Authors: Kathleen Brooks
"From what I’ve learned, most of these fights take place late, around midnight. So, don't be surprised if you don't see or hear anything right away as it's only ten o'clock now. But, you may stumble upon them getting set up, which is what I’m hoping. We'll all meet back here at three. It's going to be a late night. The Rose sisters and Mrs. Wyatt are going to stay here and make coffee. Feel free to come back for a break and to refill whenever you need to."
Marshall thanked the group and waited for them to head out before taking Katelyn to his cruiser.
"I’m sorry I couldn't take you out to a nice restaurant or something."
"It's okay. Getting these guys will be the best date ever." She smiled as she slid into her seat.
He sure hoped it would be.
Chapter Twelve
Marshall scanned the area again and set down his binoculars. Nothing. Just like there was the last hour. It was one in the morning and they had covered every inch of the Wyatt property. No one else had found anything yet either. Ahmed had just phoned in and said they were still searching Mo's property, but hadn't found anything yet. Ahmed's group and Annie and Cade were the only ones still covering new ground. The others had searched and found what they thought were good spots and were hunkered down waiting and listening.
"I think this would be a good spot. It's quite a distance away from where we found Alice and we can even park the cruiser behind those bushes over there," he told Katelyn as he drove the car to a row of honeysuckles.
"It seems so late. I don't think anything is going to happen."
"I don't know whether to be happy or sad about that. I’d have sworn tonight was the night." Marshall turned the engine off and looked around.
The night was quiet and the full moon was large in the sky. Crickets chirped and the sounds of small animals scampering through the woods reached his ears. He turned his head and stole a glance at Katelyn as she scanned the trees for movement. The moonlight made her blonde hair seem silver and cast a glow around her. She was simply breathtaking.
Katelyn kept her head turned away from Marshall as much as she could. He was dressed in camouflage cargo pants with a gun attached to his hip and another one strapped to his thigh. His khaki t-shirt was stretched tight across his chest making it hard to focus on the task at hand.
They had talked almost constantly the past couple of hours. She had laughed at his childhood stories of growing up with five brothers and how they tortured their sister only to be tortured by her when she became a teenager and started bringing boys home.
She had been warmed by his obvious love of his family and told him of the dress up she used to play in her grandmother's closet with her hats and gloves. She told him about working her way through school and some of the scandals she had seen when she had been working as a model.
They had laughed and shared funny stories and some not so funny ones. She had never really confided in many people and was surprised to find how easy it was to talk to him. He didn't judge her like she thought he would and he listened to every word she said, tossing in sarcastic remarks here and there that had her giggling.
"Katelyn," she heard his husky voice and turned to him. "You're so beautiful, inside and out."
She felt his hand cup her cheek. She closed her eyes and gave way to the feeling. She had been yearning for his touch and he was finally giving it to her.
"I’m so glad you came out with me tonight. I like being with you. You draw me in and I find it hard to control myself." His voice was now a gravely whisper. He pulled her face towards his and brought his lips down on hers. A storm of passion arose within her the moment his lips met hers. She slid her hands under his shirt and felt the rippling of his muscles. He pulled her closer to him as he ripped her shirt from her pants and brought it over her head.
His hands cupped her breasts through her black lace bra until she pushed him back and hopped over the laptop computer and radio and straddled him. Her bottom was pressed against the steering wheel, but she didn't notice as she stripped off his shirt and ran her hands over his chest.
She kissed him hard and felt his pleasure rise. She kissed her way down to his neck as his hands moved to caress her breasts. The feelings were so intense she couldn't see anything but stars and couldn't hear anything except for their heavy breathing.
"Katelyn!"
"Hmm?" She moaned as she sucked on his earlobe.
"The radio is going off." Dammit.
Marshall groaned and reached around her and turned up the radio to hear who was reporting in. Could they just once not be interrupted?
"Shots fired! I repeat shots fired!" Marshall heard Cade yell. "Annie! Get your ass back here!"
Marshall felt Katelyn sit straight up, hitting her head against the roof of the car in her haste to get back to her seat. He grabbed the radio and pressed the button down.
"Cade, what's going on?" He had already turned on the car and was hitting the gas pedal as he repeated his question, but got only static in return.
"Oh God. Are they okay? Annie's pregnant," Katelyn's voice escalated as she got more scared.
"I know she is. Annie is a tough woman, but a smart one. And don't underestimate Cade. He'll take care of her."
But, he didn't want to leave it all to Cade. His brother would kill him if something happened to Annie or the baby. He pressed the accelerator down as the car kicked up dirt and flew over the small hills and through the pastures of the Wyatt farm heading to the county land Cade and Annie were patrolling.
Katelyn was holding on tight as Marshall gunned the car. She had barely gotten on her shirt and zipped up her pants when they flew through an open gate onto the county land.
"Marshall! There!"
Katelyn pointed to the woods as two figures turned directions and ran deeper into the trees when they saw the lights from the car. Marshall slid the car to a stop and had the door open in one move.
"Stay,” was all he said before he took off into the darkness.
"Yea right!" Katelyn yelled to him as she chased after the figures.
She may not have his stealth as he wound his way through the woods, but she had endurance. She had been a runner since she was a kid.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get your ass back in the car!" Marshall yelled over his shoulder at her.
"That didn't work for your brother, do you think it'll work for you?"
Katelyn couldn't see very far past Marshall, but the sound of the two people running was still near. Suddenly the roar of an engine broke into the night. It revved and then took off into the woods. Marshall sped up and left her far behind as he chased after the taillights.
"Son of a bitch!" She heard him yell somewhere nearby.
Katelyn was in good shape, she knew she was, but they must’ve covered a mile in under seven minutes. She was bent at the waist dragging in deep breaths of air when she heard Marshall approach.
"Well, it wasn't a total loss. There's a house back there where the ATV was parked. Maybe it has some evidence in it."
"You're not even breathing hard," she accused.
She saw the moon reflect off of his white teeth as he flashed her a smile and went to check out the dark house.
"I’m pretty sure we're over the county line. I better call Nuggett and let him know where we are."
Marshall pulled out his phone and made the call as he walked the perimeter of the property. He closed the phone and bent down to pick up a spiked collar. He held it up for her to see.
"Looks like there have been some dogs here."
Katelyn stepped from the tree line to take a look. Upon closer inspection the house was in a state of abandonment, not residency. Old rusty cages lined the back of the house, hidden under a tarp. Cages weren't evidence of fighting, and neither was a spiked collar, but it was just too curious.
"Can we look inside?" she asked.
"Yes. This is all public land."
With gun drawn, Marshall went in first and did a sweep of the house. She waited outside listening to every sound and trying to figure out if it was an animal or if the people were coming back. She had a sudden urge to jump behind Marshall and cling to him. She was just overreacting she told herself.
"It's all clear. I found a room full of dog-fighting paraphernalia."
He led her through the house to a room off the back that held some more cages, riding crops, pinch collars, and cattle prods. Katelyn shuddered at the thought of what these were used for. She waited by the door as Marshall took photos with his phone before heading into a small room with a bed.
"They must sleep here after fights," Marshall said more to himself than to her.
There were candy wrappers and bags of chips tossed around the room. A worn blanket and two thin pillows where strewn haphazardly on a small double bed. The place was filthy, but there didn't seem to be any leaks or pests so the house must be somewhat taken care of.
"Why is there a house out here in the woods on county property?" she asked as she opened the closet door.
"This property sits on both counties. It used to be a farm, but the owners died decades ago. There was no will and there were no heirs to be found. The property fell into neglect during the search and fell behind in taxes. In the end the counties took control over it."
"Why wasn't it sold?"
"There was always someone on city council in Keeneston and over to Lipston that blocked the vote. They claim it's good to keep it for a park, even though only the main house is used for a park, the other 400 plus acres are just trees and open fields that are left for wildlife. There's this house and two other smaller ones that have been left sitting here empty."
Katelyn stepped back and looked at the bed again. Was she crazy or was there something under there?
"What?"
"I think there's a big box under the bed, but I’m not really inclined to see what else is under that bed." The wood boards were worn and there were obvious holes in the foundation. While she didn't see any rats, she was so not taking the chance.
Marshall aimed his flashlight towards the bed and saw the end of a box peeking out from under the burnt orange blanket. He walked over to the bed and she followed close behind. He used his flashlight to move the blanket out of the way and then froze. Katelyn leaned around him and looked into the box and gasped.
"Is that dynamite?" she asked in a whisper, afraid any noise would set it off.
"A whole shit load. Because who doesn't keep dynamite under their bed? I mean, I know I do. Where do you keep yours?"
"With my shoes,” she quipped. "This can't be safe."
"I guess as long as there’s no spark or fire it won't go off."
Marshall bent down to look at the dynamite again when the old glass window shattered. A bullet whizzed right in front of Katelyn and right over Marshall's back.
"That's not good. Move!" he yelled.
She stood rooted to the spot looking at the bullet lodged in the wall just five feet away.
"I said, move it Blondie!"
He grabbed her arm and yanked hard. The pain finally shook her out of her trance. She let him pull her out the door as more shots started to pepper the room.
"Keep your head down!" he yelled back to her.
She lowered her head and followed him down the small hall and out the back door. He pulled her harder, and now out in the open farther away from the gunfire, she could focus more on running instead of getting shot. They made it to the tree line when the first charge went off and the back part of the house exploded into a thousand splintered pieces. The force pushed her forward and into the air. Marshall had his arms around her in a split second. The two of them crashed to the ground with her head cradled in his arms and her face in the grass. He covered her completely as debris from the old wooden house fell around them.
Heat from the massive explosion reached her as Marshall finally released his hold on her. They sat up and turned to look at what was left of the burning house. She looked around, not knowing if the ringing in her ears was sirens or an effect from the explosion. Flashing lights converged on them from every direction.
Annie, with a very pissed-off look on her face, was the first to reach them. Cade, with an equally pissed-off look, was right behind her.
"Are you two alright? Did you get them?"
"We're okay. And, no, they had too much of a head start on us. They got on an ATV and took off. I didn't think they'd come back to blow up the house, but I guess they were trying to get rid of all the evidence inside," Marshall answered.
"I'm sorry I didn't get them. I was so close. I even had an open shot, but
someone
thought I wasn't a good enough cop to take them down in my
delicate
condition and stopped me. It didn't matter I was wearing two vests and could’ve shot them from a very safe distance if I hadn't been prevented from doing so," Annie said through gritted teeth.
"He's right. You shouldn't have chased after them, not while you're pregnant," Marshall said as he got up.
"Don't you start too! I think I’m the only one here who can say what I can and cannot do, so don't pull that macho crap on me while you're standing there without your shirt on and while Katelyn's shirt is on inside out…and backwards. At least I was doing my job and not fooling around." Annie cringed and then looked to Katelyn, "Sorry."
Katelyn felt her face flush as she looked down at her shirt. Oh good, could this get any worse?
"I was doing my job. I was just passing time, and I did at least manage to get some evidence," he said as he held up his phone.
Katelyn whipped her head up at the same time she heard Annie suck in her breath. Passing time. That's what she was there for, to pass the time.
"Now,
deputy
, I want my report. What the hell happened?" Marshall hadn't even noticed the look she was giving him or the look Annie was bestowing on both of them as some of the Lipston deputies made their way over.