Chapter 14
After finishing a piece of pizza, she picked up her coffee and walked to her office. “I’ll update the website for the other two dogs. See if we can get some interest on Jimbo and his buddy, Duggy.”
In truth, she just wanted to return to something resembling a normal life. She turned on her computer and brought up the website. She quickly made the changes, then put Jimbo and Duggy’s photos up front and center. She lowered the adoption fee, hoping to trigger some interest from anybody. As soon as she was done, she reached for the phone and called the Rabbit Rescue. She’d been hoping to hand off her rabbit to someone as a family pet. But after a certain number of days, it wasn’t fair to keep him in the cage. He’d be much better off at the rescue. There were many acres of land so the rabbits were free to run, and the food was supplemented.
She knew they wouldn’t be open at this hour, but she could leave a message. Knowing it was a small business like hers, she was surprised when somebody answered. She explained who she was and what she had.
“My husband’s actually in town right now. You want him to run by and pick him up?”
Anna gasped in surprise. “Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you. By the way, do you happen to know anybody who would want a hamster?” she asked in a half-joking manner.
“Well, my daughter is looking for one. I’ll tell my husband to take a look while he’s there.”
At the end of that very happy phone call, Anna got up from her chair and raced out to the kitchen where the men were having a conversation. “Hey, Flynn. A man’ll be coming by to pick up the rabbit. He runs a big rabbit rescue outside of town. They’re happy to take him.”
“Nice. I’m sure the rabbit would much prefer to be free than in a cage.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier,” she said. “I was trying to find a family for him, but you’re right, free is better.”
“It’s definitely better,” Logan said.
“Also, he’ll take a look at the hamster for his daughter.”
“So it’s possible that, after tonight, it would be down to the two dogs?”
She stared at him in wonder. “Plus, the snake and four cats.”
He laughed. “Four is not bad.”
Logan laughed too. “I better not tell my dad that you’ve got cats here. He’s quite a feline lover.”
She rounded on him. “Tell him. Tell him. Maybe he’ll take one or two.”
“What’s the deal here with the animals anyway?”
She explained how she got them all fixed and kept trying to find homes for them.
“But when you have no animals, then what?”
“I’m wondering if I should sell and move the shelter somewhere else. A place where the dogs would have more room.” She winced. “I can’t exactly say I’m terribly happy here after Jonas’s murder. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
“It’s not a bad idea. But a move like that will cost money.”
“I know. But the property values here have gone up, and if I move out of town, I might be able to get into a better financial position.”
“Did you say this place is paid for?”
She nodded. “That is the one good thing. But all the pens would need to be moved or rebuilt. I’d need a place like this, but better. I’d have to find something within my budget.”
The two men looked at each other. She walked to the coffeepot and filled her cup. Money was such a pain in her existence. It wasn’t fair. All she wanted to do was to save animals.
She stared out the back. “I’m thinking of bringing the rabbit and hamster inside. I do have traveling cages for them.”
On that note, she put down her cup and headed outside. She quickly shifted the rabbit into her arms, giving him a heartfelt cuddle, loving its soft texture and gentle personality. Then she moved him into a smaller cage and gave him a few little treats. The hamster was still in a big cage, and she thought the whole cage could just go with him. She picked both up and carried them in the kitchen, setting them on the table beside the men. “I need to find a home for the snake too.”
Logan looked at her with interest. “You have a snake?”
She nodded. “He really should go to a reptile rescue.”
“Is there one in Houston?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to look. I just got him the day before Jonas was killed.”
“That’s right. He wasn’t here when I was, was he?”
She shook her head. “No.” She glanced down at the rabbit and hamster. “But with all the successive moving of animals, I’m thinking maybe the snake—with its big slow-healing back injury—would be in a much better place at the reptile rescue.”
She gave the men a bright smile, grabbed her coffee and said, “I’ll go take a look.”
She walked back to her office. She didn’t know what had happened to the snake—the first she had had here—but if it had been somebody’s pet, she’d want to make sure it went to a better home this time. And a reptile rescue might be the best place for it. If she was lucky enough to have one close by.
She made several phone calls, realizing she was pushing the limit for her good luck, but it was hard to let go of an idea once she sunk her teeth into it.
Her research paid off. She found a reptile rescue and several reptile clubs, and they often kept unwanted animals. She found a couple email addresses and darted off emails, sending a description and photos of the snake.
She’d be hesitant to take in reptiles again without having any idea what to do with them. They would be hard to sell to families. Still, if she could find a place for one or knew who to call when she was given another, that was a different story.
Satisfied she’d done what she could, she stood up just as the front doorbell rang. That should be the man for the rabbit. As she walked to the front door, she found both men waiting on her. Logan was in the corner of the living room. Flynn stood at her side as she opened the door to find a middle-aged man smiling down at her.
“I hear there’s a rabbit and hamster.”
She welcomed him inside and led the way back to the kitchen. “I’ve had the rabbit for a couple weeks. It’s time for him to find a better place. I haven’t had any luck getting him adopted.”
“It’s one of the reasons we set up the rescue. So often they are just released and become dog food.”
She gave him a long look. “I know. It’s so hard.” She motioned at the big rabbit. “There he is, and he’s very healthy.”
“Perfect.” The man looked over at the hamster and smiled. “Apparently I know a little girl looking for one.” Because he was taking the rabbit off her hands to put him in the rescue, there’d be no money exchanged. She smiled. “Well, outside of the hamster’s vet fees, he hasn’t cost very much, so if you just want to take him for your daughter, I’m happy with that.”
The man looked at her, a question in his eyes. “You don’t have adoption fees?”
She nodded. “Usually, but hamsters aren’t very much to handle anyway.”
He pulled out his wallet and gave her twenty bucks. “Buy a bag of dog food.”
She accepted it gratefully. “You want a receipt?”
He shook his head. “Not an issue. You okay with me keeping the cages?”
She nodded. “Yes. Thanks for looking after the rabbit. We need more rescues in this world.”
He carried both pets out the front door. The whole transaction had taken less than twenty minutes. She’d moved out two more animals. As soon as he got in the vehicle and drove away, she turned to walk back toward the house, Flynn at her side.
“That’s two more animals getting homes.”
“You’ve had a great day,” Flynn admitted. “I’m so happy for you.”
She grinned. She wanted to throw her arms around him, but instead hooked her arm through his and said, “I’m delighted.”
He put his foot on the first step, and she jumped quickly onto the step above, intent on turning to give him a quick kiss, when an odd sound came and a harsh burn ran across her arm. She cried out in pain. What just happened?
“Stay down.”
She had no intention of going anywhere. But now her arm stung something awful. Lifting her hand, which hid the extent of the wound, she studied it, cataloguing what had just happened. The huge black truck that had tried to run them off the road drove past the house, the driver holding a handgun and spraying gunfire onto the property.
She cried out in shock as bullets rained over them. She crunched up into as small a ball as she could. Dimly in the background, she heard Flynn call out, “Look after Anna.”
The big truck roared, its brakes squealing when it picked up speed as it went around the corner. Then a second vehicle raced behind.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, there was silence.
She lay on the porch, controlling her breathing and the urge to scream.
“Are you okay, Anna?”
She turned toward Logan’s voice behind her head. He was just inside the house. In a daze she answered, “I think so. Is he gone?”
“Yes, and Flynn went after him.”
With Logan’s help, she made it into a sitting position. She gasped when he touched her arm.
“You shot?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Up on her feet and inside the kitchen, she stumbled to the table and sat down heavily. With the light she saw blood streaming between her fingers, dripping down her arm. And of course, the minute she saw it, she felt faint. And then the pain hit. She lowered her head to the table and focused on deep breaths. She didn’t think the bullet had gone through, but had no way of knowing because she couldn’t even see her hand.
“Let me take a look,” Logan said.
This will hurt like crap.
He gently peeled away her fingers and put a cool washcloth over the wound. He put firm pressure on it, making her cry out.
“It’s bleeding pretty badly. I have to clean it up a bit to see just how bad it is.”
“How bad? I presume I’m going to the hospital.” She stared out the window at the animals. “The cats and two dogs. Can you handle them?”
“Sure can,” he said cheerfully. “Though the priority isn’t the animals, but getting you to the hospital.”
“True enough, but they have to be scared. There has been an awful lot of noise here. This is not the environment I wanted for any of them.”
“And it’s not likely to ever happen again. Once we get this resolved, you can go back to that nice peaceful way of living.”
“And why is it that it sounded like boring was the next adjective you would use?”
He laughed. “Flynn took the big truck,” he said. “You okay if I drive your car?”
She nodded. “Not a whole lot of options.”
“Not unless you want to pay for an ambulance.”
She snorted. “Not only am I not paying for one, but it’s nowhere near bad enough for it. I can probably drive myself, if you want to stay here and look after the animals for me,” she said hopefully.
“Not happening. I suspect Flynn will be back fairly soon, and he can look after them.”
She had to be happy with that because no way would Logan budge. With her hand again holding the washcloth firm on her arm, Logan reached for her purse, then tucked it over her other shoulder. Afterward he grabbed up her keys, turned out the lights, reset the security and got her to her car in a minute flat. He gently helped her into the passenger side, buckled her in and jogged around to the driver’s side.
“You don’t have to treat me like an invalid. I won’t break.”
“But we don’t know how long that will hold because right now, you’re leaking.”
She looked at him, startled, then burst out laughing.
With a big grin on his face, obviously happy he had shifted her mood, he drove her straight to the nearest emergency room.
As he drove, she asked, “It was the same truck, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “Flynn and I recognized the driver. It was Brendan for sure.”
“He’s really not going stop until Flynn is shot, is he?”
Logan glanced over at her sideways. “And even then he’s not likely to. He’s quite fixated on Flynn. Chances are it’ll end up with somebody getting killed.”
“As long as it’s not Flynn.”
“Agreed. But I don’t want to see you or any of the rest of us hurt either.”
She shook her head. “No, that wouldn’t be very nice.” She stared out the window, a real deep hatred burning inside her for the man completely destroying her life. “I hope Flynn catches and beats the crap out of him.”
“You can be guaranteed that we will catch him. If it’s not today, it’ll be tomorrow.”
“He has to be stopped before he hurts anybody else. He just has to.” She couldn’t live with anything else.
*
No way in hell would he let Brendan get away with this. He’d heard Anna’s cry of pain and knew she’d been hit. He’d checked it quickly, found it wasn’t bad, then raced for the truck. But after that round of bullets hitting the house, he couldn’t be sure. He knew Logan would look after her. What Flynn had to do was get this asshole and run him down. Somehow. They had to put a stop to this forever.
Brendan had a head start. Moving around a street corner, Flynn caught sight of the truck several blocks ahead. He picked up speed, catching the light just before it turned red. Then gave chase. The cops would be after both of them. An APB should already be out on Brendan’s truck from the last one. He couldn’t believe the cops didn’t catch him, but then, like Logan said, Brendan had been damn good. It was going be hard to stop him. If Flynn could follow Brendan someplace, see where he was roosting, that would be a different story.
Still a block behind, he watched as Brendan made a sharp left. He followed and watched Brendan take another turn into an alleyway.
That could be good or bad. He drove past it to see what Brendan was doing and saw the truck taking a turn about halfway down, into what appeared to be a backyard.
Flynn quickly pulled off to the side, turned off the engine and lights, and ran on foot down the alleyway. If he could at least find the truck, he would know where Brendan had gone to ground. At the halfway point he slowed, studying each property as he went. These were run-down houses. He’d have to say it was more of a shady area of town from the looks of the backyards, but it could just be a poor one. As he came to an open road, he saw a truck parked halfway in, and it looked like the one Brendan had driven. As he sorted things out, he saw Brendan busy throwing stuff into the back of it.
Flynn stopped and considered his options. It would be stupid to go in without backup, but no way could he afford to lose track of Brendan. Flynn stepped back and pulled out his phone, quickly texting Levi this location. Flynn only had a general guess as to the street he was on. He clicked on his phone’s GPS and sent the coordinates to Levi as well.
Still huddled in the alley keeping an eye on Brendan, he sent the next text to Logan. When there was no answer, he frowned. He didn’t know how bad things were at home, but he could only hope this wouldn’t be something he’d regret.
Levi sent back a confirmation.
Stay there out of sight. Cops are on their way.
He stared down at the message and wondered if that was a good or bad thing. Because if they came in with guns blazing, Brendan would be out of here. And no way would Flynn be able to stop the truck on foot.
Brendan walked to the back of the house. If Flynn could disable the truck, Brendan would be stuck on foot, and it would be a whole lot easier to catch him.
The backyard was a wide open grassy area, and the truck offered no cover. As he studied the neighboring houses, he saw the closest one offered privacy with their fenced yard. He creeped over the back gate of the neighbor’s yard to where he could jump the fence close to the truck. He listened carefully and peered through but saw no sign of anyone. Gathering his strength, in one smooth movement he cleared the fence, landing softly on the other side.
He pulled out his knife and stuck it into the tire on the rear right side, then moved to the left and did the same. At least now Brendan couldn’t use this vehicle to get away. Inside the garage was a small car. But without moving the truck, no way could he get the car out either. Flynn crept to the front of the truck and stabbed the front tires as well. He stood up to take a look inside the front seat. It looked like Brendan had packed for a long trip.
If he opened the truck door, it would likely sound an alarm, turn on the lights, and all that would alert Brendan. As Flynn peered into the back, he saw duffel bags, several of them. As if Brendan was heading out of town for good. Or at least until he could formulate his next plan of attack.
Well, good luck with that. Flynn planned to have this one locked down before Brendan could make another move.
The back door of the house slammed. Flynn had no place to hide. There was just enough room between the garage and the neighbor’s fence to squeeze behind it. Brendan threw another bag into the back of the truck, then stopped and stared. And then he started swearing.
“Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to my tires?” He turned and glared around the yard, searching for the culprit. He ran inside the garage, then down the alley. Finally, he walked back toward the vehicle, shouting obscenities.
Flynn was about to stand up, only to realize the jam he was in. He didn’t have any way to sneak up on Brendan. As he opened the truck door, pulling out his bags, Flynn came behind Brendan, grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head into the side of the door. Brendan dropped and rolled, his legs kicking, catching Flynn, and down he went. Brendan was on him in an instant, his hands latched around Flynn’s throat.
Flynn tucked his knees up, caught Brendan in the groin while reaching up to press his eyeballs deep into his skull. Brendan roared. But they’d both been trained with military tactics, and it was a fair fight.
Only Flynn had a little more at stake–Anna.
The thought of her bleeding right now was enough to keep Flynn punching and kicking wildly. In the background he dimly heard sirens filling the air. Suddenly, Brendan was hauled off Flynn and held down to the ground.
Guns were pointed at Flynn. He raised his hand and said, “I’m Flynn. He’s the shooter.”
The cops didn’t believe him. “Roll over on your belly with your hands straight out in front of you.”
He complied. This would be sorted out with time. The best thing he could do was comply. All he could think about at the moment was that they caught Brendan. Thank God, they’d actually gotten him.
Now to tell Anna so she could rest easy too.