Chapter 13
She wanted to laugh and crow in delight as Rhodes finally pulled the truck into traffic and took the turn toward home. At the same time she didn’t trust it. It was hard not to keep looking behind them to see if they were being followed. So she continued checking the side mirror her side. But the farther they went, the more she relaxed. After they’d traveled for more than an hour, Rhodes turned to her and said, “Go ahead and have a nap if you want.”
She shook her head. “Actually, I slept decently last night.” She studied his face and said, “You’re the one who didn’t.”
“I slept enough,” he said. “This is an easy drive home.”
“Good thing. I’m more than ready to be back there. I hope we don’t have to return for court or anything else.”
“There’s no point. All those men are dead, and we’ve already given our statements.”
“Do you think the killer will come after us, making sure nobody can talk?”
“Anything’s possible.” He glanced down at the fuel gauge. “We need some gas. I’ll turn off at the next stop I see. But there has to be much more at stake to kill all his men. The DA will sort this out.”
She nodded. Her bladder needed to be emptied again also. She’d had so much coffee at breakfast, she probably wouldn’t need any more until tomorrow morning. Still, the comforting drink would be nice for the rest of the trip.
Up ahead was an off-ramp that headed to a truck stop. Rhodes quickly took the turn, and after driving around, he pulled up to a gas pump and turned off the engine.
She hopped out. “I’m going to find the ladies’ room.”
He nodded, busy putting his credit card into the machine, grabbing the pump.
She walked into the restaurant area and followed the signs to the washrooms. She was done a few minutes later but took the opportunity to brush her hair and wash her face again. Just being in the truck for that long was making her tired. She didn’t want to sleep anymore.
She walked back outside to see Rhodes still filling up the truck and called over, “You want a coffee?”
“Sure.”
She turned back into the restaurant and ordered two, and since they had fresh muffins on the counter, she picked up an assortment. They certainly wouldn’t stop for another meal after that big breakfast, but having a muffin, you could never go wrong.
After paying for the food, she carried the tray of coffees and bag of muffins out to the truck. Several vehicles were leaving the parking lot, so she had to dodge them before she could cross to the truck. She stowed the cups inside where they were safe and secure. She saw no sign of Rhodes.
She closed the passenger door and walked around to the side. Rhodes had collapsed on the ground, his arms stretched above his head. She dropped to his side, crying out, “Rhodes, what happened?”
But he didn’t answer. She shook him gently. He groaned and then opened his eyes to stare at her. Awareness filled his gaze. “Somebody hit me from behind,” he said. “I was just putting the pump back, and somebody reached out with a pipe or something and smashed me in the head. I went down, but I don’t think I lost consciousness.” He slowly sat up.
“Did you see who it was?” she asked, hating to think they’d been followed this far. She bounded to her feet and turned to see if anybody was still around. But of course, they weren’t. They would’ve taken off immediately. She’d seen dozens of vehicles leave.
As she looked back down at him, she found Rhodes standing again, holding on to the side of the truck for stability. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around him to help. He turned and leaned against the side panel, taking several deep breaths, his arm holding her close. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Neither of us did.” She glanced around again, wondering if she should call for help, then realized that was foolish. She faced him. “You want to call the police?”
He snorted. “Hell, no. But you’re driving.” He pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to her. Then he slowly, using the truck bed for support, walked around to the passenger side. After making sure he was settled, she opened the driver’s side and hopped in, turning on the engine. “I have no problem getting us home,” she said, “but I’m worried about your head.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m pretty tough—hard to crack.”
“Yeah, but the headache that comes afterward will just about kill you.” She carefully drove out and took the ramp leading them back onto the main freeway. “You might as well relax and rest,” she said. “We’ve got a couple hours to go.” She couldn’t stop herself from looking over at him in worry. “But please don’t sleep. You’re never supposed to after a head injury.”
He shot her a look and said, “I won’t, nor will I pass out. But until my blurry vision restabilizes, I’m not the one to be driving.”
She winced at the thought. “How about you try to text Levi and tell him what happened. No way in hell this was an accident.”
“Well, if it was deliberate, they did a poor job,” he said, “because they left me alive, and that’s always a mistake.”
“Maybe they didn’t have the right man.”
“More than likely too many people were around, so he couldn’t get you at that time.” He pulled out his phone and sent off several texts, starting a flow of discussions as his phone buzzed and beeped multiple times during the next fifteen minutes. That was good. She wanted the whole damn team involved in this. Somebody had attacked one of their own, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen.
She would get him home to the rest of the team so they could all help. This was so far beyond her. She didn’t do trouble. She’d told them that already.
Driving carefully, she kept the truck moving steadily toward home. The last thing she wanted was another incident. But thankfully it was a straight and quiet drive—too quiet. She kept checking on Rhodes, but he looked awful, collapsed against the passenger door. By the time she took the turnoff and drove past the small town close to the compound, she could feel the tension keeping her body rigid. She was so damn sore now it was nearly impossible to drive. A headache was starting again, but as she glanced over at Rhodes, leaning back with his eyes closed, she knew she was better off than he was. As she pulled into the compound and parked, turning off the engine, she muttered, “Instead of the returning heroes, we’re a sorry pair.”
“We’re fine. We survived. That’s what we do.”
She turned sideways to look at him. She was aware of the others coming out of the compound, racing toward them. “Is that really the bottom line here?”
He reached up with a hand and gently stroked her cheek. “There’s no way I’d let anything happen to you,” he whispered. “You’ll be fine.”
“Is that what you think this is all about?” She shook her head. “You’re a fool.”
“I promised your brother I’d look after you,” he said, opening his door.
She froze. “I make those decisions myself. I understand wanting to keep an eye out to make sure I don’t get hurt unnecessarily, but don’t you dare sacrifice yourself to save me.”
She opened her door and hopped out, finding Ice standing there. Her intense gaze searched Sienna from top to bottom.
“We’ll unload the truck,” Ice ordered. “You get your ass up to bed.”
Sienna gave her a wan smile. “And here I thought I looked pretty good.”
Ice snorted. “Move it.”
“Only if you insist Rhodes goes to.”
Ice gave a clipped nod. “That’s exactly what’ll happen.”
Hoping Ice was serious and not willing to argue anymore, Sienna made her way to her suite. She sat on the bed, kicking off her shoes, when Levi came up, carrying her bags. Stopping in the doorway, he dropped them to the side, looking at her. “Will you be okay here alone?”
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “The drive back was pretty nerve-wracking. I kept worrying he was hurt more seriously than he was letting on.”
“That’s Rhodes. Hell, it’s any of us in that same situation. We hate to be injured in the first place. We never admit to it being as bad as it is.”
She stretched out on her bed and moaned as her head sank into the pillow. “You’d better check him over then because, as far as he’s concerned, it’s nothing. But I believe he was out cold for a few minutes.”
“Will do.” And he closed the door gently behind him.
That’s the last thing she remembered as she closed her eyes and let the world disappear.
*
Rhodes sat down at the kitchen table. As much as he wanted to crash, that wouldn’t happen soon. A slew of communications continued since he’d arrived home. And he was feeling relatively fine. Not that Ice listened to him. She checked his head wound and clucked like a mother hen. Something he’d never heard from her before.
“You sure you didn’t see anything?”
“You should ask Sienna that. She came around with coffees right after I hit the ground.” He raised his gaze to look at Levi. “She might’ve seen the vehicle as it drove off.”
“According to her, you were actually unconscious for a few moments,” Levi said.
Rhodes frowned. “I don’t think so. I could still hear the vehicles driving past.”
“Any chance it was a punk just looking to steal your wallet?” Stone asked from Rhodes’s side.
Rhodes shrugged. “You know how I feel about coincidence…”
“The same way we all do,” Stone interrupted. “She’s kidnapped. You both get caught up in a hostage situation. You take out two men in your bid to escape, and both are found with a bullet to the head, execution style, and the next morning you’re attacked at a gas station as you leave town.” Stone shook his head. “Sloppy.”
“Exactly. And now we know for sure someone is after us. I did warn Robert that somebody would likely come after him, as it had been well-reported in the news how he had escaped the attack on the building. His office in particular.”
“So somebody knew you two were there as well?”
“Anything’s possible. SWAT and dozens of cops were around. Honestly, I didn’t see anybody suspicious, but people could’ve talked, or placed bugs in the conference room or DA’s office. Several of the hostages were released afterward. Maybe one of them said something. There should be cameras in the parking level.”
“They were shot at,” Ice said. “We’ll find out.”
As the conversation dwindled, Rhodes looked around at the rest of them. “If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to crash.” He stood up and walked to the doorway, his hand instinctively reaching out to grab on the frame. The room was circling around him.
He could hear the cries behind him. The next thing he knew, Stone had his arm wrapped around Rhodes’s rib cage, supporting him.
“Easy does it, buddy. Let me give you a hand.”
Muttering his thanks, and using Stone for support, they got into the elevator and went to the second floor. There Stone helped Rhodes into his suite. He made the last few steps to the bed and sank down into the waiting softness. He kicked off his shoes and stretched out, then said, “Turn out the light, will you? It’s killing my eyes.”
Instantly the room darkened. Stone stood at the open doorway, and Rhodes knew what the problem was. “I’ll be fine. Come back and check on me in an hour if you want. I just need to rest.” He rolled over to his side, punched the pillow under his head and closed his eyes.
He vaguely heard Stone’s heavy footsteps as he walked away while hushed voices remained outside in the hall. That was fine with him. His friends had his back.