Page 105 of Jael

“I’m a grown woman.”

“If I can’t convince you to come away with me, then I won’t let you suffer.”

“You’re going to kill me?”

“It’s for your own protection. I own all the skeletons in your dad’s closet. And I know that you share some of them. I won’t leave you to a fate worse than death. I know how your mother suffered. I tried to help her, but in the end… I don’t want you to suffer like she did.”

He walked up and reached for her, but she balked. His face hardened, and he grabbed her arm, dragging her close. His breath was hot on her cheek.

“I want you. Jael. I’ve spent too many years holding myself at bay. You need to let me have you.”

“You’re sick.” She ripped out of his grasp, and he backhanded her, knocking her to the floor.

Danny paced the ballroom, his focus on the swirling patterns covering the floor. The guests were being questioned and processed, but it was taking too long. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Jael, telling her to sit tight. He couldn’t quite bring himself to tell her Artus had escaped.

The FBI were watching for him everywhere, but he was a man with a lot of resources and connections that could get him out of the country without anyone knowing.

A door banged, and he looked up to see a body bag being carted away.

Barak appeared at the door and watched the path of the gurney as they crossed the floor. Then he spotted Danny and walked over. “That was good work. I know we’ve had our differences, but I’m not too proud to say that Deborah was right about bringing you in. You got the job done.”

“I’ll thank you for your kind words once Artus is behind bars.”

“We’re doing everything we can to find him, but even if the best we can do is get him out of the country, I’d call that a win. He’ll lie low for a long time.”

“You don’t care if he lives free for the rest of his life?”

“I care, but it’s bringing down his empire that I’m interested in now. And with all the evidence we’ve got, we’ll easily get a warrant to comb through everything he’s ever touched. We’ll unravel a lot of what he’s built. Even if we don’t get the man, tonight was a big win for the bureau.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean you’ll take your foot off the pedal to find him.”

“Of course not. Deborah’s given me full authority to do what I have to do. We’re already getting phone calls from the public with possible sightings.”

“You’ve made it public?”

“Like I said, we’re doing everything in our power to hunt him down. We have no time to waste. If he’s not in custody in the next twelve hours, we’ve lost him.”

“You’re going to waste a lot of resources following leads that go nowhere.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Danny ran his hands through his hair. “No.”

“Don’t worry. We’re pretty good at sifting through the garbage calls. A neighbor of Gregory Heber’s called to say they’d seen a prowler that fits Artus’s description. Can you believe it? Like he’d go back to the scene of the crime.”

Every muscle in Danny’s body flexed. “Jael’s staying there.”

“Yeah, but Artus won’t go there. He may as well hand himself over to us.”

“Have you sent someone to check it out?”

“A second ago you were worried about wasting time, but yes, a police cruiser is headed that way now to have a look, but we’re putting our biggest energy into the tightest leads. Artus will be getting as far away from here as possible. He hasn’t survived this long by making stupid moves.”

Danny pulled out his phone. “Still.” He dialed Jael’s number, and it went through to voicemail. He hung up. “I’m going to go check myself.”

“Do whatever you want. You’re off the clock.”

Danny ran to his car as icy fingers snaked deep into his heart. Barak was right. It made no sense for Artus to retreat to Gregory’s house. But he couldn’t let it go.

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