Saving the White Cougar by Terry Spear

Chapter 19

As soon as Ted heard one of the hunters who had shot Stella threatening her, he was outside in a flash, no packing box in hand, and unfortunately, he wasn’t armed with a rifle like before, but he had his phone out and was video recording all of it surreptitiously. "I've called the police. Stay here and they'll arrest you for intimidating a witness." He'd already called the police and he'd called his own friends, just in case they needed their help. Now he wished he'd gone along with Hal and Tracey's offer of help earlier to move Stella’s household goods, since they were both law enforcement officers.

"My brother's a cop and his friends are my friends," Sims said.

The problem was that locally, they might be, and Ted and Stella didn't have a prayer of getting justice here if these men were friends with the police force. But in Yuma Town, where they'd shot Stella, that was a different story. They wouldn't win there.

"Fine, then they'll escort you out of here." Ted hadn’t been telling a tall tale either. Not only had he called the local police, who he didn’t know if he could trust, but he had called Sheriff Dan that he and Stella were in trouble and gave the address. They wouldn’t be able to get here for an hour, but at least they would have an escort to Yuma Town.

"Why don't you men just get out of our face and let us get on with business," Ted said, his voice turning growly.

"Don't tell us you're running like scared little rabbits," Sims said, motioning to the boxes, as if he hadn't realized at first what that was all about.

Rabbits? More like big cougars who would take these guys out in a heartbeat if they could, Ted thought.

"You're the guy who went into the barn to kill the white cougar," Sims finally said. "We know it was in the barn."

"Yeah, well, we have nothing to say about the court case. That will be for a judge and jury to handle," Ted said.

A couple of cop cars finally pulled up and Ted took Stella’s box of clothes and put it in her vehicle.

"So what's the problem here, Sims?" the one officer asked.

Ted waited for him to tell the cop the truth. He wasn't sure if the men were related. They didn't look like it. His brother might not have been able to make the call.

"Nothing," Sims said. "We just noticed the lady was carrying her stuff out to the car and we offered to help. Then this guy gets all hot and bothered, tells us we have no business hassling his girlfriend and—"

"Why don't you tell the officer the truth, Sims? That you shot her in the barn on the ranch where I'm a foreman and she was in the clinic for the wounds she suffered. That you're up on charges for assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and could have killed or injured four-year-old quadruplets and their mother while you were shooting everything in sight? That you were just now intimidating Ms. White from testifying against you?"

"That's a lie," Sims said.

"Are you leaving?" the officer asked Stella.

"Yeah, I'm just packing up my things now," Stella said.

"Why don't you finish your business and get on your way," the officer said, acting like Stella was the troublemaker, not the men threatening her.

"I will, if these men will stop threatening me."

"Sims, you and your buddies leave, now." The officer waited for the men to reluctantly get in the truck, slam the doors, and tear off. "You need to get out of here and stay away."

Stella said, "I intend to. Thanks for coming to our aid." Then she headed back inside the apartment to finish packing up, shaking from the experience.

Ted glowered at the officer.

"You too."

Then Ted inclined his head and walked back inside and locked the door and hugged Stella. He wanted to always be her protector.

"What if the hunters follow us and try to run us off the road or something?" Stella asked, sounding afraid.

He wasn't surprised. No telling what the men would do and with her being alone, he wouldn't trust that they were through with causing trouble for her tonight. "The troops are coming. Like I said, we have your back. Not just me, but a whole lot of cougars in town. Everyone really. But we have enough law enforcement in town to protect our own. They'll be our escort home."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. "Oh, God, thank you. I was so worried they'd try to kill us both and no one would ever know the truth."

"Nope. And we never show our hand when we don't have to. I recorded everything that was being said." He showed her his phone, and the recording on it.

She watched the video and then smiled at him. "I would never have thought of doing that. Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"I'm just glad they hadn't come earlier when I wasn't here."

"You are the greatest."

He smiled. "I didn't want them to get away with intimidating a witness and for the local police department to ignore it. At least Sims and his buddies will have some more charges filed against them this weekend. It just pisses me off that some lawyer bailed them out and that the judge set the bail to allow it."

She hugged him tight, then let out her breath. "Do we continue to pack up the vehicles or—"

"Our escort will help us so we don't have any other issues tonight. Just in case Sims and his friends send some other thugs to harass us."

"Okay, great." Then they went into the bedroom and packed up all the remaining items and she checked her bathroom one last time. They did another check through the kitchen and all the cabinets and fridge, then checked her office. They only had another five boxes to haul out to the vehicles and he really had just wanted to get on their way, but he didn't trust that they would be safe.

It took an hour for the troops to arrive, and he was hoping it was quiet in Yuma Town, but deputy sheriffs Chase, Hal, Ricky, Stryker, and Nina were there. Sheriff Dan had come to oversee things also. Tracey had stayed home with the kids. But Travis, Jack, and Leyton with the Cougar Special Forces were there too. With the new video evidence that showed Sims and his buddies threatening Stella, the hunters would land back in jail, no bailing them out this time. Maybe, they would learn their lesson that they couldn't bully their way out of criminal charges. So even though the men had scared her, Ted's quick thinking had taken care of the men.

It took a couple of minutes for them to carry the rest of the boxes out to Stella's Jeep, and then Nina rode with her in her Jeep to protect her. Dan took Stella's key to the apartment manager to drop it off.

And then the caravan of police cars and Ted and Stella's vehicles were on their way.

* * *

Stella still couldn't believehow wonderful everyone was in coming to their aid. At one point, she saw Sim and his friends in their black truck parked close to her apartment complex, but they probably didn't believe all the police traffic going into the complex was for her benefit. She smiled. They wouldn't dare try to intimidate her again. Besides the fact they would be going to jail and their bond revoked soon.

"So what do you think about our town and the people who live there?" Nina asked.

Stella smiled at her. "You all are the best. Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"I'm just glad Ted was there for you before the men showed up. You can always call on us, no matter where you are, and we'll be there for you. Guaranteed."

That was a great feeling, and she knew she'd made the right decision in agreeing to mate Ted and join the cougar families of Yuma Town.

When they arrived at the ranch, everyone wished them well, Tracey and the kids hugged them, and that was the beginning of a new life not only for Stella, but for Ted too.