Chapter 8

Jennah stopped the car when she knew she was a safe distance from the prison. She got her phone out of the glove box and quickly dialed Captain Wilds’ number. He answered on the second ring.

“Captain, its Jennah Best. We have a problem.”

“You’ve seen Dom?”

She closed her eyes for a second. “Yes. He’s presently recovering from two stab wounds.”

“Is he all right?”

Her eyes flew open. “No! The inmates and guards, as well, know who he is. He said the warden is the one running all of it.”

“The warden?” His voice was louder.

“Think about it. Why else would cons and guards go after Dom?”

“Son of a bitch!”

Now he was getting a clear picture. “You have to get him out.”

There was a long silence. “If the warden is in on it, how can we? The original plan was to find the source and then bring the warden in on it...”

“Shit!” She bit her lip. “Okay, there may be someone that can get him out of there, but you have to get a team set up and go after the warden—now!” She heard his voice muffled as he spoke to someone else. “And Captain?”

“Yes?”

“I’m part of that team.” She heard him let out a deep breath.

“I’ll call you back in an hour. You get a hold of this person that can get Dom out and have them waiting and ready.”

She nodded. “Will do.” She ended the call and leaned against the steering wheel. She did not miss the action, not really. The only reason she was doing this was for Dominic—and justice might be a small part of it too.

Straightening, she looked at the phone in her hand. She couldn’t remember the guard’s name! Think. What was the name on his uniform? She couldn’t very well call the prison guard station and ask to talk to Barry. She closed her eyes. It started with a C. Cleary? Corty? She had to think! Courtney! Opening her eyes, she dialed the phone and took a deep breath, waiting for the prompts.

~

She sat in one of the chairs at the back of the room and watched as the captain went over maps and talked to everyone there. Her own captain had been concerned with her volunteering to be part of this. He had hoped she would just go, see what was happening at the prison, and then resume her roll in the Ridge police department. She probably would have if Dominic hadn’t been involved. She’d thought about it a lot on the drive here. Was there a reason she had been shown her abilities just now? Had some force known that Dominic was in trouble and pushed them together? What would have happened to him if they hadn’t connected in a dream?

“Officer Best?”

She turned to see a sergeant speaking to her. “Yes?”

He motioned with his head. “Captain asked me to take you and find some gear for you.”

She got up. “Oh, thanks.” She followed the tall, thin man to a locker room. As she was looking around, he opened one of the supply cabinets and pulled out a few things.

“Here’s a vest and glasses. It will be close to dark by the time we get there.” He turned and motioned to the other cabinet. “You can find ammo in there.” He looked her up and down. “You brought a gun, right?”

Jennah grinned at him and lifted her top. Tucked into the waistband was her favorite, a 9mm Springfield. “And its twin is in my bag.”

He laughed. “Okay then.” He turned to leave, then stopped in the doorway. “The others and I wanted to thank you for getting the info on Dom. He’s a solo operator most of the time, but he’s always had our backs.”

She inclined her head slightly. “I’m sure he will again. As soon as I make the call, the guard is going to get him out of there.” She peered around the locker room to make sure they were alone. “Do they know who’s been leaking the information?”

He shook his head. “No, this is why there are only five of us in on this. All five owe Dom for one thing or another, so we’re fairly certain it’s none of us.”

She picked up the vest. “Let’s hope so.” He took that as his cue and walked out. She pulled the gun from her jeans and set it on the bench before placing the vest over her head. She hated these things. She always felt confined in one. Smirking, she did it up. Better to feel a little uncomfortable than dead.

Going over to the cabinet, she opened it and whistled. A small army would be giddy seeing this. Finding what she needed, she put two clips in the lower pocket of the vest and patted it. Turning back, she picked up her bag, pulled the second Springfield out, and tucked it into the back of her jeans. Putting the other one back in the front, she took a deep breath. It had been a long time since she’d used them in the line of duty. Target practice didn’t really count. Let’s hope you still have it. Grabbing the glasses, she headed back out to the others.

~

She squatted behind the tree and looked around for the others. She had to hand it to them, they were a good team, and it took her several looks before she spotted most of them. She pulled the white hood up over her dark hair and huffed out a breath. Kneeling in the cold snow was not one of her favorite things. Maybe she was getting old.

The captain moved up beside her silently. “There are three inside. One is the warden and two others appear to be business associates.”

She didn’t need him to tell her that they were the wrong kind of business associates. She nodded. “Good. It saves hunting them down later.”

He grinned at her. “On my signal, they’re going in. I want you to hang back and call your guard as soon as they’re in. We can’t take a chance on waiting to see what happens to get Dom out.”

She nodded again. “Got it.”

“I hope they don’t run. I’m too old to chase.”

She grinned. “It’s going to go down smooth, Captain. Just stay back and let your teamwork.”

He patted her shoulder once and then moved off in the other direction. She took a deep breath and hunkered down lower so she wouldn’t be seen. She studied the set up of the yard and then glanced behind her. If I was going to try to run, I’d take this path. Even with this amount of snow, the path was a good place with the trees sheltering most of it. The snow wasn’t that deep. Rolling her shoulders, she looked back over at the closest team member to her. He was moving slowly forward. Let’s hope they get them and I don’t have to be the fall back.

Pulling out her phone, she brought up Barry’s cell number and held her thumb over the send button. Her hands were cold, but she had never perfected firing her gun with gloves on. Her fingers worked better when she could feel everything. Looking around, she watched as the others moved slowly toward the house. One was now at the back door, crouched low and hardly noticeable. Two others went in opposite directions around the side of the house. The last man was standing behind the bush outside the window. She quickly glanced over at the captain, and he nodded his head.

As she hit the send button, she heard wood shattering and shouts.

~

Dom bolted up in the dark when the glass door opened quickly. He grabbed his side and winced at the person in the door. “Barry?”

Barry held his finger over his lips. “You’ve been paroled, let’s go!”

Not taking the time to ask stupid questions, Dom got off the bed and reached under the mattress. He pulled out the blade Jennah had given him and nodded to the man in the doorway. Dom stepped out the door and then froze when another guard was standing there. One he didn’t recognize.

Barry leaned close in behind him. “It’s okay. Pete is as sick of the shit in here as I am.”

Dom nodded and then started to follow the guard. Barry moved alongside him and reached out to put a cuff on one hand. “Hold the other one to look like it’s closed.” He checked over his shoulder. “If anything happens, you grab my swipe card and get your ass locked back in that room.”

Dom nodded as he placed the cuff around his other wrist and held his hand over it. “What’s the plan?”

Barry looked over his shoulder again. “We’re going to walk you right to the guard parking tunnel.” Dom raised his eyebrows. “Don’t worry about it. Pete has it covered.” Dom just nodded and hoped he did.

When Pete grabbed the back of Dom’s shirt and started to practically push him through the door, Dom gave Barry a skeptical look. Barry shrugged and motioned him to go through. Dom clenched his teeth and allowed the other guard to shove him through and half drag, half push him in the direction of another hallway.

~

He stayed down in the backseat until Barry turned around and told him he could sit up. Reaching his arm forward, he waited for the one cuff to be unlocked. “Now what?” He watched behind them to see the prison fading in the night. He glanced at the other guard in the mirror. The man that had been scowling the whole time winked at him and then turned his attention back to the snow-covered road. Sitting back, he leaned his head against the seat.

Barry turned and leaned to look at him. “We’re to take you to a safe house until we hear from your captain.” He smirked. “Your wife called and told me to get you out.”

Dom smirked. “Guess I owe her one.”

Barry laughed. “I guess you do.”

Dom closed his eyes and relaxed for the first time in months. He thought of Jennah and couldn’t help but smile.

~

Jennah heard shouting and the squeal of tires, and she cursed under her breath. She couldn’t see around the side of the house, so she had no idea who had just left in that much of a hurry. She was just about to stand up when she spotted someone sneaking around the side. Squinting, she kept her eye on them as she ducked down further in the shadows. Her hands were cold, but she didn’t dare make a move to warm them. She breathed into the top of her vest so her breath wouldn’t be seen.

“Jennah.”

She jumped when his voice loudly filled her mind. “Are you out?” She watched the man as he worked his way toward the back of the yard. Glancing around quickly, she realized that there was no one covering the area but her.

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

She moved to the side a few feet so she had a clear path to the man slithering on the ground through the snow like a snake toward her. “Are you all right?” He got up into a crouch and looked around behind him.

“Yeah. Hey...”

She couldn’t focus on both Dom and the target at the same time. “Not a good time.” The man was only five feet from her now, and no one else had noticed him. “Shit!”

“Shit what?”

“Be safe.” She held her breath as he stepped quietly toward her.

When he was almost on top of her, she stood up and aimed right for his chest. “I think that’s far enough.” She watched his eyes and prayed he wasn’t going to make a break for it. He peered to his left and then behind her briefly. Dammit, don’t make me shoot at you. “On the ground, now!” She could hear someone moving toward them, but she didn’t look away from him. He moved his hands away from his body and dropped to his knees.

The captain came up beside her as one of the others dropped down and pulled the face-down man’s hands behind his back. “The warden got away.”

She lowered her gun and clipped the safety on. “Shit!” Pulling off the glasses, she turned to look at him. “Dom’s out.”

The captain nodded. “Good. We may have to hide him until we can get a line on the warden, though. He’s going to head straight for him.”

She could only nod. Blowing out a breath, she turned to watch the others bringing a second man in cuffs around the house. “I’ll meet you back at the station.” She turned and worked her way through the snow back out of the trees to where she had left her car.

Undoing the vest, she tossed it and the white jacket in the car before climbing in. She started it and flicked the heat to high. Her ankles were numb and her hands were red.

She exhaled slowly and pictured the door opening. “Dom?”

“What the hell was that about?”

She smirked. “We nabbed two accomplices, but the warden got away.”

“Shit!” There was a long pause. “We?”

She grinned. “I thought I’d tag along.”

“Tag along? Are you all right?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. You’re going to have to stay out of sight until he’s found.”

She could hear him sigh. “Yeah, but at least I’m out of Wyestate.”

She closed her eyes as the shaky feeling that always came after the adrenaline caught up to her. “As long as you’re safe now.”

“I owe you, beautiful.”

She laughed. “Yes, you do, and I will collect.”

She heard his deep chuckle. “I look forward to it.”

She leaned forward and started the car. “I have to go back to the station and play in paperwork. Take care of yourself.”

“You too, babe.”

She pulled out of the trees and slowly headed toward the main road.

“That wasn’t a goodbye, just so you know.”

She grinned at the way he sounded and then took a deep breath. “Got it.” She could almost hear the door closing and knew that Dom was probably shutting down for the first time in six months, or longer considering how long ago his father had died.