Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

J ohn reached up to help Willa down from Gator, and she swatted his hand away.

“I’m not riding in that helicopter, and I’m not going into federal custody. I’m going to take Roscoe back, then I have things to do.”

Mac walked over to her horse. “Willa, I don’t want to have to arrest you, but I will. I want you looked over by a medical team, and I want to know you’re safe. So, I’m asking, ” he said, stressing the last word, “for the last time. Please get off your horse and come ride in the chopper with me to the hospital.”

“And I’m telling you for the last time, no. I patch you up, and your way of thanking me is to get in my face? Jesus, John, you’d best tell your friend here what happened to the last guy who tried to manhandle me.”

“Yes, pray tell John, what did she do?”

“It was shortly after you two split. She broke a pool cue over his head, then went all ninja on him. It wasn’t pretty.”

“Then we should be fine since there’s not a pool table or cue anywhere in sight. Off the horse, Willa. Now .”

Willa went to turn her horse away, despite the small flame flickering in her lower belly. Mac reached up and neatly plucked her off the horse with his good arm.

“Willa Reynolds, you are now in custody. Do I need handcuffs or zip ties?”

“Only if you’re planning to show me a much better time than you have so far,” she retorted.

Mac laughed.

She’d forgotten how much she liked the sound of his voice, especially when he was issuing a command, but his laugh… that was something else again. She decided she’d go along for now. Once in the hospital, she’d slip away. Mac was right—the mustangs would be fine until she could return and drive them to safety.

“Then let’s not keep the guys in the chopper waiting. After you…” He bowed, then pointed her toward the chopper.

She looked over at John, who did his best to hide his smirk.

“I wouldn’t look so pleased with myself if I were you, John Hampton. Your wife is my best friend, and I rather suspect she’ll have something to say about this.”

“You mean along the lines of thanks for making sure my friend wasn’t injured and is going to be safe? If you want, I can call her and tell her for you,” John offered, chuckling.

Willa laughed in spite of herself. “You’re a jerk, Hampton.”

“And you’re a hellcat, Reynolds. Now, run along with Mac and try not to be your usual pain-in-the-ass self.”

Mac put his hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the chopper. At the last moment, she turned around and stuck her tongue out at John, who laughed uproariously as did Willa. Mac helped her into the chopper, then went around to the other side and joined her.

The chopper lifted off and banked toward the hospital in Mesa. Having never been in a chopper before, Willa caught her breath in dismayed surprise but found comfort in Mac’s reassuring presence and when he took her hand in his.

“It’s okay, Willa. I’ve got you.” He adjusted his internal mic. “Hey, guys, I think this may be Ms. Reynolds’ first ride in a helicopter. Can we take it nice and easy?”

“Sure, boss. Sorry, Ms. Reynolds.”

Mac reached over and turned her mic on.

“That’s okay. It just caught me by surprise,” she replied.

Willa was impressed all over again by the man who sat at her side. He had to be in tremendous pain, but he was still calm and caring enough to comfort her. They spent the rest of the trip in companionable silence and made good time. Mac didn’t release her hand until they landed at the hospital, and the medics put him on the gurney, so they could take him inside to be tended to.

Willa entered the hospital from its helipad. The man who’d referred to Mac as ‘boss’ in the helicopter had escorted him inside. As soon as everyone was clear, the pilot lifted off and flew away, and she found herself standing inside the hospital. Instead of heading down to the emergency room, she took the stairs down from the roof, exited the building, and hailed a cab for home.

Once inside the cab and safely away, Willa giggled. She wouldn’t have long before Mac realized she wasn’t at the hospital and called John to track her down. She didn’t imagine either man would be happy with her, but she had no intention of being placed in federal custody. She had things to do, including running her business. Mac, more than anyone else, should understand that.

Willa figured Eastwick was long gone. If he planned to escape the US Marshal Service, making use of any head start he had on them was crucial. The Marshals were famous for being relentless in the pursuit of a fugitive.

“ W hat do you mean she’s not here?” John asked. “Well, where the hell is she?”

John ran his hand over his face. Mac was not going to be happy. It had taken John several hours to arrange everything at Tortilla Flats, then he’d called Mandy to meet him at the hospital. He figured Willa would be out of sorts, and taking her and his wife out to dinner might help smooth some ruffled feathers.

The first thing John did when he arrived was to check on Mac. The surgery to remove the bullet had been relatively simple and straightforward, and the bullet had done no major or lasting damage.

Once assured his injured friend was stable and in recovery, he’d returned to the waiting area to deal with Willa. His first clue she had flown the coop was when he couldn’t hear her venting her outrage at being placed in federal custody. That was confirmed by the blank stares from the rest of Mac’s team when he asked her whereabouts.

“Damn the woman,” John muttered. “I need someone to do a drive-by of her house. If she’s there, bring her in.”

“You don’t think she’ll be there, do you?”

“No, I don’t. Willa isn’t stupid. We didn’t keep our eye on the ball, and she managed to slip away. She’s smart enough to know the first place we’ll look is her home. While you’re there, be sure to check the barn. If a big gray is there, sit tight and out of sight. If not, head on back.”

“Why look for a single specific horse if she has more than one?”

“Gator is her personal horse. If she’s going to head up into the wilderness to avoid us, she’d take him. I’m not sure where she had those mustangs stashed, but as soon as I can talk to Mac, I’ll find out, and we’ll head there. My guess? Gator will be gone, and by the time we know where those mustangs were, they’ll be gone, too.”

“Do you really think she’s in any danger? Or did she just bring out Mac’s protective side?”

John chuckled. “A bit of both. Mac said he overheard Eastwick admit to murdering his wife. Eastwick won’t want Willa to testify. I don’t know that he’d stick around to do the job, but I suspect he has enough cash to hire someone. I don’t know that she’s in imminent danger, but I do think she needs to be under surveillance at the very least. We’re going to divide the team—those who were with me this morning will stay here in Mesa and try to find Willa. Those who weren’t, see if you can pick up Eastwick’s trail, and let’s get after him.”

The men agreed to John’s plan and let him assume leadership in Mac’s absence. Thom and Adam, the two techies of the SOG team, updated the others with the latest sightings. Having received their orders from John, they headed to Willa’s home.

Mandy arrived and hugged her husband then kissed him. “You look beat, babe.”

“I am. It’s been a helluva day, topped off with Willa managing to evade protective custody.”

Mandy giggled.

“Not funny, Mandy. If you have any idea where she is or where she stashed those mustangs, you tell me right now.”

“I’m not sure I could do that. That’s proprietary and confidential company information.”

“Mandy, I’m not kidding around. Willa could be in danger, and frankly, she’s digging herself a deep hole. Technically, Mac put her under arrest…”

“What the hell for?” Mandy asked, outraged.

“Watch your language,” John responded automatically. “Mac arrested her as a material witness because she was being her usual ‘I don’t recognize anyone’s authority over me’ self, and he thought he’d put an end to that.”

“Did either of you actually think that would work?”

“I thought she might at least let the doctors check her out.”

“Why? What happened to her?” Mandy asked, becoming concerned. “You said Mac was shot, but you didn’t think it was overly serious. You didn’t say anything happened to Willa.”

“Nothing physical. Mac wanted her checked out since she had quite a scare and probably had some scrapes.” He paused for a moment and smiled. “But mostly, I think Mac wanted to be able to keep tabs on her and keep her close.”

“Do you think he’ll assign her a detail?”

“No, I think he’ll assign that task to himself. If Willa isn’t very careful, she may well find her tail is what pays the price for this little stunt.”

“You don’t say,” Mandy said, her eyes dancing with merriment. “Do you think there’s a chance he wants to put things right with her?”

“No doubt in my mind. He’s missed her and never become seriously involved with anyone since her. This morning in the truck, he all but said he was going to get her back, and as you know, a US Marshall always gets his woman.”

“Willa’s a tough cookie, and he broke her heart. On the other hand, I could say the same things about her—nothing serious since Mac, and I know she misses him—but she may not agree to the kind of relationship they had and Mac will insist on. He’s going to insist on it, isn’t he?”

John wrapped his arm around his wife. “As I recall, sweetheart, you didn’t agree, either… at first. And yes, Mac is going to take Willa in hand. He’s also going to keep her safe and well laid for the rest of her life. She may never sit down again, but at least she’ll be well-loved.”

Mandy blushed, and John kissed her. He was about to say more when one of the nurses stuck her head into the lounge.

“You people with Marshal McDaniel?”

John nodded.

“He’s awake and asked to see a Miss Reynolds. Is that you?” she asked Mandy.

“I’m afraid not.”

“When I told him we didn’t have any record of a Miss Reynolds being here, he asked to see someone from his team,” the nurse continued.

“That would be me. Come on, babe, maybe he won’t kill me if you’re a witness.”

M ac looked up when John entered with Mandy at his side. There was no sign of Willa.

“Let me guess, my darling Willa managed to free herself from federal custody?”

“I’m not sure she ever thought she was actually in custody. After all, you didn’t Mirandize her.”

Mac snorted. “What she thought was she knew better and never had any intention of doing as she was told.”

“I see you haven’t forgotten everything you learned about her when you were together,” Mandy said with a smile. “Too bad you didn’t remember fast enough.”

“Mandy, it’s not funny,” John warned.

“Let her have her fun, John.” Mac turned to look at Mandy. “When I catch up with your buddy, she’s going to wish she’d taken me up on my offer to stay with you and John until this is over.” He turned to John. “Where are we with finding Eastwick and Willa?”

“Your field guys are trying to pick up Eastwick’s trail. Thom and Adam are checking Willa’s house. When you found her and Eastwick, did she have some mustangs with her?”

“Yep. She closed a gate to keep them penned up. I suspect that’s where she’ll be. If so, just have someone up there to sit on her without her knowing. I’ll deal with her as soon as they let me out of here.”

“You’ll deal with her?” Mandy asked.

Mac nodded. “ Personally and up close. And from that point forward, I will ensure she stays out of harm’s way.”

“In the interest of saving you some wear and tear, don’t forget she’s one of the best shots I’ve ever seen and is considered the best tracker in the region,” John said. “In general, she doesn’t recognize or yield to authority any better now than when you two were together.”

“Well, that’s going to change. They should release me in an hour or two.”

“Against medical advice, I’m guessing,” John said.

“What do they know? It’s nothing. We can throw some disinfectant on it and a bandage, and I’ll be good as new. Doesn’t even hurt… much. We don’t have time. I need to track down Willa, and we need to get Eastwick before he hightails it to parts unknown and unextraditable. Why don’t you two take off? Mandy, you make him take you out to dinner. It may be your last chance for the next few days or weeks. If Eastwick really gets away, I’m going to need John with my team since he knows the case better than the rest of us.”

She grinned. “He was going to take Willa and me. I guess I won’t have to share now.”

She leaned over the bed and kissed his cheek.

“What’s that for?” Mac asked.

“I hope you feel better, and I’m glad you’re back, but don’t you dare hurt her again.”

“I won’t.” Mac took her hand in his. “I give you my word. Well, that’s not true. Let’s say I won’t wound her heart or her spirit again. Her ass… that’s another thing altogether.”