Justice Reborn (Cowboy Justice Association Book 8) (30 page)

The man grabbed the dying woman by the arm and dragged her toward the stairwell. To hide the body? It wasn’t much of a camouflage to anyone that might eschew the elevator to get to an upper level. They were going to notice a body covered in blood, for sure.

With the sound of the gunshot still ringing in Josie’s ears, she realized it was now or never. One man was at least ten feet away and the other had loosened his grip on her arm where she knew she could get free. She’d always heard that if they took a person away from the abduction site the victim was as good as dead.

Besides, wasn’t Evan out there? Somewhere? Prentiss had said so and so had Stokes and Harrison. He’d promised to be right behind her and right now she had to trust that he’d spoken the truth.

She had to trust him.

She also hoped he’d been right when he said that she could fight and run when she was motivated, because she sure as hell was at the moment. Death was not high on her to-do list and she needed to make a get away. Preferably now.

Josie had to give Marisa credit as she wasn’t going quietly into any good night or whatever the saying was. She was struggling and Josie wasn’t certain why the woman was rolling on her side but then it was all clear. Marisa had managed to reach across her body and grab her service revolver.

The rest happened so fast Josie almost missed it. Marisa shot at the burly man dragging her across the dirty garage floor, hitting him once in the chest and knocking him backward into a vehicle before sliding down, blood smudging on the rear panel of the car. His eyes were wide open and his face had gone pale. He looked dead or at least what passed for dead. Marisa looked the same, whatever energy she’d had gone. She was still and ghostly white, the blood in a pool under her body.

Suddenly Josie wasn’t hating on Marisa quite as much. Whatever the woman’s motives, she’d evened the odds although it still wasn’t going to be any picnic getting free from one man.

“Mother fucking bitch!” The man next to Josie fumbled for his own gun, letting go of her arm and knocking her sideways in his haste to get to his friend. He was muttering curse words under his breath and blessedly distracted. This was her chance. Her only chance.

Taking a deep breath and with as much force, energy, and adrenaline as she could muster, Josie drove the heel of her hand up into her captor’s nose just like Evan had taught her. She heard the crunch of bones and felt the warmth of blood spurting all over her t-shirt and jeans but this was no time to be persnickety. What had Evan said she should do next?

Move.

The man was cursing and howling, holding his nose and rocking back and forth, his gun forgotten, as Josie hopped out of the SUV. They’d carelessly left the back door open so she wasn’t slowed down as she hit the pavement at a frantic pace, her heart banging against her ribs and her lungs begging for air. Thank goodness she didn’t have any good clothes so she’d been taken into custody wearing her tennis shoes. She’d always hated when damsels ran in the movies wearing high heels and skirts. Josie didn’t even have a purse to slow her down.

Run. Hide. Stay alive.

Josie was running on pure survival instinct. She didn’t know where she was going but it was far away from these men.

And hopefully closer to Evan.

Chapter Thirty-Three

J
osie was nowhere to be found and Evan was frantic with worry. The two FBI agents named Stokes and Harrison had grabbed a few other agents and were currently searching the courthouse annex floor by floor but it was slow going. Dare and Seth had gone outside to check the perimeter of the building while Evan, along with Reed, looked on the floor where they had been questioning her.

At his wit’s end and terrified for Josie, Evan was ready to call in the cavalry. Lydell’s men must have managed to get to her somehow although he didn’t have a clue as to how they’d done it. Security was tight in a building like this with metal detectors and cops everywhere.

Evan was reaching for his phone when Reed turned, a grim expression on his face. “Listen, I hate to say this but have you noticed something out of place? Or should I say someone out of place?”

Shaking his head impatiently, Evan tamped down his growing fear and frustration. He didn’t have time for guessing games. “Say what you mean or don’t say anything at all. I need to call the police.”

Reed nodded and hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans. “Fine, I’ll say it straight out. Where is Marisa? I thought she was going to look after Josie but she’s nowhere to be found and everyone I talk to has no idea where she is. I think that’s a little too much of a coincidence.”

Shock jolted Evan physically, making him grab onto a chair for balance. Did they have Marisa too? Jesus, now they had two women to save but at least Marisa was trained for something like this. Josie would be safer with her than without her.

“They took her too,” Evan growled, now more pissed off than anything. He should never have left Josie alone no matter what anyone said. “I blame myself for this. I should have insisted on staying with Josie.”

Reed’s phone rang and he jerked it out of his pocket, growling his impatience. Scowling, he listened for only a moment then shoved the phone away. “Seth and Dare heard a shot coming from across the street.”

His heart plummeting to his stomach, Evan and Reed didn’t wait for the elevator, hitting the stairs at a flat out sprint. By the time they burst out of the back doors of the building Seth and Dare were waiting for them. Seth pointed across the street where there were a few small buildings, a small parking lot, and a parking garage on the far end.

“From what I could tell, the shots are being fired either from or near that parking garage. I called 911 and the police are on their way.”

The four of them were crossing the street when one more shot was heard coming from the same direction. They all put on a burst of speed, only slowing down when they approached the parking garage. There were no people milling around the small buildings and parking lot. The garage had to be the place but it wouldn’t do to go in guns blazing and no plan.

Evan pulled his revolver and pointed to the other side of the structure, lapsing into lawman mode. For the next few minutes, he needed to be the man he used to be. Josie needed it and Marisa too. If they were going to come out of this alive, he had to draw on every bit of training and professionalism he had inside even when his heart was screaming so loudly it drowned out any other sounds.

He needed to think with his head and leave his emotions behind. He could fall apart later.

“Dare and Seth, head inside from the street entrance around the corner. Reed and I will go in here. Stay low and out of sight until we figure out what we’re dealing with.”

Evan and Reed creeped closer to the garage entrance, pausing at the entrance to peer around the corner. A black SUV was parked near the stairwell with the back passenger door wide open but no one around it. Moving toward the vehicle, his body stiffened and the breath caught in his chest when he spied two bodies near the door to the stairs lying in a pool of blood.

Marisa.

Relieved that it wasn’t Josie, but furious that these assholes had hurt Marisa, Evan slowly knelt next to his ex-partner, her skin waxy and pale. A quick check of her pulse on her neck had him almost crying with relief and happiness. She wasn’t dead. The pulse was faint and she’d lost a shitload of blood from what he could see but dammit, she was still alive.

Reed was kneeling by the other body, a man Evan had never seen before. He had a large hole in his chest and Evan doubted he’d survived. Marisa had always been a good shot.

“He’s gone,” Reed confirmed. “They’re each holding a gun. Looks like they’re might have been a shootout. Now the question is…are there more and where is your girl?”

Marisa must have protected Josie with her own life. Evan owed her.

Reed had a good point though. Just how many other men were here and did they already have Josie?

“Call an ambulance and stay with Marisa while I find Josie. I hope to God she’s somewhere around here.”

Nodding, Reed knelt next to the woman and spoke encouraging words as if to soothe the unconscious woman as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Her eyes opened for a moment but she simply moaned softly, her gaze unfocused, before her lids fluttered shut and she was quiet and limp again.

“I’ve got her,” Reed assured him. “Go find Josie but for fuck’s sake be careful. There have to be more of them. There’s no way they would have sent one lone guy on this job.”

Sucking in a breath, Evan inched along the outer wall of the parking structure, his gaze darting side to side and then up to the second level.

Up.

Checking the text that had come into his phone, Seth and Dare had already scoured the first floor and found nothing. That meant if Josie was still here, she was somewhere in an upper level. Quickly and quietly texting back that they should go to the top and work their way down, Evan headed back to the stairwell so he could make his way upwards.

He’d only gone up a half a flight when he heard two more gunshots.

Chapter Thirty-Four

T
he bullets had come way too close to Josie for her to feel any sort of comfort.

After Marisa had shot one of the men and Josie had broken the nose of the other, she’d taken off running as fast as she could simply trying to put distance between herself and the guns. Unfortunately, the man with the bloodied nose had shaken off his injury rather quickly and managed to keep her from getting to the other side of the garage where the other large drive in entrance and exit was located. From there she could have run down the street screaming her head off but he’d made sure she didn’t make it.

Her only choice had been to go up two levels, and she’d watched enough horror movies to know it wasn’t the smartest move, but she was hoping to sneak back down the stairwell or even the elevator if she could get close to them. She was pretty sure the other bad guy was dead and wouldn’t be an impediment to escaping.

One guy.
She only had to outsmart and outrun one man. She’d call it a fair fight except that he had a gun. And superior strength along with nothing to lose. Perhaps she could get him to shoot all of his bullets and then she’d only have to worry about getting manhandled and her ass kicked.