by R. D. Brady
“Kati,” Maddox barked. “Did she leave the estate?
The man nodded. “Uh, yeah. About ten minutes ago.”
Maddox stepped into the small booth, crowding the man. “You let her out?”
“Sh-she said she had some errands to run. No one said she couldn’t leave the estate.”
Maddox’s heart was now at a fevered pitch. He knew she was scared. He should have seen this coming. And the guard was right: no one had said Kati couldn’t leave the estate. All their focus had been on keeping people out of the estate, not in it.
He took a step back, his eyes going past the man to the Chandler Jeep outside. “I need the keys to that Jeep. And contact Jake. Tell him Kati left with Max and that I’m going after them. Which direction did they go?”
The man fished the keys out of his pocket and handed them over. “Right. Toward the highway.”
Without a word, Maddox turned on his heel and sprinted for the car. The engine roared to life and Maddox peeled out of the parking lot. He turned right and slammed on the gas, praying that he was the only one who’d noticed that Kati and Max had left.
CHAPTER 46
Laney walked out the back door of the Chandler main house. Henry had taken off to Happy Meadows with Jen about a half hour ago. Hopefully Northgram’s first wife could offer them something.
Laney had wanted to go with him, but she thought it would be better if she stayed with Kati and Max. She was worried about how Kati was handling all this. And she was hoping she could talk Max and Kati into sleeping in the cottage tonight.
Laney pulled out her cell phone and called Kati, but her call was sent right to voicemail. That’s odd, she thought. She hung up without leaving a message.
She called Dom, who picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Laney.”
Laney smiled. “Hey, Dom. I’m trying to reach Kati.”
“Oh, Kati decided to sleep at the cottage tonight.”
“She did?”
“Yeah. She thought Max might want to be in his own bed.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good.”
“Yeah, um, but maybe you guys could come by for breakfast?”
Laney smiled, knowing Dom had liked having everybody around these last few weeks. “I think we can arrange that. I’ll call you tonight.” They said goodbye and Laney hung up.
So, Kati’s at the cottage. Laney smiled. That’s a good sign.
With a little more energy in her step, Laney turned onto the path that led to Sharecroppers Lane. A few minutes later, she stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed for Kati’s cottage.
The door to the cottage was wide open.
Laney stopped in shock. She turned, her eyes scanning the street. Kati’s car was gone.
Her cell phone rang. She yanked it open. “Hello?”
Maddox’s voice was urgent. “Kati took Max. I’m leaving the estate now. She was heading for the highway. I’m going to head east.”
Laney had started running the moment Maddox began speaking. Now she yanked the door to her car open and hopped into the driver’s seat. Quickly turning it on, she threw it into gear, pulled a tight turn, and gunned it for the main gate. “Then I’ll take west.”
CHAPTER 47
Kati glanced in her rearview mirror: still no one behind her. She eased off the accelerator, but her heart still raced. She felt like she was doing something wrong even though she knew she was doing the right thing for Max.
The only way to keep him safe is to get him away from all of that.
She glanced back at her son, who was still sleeping peacefully. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. She loved this little boy more than anything in the whole world. The idea of him being in the line of fire was just too difficult to contemplate.
The rest of them didn’t understand. They didn’t have kids. She pictured Henry. Well, he probably understood. And Kati was willing to bet that if there was a way to keep Danny out of all this, Henry would grab it with both hands.
Headlights flashed on her car as another car entered the highway behind her. Kati’s heart rate tripled. She moved into the right lane to let them pass. The man in the white Toyota didn’t even glance at her as he picked up speed and raced off.
Kati let out a shaky breath. I am not cut out for this cloak-and-dagger stuff, she thought. Every nerve ending she had was taut.
She shook out her right arm, then her left, and rolled her shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension out of them. Lights appeared behind her, farther back down the highway this time.
Kati focused on the road, but her gaze kept straying to the lights behind her. The car was getting closer.
She picked up just a little bit of speed.
Still the car closed the gap, and as it got closer, she could see that it was an SUV. Her heart sank when she recognized it: one of the security Jeeps from the estate.
Kati gripped the steering wheel. Doesn’t matter. They have no right to stop me.
Her decision made, she ignored the headlights and kept her eyes on the road ahead. The Jeep came up behind her and then changed lanes and came up abreast of her. And even though she told herself not to look, she couldn’t help herself. She glanced over.
Maddox glared back at her.
Oh, no. She knew there was no way he was going to let her go. She pictured the two of them driving neck and neck for miles until one of them ran out of gas. Because that was exactly what Maddox would do. And in fact, if he ran out of gas first, he’d probably flag down some poor schmuck, throw the guy out of his own car, and continue the chase.
She gritted her teeth, her hopes of escape dimming. Damn.
She put on her blinker and took the ramp leading to the rest area.
CHAPTER 48
As Maddox followed Kati’s car into the rest area, he tried to tamp down his anger. There were two other cars in the parking lot, but no one in them. He didn’t sense any nephilim nearby.
He pulled into a parking spot a few down from Kati and took a moment to breathe deep and try to keep the anger and fear he felt from spilling over. Then he opened the door and stalked over to her car.
Kati got out and waited for him on the sidewalk. Seeing her there in the dim light, her shoulders hunched, looking terrified, brought all his fear right back to the surface.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded, towering over her.
She flinched. “Max isn’t safe there. I need to get him away. And you would never agree to taking him away.”
He stared at her, dumbfounded. “How the hell do you know that? You never even asked me.”
Kati’s mouth fell open for a moment before she shut it. “You would consider that?”
Maddox ran a hand through his hair to keep from shaking her. “Kati, there’s not a lot I wouldn’t do to keep you two safe.”
Kati looked up at him for a long moment. Then she looked away. “I’m sorry, Maddox. It’s just—all I could think about was keeping Max safe. And I thought getting away would do that.”
Maddox let out a breath as a tear rolled down Kati’s cheek. Such a simple little thing, but that tear managed to wipe away all his anger, leaving only his fear and frustration. “You need to trust someone sometime. Laney, Henry. Or me. You can trust me, Kati.”
She took a stuttering breath. “I know. It’s just—I can’t have Max in the middle of all that. I just can’t. I love Laney, I do, and I know she’s the reason we’re alive, but right now, I don’t think it’s safe for us to be around her, or anyone from Chandler.”
“Including me?”
Kati’s gaze flew to his face and she grabbed his hand. “No, Maddox. But you’ve had so many years of your life taken away already, it doesn’t seem right to ask you to give up more of your life. “
“Kati, you and Max have given me a life.”
She stared up into his eyes, and then her gaze shifted toward the car. “He’s awake.”
Maddox glanced back. Max was now sitting in the driver’s seat of Kati’s car. “I’ll
get him.”
Maddox walked over and opened the door. Max stood on the seat and Maddox pulled him out, careful not to hit his head on the doorframe.
Max smiled. “Hi, Maddox.”
“Hi, Max.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you two.”
Max squirmed down. “I’m glad you found us. Mom’s going to need you.”
Maddox looked down. “Why’s that?”
Max tugged his hand, pulling him closer.
Maddox knelt down. “What is it, little man?”
Max’s face was strangely serious. “It’s not your fault. And it’s not her fault either. You have to make sure she understands that.”
“What’s not my fault?”
“What’s about to happen. It was supposed to be this way.”
Maddox felt cold shoot through him. He straightened quickly and cast his eyes around, looking for any hint of a threat. The parked cars were still empty. A few other cars drove past the rest area, but none pulled in.
“Maddox?” Kati called.
He didn’t respond, his senses on high alert. It was as if the very air had changed, like right before a storm. Somewhere nearby, he heard a footfall.
“Get down!” Maddox yelled at Kati, pulling Max to the ground as gunshots rang out. Kati dove to the ground with a scream. She army-crawled toward Max, tears streaming down her face.
Maddox pulled out his weapon, but he was caught out in the open. He yanked Max behind him. “Get under the car!”
But before he could do anything else, two bullets slammed into his chest and another two entered his thigh. He crashed to the ground. More bullets peppered his torso.
“Maddox!” Max screamed. A man in black appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Max by the feet, pulling him to the other side of the car.
Kati got to her feet to run to Max, heedless of her own safety. Maddox tried to yell for her to stop.
Bullets slammed into her, throwing her back.
Maddox struggled to get to her, to get to Max—to do something, anything—but a constant barrage of bullets wouldn’t let him. Pain echoed through his system with each wound, only to be replaced immediately by a new pain in a new spot.
The agony seemed to go on forever, but through it all, he saw a van pull up. The man in black loaded Max inside, and then the remaining shooters got in as well, but not before all but emptying their weapons into Maddox. The tires squealed as the van pulled out of the rest stop, onto the highway, and then they were gone.
Finally all was silent. Maddox sucked breath in through his teeth, his whole body on fire. He looked over at Kati’s limp form. Her body lay unnaturally on the pavement, blood pooling around her. Too much blood. No. No!
Then her hand moved, just slightly. Immediately Maddox forgot his pain and climbed to his knees. He looked down the highway, but the van was long gone. He looked at his car and Kati’s: neither was going anywhere any time soon.
He pulled out his phone—miraculously it was undamaged—and dialed Laney as he struggled to his feet.
“Maddox, do you have them?” Laney asked.
“No. I’m at the rest area just west”—he winced, the pain washing through him again—”just west of the estate. A van, black, at least six men. They’ve got Max.”
“License plate?”
“No. It was an old Ford E250.”
“You and Kati okay?”
Maddox looked over at Kati and his heart clenched. “Kati needs an ambulance. She’s been shot.”
“I’ll be right there,” Laney said.
“No!” Maddox barked out. “Find Max. Do whatever you need to do. But find him.” He disconnected the call.
Maddox staggered over to Kati, his pain fading. “Kati?”
He reached down and unzipped his sweatshirt, then yanked it off. There was only one bullet wound, in her shoulder. He pressed the sweatshirt against the wound, but the blood only seemed to seep around it. Fear coursed through him. No.
Kati’s eyes fluttered open and she gasped.
“Breathe, Kati. Breathe.”
She clung to him, trying to get her breath, pain etched in her face. “Where’s… Max?” she whispered.
Maddox looked down at her and saw his own fear reflected back at him. “They took him.”
CHAPTER 49
Laney pressed down on the accelerator. She flew past the rest area where Kati lay bleeding, forcing herself to not look. She gripped the steering wheel tighter. I have to get Max.
She glanced at the dashboard. There was a new shiny button there, next to the air vents. She had let Yoni play around with her car one day, a few weeks ago, and he’d installed nitro—enough for one burst of speed. Laney took a deep breath and pushed the button.
The car burst forward.
Laney focused on keeping her arms tight on the wheel, knowing that if she lost concentration for even a moment she’d be a flaming wreck on the side of the road. The world flew by. If she hadn’t been so scared for Kati and Max, it might have been exhilarating.
Finally the speed burst began to wear off, and as she looked up ahead, she saw the taillights of a van.
Laney struggled to think of how she might get the van to stop. She wasn’t a good enough shot to blow out the tire while she was driving. She could possibly use wind to take them down, but that was also dicey while both of them were in motion.
Besides, both of those options would result in the van crashing. And she was pretty sure the kidnappers hadn’t bothered to strap Max into a car seat.
“Damn it!” she yelled as she closed the distance.
Her cell phone rang. Laney called out for the car to answer it.
“Laney?” Jake yelled.
“I’m behind them.” Laney had called Jake after hearing from Maddox. He’d promised to be right behind her.
“I know, I see you. We’ll take them from the front.”
How can he see me? But before she could ask the question, it was answered: she heard the chopper flying overhead. It flew well ahead of her and the van, then came down right in the middle of the highway, blocking both lanes.
The van screeched to a halt. Laney swung her car sideways to block any retreat, then jumped out. The van immediately went into reverse.
Laney called on the wind.
A giant gust blew down the highway, its force directed entirely at the reversing van, keeping it where it was. The wheels spun in place, and smoke rolled from under the tires. Then the back wheels lifted off the ground.
Jake ran for the van, flanked by two others. He put two rounds through the engine. The other men took out the tires.
Laney released her focus. The back wheels of the van slammed down to the ground just as a burst of gunfire burst from the passenger side window.
Laney dropped to the ground, her heart in her throat as Jake’s partners laid down suppression fire. Jake launched a canister of tear gas through the front window.
White smoke billowed out. Three men stumbled from the van. Jake and his partners threw them to the ground and collected their weapons.
Laney leapt to her feet and ran toward them. As she hit the smoke, her eyes began to sting, and she started to cough violently. Panic surged through her as she looked at the van. Oh, God, he’s still in there.
Jake waved her back. “Stay there!” He slipped on a gas mask, ran to the van, and entered.
Laney took a few steps back, trying to get clear of the smoke, but her eyes still stung. She held her breath. Please, please let Max be okay.
When Jake stepped out the sliding van door, his arms were empty. He walked over to Laney, and when he pulled off the mask, the look of failure on his face made her heart catch in her throat.
Laney started to shake. “No, Jake, no.”
“I’m sorry, Laney. He’s not there.”
CHAPTER 50
Laney sat in the waiting room, thinking about how many hospitals she had been to since this all began. It was too many.
Maddox sat down next to her and handed her a coffee. “Anything?”
She looked up at him and saw the worry etched into the hard lines of his face. “A nurse came out. They removed the bullet and are sewing her up. She’ll be brought into recovery soon, but she probably won’t wake for a while.”
Maddox looked away. “I want to kill somebody,” he said softly.
When most people said that, Laney blew it off as a figure of speech. But as she looked at Maddox, she knew it wasn’t. “As soon as we find the bastards that did this, you get the first shot.”
Maddox nodded abruptly.
A doctor stepped out from the double doors at the end of the hall. Laney stood. “That’s the doc.”
The tall African-American woman walked over. “Ms. McPhearson?”
Laney nodded, trying to gauge what the doctor was going to say from her face. But the woman was giving nothing away.
The doctor stopped in front of them and gave a tired smile. “Your friend did well. They’re moving her to recovery now. I can bring one of you in.”
Laney let out a breath. “Thank God.”
Next to her she felt Maddox jolt slightly. She looked up and saw the relief on his face as well. She squeezed his forearm. “You go. Be there when she wakes up.”
“You sure?”
Laney nodded. “Yes. Take care of her.”
“I will.” Maddox followed the doctor back through the double doors.
Laney sank back into her seat, trying to figure out what to do. She knew she should track down the bastards who did this, but honestly, all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. She couldn’t get the image of Max hurt and alone out of her brain. And now, mixed with it, was the image of Kati, blood pouring from the bullet wound in her shoulder.
She felt the tears burning the back of her eyes. I failed them both.
As she was taking a few slow, shaky breaths, trying to get herself under control, her uncle stepped into the waiting room. He walked over to her and quickly pulled her into a hug. “We’ll find him,” he whispered.