Page 72 of End Game

“Sebastian Grimball?” Ash asked.

“That’s right. Who’s calling?” He kept his right hand tucked behind his thigh.

“I’m going to reach into my jacket for my credentials.”

The grooves at the corners of the ex-con’s eyes deepened before he gave a sharp nod.

Ash fingered out a square-ish bifold wallet, opened it, and said, “I’m Special Agent Cameron Blackwell and this is my associate Kayla. We would like to ask you a few questions about the night of March twenty-first.”

Had Seb’s eyes flickered in recognition at the mention of her name?

“What about it?” Seb asked.

“May we come in? We won’t take up much of your time.”

The ex-con seemed to be mentally weighing his options. After a long, pregnant silence, he opened the door and stepped back.

Grimball warned, “I have a gun in my right hand?—”

The ex-con’s words cut off as the top of his head disappeared.

33

Ash’s body burst into action before his mind fully assimilated the facts.

He grasped Kayla’s arm and thrust her inside the house. “Get down on the floor and stay there.”

To his surprise, she didn’t hesitate. She dropped to the hardwood floor, her face inches from blood spatter and brain matter.

A quick scan revealed they’d spilled into the front room. Unlike the outside, the inside of the small house was tidy and modern. A leather couch and matching recliner faced a seventy-inch TV and a white marble fireplace nestled into one corner of the room.

He kicked Grimball’s feet out of the way and slammed the door shut. Crouching low against the wall between the door and large bay window, he drew his service weapon and checked the chamber.

“Stay there,” he said.

“Where are you going?”

“To clear the rest of the house.”

Her terrified, yet controlled, gaze slashed from the dead body to the front door. “I’m coming with you.”

“I’ll be able to clear the place faster if you stay put.” He hardened his voice. “No going rogue like last time.”

Embarrassed, she glanced away.

“I’ll be back in under two minutes.”

Her gaze snapped to his, their eyes locked for a long moment, then she jerked her head once. The amount of trust and bravery it took for her to let him go wasn’t lost on him.

Using the toe of his shoe, he slid Grimball’s gun over to her from where it had fallen at the ex-con’s side. “Shoot anyone who comes through this door.” He didn’t question her ability with the Glock, recalling the way she’d handled her own.

She nodded, grasping the weapon with confidence and checking its load.

“Keep your head down,” he said.

“You, too.”

Pushing away from the wall, he kept to a low crouch as he dashed toward what appeared to be the kitchen.