One
5:15 p.m.Mid DecemberPlains City, South Dakota
Cheyenne Chen loved her job. But she loved her friends more, and was happy to leave the Plains City Police Department where she worked as a tech analyst. Although she’d been a cop for a few years, she was content to ride a desk these days. Still, she couldn’t say she was sad to leave that desk behind for a few hours of fun and laughter with her friends as the holidays approached.
Assuming she could get there in one piece.
The person riding her bumper on the South Dakota highway was going to cause them both problems if he didn’t back off. She tapped her brakes, but not too hard. Just to let him know she didn’t appreciate his proximity.
He backed off a fraction. She let out a low breath and turned her attention back to the road—and her friends.
She was on her way to Daniel Slater’s home. Daniel was the head of the Dakota Gun Task Force, which was created nine months ago to crack down on a dangerous weapons smuggling ring operating across North and South Dakota. Just recently, the guns had been recovered and the ringleader and the buyers had been brought to justice. As tech analyst for the task force, which operated out of the Plains City police station, Cheyenne had become close to her teammates. During their time together, they’d all become fast friends, and Daniel had invited everyone over for pizza, games and a present swap night at his home.
She was grateful for this group—surely one of them would let her spend Christmas with them this year. Her mother had texted and said not to come home to San Francisco, as her parents were going to China for two months to visit Uncle Wei.
Cheyenne had no idea who Uncle Wei was.
So, she’d stay here. And tonight, she’d let her need for a place to spend Christmas known. Maybe even spend it with Jack Donadio?
She really shouldn’t get too excited about that idea, but she couldn’t stop the thought from bouncing through her mind. Thinking about her coworker, with his stylishly messy brown hair, expressive green eyes and perpetual five o’clock shadow sent warm fuzzies all through her and her heart softened with the thought of being with him. The reaction annoyed her and thrilled her at the same time because while she was ready to find someone and settle down, dating Jack could completely upend her life. And that terrified her.
Living in Plains City, South Dakota, was a far cry from the small town near Silicon Valley where she’d grown up, but she’d made a life here and had “her people.” It was more than she’d ever had before and not something she took for granted. Ever. Which was why being more than friends with Jack caused her to hesitate. Allowing something romantic to develop meant it had the chance to go wrong. And then where would she be? Without his friendship, the other friends who’d become her people—and the life she loved.
But she had to admit, before Jack had been shot in a raid gone wrong almost a year ago, they’d been growing closer while never crossing any lines to take their friendship further. And while that made her sad, it was also a self-protective thing as well. Growing up, she never felt like she measured up to those in her circle. Not with high school peers who’d driven to school in their Teslas, Bentleys and Lamborghinis.
Yes, her family had been comfortable, but definitely not lavish and she’d been made to feel “less than” by those who ridiculed her for not having every material thing they had.
She’d thought she’d overcome that, but when she was around Jack, for some reason that feeling surfaced. It was annoying and embarrassing. She sighed and checked her mirror again.
The driver was back and closer this time. If he was going to be that careless, why not just pass her and be done with it?
Snow had fallen over the past few days and the subzero temps could make driving treacherous and while the roads had been scraped, even with a tailgater, she took her time as there could still be patches of black ice. Sunset happened early this time of year with darkness falling around four fifteen and soon the lights from the urban streets gave way to a quieter, more rural area. In her mind’s eye, she could picture the Black Hills in the distance to her right and the snow-covered fields on either side of the two-lane highway. Daniel didn’t live far outside of the city limits, and she would be there in about ten minutes even at her slow crawl. Cheyenne stayed to the right, praying no one—
Lights from behind blinded her and she adjusted the rearview mirror to lessen the glare while she gently tapped her brakes yet again. The car behind her drew closer. And closer still. What was his problem?
And now he was so close she didn’t know how he hadn’t bumped her. If she dared press her brakes…
The hit to her bumper was hard and sent her spinning clockwise. She swallowed her scream and gripped the wheel trying to gain control, hit a patch of ice and skidded off the side of the road onto the shoulder, then shot out into the open grassy field. She bumped and rolled before hitting the brakes and jerking to a stop. A loud crash behind her pulled her out of her shocked stupor and she threw open the door.
The vehicle that had hit her was upside down. While she had gone through an opening in the guardrails, the other car had hit one and flipped over it to land on its roof.
“Oh, no.” She took a quick physical inventory and when nothing hurt, opened her door and stepped out. Her legs nearly buckled, but she held on to the doorframe until they steadied. Shock could do strange things to a person.
Thankfully, the snow on the ground wasn’t deep and had stopped falling from the sky. She felt for her phone but couldn’t find it. She had no time to search for it if the guy in the other vehicle needed immediate medical attention. She gathered her wits and ran to the overturned SUV.
The Chevy Tahoe was still, the engine running—and smoke coming from somewhere. Anger surged, but she stomped it down. The driver had been reckless with his driving and almost managed to kill both of them, but if she could help him, she would. Unless he meant to run her off the road? But why? One never knew these days. A woman alone in the dark on a road…
She looked back to see if anyone had stopped, but the accident had happened with no witnesses in sight. It was up to her. But if he had meant her harm, then she was walking right into danger. The driver let out a pained groan and she decided to risk it. He needed help. She approached the vehicle’s side with caution and found him lying on the interior roof. Blood dripped from his head.
Either he hadn’t been wearing his seat belt or he’d taken it off. “Are you okay?” she asked. Probably a dumb question.
“Can you help me out?” He sounded weak, his words slurred.
Cheyenne glanced in the direction of the road once more. Still no traffic. She didn’t like the smoke coming from the car. She reached in. “You could have a head injury. I’m not sure you should move. If you give me your phone, I’ll call 911.”
“Just get me out. Please.”
She bit her lip and reached through the window where glass had shattered and fallen away. “Grab my hand and I’ll help pull you out. The window’s broken, just crawl through it.”
His hard fingers wrapped around hers and with minimal fuss, he was through the window. He lay on his back on the ground, breathing hard, eyes closed. She couldn’t see the color in his face well, but thought he looked a little gray. “You hit your head.”
“Yeah.”
“Hold on and I’ll get help here.”
“No.” He rolled to his feet and swayed, then grabbed her wrist. He might be unsteady on his feet, but his grip was strong enough.
A flash of fear shot through her. “What are you doing?”
“Where’s your car?”
“Over there, in the field you knocked it into.” She tried to jerk free and he held on. Another fissure of alarm shimmied through her. She could get away from him by using her training, but he was hurt and she didn’t want to add to it. “Why?”
“Because you’re coming with me.”
“No, I’m not. Let me go!” Adding to his injuries wasn’t a concern any longer.
She kicked out, but he deflected the move and jerked her arms behind her back. Pain arched through her shoulders. She twisted, but even wounded he was strong. He moved her slight frame in the direction of her vehicle. In less than a second, she mentally flipped through the best self-defense moves, chose one and planted her feet, sending him off balance. He lost his grip on her right arm and she swung it around to connect her elbow with the side of his head. He cried out and stumbled back. Then landed on his rear end.
“Hey!” someone shouted from the road. His high beams illuminated the area. “Are you all right?”
“No! Call 911! Help!”
The man on the ground rolled to his feet and staggered toward her. He didn’t look like he had much strength left, but apparently wasn’t giving up.
“Why are you doing this?” She backed away from him, but the slick snow, turning to ice in the subzero temperatures, caused her to skid while her feet scrambled for traction.
He lunged at her and missed. He went down again, but his hard hand clamped around her ankle, pulling her to the ground with him. She grunted at the hit and pain raced up her left hip. She ignored it and used her free foot to send a heel smashing into his nose. He howled and dropped back to the ground. “Stop it!” She couldn’t help the shout. “Tell me why you’re doing this!” She rolled to her feet and looked down at him.
Still, he made the effort to stand. “You’re my payout. The bounty. I need the money.”
“Bounty? What money?” He didn’t answer, just stood, swaying. The need for information overruled her fear of him, especially because she assumed the person who’d stopped had called 911. She walked up to him and jabbed a finger in his chest. “What money?”
“Hey,” a voice called, “I’ve got some medical training. Need some help?”
“I can help, too,” another voice said.
They started her way and her would-be captor collapsed to the ground, eyes closed.
The two reached her. “Let me check him out,” the first one said. “I’m Brian, by the way.”
“Cheyenne.”
“And I’m Hank,” the second man offered. “I’ve called an ambulance. Should be here in a few minutes. Hopefully. Who knows with this weather?” He shot a concerned glance at Cheyenne. “Was he trying to force you to go with him?”
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
“No idea.” She dropped beside the man who’d gone unconscious. The cold hit her all at once and she shivered, recognizing that even more shock was probably setting in. The faint sound of her phone ringing from the depths of her vehicle reached her and she figured it was most likely Jack or one of the others calling to ask where she was.
Brian worked on her would-be attacker, checking his pulse, his breathing, his eyes. He pulled the man’s shirt apart and sucked in a breath. He looked up at her and Hank and shook his head. “If the bruising is any indication, he’s got some massive internal bleeding. If they don’t get here fast, he’s not going to make it. I can’t do anything without the proper tools.”
“Does he have a wallet on him? The least we can do is see if we can find his next of kin and get them here while he’s still alive. Let them know what happened and they can find him at the hospital. Maybe he lives close by.” She thought about what he’d said. A bounty? Maybe he’d just been talking out of his head because of the severity of his injuries. Hallucinating? It was possible.
Hank patted the guy’s pockets, found the stuffed wallet and tossed it to her.
Sirens finally sounded in the distance. “Thank you, Lord,” she whispered.
She searched for a driver’s license. It wasn’t in the little plastic slot so she finally just pulled everything out. Two credit cards with the name Jeremy Kelley. Several grocery store coupons, a folded picture of a stick figure family and a printed picture of a phone number and—her?
* * *
K-9 officer Jack Donadio sat in the recliner in Daniel’s den, sipping on a fresh Coke, watching the door, and scratching his K-9 Beau’s silky ears.
Where was Cheyenne?
Beau whined and settled his snout on Jack’s knee, encouraging his handler to continue the doggy massage. Jack smiled. Beau was trained to locate hidden electronic devices such as USB drives, SD cards and burner phones. Partnering with Beau had become a dream come true as Jack had been fascinated with this type of dog since he’d heard they could do such a thing. In his opinion, they were the perfect match thanks to Jack’s expertise in all things related to busting technology-savvy bad guys.
But it was almost Christmas and time to have some fun celebrating the season. Jack kept a close eye on the door, ignoring the mistletoe hanging from it. Cheyenne should have been here by now and he was seriously getting concerned. He pictured the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman that he’d grown to care deeply for. They were friends. Good friends. But since he’d been injured, a distance had come between them. A greater distance than had been there previously and that was his fault.
He’d pulled away from her because of the uncertainty surrounding the injury he’d sustained in a shooting. It was something he’d not shared with anyone. Something that could cause him to lose his leg. The surgeons had left the bullet in his leg thanks to its location near the femoral artery. Right now, it was lodged in and only caused him pain when he moved a certain way. Most of the time he could forget it was there, but if the bullet shifted…
Yeah, not good. And he still didn’t know who shot him. Part of him wondered if he’d ever find the person. He couldn’t think about it too long or it darkened his mindset. And tonight, he just wanted to enjoy the friendships that surrounded him.
And Cheyenne.
He looked at the clock once more. Two minutes past the last time he’d looked. He was worried she was this late without calling to let one of them know why. He set his drink on the coaster and called her number for the third time. And for the third time, it rang to voicemail.
“Ugh.”
“Everything okay?” Raina Graves asked. Raina was wife to Kenyon Graves, another member of the DGTF. She walked over to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, straightened one of the ornaments and frowned at him.
“Cheyenne hasn’t shown up yet and I’ve called her phone three times. No answer.”
Her frown deepened. “That’s weird.”
“I know.”
Daniel came in from the kitchen. “What’s weird?”
He was going to have to call a meeting so he didn’t have to keep repeating himself. “Cheyenne’s not here and she’s not answering—” His ringing phone cut him off. Cheyenne. “That’s her. Hang on.” He swiped the screen. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay, I’ve been in a wreck, but I’m not hurt. Just a few bumps and bruises. And one cut on my arm.”
“A wreck?” He walked toward the front door and grabbed his coat from the coat rack. By now, several others from the team, Kenyon, husband and wife Zach and Eden Kelcey, and Lucy Lopez all frowned in unison at him. “I’m on my way,” he said.
“Really, I’m okay. I’m just heading to the hospital to get checked out. I’ll be fine.”
“Right. See you there.”
He hung up on her sputtering and looked at the others moving to grab their winter gear. “We can’t all show up. I’ll go and keep you updated.” He made a clicking sound to bring Beau to his side and the dog hopped up, ready to do whatever Jack needed.
Raina looked like she might protest, but he grabbed his coat and headed out the door with Beau on his heels. The others could follow or not. He wasn’t wasting any more time. He thought he heard Raina ask, “Why does he get to go?”
Understandable question. It wasn’t like he and Cheyenne were a “thing,” but his first instinct was to go to her. So that’s what he would do.
Forty minutes later, he and Beau walked through the glass hospital doors and made his way to the emergency department. Even though he was out of uniform, Beau’s vest identified him as a working dog. With a flash of Jack’s badge, the ER nurse opened the double doors that led back to the rooms where patients were held. “She’s in four.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
He knocked on the wall next to the pulled curtain. “It’s me, Jack.”
“Come in, but only if you’re going to break me out of here.”
Cheyenne’s grumpy words turned his lips up with relief. He peered around the curtain and motioned Beau inside. The dog walked in and raised up on his hind legs to peer at Cheyenne. Her scowl faded and she reached out to scratch the dog’s ears. “Hey, Beau buddy, glad to see you.” Beau licked her hand and tried to sidle closer.
“How about me?” Jack asked.
“Always.”
She smiled and he nodded to the bandage on her arm. Her long-sleeved shirt and had been cut away. “You okay?”
“I am, but the driver of the car who hit me isn’t. He died at the scene.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I am, too. Mostly because I have questions.” She bit her lip. “Jack, he deliberately ran me off the road and when I tried to help him, he grabbed me and was going to kidnap me. Obviously, it didn’t go down how he planned, but it was a deliberate thing.”
He blinked, trying to process the fact that she’d been in that kind of danger. “What? Why? Did he say?”
She slid off the bed and walked over to grab a pair of gloves from the box on the wall. “I need to show you something.”
“Okay.”
Jack watched, confused, but stayed silent while she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “I found this picture of me with a phone number in his wallet,” she said. “I handled it without gloves before I realized what it was, but it definitely belonged to him, so his prints are most likely on it. I just don’t know if anyone else’s are. There was no driver’s license. And if the credit cards found in his wallet don’t belong to him, then maybe prints will tell us who he is.”
Jack pulled on his own pair of gloves and took the picture with a frown. “He had this on him?”
She nodded. “And he said he couldn’t let me go because he needed the money.”
“What money?”
“That’s what I asked. He said something about a bounty and then passed out.”
He looked at the picture once more. A picture and a phone number. The amount of $250K had been written above her head. “Someone put a hit on you?”
“I don’t have any idea.” She pointed. “Maybe call that number and see what happens?”
“You didn’t try it?”
She shook her head and flushed. “I almost did, I’ll admit it, but I decided I wanted witnesses. Who knows who the number belongs to?”
“I’ve seen a lot in my years with law enforcement, but this is a new one.” He shook his head, his heart squeezing at the thought of something happening to Cheyenne. “Why would there be a bounty on your head? Did he say?”
She shrugged. “He just said that he needed the money.”
“But again, why you? Who’s going to pay this bounty?”
“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?”
He looked from the paper back to her and then the paper once again, sure he’d misread or misunderstood. But he hadn’t. What had she managed to get herself involved in? “Can you think of anyone you might have made mad lately?”
“No, of course not. At least not one specific person. If you count all the criminals I’ve helped put away with DGTF and the PCPD, then I guess it’s a long list. Even if I’m behind the scenes.”
He rubbed his forehead. “This is…”
“Yes, it is.”
“Okay, we need a plan.”
“Like what?”
“We kidnap you and turn you over to the person who wants you.” ...
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