by L. T. Marie
“No, I’m not,” Tory sad sadly. “But remember what I told you about soldiers? They can’t always express themselves without feeling weak.”
Jo gasped, placing a trembling hand over her mouth. “I remember. I was so focused on the fact that she didn’t want me…” Oh, baby. I refused to hear what you weren’t saying. “I need to talk with her! Call Gary and hand me the phone.” She figured if Lee wouldn’t talk with her she could always coax Gary into getting Lee to see her. If she couldn’t reason with him, she’d have to find another way.
“Gary, I need to talk with Lee. Gone? What do you mean she’s gone? Where the hell did she go?” Jo’s voice rose. She was sick with worry. Lee had always been alone, and now she was injured somewhere with no one to help her. “Look, I know you’re trying to be her friend, but what if she needs help? How could you leave her in the condition she was in? Damn it, what’s wrong with you?” She hung up, no more the wiser after having called the only person in the world Lee was connected to.
Jo stared at her hands, feeling more helpless than at any other time in her life. “I need to see her.”
“I know, honey. But maybe she needs time.”
“How much time?”
“She’s a soldier, Jo. Who knows?”
Jo nodded and laid her head on Tory’s shoulder. She cried out her frustration with the entire situation. For now, it was all she could do.
Chapter Twenty-four
Jo went downstairs the next morning to find Tory sitting behind her desk with a look of terror on her face. “What is it? Another letter?”
“No, a phone call.” Tory let her cell fall from her fingers and it clattered to the floor.
“What did he say? Did he hurt someone else?”
“No. He wants me and you to meet with him today—in an hour. Or else…”
“Jesus!” Jo grabbed Tory and shook her. “Did you tell someone? The FBI?”
“No!” Tory said nervously, looking into the hallway before closing her office door. She whispered, “We can’t tell anyone. He knew the phones were bugged. That’s why he called me on my cell.”
“You’re not making sense. We’ve already told everyone. Come on, Tory, you’re scaring me. Spit it out already.”
“He told me…” Tory swallowed hard. “He said that if anyone finds out, Gary and Lee will die.”
“What!” Jo bolted for the door, only to be stopped by Tory. “Let me go!”
“Shh…calm down.”
“Fuck that! He threatened Lee and she doesn’t know. Damn it, Tory. We have to tell the FBI and stop this maniac.”
“Jo, listen to me. We can’t involve anyone. He said that if the authorities get tipped off, or if someone follows us, he’ll detonate a bomb that he’s placed at Lee’s and Gary’s home. We can’t call them or contact them in any way. He said he’d know and that they’d pay if we disobey him.”
The bile rose in Jo’s throat. She had to get word to Lee, but she couldn’t risk putting her in danger. Think, damn it! “I understand. So what do we have to do?”
“We’re supposed to drive to an empty warehouse off the El Camino in San Mateo. From there we’ll receive further instructions. He said we’re to take the two-seater Porsche and make sure no one follows us.”
Jo nodded but was only partially listening. She was already formulating a plan, but she wouldn’t tell Tory. The less Tory knew the better, but if they were going to survive the rest of the day Lee would have to be notified. It was their only chance. She’d have to plan her timing so the stalker wouldn’t know. “I’m in. What are you going to tell Dan and the other bodyguards?”
“We won’t tell them anything. You and I are going to go outside and walk into the garage like we’re just having a conversation. I’ll tell the bodyguards to back off because we want privacy, and then we’ll take the car before anyone notices. We’ll take the service road off the property instead of leaving through the front gate.”
“Damn, you’ve been hanging around Gary too long. Okay, it’s a plan. Let’s just hope it works. Meet you outside in five minutes.”
She waited until Tory left her study before jotting down a quick note. She only hoped Dan or one of the other bodyguards was smart enough to look for it before it was too late.
*
For the third time in an hour, Lee reread the same article inside an old issue of Guns and Ammo. She hadn’t left her apartment in days and felt more lost than before she’d been discharged from the army.
What she wouldn’t pay to see Jo smile, to hear her laugh, to take back the words she’d forced herself to say so she wouldn’t subject Jo to the misery that was her life. How she ached to tell Jo she loved her too, to take Jo into her arms and kiss the tears away that she’d caused. But as she looked around her bleak apartment, she wondered what someone like her had to offer to someone so full of life. Jo had many good years ahead of her. She was beautiful, strong, and so damn sexy. No, Lee wasn’t the person for her. Jo deserved so much better than a washed-up ex-soldier, and she wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.
Her arm was healing nicely, the pain more of a passing annoyance than anything else. The cast got in her way periodically, but she could live with it. She’d learned to deal with pain, to swallow her suffering like every good soldier was trained to do.
She threw the magazine on the table to deal with the insistent pounding on her door.
“Gary, what the hell?” Lee asked as he moved into her apartment, followed by Dan Powers and Ted Simons.
“Lee, he has them.”
The roaring in Lee’s head matched the ripping pain in her heart. A growl escaped her throat and, instinctively, all three men backed up. “What! How the fuck could you let this happen? Where’s the FBI?”
“Hold on,” Gary said. “We had no clue what was going on until Simons found this note addressed to you in Tory’s study.”
She ripped the note from Gary’s hand and read it a half-dozen times. She forced her hands to remain steady as she held the only tie that bound her to Jo. If this maniac so much as touched a piece of hair on Jo’s beautiful head, she’d rip him to pieces one body part at a time. “Did you find a bomb outside?”
“No,” Dan said. “I had Simons sweep both our buildings before we made contact. Simons spent some time with an explosives expert in the service so he knew what to look for.”
“Simons, how long were they gone before you found this letter?”
“Thirty minutes. We couldn’t figure out why they left without protection, especially after the bookstore bomb, so I poked around the house and found this addressed to you. I know it’s usually against regs to snoop, Sarge, but I didn’t want to make any more assumptions.”
Lee’s lip quirked into a half smile, and for once in a long time she didn’t mind that someone had called her by her former title. If it wasn’t for his quick thinking, they would have lost a lot of valuable time. “Good thinking, soldier. Gary?”
“Yeah?”
“You have that report I asked you for last week?”
Gary nodded and reached into his satchel. Lee scanned the paperwork thoroughly, her eyes coming to life as a picture emerged. “I think I know where he’s taken them.”
“How do you know that?” Gary asked.
“Your profiler stated that the UNSUB would know everything about Tory, correct?”
“Yeah, why?”
“If that’s the case, he would also know where she grew up. Look at these recent reports.” She handed Gary back one of the sheets of paper. “Traces of a particular polymer were found that are only used in plastics made for the production of forts and tree houses. From the soil samples taken at the scene of Jo’s accident and your report, it says here that adobe soil, Magnolia Virginiana and Baccharis Pitularis, are all commonly found in the Cordilleras Creek Area. Ring any bells?”
“Shit, why didn’t I see that?” Gary said, hanging his head. “I failed her…again.”
“No, you didn’t. Without this, we wouldn�
�t have any clue as to where they could be. Pull yourself together, soldier. I need that address now.”
Gary straightened, her words penetrating his worry. “No problem, I already know it.”
“Good. Dan and Simons, you come with me.”
“Wait,” Gary said. “Are we notifying our friends at the FBI?”
“No. Agent Steele couldn’t find his dick in his pants. I’m not going to risk their lives again for that asshole’s ego. We can handle this. We’ll find this little fuck-head and make him regret breathing.”
*
Lee sat inside the black Expedition focused on what used to be the West sisters’ original family home. No one in the car spoke. They were waiting for Gary to receive a phone call so Lee could gather the last piece of information she’d requested.
“Talk to me,” she said, after he hung up his cell phone and scribbled a few things on a sheet of paper.
“I know who has them.”
“Spit it out.”
“Teigs. It was always Teigs.” Gary’s voice shook.
Could that be possible? Teigs was unstable and a nut, but even she didn’t think he’d have the brains left or the means to pull something like this off. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Give me the logistics.”
He handed her a sheet of paper that contained an itemized list of what appeared to be common household cleaning agents. “This is the list of chemicals used in the bomb that killed Franklin. Ammonia…baking soda….basic bomb-making shit. This, though, is something else.” He handed her the piece of paper he’d written on.
Lee stared at the piece of paper in disbelief. “PE-4?”
“Yeah, the good British stuff. Blows like C-4 but the velocity of detonation is quicker. Remember when Teigs worked with some of the British Special Forces on that project outside of Baghdad?
“I do. Some of that shit went missing.”
“Exactly. But that’s not all. Josh Petersen, the manager of Frederick’s Books, woke from the coma he’d been in about an hour ago. He told that same friend of mine at the FBI that a skinny man wearing a hooded sweatshirt needed to use the restroom the night before. The microphone had been stored in the closet inside that restroom.”
“So? That could have been a coincidence.”
“Yes, but he also told them the man had two mechanical hands.”
“Son of a bitch!”
“My sentiments exactly. So what’s the plan?”
“Remember I told you what I would do to Teigs if I ever saw him again?” Lee said.
“I remember.”
“It’s time I make good on that promise.
Chapter Twenty-five
“Put the bitch in there.” He pushed Tory and Jo into the familiar play structure they had spent many hours of enjoyment in as children.
Once he’d given them another set of instructions at the old warehouse, he’d waited until they had entered the dilapidated abandoned family home before he’d ambushed them. He’d hit Jo over the head with his gun and knocked her unconscious before ordering Tory to drag Jo’s body to the rear of the house. Finally he had everything he’d ever wanted—the love of his life and a bonus—to kill the one person that would cause Lee Winters the greatest amount of pain.
“Please,” Tory begged as she curled her body protectively over Jo’s. “Leave her alone. I’m here—”
“Shut up!” Teigs snarled and grabbed Tory by the hair. He pulled her off Jo and threw her into a corner. “The only person you will love and protect from now on is me. Understand?” He kicked Jo in the ribs and received a quiet groan from her.
“No! Jo…please…”
“I said shut the fuck up!” He pointed his gun at Jo’s head. “One more word and I’ll put a bullet in her head.”
He moved to the desk and placed his insurance policy in his pocket, the one item he would need if something went wrong. If that happened, he wouldn’t be the only one to die.
“Look around you,” he said. “I did all this for you.”
Tory glanced around the room, her eyes wide with shock. Pictures of her were everywhere, on every inch of the walls and even a few on the ceiling, as well as articles of some of her greatest accomplishments. A Tory West shrine built out of his love for her. “But why?”
“Because I knew the first time I saw you, you’d be mine. You were on his arm but you didn’t belong there. You belonged to me. Me!”
“What are you talking about? Whose arm…”
He hit her across the cheek with one of his mechanical arms, and she cried out in pain. An angry red welt instantly formed on her cheek, and blood ran from one of her nostrils.
“See what you made me do!” A growl tore from his throat as he swept all the wires and mechanical-looking devices on his table onto the floor. He gagged Tory, not wanting to hear anything from her until he was ready. “You must learn to obey me, love. I want you by my side like a good woman would be. And soon, I will show you exactly how a woman of mine should behave, especially when a man, like myself, treats you right.” He ran his creepy metallic hand over his crotch and laughed when she shrank away. Suddenly he jerked his head toward the large broken mirror on the far wall.
“Now what?”
“I see you’re losing your temper again, little man. She’s yours. Why wait? Take her now!” The Angry Man stared past him at Tory.
Tory’s whimper caught Teigs’s attention and he turned to glare at her.
“She’s as pathetic as you are,” the Angry Man murmured, as Teigs turned back to stare at his reflection in the mirror.
“Don’t talk about her that way,” Teigs yelled. “Look at her. She’s perfect.”
“Actually, she is perfect. You were right, little man. But,” he said, turning to stare intently at Jo, “I like her twin’s sizzling personality better. The other one is too much of a whiner.”
“It’s another one of our differences. We’ve never seen eye to eye. Although, when I’m done, you can have her if you wish. My gift to you.”
“Why…” The Angry Man in the mirror grinned. “Thank you, little man.”
*
Lee peered through the high-powered binoculars. A grayish van with rust along one side of its rear panels was poorly concealed behind a large hedge. All the windows were boarded up and it was partially hidden by the large willow trees that outlined the property. A BANK OWNED sign hung lopsided by one hook in front of the tattered one-car garage, likely evidence that the recent owners had fallen victim to the current mortgage crisis and cleared out, leaving the house empty and available to vagrants or other unwanted lodgers. Like the one in it now.
“See anything?” Dan asked.
“Teigs’s van, but there’s no sign of movement.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I want you,” she said pointing to Dan, “to go around to the west side of the house. Simons can cover the east side. I’m going around back. See if anything is out of place. No radios. No phones. Hand signals only. And don’t go in alone. Copy?”
“Roger that,” Dan said.
The three of them moved into position. Simons crouched behind a row of shrubs and signaled to Lee that the main house was empty and Tory’s Porsche was in the garage. Even though Lee’s arm and side protested, she bit back the pain and army-crawled through the mud, coming within a few feet of the battered shed behind the house. She ducked behind a tree and scanned for any movement out of the ordinary. A shadow suddenly appeared behind one of the covered windows and she placed her ear against it, straining to hear the conversation inside. She pulled her 9mm from its holster.
“Leave her alone,” Tory yelled.
“I told you if I removed this gag you had to be quiet! You don’t listen. Women must know their place. Now shut the fuck up!”
Lee found a small break in the structure and peered through it. She watched as Teigs grabbed a handful of Tory’s hair and kissed her roughly.
“There,” Teigs said. “That should
satisfy you until I return.” He pushed her back down to the floor and reapplied the gag. Picking Jo up awkwardly by the arms, he dragged her limp body outside to Tory’s muffled protests.
“Oh, don’t worry, my love,” Teigs said. “She’ll be awake for the finale. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back soon and we’ll get our relationship started.”
Lee watched, aching to move, but she waited until Teigs had Jo halfway out the door before she jumped him, knocking him to the ground and separating him from Jo, who still hadn’t moved. He quickly scrambled to his feet and pulled out of his pocket a small rectangular device for Lee to see.
“You’re dead, Teigs,” she said, pointing her gun at his head. “Drop it.”
Teigs laughed. “I knew you’d come.”
“Didn’t think you’d be surprised.”
“Oh, I wasn’t. You were always predictable, Winters. No one was as thorough as you. I remember well.”
“If you remember, then you better put that down before I cut you in half.”
“Your threats are useless. Put the gun away,” he said, pointing to Jo, “or I’ll blow her to kingdom come.”
Lee holstered her weapon, her body between Jo and Teigs, which wasn’t going to do much good if he decided to press that button. “It’s down. Now tell me what you want.”
“You, of course,” he said as if she should know the answer. “I want you dead. I’m tired of hearing your name. When we served it was always Winters did this, Winters said that. I was so sick of hearing your name after the first year I promised to blow up the next guy that mentioned it.” He chuckled evilly. “And when he did, I kept my promise.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Remember Harrison?”
Harrison. Yes. She remembered him well. Trevor Harrison had been twenty-six years old and had less than a month to serve before his deployment in Iraq ended. His wife had recently given birth to a baby girl, and all he talked about the week before he died was how he couldn’t wait to meet his new daughter. The day he died, he’d been working in the motor pool on a broken-down jeep when the engine suddenly exploded in his face. The debris nearly removed his head. He died instantly. The army had listed his death as an accident.