by Laura Scott
Eva tried to answer, but nothing emerged from her throat other than a croak. She could feel herself growing dizzy and knew if he didn’t move his arm she’d black out.
The stinky guy must have realized she couldn’t breathe and eased back some of the pressure. She drew in a deep ragged breath, sucking in desperately needed oxygen into her lungs.
“I don’t know where my sister hid the package,” she finally managed. “I looked through the entire house twice without finding anything other than five hundred dollars. Is that what you’re looking for? Money?”
“Five hundred is nothing,” he sneered. “The drug package your sister stole from us is worth over fifty grand.”
Fifty thousand dollars? Oh, Malina, what did you do? What were you thinking?
“Why did my sister have the package in the first place?” she asked.
“You didn’t know that your sweet sister was one of our best drug couriers?”
Drug courier? Malina? No! When? How? Her silent questions tumbled through her mind like a kaleidoscope, creating a new picture at every turn.
His tone grew sinister. “Until she double-crossed us. We sent her a message, sideswiping her with the truck. Killing her wasn’t part of the plan. We’d wanted to get the package back before eliminating her for good.”
Nausea churned in her gut as she realized Malina’s death was a direct result of stealing drugs. No doubt, these stupid men had no idea that her sister was going blind and wouldn’t have seen the truck swerving toward her until it was too late. Her sister’s death wasn’t an accident—it was murder.
Swallowing hard, Eva focused on how to keep him talking. Finding a way to get him out of the house was her best opportunity to escape.
“I have a key to the training center,” she offered. “I’ll help you search for the package. I know every nook and cranny in the place.”
He was silent for a moment as if considering her offer. Then he slapped her across the face. The unanticipated blow shocked her. Sharp pain radiated through her jaw, and tears sprang to her eyes.
“Don’t lie to me,” he spit. “I followed you and that cop boyfriend of yours from the training center. I know you already searched the place.”
He followed them? And knew about Finn? Eva’s hopes of escaping and being rescued plummeted to the soles of her feet.
Before she could gather herself to ask more questions, he removed his arm and yanked her from the wall. He turned and held her shoulders in a steely grip while pushing her out of her room and into the hallway.
Her attempts to fight against him were like swatting harmlessly at a pesky fly. He fended off her flailing hands easily and wrapped his strong arms around her chest, squeezing hard. Half dragging, half carrying, he took her down to the main level and shoved her onto a kitchen chair. A chair that he must have dragged into the living room, as she could see a hint of light streaming in through the window facing the street.
He’d obviously planned this from the very beginning. Why he’d brought her down here, she couldn’t be sure, other than she didn’t have any furniture in her room. Less objects for her to bump into, the better.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was hoarse with fear.
His dark shape towered over her. She couldn’t help shrinking away from him, anticipating another physical assault.
“Silencing you for good. The police have got too close and our boss is worried Roach is going to turn us in. It’s time to get out of Dodge.”
Eva tried not to react to his statement but was afraid the truth was reflected on her face. She heard a ripping noise and felt something sticky against her wrist. When she realized he was using duct tape to secure her, she fought him off with every last ounce of strength she possessed.
He used his knee to keep her pinned in the chair, leaning all his weight on her as he finished securing her other wrist. Then he did the same with her feet. “Too bad you never found the package. You could have avoided all of this.”
Rendered completely helpless by his binds, she could only watch as he bent over to pull some sort of backpack off the floor. More proof that he’d come prepared. He’d brought his bag of tricks, including the duct tape, to finish her off once and for all.
“This will never work.” She tried to infuse confidence into her wobbly voice. “Finn will hunt you down, no matter where you run. And killing me won’t prevent Roach from turning evidence against you and your boss.”
“Finn? Is that his name?” Stinky surprised her by dropping something furry in her lap. The puppy let out little yips of fear, squirming against her. Cocoa! She hoped the puppy would remember her scent and be reassured by her presence. “Don’t worry, I’ve already taken care of him. And Roach won’t live to see another day to implicate us, either. We can get to him even while he’s in jail. You should know anything is possible for the right price.” After uttering that last statement, he slapped a four-inch length of tape over her mouth, silencing her.
No! Finn! Her heart squeezed as horror washed over her. Was it possible the stinky guy would find a way to kill everyone who knew what they were up to? All because of a package of drugs worth fifty grand?
Cocoa buried his face against her stomach and she wished she could cuddle him close.
Stinky disappeared from view. She thought maybe he’d finally left her alone in the house, and then the acrid scent of gasoline hit hard.
In that moment she knew that he intended to burn down the entire house with her and Cocoa trapped inside.
Smoke wafted toward her. Had he started by putting the living room furniture on fire? Using her shoulder, she rubbed at the edge of the tape covering her mouth. It took several attempts before she could feel it coming loose. She bent her face to her hands and used her fingers to pull it the rest of the way off.
“Help! Please, help!” Fearing no one was close enough to hear her screams, she bent over and used her teeth in an attempt to get the binds loose. Cocoa pushed his nose between her face and her wrist, getting in the way. She didn’t want to hurt the puppy—he’d been through enough—so she tried to merely nudge him aside. But he persisted and helped her by using his small sharp teeth to assist in ripping the tape from around her wrist.
Even with Cocoa’s help, it was an arduous task, taking far longer than she’d anticipated. Smoke filled the room, burning her eyes and likely Cocoa’s, too. They were watering so badly she had to close them while continuing to work at the binding holding her right wrist hostage against the arm of the chair.
After what seemed like forever, the tape gave way. Using her right hand and her teeth, she managed to free her left hand and then her feet. Now the living room was filled with smoke, rendering her completely blind.
A wave of panic hit hard, and she knew that this was exactly what she’d be like in a couple of years. Completely blind. Unable to find her way around without help.
If she lived that long.
Cuddling Cocoa to her chest with one hand, she crawled along the floor toward the door. The increasing sense of heat against her face gave her pause. She needed to get away from the fire, not move closer to it.
Stinky had set the fire near the doorway, effectively blocking her escape route. She turned and crawled toward the wall containing the large picture window. Heat radiated from that way, too.
Which way should she go? Eva cowered on the floor with Cocoa, fear rising in her throat like a wave of bile. The pup lurched forward, but Eva hung back, fearing it was useless.
They were trapped!
* * *
The sound of Abernathy’s frenzied barking penetrated the darkness in his mind. It took Finn a moment to realize he was lying on the driveway behind his SUV. With a low groan, he placed a hand on the rear bumper and used that to lever himself upright. His stomach gave a sickening lurch, the pounding in his head matching the beat of his heart. He felt the lump on his temp
le, his fingers detecting the stickiness of blood. Willing himself to ignore the pain, he opened the back hatch, allowing Abernathy to jump down.
His K-9 partner was beside himself, weaving around his legs, tail wagging as he sniffed at his hands and clothes. As much as he wanted to give his partner some well-deserved reassurance, there wasn’t a moment to waste.
“Come, Abernathy.” He looked toward the home Eva shared with her roommates, assuming the guy who’d hit him had gone inside to find her. Seeing the flicker of yellow through the window sent his heart up into his throat.
The house was on fire!
Eva!
He lifted his hand to his radio to call it in just as a man darted from the house. Finn barked into the radio as he moved. “This is unit twelve, I need backup and fire trucks to fight a fire!” He rattled off Eva’s address. “Get him,” he said to Abernathy, using a hand signal to send his K-9 partner after the perp.
Abernathy took off, following the guy down the street.
Finn hated the idea of sending his partner off alone, but he couldn’t leave Eva inside the burning house.
He rushed up to the front door and yanked it open, grateful to find that the perp hadn’t bothered to lock it on his way out. The kitchen curtains were in flames, and he feared the worst. That he was too late. He took two steps, then tripped over something soft.
“Umph.” The muffled sound was followed by several hacking coughs.
“Eva?” Somehow, he’d managed to avoid falling directly on top of her. Relieved she was still alive, yet concerned she wasn’t able to talk, Finn scrambled to his feet. He reached down for her, trying to peer through the smoky air. “Are you okay?”
Still coughing from the smoke, she didn’t answer, Finn put his arm beneath her shoulders and helped her upright. He was about to swing her into his arms, when he heard a high-pitched bark. Cocoa? It had to be.
The perp had left her and Cocoa in the burning house to die.
“Keep holding on to the pup. I’ll get you out of here.” He lifted her up, cradling her in his arms as he took her outside into the fresh air. Carrying her to his SUV, he gently set her on her feet, then opened the passenger-side door, so she could sit down. With help from the streetlamp, he could see she still cradled Cocoa close to her chest.
“Are you hurt? Did you get burned by the fire?” He didn’t like the sound of her cough and wondered how long she’d been trapped inside while he was lying unconscious on the pavement.
“No.” Her voice was little more than a croak followed by several deep, hacking coughs. “Cocoa—helped show me—the way outside. I didn’t—want to follow at first, but he showed me the way!”
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” The wail of sirens grew louder, filling the air as the police and fire trucks arrived, and he knew that help would be there soon. Now that Eva was safe, he needed to find his K-9 partner. “Stay here, Eva. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Where—” A coughing fit interrupted whatever she was about to say.
“Abernathy is tracking the perp. I’ll be back soon.” This time he didn’t hesitate, taking off in the direction he’d sent his K-9 partner.
Following the sounds of Abernathy’s barking was harder than he’d thought. The sound echoed off the buildings, making it difficult to pinpoint his partner’s exact location. He hadn’t been in the smoky house for long, but he still found it difficult to see through the darkness and realized this was what Eva faced each day.
Still, he pushed on, ignoring the pounding in his head. He went several blocks and came upon a dead-end alley where he found Abernathy barking his head off. The perp was trying to squeeze through a narrow opening between a fence and a brick building.
“Stop! Police!” Finn’s voice cut through Abernathy’s barking.
The man turned and in that moment Finn realized he had a gun. But instead of pointing the gun at Finn, the perp took aim at his K-9 partner.
“Drop your weapon or I’ll kill the dog.”
There was a Southern twang in the guy’s voice. Realizing he’d found the perp who’d stolen Cocoa, his mind raced. Would he shoot Abernathy? If that was his intent, he could have killed the dog before Finn had even arrived. And he hadn’t killed Cocoa, either.
Then again, the stinky guy had left both Eva and Cocoa to die in a fire.
“I said drop your weapon!” Stinky shouted.
Training told him not to give up his weapon, but Finn couldn’t risk losing Abernathy.
“Okay, okay.” He lifted up both his hands, his gun pointing toward the sky in a gesture of surrender. “There’s no reason to shoot the dog. I’m giving up my weapon, see?”
“Drop it. Now!”
Finn hesitated for a moment, then carefully bent over to set the gun on the ground.
“Kick it toward me.”
Finn didn’t move. The wailing sirens grew louder, and he noticed the perp glance jerkily toward the street as if searching for the red lights.
In that second, Finn jumped into action. “Get help!” He tossed the command toward Abernathy as he launched himself toward the stinky guy, hitting his gun arm hard in an effort to knock the gun loose.
The stinky guy was stronger than Finn had given him credit for. Despite holding the guy’s wrist tightly, squeezing as hard as he could to force him to drop the weapon, the perp hung on, using his bulky frame in an attempt to knock Finn off balance. He nearly succeeded.
For several long moments they struggled to gain control of the weapon.
Boom!
The sound of gunfire echoed loudly around them, giving him one last chance to rip the weapon from the stinky guy’s hand.
“Get down! Now!” Finn pressed the gun against the man’s temple and he slowly went down to his knees, then stretched out until he was lying facedown on the ground.
Ripping his cuffs off his belt, he grabbed the stinky guy’s wrists and locked them together. Once he had the perp secure, he lifted his gaze and swept the area, searching for Abernathy.
He’d hoped his K-9 had gone to get backup, but that wasn’t the case. His K-9 partner came toward him, limping as he favored his right back leg.
“What happened, boy?” he asked.
Abernathy was wearing his vest, but as he came closer, Finn could see blood dripping from the animal’s flank.
His partner was wounded!
SIXTEEN
The oxygen mask over her face eased her spasmodic coughing but made talking difficult. “Where’s Finn?” she asked in a muffled and hoarse voice. She’d asked several times already without a response.
“Just take it easy.” One of the paramedics leaned over to check the monitor she was connected to. “You’re doing great. The oxygen levels in your blood are close to normal.”
Keeping one arm around Cocoa, who was content to cuddle close, she used the other hand to move the mask to the side. “I’ll be better when you get one of the officers over here to talk to me. I need to know where Officer Gallagher is and that he’s safe.”
The paramedic replaced the oxygen mask over her face. “Someone will be here soon,” he reassured her.
She didn’t want someone. She wanted Finn. She needed to know he was okay and that someone had gone after him to provide backup.
A loud popping noise had her jerking the mask off her face again. “Was that a gunshot?”
Instant chaos ensued, confirming her suspicion. Dozens of officers and firefighters swarmed the area, apparently searching for the source of the gunshot. Through it all, firefighters continued spraying their hoses at Alecia’s house in an effort to douse the flames. Two more hoses were aimed at the houses on each side to protect them from damage. She was horrified about Alecia’s house and was thankful her friend’s parents had insisted on them paying for good insurance.
The paramedic replaced her oxygen mask, staying c
lose to her side. She appreciated his gesture of support and was secretly glad Pete was home with Mikey instead of being out here, fighting the fire. While she was no expert, the fire appeared to be under control. Maybe because the source of the blaze had been focused in the living room.
Remembering those terrifying moments when she’d feared she was trapped inside the house made her shudder. Cocoa had wiggled out of her arms and had let out several barks while headed toward the doorway leading to the kitchen. She’d followed the puppy, shying away from the heat on her left and keeping far to the right. When the heat was behind them and the floor changed from hardwood to tile, she knew they’d made it. The front door wasn’t far. She had scooped Cocoa close and continued crawling toward the door leading outside.
She’d been grateful Finn had literally stumbled upon her in the doorway and that he was all right. His familiar musky scent had calmed her racing heart, but then he’d left her to go after the stinky guy.
Lord, please keep Finn and Abernathy safe in Your care!
Praying was second nature now, and she knew she had Finn to thank for bringing her back to her faith. He was the one who’d shown her the power of prayer. He was the only man who’d kissed her while knowing her diagnosis.
It was impossible to imagine life without him.
She secretly acknowledged that her feelings for Finn went beyond friendship. But knowing that didn’t change her future blindness. With her eyes still burning and tearing up from the smoke, she couldn’t see clearly. Being faced with the reality of her future was sobering. Looking back on what had transpired with Malina, she understood that her surgery, along with facing blindness, was the catalyst for her sister’s desperate foray into crime.
Nothing else made sense.
“Eva?” It wasn’t Finn’s voice, yet it was familiar. She squinted through the group of people still milling about to find her boss, Wade Yost, making his way toward her. “You found Cocoa!”
She hadn’t exactly found the puppy—the stinky guy had tossed him at her—but nodded anyway. “Yes, thankfully. What are you doing here?”