Page 37 of Fear for Her Life

“Proceed with caution.”Wolfe’s voice had fallen into its usual mission calmness.“I’m close by on Main.”

With no time to waste, Kane headed straight for the firefighters’ pole. Designed to be slippery to slide down fast, climbing up hand over hand wasn’t easy with a full duffel over one shoulder.

Heaving himself through the hole and onto a dusty floor, Kane waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before searching for the steps to the roof. He smiled as his tiny flashlight picked up the signage, faded but still readable on the doors along the wall. Papers, dust, and cobwebs littered the entire area. Scratching noises came from the corners and red eyes blinked back at him. He dragged open the door to the roof and it whined in complaint. It had been so long since someone had opened it that it stuck halfway. Kane slipped through, dragging his duffel behind him and took the stairs to the roof.

The roof appeared to be sound but the gap between the buildings was wider than anticipated. He touched his com. “I’m on the roof. Get the kids out of here.”

“Copy.”

Kane removed his belt and attached it to the shoulder strap on his duffel. Keeping out of sight, he went to the edge of the roof, spun the duffel above his head, and let it go. It sailed across the gap, landing on the opposite roof with a soft plop. Gauging the width of the gap and noting the rough broken red brick along the edge of the roof, he pulled on gloves. Emptying his mind, he walked backward and took a few deep breaths before sprinting to the edge of the roof. Exhilaration spiked an adrenaline rush as he flew across the gap. The air rushed from his lungs as he landed and rolled, ending up beside the roof hatch. He lay still in a pile of dead moldy leaves for a few seconds, listening, but only the sounds of the music and men’s voices came from the dilapidated building. Moving with caution, he crawled to the edge of the roof and peered over. One by one the kids were called inside and then left scurrying away on their bicycles.

Moving silently, Kane tried the roof hatch and he pulled it open. Using his flashlight, he peered inside before risking the steps. Dirt and debris crunched under his boots and the hum of a generator came from close by. He slipped through a side door, moving silently through the darkened passageways. Ahead, light crept from under a door and the throb of music came through his boots. He checked the door for any devices or wires, and confident to proceed, he placed one hand on the doorknob and it turned. Slowly, inch by inch, he opened it and pressed one eye to the crack. He found five men inside. One with his back to him was taking stacks of bills from a counting machine and securing them with rubber bands. The other four chilled on a sofa. On a coffee table lay guns surrounded by takeout and empty beer bottles. On one end sat three piles of drugs in small plastic bags, and all the men held phones, waving them as they spoke, as if waiting for the next order. No kids.

Dropping into the zone, he lowered his duffel to the floor and drew his M18 pistol. How the next few minutes went down depended entirely on the five men. Taking a deep breath, he burst into the room. The men went for their guns, but most people caught by an intruder are slow to react. The moment one raised his gun, Kane took him out.One down.As they fumbled to kill him, he moved with precision: single shots, center mass.Three down.

A screaming woman bolted from an open doorway and jumped on his back, attempting to rake his face with her fingernails. The startled man left alive on the sofa dropped his pistol and dove over the coffee table to retrieve it. Kane holstered his weapon, spun around with his back to the man counting money, and reached up to grab her by the wrists. In her haste to attack him, she’d become a shield. Two bullets hit her, one passing right through and scraping a path across Kane’s shoulder. He tossed her body at the man with the gun as the massive man counting the money lunged at him aiming a wild punch.

Ducking and delivering a swift uppercut to the jaw, Kane sent him staggering. He drew his weapon and spun around as the other dealer tossed the body of the woman to the floor and aimed at him. Two taps and the man slid down the wall, jerked a few times, and died.Four down.The fifth man had quickly recovered and was approaching with a chair raised high above his head.

“I’m gonna beat you to death.” The massive man brought the chair down.

Dancing away as the breeze from the chair brushed his cheek, Kane shook his head. “Never bring a chair to a gunfight.”

As the man came again, eyes bulging with rage, Kane shot him in the throat and spun around to check for others, but the only sound in the room came from a phone on a table beside a bill-counting machine. The gangster rap music fit the carnage alongside the stench of gunpowder, male sweat, beer, and death. He cleared the other rooms and then checked the bodies for ID and found none. Taking from his pocket the phone China had supplied when she set up the meeting, he captured images of the dead. Gritting his teeth, he retrieved his duffel and collected the drugs and the stacks of bills. The thing with fentanyl, it didn’t weigh much at all, but the idea of returning it and the cash to Souza gnawed at his guts. He hoisted the duffel over one shoulder and pulled a hand grenade from one of the pockets. This place and all the bodies needed to be destroyed. As he walked from the building, he tossed the grenade and then ran at full pelt into an alleyway as the explosion rocked the night. The blast wave hit him in a wall of heat as shattered glass, metal fragments, and broken bricks rushed along the alleyway. Flying out of the entrance flanked by smoke dust and debris, he hurried back to his truck. Inquisitive people spilled out of the bars as he dropped the duffel on the passenger seat and tapped his com. “Six targets down. Five male, one female. The female wasn’t mine. I caught a bullet. It skimmed my shoulder. I’ll need a first aid kit.”

“Copy. There’s one behind the seat, extra ammo, and spare gloves.”

Kane turned the truck around and headed back to Jezabel. “Thanks. I insisted on delivering the goods and the images in person or the deal’s off, and when China put it to him, he agreed.”

“I heard. Into the lion’s den.”Wolfe started his engine.“I’ll be right behind you.”

Kane shook his head. “Stay back. Souza is street-smart to the max. He’ll have men posted along the way. He’ll be expecting me to have backup. When I go in, I’ll be unarmed. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I do.”Wolfe blew out a long breath but said nothing.

Kane accelerated, wishing he could hear the purr of the Beast’s engine. “Tonight we end this once and for all.”

FORTY-FOUR

BLACK ROCK FALLS

Eerily quiet on Main, the mist swirled knee-deep as Beth Katz walked alongside Styles. Walking a little ahead of them, Bear seem to fade in and out and sometimes disappeared altogether between the streetlights. The wind blew directly down from the snowcapped mountains, bringing with it a hint of pine and lush underbrush. The sky above and everywhere in between was pitch black. No moon guided them along the sidewalk, but moving in the shadows was something she was used to and she enjoyed the anonymity. If a serial killer was out there hiding in one of the alleyways, they would be as difficult to see as him. When Styles pulled her arm through the crook of his elbow, she looked up at him in astonishment but didn’t pull away. A year or two ago she wouldn’t have even been walking along a street with him, but since working together they had accepted each other’s eccentricities.

“I’ve figured if one of the escape prisoners was watching us, it would look more normal for a couple walking their dog to be close.” Styles patted her hand. “Do you think they’ve had the opportunity to watch the news?”

Scanning the sidewalk ahead, Beth shook her head. “Not recently. I figured they would have stuck to the forest. Especially after Romero lost control and committed murder.” She glanced at him. “We haven’t received any reports of any more people going missing in any of the local cabins in the forest and by now neighbors would be watching out for each other.”

When Styles’ phone buzzed, Beth stared at the caller ID. It was Jenna. “Give me one of your earbuds.”

“What is your location?”Jenna’s chair wheels squeaked as she moved it across the floor.“We’ve had a sighting of a man fitting Romero’s description heading toward Cemetery Lane. The old cemetery goes back over one hundred and fifty years. Families have been buried there since the Gold Rush. It’s still used by old families, even though the church fell into disrepair fifty years ago. If he is heading in that direction, you’ll need to be very careful. The graves haven’t been tended for a long time. Many gravestones have toppled over and there’s underbrush and tree roots everywhere.”

“Can you give us directions? We are at the end of the park.” Styles turned to look at Beth. “Do we need to return to the office and get the truck?”

“No. Turn right at the intersection of Maple and Main. Cemetery Lane is about twenty yards from the intersection on the left. Both sides of Cemetery Lane are wooded, so watch your backs. We’ve had a few calls tonight. Right now Rowley and one of the Blackwater deputies are handling them. Nothing from Carter and Rio yet. Maggie has offered to stay behind tonight to man the hotline with me. When Raven comes back, we can take over and send her home. Do you need backup?”

“Nah, we’re on it.” Styles disconnected and took the earbud back from Beth and stuffed it in his jacket pocket.

Biting her tongue about wishing Jenna would remain in the office, Beth looked at Styles and shrugged. “Do you honestly believe that a serial killer would be hanging around a cemetery at this time of night? He has no idea anyone is hunting him down right now and it’s not a good place to find a victim.”

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