Stargazer's Woman

“My priority isn’t finding those precious assets. I want to know exactly what happened to my sister that day and why she was killed. Since we have different goals, I can’t see us working together.”

“We’ll have a better chance of finding answers—and staying alive—if we work together,” he replied in quiet voice.

She gazed into his eyes, then shook her head and turned away. “I won’t work with someone who’s holding out on me. If you want us on the same team, then start by telling me what was stolen. I know how to keep things under wraps. If the United States Marine Corps trusted me, so can you.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he began.

“Then stop playing games,” she interrupted sharply, bringing forth the bark that had served her so well as a marine. “If you want my help, then put me in the picture, and tell me everything you know. Otherwise, you’re on your own.”

“We’re not overseas now, giving orders, or fighting a war. This type of case isn’t part of your training. You’re out of your element,” he said, his eyes narrowed, his gaze sharp.

Kris was sure that not many people could have stood up to one of those icy looks of his, but she held her ground. “I’m a quick study. I intend to start by examining my sister’s personal effects as soon as the police release them. I’ll also have a talk with our senator and congresswoman and ask for their help in loosening some lips. I’ve got it covered, so it looks like we’re through here,” she added, gesturing to the door. “I’ve got a long day ahead of me.”

“Give me a few more minutes of your time,” Max said, slipping his jacket back on and jamming his hands into the pockets. “My pickup is parked right out the side door. Walk with me, and we’ll talk. You’ve got nothing to lose.”

MAX WAITED FOR HER as she stepped over to speak to the woman at the cash register. Kris was one tough lady. Women usually liked him, but he’d tried charm and that hadn’t worked. He’d also tried logic, but her points had been valid, too. He needed a new tactic—and fast.

A moment later she fell into step beside him. “Don’t even think of trying to play me, Max. I’ve been dealing with men trying to tell me what to do for years.”

The challenge sparked something inside him. She had fire, this one. He brought his thoughts under control quickly. Without control and finesse, he’d get nowhere.

“So talk,” she said. “Time’s wasting and I’ve got other work to do.”

He was so completely focused on Kris that he didn’t pay much attention to the van parked behind his pickup until the side door slid open. By then, it was too late.

Two men wearing topcoats and ski masks jumped out, the first one firing a taser directly at him.

The jolt stunned him instantly, like an electric sledgehammer. Then one of the contacts slipped out, having hit the button on his leather jacket instead of lodging in place. Shaking off the attack, he reacted, striking out with a jab even before turning to face his assailant.

Dropping the taser, the man advanced with his fists. Max’s defense was quick. He blocked a jab, then delivered a hard uppercut to the surprised man’s jaw.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a quick glimpse of Kris. As the other thug made a grab for her arm, she landed a spearlike kick to his left thigh, barely missing a crippling strike to the groin. The man sagged back.

Catching a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, Max glanced back at his own opponent, and saw him reach for a sawed-off shotgun inside his topcoat.

“Gun!” Max yelled, knowing he was too far away to grab the weapon in time.

Leaping to one side, he grabbed Kris by the arm and pulled her around the front bumper of a small SUV. They fell to the gravel just as the shotgun blast shattered the driver’s side window.

Chapter Two

Max had rolled to the left, simultaneously reaching for the gun at his waist. Kris immediately reached down her right side for her service Beretta. Old habits died hard. All she found now were pruning shears in a leather holder at her belt.

Two more shotgun blasts shook the vehicle they were hugging. “We need them alive,” one of the men called to the other.

Kris saw Max’s reaction and wondered if he’d recognized the voice. But there was no time to discuss that now.

They waited, back to back, crouched low beside the passenger’s side front tire. “Stay close to the tire so they can’t see our feet. Let them come to us,” she whispered, taking a quick look underneath the vehicle, trying to locate their assailants. “I can take down the one who came after me. He’s an amateur.”

Max turned toward the back end of the SUV. “I’m going to the rear axle and take a quick look. Maybe I can get a drop on the one with the shotgun.”

“No, stick close and cover my back. You can’t fire in that direction anyway. A stray bullet could kill a civilian. Make them come to us,” she repeated.

He glanced back at her and realized that he was taking tactical advice from a woman wearing a shirt with a smiling cactus. Before he could give that further thought, she reached into her shirt pocket for her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

“Deputies are on their way,” she called out a second later.

They heard running footsteps, followed by the distinctive slam of the van door being pulled shut.

As the van’s engine started up with a roar and they heard the squeal of tires, Max stood.

Kris did the same. “They’re making a run for it,” she said, watching the van accelerate out of the lot. “Wimps!”

“I’ll pursue,” Max said, running to his truck. He suddenly stopped, seeing where the other shotgun blasts had gone. Both his rear tires had been flattened—shredded by the buckshot.

Kris, half a step behind him, grabbed his arm and tugged. “Come on. We’ll take my truck!”

He raced after her. As she opened the driver’s side door, he made a move to edge past her, but she jumped in ahead of him, waving the key in her hand. “Nobody drives my truck but me. Take shotgun.”

“I’ve been trained in pursuit.”

She gave him a level stare. “I’ve threaded my way through ambushes in a Humvee. You want them to get away while we debate our credentials? Go around.”

Spitting out an oath, he raced to the other side and climbed in. “They headed east, toward Farmington,” he said and pointed to the right.

She tossed him the phone. “Update the sheriff.”

Showing restraint with the gas pedal, she didn’t waste momentum spinning the tires in the gravel parking lot. Yet once she hit the pavement, Kris accelerated rapidly, going through the gears of the manual transmission like she’d been raised on high-performance engines. This was the old highway, two narrow lanes worn by decades of traffic, but she took the corners right on the center line, not wasting a single foot of road, yet staying in their lane—barely.

“Seat belt,” she said, without looking over. He’d forgotten in the rush, but she hadn’t.

He reached over and brought down the belt, snapping it in place. Glancing over, he could see they were going eighty-five, whipping around slower-moving traffic on the old road, now more of a country lane passing through the rural community of Water-flow. The van, a bluish-green Chevy, was in sight now, and they were closing the gap.

“Reach down beneath my seat,” she said, “and grab my Beretta. I can’t take my eyes off the road or my hands off the wheel right now.”

He did as she’d asked, still trying to take in the fact that she was behind the wheel and doing some seriously skilled high-pursuit driving. The nine-millimeter pistol in a nylon tactical holster that was held high on the thigh was nearly identical to his own handgun. It would figure she’d make that choice, considering the military supplied a nearly identical weapon to its troops.

“It’s got a key pad lock mechanism,” she said, noticing he’d retrieved the weapon. She called out the numbers—the date of her induction into the Corps.

“And in case you’re wondering, I’ve got a concealed carry permit.”

The road ahead rose sharply for a short distance, and humped up over an old irrigation canal. As they watched, the van left the ground slightly, brushing against the low branches of an ancient cottonwood. Dozens of golden leaves showered down onto the road.

“There’s an elementary school ahead. What time is it?” she asked.

He looked at his watch. “Ten-thirty. The children should be inside, and the parents gone by now.”

“Hope you’re right. Those morons are going to be flying through a school zone at three times the limit.” She eased off on the gas as the low, one-story cinder-block building came into view. “Where’d they go? I can’t see the van.”