Long Range (Joe Pickett Book 20)(55)

“You’ll find out soon enough, I’m afraid. The sheriff thinks you were involved in the shootings,” Joe said.

“What did you just say?” Nate asked. He could feel Liv’s searching eyes on the side of his face.

Joe repeated it, followed by “I’m on my way out there now.”

Nate didn’t hear it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes on the coming convoy. The aggressive approach by the sheriff’s department set him instantly on edge. How dare they raid his home where his wife and child lived?

A fury rose in him from a dark place that had been previously dormant. Usually, his ire was aimed at macho federal agents who threw their weight around because they knew they wouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. It had been months since he felt the internal surge of righteous anger that would inevitably lead to violence. A familiar coldness overtook him and his entire focus became two things: the threat and how to deal with it. In falconry terms, it was the first stage of yarak.

He assessed the situation.

His weapon lay coiled in a shoulder holster on a porch bench within easy reach. There was a bend in the road about a hundred yards from his house where, at the speed they were coming, all three units would line up like ducks in a shooting gallery. With his .454 and a rest to aim from, he knew he could take out the lead driver first and work his way back one by one.

“Nate?” Joe said with a note of panic. “Nate, don’t do anything stupid. Just sit tight. You’ve got your wife and baby there . . .”

At the same time, Nate felt Liv’s hand grip his arm. She was cautioning him to stay still and keep his anger in check.

Without disconnecting the call, Nate handed the phone back to Liv and he turned to face the law enforcement vehicles as they roared into his yard.

*

“NATE ROMANOWSKI,” the sheriff called out as he emerged from his GMC with his hand gripped on his holstered weapon, “I need you to come down off of that porch right now for me. Keep your hands where I can see them and move slow and easy.”

To Liv, the sheriff said, “Miss, please step away to the side.”

The commands were singular in purpose, Nate thought. If Kapelow started firing his gun at Nate, he didn’t want to hit Liv as well.

“Do as he says, babe,” Nate said.

Liv stepped to the side and crossed her arms in front of her. She glared at Sheriff Kapelow with intensity.

The two other vehicles pulled up on either side of Sheriff Kapelow’s rig and Deputies Woods and Steck got out and took positions behind their open driver’s-side doors. Woods had a Glock pistol drawn and Steck held a pump-action shotgun. Nate looked from one to the other and noted the pained expressions on their faces. It appeared to him they didn’t want to be there and they didn’t like what they’d been ordered to do. He noted that Woods kept his finger out of the trigger guard of his handgun and that Steck kept the shotgun muzzle pointed at the sky and he hadn’t racked a shell into the receiver.

“I ordered you to come down off that porch,” Kapelow said. “I need you to do it now.” His fingers were white on the grip of his weapon and veins bulged in his neck and temple. His feet were set into a shooter’s stance and he was definitely prepared to draw and fire. Nate recognized the look in the man’s eye of equal parts fear and exhilaration. Kapelow wanted him to make a wrong move.

“I’m coming down,” Nate said softly. “But this is stupid. You don’t need this show of force. You could have called me and I’d have come in to talk to you.”

Kapelow said, “Come down the stairs and take three steps toward me. No more than three.”

Nate sighed, but he did as he was told.

“Now place your hands on your head and turn around.”

“Sheriff, is this really necessary?” Liv asked from where she’d retreated on the end of the porch. Her voice was strained with anger. “We’re citizens and business owners in this county. He’s done nothing wrong. We’ve done nothing wrong. We have our baby in the house and if you start shooting—”

“There’ll be no need for that if your husband will obey my commands,” Kapelow said without looking up at her. He ordered Deputy Woods to pat down Nate for weapons and cuff him.

“You don’t have to do this,” Nate said through clenched teeth. “My weapon is in plain sight up on the porch. I don’t have one on me.” But he reached up and laced his fingers together on top of his hair. Then he turned around so his back was to the sheriff. He glanced up at Liv. She was furious. He loved to look at her when she was furious.

“You have no right to be here,” Liv said to Kapelow, her eyes flashing. “You’re way out of line to come here and start giving orders like jackbooted thugs. This is America. This is Wyoming. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Please shut up or we’ll arrest you for interference and you’ll both come in,” Kapelow said to her, and Nate felt a red balloon of rage float over his eyes.

Liv shouted to Steck and Woods, “Guys, you know us. We know you. Why are you helping this man?”

“They work for me,” Kapelow said to Liv. “One more word from you and you’ll be detained along with your husband.” Then to Nate: “On your knees.”

Nate briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them, he said, “No. I’ll cooperate with you, but I won’t get on my knees. And don’t threaten my wife again.” He said it calmly and coldly.