I have an officer from the next town over watching in his patrol car.”
“Good,” I said. “What ID did he use to check in?”
“He didn’t. He paid cash.”
“Shit.”
“I took a photo.” He handed me his phone. “Visibility was clear. Dumbass should have closed his curtain.”
I took his phone and studied the photo. It was definitely Christopher. The likeness was exact. “Good thinking. Thank you for doing all this for me.”
“It is my job.”
“Yeah it is, but you are going above and beyond to keep Ava safe, and I appreciate it.”
“I'll let you return the favor sometime,” he said.
“I will definitely accept that challenge.”
Before I knew it, we’d arrived at the dilapidated motel. I was surprised it hadn't been condemned, but there were cars in the parking lot so I guessed they had regular customers, even though it was on the outskirts of town. The place was at least fifty-years-old.
The exterior was a dingy white, and the doors were all painted a putrid orange. It should have been condemned years ago.
“He’s in room twelve,” Thomas said.
“I need to call for a warrant,” I said. “Since this is an emergency, the judge will take our testimony over the phone. I don’t want this asshole using any loopholes. We’re doing this the right way.”
Thomas shoved my shoulder. “Sheriff, do you think I was born yesterday? I already called when I was on the way to your house. The warrant should be in my email now. The asshole wasn’t supposed to leave Cook County, Chicago. Those were the terms of his bail.”
He pulled his phone out and checked his work email. “There it is,” he said, showing me the phone screen. Sure enough, it was a signed warrant from the local county judge.
“Thanks man.”
“No problem. I like that you’re a stickler for the rules. Makes things easier.”
I was a stickler, always had been, from my earliest days in the SEALs; I believed in the rule of law. But I was prepared to bend or break any rules if it meant keeping Ava safe from harm. It was the first time in my life I’d ever felt that way about another person.
We got out of the car with our weapons drawn. “Is there a window on the other side of the room?” I was not going to allow him any route to escape.
“Yeah. I already checked that. I’ll head around that direction. Keep your radio on,” he said.
I knocked on the door and identified myself. “Christoper Moore, this is Sheriff Tyler Whittaker from Pine Hills. I have a warrant for your arrest.”
If he didn’t answer, I was going to pry the doorknob off with a crowbar. I knew for a fact Thomas had one in the trunk of his patrol car.
Before I could even rattle the doorknob, or announce myself again, a piece of the door blasted out, stinging my skin with tiny shards of hard metal.
Fuck. He’d shot through the door. At me.
I crouched down low, to the side of the door and I lifted my gun. I hit my radio button and called Thomas, letting him know what happened. Thomas was on the other side of the room, guarding the window. I didn’t want him to get shot through the glass.
A loud crashing sound came from inside the room.
“Drop your weapon,” I shouted.
I didn’t have any gear on. No bullet proof vest, no helmet. But I was ready to bust my way into that room. If he’d shot at me, sight unseen, there was no telling what he’d do to her. Whatever happened to me, it would be worth it to save Ava.
There was another crashing sound, and the motel door ripped off its hinges, and half of a dresser came flying out of the door. It hit me in the leg, and knocked me on my ass.
Fuck.
He’d figured out where I was, and shoved the dresser in front of himself.
I got up and ran. He was already running, full tilt across the parking lot. He had a handgun, and he was randomly firing behind himself as he ran.
Goddammit. Now he was going to hurt an innocent person. Thank God no one was outside the motel. I radioed Thomas again, and he responded that he was on his way.
A bullet hit the asphalt near me, and then it hit a car window in the parking lot, shattering the glass. The car alarm went off, and it blared non stop.
He made it to the edge of the parking lot. I thought he’d go into