“I’m still here, Mr. Cruz.”
“Please let the deputies know that we can now see two men standing on the porch. I don’t know who they are or if they are armed or not. They were inside the house. There’s also a white van parked next to my barn.”
“I’ll inform them, Mr. Cruz.”
Hector didn’t know whether to hang up or not, so he just held on to the phone. He watched the two men on the porch, trying to figure out exactly what they were doing. While it wasn’t unusual for people just to drop by in Cade Creek, he didn’t think this was one of those situations.
“Shit!” Hector put his cell phone back to his ear. “Ma’am?”
“I’m still here, Mr. Cruz.”
“A car just pulled into my driveway.”
“The deputies—”
“No, ma’am. It’s not the deputies. They might be federal agents though, but the sheriff hasn’t been able to confirm that.”
“I’ll relay this information to the deputies, sir.”
Hector wasn’t sure that was good enough. He held his phone out to Will. “Here, talk to this lady. I want to go get a closer look.”
Will’s head snapped around. Pure panic paled his face. “No, Hector—”
Hector grabbed Will and pushed him down onto the seat when the sounds of gunfire ripped through the air. He spread himself out over the top of Will, trying to protect him as best as he could. He winced every time he heard a gunshot, and there were a lot of them.
When silence suddenly cut through the chaos, Hector slowly raised his head and looked toward the farmhouse. He could see one of the men from the porch down on the ground in front of the steps. The other one was nowhere to be seen.
He glanced toward the black Lincoln Town Car. The doors were open, but he couldn’t see anyone near the vehicle. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
“Will, can you see my phone?” He’d dropped it when the shooting had started.
He felt Will moving beneath him, and then the man’s arm raised into the air, cell phone gripped tightly in his hand. Hector grabbed the phone and held it to his ear, praying he was still connected to 911.
“Ma’am?”
“Mr. Cruz, is everything—”
“You have to warn the deputies,” he said quickly. “They started shooting.”
“Are you hurt, Mr. Cruz?”
“No, I’m far enough away from the house. I’m not even sure they’re aware I’m here.”
“Okay, who started shooting, Mr. Cruz?”
“I don’t know.” And that was one of the things that worried Hector. “I dove for cover as soon as the shooting started.”
“Can you safely leave the scene, Mr. Cruz?”
Hector glanced down at Will, at his pale face and quivering lips. “Yeah, I think I can.”
“If you can’t safely move,” the 911 operator advised, “stay where you are.”
Hector wasn’t sure it was safe to move, but he didn’t think it was safe to stay here either. Will was in danger, and he couldn’t have that. The man had been through enough already. He didn’t need any new terror.
“Scoot down onto the floor, Will,” Hector said as he slowly sat up. He kept a close eye on the house as he moved back to the driver’s side of the cab and then waited for Will to get down on the floor. Once Will was situated, he handed him the phone. “Talk to the lady on the phone. Tell her we’re going to try and coast out of here.”
Hector handed Will the phone then put the truck into neutral. He didn’t want to start the engine until he was far enough away that it wouldn’t be heard. He really even didn’t want anyone to know they had been there.
