by Cari Hunter
Esther nodded, already scrolling through a directory. Alex declined the headset and picked up the phone instead. Castillo answered the call with his usual haste.
“Chief Quinn?” Castillo evidently utilized caller ID.
“Mike, it’s me.”
“Alex? You okay?”
“They’ve taken Sarah.” She was sobbing now, her chest heaving as she tried to draw enough breath to speak. “Please, you have to help her.”
She heard him swear, then something crash to the floor as he banged into it. “I’m on my way to get clearance,” he told her. “Stop crying. Start from the beginning.”
Chapter Eighteen
Sarah was staring out the car window, watching dark, rolling fields and the occasional brightly lit house go by, when Kendall flicked off her seatbelt and leaned forward.
“Hey,” she said to Tobin, raising her voice above the engine noise and the rumbling of tires on pockmarked asphalt. “Hey, you missed the turn for the freeway.”
Tobin nodded, his eyes fixed directly ahead. A van passed them at high speed and Sarah noticed the pallor of his face in the flare of its headlights.
“Yeah, yeah.” He nodded again. “There was a pileup eastbound when I drove up here; lanes closed, rubberneckers. It was a mess.” He seemed to relax the more he spoke. “That’s what made me so late. Thought it might be quicker to come this way.”
Kendall settled back, evidently satisfied. “Take a left onto Union in a couple of miles or so. If you keep going down here, all you’ll find is dust and dirt.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He used the rearview mirror to watch Kendall fasten her seatbelt before returning his attention to the road.
From her position, Sarah could see the odometer ticking over the distance as he drove. Though presumably unfamiliar with the route Kendall had suggested, he made no attempt to slow or look for the turn; if anything, he was accelerating. Outside, all she could see now was blackness. Unease began to creep into the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes, unable to shut out the rapid thump of her heart or stop the cold prickle of goose bumps. She told herself that she was being paranoid, that Kendall was armed and that Tobin was a naïve young officer whom Alex had often castigated for making simple mistakes. Feeling somewhat better, she opened her eyes again just as he reached forward surreptitiously to switch off his radio and sped past Kendall’s turn. Kendall didn’t seem to notice the radio falling into silence, but she saw him disregard her directions and drew breath to protest.
“Don’t,” Sarah whispered, grabbing hold of Kendall’s arm and squeezing it hard enough to force her attention away from Tobin. “Don’t say anything.”
Kendall shook herself loose from Sarah’s grip, but at least she did so in silence, as if waiting for Sarah’s explanation. Tobin gave no sign of having heard the altercation, the unlit road demanding his full attention.
Sarah put her mouth close to Kendall’s ear. “We have to get out of here,” she said.
Kendall stared in confusion. It was clear she had no idea why Sarah was making such a ridiculous suggestion. They were both rocked back in their seats as Tobin failed to slow sufficiently for a hairpin bend, and the car skidded on loose stones as he overcorrected. The roar of the rear tires as they spun gave Sarah enough cover to speak.
“He’s not taking me to Ruby.” If she was wrong about that, she would gladly suffer the consequences. God, she hoped she was wrong about it. “Use your gun. Make him stop the car.”
Kendall shook her head, denial and refusal combined in that one gesture, but she glanced out the window and there was conflict in her eyes when she looked back. “I don’t…”
“Please.”
Tobin had accelerated again, hitting a straight section at sixty and pushing up well beyond the speed limit. If she had still harbored any doubts, Kendall could have asked him to slow down, could have demanded that he stop and explain his actions. Instead, she undid her seatbelt and used her thumb to disengage the snap mechanism on her holster. She drew her pistol slowly, and then raised her arm to aim the weapon at Tobin.
The same instant, he slammed on the brakes and sent her flying headfirst into the back of his seat. She fell back limp, blood pouring from a split in her forehead, her gun lost somewhere in the footwell. Sarah moved to shield her as the car came to a complete stop. Tobin got out and flung open Sarah’s door, his gun already in his hand.
“You stupid bitches.” He glared down at them. “You think I wouldn’t hear any of that?”
He had been waiting, Sarah realized, biding his time until Kendall made herself vulnerable by removing her seatbelt.
“Did Alex tell you I was a fucking moron, huh?” He lifted Sarah’s chin with the muzzle of his gun, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Did she?”
“No.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” he said, nothing remaining of his small-town good ol’ boy persona as he dug the gun in hard enough to make her wince.
“Please.” She swallowed, feeling her throat work against the metal. “Please let Kendall go. You don’t need her.”
“Got it all worked out, have you?” he asked, a casual lilt to his tone. “You know who I got waiting for you, then?”
“Yes.”
He hooted with laughter, the motion of his hand making the gun bob up and down. “Yeah, I’d be fucking scared too. So, what d’ya think I should do with your friend here? Kill her or let Deakin deal with her?”
Behind Sarah, Kendall stirred as if in response to this casual discussion of her fate.
“Leave her here,” Sarah said, trying to keep the rising panic from her voice. She didn’t think Tobin would kill Kendall, but Deakin almost certainly would. “He doesn’t need to know she was ever with us. Just leave her here and let someone find her. Please, Tobin.” She saw the subtle shift in his expression as she begged; he had probably never wielded so much power as he did right then. “Please, she’s got no part in this.”
He nodded once and stepped back. “Get her out of there.”
Still uncertain what he had decided, Sarah coaxed Kendall from the car. Kendall dropped to her knees, half-dazed, with blood running freely into her eyes, the handcuffs forcing Sarah down beside her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, as Sarah tried to prop her up.
“Shh, easy. You’re going to be fine,” Sarah said, but her voice faltered on the promise and she took hold of Kendall’s hand instead. Tobin came to stand in front of them and touched his gun to Kendall’s forehead. The tremor that ran through her was so hard that Sarah felt it, while an acrid smell told her that Kendall had lost control of her bladder.
Tobin waited for a few seconds longer before tapping Kendall’s forehead with the gun. “Get out the keys to the cuffs.”
Kendall stared at him blankly for a moment, his demand taking time to register, then fumbled in her pocket and drew out a set of keys.
“Unlock both sets.”
Kendall’s movements were uncoordinated, but the cuffs finally fell away. She knelt motionless, waiting for instruction.
“Cuff Sarah’s hands behind her. No tricks, do it good and tight, and hurry it up. I’m on a fucking schedule here.”
She darted a glance at Sarah, as if seeking her permission. Sarah nodded, turning with her hands held ready. Having recovered her nerve somewhat, Kendall managed to refasten the cuffs without further problems. Tobin used one hand to check her efforts and nodded his approval.
“You.” He pointed the gun at Sarah. “Move a muscle and I’ll shoot her, okay?”
“Okay,” Sarah said. At that point, she would probably have agreed to anything if it meant keeping Kendall alive. Kneeling on the sharp stones, her fingers already growing numb, she watched Tobin drag Kendall across to a tree not far from the road, where he threw her down, circled her arms around the trunk, and bound her wrists with his own set of cuffs. Leaving her clumsily attempting to sit up, he jogged back to Sarah.
“Someone might spot her if she’s lucky,” he said. His
shrug told her he didn’t give a damn either way.
Sarah lowered her head. “Thank you.” She struggled for her footing as he pulled her up.
“Don’t be thanking me,” he told her. He marched her back to the car and shoved her into the front seat. “You just behave yourself, or I’ll come back this way, and if the coyotes haven’t gotten to her I’ll finish her off myself.”
He secured Sarah’s seatbelt and reholstered his gun. As he maneuvered the car back onto the road, the brake lights briefly illuminated the white of Kendall’s shirt before cutting out to leave her indistinguishable. The road stretched ahead, a pitch-black expanse unbroken by any oncoming traffic. Sarah tried not to think how long it might be before someone found Kendall, or what Alex would do when she worked out what had happened. She turned her face away from Tobin, determined not to let him see how frightened she was. At least let this be an end to it. It was the only consolation left to her. End it with me and keep Alex safe.
*
“Were you there when he killed Lyssa?” Sarah’s quiet question broke a silence that had lasted for the thirty miles since Tobin abandoned Kendall. In all that time, they had passed no other vehicles and the only sign of civilization had been a single light flickering on a closed gas station. She knew they were getting closer to their destination; Tobin was sweating profusely and a nervous tic made him check the clock on the dash every few seconds. She wasn’t trying to antagonize him or bond with him; she just wanted to understand how all this had happened.
“I didn’t kill her,” he said, as if that made his participation in Deakin’s retribution honorable.
“No.” Thirty miles had given her a lot of time to think. “No, but you were already helping Deakin by then, and that night you were on your way to our cabin to cover his tracks for him.”
Tobin slapped his hands on the steering wheel, a mock round of applause. “Clever girl.”
“Not clever enough to work out why you’d do this.”
“Duty called and I answered.” He puffed out his chest as he spoke and sat up taller in his seat. His gullibility made her want to shake him.
“What did he promise you? Money? A high-profile role in his organization? Half a dozen virgins?”
He scoffed as if the suggestions were preposterous, but she suspected she had hit a nerve. She decided that now that she had gotten Kendall out of harm’s way, she would rather take her chances with Tobin than let him hand her over to Deakin, so she pushed a little harder.
“He’s going to kill me,” she said. “You know that, don’t you?”
“He hasn’t told me what he’s going to do.”
She kicked her feet against the floor of the car, frustration overcoming her self-control. “So what? Ignorance is bliss and that makes everything all right? When they catch you, they won’t just charge you with kidnapping; they’ll charge you as an accessory to murder.”
“They won’t catch me,” Tobin said with the blind certainty of a zealot. “He’s going to get me out of the country.”
“I think he’s going to be slightly too preoccupied with me to waste time smuggling you across the border.”
That gave him pause; he looked almost hurt by the notion. “He made me a promise.”
Sarah took a breath and went for broke. “Then you really are as fucking stupid as Alex always said.”
She had hoped he would lose control, perhaps stop the car and drag her out, giving her an opportunity to fight or run, but he merely gripped the back of her neck and slammed her forward into the dash. The blow made white noise scream in her ears, and it was only dimly that she heard herself groan and Tobin spit out a curse. Something warm and thick trickled down her face, running into her mouth and making her gag. She felt Tobin righting her again, but she couldn’t hold herself steady and she sagged against the window. Blood splattered onto the glass when she coughed. Too weary to resist anymore, and all out of chances, she mouthed a heartfelt apology to Alex and let her eyes close.
*
Sarah wasn’t sure what had forced her awake: the change in the car’s speed or the knocking of her head against its window as it rattled down a bumpy track. One minute she had been dreaming of home, and the next she was trying to breathe through a nose clogged with blood without letting Tobin know that she was conscious. She kept her eyes shut, listening to him humming tunelessly as he brought the car to a stop. Seconds later, he got out, and she took the chance to peek through the window.
“Oh God,” she whispered.
He had left the road and parked in a small picnic area with nothing but forest surrounding it. She could see the lights of another vehicle with a man perched on its hood; as she watched, he strode across to meet Tobin halfway. They shook hands and turned back toward her. In desperation, she considered trying to open her door, but before she could move, it was thrown open and the man crouched down to fill the gap.
Caleb Deakin looked so much like his father that she began to tremble. Tilting his head to one side, he trained a flashlight across her body as if appraising goods he had ordered. She shied away from the glare, her legs uselessly scrabbling to propel her out of his reach, but it was only when he tried to take hold of her that she broke through her panic. She bit at his hand and then kicked out with both feet, catching him hard in the chest and knocking him aside.
Cursing, he grabbed at the door to break his fall, but she had already scrambled past him and out onto the parking lot. As Tobin began to shout, she sprinted for the cover of the trees, her lungs burning, her legs unsteady and already threatening to fail her. Someone gave chase, closing in fast, but then the pounding footsteps stopped, and for a fleeting, surreal moment, she thought he had given up on her. Then dirt and rocks spat up by her feet and she bucked sideways, recognizing the cause as gunfire but not having heard the shots. A second salvo of muted pops followed, and she felt shards of debris slice through the thin cotton of her pants, stinging her legs. She pushed harder, reaching a path of loose stones and grass, the trees less than ten yards ahead of her now. A car engine fired up, and the beams of its headlights moved in a slow circle, stopping as soon as they were trained on her. The orange of her jumpsuit glowed bright, making her a stark target.
Another shot. She heard Tobin, some distance behind, give a playful whistle as it missed. Terrified, she tried to weave from side to side, but water rushed close by and rocks hemmed her in, forcing her straight ahead. She sobbed for breath, knowing she wasn’t going to make it and waiting for the bullet that would cut her down. It came within seconds, a shock of heat and pain that made her right leg crumple beneath her and sent her pitching forward. Unable to break her fall, she landed heavily, her body and then her head smacking into the ground.
Someone approached her and a booted foot tipped her onto her side. She looked up into the barrel of a silenced gun.
“Where the fuck did you think you were going?”
Deakin clearly didn’t expect an answer, and he punctuated his question by kicking her in the abdomen. It drove the breath from her, leaving her gasping. He was about to deliver a second blow when a woman’s voice made him turn sharply.
“Caleb, Caleb, please. You don’t want to kill her here, do you? Please let me see to her.”
The woman sounded young and tremulous, as if she was taking a great risk by intervening. Deakin didn’t reply, but he must have relented because he stalked away and left the woman to kneel by Sarah’s side. Careful hands touched her face, wiping at the gravel and blood.
“You’re okay,” the woman whispered. She was as unconvincing a liar as Sarah had ever been. “You’re going to be okay.”
Sarah didn’t have the strength to argue. She felt the woman wrap something around the wound in her leg, and welcomed the renewed surge of agony that finally took her under.
*
Bare-shouldered and shivering in the cool night air, Leah waited for Sarah’s eyes to roll back before she tightened her shirt around the bullet wound Caleb had inflicted. Sarah whimpered,
her hands stretching and flexing against the cuffs but unable to reach the source of her discomfort. Her leg was broken, Leah could tell. Even without any first aid training, she had no difficulty identifying the place where the bullet had snapped the bones. Sarah’s pants were already soaked through with blood, and the thin cloth binding the entrance and exit wounds felt heavy and wet beneath Leah’s fingers. She pressed harder, murmuring to try to calm Sarah when she kicked out in response.
Her attention focused on stopping the blood loss, Leah startled as Caleb’s contact suddenly raised his voice.
“You think your people won’t find out?” he yelled at Caleb. “I’ll tell every fucking one of them that you can’t be trusted. That you make promises that you can’t keep!”
She looked across to where they were standing, clearly lit by the cars. The police officer’s face was scarlet with fury and he used both hands to slam into Caleb’s chest, forcing him onto the back foot.
“Shit, Deakin. Do you know what I risked for you?” His tone had altered, sounding more saddened than enraged. He stepped back from Caleb and buried his face in his hands. In the light of the headlights, Caleb smiled, regarding him with obvious pity.
“You knew what you were getting into, Tobin. You should just take your money. This was never about you. It was about what she”―Caleb jerked his chin toward Sarah―“and that other dyke did to my father. If you weren’t so day-old fucking stupid, you’d have figured that out by now.”
Tobin went deathly still, his hands falling by his sides. “I’m not stupid,” he said, the challenge in his voice unmistakable. From where she knelt, Leah saw the fingers on his right hand twitch. “You think I don’t know enough to ruin you? Believe me, Deakin, if I go down for this you’re coming with me.”
She counted silently, knowing Caleb too well to believe that that would be the end of it, that he would let Tobin get into his car and drive away. She had only gotten to three when Caleb took a step back, opened his arms as if to intimate that Tobin was free to leave, and then snapped his hands back together and shot him point-blank through the forehead. She looked away as the body fell, but she couldn’t shut out the thud of it hitting the ground. Her hands clenched involuntarily, forcing a thin cry from Sarah.