Page 94 of Chasing Justice
Before they could take Jenna away, Maya grabbed her shirt. “You better hope my grandfather lives or else prison will be the least of your worries.”
Jenna smirked. “You don’t have enough time. In about thirty more minutes, this place will be gone.”
The deputy dragged her away. At least Jenna had given her a time—if she could be trusted.
Juniper pushed her nose up into Maya’s hand. Maya reached down, feeling Juniper’s fur and her soft undercoat. This was something she had done with Zinger before they went on any missions. She would feel the rigidity of the muscles, the tension, and the excitement of a dog ready to join her in battle.
She stared down at Juniper and was met with golden eyes. She swore Juniper smiled and gave her the look that saidLet’s go. We’re a team.
Her dog was meant for this work. All the training, years of breeding the perfect K-9 and all of Juniper’s instincts combined into a weapon that was on Maya’s side, but time was running out.
Chapter Fifty
Maya spoke quickly with one of the deputies at the command center. “Where’s Josh? Radio him and tell him to get everyone out of there. Now.”
“Just sit tight,” the deputy said. “SWAT should be here any minute. And we’ve lost some radio contact. The repeaters out in this area are not that good.”
“Shit, that’ll be too late. This compound is lined with bombs. It’s all rigged to blow. We need everyone out. I’m going in, so tell me Josh’s plan.” Maya stepped closer. Juniper stood in front of her, both staring at the deputy.
“Holy shit.” The deputy pointed down toward a map. “Here’s what Colten told us. He’s going in this way and there’s a couple deputies coming down the backside of the valley...”
“Got it,” Maya interrupted; the deputy was going too slow. “When SWAT arrives, let them know about the bombs and that the entire ranch needs to be evacuated. What channel are they on?”
The deputy told Maya and she changed her radio. She had to be careful that she didn’t set off any bombs when she used the radio, but she had to take that chance. Maya set a timer on her watch. Based on her calculations she had about twenty-five minutes left.
She had a mental picture of the map in her mind and where the other officers were located. Josh was putting himself in the worst danger by going directly into the compound, but he had heard the shots fired and Maya knew that meant he went for the immediate response. She and Juniper would be his backup. She gathered up Juniper’s leash and headed for the mountainside.
Maya and Juniper ran along the trail that went above the ridge of the compound and wound their way around. They stayed behind the tree line in hopes they wouldn’t be seen, but they needed to get down there quickly. She would probably only have minutes to find her grandfather and get him out.
Maya checked her watch. Twenty minutes.
They snuck in closer to the compound. There were some large boulders that gave her good cover, and there were recent footprints in the dirt. Most likely this was the same route Josh had taken. She put Juniper on a down-stay and then peeked around the rock. The scene down below made her catch her breath.
Pops! He’s with Josh. They’re alive.
Pops doesn’t appear to be injured.
I have to warn them. They need to get out of there.
From her vantage point, Maya had a perfect view of the compound’s layout and everyone involved in the standoff. Carson and the Russian lady had realized that law enforcement was moving in on them. They’d quit pointing guns at each other and teamed up. Just around the corner, Josh and her grandfather were getting ready to make their move. They must have thought they had the element of surprise, but Carson and Svetlana were waiting to ambush them.
Another person scurried up near Carson and Svetlana. Maya squinted trying to see who it was, but shadows made an identification difficult. Based on how the figure moved and how he held his weapon close into his chest, she could tell this person had law enforcement training. The figure moved and stepped out of the shadows. She gasped when she recognized Sam.
What’s he doing?He was dressed in civilian clothing, and Maya realized he wasn’t one of the responding officers.Is Sam the informant?
She needed to distract Josh and her grandfather.Now.
If she pulled her gun and fired off a shot, Juniper would respond by trying to apprehend someone, and Maya didn’t want that yet. She had to do something different.
She whistled the way she had been taught by her grandfather. A small, high, shrill clicking sound that mimicked mountain bluebirds.
She saw her grandfather pause and signal to Josh, but before they could react, Carson started moving forward. He was going after Josh and Pops.
Maya couldn’t just stand and watch. She closed her eyes and said a prayer for her dog. Once she stood up and started yelling commands, there was a good chance Carson would shoot at her and Juniper would go after him.
Maya took a deep breath and then leaped up and moved toward a tree to help give her cover. It wasn’t much, but she’d take it. “Freeze! Forest Service Law Enforcement! Put your weapon on the ground or I’ll send the dog!”
Maya saw her grandfather stare at her, confused. Carson swung toward Maya and Juniper. The sound of a bullet shattered the silence as he fired in her direction, but he had a pistol and they were out of range. The shot went wide and smacked the hillside.
