Laying Down The Law

So did Karina. More than anything. Not only could catching him clear Willie Lee’s name, but it would also get this killer behind bars, where he belonged. She’d known in her heart that Willie Lee wasn’t the Moonlight Strangler, and arresting this man would prove it.

She hoped.

Of course, Cord might continue to believe this was a copycat. He might not want to admit they’d charged the wrong man with multiple murders. Because in this case the wrong man was his biological father and he wanted to see him punished.

“There are explosives in the ditches on both sides of the road,” the man shouted. “If you shoot at me or do anything else to otherwise rile me, the explosives will go off.”

Karina gasped, and the paramedic didn’t fare much better. He dropped down to the floor.

“Explosives?” Cord asked, glancing around. He spoke in a loud enough voice that the guy outside would have no trouble hearing him. “That’s not the MO of the Moonlight Strangler.”

“You’re right, but sometimes a man’s gotta get creative. The explosives might not kill you. Might not. But it’s a big ol’ risk to take with such fragile cargo inside, isn’t it?”

That got Karina snapping to a sitting position. Or rather she tried to do that. She was strapped to the gurney that was locked in place on the floor, but she still lifted her torso as much as she could.

“I’m not that fragile,” she insisted. However, the dizziness hit her, and almost immediately she had no choice but to drop back down.

Karina cursed the dizziness. The pain. Cursed the fact that this idiot was taunting her after he’d come so close to killing her.

She could still feel his hands around her neck. Could still smell his stench on her skin. Could still hear his gravelly voice as he’d cut her.

This will show them.

But he’d whispered something else to her, too. Something she hadn’t been able to catch because by then the pain and the panic had been screaming through her head.

What had he said to her? What?

Knowing that might help them if she could somehow use those words to figure out who was behind that mask.

He’d seemed...familiar. Or something.

“Do you see any explosives?” the driver asked Cord. Unlike Cord, his voice was trembling. Probably the rest of him, too.

Cord shook his head. “It’s too dark to see much of anything out there.”

No doubt part of this killer’s plan. There might not be any explosives at all. But Karina rethought that. The attack at her place had happened nearly an hour ago. That was plenty of time for the killer to get out here and set up an ambush, especially since this was the only road leading into town.

It was also the same road that the backup lawmen would be taking.

Karina prayed their arrival wouldn’t make this situation worse than it already was. Maybe the deputies or whoever responded would be able to sneak up on the man and capture him. Alive. That way, he could answer questions and clear Willie Lee’s name for good.

“What do you want?” Cord shouted to the man.

“The woman,” he readily answered.

Had her heart skipped a beat or two? It certainly felt like it.

Cord glanced back at her, probably trying to reassure her that he wouldn’t just hand her over to a killer. And he wouldn’t. She’d only known him a month, but he wasn’t a coward or a dirty lawman. He didn’t like her. Possibly even hated her. But he would protect her with his life.

But that wasn’t comforting.

Karina didn’t want anyone dying to save her. Still, she wasn’t exactly in a position to defend herself.

“Why do you want her?” Cord called out to him.

“Because I’d like to finish what I started.” Another fast answer. Whether it was true or not, she didn’t know.

Was something else going on here?

“We should have started with introductions first,” Cord said. He moved to the front seat, probably so he could be in a better position to return fire. “Who are you?”

The man laughed. “And here I thought you were smarter than that. After all, we do share the same DNA.”

She could only see the side of Cord’s face, but she saw a muscle flicker in his jaw. “So, you’re saying you’re the Moonlight Strangler? Because you can’t be. He’s in a coma.”

“I’m not just saying it. I am the Moonlight Strangler.”

“Right,” Cord grumbled under his breath. Karina had no trouble hearing his skepticism.

“Though I gotta tell you, I never liked that name,” the man continued. “Moonlight Slasher would have been a whole lot better, don’t you think?”

“Haven’t given it much thought. A killer’s a killer no matter what he’s called. But I’m not convinced you’re who you’re saying you are. Convince me,” Cord insisted.

The guy laughed. “Boy, you got a smart mouth. I like that. It’s something we have in common.”

“I have nothing in common with you,” Cord snapped.

Karina figured that Cord didn’t want her to be part of this conversation. Correction: a part of this taunting. But this might be the only chance she got to ask the question she needed her attacker to answer.

“Why do you want me dead?” Karina shouted to the man.

That earned her a glare from Cord, and he motioned for her to get back down. She didn’t.

“Tell me why!” Karina said in an even louder voice when the man didn’t answer.

“You’re not gonna like the answer, sweetheart,” the man finally said.

The sweetheart turned her stomach. He’d used that same syrupy tone when he’d been attacking her.

Except he had used a different tone when he’d mumbled those handful of words that she hadn’t understood.

“Besides,” the man went on, “talking time is over now. I figure Sheriff Jericho Crockett or his lawmen brothers are trying to sneak up on me right about now. Hope they don’t step on anything that’ll make ’em go ka-boom.” He laughed. “Oh, wait. I do hope that happens. Crockett blood spilled all over these woods. What a nice way to end the night.”

Oh, mercy. “You have to warn Jericho,” she told Cord.

Cord motioned for the ambulance driver to make another call. The man did, and he told whoever answered that there might be explosives not just in the ditches, but also in the woods. Hopefully, the lawmen would get the word in time.

“Time’s up,” the man yelled. “Hate to sound all dramatic, but hand her over or else.”

“She’s hurt,” Cord answered. “And I’m sure you know why since you’re the one who hurt her. She can’t walk.”

“Liar. I didn’t do a damn thing to her legs.”

“It’s her head,” Cord explained. “You hit her hard enough that you might have fractured her skull. That’s why she’s in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.”

Silence.

For a long time.

So long that Karina got a really bad feeling. A feeling that went all the way to her bones. If she didn’t do something fast, he was either going to kill them all or get away.

“Cord can carry me to you,” she told the man.

As expected, that really didn’t go over very well with Cord. “Have you lost your mind?” he snarled.

Possibly. She didn’t have a fractured skull, as Cord had told her attacker, but she was dizzy and in pain. Still, this might be their only shot at catching the man. After all, he’d have to come out of his hiding place to get to her.

“He doesn’t want to shoot me,” she whispered to Cord. “If he did, he would have done that in the barn.”

Cord’s eyes narrowed. “A bullet isn’t the only way to kill you.”

She was well aware of it and touched her fingers to her neck to let him know that. “If you’re carrying me, he won’t shoot. And once you’re close enough to him, you can drop me and grab him.”

Cord cursed. “There are about a dozen things that could go wrong with a stupid plan like that—including he could kill us both and then come after the paramedics to kill them, too. Is that what you want?”

Karina didn’t get a chance to answer that because her attacker ducked out of sight behind the tree.

“Too late,” the man shouted.

“Get down!” Cord warned them, and he moved back to the gurney to cover her body with his.

Not a second too soon.

The blast tore through the ambulance, tossing it and shaking the ground beneath them.

It was deafening.

And then everything happened much too fast for Karina to process a lot of it. They were moving, tumbling. Crashing into things.

Debris, flying everywhere.

Somehow, Cord managed to keep hold of her, and since the gurney was anchored to the floor, he was toppled around with her. No way to brace herself, no way to do anything but wait for this nightmare to end and pray they stayed alive.

There was the sound of metal screeching against the pavement, and the ambulance finally stopped with a jolting thud.

What had happened now?

And was everyone okay?

The ambulance was a jumbled mess, and it took her a moment to realize it was on its side. That was likely where the impact had landed him.

“He set off the explosives,” she said. Though Cord had obviously already figured that out.

There was a cut on his forehead and some blood in his light brown hair. Heaven knew where else he was hurt, but at least he wasn’t moaning in pain like the bald paramedic crumpled next to them.

“Are you all right?” Cord asked her.

No. Not by a long shot. But Karina didn’t think she’d gotten any other injuries, probably because she’d been held in place on the gurney. And because of Cord.

“I’m not hurt,” she responded. Maybe that was true, but everything inside her felt bruised and raw.

Cord pulled the straps off her and eased her sideways off the gurney and onto the floor. “Help him,” Cord told her.

That’s when she saw the angry gash on the bald paramedic’s head. Not a simple cut like the one on Cord’s, either. This one was deep, and he was losing a lot of blood.

It was hard to find anything in the debris, so she used the cotton blanket that’d been covering her and pressed it to his wound. While she did that, Cord checked on the paramedic in the front seat. It didn’t help her nerves any when he pressed his fingers to the guy’s neck.

“Is he dead?” she asked hesitantly.

Cord shook his head. “Just unconscious.” He used the radio in the front to call for assistance. “Stay put,” he warned her.

Despite the debris and clutter everywhere, Cord managed to make his way to the back of the ambulance. He had his gun ready when he tried the door handle. It took several pushes, but he finally got it open.

Karina couldn’t see anything outside because Cord was blocking the way. He didn’t go outside. He stayed there, his gaze firing around and his head raised. Listening.

She heard the moan coming from the front seat, and several moments later, the paramedic in the front lifted his head. “What the heck happened?” he grumbled.

“An explosion.” Cord didn’t even glance back at the guy. He kept his focus outside. No doubt in case the killer came after them again.

That gave her a fresh jolt of adrenaline.

They were stuck here. Right where the killer could get them. And this time, he just might succeed.

This nightmare wasn’t over. It was just beginning.

“Try to level your breathing,” Cord told her. “I don’t want you to hyperventilate.”

Since she was very close to doing just that, Karina tried to slow down her breathing. Tried to steady her heartbeat, too. She wasn’t very successful at doing either.

“Jericho should be here any minute,” Cord assured her.

She wasn’t sure if that was wishful thinking or if he’d gotten confirmation of that when he’d used the ambulance’s radio. Karina certainly didn’t hear any sirens.

But then she also didn’t hear their attacker taunting them.

“Is he still out there?” she asked, and wasn’t aware she was holding her breath until her lungs started to ache.

Cord didn’t jump to answer her. He continued to look around. “I don’t see him. That doesn’t mean he’s not there.”

True. “You’ll have to warn Jericho.” She didn’t want the sheriff driving into a trap.

“He knows,” Cord assured her. He shifted his position, lifting his head.

And then he cursed.

He drew in several more breaths and cursed again.

“Can you walk?” Cord looked at her first for an answer, then at the bleeding paramedic.

“Yes,” Karina answered at the same time the paramedic mumbled a not so convincing “yeah.”

“Why?” she asked.

But it wasn’t necessary for Cord to answer her because she smelled two things that she didn’t want to smell.

Gasoline.

And smoke.

“Did he set a fire?” she blurted out.

Cord didn’t answer her question. “We’re getting out of here now. Now!” he ordered, glancing back at the paramedic in front.

“What’s going on?” the paramedic asked, but despite being dazed and injured, he started climbing over the seat toward them.

Now, Cord made eye contact with Karina. Their gazes held for a few intense seconds. “When you get out, start running as fast as you can and don’t look back.”

Chapter Three

Their situation had gone from bad to much, much worse.

Cord wasn’t sure if he could get Karina and the paramedics out of there alive. Still, he had to try because he didn’t have many options here.

“Stay out of the ditches,” Cord reminded them.

Maybe their attacker had lied about putting explosives on both sides of the road, but it was too big of a risk to take. Especially since there had indeed been explosives somewhere near the ambulance. Where exactly those explosives had been placed, Cord still didn’t know, and he didn’t have time to find out if there were others.

Cord stepped out of the ambulance. Not easily. He’d been banged up when they’d been tossed around. No broken bones, thank God, but he’d have bruises, and he was still recovering from injuries he’d gotten last month, thanks to the Moonlight Strangler. Those bruises and injuries made themselves known when he pivoted, looking for the idiot who’d done this to them.

No sign of anyone.

But at the moment the bomber wasn’t even his main concern. It was the thin line of fire snaking its way from the side of the road toward the ambulance. The fire line was too narrow and straight to have been spilled randomly or have leaked out from the ambulance.

Which meant their attacker had set it.

Probably before they’d even arrived at this point on the road.

In addition to the smoke from the fire trail, there was white steam spewing from what was left of the ambulance engine. Normally, he wouldn’t have considered that a good thing, but he did now. Because the steam and the smoke just might conceal them enough so their attacker wouldn’t be able to gun them down when they made a run for it.

“Stay low and move fast,” Cord told them, doubting either of the paramedics could do that last part.

He had to keep watch, but he reached behind him, and with his left hand, he hauled out Karina. The paramedics followed after her, and once they all had their feet on the ground, Cord got them moving.

Away from the spot where he’d last seen the man in the ski mask.

Away from the ambulance.

That meant jumping the ditch. Again, it wasn’t easy. Everyone was limping, hurt, struggling. But Karina and the paramedics all had a clear sense of how critical it was to put some distance between them and the fire.

Cord sure had a clear sense of it.

“Try to make sure the ambulance and steam hide you as much as possible,” Cord added.

They each crossed the ditch while Cord kept watch. Still no signs of their mask guy or of Jericho. Cord figured both were out there, though. The trick would be to avoid another attack before backup arrived and not hit Jericho or one of the deputies with friendly fire.

He braced himself for shots to come right at them. After all, their attacker was armed. But no shots came. Nor were there any sounds that the man was about to launch another attack. Just the stench of the smoking rubber tires and the gasoline.

Cord was the last to jump the ditch, and as soon as he was on the other side, he hurried the others into a cluster of trees. Not ideal cover since someone could sneak up on them, but if the ambulance did explode, then they’d at least stand a chance of being protected from flying debris.

“Get down on the ground,” he told them. “And stay low.”

Again, not easy. The paramedic with the head wound tried to muffle his groans of pain, but he didn’t quiet manage it. Worse, he was still bleeding, and even though Karina was trying to add some pressure to the gash, he was losing a lot of blood.

“The killer wants me,” Karina whispered. “If he has me, you and the paramedics might be safe.”

Hell, no. Cord knew where this conversation was about to go, and he nipped it in the bud. “You’re not going out there. He wants us all dead. That’s why he set those explosives.”

That was possibly true anyway. Obviously, the blast hadn’t killed them, so maybe this was all part of some sick plan to get them in the open.

If so, it’d worked.

They were indeed in the open with only one gun among them and a likely copycat killer ready, willing and able to do them all in.

“Just stay down,” Cord snapped to Karina when she lifted her head. “I don’t have time to watch you and everything else.”

Yeah, it was a jab that she probably didn’t deserve, since she’d certainly pulled her own weight getting out of the ambulance. But maybe it was enough of a jab to keep her head out of the path of a bullet.

Or an explosion.

Even though he’d tried to brace himself for it, the blast jolted through his body, shaking him to the core.

The debris came bursting out from the fireball, all that was left of the ambulance. The trickle of flames had obviously made its way to the engine and heated it enough to cause the blast.

That was probably what their attacker intended.

A chunk of metal flew into the tree, inches from where Cord was standing, and he felt a sharp tug on the leg of his jeans. Karina pulled him to the ground next to her.

“It won’t help us if you get yourself killed,” she warned, sounding a lot tougher than she probably felt right now.

But she was right. Cord had to stay alive.

The wave of smoke came at them. It was mixed with the stench of the burning rubber, and Cord had to cover his mouth to keep from coughing.

“Y’all okay?” their attacker called out.

Cord wished he could do something about that smug tone. Like beat the guy senseless. What Cord couldn’t do was answer him. It was possible the question was meant to help the fool pinpoint their location.

“Because I’d hate to think I gave any of you more boo-boos,” the man added. Then, he laughed. He was still somewhere on the other side of the road.

That was the good news.

It meant he wasn’t sneaking up behind them.

But he could have hired guns. And probably did. It would have been hard for him to pull this off by himself unless he’d set the explosives before attacking Karina, and those hired guns could be anywhere.

“What? Cats got your tongues?” the man asked.

His taunts made Cord’s blood run cold. And made his temper run hot.

“Being quiet won’t help,” he taunted. “I’ll find you.”

“His voice,” Karina whispered.

Even though he hated to risk looking at her, Cord did, to see what the heck she was talking about. “What about his voice?”

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Shook her head. “It’s the same man who attacked me in the barn.”

Of course it was. There’d been no doubt about that. So, what exactly had Karina meant to say?

Or rather what was she trying to keep from him?

Well, whatever the heck it was, Cord would find out. As soon as they got out of this mess.

The seconds crawled by, turning into minutes. Cord forced himself to listen through the crashing of his heartbeat in his ears. Each tiny sound put him on full alert.

Until one sound caused him to pivot in that direction.

Footsteps.

“It’s me,” someone said. Jericho.

Cord didn’t ease the grip on his gun, though, until he actually spotted the sheriff. He was weaving his way through the trees, coming toward them.

“He’s over there,” Cord informed him right off, and he tipped his head in the direction where he’d last heard the guy. “Did you bring backup?”

Jericho nodded and glanced at Karina and the paramedics, before focusing on the area Cord had pointed out. “My brother Jax is somewhere nearby.” He motioned toward the area just south of the attacker. “My other brother, Levi, is on the way.”

So, maybe Jax was already close enough to stop him. Cord didn’t know Jericho’s brothers that well, but Jax had been a deputy sheriff for years. Hopefully, that was enough experience so he wouldn’t walk into a trap.

“There might be other explosives,” Cord pointed out.

Another nod from Jericho. “We got your warning and then heard the blast. Jax will be watching for anything suspicious. If Jax gets a shot, though, he’ll take it.”

Cord knew what that meant—they might not be able to take this guy alive. Part of him wanted the moron alive. Because he wanted answers. But since he was convinced this was a copycat, they could perhaps get those answers even if the man was dead. Besides, if he stayed alive and managed to get away, he’d likely just come after Karina again.

“I can’t stop the bleeding,” Karina mumbled.

Her hands were covered with blood now, and the paramedic was barely conscious. They needed an ambulance and needed one fast. It was time to try to end this stalemate and maybe distract the man so that he wouldn’t hear Jax approaching him.

“Just how long do you think you can stay out here like this?” Cord shouted.

The guy laughed. “Well, you’re alive after all. And to answer your question, I can wait as long as it takes. But I’m guessing that’s not true for you, huh? Just how bad are Karina-girl and the others hurt? I didn’t get a good enough look to know when y’all ran like rats.”

Cord had to get his teeth unclenched before he could answer. “If you’re so concerned about them, why don’t you surrender and find out for yourself how they’re doing? We can have a chat about them after they’re on the way to the hospital.”

Silence. It went on way too long. “Nope. Not in a chatting mood right now. I’m thinking it’s time for me to get myself out of here. Another time, another place, Agent Granger.”

And almost immediately Cord heard some footsteps. Not the light treading ones as Jericho’s had been. Someone was running.

Karina would have gotten to her feet if Cord hadn’t pushed her back down. “He’s getting away,” she argued.

Not if Cord had something to do about it. “Wait here with them,” Cord told the sheriff.

He was about to bolt after the man when Jericho moved in front of him. “I’ll go. My brothers and I have signals already worked out. Keep watch, though, because this could be a trick.”

True. The man could be pretending to leave so he could ambush them. With Jax already out there somewhere, Cord didn’t want him to get caught in friendly fire.

Jericho headed out, hurrying but threading his way through the trees to keep his cover. Cord figured Jericho wouldn’t cross the road until he was clear of all the debris from the burning ambulance. Or until he was sure this clown wouldn’t spot him and shoot him.

All Cord could do was wait.

The paramedic who’d been driving took off his shirt and moved closer to Karina so he could help with his bleeding partner. Cord tuned them out and listened. No more running footsteps, but he did hear something. A sort of loud pop.

Karina obviously heard it, too, because her gaze slashed in the direction of the sound. “Did he hit someone?”

Cord shook his head. Too bad he knew from a case he’d worked the sound a hammer made when hitting a human body.