by B. J Daniels
She glared at him, making him chuckle, as she stuck out her hands.
He grabbed them, putting the gun back into his pocket as he taped her wrists together tightly.
She didn’t make a sound, holding in the pain, determined not to give him the satisfaction.
When he’d finished, he ripped off a piece of tape and, staring into her eyes as he did it, slapped it across her mouth. “Nicolas will be here soon. We’re almost ready.” His gaze dropped to her left breast before coming back up to hers. With his eyes locked on hers, he reached over and pinched her nipple hard.
She cried out before she could stop herself. It came out a muffled sound behind the tape.
Zak Keller smiled. “Now we’re ready.”
* * *
NICK TURNED OFF THE HIGHWAY just south of Saco. He’d been out this way before. Next to the road was a small enclosed area like a manger. Inside was a large brown rock that some thought resembled a sleeping buffalo. The rock was sacred to the Native Americans in the area. That was why it was covered with tobacco, their offerings.
There was a story that the rock had once been moved into Whitehorse, but each morning the massive rock would be facing the opposite direction it had the night before. Spooked by this, the rock had been returned to where it had been found and later put in this shelter.
Nick drove down the road toward Nelson Reservoir and Sleeping Buffalo Resort, fear making his mouth dry and his heart ache. If Zak hadn’t taken Laney, Nick would have gone in, guns blazing. But Laney changed everything. That was why Zak had abducted her. But why bring her here?
The pool was closed, the large interior dark. Nick parked next to what he assumed was Keller’s rental car. As he neared the building, he saw that the door had been pried open. He pushed on it, staying to one side.
He didn’t really expect an ambush. Keller didn’t work that way. He preferred theatrics. Zak had always kidded him about his love of old westerns. And yet Zak had planned an old-fashioned shoot-out here in this 1930s resort.
Nick listened. He could hear the soft lap of water, a sound like a fist to his belly. Keller hadn’t just randomly chosen this place. He knew about Nick’s fear of water. Early in his career, he’d been in pursuit of a felon and fallen through a rotten pier to be trapped underwater until rescued by some bystanders. The incident had left him afraid of water.
* * *
LANEY STOOD SHIVERING in the dark beside the pool. Zak had hold of her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. She’d heard the car drive up, heard the engine shut off, the car door open. Then there had been nothing but silence.
She could feel the tension in the cop’s grip. He’d taken the gun out of his pocket again before he’d led her out to the pool. She noted the way he stood just a little behind her as if he planned to use her as a shield should Nick come in firing.
Laney thought of her sister and her grandparents. It tore out her heart to think that she would never see them again. She feared that the news of her death would kill her grandmother Pearl and devastate her grandfather Titus. She couldn’t bear to imagine what it would do to Laci. They had always been so close.
Fear threatened to paralyze her. Once they’d reached the side of the pool, Zak had taped her ankles together. She’d always been a strong swimmer but with her wrists and ankles taped together, she feared she wouldn’t be able to keep her head above water. There was no doubt in her mind that she would end up in the pool. Why else would Zak Keller choose this place?
* * *
NICK CREPT ALONG THE EDGE of a short stone wall that opened into the pool area. He could hear the slap of the water against the sides of the pool, smell the hot water and feel the steam coming off the surface brush past his face.
He took deep breaths, caught between his fear and his anger. He could see the clear path of how his life had led him to this very spot, to this dark night, to this deserted pool. He’d seen things in Zak that had worried him even when they were kids. The barely concealed rage. The troubled kid from down the block with the alcoholic father, the whore mother. He’d seen the bruises on Zak, bruises his friend had always passed off as clumsiness.
Nick had known better, but he’d let Zak save face. Nick’s family had practically adopted Zak, giving him a safe place to come when things were bad at his house, feeding him, even clothing him with hand-me-downs from all the cousins.
Zak had said he wanted to be a cop from the time they were just kids. Nick had fought his family legacy, but Zak had been so persuasive, telling Nick that Zak needed his head at the academy. Nick had helped Zak with his grades; Zak had helped him on the firing range.
Nick remembered the day they’d gotten hired. The picture of the two of them in their uniforms sat on the mantel at Nick’s parents’ home. Nick and Zak smiling at the camera. Zak so proud. It was the same year that Zak’s father had taken his life and Zak’s mother had run off, never to be seen again.
Nick shoved away the memories as he crouched behind a section of the stone wall. All the signs had been there. The violent arrests, the warnings, the growing distance between him and his partner.
And then the night that Nick had watched Zak kill two police officers from another precinct over a drug bust that had gone haywire. Zak had blamed the two cops for ruining his perfect bust record.
For months Nick had feared it would come to this. Laws and trials weren’t for men like Zak Keller. He believed he was above the law. This was Zak Keller’s idea of justice, killing anyone who crossed him. Even his once best friend.
“Zak?” Nick called, staying low behind the wall.
No answer. Water dripped nearby and lapped at the edge of the pool.
“Keller, you wanted me here, now show yourself.”
A low chuckle came from the other side of the pool. “I wasn’t sure you’d come,” Keller said. A lie. Zak wouldn’t have taken Laney unless he knew he could use her as leverage.
“Where’s Laney?” Nick called.
“She’s around. First get rid of your gun.”
Nick pulled out his service revolver and tossed it down the concrete apron around the pool. The gun clattered across the floor, coming to a stop at the far end of the building.
“Any more weapons you’d like to be rid of?” Keller asked, then chuckled. “I didn’t think so. There’s a light switch off to your left. Why don’t you turn it on?”
Nick could think of two good reasons why that would be a bad idea. Fear of what he would see was at the top of the list. Followed quickly by a bullet. Not a killing one. Just a maiming one.
“I want to know that Laney’s all right first,” he called back.
“You never had any faith, you know that? It was one of your flaws.”
“Faith? I had all the faith in the world in you, Zak. I trusted you with my life.” He felt anger rear its ugly head. It felt good. Better than fear. Keller wanted him to be afraid. “You betrayed me before you even betrayed yourself and every other cop.”
“Nicolas, Nicolas, if I wanted a sermon I would have gone to church.”
Nick heard the shuffle of feet on the other side of the pool where the locker rooms were.
“Your girlfriend is here now. Say something to him,” Keller ordered.
There was the sound of tape being ripped off, then “Nick?” Laney’s voice sounded tight. “What’s going on?”
“Didn’t you tell her, Nick? Ah, I’m disappointed in you. All that talk about honesty and you let her walk into something like this cold?”
“It’s okay, Laney. I’ll give him what he wants and he’ll let you go.”
“I really doubt that, Nick. He—”
Nick heard a struggle. It was all he could do not to make a run through the dark in the hopes of getting to the other side before Keller could get to a light and take a clear shot at his target.
<
br /> But before Nick could move, he heard a splash.
“Okay, here’s the deal, Nicolas. Your girlfriend just went for a swim in the deep end of the pool. Her hands and feet are taped together. Now turn on the light, Nick, before she drowns.”
Chapter Fifteen
Laney went under. The dark water rushed around her. She’d had only an instant to grab a breath before Zak had shoved her in. She was naked, her wrists and ankles bound, the tape back on her mouth. She sank to the bottom and struggled to kick back to the surface.
The pool at this end was no more than ten feet deep. But even if it had been six, she knew she still could drown in it. She fought her way to the surface, kicking her feet in tandem like a mermaid’s tail. It was awkward and tiring.
She surfaced, took a huge gulp of air through her nose and went under again. For that moment though, she’d seen Zak standing at the edge of the pool, the gun in his hand. He hadn’t paid any attention to her. His gaze had been on the far wall of the pool where the entrance was. He’d been trying to see Nick in the darkness.
Laney knew she had to get to the side of the pool—the farthest away from Zak Keller. She pushed off the bottom, aiming herself toward the closest side away from him—the side with the diving board, the deepest part of the pool.
She kicked with all her might, surfaced and sucked in air. She still had a half-dozen feet to go. Her head went under. She sank back down to the bottom again, knowing it was her only hope. The swimming was tiring her out. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could manage to surface.
* * *
NICK’S HEART WAS IN HIS THROAT. Seconds were ticking by. He could hear Laney struggling in the water. He would kill Keller if it was the last thing he did. He should have killed him that night when he’d realized that Keller wasn’t just a bad cop; he was the worst kind of cop.
But Nick had believed in the law. He’d tried to arrest his partner instead. A huge mistake with Nick still shocked by what he’d witnessed and Keller taking full advantage of it.
Keller was convinced he could do anything he wanted and get away with it. And so far he had.
Nick swore under his breath as he felt vital seconds tick past. He had no choice. He had to save Laney. But turning on the light would only get them both killed and he knew it. He knew Keller. He knew what he was capable of. The blinders were off. It was kill or be killed.
“Okay,” he called to Keller. “Let me find the light.”
Nick hurriedly pulled off his boots and jacket, slipped his own gun into the shoulder holster and, taking the knife from the sheath, crept along the stone wall until he was near the diving board at the deep end. He’d gone in the opposite direction that Keller had told him to.
He could hear Laney thrashing in the water a few yards away. He just prayed she was managing to get to the surface enough to get a breath of air.
“I can’t find the light,” Nick said.
“You went the wrong way. You never could tell your left from your right,” Keller said and chuckled at what a fool Nick was.
Nick had always played that part between the two of them. Naive, Keller used to call him. “As much crap as you’ve seen, you still want to believe that human nature is inherently good,” Zak would say then laugh. “You’re a prize, Nicolas. A real prize.”
With the knife in his hand, Nick dove into the pool at the deep end.
The heavily rich mineral hot springs water was a dark tea color. He knew he had only a matter of seconds to get to Laney, cut her free and fire.
He opened his eyes under the water and saw nothing in the darkness of the pool. But he knew any moment Keller would go for the lights and, once he did, Nick would be his target.
Light suddenly shimmered overhead on the surface of the pool. Nick could see Laney just inches from him. She was fighting to surface. He came up next to her, dragging her toward the edge of the pool under the diving board as he cut the tape binding her hands and pressed the knife into her palm before reaching to draw his gun from his holster.
The gun was gone.
Nick looked up to find Keller kneeling over him at the edge of the pool, the dark barrel end of a .357 Magnum pointing at his head.
“You son of a bitch,” Zak said grinning. “That was one nice stunt. You always were one crazy mother—” He swung the barrel, caught Nick in the temple; the light overhead dimmed and threatened to go out as his head was shoved underwater.
* * *
LANEY RIPPED THE TAPE from her mouth with her free hand and coughed as she gasped for air and clung to the side of the pool with the hand holding the knife.
Her lungs ached. She’d swallowed too much water. Her limbs felt weak from the hot water, the terror and waning adrenaline.
She saw Zak Keller hit Nick, saw him push Nick under. She was just yards away from where Zak stood at the edge of the pool. She gripped the knife in her hand, forgetting for a moment that her ankles were still bound together.
Nick surfaced, coughing, his hand going to his head. She could see blood streaming down his face from the cut just over his left eye. He looked dazed as he made a swipe at the blood.
Hurriedly, Laney struggled to get the blade of the knife between her bare ankles to cut the thick tape. As weak as she was, it took both hands. As she finally got the blade between her ankles and began to saw, she slid down the side of the pool to the bottom.
The knife felt awkward in her hands. She was trembling, straining to cut the tape, needing air as if her lungs would never get enough oxygen ever again.
She felt Nick’s hand as he reached for her and looked up to see him floating underwater just above her. The water around him was dark with his blood.
She couldn’t stay down any longer. Her lungs were on fire. She had to surface. She had to surface now.
The knife blade slipped. She felt the blade nick her skin but she ignored the pain as she jerked the blade hard upward, cutting the heavy thick tape with the last of her strength. The sticky tape still bound her legs. She had to drop the knife to get the tape off.
As she bent, her vision starting to dim from lack of oxygen, she saw the gun. It lay on the bottom of the pool. Almost within reach.
* * *
ZAK KELLER GRABBED Nick’s shirt and jerked him to the surface. “Nicolas, Nicolas, what were you thinking? Oh, I know, you just had to play hero. Save the girl. Save your soul.”
“You think killing me is going to make all that trouble back home go away?” Nick asked as he tried to catch his breath. Blood ran into his left eye. He blinked up at Zak.
He’d seen Laney underwater struggling to cut the tape. He wanted to reach for her, but knew that would only call attention to her. It would be just like Keller to shoot her now, now that Nick could watch. After all, if he knew Keller, and he did, that was exactly what the cop planned to do.
“They’ll be watching you,” Nick said, moving in the water to block Zak’s view of Laney. “You’ll always be under suspicion.”
“Thanks to you,” Keller snapped and pointed the barrel of the gun between Nick’s eyes. “Why didn’t you leave well enough alone? What were those cops to you? Nothing.” He shook his head. “Dammit, Nick, you and I were partners, hell, we were bros.” He sounded close to tears. “I loved you, man. You were family.”
“Yeah, but we didn’t know then that you got all the criminal genes in the family.”
“Funny, Nicolas. You always were a barrel of laughs.” He glared down at him. “I’m trying to tell you I didn’t want it to end like this. How can you still buy into all that bureaucracy bull? Justice goes to the highest bidder. You think I was the only cop on the take?” He laughed. “You have no idea.”
“It wasn’t just that you were on the take,” Nick said. “You killed two cops.” Next to him, a strip of duct tape floated up. Laney had manag
ed to free her ankles. So why hadn’t she surfaced?
Zak was watching him, not her. What was she doing down there? He could feel the water move. She was swimming but apparently not toward the surface. What the hell?
And that was when it hit him. She must have seen his gun on the bottom. Was going down for it. He wanted to scream “Don’t do it!” Laney didn’t know Keller. He’d shoot her before she could figure out how to fire the gun.
He swam a little closer to Zak even though he knew it was dangerous. But Nick had to be ready the moment Laney surfaced. He’d have to go for Zak before Zak could kill her.
“Go ahead, kill me,” Nick said. “That is why you came all this way, wasn’t it? So what’s stopping you? Oh, did I mention that I made a videotape and recounted everything? About seeing you kill those cops, about you taking Laney Cavanaugh, about you planning to kill us both. I even taped your phone call to me telling me where to meet you.”
Keller’s bravado slipped a little, then his eyes narrowed, but all his attention was on Nick. “And you dropped it in overnight mail? Nicolas, nice touch, but I have friends in the county attorney’s office. That little package will never reach anyone who can hurt me.”
He cocked the gun. “And you’re right. There isn’t any reason to put this off any longer. I’d hoped that I could talk you into changing your story, but I can see that I’d be wasting my breath.” He aimed the gun at Nick’s forehead, his finger on the trigger. “Goodbye, Nicolas.”
* * *
THE GUN WAS HEAVIER THAN LANEY had expected it to be. She brought it up close to her face. The lack of oxygen was making her light-headed. She had to surface, but when she did she knew she had to be ready to pull the trigger.
She knew a little about guns. Her grandfather Titus had taught both her and Laci to shoot when they were younger. He said it was important to have a healthy respect for guns.
This model had a clip. She couldn’t be sure there was a cartridge in the chamber. She pulled back the slide and let it go. All she had to do was pull the trigger when she surfaced. She slipped her finger through the trigger guard and looked up. Air. Her body felt like lead.