Rising Storm (21 page)

"He's just waiting for me to give the command and then he'll rip your throat out. See how he's licking his lips in anticipation." Marshall bit his lip so as to not laugh. Bob had a bored look on his face and had never attacked anything, unless you counted chocolate and pizza.

"Call him off and I'll tell you everything." The man was starting to get nervous.

"Tell me and then I'll call him off."

"Fine. I was hired to be a distraction. I was supposed to beat you up enough for you to have to go to the hospital."

"A distraction from what? Who hired you?"

"There's a big dog fight tonight. A guy named Andre hired me a couple days ago. Now, call off that dog."

"Where's the fight?"

"I don't know man. I told you everything I know," he whined.

"Come on, you're coming with me."

He pulled the man's arm and led him away from Bob toward the cruiser as he read him his rights. He shoved him into the back of the car and ran inside. He strapped on his flak vest, threw on his shoulder holsters, and strapped a large knife and gun to his thigh.

It was happening now. Somewhere the fight had started and all the players were there. He picked up his radio and called Dinky as he started the car. He needed to pick up Katelyn in case of injury to the dogs. Then he needed to patrol all the woods in Keeneston as fast as he could. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Katelyn's number. He waited impatiently as it rang and then went to voicemail.

Katelyn walked down the path behind the yearling barn and froze. Her imagination was playing tricks on her. She was seeing things in the shadows and hearing things on the wind.

"Ruffles?" She spoke quietly as she came to the end of the building.

Katelyn was jumpy. Her heart was pounding, the hair was standing up on her arms, and she had started to breathe heavily. She told herself she was just being silly. She pressed herself against the black painted wood and made herself calm down. She listened in the night air, but all was quiet.

"I’m such a silly goose," she said to herself as she pushed off the rough wooden wall of the barn and rounded the corner.

A movement in the shadow of the barn caught her attention a second before a hand covered her mouth. She screamed, but the hand held it back. From the darkness of the shadow, a second figure emerged slowly. The only thing she could see was the glowing white of his teeth as he smiled and the barbwire tattoo across his pale neck.

She gulped for breath as panic overtook her. She felt her nostrils flare as she tried to get oxygen to her brain. Her breaths were coming shorter and things were starting to blur. The man came closer until he was just feet in front of her. She fought with all she had, but the hand over her mouth and across her chest just squeezed tighter.

"Nice to see you again Dr. Jacks," the man said with a twang from the Deep South.

She paused for a moment in her struggles and looked at the man. He smiled at her then. Slowly. She blinked and before she could compute what was happening his fist slammed into her face and everything went black.

Chapter Eighteen

Katelyn's head swam as noises assaulted her. Cheers, barking, and screeching reached her before she could open her eyes. She then smelled the blood thick in the air, the pot smoke dancing under her nose, and she felt heavy pressure gripping her wrists.

Her eyes fluttered back and she instinctually tried to jump backward. She was near a wooden ring. A snarling pit bull had another dog by the neck. The dog was screaming in pain. Fear that Katelyn had never known before slammed her in the gut as she involuntarily threw up. She tried to wipe her mouth only to find two very large men were holding her hands tightly.

"Ah, good, you're awake. The next fight is in your honor. Just look right over there where my beautiful wife is standing," the man with the barbwire tattoo said to her.

She scanned to where he pointed and screamed like she had never screamed before.

"Ruffles! Let her go! Ruffles, no no no!"

Katelyn fought with every ounce of strength she had. She begged and pleaded for someone to help her, but instead of helping they all laughed and pointed. Tears rolled down her face as she fought to get to her best friend. Ruffles was barking and trying to break free, when Katelyn saw the woman slam her hand down on her snout. Ruffles cried out in pain and the woman laughed.

"Please, I'll do anything, just let her go."

"We will, we'll let her go when she gets in the ring next. I’m sorry to say the odds are against her. But if she makes it out, we'll let her go. Now, you're another story."

Marshall had a bad feeling as he drove up to the Wyatt Estate and saw the back of Katelyn's car sticking out from behind the house. Dinky was starting a search with Keeneston and Lipston deputies. He was going to join them as soon as he picked up Katelyn.

Marshall parked the car at the front door and hurried up the stairs to ring the doorbell. The place was quiet and mostly dark, but nothing seemed wrong. However, he just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was happening.

The light over the door flipped on and Beauford opened the door with Mrs. Wyatt right behind him. Beauford was still dressed in a black three-piece suit, but Mrs. Wyatt had on her dressing gown and bright red lipstick as if she had just applied it.

"Sheriff, what can we do for you this late at night?" Beauford asked, clearly agitated.

"I’m trying to reach Katelyn, but she's not answering her phone."

"She's not answering for us either. She went out a little while ago looking for Ruffles and hasn't come back yet. We were actually going to call you. It's not like her to be gone for so long." Mrs. Wyatt wrung her wrinkled hands together and the foreboding feeling he had felt just moments ago took its place in his chest, smothering him.

"Which direction did she go?"

"That way, past the mare's barn," Mrs. Wyatt said as she pointed.

Marshall didn't wait, he bolted down the stairs and took off at a dead run toward the barn. He didn't even realize it, but he had already pulled his gun as he approached the barn. The second he had heard Katelyn was missing his mind and body had switched instantly to combat mode.

As he passed the mares and approached the yearling barn, he heard the sound of the young colts and fillies crunching on their feed and shifting slightly in their stalls. Cautiously, but efficiently, he scanned the area and determined it was clear. A light at the end of the barn drew his attention as he ran the length of the barn.

He stopped just short of the end of the barn and let his senses search the night. Crickets chirped and owls hooted. There were no dark shadows moving around and he knew it was clear. He rounded the barn and found the source of the light. A flashlight lay on the ground, its beam casting a warm glow into the nearby pasture.

He didn't have to think twice, he knew it was Katelyn's. He scanned the area and took in the pasture to his left, the barn behind him, another pasture, and barn in the distance on the right. In front of him lay a narrow paved road that ran between the pastures and into the darkness. He knew when he and Katelyn surveyed the area that it led to the back of the property and was the most likely direction they took her.

Marshall ran down the lane. Years of military training had him pacing himself into a fast run because he knew it would be a couple of miles to the back of the property. He didn't want to risk taking the car, knowing the people who took her would be on the lookout for headlights or listening for the noise of an engine.

It took him just twelve minutes to cover the two plus miles to the back of the farm. He slowed then and made sure to slow his breathing. The woods sat in front of him and they could be anywhere in them. He thought back to the map of the area and the location of the fights. He was close to where Mrs. Wyatt had found them, and knew they wouldn't be stupid enough to go back to the same place. The map also showed an area some three miles down and across the county line where Nuggett had found evidence of training. That was enough to go on. They'd be somewhere around a mile or mile and a half into the woods. Marshall jogged into the darkness of the woods and disappeared into the shadows of the night.

Katelyn pulled so hard against the men holding her she thought her shoulders had come out of joint. Her wrists burned as she struggled to free herself, pulling again and again against the tight grip of the men.

The woman had pulled Ruffles over to the ring. Ruffles' nose flared at the smell of the blood and her eyes widened in fear as she saw the large, snarling brindle pit bull in the ring being held by a large, muscled man. Ruffles started to pant heavily and leaped backwards, choking on the tight collar.

Katelyn screamed until she felt blood trickle down her throat and her voice stopped coming. She thrashed and kicked at the men holding her as sobs racked her body. The woman opened the gate to the ring as Ruffles jerked violently against the leash. Katelyn's heart stopped when the woman dragged Ruffles into the ring and slipped off the leash.

"I’m afraid it won't be a good fight, but it’ll be entertaining nonetheless," Andre said as he came to stand by her.

"There's a special place in Hell waiting for you," she managed to choke out.

Her eyes never left Ruffles as she watched her scratch at the door of the ring looking for escape.

Marshall heard the cheers and saw the portable lights a mile into the woods. He slowed his approach and stayed in the shadows. He knew there would be sentries keeping a lookout for law enforcement. He moved slowly and kept away from the lights. He moved along the perimeter and located the two lookouts. He was pretty sure he could get past them both without being seen.

He was evaluating the best entrance when he saw Katelyn. She was being held between two men. They each had her by the wrist as she struggled, but what was worse was they each had a gun in their other hand. She was sobbing and struggling with all she had. He followed where she was looking and saw the white poof of Ruffles’ head popping up from the ring as she tried to leap over the five-foot wall. With a surge of effort, he saw Katelyn try to pull free again only to have one of the men raise a gun and press it against her head.

Blind anger overtook him and sneaking in to rescue Katelyn was no longer an option. He moved the gun he was holding into his left hand and pulled out the Glock from his shoulder holster with his right. He aimed and fired with no hesitation. The man with the gun froze and then dropped to the ground. Katelyn tried to scream again as the other man holding her brought her against him. He used her as a shield and fired off a shot in Marshall's direction.

Marshall held his ground and in a split second fired off another shot hitting the man in the shoulder. He fell to the ground as gunfire erupted all around him. He saw Katelyn shake her fallen captor off and run toward the ring.

Marshall dove for cover behind a tree and fired at a man who had pulled out a .45 and had started to shoot in Marshall's direction. He heard the yelling and screaming of people who had just realized a serious gunfight was underway instead of just weapon testing. Someone had shouted that the cops were here and people started to scatter. However, some wanted in on the action and had pulled various weapons out.

"Ruffles!" Katelyn's shriek rose above the other noise and he looked around the tree to see her pulling herself over the wall of the ring. There was a large man with a dog in the ring that looked thrilled to have a new play toy. He advanced on her and Ruffles.

"Shit!"

Marshall ducked low and started running for the ring. It couldn't be that easy though, he had to get through eight people by his quick count. Just another day in the office, he thought as he hurdled over a table and plowed into a man with a beer gut the size of a keg and a sawed-off shotgun at his side. He had to make it to Katelyn. Nothing and no one else mattered.

Katelyn felt the moment her wrist was released and tried to pull away from her one remaining captor. Before she had the chance she was hauled up and spun around. The first thing she noticed was the man on the ground with a bullet wound in his head. Who did that? She looked into the woods and saw a huge hulking shadow with two guns raised looking like a sinister devil emerging from the dark.

She didn't know who it was, but at that moment she didn't care. The man who held her moved her so she was in between him and the devil. Before she even had a chance to worry, a second shot was fired off and the man holding her was hurled backward, his gun dropping to the ground as he fell.

She sure as hell wasn't going to wait around to find out who was shooting at them. Katelyn shook off the man's sweaty grip on her now raw wrist and sprinted for the ring. Her hands bit into the jagged wood at the top of the wall as she pulled herself up. Her feet slid as she tried to climb the smooth side of the wall until she fell forward and into the dirt ring.

Ruffles yipped and bounded over to her. She flung her arms around her dog's soft furry neck and cried as she felt Ruffles shaking in fear. But, then she heard it. The noise sent chills up her back and she froze with her arms around Ruffles. Turning her head to the low laughter she saw the man with a black leather vest smiling at her with his muscles bulging. He still held the huge brindle pit bull.

"Two for one, Sampson," his low voice rumbled with glee as he leaned down and unhooked the leash.

Katelyn scrambled backward as the sound of growls and gunfire reached her. She stood to her full height and shoved Ruffles behind her. No one was going to get her dog.

Marshall didn't have time to reload. He tossed the gun on the ground and grabbed the spare Glock from his leg holster. People were shooting and not really knowing who to shoot at. Others were running around grabbing their things and trying to run through the woods to hide or to escape. Dogs barked, guns were fired, people were screaming, but he never lost sight of Katelyn.

He fired a shot at a drugged-out shirtless man with a ponytail, who was randomly firing a gun at anything that moved and pushed past two women huddled together in miniskirts and not much else. He kept his calm and remembered to breathe. With a cold and meticulous calculation, he dispensed with any obstacle in his way. He had seen the man advance on Katelyn and soon he was near enough to scale the wall when he was hit over the head with a bottle.