How to Save A Life

Chapter 11

A shadow had emerged from the alley behind the bar, sticking close to the buildings. Trey threw open the door and tried to jump out, twisting awkwardly because he'd been facing backward.

"Marli!" he shouted, reaching for the gun at his back. The shadowy figure stopped, turned toward him, hands raised and outstretched. The bastard had a gun, too.

Trey dove over the hood of his vehicle as a bullet popped, then ripped into the fender. He rose up and took aim, pausing only to ensure Marli was away from his line of sight. He heard Marli scream his name.

"Marli, get down!" he shouted, and squeezed the trigger. It was dark and it was a long shot and...

The guy turned and ran. "Not this time, you sonofabitch," he muttered as he scrambled around the hood of the SUV and ran towards Marli. She leaned on her car, hand on her chest, eyes huge and frightened.

"You okay?" he demanded, skidding to a stop. Adrenaline rushed through his veins.

"I'm okay. Are you okay? Trey, my God..."

"I'm okay...I'm going after him."

"No..."

He was gone, running before she even got the word out. He spared a moment's thought for the fact he was leaving her alone again. The two gunshots didn't even attract any attention from people in the area, which was pretty scary. You'd think people would come running.

Thoughts ran through his mind as he raced along the sidewalk, around the corner and stopped. Gone. Disappeared into thin air. Unless he'd gone back into the bar. Fuck, no.

Barnes had a gun. Now he was really dangerous--and in a crowded bar.

Trey debated, his mind a whirling jumble of thoughts. Then he grabbed his cell phone and called 911.

He turned and jogged back to Marli, shivering in her car with the doors locked.

"Attagirl," he murmured when she opened the door for him. She leaped out and into his arms.

"Trey, God, Trey, he shot at you." She ran her hands over his body urgently. "Oh, my God."

"I'm okay," he murmured, pulling her close. He juggled gun and cell phone. "We need to get out of here."

"Yes. Yes."

"My vehicle." He led her up the street. He drove quickly to his hotel, constantly checking to make sure they weren't being followed.

"This is insane," she said, teeth chattering again as they went up in the elevator.

"Cops will likely be here soon." He let her into the room. Once the door closed behind them, he took her in his arms again and held her tightly. "Jesus, Marli, I thought I was having a heart attack. Did you know he was behind you?"

"No." She shook her head quickly. "I heard you yell and the next thing I know he's shooting. God, Trey, I was afraid he killed you."

"He dinged my new car, goddamn it."

She stared at him, then grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him, desperately, urgently. He kissed her back, just as frantically, hands going up and down her back as if to assure himself she was there, unharmed.

That was it. That was the last time. He wasn't an idiot. They'd really be looking for him now. Fuck. He knew they could never catch him, he was way above that, but he also knew when to cut his losses. He was out of here.

Anyway, staying here to punish Marli wasn't really part of his plans. He had bigger things to do.

Why did Mr. Big-and-Tall keep showing up? And why the hell did he have a gun? That wasn't supposed to happen. They'd sat there all night, wasting time, dancing, gazing into each other's eyes. When the guy'd finally left her sitting there alone, excitement rose and adrenaline kicked in. "Last chance, last chance," he'd chanted as he followed her.

Laura was probably looking for him, but who cared. He was done there now. He had a pocketful of money that would keep him going for a while.

He gathered up his meager belongings and left the motel. He checked the money in his pocket. He'd made a fair bit on tips tonight, so he could afford to take a cab. He directed the driver to the Honky Tonk Bar and Grill, just on the outskirts of town.

The place was hopping and he soon spotted just what he wanted. She was young, blonde and alone. Not exactly pretty, nothing like Marli, but she looked kind of sad and lonely.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said with a friendly smile. "Can I buy you a drink?"

The police and the two FBI special agents they'd met earlier arrived at the hotel to take statements. Again.

"I'm getting so tired of this," Marli said wearily. She looked at Trey. "When is it going to end? I don't know how much more I can take."

"Something's going on with him," Trey said with irritation. "This isn't his usual behavior."

"Why is he doing this to me?"

Trey scowled. "Well, because you're blonde for one thing."

"Why?" she demanded. "Why are all his victims blonde?"

"His mother is blonde," Trey replied. "They have a...difficult relationship. Plus, I think it's because you laughed at him when he told you he was a cowboy."

"Huh?"

He recalled his conversation with Sheldon's brother and told Marli and the other FBI agents about it.

"I went to see his brother Peter when I was investigating Kathy Richards' murder."

Special Agent Burrows nodded. "It's in the file."

Trey continued, for Marli's benefit. "Peter's blonde and good-looking like Sheldon, except he looks rough, like he's been through hell. Life of crime, like Sheldon. Apparently, Sheldon was a hyper kid. Peter thought he probably had ADD or ADHD, said he was always acting out, running around, bouncing off the walls."

Brawley, California

Seven months earlier

"Drove the rest of your family crazy?" Trey asked Peter.

"Oh, yeah. Especially my mama. She gets pretty stressed herself. One time, she locked him in the closet in his bedroom just to keep him quiet and out of her way. She left him there for two days. Another time she almost drowned him, she was so pissed because he was fooling around in the tub and splashing water all over the floor. She held his head under water, and he was choking so much, I thought he was gonna die."

Trey's gut clenched, listening to the stories of emotional and physical abuse.

"One time when he was bigger, and she could hardly hold him down, she tied him up. Tied his wrists to the bed. His wrists were bleeding, he tried so hard to get away.

"Sheldon was always gettin' into trouble at school," Peter continued. "That's why he dropped out so early. Started drinkin' and doin' drugs when he was only, like, eleven or twelve. But it was never his fault. Mama would go to school and try to find out who was giving him a hard time."

"If he was in trouble all the time, it must have been at least partly his fault."

Peter laughed shortly. "It was always his fault," he said. "He never could take responsibility, and Mama was just like that, too. Someone else was getting her little boy in trouble."

"Tell me about his wife."

"Teresa," Peter replied. "They sure weren't married long. He knocked her up when she was still in high school, but she left before the baby was even born. Actually, I heard she had twins, boys. Sheldon was beatin' on her and that's why she took off. I don't even know where she lives now, and she probably likes it that way."

Trey said nothing.

"Sheldon was drivin' a cab when they got married, but he'd always wanted to be a cowboy. Mama used to laugh at him when he said that, and make fun of him, call him "cowboy" in that nasty tone she had, and it sure made him mad. So then he took off one day and sure enough, he got a job at some ranch, cleaning stables or something, I dunno. Anyway, we didn't see him for a long time after that. Every once in a while he'd come home lookin' for money, and we thought he was probably in some kind of trouble."

Trey paused and looked at Marli's pale, tense face. "Wanda Barnes apparently thought bullying her children was the way to control their behavior, and Sheldon was too impulsive to control his anger. Women with blonde hair--like Wanda's--apparently trigger his anger--and suffer for what he probably wanted to do to his mother when he was a boy."

"Oh, God," Marli said, pulling her own hair. "I had no idea."

"Of course not. Don't start beating yourself up about that, too. You had no idea he was nuts."

Special Agent Burrows glanced at him. "What do you think his next move is?"

"Wish I had a hot clue," Trey said, rubbing his face. "But we're not going back to that bar."

"You shouldn't have done that tonight," Burrows said sharply. "You should know better than to endanger the life of a civilian."

Trey nodded regretfully.

"What are you talking about?" Marli demanded. "He didn't endanger me; he saved me. I was the one who planned to go there, just like I've been going there every night this week. Trey just came to look after me."

Trey looked at her wordlessly, keeping his face expressionless. Something flickered in her eyes, passing between them.

Burrows looked at Trey. "That true?"

Trey still looked at Marli. "She says it, it must be true."

Burrows scowled.

When they'd gone, Trey gave Marli a measured look. "I don't like lying."

"I know." She gave him a small smile. "But I wasn't really lying."

He shook his head, helplessly fascinated and annoyed by her. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" He walked toward her, deliberately, intently. Chasing criminals gave him an adrenaline rush that somehow always turned into raw sexual need. His body still pulsed from the scene outside the bar.

She watched him with a heated gaze. "I would never lie to you, Trey."

"Remember what you said earlier?" He stood in front of her.

"Oh, yeah."

"Not a lie?"

"Nope."

"Good."