“Lee!” Diane screamed somewhere in the distance.

  CHAPTER 11

  Glover turned around, hiding his face by putting his back to the highway and the van cruising by. Lee took advantage of the diversion and rolled beneath the SUV, giving him both shade and cover. Diane fired from across the road, and from the sound in the brush, Glover had decided to haul ass.

  Diane came running up, her pistol in hand. “Lee. Where are you hit?”

  He tried to focus on her face, but the image was fading in and out, and he felt a bubbling at his lips. Warm, like blood. “Chest—lungs. Bullet missed vest,” he managed. “Glover set us up.”

  As Lee’s vision faded to yellow, red, then purple, he heard Diane somewhere off in the distance. “Stay with me, Lee.”

  Lee found himself drifting, like a leaf across a pond. It was painful at first, especially in the lungs, like he’d been running five miles in the snow, but soon the ache went away. Now it was a comfortable feeling—warm and enveloping, warmth flowing around him instead of the coldness of a mountain stream. His arm hurt for a while, but that faded even faster.

  Soon he could hear a voice, and felt a hand wrapped around his own.

  “Lee? You back?”

  It was Diane. He opened his eyes and saw her bending over him. Either she’d suddenly acquired allergies, or she’d shed a tear or two, but that didn’t keep her from giving him that special nose-crinkle grin.

  “One of these days, Lee, you’re going to drive me nuts. When I saw that one of the bullets had gone under your arm … your heart’s on that side. I thought …”

  Lee was feeling better now, stronger. He looked over at his arm, the one that had been struck with the first bullet, and raised it up. “Nuts, I understand. But see, I’m okay. Lucky I reacted when I felt the sight on my neck.”

  “Didn’t want to lose you.” She squeezed his hand, then gave him a kiss on the forehead before standing up.

  Lee sat up. “I’d give you a hug, but I’m probably a mess.” His sleeve was covered in damp blood, which would steam away once the shirt came into contact with sunlight. “I must have a quart of blood beneath the vest.” He looked around, not seeing any vehicles in either direction, then stood for a second before sinking back to his knees. “Oops. Better stay low and in the shade. Glover?”

  “I missed him, but at least my shot drove him away. I went after him, but he’d already reached an old gray-primer Ford pickup he’d parked a hundred yards back on a side road. Never got a second shot off.”

  “We can find the pickup. He probably stole it from our own neighborhood after sneaking out his back door. Is that guy in the van long gone? I don’t want him to see me like this. Lots of blood, no wounds.”

  “Dude was oblivious, missed everything. Coffee in one hand, cell phone in the other. He never even looked in your direction. I’ll get your jacket and something to wipe up the blood. I recovered his shell casings, but we won’t be able to use any fingerprints, I guess,” Diane added.

  “Wait a sec. How long was I unconscious?”

  “Ten, fifteen minutes. Something like that.”

  “You call for backup?”

  “No. Once I saw you were healing, I realized we had some serious choices to make concerning Glover.”

  “Yeah. So we need to get moving. How about that jacket and cleanup stuff?” Lee took off his shirt and protective vest, then tossed them over to a sunny spot on the gravel shoulder. The blood flared up with a bright flame, but he knew the fabric would only be warm, like out of the dryer, not burned. It was some quirk of vampire blood—it oxidized, but with very little heat.

  Diane returned quickly from across the highway with a small blanket, some prepackaged hand wipes, and a first-aid kit. While he wiped off the blood around the healed-over bullet wound in his side just beneath his arm, and on his lips where he’d coughed up frothy blood, Diane brought his jacket out of the SUV where Lee had left it.

  “Both bullets passed right through me. And the exit wounds weren’t any bigger than the entry points.” He lifted up his bullet-resistant vest. “And look at the right side of the vest behind the arm hole.”

  She held up the heavy protective material. They weren’t wearing ceramic plates or metal, but the fabric would stop most pistol bullets. There was a hole about the diameter of a pencil in the back just behind the right arm opening. “Went right through, barely shredding the fiber. Glover was using armor-piercing ammo.”

  “He’s ready to shoot it out with anyone, then. And maybe he’s wearing a vest, as well. If he does have contacts in law enforcement, he may have gotten a vest and AP ammunition from them. A vest would explain why the shotgun attack from his neighbor that we heard about failed to put him down permanently.”

  “Right now we could arrest Glover for assault and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer,” Diane commented, watching Lee rubbing on sunblock. “Only one problem.”

  “I can’t prove I was shot, or that he even fired a shot, and this vest would be hard to explain. Unless we could get the pistol and recover a slug, his lawyer could get him off. All we’d have is our own testimony. And we’d have to lie about some of it. We need to nail the bastard on something else.”

  “He’s smart, though. Flattened my tire, then took off on foot out his back door so you wouldn’t see him. Sneaked down the street and probably stole one of the neighbor’s vehicles. I think I remember that gray truck at one of the homes close to the highway.”

  “He had this spot already picked out, and believed I’d come and pick you up. Shot out your left rear tire as you slowed to take the curve. Knew you’d probably pull over there,” Lee pointed across the highway, “and I’d stop here.”

  “We can’t just pretend nothing happened. He saw you get shot and go down. If I don’t call the sheriff and the EMTs, he’s going to know about it and suspect something.”

  “What? If he thought I was really a cop or an innocent civilian, of course you’d go to the police. But if we … you, had something to hide, you just might try and get me to a doc on your own and not report it. My cover identity shows I have a record.”

  “But he knows I know he was the shooter. So I’m a threat. And if you managed to survive, you’d be coming after him. So what now, Lee?”

  “We don’t want to draw the public’s attention, only Glover’s. Reporting the incident would work against us. If this gets out, the local TV stations might send a camera crew. One photo on the air and somebody is bound to recognize you or me as law enforcement. Let’s keep Glover wondering whether he’s really gotten away with it or not.” Lee straightened his cap, which he’d somehow managed to keep on, then stood and put on his shirt and vest again.

  “Okay, but what do you want to do with the pickup? We don’t want the county to haul it away.”

  “I’ll drop you off at work, then track down Glover. You tell Anna that you had two flats, so I had to give you a ride. Call somebody at Sully’s station and try to get Mike and Earl to go out, put on a spare, and bring it in to the station. Basically, you pretend that everything is okay, except for the two flats. Anything you need from the pickup?”

  “No. Let me lock it up, though. And I’ll leave a note on the windshield with the number of the store and my cover name. So the cops won’t take it to impound.”

  “Good. Okay, I’m ready.” Lee jumped into the SUV, checked for traffic, and finding none, maneuvered across the road and picked up Diane, who’d already crossed the road on her errand.

  As they were nearing Tijeras, he added, “You might want to remind Anna that you’re carrying a weapon. And keep your eyes open in case Glover decides to make a move on you.”

  She nodded. “He may just do that since I’m a witness.”

  “My guess is that he believes I went down hard. I’m already looking forward to the moment when he sees me again.”

  “He’ll probably assume you were wearing a vest that somehow stopped an armor-piercing bullet, but that’s going to convince him that you’re in law enforcement. Why don’t you put a bandage on your arm? Then he’ll come to the conclusion that one of the rounds must have gone wide, but he still managed to score a hit.”

  A few minutes later, he dropped her off at work. She’d called ahead, telling Anna she was running late, so there weren’t any problems.

  As Lee headed back south, anxious to check on their neighborhood and see if Glover had returned, he thought about the shooting. He’d been careless and lucky at the same time. If he hadn’t reacted to the intensity of the laser light on his skin, a neck shot with a .45 might have decapitated or disabled him enough to prevent his vampire biology from healing him. But also, by turning, he’d inadvertently exposed the vulnerable arm opening in the vest, allowing a bullet to penetrate his chest cavity. A heart shot would have almost certainly been fatal. No pump, no way for the healing properties of his vampire blood to do their remarkable work.

  Mouthing a Navajo prayer of thanksgiving, he continued on, watching every approaching vehicle. Glover was out there somewhere, perhaps in hiding, or equally as likely already at home, thinking he was untouchable.

  For a moment, Lee considered just finding and killing the man and ending his hold over the community once and for all. But that would have broken the link between Glover and his contacts. For now, Lee knew he’d have to let things play out at their own speed.

  As Lee got closer to the turnoff down Quail Run, he realized that it might be good to hide the SUV—for now. In spite of the daylight, once he topped off his sunblock, he could move quickly from shadow to shadow through the forest and get close enough to enter their home through the back door. If Glover was back, he wanted to make sure the man didn’t see him return. Lee planned to remain inside the house until dark. After that, he’d be free to move around, the advantage all his again.

  A half hour later, Lee opened the back door of the small home he and Diane now occupied and stepped inside. Staying low, Beretta out and ready, he searched the entire house for any signs of entry. He took a look across the street through a small opening in the bedroom curtain and saw no signs of Glover next door. The Jeep was still in the driveway.

  Going to the hidden control box, Lee turned off the surveillance cameras and rewound the CD. A quick review of the morning’s recording through the review feature revealed a potential problem. For some reason, the system had stopped recording, having shut down from a power failure about twenty minutes ago. Checking the power supply, Lee discovered one of the batteries had slipped, losing contact. He put it back in position and checked everything, verifying that the problem had been corrected. Then he scanned the recording. Nothing showed up except the change in shadows as the sun rose in the sky.

  Still, he was worried about the missing twenty-minute segment at the end. An intruder could have come in, found the system and shut it down, then gone through their belongs, planting bugs, bombs, and doing almost any form of mischief. Fortunately, there was no evidence of who he and Diane really were around the house, and even the surveillance equipment was a commercial product with no law-enforcement identifiers.

  Lee stepped out back, brought out his phone, and called Diane. She answered within fifteen seconds.

  “Hi, it’s me. I’m home,” he said. “The surveillance system shut down about twenty minutes before I got here. I’m calling from outside in case the place is bugged. I’ll check and make sure we’re still clean. Any news?”

  “Hey, sweetie. I went ahead and called Mike at the Trident gas station, and arranged for someone to pick up my truck and bring it to Howard’s,” Diane reported.

  Being called “sweetie” told Lee that someone was close enough to hear her side of the conversation, so he’d have to ask the questions and dig for information. “I understand. I decided to hide the SUV close to home and go the final distance on foot through the forest. I’m keeping an eye out for Glover. I’ll check with our help and see what Sully’s status is, and basically get up to date.”

  “That’s good. I’m going to take a short lunch today to make up for coming in late, so don’t come over. I should be home at the regular time, but if I have any problems with the truck, I’ll let you know.”

  “Be careful, Diane, and call once you leave the store.”

  “Okay. Love you, too,” Diane ended the call.

  Lee went to the sink, checked below the trash bag, and brought out the laptop. It required a password to get beyond the initial screen, and a special check beyond that point would report any attempts to access the device. It hadn’t been tampered with.

  After spending several minutes searching for bugs, Lee decided that none had been placed inside their home. Glover was technically very savvy, and obviously monitored people without them knowing, but it seemed unlikely he’d bother to bug a home, especially just after he had reason to believe he’d just killed or maimed someone who lived there. Glover had already proved he dealt with his enemies through direct confrontation.

  Lee took another, careful look around back, checking the lock for signs of being picked. If anyone had come in that way, they’d left no evidence or tracks, or else rubbed them out expertly. He wasn’t going to check the front, because if Glover was home, he’d be seen. They’d have to check Diane’s pickup for bugs later.

  Then Lee called Captain Kelly, who’d been sent to the Albuquerque district office to serve as his immediate state police contact. “I need any information or reports of a Ford pickup, year and make unknown, gray-primer color, reported missing in the East Mountains within the past twenty-four hours.”

  The wait was less than thirty seconds. “A 1995 Ford F-one-fifty matching that description was reported stolen this morning from a Quail Run address. Your street, Officer Hawk.”

  “We know who stole it—Glover—and why, but for now I’m going to be sitting on the information. Give me a call if the vehicle is located, will you?” Lee asked.

  Next, a quick check by Captain Kelly revealed that Brian Sully had gone to his tire dealership office in Albuquerque briefly, picked up some papers, then had gone to a mortgage company and bank. He was still in the city, at a restaurant, under surveillance.

  With his own secrets to keep, Lee held off asking for anyone to watch for Newt Glover. He gave Captain Kelly the address of the property Glover was using as a drug drop-off and his boss already had someone checking on the owners. The information would be e-mailed to him ASAP.

  It was noon now, and Lee was getting hungry, especially from all the energy reserves his body had consumed repairing the damaged tissue. A quart of fresh calves’ blood would have hit the spot, but Lee had to settle for two lasagna TV dinners, a German chocolate cake also from the freezer, a big can of mixed nuts, and a half gallon of milk. He moved around the place cautiously, keeping the curtains drawn to avoid being seen from the outside. With Glover’s location unknown, Lee had to be careful. If the man got a bead on his head, a third pistol shot might do the job. Lee was certain that once Glover discovered he’d failed to kill him, he’d try even harder the next time—and Diane would be part of the package.

  The thought of Diane being in Glover’s crosshairs—or laser sight—made Lee want to cover her back immediately. But she’d known the danger all along as well as he had, and Diane Lopez was better at her job than anyone else he’d ever known, his equal in every way. She was the only normal person to have ever uncovered his true identity and condition. He knew he could trust her abilities and instincts. After all, she’d been the one who’d avoided getting shot.

  CHAPTER 12

  A call came though around 2:00 in the afternoon. The stolen gray pickup had been located, parked beside a house in Tijeras less than a quarter mile from Sully’s gas station. Lee got on the phone to Diane immediately.

  “Glover came through your area, probably picking up another vehicle at the Trident or catching a ride back home.”

  “Suppose he knows where I’m working?” she asked softly. “The mechanic and attendant at the station certainly know.”

  “Would they have volunteered the information to Glover?”

  “Only in passing, unless he asked specifically,” she said. “That doesn’t seem likely, though. Why would he let them know he was focused on me just before killing you? It would point any investigation right at him.”

  “Yeah. Glover wouldn’t want anyone, even his lackeys, to connect him to a murder with any kind of traceable evidence. Not unless he’s already got them directly involved. Hmmm. I don’t want you to get paranoid, but …”

  “Too late for that. I’ve already decided that nobody around here can be trusted, except for Anna.”

  “And we’re sure about her?”

  “My instincts tell me she’s a hard-ass on the inside, not just the outside. She stuck with her late husband, a cop, for thirty-plus years. She wouldn’t rat me out.”

  “Okay. Your call. On the original matter, you think you can find out what kind of transportation Glover’s latched onto? We’ll both need to know what to look out for—you, especially, coming home alone tonight.”

  “I’ll be walking over to the Trident, that is, unless one of the guys brings it over here early. They said it’ll be ready on time and they seem to be competing for my attention.”

  “Duh. You’re a hottie in your punkish rebel look.”

  “Yeah, and I’m getting too old for this shit. Everyone who comes into the store has to flirt. Anna noticed and she advised me not to take any crap. She’s not at all concerned about driving away a customer with a congenial ‘fuck off’ if they get personal.”

  “She said that? My kind of gal. Got to meet her.”

  “Okay, sweetie. Thank’s for checking in. I’ll be home at the regular time.” Diane’s tone signaled that she was no longer free to speak, and she ended the call.

  Lee had a big, late lunch, then loaded up with sunblock, grabbed his binoculars, and slipped out the back door, taking as much care as possible so nobody would see him leave. Of the two houses down the street, only one of them had a vehicle in front of it, a minivan. Lee assumed that meant a mother at home with children, but maybe that was his generation speaking—a time when stay-at-home mothers had been the rule instead of the exception. Today, most mothers worked, and when a baby was born it wasn’t long before the infant was with a mother or mother-in-law, sitter, or at a daycare center.