Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Laura Scott (christmas read aloud TXT) 📗

“He’s armed and has no driver’s license on him and is refusing to give us his name,” Slade said. “They can hold him for driving without a license until we can identify him but may also charge him with conspiracy to commit murder. From there, local law enforcement can take over.”

She let out a frustrated sigh. “You mean the ones we don’t trust.”

Slade shrugged. “It gets him off the streets for a while, maybe even long enough for us to get you transferred safely out of Wyoming.”

Out of Wyoming. A hard lump formed in her throat. She forced a nod, then sat back to watch as Colt pushed the handcuffed man into the Coyote Creek Construction van and finish filling the tank. Colt took the van, while Slade climbed into the SUV. Ranger Davidson was waiting for them in front of his house.

“It’s nothing fancy,” Paul said, opening the front door. “But it should be safe enough until nightfall. Oh, and I have these for you.” He gestured to several dark vests hanging over the backs of his kitchen chairs.

“Bullet-resistant vests?” Duncan moved over to lift one up. “Nice, but I’m surprised the park rangers have them.”

“They’re several years old. We got them for an incident a while back when a group of poachers began shooting at us.” Paul scowled. “Shot a friend of mine. He survived but can’t work as a ranger anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Chelsey murmured. “I had no idea being a park ranger could be so dangerous.”

“Normally it’s not that bad, but there are always times like this when things heat up.” Paul reached out to pick up a vest. “This is the smallest one we have, so I thought it would be good for you, Chelsey.”

Duncan reached over to take the vest. “Let me help you get this on.”

The vest was black and heavier than she imagined. It was difficult to comprehend how she’d gone from being a bride at her wedding to hiding out from bad guys wearing a bulletproof vest in the span of two days.

It felt like a lifetime.

Duncan pulled his vest on, then turned toward Paul. “US Marshal Colt Nelson is taking the driver of the Coyote Creek Construction van to sit in your jail. We believe he’s the assailant’s partner.”

“Two men down, then,” Slade mused. “And how many more out there?”

Chelsey shivered, not really wanting to know.

Duncan fingered his vest for a moment, then turned toward Slade. “I have an idea. Maybe I can pretend to be one of them enough to draw others out of hiding.”

“No way.” Chelsey couldn’t help her instinctive response. “That’s a dangerous idea. Besides, why would they mistake you for one of them?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Duncan asked. “I can dress in black from head to toe, like they did, and keep my head down, maybe wear a bandanna around my neck. They wouldn’t know the difference until they got close enough.”

“And then what?” Twines of panic reached up to circle her throat. “They kill you?”

“I can hold my own,” Duncan said.

Slade cleared his throat. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Duncan. Let’s keep our heads down for now, and work on a plan to get inside the Teton Valley Hotel.” He looked at her. “I’ve changed my mind about you coming along. I think we’ll need your help with the hotel layout, Chelsey. We need to know the best way to sneak in and out of the place.”

Duncan didn’t give up his idea so easily. “Don’t you think getting rid of anyone else out there watching for Chelsey is our best way of getting to the hotel without being followed?”

Slade narrowed his gaze in frustration. “No, I don’t think you risking your life is our best chance. I’m sure whoever is behind this already has men lined up to replace the two we’ve taken out of commission.”

“Okay, fine. Chelsey, have a seat.” Duncan guided her to the closest chair. “We’ll work on a plan for getting Brett’s folder, if it’s still there.”

“It will be,” Chelsey said, striving to remain positive.

“Paul, we need paper and pencil to draw a map of the hotel,” Slade said.

The ranger brought over the supplies. Chelsey thought about the hotel and began to draw a basic outline of the building.

“The main entrances are here, here and here.” She drew squares to indicate the areas. “But we bring our supplies in through the loading dock which is located here.” She indicated a spot in the back of the building. “And the employee entrance is back there, too, next to the area where the trucks pull up to unload.” She drew a smaller door a short distance from the loading dock.

“All the employees go in that way?” Duncan asked.

“Not all, but the kitchen crew and the cleaning staff do. The restaurant servers and front desk staff come in through the main entrance. But going in through the loading dock makes it easy to get to my office located down the hall to the right.”

“There must be other ways inside that guests might use,” Slade said, gesturing to her rudimentary drawing.

“Yes, accessed with their room key cards.” She quickly marked them, then glanced up. “But I hardly think anyone from Coyote Creek Construction would have a guest key.”

“They would if they booked a room for the wedding.” Duncan’s tone was grim.

She nodded slowly. “I guess you’re right about that. But Trish, my assistant manager, would make sure to deactivate those keys once they’ve checked out.”

“If they’ve checked out.” Duncan sighed. “I’m getting the feeling that sneaking into the building will be more difficult than I anticipated. After all, hotels are open 24/7 to their guests. We can try to sneak in, but who’s to say others won’t be wandering around as well?”

Her heart squeezed in her chest. The plan that had sounded so simple now took on a whole new level of complexity.

But she wasn’t about to let that deter her from going along. If Brett’s honeymoon folder was