Down to the Wire

by Laura Scott

  Her stomach clenched with nausea. They were on their own.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on, Steve,” Tess said, trying to placate the man who clearly held a grudge for all these years. “Why are you doing this?”

  “You just don’t get it, do you?” he asked sharply. “My life is over and it’s your fault! And Shaw’s, too!”

  Tess fought to control her instinctive reaction to his absurd allegation. Why on earth would anything that happened to Steve Gains be her fault? He was the one who tried to assault her, not the other way around.

  “Obviously you’ve been setting these bombs around the city, but I still don’t understand why,” she said. “It’s not as if the innocent people you’ve involved are responsible for what happened to you.”

  “This town turned its back on me a long time ago,” Steve said, sneering. “I was kicked out of college, did you know that? And then a couple of those snotty sorority chicks accused me of raping them, so I was arrested and thrown in jail. Do you have any idea what it’s like inside the joint? Do you have any clue what I’ve been through?” His voice and facial expression reflected the depth of his desperation, and for a moment she felt bad for him. “And then just a few months before my release, I see a picture of Declan and some other cop being called heroes because they saved some kid. Well, I’ve shown him.”

  “I’m sorry, Steve. But now that you’re home, I’m sure things will get better.”

  “Liar!” he shouted, a wild look in his eyes. Tess swallowed hard, wondering if he was going to lose it and simply kill them outright. “Being here is even worse! I’ve been turned down for every job I applied for! The minute they found out about my prison record, I wasn’t worthy enough to wipe the mud off their shoes. Well, now they’ll be sorry for the way they treated me. I’ll show them who’s in charge around here. And it’s not Shaw!”

  Tess glanced helplessly at Bobby, wishing there was some way to get through to Steve. But how? Apparently he was too far gone to listen to reason. Somehow he’d rationalized that all the failures in his life were because of her and Declan. She swallowed hard, knowing her initial instincts were right. Declan was the real target. No doubt, Steve planned to use her and Bobby as bait.

  And she didn’t want to think that this time Steve might succeed in building a bomb Declan couldn’t defuse.

  “Declan will find us,” Bobby spoke up confidently. “He’s smart and you won’t be showing the people around here anything except how pathetic you are once you’re back in jail. If you were smart, you’d leave now while you have a head start, because if you wait much longer it’ll be too late.”

  “I’m not going back to jail!” Steve shouted. And for a moment his eyes narrowed thoughtfully as if he was seriously considering his options. Had her brother’s harsh words penetrated Steve’s irrational obsession? Was he thinking of taking Bobby’s advice and leaving them alone?

  But no, Steve abruptly turned back to the items he had strewn across the table, clearly intending to create the bomb as soon as possible.

  Tess closed her eyes against a wave of despair.

  Please, Lord, help Declan get here in time. Please keep me and Bobby safe in Your care. We ask for Your grace and mercy, in this desperate time. Amen.

  * * *

  Declan scrubbed his hands over his face, battling duel waves of fear and worry. He had to find out where Steve had taken Tess and Bobby. But so far his internet searches hadn’t come up with any clues.

  “We need to call the feds,” he said, looking over at Isaac. “They have better resources than we do.”

  “All right, keep searching while I make the call.”

  Since no addresses had popped up under Steve’s name, Declan tried to find his parents. But he didn’t have a clue as to what their first names were, and there were more than one Gains in the online white pages listing.

  “We may have to go to each place ourselves,” Declan muttered as he listened to Isaac’s one-sided conversation with the FBI. He jotted down the addresses that were closest to Greenland High School, although truthfully, Steve’s parents could have moved at any point in the past ten years.

  “Agent Piermont is going to get back to us,” Isaac said after he’d disconnected from the call.

  “So she believes me about Steve Gains being the bomber?” Declan asked.

  Isaac grimaced. “I wouldn’t go that far. She thinks your theory is far-fetched but agreed it was a lead worth following up.”

  Declan sighed and continued working on his list. “We have three addresses here for the last name Gains. We don’t have time to sit around waiting for the feds to get back to us. We need to start checking these places out now.”

  Isaac hesitated and then slowly nodded. “Okay, should we split up? Caleb and the rest of the team are still working with getting the device out of the theater, but we can ask Griff to free up a couple of the guys.”

  Declan shook his head. “I don’t think so. The boss isn’t too happy with me at the moment. Let’s wait to see what the feds come up with first. For now we’ll split up. You take this address here and I’ll take this one.” Declan tore the sheet of paper he had into two parts before handing the lower half to Isaac.

  “Keep in touch,” Isaac said as they strode outside.

  “I will. And let me know as soon as you hear from the feds,” Declan said.

  “Will do.”

  Declan punched the first address on his list into the map application on his phone. Driving to the small house that was located in a nice but older neighborhood didn’t take too long, and he was encouraged when he saw there was a car sitting in the driveway. At least someone was home.

  Still dressed in his SWAT gear, Declan approached the front door of the Gains household. He hoped his official attire would help elicit the cooperation of the occupants inside. He knocked and waited impatiently for someone to answer the door.

  The seconds stretched into a full minute before the door opened a crack. “Yes?” a frail voice asked. “What do you want?”

  Declan smiled at the elderly woman who answered the door. “I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am, but I’m looking for Steve Gains. Are you his grandmother?”

  “Eh?” The elderly woman leaned closer to the door while still hanging on to the frame for support.

  “I’m looking for Steve Gains,” Declan repeated in a louder tone. “Does he live here with you?”

  “Stevie? No, he doesn’t live here.” The woman wrinkled her brow. “I think he’s still in Arizona.”

  There was no point in arguing with the poor woman; it was clear she hadn’t seen Steve anytime recently. “Where do Steve’s parents live? Do you know their address?”

  “His father still lives on Elmwood Parkway, but I don’t think he’s home. George? George! Has Ronnie come back from California?”

  Declan winced as she shouted to her husband. He glanced down at the slip of paper in his hand. The third address on his list was on Elmwood Boulevard, not parkway but close enough.

  “That’s okay, thanks for your help,” Declan said as he turned away. He jogged back to his car, grabbing his ringing phone as he slid into the seat. “Steve’s father lives at 1107 Elmwood Boulevard,” he said to Isaac.

  “You work fast. Agent Piermont just called to confirm that, as well. But she also told me that Steve spent the past seven years in jail, so now they believe he could be the bomber.”

  Declan felt a surge of satisfaction, but knowing that Steve was the guy behind it all was one thing. Getting to him before he hurt Bobby and Tess was something else.

  “Steve’s father has a fishing cabin located about forty minutes away near Percy Lake,” Isaac continued. “The address is 659 Range Road.”

  Forty minutes? He didn’t like the sound of that. “Steve could be at his father’s house, too, since it
sounds like he’s not home. Why don’t you go over to the parents’ place in case Steve is there and I’ll head up to the cabin on Percy Lake?”

  “You should have backup with you. Do you want me to call the feds?” Isaac asked.

  “Yeah, we need all the help we can get. I’ll let you know as soon as I reach the cabin. If you find Steve before me, let me know.”

  “Roger that. Be careful, Deck.”

  “You, too.” Declan disconnected from the call and quickly programmed the new address into the GPS application on his phone. Twisting the key in the ignition, he flipped on the red lights on the top of his vehicle and then gunned the engine, backing quickly out of the driveway.

  He needed to get to the cabin in less time than forty minutes. And he hoped and prayed that Tess and Bobby could hang on long enough.

  * * *

  Tess glanced nervously at Steve as Bobby inched his chair closer to hers. How much time did they have before Steve finished his bomb? She had no way of knowing for sure.

  Bobby groaned under his breath as he struggled against the bonds that held his wrists together. If he was tied as tightly as she was, he would only end up hurting himself.

  “Be careful,” she murmured in a low tone. “He’ll hear you.”

  Bobby shook his head and continued to fight the duct-taped rope that Steve had used to tie them up. She tried to do the same, but the pain radiating through her head and shoulders made it impossible.

  She dropped her chin to her chest, fighting a strong sense of hopelessness. The odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them. She’d prayed over and over again, but still Steve continued working on the bomb he was creating and she knew it was a matter of minutes, not hours, before he’d put his destructive plan into place.

  “Come on, Tess. Don’t give up,” Bobby coaxed. “We’re not beat yet.”

  She looked up at her brother, struck by the way Bobby had matured over the past few days. In the face of adversity, he’d grown into a confident young man, a far cry from the troubled teen she’d worried and prayed about.

  Tears pricked her eyes at the thought that he might not live to graduate from high school, attend college, fall in love or get married.

  She pulled herself up short. Enough wallowing in self-pity, already! Bobby was right—they weren’t beaten yet. In fact, the way he was moving his left arm indicated he might be close to getting loose.

  “I left Declan a clue about Steve,” her brother confessed in a low tone. “We have to believe he’ll get here in time.”

  “Really?” Tess didn’t try to hide the admiration in her tone. “Very smart, Bobby. I’m proud of you.”

  Her brother flushed and ducked his head as if embarrassed. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done over the past few years, Tess. I know I wasn’t the easiest person to live with. But I promise that once we’re out of here, I’ll make it up to you.”

  Tears threatened again. “I love you, Bobby. No matter what happens, you need to remember that.”

  “Right back at you, sis.”

  Praying in earnest, she watched as Bobby continued to work against the restraints holding his wrists together. She wasn’t sure what they could possibly do against Steve Gains, who was armed not only with a gun but with the bomb he was making.

  But there was a chance that with the right set of circumstances, Bobby could catch Steve off guard. All they needed was a little luck and a lot of faith.

  * * *

  Declan slowed his speed and shut off the red and blue lights as he approached Ranger Road. He made the trip in less than twenty minutes, and Isaac had already called him to let him know that there was no one at Steve’s parents’ house.

  He knew he’d find Gains at the cabin, hopefully along with Bobby and Tess. What better place to build bombs than out in the middle of an isolated cabin on a lake?

  When the GPS on his phone indicated he was two-tenths of a mile away from the cabin, he pulled off onto the shoulder and shut down the engine. He set his phone to vibrate and tucked it in his pocket before climbing out of the car. Reaching into the backseat, he grabbed his M4 .223 sniper rifle and his Glock. He took the time to load them before closing the door softly and heading off on foot.

  Declan wanted to get to the cabin as quickly as possible, but he couldn’t afford to let Steve see him, either. Thankfully the area around the cabin was full of trees and brush, so he set off on an angled path from the road in the same general direction that the cabin was located.

  He walked slowly, peering through the brush for the cabin. Had he gone past it by accident? No, there it was, a log cabin nicely camouflaged behind the trees with its brown logs and green trim.

  The cabin was about a hundred yards away, but he was hesitant to go any closer. Slinging his M4 over his shoulder, he climbed a nearby tree for a better position.

  Declan was sweating by the time he settled in the branches of the large tree. It was early enough in September that there were plenty of leaves clinging to the branches, which provided decent cover, but they also blocked his view. Moving carefully, he pulled his M4 off his shoulder and brought the business end up so that he could peer through the scope. It took him a few seconds to pinpoint the cabin, and his breath lodged in his throat when he saw a man with his head bent down, working on something that was on the table.

  The guy had to be Steve Gains. And a sick sense of urgency hit as Declan realized Gains was building another bomb.

  Where were Bobby and Tess? The window along the front of the cabin was wide, and he carefully tracked along the bottom edge until he caught a glimpse of two figures seated in chairs on the other side of the room.

  Bobby and Tess! They were still alive, although clearly bound to their respective seats.

  His phone vibrated with an incoming call, and he braced himself in position prior to answering it. “Yeah?”

  “Is Steve there?” Isaac asked.

  “Affirmative. He’s building a bomb and he has Bobby and Tess, too.”

  “The feds are on their way and so am I,” Isaac informed him. “ETA is less than fifteen minutes.”

  Fifteen minutes was an eternity if Steve was anywhere close to finishing the bomb. “Okay, but I can’t guarantee I’ll wait if Gains makes a move. Get here as soon as you can.”

  “Understood.”

  Declan disconnected from the call and put his phone back in his pocket. He lifted the M4 again and found a niche in the tree branches to help steady it. He didn’t want to think about the fact that he wasn’t the best sharpshooter on the SWAT team. Granted, he’d been working hard to improve, but everyone knew that his area of expertise was defusing bombs, not hitting the center of a target at a hundred and fifty yards.

  Sweat trickled down the sides of his face as he watched Steve Gains through the scope. The man abruptly stood, a sinister smirk spread across his face. He turned and said something to Bobby and Tess. Was he telling them the bomb was finished? Was he taunting them with his plan of killing them?

  Declan tightened his grip on the M4, knowing that if the bomb was in fact finished, there wasn’t a moment to lose. Right now he had the element of surprise on his side. If he waited too long, Gains could move away from the window and his opportunity to take him out would be gone.

  Declan drew in a deep breath, knowing he had to shoot twice, once to break the window and then a second time to hit his target. He adjusted his aim for the trajectory of the bullet and slowly pulled the trigger.

  The M4’s retort pierced the air as the window of the cabin shattered. He took his second shot a millisecond later and then stared through the scope, desperately looking for Steve. Had he missed? Dear Lord above, he couldn’t have missed!

  There was no sign of Gains. Declan didn’t dare believe he’d actually hit his target.

  “Help us!” a female voice shouted
. Tess? He moved the scope and saw that Bobby had thrown himself across Tess in an attempt to protect his sister.

  “I’m coming!” Declan shouted. He swung the M4 back over his shoulder and quickly descended from the tree. “Where’s Gains?”

  “He’s hit! Hurry!”

  Declan swung down to the ground and took off running toward the cabin. He pulled his Glock and flattened himself against the side wall next to the door. He twisted the knob and shoved the door open while keeping out of sight.

  “Look out, he has a gun!”

  Everything happened so fast it was nothing more than a blur. He tucked and rolled through the doorway, in the direction where he estimated Tess and Bobby were located. A gunshot echoed through the cabin and he quickly brought up his Glock and aimed again at Steve Gains who was lying on the floor drenched in blood.

  He shot Gains a second time and the man finally fell back, his gun dropping uselessly to the floor. Declan quickly ran over to retrieve Gains’s gun, checked for a pulse, not surprised that it wasn’t there before looking over at Tess and Bobby, relieved when he didn’t see any blood.

  “Are you both okay?” he asked as he came over to help straighten Bobby’s chair so that he was off Tess.

  “We are now,” Tess said in a wobbly voice. “Thank heavens you made it in time.”

  “The power of prayer,” Declan murmured as he dug in his pocket for a knife to cut them both loose.

  The danger was over. Tess and Bobby were safe. The sounds of sirens indicated his backup would be here shortly.

  Thank You, Lord!

  SEVENTEEN

  Tess bit back a cry of pain when Declan cut through the binds holding her hands behind her back. Red spots danced in front of her eyes as her arms fell uselessly to her sides. For several long moments she waited for the pain to recede and the blood to circulate normally before she could move. She watched as he freed Bobby, as well.