and a day or so to recover." Wolfe headed toward Rowley, who leaned against a tree, his face sheet-white. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I figure, I'll be black and blue by morning but nothing feels broken. I'm okay. Head hurts a bit, is all, but I can see fine." Rowley walked up stiffly and grimaced as Wolfe checked him out.

"Those liquid Kevlar vests are worth their weight in gold." Wolfe shook his head and removed his examination gloves. You'll be sore for a time but there's nothing to worry about. How is the pain level?"

"It's better since you took your freezing hands out from under my shirt." Rowley's mouth curled into a smile. "I've had worse falling from a horse. I can ride back to Rio's truck, no worries." He turned to stare at the shooter. "What's your name."

"Luke Sierra and I was protecting what's mine." He glared at Kane. "You had no right to shoot me."

Shaking his head, Kane scanned the area and met Sierra's gaze. "Nope, this is part of the state forest. The cabin you are living in belongs to the forestry. Do you pay rent?"

"Nope. I claim squatter's rights." Sierra spat on the ground. "I was defending my property."

Blowing out a stream of steam in a sigh, Kane shrugged. "This is where a little knowledge is a bad thing. I know you moved from Blackwater last year because we've checked you out. To claim an unoccupied property, you need to be living here for fifteen to twenty years before you can make a claim. So that excuse is off the table. Firing at law enforcement officers is an offense. You hit my deputy three times and I'd be telling his wife and kids to start planning his funeral if he hadn't been wearing a vest—a vest clearly marked as sheriff's department. You have no excuse for firing. Not at any time did they discharge their weapons, they identified themselves, and were no threat to you. So I'm afraid you'll be taken back to the sheriff's office and charged." He read him his rights.

"As to duty of care"—Wolfe removed his backpack and pulled out a medical kit—"I'll patch you up and we'll take you to the hospital for X-rays. From then on, you'll be under the care of County."

Once Wolfe was done, Rio and Rowley made it slowly back to their snowmobiles and Kane led Sierra back along the trail to his house. "Is there anyone inside you need to tell? Any livestock that needs tending? You won't be coming back anytime soon."

"No one to tell. My dogs will need tending." Sierra kept his head down and expression guarded.

Being unable to read him was a problem. Kane shot a glance at Wolfe, who gave him a slight nod. "Do you want me to check your dogs? I can feed them and then send someone to care for them in the morning."

"Yeah, sure." Sierra nodded.

Kane pulled out his phone. "I'll need your permission to enter your cabin and barn to feed your dogs, and to confirm I've read you your rights. Do you mind?" He set the phone to record. "Luke Sierra?"

"Yeah, that's my name. You've read me my rights and you've got permission to enter my house and barn." He spat on the ground again. "That's all I gotta say. I want a lawyer."

Kane turned off the recording. "That's all I need. Get into the back of the truck." He activated the screen between front and back seats and the doors locked. He turned to Wolfe. "There's no way he can escape from there. Let's go and search his house."