Ranger Guardian

“I’m game.”

Kendall flipped her identification wallet open and held it in her left hand, leaving her right ready to react. Her weapon was at the ready in her shoulder harness, his at his hip. She turned and they took the first steps into the middle of the street toward the van.

The engine sprang to life and the van burned rubber in reverse. It was around the corner before they could pivot and get back to the car.

“I didn’t see a front license plate,” Kendall said, pointing for him to get into her vehicle.

“Nope. At least we don’t have to wonder if we’re being watched or not.” He hesitated to open her sedan’s door. “My truck is faster than this old heap.”

“Yeah, but this is government insured. I’d hate for our rates to go up.”

He jumped inside and buckled up. That was his Kendall. Always practical.

And he loved it.

Chapter Four (#u43a5c463-b15d-50aa-8b84-b8575b798de3)

Kendall concentrated on driving the car. If she let herself get distracted and think about why Heath had been assigned her case, she’d screw up. Driving or talking...somehow she’d messed up one or the other, and he’d shut down.

At the moment, his hand gripped the back of her seat and the other gripped the dash. He’d lowered the window as soon as she’d pulled away from Mrs. Pelzel’s home.

“Do you see them?”

“You’re about to cross Inwood. Take a right.” He was grinning from ear to ear.

A definite improvement from when she’d first arrived. She’d thought he was about to throw up when Mrs. Pelzel went for the tea. She turned right as he suggested with the direction his finger pointed. For a by-the-book kind of guy, he had a good intuition about where criminals went.

“Slow down, Kendall.” Heath dropped his hand and pulled his sidearm.

She tapped the brakes and followed the direction of his narrowed eyes, toward the end of the block where the van sat parked in a driveway. She couldn’t tell if it actually belonged there or not. She slowed further.

“We need a better view.” He rested his weapon on his thigh but kept it pointed toward his door.

“Do you think they’ve seen us?” She pulled the car to the curb, keeping her foot on the brake and the car in gear.

“Not sure.”

“Thoughts?”

“They aren’t getting out. We should call for backup. Last thing we need is a chase through a residential part of Dallas.”

“Agreed. A high-speed chase isn’t ideal anywhere.”

“Nope.”

At least he was concise. Shoot, he always had been. Heath Murray was a cowboy of few words.

“As soon as I put the car in Park, they’ll take off.”

“Probably. Backup?”

“I hate to do that when all we have is the suspicion they were watching us or Pelzel’s house.” She needed proof. Something solid to move forward with. Not a reprimand about pursuing innocent bystanders.

“They did peel out in Reverse to get away.”

“True, but we hadn’t identified ourselves. I just see a media nightmare when they claim we were coming at them with guns.”

“Want me to ask?” His hand reached to open his door.

“Let’s just wait a minute and see what they do.”

She had no more than finished the sentence when two men exited the van, walked to the rear and removed paint buckets. One of the guys went and punched the doorbell, also knocking loud enough to send every dog on the block into a barkfest.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She hit the steering wheel with the palms of both hands. “This is the first nibble I’ve had.”

“Drive slow.”

Kendall didn’t hesitate and put the car in motion. With his gun resting on his thigh, Heath used his phone as a camera. She didn’t have to watch. She was confident that he’d capture as many images as possible. She focused her gaze on the men, switching between them, watching for a weapon or any questionable movement.

They drew even with the house and the man still at the van climbed inside and quickly shut the rear doors. The one at the house knocked again, causing the dog inside to bark once more. She could see it bouncing against the window trying to get out.

“Catch the plate?” Heath asked.

“He stacked paint cans in front of it.” Frustrated, she kept the car moving and pulled around the corner.

“We could wait here. See what they do.”

“We’ll give it a try.” She performed a three-point turn, pulled next to the curb and cut the engine.

“Video call me.” He plugged a headset into his phone and used one earpiece, dropping the phone into his jacket pocket. “Stay here.”

“Heath, no.” This went against training, but it was their best option.

“Don’t worry. I don’t do crazy.” With those words, he was out of the car and tapping the hood as he walked around the front.

She should have been more insistent and demand he return to the car. She dialed and he answered but didn’t talk. She could hear his boots on the street, his breathing and then the echo of street sounds after she heard them in real time.

He crossed the street and stood on the grass at the corner house’s garage wall. The cell screen finally showed a picture other than the inside of his pocket. He lifted the phone around the corner, and she could see past the neighboring driveways.

“They’re standing at the back of the van. One’s talking pretty rapidly and waving his hands. Can you make out what they’re saying? I can’t.”

“No,” he whispered into his microphone.

“They’re both looking in your direction, but I don’t think they can see the phone. The driver is opening the doors and putting the paint back inside.”

“I can have a conversation,” he whispered.

“No. Heath, no. Just wait.” She had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.