Badge and a Saddle (Heroes in the Saddle Book 2) by Randi Alexander Page A

on the adrenaline he would need for the shit
that was coming his way. Involving Bennet in this was not optimal, but it would
have to be that way. There was no chance of getting the man to hide in the root
cellar.
    Sontag’s face
turned red, his eyes popping out. He grabbed the front of his own shirt and tipped
his head down. “You get all that?”
    A car horn sounded
from the direction of the road.
    Sontag was wired?
    “You’re a
disgrace.” Bennet pulled his pistol and pointed it at Sontag.
    The guy made a
move like he was going to pull his gun.
    Rex took his rifle
in two hands and slammed the butt against his partner’s temple.
    The man’s eyes
rolled back and he hit the boards like a bag of potatoes.
    “Zip ties?” Rex grabbed
his partner’s ankles.
    “Same place.” Bennet
got rolling and held open the screen door while Rex dragged his partner into
the kitchen.
    Bennet set his gun
on the table and went to the ammo drawer. “I sent out a 911 to Trev and Clint,
and called the sheriff’s office, told them we had trespassers, and nothing
more, in case I was wrong and we had to wave them off. My gut instinct told me
your partner wasn’t here for a tea party.”
    Rex nodded at Bennet.
The man was a salt, had smarts and intuition that Rex could only hope to
acquire someday. “We don’t know how close they are, so gotta figure we’re on
our own. Only four of them, if Sontag wasn’t lying.”
    They secured the
house, opening the old double-hung windows a few inches at the bottom. Rex zip
tied his partner’s hands and feet, then taped his piehole shut for good
measure. Rex pictured Mina, alone, frightened, exposed out in the woods, and he
wished he had time to bring her back and hide her. “Hold on, Doc.” He whispered
the words, sending her strength.
    The sound of
engines racing toward them had Rex and Bennet grabbing every gun and box of
shells they could find.
    Rex crouched under
the kitchen window. He could see Bennet struggling to get to the floor by a
window at the far end of the house. He prayed nothing would happen to the old
guy. He loved him. Like a father. Had he ever said that to him in so many
words? That’d be number one on his to-do list…if they lived through this.
    Two big, black
SUVs came over the rise, racing toward the house. The first one slid to a stop
next to Sontag’s car, the other made a wide arc and stopped a few yards farther
away, both of them parallel to the house. Whoever was driving knew what they
were doing.
    A man in a dark
shirt and pants got out of the passenger door of the second car and held up his
hands. “We don’t want to hurt you. Give us the girl and we’ll leave. You’ll
never hear from us again.”
    Rex took out his
phone and pressed the video record button, then set it on the windowsill,
facing out. “You want me to give you Doctor Mina Cooper so you can kill her? Do
you seriously believe there are no good cops left in Texas?”
    The man paused for
a few seconds. “We’re peace officers. We’re not gonna kill her. She’s wanted
for questioning in connection with illegal activity at the university.”
    “You and your
friends killed a man. She has it on her camera. She showed it to me, and sent a
copy of it to the governor. You won’t get away with this. Your best bet? Leave
town, leave the country. Do it now before the sheriff gets here.”
    The guy dropped
his hands. “Even if I did believe that bullshit story, what makes you think I’d
leave behind a witness?”
    “You’re smart.
Smart enough to know when to cut and run. I’m not kidding about the video. I’ll
show you her camera and you can see it for yourself.”
    The window of the
SUV rolled down halfway. Rex could make out a man’s voice, and the man standing
outside the vehicle leaned back to hear. He nodded and stepped forward. “Okay,
show me.”
    Rex wasn’t born
yesterday. “Put your piece on the ground and come up on the porch.”
    The guy complied,
and stepped onto the porch.
    A