The Winged Dare [COMPLETED]

Chapter Five

8:45 AM

"Welcome back to the world of the living, darling," Caleb said as Laura opened her eyes.

She sat up in the bed, her hand moving to the back of her head. "How long was I out?" she asked. "And don't you dare say 'a while', Caleb. I want a time," she said.

"About five hours."

"Damn." She looked at her alarm clock. The numbers were fuzzy, but they were readable. "You take Kaylee to school?" she asked. He nodded. She groaned.

"You hit the floor pretty hard. I didn't get to you in time," Caleb said as he sat down at the foot of the bed.

"That doesn't matter. What did we find out?" Laura asked.

"Tina Bedding was out with her friends on Friday night. He was her birthday. They all got wasted, and the bartender wouldn't let her drive home. Instead, she took a cab. The driver was a male. He was wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap. And he apparently had a facial piercing of some sort. We don't know what kind yet. He drove her to the woods, took her out of the cab, and beat her. She was bleeding. And then someone else showed up," he said.

"An accomplice?" Laura asked.

"I... Laura, the cab driver is the accomplice. The real killer was in a cabin, waiting," he said.

She nodded. "Let's go into the woods and find this cabin." She rubbed at her head again. "Did you get a description on the killer?"

"No. I just know that the killer shot her," he said.

"We never found a bullet, or a bullet casing," Laura said. She rolled her shoulders back. "We need to do it again."

"Laura, baby... It's not helping us. It only hurts you," he said. He reached out and pushed her hair back behind her ears.

She slapped his hand away. "You can't tell me what to do, not when you went out and got yourself in the middle of a fücking shootout, Caleb! It doesn't work that way!" she exclaimed. She squeezed her eyes shut, immediately regretting the outburst.

"I'm getting you an ice pack, some Tylenol... We have Tina Bedding to talk to... again."

1:00 PM

"I've tried getting ahold of her. She won't answer," Lucas said.

"Have ya tried 'er partner?" Clawd asked.

Lucas snorted. "Her husband, Officer Wolf. They're more than partners," he said.

Clawd's nose scrunched up as he shook his head. "Whatever. That's not the point. Have ya tried 'im?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm not an idiot. He's not answering. I'd assume their phones are on silent," Lucas said.

"Want me ta run ov'r n' see if I can get a stir outta 'em?" Clawd asked.

"No. They're busy," Lucas said. He smiled. "You know how married couples are. They can't get enough of each other. The happy ones, anyway. The ones like Laura and Caleb," he said.

"I get it," Clawd growled.

"It's not that hard to pick up on the crush you have on her. Leave her alone, Officer. I'd hate for you to lose you job," Lucas said.

Clawd wasn't buying into the threat. "On what grounds?"

"Harassment. Making my detective feel unsafe and uncomfortable on the field. I'm sure I could work up something good," Lucas said.

"Nothin' solid. Good n' solid are two different things," Clawd said.

"But I'm Lucas Where. She's Laura Rainshot - formally Laura Dracula. And he..." Lucas gave a dark chuckle. "He's Caleb Rainshot. And you don't want to fück with him, Officer. I'd suggest you watch your back. And if you can't do it, you may want to hire someone to do it for you," he said.

10:00 PM

Laura groaned. "Oh, my God. Caleb?" she asked. She looked over at her alarm clock and sat up. "Caleb?" Her voice was louder than before, but it wasn't quite a shout; not yet. She stood up, one hand still rubbing at the burning ache in the back of her skull. "Caleb?" Her voice was a harsh whisper.

With a sigh, she headed out of the bedroom. When she made it out into the dark hallway, she held her breath. Sure, she didn't need to breathe, but at this point in her life -- unlife -- it was a habit, one she couldn't break.

She stepped into the kitchen and flicked on the light. There was a note on the fridge. She crossed the room and grabbed the yellow sticky note.

Had to run out for a new deal. No guns. No shootout. I'm OKAY. Be home soon -Caleb

"You little bastard," Laura muttered.

Something didn't feel right. In her gut, something just wasn't sitting right. She was panicking.

When the home phone rang, she jumped. She leaned over and pulled it off the wall behind the sink. "Rainshot household."

"Laura Rainshot?"

"Who is this?" Laura asked.

"You answer my question first."

"Yes, Laura Rainshot speaking," she said.

"Right. Listen, this isn't how I wanted to meet you, honestly, but I don't have a choice. I'm known as Reaper. I've got Frosty here. And unless--"

"Frosty? Who the hell is Frosty?" Laura asked.

"Your husband. Caleb. It's the name he goes by on the streets," Reaper said. He chuckled. "For a detective, you're real dumb."

"What's your angle?"

"Well, as you know, your husband is part of The Fallen Angels gang. I'm not. So, we have two options. You can wire five million into my bank account within twenty-four hours, or I kill your husband and reveal to the whole world who he really is," Reaper said.

"F-five million? Listen here, Reaper, I love my husband with all my heart, but I don't have five million dollars just lying around to live to some man I don't know," she said.

"I guess we're about to test your love, Laura. It's ten-twenty. Your twenty-four hours start now. Good luck." The phone went dead in her hand. Laura let out a low sob before she dropped the phone to the counter. Her hand flew to her mouth as she sunk to the floor.

Twenty-four hours to scrounge up five million dollars. And if she couldn't do it, her husband would be dead.