Chapter 19
Sierra hoped they would learn who the man was who had tried to rob the woman at her hotel, so eerily like what had happened to her. She couldn’t believe he was the same man who had tried to set her up for a kidnapping.
“I should have brought a pillow with me.”
Adam smiled at her. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
“It better not. I’m hoping we both have some strength remaining when we finally go home tonight.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. So don’t take too long.”
“I will do everything in my power to capture the culprit and send him to jail at once then.”
“Good.”
They finally reached the house, and Adam leaned over and kissed Sierra before he left the Hummer. “Don’t leave the vehicle. And keep the doors locked.”
She saluted him.
Adam left the vehicle and went to the front door of the house, one of the officers going around back to make sure no one escaped that way while the other officer staying with Adam as she watched. Then a woman answered the door. Adam and Roland went inside, and Sierra closed her eyes to rest them.
She was half-asleep when she heard someone trying to open the driver’s door. Her eyes popped open and she realized it wasn’t Adam but the man from her sketch. The streetlights made it easy to see him and he stared in at her, finally realizing that she was sitting in the front seat.
Then he raced off. She wanted to chase him down in the worst way—as a wolf. It would be the only way to have the advantage, unless he had a gun. She immediately got on her phone and called Adam. “He’s headed down the street, south.”
“On our way.” Adam and one police officer bolted out of the house, the other coming around through the backyard gate to join them.
She opened the vehicle’s door. “Down that way.” She motioned to the man running down the sidewalk as fast as he could. He was wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers.
Adam was catching up to him while Roland and the other police officer jumped into their patrol car and tore off after them.
Sierra reminded herself she was just a civilian and needed to stay right where she was, even though she really wanted to help track the guy and take him down. Her wolf instincts were definitely coming into play. Instead, to get her mind off the chase and hopeful capture of the guy, she brought out her sketch pad and drew his sketch from when she had seen him peering in through the window at her. She had the drawing she’d done based on the hotel clerk’s description of the suspect and could compare the two. But at the same time, she couldn’t help wanting to know what was going on with Adam and the other police officers.
Then movement across the front lawn of the house caught her eye, and she saw the man running for the house. She quickly got on her phone and called Adam. “Hey, if you’ve lost the guy, he just went into Lonnie’s house.”
“Shit, stay down. He’s armed and dangerous.”
Great, because she wasn’t armed if the guy should come back outside and decide to shoot her through the Hummer’s window.
The garage door began to open, and she said, “The garage door is opening. Inside is a silver Ford pickup with big-ass grills and tires, and the license plate is… Hell, he’s getting ready to ram your Hummer.” She quickly finished writing the tag number on her sketch pad and fastened her seat belt, bracing for impact, then told Adam the tag number in case the driver hightailed it out of there before anyone could stop him. Now she wished Adam had left the vehicle’s keys with her so she could have at least driven his Hummer out of the maniac’s way.
Sirens headed in her direction, and she hoped Adam wasn’t running back to the house on foot. But no matter what, she prayed the police would stop this guy before it was too late. Then the truck rammed Adam’s vehicle and pushed it all the way into the street, giving her a jolt and scaring the crap out of her. She realized Adam had put the Hummer in park but hadn’t used the emergency brake on the level driveway.
The driver pulled away from the Hummer and took off. Man, did she wish she could have plowed into him with Adam’s vehicle to stop him, but the Hummer had sustained enough damage, and she didn’t think she would make a dent in the pickup anyway. The truck didn’t get far down the street before police blocked him and others came up to meet him from behind, further blocking him in. He tried to get around the vehicles but ran into an electric pole, and that finally stopped him for good.
Another police car pulled up to Adam’s vehicle, and Adam jumped out to check on her. Good. She was glad he hadn’t just gone after the bad guy.
When he came to the passenger door, she got out and he gave her a heartwarming hug, not releasing her even after he was reassured she was okay. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, thanks, Adam. What a night. Are we going home soon?” She wasn’t letting go of him either. She was so glad he was okay too.
“Yeah, let me find out who this guy is and—”
She sighed and handed Adam the two sketches she’d done of him. “See if he really looks like the sketches I did of him while you’re at it, just to humor me.”
He kissed her mouth generously and sighed. “I will make this up to you.”
“What’s to make up? If we catch this band of thugs, that’s all good.”
“Okay, keep your door locked, and I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Go. Learn who all is involved in this.”
Adam kissed her again, then he said, “I’ll be back.”
She didn’t believe he would be back soon. She figured the next stop was the police station where Adam would interrogate the bastard.
* * *
“Burt Barnes,” Adam said, looking at the man’s ID. Adam couldn’t have been any angrier that the man had staged a kidnapping, intending for Sierra to take the fall, no matter how inept he and his cohort had been at the attempt, as well as wrecking Adam’s Hummer and putting Sierra’s life in danger. He was glad to arrest the guy’s ass. “You’ve been read your rights. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
The guy just smiled at him, his hands cuffed behind his back. “Your girlfriend buried herself on this one.”
That made Adam even madder. “Buried herself on this?” Adam had to act like he didn’t know what Burt was talking about so he would incriminate himself further.
“Don’t play dumb. You know just what I mean.”
“That you’re acting on Dover Manning’s behalf and want to kill Ms. Redding’s dog.”