Page 55 of Risk It All
Charging forward, she drew on every self-defense training session that Fifi had drilled into her brain. Her muscles remembered every endless repetition, falling into the correct form as she threw a straight punch right into his midsection. When he bent over, his arms clutching his middle, she snapped a front kick right at his face. Even as she moved instinctually, finding an opening and seizing it, she marveled that she was fighting—and winning. She heard cartilage crunch, and his eyes rolled back, right before he toppled over onto the ground, unconscious. For the hundredth time that day, she was grateful she was wearing boots.
When she looked away from the limp Abbott, she saw Henry blinking at her, a slow smile spreading over his face. “You’re niceandyou’re amazing.”
“Thank you.” Warmth spread through her chest, erasing the chill of watching Henry almost get shot and then stabbed. “You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
They exchanged a smile before Cara turned back to Abbott’s unconscious form. “I don’t suppose you have any more zip ties on you?”
“No pockets.” He patted his legs as if in proof, and she noticed he swayed a little. He obviously couldn’t haul Abbott over his shoulder at the moment.
“Hmm… I don’t want to leave him here. After all that, what if he wakes up and gets away?” She eyed Henry, considering their options. “If we each grab an arm, think we can drag him to the police station?”
That earned her another smile. “I like how you think.”
“Ditto.”
* * *
“Where’s the hospital—if there is one. Do you know?” Cara asked a short time later as they emerged into a small gravel parking area marked with a trail map, a limp Abbott dragging behind them.
“No hospital,” Henry said, his voice slightly slurred. He was staying on his feet and hauling his share of Abbott’s weight, so Cara was hopeful he’d make it the rest of the way. “We’ll go to the station, dump this guy, and have the paramedics meet us there.”
“Good idea.” She just hoped that none of the Red Hawk officers knew what bail jumper Henry Kavenski looked like. They reached the road, and she looked in both directions. There were some cabin-type homes, but nothing that looked like a police station. “Which way?”
He waved to the left with his free hand, the gesture lacking his usual forcefulness, and she could hear that his steps were dragging again. Swallowing her worry, she trudged to the left, using both hands to hold on to Abbott’s arm. It had been tempting to drag him by the feet instead, letting his head bounce off the pavement, but she’d been merciful. She did hope he woke up with some aches and pains, though.
The houses were getting closer together, and a few shops came into view. All the buildings, even the businesses, seemed to be going with the mountain motif. Everything was logs and carved bears and chalet-style roofs. To her relief, the town was quiet, with no people in sight. It would’ve been hard to explain why they were dragging Abbott’s limp form across town.
Once she spotted the building, she knew that it had to be the police station, even before Henry waved her in that direction. Only the cops could build such a utilitarian structure in this cutesy little town. She sped up, dragging Abbott behind her, thoughts of concussion and nearly drowning and hypothermia and all sorts of other things that could be wrong with Henry spinning through her mind.
He kept up—barely. His boots shuffled against the pavement, the sound of his stumbling footsteps so painful to hear from a guy who usually moved so soundlessly. Even as bad off as he was, however, he still held up his half of Abbott’s weight,andhe even opened the door for them as they entered. That reassured her he was alert and aware enough to be polite.
She dropped Abbott’s arm as they passed a short row of chairs, assuming Henry would leap at the chance to finally sit down after she’d forced him to march—and run—up the side of a mountain. Without slowing, she went straight for the desk sergeant’s window. The cop, a woman not much older than Cara, looked back and forth between her and Abbott’s sprawled form with startled eyes.
“Can you please arrest the unconscious guy and call for medical help?” Turning to look at Henry, she jumped when she found him standing right behind her. “What are you doing? Go sit before you fall over.” Turning back to the cop, she added, “He fell in the river and hit his head.”
The officer reached for a radio, but before she could call for either backup or medical assistance, Henry spoke.
“I’m Henry Kavenski. I skipped out on bail, and she”—he tipped his head toward Cara without meeting her eyes—“is with Pax Bail Recovery. She found me and is bringing me in.”
“Henry,” Cara protested, completely shocked by his unexpected—and unwelcome—confession. Before she could protest or deny or do whatever she needed in order to keep him from going back to jail, he gave her one of his tiny smiles…and then collapsed onto the tile floor.
Chapter 18
The next couple of hours were a chaotic blur.
After paramedics arrived and whisked Henry and Abbott away in a couple of ambulances—both with their own police escort—Cara was ushered to the tiniest interview room in the history of police stations. There, she told the entire story to two officers, answered their questions,retold the story, and then repeated the entire process when the Colorado FBI agents arrived.
When she was finally alone in the tiny room, she rested her head on her folded arms, overwhelmed with exhaustion and worry for Henry. Although they’d assured her that both men were still alive, she wouldn’t—couldn’t—believe it until she saw and hugged him herself.
A tap at the door brought her head up with a swallowed groan. Although the cops had been fairly gentle with her once they realized she was mostly the victim—and the bounty hunter who’d brought in two wanted criminals—she didn’t think she had it in her to tell the story one more time. She needed food and sleep and a hug from Henry—not necessarily in that order.
The door swung open, and the first officer she’d met stuck her head in. “Your sisters and brother are here.” When the cop pushed the door open wider and stepped out of the way, Cara felt a surge of hope.
“I’m free to go?”
“With Abbott in custody, you should be safe at home. We’ve filled in the Langston police chief on the situation, so they’ll be keeping a close eye on you. If we or the FBI have more questions, we have your phone number.”
Cara stood, holding back another groan and forcing a polite smile. The Red Hawk cops didn’t know that siccing the Langston PD on her family wasn’t a good thing. She hurried out the door, deciding to file that in the deal-with-later pile. For now, she was happy to escape the miniscule interview room and see for herself that her sisters—and brother?—were unharmed.
