Chapter Six
The next morning, Presley filled Seth’s thermos with freshly brewed coffee and wrapped up a piece of warm toast in a paper towel so he could eat it on the road. It was early – before six – and the sun wasn’t even up yet. Neither were Ben and Lulu, which was a gift from heaven. They were good sleepers but they would be awake soon and demanding breakfast.
“I’ve given the matter a lot of thought and I think you’re right. The kids will have fun with their grandparents and it will be a good experience for them. We can keep in touch with Skype every night.”
Seth’s brows shot up as he accepted his toast. He’d get donuts at the station. He thought she didn’t know about the donuts, but of course she did. Until last night, she’d thought she’d known everything about Seth.
“You’ve changed your mind? Honey, that’s fantastic. Ben and Lulu are going to have so much fun with Mom and Dad.”
“You made some good points and of course, I trust your parents.”
Smiling, he leaned down to drop a kiss on her lips just as he did every day. “You know what I’m going to do? I’ve got a ton of leave saved up and I’m going to take a long weekend. Yep, four whole days. The guys owe me for covering their sick time. Maybe we can even go over to Springwood and visit Tanner and Madison. Have dinner with them or something.”
Or something. Presley had some plans for her husband. She just didn’t know exactly what they were yet but they had to be exciting and spontaneous. Romantic, too. She wanted to bring back the early days of their relationship. Minus the threat of death hanging over her. That hadn’t been all that much fun.
“We can make plans when I get home,” Seth promised, slinging his thermos under his arm and lingering in the doorway. “Do you want me to call Mom or should I?”
“I’ll do it,” she offered, rising up on her tiptoes to press another kiss on his lips. “I’ll miss you today.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” he said, his voice dropping low and an arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her against his hard-muscled body. “Love you, baby.”
“I love you too.”
She watched as he climbed into his SUV and drove down the road, his red taillights fading in the distance. Checking the clock, she had about ten minutes of quiet to think of how to surprise her husband and bring the excitement back to their marriage. It was probably going to take more than that. And more caffeine.
* * * *
Seth pulled the SUV to the side of the deserted road, tucking his police radio into his jacket pocket before climbing out of the vehicle. It had been a quiet day at the station, but a call had come in about thirty minutes ago that there was a car on fire on Old Mason’s Road near the big oak tree.
That’s where he was standing now and he didn’t see a thing. There were no other cars and this road saw little traffic.
Which meant one of three things. The call was a prank. The call was correct, but somehow the car had magically repaired itself and driven away. Or perhaps Danny Harbaugh was fucking with him. Seth didn’t want to be paranoid but he had to be cautious.
Tanner’s truck pulled in behind his own and the older sheriff didn’t look happy at all.
“Jesus, do you have a death wish?” Tanner growled as he exited his own vehicle and stomped toward Seth. “Stay in your goddamn truck until I’m here with you, especially when the entire reason for coming out here doesn’t exist. Looks like the call was bogus.”
“Presley’s the one I’m worried about,” Seth scoffed. “I can take care of myself.”
An eardrum splitting blast resonated through the stillness, like the backfiring of a truck, but this sound was familiar to Seth. Too familiar. Adrenaline pumping, he dove in between their vehicles and pulled his service revolver from under his jacket. They were under fire.
Tanner was right behind him, their backs pressed to the front bumper of the SUV as their gazes darted up and down, left and right but they saw nothing. No other shots were fired but Seth was loath to move from his position in case the shooter was simply waiting for a better opportunity.
“I think you might want to be worried about yourself as well,” Tanner said between gritted teeth as he squinted up into the sun to look at the hill to their right. It was the most likely spot for cover as the rest of the area surrounding them was flat and desolate. “Looks like not everybody likes you.”
Seth didn’t reply, too busy concentrating on the sounds around him. Anything that would indicate the location and intention of the shooter. A twig broken under the sole of a shoe. A huff of breath just a little too loud. Maybe the rustle of a jacket as he switched positions. All Seth needed was one tiny clue.
He didn’t get it. There was nothing but heavy silence all around them except for the chirping of a few birds. On this windless day, there wasn’t even the sound of branches swishing together. Reaching into his pocket, Seth radioed Hank to come up the back of the hill so he would be behind the shooter. He also told him to send Tom out to back up Reed, who was watching Presley at the coffee shop. No one was going to get near her.
Once his deputy was on his way, Seth lowered himself to the ground and inched his way toward the open field, already tired of this game.
Grabbing the sleeve of Seth’s jacket, Tanner jerked him back into the gap between the trucks. “What in the hell are you doing? You can’t go out there.”
“I can’t sit here, either.”
Tanner shoved Seth against the bumper. “I don’t give a fuck what you can or cannot do. My job is to keep you and Presley safe and alive, which precludes you from strolling into an open area with no cover while some asshole is shooting at you. So you’ll sit your ass down until Hank comes and tells us what’s going on up there.”
Chuckling, Seth pushed back against Tanner. Not to move away but to let the man know that he could if he wanted to. “Maybe he’s not shooting at me. Maybe he wants you. It didn’t start until your ugly ass showed up.”
Tanner smiled and eased his arm away from Seth’s throat. “Then you’re definitely staying put. I don’t want anyone shot in error because of me. Seriously, what are you thinking? You know better than that.”
“I just want this guy caught,” Seth sighed, slumping on the cold ground. “I don’t want this hanging over our heads. You guys shouldn’t have to come to our rescue. Again.”
Tanner just laughed and slapped Seth on the shoulder. “Are you kidding? We live for shit like this. Our jobs for the most part are boring as hell.”
“So glad I could help.”
“Just sit tight and wait. Running toward a shooter isn’t the brightest move you’ve ever made.”
* * * *
An hour later, the only thing Hank, Tanner, and Seth had found was a spot where the tall grass had been pushed down – probably by the weight of a human – behind a large rock on the hill. That area wasn’t easily navigated to, remote in nature and overgrown with weeds, but they all agreed that a truck could get back there if the driver was determined to. The ground was far too dry and hard to show much in tire tracks but there were many broken branches, as if they’d been snapped off by a high-profile vehicle.
The shooter had fired once and then hightailed it out of there. Clearly this was a warning shot. From that distance, any half decent marksman should have been able to hit his target.
Seth.
Tanner pointed to the large rock formation. “So he called in a vehicle fire, then laid in wait for you to arrive. He then shot off a round and ran before we could come after him.”
“He’s fucking with you, boss,” Hank said. “Harbaugh has a sick sense of humor.”
As long as the fucker stayed away from Presley and the kids Seth didn’t care what Harbaugh did. Before they’d checked out the area, before he’d talked to Hank, before anything he’d made sure Presley was okay. According to Reed, she and Eliza were unpacking supplies today. Seth wasn’t sure how Reed knew that since he was supposed to be staying out of sight but he didn’t question his friend’s methods.
“And he’s going to continue that anti-social behavior until we can put him back behind bars,” Seth replied. “So let’s get that done. Have we heard from Dare? He was going to talk to Danny’s parole officer.”
“I’ve got a call in to him,” Tanner said. “But he hasn’t called back. Let’s get to the station and figure out what we want to do next. I have a couple of ideas.”
Seth had one or two of his own.