by Mark Nolan
“Salsa dancing? Seriously?”
“What? I took a free lesson once, it was fun.”
“Didn’t you say he owned a condo?”
“He used to, but he put it up for sale when he broke up with his ex.”
“Is he going to live on that boat full time, then? Would you ever consider living there?”
“Slow down. That talk is a long way off in the future. I have mixed feelings about Jake. Recently he answered a call from his ex-fiancée’s mother. She wanted to tell him she was sorry he wouldn’t be her son-in-law, and she had some questions about how to handle her daughter’s rehab.”
“Why would he care?”
“He told me he owed it to the mother. She was a good person.”
“You don’t think he still has feelings for his ex, do you?”
“I hope not. The call worried me, but it also warmed my heart at the same time. Jake is a walking contradiction. I never know what he might do next. Maybe that’s part of the strange attraction I feel for him.”
The television up in the corner of the waiting room was broadcasting the early evening news on low volume. Madison pointed at it. “Isn’t that him on TV?”
Sarah looked at the television and saw photos of Jake being featured in a news segment. She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
The news report was by Dick Arnold. The headline said, “Rumors of foul play in wealthy realtor’s mysterious death.”
Arnold’s breathless commentary provided lurid details as he showed a photo of Jake hugging the widow in front of a mansion. Another photo showed him carrying the widow’s little boy and holding hands with the young daughter. A third photo was of Jake driving the dead husband’s Porsche SUV. The last photo showed Lauren’s white pants, green at the knees with grass stains. The subtitle asked why she’d been on her knees when Jake was there.
Arnold said that it all appeared very suspicious to neighbors and unnamed sources. “How did the husband die? Why was Jake Wolfe stepping into the man’s shoes only hours after his death? Stay tuned for further details from our ongoing investigation to find the truth.”
Sarah felt a headache coming on. She knew that Dick Arnold had a grudge against Jake, and this was probably a smear campaign. Yet it still made her heart ache to see Jake with his arms around another woman.
The photo of him with the kids struck a nerve. Did Jake want marriage and children? Was that what he’d look like if they had a family? Did she want kids, or was she content with the four-legged fur babies of her veterinary clinic?
Madison put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder.
Sarah took a deep breath and said, “With Jake it’s just one damned thing after another.”
The clinic door opened, and a bell chimed as two men walked in. Madison turned to them and said, “I’m sorry, we’re closed for the day, but the twenty-four-hour pet hospital is always open.”
One of the men charged forward, backhanded Madison across the face and knocked her to the floor.
Sarah dropped her coat, reached into her purse, drew her pistol and aimed it at the man’s chest. “Get out, now!”
The other man near the door was suddenly holding a pistol and pointing it at her. “Not so fast. We want your help with something, and we’ll pay you a lot of money.”
“I said get out. Do it!”
Madison staggered to her feet on trembling legs. The man who had hit her reached out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her close, held a knife to her throat and told Sarah, “Drop your weapon, or I’ll kill your friend.”
A voice came from inside of Sarah’s purse, “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”
Sarah yelled, “Armed robbery, send the police!”
The man with the knife cursed. “Turn off that phone.”
The other man with the pistol glanced at his accomplice for one second, and that’s when Sarah shot him in the head. He fired his weapon as he fell backwards and died, shooting a hole in the ceiling.
The man with the knife turned and shoved Madison toward Sarah, using her body as a human shield. He held the knife out in front of him and pointed it at Sarah as he moved toward her.
Sarah used her martial arts training as she evaded the sharp blade. She aimed her pistol and shot the assailant’s foot. He cried out and charged again. Sarah sidestepped and tripped him, and then grabbed his knife hand by the wrist as he fell down.
Madison twisted out of the man’s grasp and crawled away from him.
Sarah put her pistol against his shoulder and fired point-blank. He roared in pain and let go of the knife, and then kicked sideways at Sarah’s legs, tripping her.
Sarah fell to the floor and landed hard, dropping her pistol.
Sarah and her opponent both got to their feet. Her assailant’s right arm was hanging limp and useless, but he came at her with his one good arm raised, his left hand balled up in a fist and ready to break her jaw.
Sarah unleashed her most vicious attack of Jeet Kune Do martial arts. All of her training came to bear on this one life-or-death scenario, and she went for the kill.
Sarah deflected her opponent’s attacks, using intercepting stop hits and blocking kicks. She punched him hard on the sternum and then kicked his knee. He roared and charged at her again, but she evaded his attack and delivered two wicked punches to his eyes. He threw his fist at her ribs, but she deflected it and hit him as hard as she could on his injured shoulder. He threw his head back and screamed in pain and Sarah used his throat as a punching bag, delivering multiple rapid hits with both of her fists. He went down on his knees, struggling to breathe, blinking his eyes in shock.
Sarah was about to deliver a knockout blow to her attacker’s head when a woman appeared in the doorway wearing a thin black stretchy nylon mask. She fired a Taser, and Sarah fell to the floor, jerking and writhing in pain from the electric shock.
The injured man picked up his knife, crawled over to Sarah and raised the weapon above his head.
In a daze and unable to move, Sarah saw the knife and heard the woman say, “No, you fool.”
Then came the sound of two suppressed rounds, and the man fell dead onto the floor.
Sarah was barely conscious when the masked woman picked her up and carried her over her shoulder to a waiting van that sped away into the night.
Chapter 46
Madison sat on the floor of the clinic with her back against the wall. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
She was still sitting there, rocking back and forth and crying, when the police arrived.
Sirens and flashing lights filled the street in front of the clinic as SFPD black-and-white cars parked outside. Several uniformed cops came through the door with their guns drawn. They found Madison there with two dead bodies.
A female officer said, “Show me some ID. Are you the person who called 911?”
Madison shook her head. “No, Sarah called.”
“Where is Sarah?”
“They took her away.”
“Who took her?”
Madison pointed up at an upper corner of the room, near the ceiling, where a video camera was recording them. “It’s all on video. Check the computer and you’ll see everything.”
“We have to search you now, and take you outside so we can secure the premises.”
“I understand.”
The female cop lifted Madison to her feet and searched her. “She’s clean.” She walked with Madison out the front door and onto the sidewalk. “I know it was all recorded on your office video cameras,” the cop said. “But tell me what happened. I want your version.”
Madison took a deep breath and let it out. “Two men came into the clinic. I told them we were closed. One of them hit me and knocked me down. He threatened to kill me unless Sarah did what they wanted.”
“What did they want?”
“They never said exactly what it was, only that they’d pay a lot of money for it. Sarah shot one man in the head. That’s legal self-
defense, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s legal under castle doctrine law, if you have a reasonable fear of imminent death from armed intruders.”
“The fear was more than reasonable—it was terrifying.”
A male officer came outside. He wore blue nitrile gloves and held a phone in his hand that displayed a photo of Sarah. “One of those men had a photo of your boss on his phone—the same photo as the one on the wall in the clinic. He probably got it from your website. This wasn’t a random robbery. You were targeted. Do you have any idea why?”
“No idea whatsoever,” Madison said.
“Do you know this man?” He held out the phone again and displayed a different picture.
“Yes, my boss is dating him. His name is Jake Wolfe.”
“What can you tell us about Mr. Wolfe?”
“Not much. Sarah’s mentioned that he’s best friends with a homicide cop. Terrell something. I don’t remember the last name, though.”
“The only cop I know named Terrell is Lieutenant Terrell Hayes. I’ll give him a call.”
“That’s him,” Madison said. “Were there any other photos on that phone? They didn’t have my photo, did they?”
“No, just a dog.”
“Wait—let me see the dog.”
“What?”
“Let me see the dog!”
The officer held out the phone so she could see the picture.
When Madison recognized Cody, she started crying again. “I need to use Sarah’s phone, so I can warn Jake about the threat to his dog.”
The male officer said, “Sarah’s phone is being tagged and bagged as evidence, but we’ll let you borrow another phone in just a minute.” He turned and walked away.
The female officer held out her phone. “Here, you can borrow mine to make the call.”
“I don’t know Jake’s number. It’s in Sarah’s phone. Wait, it’s also in the office computer. He’s a client.”
The officer escorted Madison back inside the clinic. Madison checked the computer and called Jake. She got his voicemail and left a rambling message. “Jake, it’s Madison at the pet clinic. Sarah has been taken hostage! You and Cody are in danger. Armed men came into the clinic. Sarah shot one of them, but they Tasered her and took her away. Their phones had pictures of Sarah, and of you and Cody. The police are here and I’m safe. Make sure you and Cody are safe too. Please, Jake, don’t let anything happen to Sarah or Cody!”
Madison ended the call and looked at the female cop. “That might have sounded cold to be more concerned for Sarah and Cody than I was for Jake, but it was the truth and I was only being honest.”
The female cop nodded in understanding. She had a dog she loved and trusted more than any man or woman she’d ever met.
Sarah felt groggy from the aftereffects of the Taser. Her head was spinning, but she was aware of being on the floor of a cargo van that was driving and taking turns. Her hands and feet were tied. A woman wearing a black nylon mask stood over Sarah with her head bent to avoid the van’s ceiling. “Hello, Sarah. Soon you’re going to wish you had never met Jake Wolfe.”
“You’re the one who’s going to regret this,” Sarah said. She kicked her legs toward the woman’s ankles as hard as she could.
The woman fell down and hit her head. She cursed in pain and used a shock baton to knock Sarah unconscious again.
She gave orders to an accomplice. “Sarah killed a member of our team tonight. Give her combat-level security.”
A man with a short, thick neck and symbols tattooed all over his hands said, “You’re afraid of this little woman?”
“Not afraid, just well aware that she could kick your ass with one hand tied behind her back and never even break a sweat.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, I don’t pay you to think, do I? You have two choices: obey my orders, or die.” She drew a pistol and pointed it at his forehead.
“No problem. You’re paying, so it’s your party.”
“Keep that in mind. Don’t forget it.”
They drove to a huge house and parked inside one of the three garages. The man with the thick neck carried Sarah to a room, put her on a bed, and tied her hands to the headboard posts with rope. He smiled as he gazed at her unconscious and helpless body. Picking up a piece of leftover rope, he wound some of it around each of his hands, leaving enough in between to strangle Sarah.
As he reached for Sarah’s throat, the door opened behind him, and the masked woman entered the room. “I warned you about this.”
He snarled at her. “Get out. She killed my friend.”
“You’re a liability.” She drew a pistol with a suppressor attached and shot him three times in the heart. He dropped dead to the floor. She checked to make sure Sarah was breathing and the ropes weren’t cutting off the blood flow to her hands.
“My apologies, Sarah. This will be over just as soon as your boyfriend is dead. The problem is, the stubborn man refuses to die.” She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the body on the floor.
A few minutes later, Sarah woke up and looked around. She found her hands tied to a bed, and there was a man on the floor with blood on his chest.
She clenched her teeth to stop herself from screaming, and frantically rocked the bed from head to foot, trying to break the headboard apart from the bed frame.
Chapter 47
After giving Wilson a ride to HQ, Terrell’s police radio crackled and the dispatcher said there had been a murder/kidnapping at Sarah Chance’s pet clinic. Sarah had been abducted.
Terrell turned on the lights and siren, stomped on the gas pedal, and raced toward Sarah’s clinic. He called Jake as he drove.
Jake answered. “Did you find the heroin warehouse yet?”
“They’ve kidnapped Sarah. I’m on my way to her clinic.”
Jake cursed at the top of his lungs. “Did they leave a ransom note?”
“No, but they must think you have the thumb drive.”
“That’s my fault. I told them I had it. Now they’ll want me to trade it for Sarah.”
“Maybe Rox can make a self-destructing copy for you if it comes to that.”
“Ask her to make a fake copy, loaded with killer spyware, malware and viruses.”
“We’ll get Sarah back unharmed, I promise. The entire SFPD will be looking for her.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to formally ask Anselmo Amborgetti to have everybody in the Family searching the streets,” Jake said.
“Oh man, that could turn violent really quick,” Terrell said.
“Yeah, whoever grabbed Sarah has no idea of the hornet’s nest they’ve kicked. Debts have to be paid. It’s a matter of honor, respect, and retribution.”
“Jake, listen to what you’re saying. People might die, and others could go to prison. You don’t want to do either of those things.”
“Those evil dirtbags kidnapped my girl. I’ll stop at nothing until I know she’s safe, and they’re … not.”
Terrell popped two ibuprofen pills in his mouth and drank some bottled water. “I don’t suppose you could talk the Amborgetti Family into holding off on their vendetta until us cops have a chance to do our jobs.”
“No, just the opposite. Sorry, but they’ll want to get there before you do and end this the old-fashioned way. They have to send a message demanding respect. Otherwise they could appear weak and lose control of their financial interests.”
“I guess the only good news is that they’ll probably find Sarah faster than we can.”
“You’re right. Cops threaten people with jail, but the Family offers people the choice between a large cash payday or a painful death.”
“I can’t beat that offer. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to work on the painful death part of the equation.”
Terrell cursed. He arrived at the clinic just as Jake drove up.
They went inside and Cody searched back and forth, growling. The fur on the
back of his neck was standing up. He found Sarah’s coat on the floor, sniffed it and barked several times.
Jake was wearing the U.S. Marshals badge around his neck on a lanyard. He and Cody went into Sarah’s office. Jake tapped on her computer, scrolled through the recent video and watched Sarah fighting the criminals. “That’s my girl.” When a slender person in a mask ran into the clinic and stunned Sarah, Jake felt a tingling at the back of his neck.
He sent a copy of the video to his phone, and to Terrell and Anselmo. “Let’s go, Cody.” They walked out of the clinic, got into the Jeep and drove away.
His phone buzzed with a call from Terrell. Jake thumbed the answer icon. “Don’t try to talk me out of it.”
“Listen, if you and the Family find yourselves in a situation, call me and I’ll send the cavalry,” Terrell said. “No questions asked.”
“Thanks, but the situation I’m thinking of involves me killing some foreign gang members who should have stayed home in their own crappy, corrupt nation instead of coming here to screw with American veterans.”
Jake heard Terrell take a long breath and exhale. “I didn’t hear that. Your call is breaking up. Semper Fi, Jukebox.”
Jake closed his eyes for a moment and remembered battles from his past, in foreign lands, where he and Terrell had fought side by side. “Semper Fi, Grinds … my brother.”
Jake opened the center console, took out his KA-BAR knife and small-of-the-back SOB sheath, and attached it horizontally to his belt behind his waist. It was time to go hunting.
He called Anselmo and told him that his girlfriend had been taken hostage. She’d put up a fight and had shot a man. Jake texted him photos of Sarah.
Anselmo started cursing in Italian about how he would kill the bastardo who had given the order. He switched back to English and said, “I’ll put everybody in the city on this. We’ll get her back—I swear. Whoever took her is a dead man.”
Jake drove through the streets of the city, intent on finding the people who’d kidnapped his girlfriend—so he could kill them with extreme prejudice.