Page 74 of Deadly Revenge
Maya rushed over as Ross was trying to pull a small gun out of an ankle holster. Luckily, Juniper was shaking him so hard he couldn’t get a good hold of the weapon. “You’re under arrest. Comply and I’ll get my dog off you.”
She heard some choice words coming her way. Instead of complying, Ross started hitting Juniper, tryingto get her off the bite. His strikes had the opposite effect and Juniper clamped down harder, continuing to shake him. Maya managed to get control over his other arm and twisted it back into a wrist lock.
He tried to pull away. Maya intensified the twist on his arm, adding in some additional pressure points. She was able to roll him over in a way that Juniper didn’t have to release her bite yet. She had to give Ross credit—he had a dog hanging off one arm and she was twisting back the other and he was still managing to almost get out of Maya’s grip.
He stopped struggling for a second and Maya was able to get full control. She pulled out her cuffs and slapped them on tight around his wrist. Then she timed asking Juniper to release with putting a knee on his back and pulling the other arm around. Maya secured the cuffs as tight as she could. Sweat poured down her face.
Juniper stood nearby, appearing quite pleased with herself, but panting. Maya knew the fact that she was panting and released the bite meant her dog was tired, but proud of her work.
“Atta girl,” Maya said to her. Then to Ross, “You’re never getting away. You’re going to rot in prison and think about everything you and Abigail did. Do you have any other weapons on you?”
Chapter Fifty-One
Maya worked to catch her breath and even though Ross was handcuffed, she didn’t let up the hold she had on him. “I asked, do you have any weapons?”
Ross glared at her, but didn’t say anything. Smart. That was the thing she had to remember. He was a law enforcement officer. If he was intelligent, he wouldn’t talk and incriminate himself. If he did speak, then he was probably as manipulative as Abigail.
“I’m going to pat you down. Don’t try anything unless you want your arm ripped apart some more by my dog. Based on how it looks right now, you’re going to need a lot of stitches. I’m sure she’d be happy to give you more.”
“Is that a threat?” Ross asked.
“Wow, you can speak. And yes, it is a threat. Don’t mess with me. I’m tired and I’m cranky. Same with Juniper.” Maya started patting him down, trying to feel for any other weapons. He clamped his legs together, but she shoved her foot in between and forced them apart. She found another ankle holster with a knife, pulled that out and made sure it was out of reach.
“You can’t do this,” Ross said.
“Why is that?” Maya asked.
“I’m a federal agent.”
“So? What’s your point? News flash, even federal agents get arrested. Haven’t you heard of Robert Hanssen? He comes to mind. You’re right up there with scum like him.”
“I’ll say I was trying to help you,” Ross said.
“By doing what? Killing someone I already had under control? No, you’re not getting off that easy. You partnered with Abigail and you fed her information about the investigation. You put all our lives at risk and could have killed a teenage girl. There’s a witness that says you helped with a murder for hire of a cop. He was an informant for the FBI and you were one of the agents working with him. I’m sure when Kessler starts looking into it, there’ll be even more evidence that will link right back to you. If you’re smart, you’ll shut up now. I told you, I’m tired. I’m cranky. And I’m not in the mood for a bunch of bull.”
Maya finished patting him down, double-checked that the cuffs were tight, read him his Miranda rights and then she stood. When she caught her breath, she hit her radio button. Hopefully she’d have signal here.
“FS 28.”
It took a second, but then the radio crackled. “FS 28. We are glad to hear from you. What’s your status?”
“I’m safe. I have our final suspect at the Cloud Creek Campground parking lot. I’m requesting help and a ride.”
“You got it. Officers are on foot responding yourway. Roads are closed due to the fire. Is there a good landing zone in the area?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes. Tell the pilot there’s a helipad about a quarter mile from here. It’s used for search and rescue. I’ll meet him there with the suspect,” Maya said.
“10–4 and the other officers on foot should be to your location soon. Please resume checking in until they arrive.”
Maya agreed. She didn’t mind doing that. It was the dispatch’s way of knowing she wasn’t in trouble. Who were the other officers heading her way? She really hoped one of them was Josh. She should have asked his status. Maya almost called dispatch back but decided to keep the airwaves open for fire and other emergency responses.Stay in the moment,she reminded herself.
“You’re going to get to your feet and we’re walking down the road,” she said.
“And what if I don’t want to?”
Before Maya could say anything, Juniper let out a low growl and changed her stance. “I think that answers your question. Like I mentioned, my dog is tired and cranky too. I’ll remind you one more time to not mess with either of us.”
Ross glanced at Juniper, who continued to stare him down and growl.
