Risky Shot (21 page)

“I know this is difficult, but just keep your eyes on mine.” He waited until she raised her eyes from the floor to his. “Now, walk us through what happened.

Dani told them about Tammy leaving and how she thought the noise was just her returning. She told them she was trying to reach for the gun when Chad launched himself across the desk. She could still feel his hands tightening around her throat. Mo took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. She squeezed his hand and continued her account. She told of her attempt for the door and where she hit her head.

“He put me in a headlock after dragging me back by my hair. I realized he didn’t have a proper hold on me and I kept thinking the FBI would come to my rescue at any moment. So I started asking him questions. I got it, Cole. I got it.”

“Got what? Tell me exactly what was said.” Cole placed the recorder closer to her and kept his eyes on hers.

“I asked what happened to the girl, the stripper Kenna saw dragged out of the room in New York. But, he asked me ‘Which one?’ I asked if he and Bob had killed more than one. He told me that every poker game featured a new girl that would be killed afterwards. I have been there six years and they have been having these poker nights semi-regularly for years now. There are likely dozens of women dead, all because of them.”

“What then?”

“I asked how they haven’t been found yet, and he told me. He said that Senator Bruce’s men would take the bodies out to some swampland that Bob owns and dump them. He then told me he was going to bury me at an abandoned farm. That’s when I did what Miles and Marshall taught me and escaped the headlock. My purse was lying beside my desk. My gun was in it. We were standing here, close to the wall. I knocked him down and back. He fell there,” she pointed to where he had fallen. “I took a couple of steps and jumped for the bag. I was so panicked that I couldn’t find the gun. Chad got up and laughed. I knew he was going to kill me next. I finally felt the gun. I grabbed it, rolled over, and shot him. I know I emptied my clip, but I don’t remember if I even hit him.”

“You did. You emptied your entire clip into him in. You did the right thing, Dani. You also got the evidence we need to bring down the whole ring. I know you don’t feel it right now, but you were great. You kept your cool, got the info we needed, and protected yourself. You helped us break this case open on two fronts. Because of what you remembered at the bar, I have agents talking to the bartender right now. I’ll let you know what we get from that.” Cole turned to door, “Dinky, you get enough for your report?”

Mo bent down and scooped her up in his arms. He carried her into the lobby where her parents and friends were waiting. “I am taking her back to my house. My private physician will be waiting there for me. I will call each one of you with updates. Mr. and Mrs. De Luca, Ahmed will bring you by later. You may stay at my house if you wish.”

“I don’t…”

“That sounds like a wonderful plan, Mo. We will see you soon, Bella.” Her mother cut her father off and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Mo strode out of the building with Dani in his arms. The police cleared the way to his car and opened the door for him to lay her gently across the backseat. Her eyes closed and she fell into a restless sleep before they had even turned off of Main Street.

Chapter Sixteen

Dani felt the hands squeezing her throat tighter and tighter. She looked up and into Chad’s eyes. He laughed and squeezed tighter. She grabbed her gun and shot over and over. She couldn’t look away from him as his dead body stared at her with the crooked and twisted smile still on his face.

“It doesn’t end with me. I’ll always be looking over my girls.”

Dani woke up screaming until her voice gave out. She was drenched in sweat and shaking. Mo grabbed her hands and stopped them from clawing at her throat. She broke out into silent sobs when Mo’s arms went around her and pulled her to his chest. The damage from where Chad had choked her stopped her from talking.

“Shh. It’s okay, my love. I am here. You’re safe. It’s just a dream.” Mo ran his hand over her hair and brushed it away from her face. “Would you like some ice cream to soothe your throat?”

She nodded, anything to help the feeling of fire dancing in her throat. She had damaged it even more when she screamed from her nightmare. She looked around the room to erase the dark traces of her nightmare. The white curtains were pulled closed and she was tucked into Mo’s bed in a large button up shirt. She took a breath and recognized the smell of Mo's cologne. She looked over to the sitting area and saw a pillow and blanket tossed on one chair, with an open book sitting on the coffee table.

“The doctor checked you out and stitched the cut on your head. He also gave you a sedative. You’ve been asleep for eighteen hours. He said your body needs lots of rest, as does your mind. So, you just lay back and rest. We’re here if you need us. Mo is being a wonderful host.”

“Thank you, Mary. The doctor left you with some pain medicine and also a couple of sleeping pills. He warned there would be nightmares and that you might fight sleep.”

Dani was more interested in the fact that he had called her mother by her first name than what the doctor said. She looked at her father who was sitting on the other side of the bed, holding Dani's hand. He seemed worried, but not angered over the fact that she was spending her recovery time in Mo’s room. She thought even a near death experience wouldn’t be enough to convince her father to accept this situation.

“Your mother is right. We are doing fine. You just lay back and rest. Is your throat or head hurting?” When she nodded and pointed to both, her father looked back to Mo, “Why don’t you go ahead and give her the medicine? We will let you get some more rest. Just let us know if you need anything.”

Her father and mother rose, and each bent to give her a kiss on the forehead before turning to leave. Mo walked over to the nightstand and opened a bottle. He shook out one pill and handed it to her. He opened another bottle and took out a second pill. He opened the mini-fridge built into the nightstand and pulled out a cold bottle of water. He opened the water and handed it to her.

“The first pill is to help with the pain. This second one is to help you sleep.”

She had just swallowed the second pill when Ahmed knocked on the door. After Mo called for him to come in, Ahmed opened the door and walked in with a large tray.

“I didn’t know which flavor you wanted,” he explained as he put a tray down on the bed with four bowels of ice cream on it. “There’s chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and butter pecan.” He handed her a spoon and stepped back from the bed.

She dug into the chocolate with a gusto she didn’t know she had. Mo and Ahmed stood off to the side of the bed talking while she worked her way through the butter pecan. When they continued to talk, she tapped her spoon against the bowl to get their attention. They both walked over to her. Mo sat on the bed next to her and Ahmed stood at the foot of the bed with his hands behind his back. She raised an eyebrow at him and she could tell from the way he shifted his feet that he was uncomfortable.

“Mo said you had a nightmare.” He shifted feet again as she nodded. “Um. Mo wanted me to talk to you about killing someone.”

She heard Mo groan and couldn’t stop the smile that came to her face. Ahmed looked like he was about to give a group of kids the sex talk. She moved her hand in a circle indicating Ahmed should continue.

“Well, I was only ten, but I remember it well.”

“Ten!” she mouthed.

“Long story. Anyway, I remember having horrible nightmares for weeks. They got better every night and eventually they just disappeared. They will for you too. Just give it time and you will see every night gets a little better. The mind is an amazing thing. It will heal too. If you ever want to talk about it, just let me know.”

“What has happened since yesterday?” she whispered before Ahmed could leave. She took another bite of ice cream and sighed at the instant relief she felt.

“Cole is working hard to uncover all the properties that Bob owns. They are also identifying the men working for Senator Bruce with Whitney’s help. Dave is supplying leads to the FBI on everything he knows about Chad. We hope to find his base of operations soon. The whole situation has to be handled delicately because of the power these men hold. When you feel better, Cole will need to speak with you and have you sign an Affidavit. As soon as he narrows down Bob’s properties that contain swamplands and gets your Affidavit, he’ll be able to apply for a warrant to search both Bob’s property and the Senator’s.”

“Soon.” She wanted to do it soon. She wanted to see them all thrown in jail and wanted peace for the families of those missing women. She suddenly felt very tired. The sleeping pill was definitely working. She looked at Mo and pushed the tray towards him. He took her signal and handed the tray to Ahmed as he left.

“Come here. Let me hold you for a while. You can sleep knowing you are safe in my arms.” Mo kicked off his shoes and slipped into bed. He held his arms open as she laid her head against his chest. Then he wrapped his arms around her and she fell asleep listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

The next time she opened her eyes she found Tammy and Paige sitting in chairs that had been placed beside the bed. They were looking at Tammy's phone. Dani turned her head to the side to find Mo and heard the girls gasp.

"Oh, Dani! How are you feeling?" Paige scooted her chair closer to the bed.

"Throat hurts," she managed to get out. Her throat was so dry. Every time she swallowed, it felt as if sandpaper was being dragged down her throat. Paige jumped up and poured a glass of water into a small crystal glass.

"Here you go."

Dani took a sip and smiled. It felt so good that she drained the glass in three sips. "Where's Mo?" She looked around the room again, surprised he wasn't there.

"He and your parents are meeting with Cole and Ahmed. So we volunteered to keep you company." Tammy jumped up and moved the heavy chair forward. "And, we have so much to tell you!"

Dani smiled. Contrary to her first thoughts, she apparently needed the perky, little girl around her. She was already feeling better as she watched Tammy fluttering around.

"First, wow, what a house! Second, wow, what a man!" Paige laughed as she opened the heavy window curtains.

"Can't argue with that." Dani pushed up on her hands and scooted back against the mountain of pillows. "If you can get me some more water, then I'd love to hear all the news from town."

"Of course!" Tammy jumped up and grabbed the water pitcher. "We were all at the fair when we heard. The Roses jumped Red and made him bring them in the cruiser. That's how they got there so fast. They were like avenging angels when they heard the news."

"They were such a comfort. I think I would have gone into shock without them there." Not wanting to be weighed down by talk of what happened with Chad, Dani looked away from the girls and tried to push the picture of his dead body back in her mind.

"Enough of that Tammy. Tell her the fun stuff," Paige said. Dani turned her head when she felt Paige slip her hand into hers and squeeze. "And she has pictures."

"This sounds promising. Do tell."

"Well, I was early for my shift at the bake sale. So I went over to the stockyards. It's where they have bull riding, horse shows, pig wrestling, and so on." Tammy climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged next to Dani. She pulled out her camera and pulled up the playback. "Guess who I caught at the wrestle a pig contest?"

Dani looked at the small screen and stared as she tried to figure out the picture. There was a tall man with undeterminable hair color under all the mud. He was shirtless and had a nice body. But he was covered, literally from head to toe in mud and something shiny.

"What's the shiny stuff?"

"Vaseline. Gotta get the pig slick. Then you have one minute to catch it and move it to the holding pen over there. Can you tell who that is?"

Dani looked harder at the picture. He seemed familiar, but she just couldn't tell. The squirming pig in his arms prevented her from really being able to focus on him. "I'll give you a hint. Those slacks are not only shiny because of the Vaseline. And he was trying to impress the really cute girl who owned the pig."

"Henry?" Dani's mouth fell open as she stared harder at the picture. Paige and Tammy started to giggle. "No way! We have to get a very large print of this picture and hang it up in the office."

Dani shook her head and laughed in disbelief. She flipped to the next picture and laughed even harder. It was a picture of Henry, face down in the mud with the pig scrambling over his head to escape. She hit the button again and the image of a very handsome young man on a bull came onto the screen.

"Who's this?" Dani showed Tammy the picture.

"I don't know, but isn't he dreamy?" She sighed and pushed the button for another picture to come up. This one was a closer shot of bull rider. His black cowboy hat was low on his head, covering his eyes. Dani could make out a strong jaw covered in brown stubble and a crooked nose, probably the result of being thrown a couple of times. Dani coughed and the sandpaper burn was back. Tammy jumped off the bed and grabbed the water pitcher. It was empty so she went into the bathroom to refill it.