Angel Fire

Chapter Thirty

Tori kicked over a rock with her boot, feeling like they were just biding their time until Rowan gave them something more concrete. To say she had little faith in his algorithms—whatever the hell they were—was an understatement. Perhaps she’d been with Homicide too long. She was used to beating the streets, interviewing people, looking for clues. She wasn’t used to waiting on a computer program to tell her where to look.

“You’re frowning,” Andrea said. “This isn’t your cup of tea, huh?”

Tori turned toward her. For some reason, Andrea could read her almost as well as Sam could.

“No. I’m used to real police work,” she said without thinking. Andrea laughed good-naturedly.

“Yeah. Me too. But it’s not always like this.”

Andrea glanced back at the truck where Sam was waiting. Despite letting her come along, Cameron had been adamant that Sam stay in the truck while they checked the property. Tori thought it was unnecessary—it’s not as if they were likely to stumble upon Angel or anything—but at least Cameron didn’t insist Sam stay at the hotel. She’d actually given her a job—keep tabs on the chatter between the marshals and sheriff’s department. With Rowan’s help, of course.

“I guess you two are ready to get out of here,” Andrea said.

Tori laughed quickly. “Oh, yeah. It’s been a dream vacation so far,” she said sarcastically.

Cameron pocketed her phone after ending the call and walked toward them. “They got nothing.”

“Were you really thinking we’d hit on something?” she asked.

Cameron shrugged. “Got to check them all out. We got nothing better to do.”

Tori sighed. “I know. And one more to go. Where is it?”

They headed back to the truck. “It’s the most remote,” Cameron said. “A few miles out of town. Pueblo Canyon Road.”

Sam opened the door when they approached. Tori shook her head at her unspoken question.

“Did you get with Rowan? Any news?” Cameron asked Sam.

Sam nodded. “They’ve been fielding hundreds of calls. Apparently Angel has been spotted all over the state.”

“Yeah, I imagine. That’s what happens when you post his picture all over the damn place.”

“Nothing’s panned out,” Sam continued. “Rowan also said that Murdock was updating the sheriff’s department with our progress.”

“Progress?” Tori asked. “What progress?”

“He’s just trying to pacify everyone,” Cameron said. “And not piss them off.”

Cameron pulled away from the old, barren house that proved to be as vacant as advertised. Tori had no faith that the third and last one on their list would be any different.

She turned to Sam, who was watching her. She arched an eyebrow and Sam smiled at her. Tori relaxed and let in images of their lovemaking from last night. Sam had been nearly desperate in her touch. It was one of those occasions where they totally connected on every level—body, mind and spirit. It had been so emotional, she couldn’t contain her tears. Embarrassed by them, she’d tried to pull back, but Sam held her, silently kissing her tears away even as her own fell. Tori reached over now and took her hand, letting their fingers entwine. Sam squeezed her hand, her eyes softening as they met Tori’s. She wondered if Sam was as ready to get back home as she was. Yes, home. And get their life back to normal.

“Did Rowan get any hits on credit cards yet?”

Sam pulled her gaze from Tori and looked to the front. Cameron was watching them in the rearview mirror.

“He said he needed at least a couple of more hours on it,” Sam said.

Cameron shook her head. “Supercomputers…you’d think it’d be a little quicker than that.”

Sam shrugged. “Just repeating what he said.”

“Well, we’ll run by this last place, then head back to the hotel,” Cameron said. “He should have something for us before nightfall. Maybe the day won’t be completely lost.”

* * *

Cameron stared in disbelief at the simple dirt driveway that led to the unoccupied—abandoned—house. Tire tracks indicated it might not be so abandoned after all. It couldn’t be this easy. She drove past the driveway and parked along Pueblo Canyon Road some thirty or forty feet away.

“Do you think they’re fresh?” Andrea said.

“No way to be sure,” she said.

She got her binoculars out and focused through the trees, getting a fairly clear view of the house. The windows were covered with blinds or curtains. She could not see inside. On the side of the house, she could make out the back corner of a white car.

“Older model car,” she murmured. “Looks like a sedan. Ford or Chevy. I don’t see any movement.” She handed Andrea the binoculars and took out her phone, calling Rowan. He answered on the second ring. “Yeah, we’re at the property on Pueblo Canyon Road. There’s a car in the back. Need you to verify occupancy,” she said.

“I triple-checked all the properties I sent you,” Rowan said. “It’s been empty for over a year. No utilities. No mail service. It’s not on the market.”

“Who owns it? Maybe they’re local.”

“Hang on,” he said and she heard the quiet tapping on the keyboard. “Owned by Robert Carrillo. Yeah. He lives in Taos.”

“Okay. It could be him. We’ll check it out. Thanks, Rowan.”

“Sure.”

She pocketed her phone again. “The owner of the property lives here in Taos,” she told them. “That could be him.” She then glanced to the backseat where Tori and Sam sat. “You stay put,” she told Sam.

“Yes. I know the drill.”

Cameron nodded. “It would be too easy if it’s Angel. But let’s use caution, just in case.”

She, Tori and Andrea all pulled out their weapons. Even though they were wearing vests, she still felt exposed. She took the lead, her eyes glued to the house, looking for movement. Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed unnaturally quiet. Each step they took sounded loud to her ears, the gravel of the road crunching beneath their boots.

“I’m going to go around to the back,” she said quietly. “You two take the front. Give me a chance to get back there.” She glanced at Andrea, meeting her eyes. “Nice and slow,” she murmured.

Andrea nodded.

Cameron walked on, inching closer to the side of the house. Andrea and Tori waited for her to get around, then started walking again. A couple of noisy black and white birds—magpies—were flushed from the trees nearer the road, and Cameron turned quickly, surprised to find three sheriff’s department cars skidding to a halt at the edge of the dirt driveway.

“What the hell?”

But she had no time to contemplate it. A single shot from the house—a rifle—shattered glass and the silence was broken. She saw Andrea and Tori hit the ground and she dove behind a tree as the deputies returned fire, their bullets spraying the house at will. Windows exploded with a deafening roar, and Cameron pulled out her phone as she crawled on her stomach farther away from the house.

Her hand was trembling as she dialed Rowan and she wiped the sweat from her eyes impatiently. She could no longer see Andrea and Tori, but she knew they were caught in the crossfire.

“Rowan…call your contact with the goddamn sheriff’s office. Now!” she yelled. “They’re firing at our house. Andrea and Tori are trapped. Get them to back the fuck off!”

“I’m on it,” he responded immediately.

She disconnected, then called Reynolds. “Get over here!” she said as soon as he answered.

“What the hell’s going on? I hear shooting.”

“No shit. The goddamn sheriff’s deputies are firing at the house.”

“What are they doing there?”

“Don’t have time to chat, Reynolds. I assume Angel is inside. Someone from the house fired first.” She ducked lower as a bullet kicked up dirt not five feet from her. “Tori and Andrea are trapped between them. I need some goddamn help out here.”

“On our way.”

Cameron rolled over, trying to get a view of Andrea. She heard a car start up and she whipped her head around, just in time to see the white Ford pull away in a cloud of dust, heading up the hill, away from them.

“Goddamn…son of a bitch,” she muttered.

The shooting stopped almost as quickly as it had started, and silence once again took its place. She sat up, peeking around the tree.

“Andi?” she yelled.

“I’m okay,” Andrea called back.

“Thank God,” she murmured as she blew out a relieved breath. She stood, holding up her hands as she walked out into the open.

“I’m goddamn FBI,” she yelled as she held up her credentials. “Do not fire your weapons!”

She saw Sam run up behind the six deputies and pause for only a second before running along the driveway toward the house. Andrea sat up and so did Tori. Even from this distance, Cameron could see the blood. She took off running too, but Sam beat her there.

“Jesus Christ. How bad?” Cameron asked as she stared at Tori, her mouth pulled together in a painful grimace.

Andrea shook her head. “Don’t know yet.”

“Are you hit?” Cameron asked her.

“I took one in the vest.”

“Tori? Jesus, why does this always happen to you?” Sam asked as she knelt beside her. “Talk to me. How bad?”

“Flesh wound,” Tori said. “Help me up.” Her vest had no less than three bullets in it and blood seeped along her arm. “I think I’m okay.” She glanced angrily over at the deputies. “Which one of you idiots shot me?”

Cameron’s rage boiled over as she met Tori’s gaze. She marched toward the deputies, her glare causing several to take a step back.

“You shot a goddamn FBI agent,” she yelled, pointing at Tori. “What the fuck were you thinking? This is our goddamn case. Not yours!” She pounded her fist on the hood of one of the cars. “You fucking follow us again, I’ll have you thrown in your own goddamn jail,” she said loudly.

“Hey, wait a minute. We didn’t follow you. We were dispatched,” one of them said.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“There was a nine-one-one call from this residence. Said Angel Figueroa had been spotted here.”

“A nine-one-one call?” Cameron slowly shook her head. “Unbelievable,” she muttered. She glanced back at them. “So you just didn’t see us here or what? You fucking shot an FBI agent.”

“How do you know we did? He…he could have,” one of the deputies said, pointing at the house.

“No, he didn’t.” She narrowed her eyes. “If he had shot her, he would have killed her. Now all you’ve managed to do is let him escape and we’re right back to square one.” She ran her hands through her hair. “Goddamn it,” she murmured. “We had him.” She shook her head again. “You’re lucky the six of you are still alive.”

Before she could say more, Reynolds and Eric pulled up. Reynolds’s gaze collided with hers and she shook her head.

“He got away.”

“You let him get away?”

Cameron narrowed her eyes. “Don’t start with me, Reynolds,” she said. “No, I didn’t let him get away. These guys were firing on us. Friendly fucking fire. While we’re taking cover from these guys, Angel got away.”

Reynolds turned to the deputies. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“He fired at us first,” one said. “We just returned fire.”

Cameron walked away, leaving Reynolds with them. Tori had her vest off and was sitting on the porch of the house. Her T-shirt was shredded. She assumed Sam had torn it and made a bandage.

“Ambulance?” she asked Tori.

“Hell, no,” Tori said.

“You’ve got to have it looked at,” Sam contradicted.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s a bullet wound, Tori,” Sam said. “Don’t argue with me.”

“Sam—”

“It’s not up for discussion. You are seeing a doctor.”

Cameron and Andrea exchanged glances, and she nodded at the amused look in Andrea’s eyes. It was a conversation that the two of them had had before too.

Cameron left them and walked around the side of the house. Goddamn stupid decision on her part, she knew. If they’d truly thought Angel was inside, how intelligent was it to just walk up like they had? She shook her head. Her gut told her that no way was Angel inside. It was too easy. But she should have been smarter. She should have waited for backup. They should have been sure before just sauntering up like they had.

“Hey.”

She turned, finding Andrea watching her. “I’m sorry, Andi,” she said. “I walked us right into this. You and Tori, you could have been—”

“But we’re fine.”

Cameron shook her head. “I just…I just didn’t really think that Angel was inside,” she explained. “But he’s a goddamn sniper,” she said, her voice getting louder. “And I walked us right up to the house like we were coming for a visit or something.”

“Stop it, Cameron. This isn’t accomplishing anything.”

Cameron ran her hands through her hair. No. No, it wasn’t. Andrea’s hands reached out, clasping hers and Cameron allowed this quick moment of contact. They squeezed tightly, saying everything they needed to with that simple touch. Well, almost everything.

“I love you, you know.”

Andrea gave her a soft, simple smile. “And I love you.”