by Delores Fossen, Rachel Lee, Carol Ericson, Tyler Anne Snell, Rita Herron
She didn’t see any signs of anyone, but it was possible the person had put on a gas mask. If so, he or she could come through that fog after them.
Jack’s eyes had to be burning like fire—hers certainly were—but his gaze still slashed all around. A few seconds crawled by, and then he motioned for Clarie and her to follow him. The three of them barreled out into the hall with Jack in front of her and Clarie behind.
They ran fast but didn’t go far, only a couple of yards, before Jack ducked into one of the other rooms, and he shut the door behind them. Caroline soon saw why he’d chosen this one. There were no boards on the window, something he’d probably learned from Gunnar and Manuel when they’d done their initial search of the place. No boards would mean both easy access for an intruder and escape for them.
Jack hurried to the window and threw it open. “Keep watch,” he said, his voice rough and raw.
Caroline knew there was a good possibility that a would-be killer was waiting for them out there. That could have been part of the plan all along. Get them out so they could be gunned down. But the primal part of her brain was screaming for her to escape from the tear gas and get some fresh air.
Jack went out the window first. The moment his feet were on the ground, he glanced around again. He was looking for anyone who might be there to attack, but in the same motion, he took hold of Caroline’s arm. He pulled her out with him, pushing her against the side of the inn. Keeping in front of her to protect her.
She dragged in a long, much-needed breath. Then another. And she blinked hard to clear away the remnants of the tear gas. The rain helped, but her eyes were still stinging and she couldn’t see clearly.
Clarie climbed out of the window then, landing on her feet right next to Caroline, but they didn’t stay put. Maybe because Jack believed the intruder would be coming to that room, to that window.
Keeping close to the wall, they hurried through the weeds and underbrush. It wasn’t easy. The ground was soft from the rain, and Caroline’s shoes bogged in the mud while the bushes scraped and poked at her. Still, it was better than being in there with the tear gas.
They ran, weaving in and out of the ground clutter until they were at the edge of the porch that stretched all the way across the front of the inn. They dropped down next to what was left of the porch railing. Not far from the cruiser. But to get to it, they’d have to go out into the open.
“Stay down,” Jack whispered to her, and he maneuvered Caroline behind one of the overgrown shrubs while he peered around the corner at the porch. “I don’t see anyone,” he added.
Good. Maybe they’d get a few minutes to regroup and recover. They desperately needed that, and then maybe they could pinpoint the location of the person who’d gone inside.
As her eyes and mind started to clear, Caroline got a horrible thought. What if the person was already gone? It was possible that he or she had already escaped, maybe because they believed the tear-gas ploy had failed. If so, then Jack and she were right back where they started—without any proof as to who wanted her dead.
“I’ll text Gunnar and let him know our location,” Clarie whispered, taking out her phone.
While she did that, Caroline got as good of a grip as she could manage on the gun that Jack had given her. Even though her hand was weak, she needed to be able to help if it came down to a fight, and everything inside her said that was exactly what was going to happen.
“Gunnar lost sight of the woman by the trees,” Clarie relayed when she got a response to her text. “He’s going to look for her while he makes his way here to us.”
Caroline welcomed the backup, but she knew it would also pose a big problem. They wouldn’t be able to fire if they heard or saw something, because they wouldn’t want to risk hitting Gunnar. Plus, this meant Manuel was alone and without backup. The deputy wouldn’t be a primary target for the attacker, but he was still at risk.
Jack glanced back at her, their gazes connecting for a moment, and she saw the fear on his face. Not fear for himself but for her. Caroline wished she could do something to assure him that it would be okay, but she wasn’t certain it would be.
And that cut to the bone.
Once again, Jack was in trouble because of her.
Maybe she should have just gone off on her own, far away from him. But while that would have been the smart thing to do, it would have crushed both their hearts. She didn’t want him hurt, or worse, but at least they were together.
“I’m going to get in the cruiser and drive it over here,” Jack said. “I’ll get as close as I can. Wait here with Caroline,” he added to Clarie.
But Caroline was already shaking her head before he even finished. “You can’t go out there. If this person had tear gas, you know he’ll have a gun. He’ll be watching the cruiser.”
Jack didn’t disagree with any of that. He couldn’t. However, the look he gave her let her know that he was going to do it anyway. Maybe because he felt it was the only option they had.
“We can wait for Gunnar,” Caroline tried, though it wasn’t much of an argument. They could be attacked before the deputy made it to them, and he had his hands full looking for the woman. If they managed to capture her, it could possibly give them as many answers as catching the person who’d used that tear gas on them.
Jack levered himself up, and he gave her one last look. A dozen things passed between them. A silent conversation that Caroline wished she could have said aloud.
She had so many things to say to him.
“Be careful” was the only thing she managed before he moved away.
Keeping low, Jack left the meager cover of the shrubs and started for the cruiser. Like their trek from the window, it wouldn’t be easy. He’d have to deal with the soggy ground along with the rocks and tangled underbrush.
Clarie moved in front of her, protecting her as Jack had done, but Caroline kept her eyes on Jack until he disappeared behind what was left of a hedge. She maneuvered herself up so she could try to see him, and that was when she heard the sound behind her.
Caroline pivoted, bringing up her gun.
But it was already too late.
* * *
JACK WAS ONLY a few yards away from the cruiser when the front door of the inn opened and the tear-gas canister came shooting out.
Hell. Not again.
He only got a glimpse of the person who’d launched it, someone wearing black clothes and a mask. But whoever it was immediately stepped back, using the darkness and the white cloud of gas to hide behind.
“Caroline,” Jack said on an oath. He couldn’t see Clarie or her, but he figured this was some kind of ploy to get to her.
And it could work.
Jack had a fast debate with himself about getting into the cruiser so he could use it to get closer to the women and give them some cover. But with the uneven ground and some large landscape rocks, he could get stuck. If that happened, he might be too late to save them.
Cursing, he turned around and started running to get back to them, but the gas stung at his eyes like acid. Plus, even though he’d only gotten a few whiffs of it, he was already finding it hard to breathe. It had to be a lot worse for Caroline and Clarie. They were right there, next to where the canister had gone off, so they were no doubt getting the brunt of it.
With that thought racing through his head, Jack cut through the same shrubs and weeds he’d just trampled through so he could make his way back to them. He seriously doubted that their attacker had simply tossed that canister just to make them more miserable than they already were. No. This was some kind of ploy—Jack could feel that in his gut.
He could hear the women coughing. That was a good sign because it meant they were alive, but their instincts would be to run. To get as far away from the gas as possible. That would take them out into the open where they could be gunned down, and they wouldn’t e
ven be able to see their attacker.
Jack tried to keep watch around him. Hard to do, but he kept pressing. Kept moving. And his heart went to his knees when he reached the side of the porch and didn’t see either Caroline or Clarie. They’d moved.
But where?
The weather didn’t cooperate as he listened for them. The sky unzipped, the rain pounding down on him, making it hard to hear. It would clear the air, but it wouldn’t happen nearly fast enough.
Jack kept running, and he finally heard the coughing again. No sounds of a struggle with a would-be killer, thank God, and he needed to make it to them to keep it that way.
He stayed close to the wall of the inn, but that meant checking each window to make sure he wasn’t about to be ambushed when he went past it. He didn’t see anyone. That was the good news. The bad news was that Caroline and Clarie had likely moved to the back of the building.
From where the intruder had gotten inside.
The person could be there, waiting.
Caroline and Clarie were armed, he reminded himself, and he hung on to that thought while he kept moving.
Now it was the rain that was stinging his eyes, and somehow the tear gas was still making its way to him. There was some gas coming out of the inn, too, which Jack discovered when he hurried past the window where Clarie, Caroline and he had escaped the first canister. Even though he doubted they would go back inside with that tear-gas fog, he made a quick glimpse inside.
No one.
He could no longer hear any coughing or other sounds of movement, and he hoped that was a good sign. That Clarie and Caroline had managed to find some clear air and a safe place to take cover.
Jack considered texting Clarie to let her know he was nearby, but he decided against that. If they were hiding from an attacker, he didn’t want to give away their location. Besides, Clarie knew that Gunnar was also out here, somewhere, so she wouldn’t pull the trigger without making sure it wasn’t one of them.
He took another step and cursed when he nearly tripped over something. Not something, Jack quickly realized.
Someone.
It was a woman, and she was in a crumpled heap at his feet.
That sent his heart rate into a gallop, and he felt the cold fear ripple over his skin. No. Please. Not Caroline.
Jack dropped to his knees, and he forced himself to rein in his emotions. At least he tried to do that. It was nearly impossible to think of the woman he loved being hurt. Or worse. To think of her dead.
But it wasn’t Caroline.
He could see that once he managed to wipe the rain from his eyes so he could get a better look. It was Clarie. And she was breathing. Thank God for that, but she wasn’t okay. There was blood on her head and in her hair, and since there was a metal pipe next to her, Jack assumed that was the weapon that’d been used to assault her.
Where was Caroline?
Jack’s gaze fired all around, but he didn’t see her, and everything inside him was telling him he had to get to her now. Still, he sent a quick text to Gunnar to let the deputy know Clarie’s location and that she needed medical help—fast. He hated leaving her there alone, but whoever had done this to her now had Caroline. Jack was sure of that.
Using his forearm to push aside the sopping wet shrubs, Jack hurried toward the back of the inn. He tried to listen for any sounds she might make. But he heard nothing. That certainly didn’t tamp down his fears.
When his phone vibrated with a text message, he glanced down at the screen and saw Gunnar’s response. I’m on my way to Clarie now.
Good. That would be one less thing on Jack’s mind, but he said a quick prayer that Clarie’s injuries wouldn’t be critical. With an attacker on the loose, it could be a while before they could get an ambulance in here for her.
Jack pushed through another cluster of overgrown shrubs, and he finally saw the edge of the back porch. The pressure clamped around his heart, though, when there was still no sign of Caroline. Hell. Had the person who’d tossed that tear gas managed to get away with her in tow?
He plowed his way through more of the weeds, and running now, he made it to the porch.
And there she was.
Not alone.
Not safe, either.
Caroline was on the porch, and despite the darkness, Jack could see that the color had drained from her face. With good reason. Because there was someone standing behind her.
Someone with a knife to her throat.
“I’m sorry,” Caroline said. There was a trickle of blood running down the side of her head and more blood on her sleeve. “Because of the tear gas, I didn’t see him in time.”
Jack pushed aside her apology for something that wasn’t her fault, and he focused on the “him” who was holding Caroline. Definitely a man. Jack could tell from his size despite most of his body being concealed. The coward was hiding behind Caroline.
Who was it?
Was it just another hired gun who’d been sent to kill them?
Jack couldn’t tell, because the guy was wearing a gas mask. Not for long, though. Using his free hand, he peeled off the mask, tossing it onto the porch, and flashed a smile.
“Hello, Jack,” Kingston said. “Caroline and I have been waiting for you.”
* * *
FROM THE MOMENT Kingston had come out of the shadows and clubbed Clarie on the head, Caroline had known it would come down to this. Kingston wanted her dead, but he hadn’t killed her when he’d hit her with the metal pipe because he’d first wanted to use her to lure out Jack. Kingston wouldn’t have been able to use a dead woman to get himself in a position to murder both Jack and her.
And it had worked.
Jack had a gun, and to the best of her knowledge, Kingston only had a knife now that he’d discarded the pipe, but Jack wouldn’t have a clean shot with Kingston using her as a human shield.
“Is Clarie all right?” she asked, hating that her voice shook when she spoke. She didn’t want to give Kingston any more satisfaction from this, and hearing the fear in her voice probably added to his sick enjoyment.
But why was he doing this?
Caroline hoped she could learn that before she got out of this dangerous situation. And she would get out. There were so many lives at risk—Jack, Clarie, Caroline herself and the deputies outside. No way was she just going to let this piece of slime kill them. First, though, she’d need to get away from that knife he was holding. It was sharp—she knew that because he’d already cut her arm to prove that—and now he had it against her jugular.
“Clarie’s fine,” Jack said before he shifted his attention to Kingston. Jack’s eyes narrowed, and his expression was hard as steel. “Let me guess. You’re doing some favors for your old friend Eric.”
“I am,” Kingston readily admitted, and yes, he was enjoying this. He wanted them to know what he was doing and why. “Last year, Eric called me right from this inn while he was holding Caroline, and he asked me to tie up any and all loose ends for him. Ta-da! That’s what I’m doing.”
She didn’t recall that conversation because she’d been drugged, but hearing what Kingston had just said caused the anger to roar through her. Caroline had to force herself not to ram Kingston in the gut with her elbow. They needed more info from him. Because Jack and she had their own loose ends to tie up. Yes, they would stop Kingston and arrest him, but when that happened, he might clam up. They had to know if others were involved in this.
“Kingston hired Scotty to hack into WITSEC and find my location,” Caroline said. She didn’t have proof of that, but considering the circumstances, that was a good guess. “It wasn’t very smart of you to show up at my house, though.”
“Of course, it was,” Kingston immediately argued. “Me being there, it made me look innocent.”
It had. Well, in a way. But Kingston had always been one of their top suspec
ts.
“And after you were done with Scotty, you hired thugs to kill him,” Jack said.
Jack moved a little to his left, and Caroline felt the pressure of the blade against her throat. “That’s a no-no. Stay put, Marshal, or I cut her before I’m ready.”
It turned her stomach to hear him say he was going to kill her no matter what. That made it even more important to draw this out. Because Jack wasn’t the only lawman out there. Gunnar and Manuel were here, too. Maybe one of them could get into position to take Kingston out.
“Scotty was a loose end,” Kingston went on a moment later. “So is Caroline, but she’s been a little slippery when it comes to finishing up things. I thought it would be a nice touch to kill her here. Eric would appreciate that.”
“Eric was a manipulative sociopath,” Caroline spat out. “The only things he enjoyed were using people and killing. He used you, Kingston.”
“Maybe because I wanted to be used.”
That was almost certainly the truth. He was as twisted as Eric.
“The person who talked to Eric on the phone that night used cop jargon,” she threw out there a moment later.
“Yes, a nice touch. That was Eric’s idea. He wanted to play with your head, maybe make you think he was talking to Jack.”
That gave her another jolt of anger, and she could see that it’d done the same to Jack. It was too late to punish Eric for that, but they sure as heck could make Kingston pay for his part in it.
She had to pause and gather her breath. “Who else did Eric and you use? Zeller or Lily? How about Grace?”
“None of the above.” Again, no hesitation, but Caroline wasn’t sure it was true.
Apparently, Jack wasn’t convinced of it, either. “You’re sure one of them didn’t help you?”
“Nope. Me and me alone. Well, other than those two incompetent idiots I hired. Amos Treadwell was supposed to shoot you. He failed. Jessa Monroe was the woman who threw the first tear-gas canister. She panicked and tried to run so I killed her.”
Caroline didn’t like having another dead body added to this, but she was glad Jessa wasn’t around to give her boss any help.