He released the crick in his neck and blocked out everything else.
* * *
Charlotte had searched almost three quarters of her target area when she saw a flash of movement. It looked like Fontaine was heading up the hillside off to her right. The snow was blowing so hard it was difficult to see. Flakes of snow stung her eyes.
Dammit.
Charlotte carried on her search because another five minutes, and the snow would be too thick to see anything on the ground and wouldn’t melt until April if they were lucky. Her encrypted radio squawked, but the weather was interfering with reception. She hoped they called SWAT and other personnel back down the mountain within the next half an hour.
She finished surveying the area and propped her hands on her hips, huffing with disappointment. Maybe TJ had taken the camera and FWO Jones had simply missed seeing it during the chase. Or maybe TJ had tossed it in the bushes somewhere. Maybe the hiker Bob Jones had spoken to in the parking lot had lifted the SLR from Brenna’s lifeless body after he’d killed her.
She looked around and wondered where Fontaine had gone. Then she spotted her near an old, storm-damaged tree. Was she looking for something? Conditions were getting worse. Much worse. Charlotte decided it was time to head back to the mustering point.
She’d collect Fontaine along the way. It was definitely time to make sure no one got lost up here.
Her radio crackled again and, this time, when Charlotte put it up to her ear, she could vaguely make out the words. Things were hotting up. Definitely time to return to the frontlines.
She was about to take another step when a man slipped out from behind a tree with a pistol pointed at her head.
It was Tom Harrison.
“Drop it.” He meant the radio.
Silently she swore. How had he gotten out of the bunker? Had anyone spotted him?
Had he seen Fontaine? Had Fontaine noticed Charlotte was in trouble? Charlotte let the radio fall into the snow.
Come on, come closer.
“Now the Glock. Only, real slow, thumb and index finger. If you do it wrong, I will shoot you.”
Charlotte knew he wasn’t bluffing. The thought of giving up her weapon made her feel physically ill, but she didn’t think she was going to have much choice if she hoped to survive the next few minutes.
A gunshot would bring other agents running, but they might not find her until it was too late. Her ballistics vest only worked if he didn’t shoot her in the head.
“No one wants to hurt you, Tom.” She very slowly removed her glove and reached down to very unhurriedly undo the Velcro of the holster she wore at her waist. She used her thumb and index finger to remove her weapon and tossed it about ten feet away from Tom Harrison.
“Back up until I tell you to stop.”
Charlotte did so. The guy was intelligent. The expression on his face was wry as he walked forward to pick up both the radio and the gun. “Move an inch, and I will kill you. I don’t owe you anything, understand?”
She nodded.
“Dad, stop.”
“Don’t hurt her!”
Charlotte recognized the voice of the woman who she’d thought was Agent Fontaine. It was Kayla Russell, and she was wearing Charlotte’s clothes. TJ Harrison held her hand.
“You sent him a message in the video.” Charlotte tried to disguise her bitterness at the betrayal, but she was so angry it leaked out. How could she have so badly misjudged the girl?
“I only asked TJ to meet me by the tree. I wanted to ask him about Brenna. I want him to turn himself in, because I know he didn’t have anything to do with her death.”
Tom pointed his weapon at the girl.
TJ immediately shoved Kayla behind his back.
“What the hell, Dad. No.”
What was going on?
“She brought the FBI with her.” Tom swung the weapon back to Charlotte, and she kicked herself for not tackling him, although he would probably have shot her.
“I didn’t know she was here, I swear,” Kayla sobbed. She was holding so tight to TJ’s hand but crouching behind her boyfriend in terror. “Don’t hurt her. She helped me!”
The girl was begging and crying so hard that Charlotte believed she was genuine. She was still pissed, but she didn’t think Kayla had been in cahoots with these men. Only stupidly in love.
Charlotte heard people trying to raise her on the radio. Man, they were gonna be pissed she wasn’t answering and, hopefully, they’d send a search party. But visibility was closing down. SWAT and HRT snipers didn’t stand a pup’s chance in hell of spotting them in this storm.
“He’s not gonna hurt you, Kayla, or the lady FBI agent, right, Dad?” TJ asserted confidently.
Tom and Charlotte both shot him a look of disbelief.
“I didn’t kill Brenna,” TJ said quickly to Charlotte. “I know I shouldn’t have run, but I was scared.” TJ closed his eyes. “This is all my fault.”
“Give yourself up, TJ. The FBI will believe you,” Kayla urged.
“He’s not gonna do that,” Tom stated firmly with his eyes narrowing on the girl.
“Yes, I am, if that’s what Kayla wants,” TJ responded.
His dad huffed. “Don’t be a damned fool, TJ. They’ll lock you up and throw away the key.”
“Not if he did nothing wrong,” Charlotte emphasized.
Tom shot her a look like they were the only two adults in the room, and Charlotte realized Tom Harrison had his own agenda that would override the opinions of his son, Kayla, and the Federal authorities.
“Let’s talk to them, Dad. End this thing before anyone gets hurt.”
Charlotte could see it didn’t matter to Tom Harrison if anyone else got hurt. Nothing mattered except protecting his son and escaping capture. But how did he plan to do that long term?
“TJ?” Kayla said nervously.
Welcome to the family, Kayla.
“She can come with us.” Tom jerked his head to the north. “But if you can’t keep her under control, we leave her behind.”
Charlotte set her teeth in anger.
TJ finally seemed to man up. “I’m not leaving her behind.”
“How about I shoot the FBI agent instead?”
“Dad!” TJ was outraged, but Charlotte knew Tom was serious. She also knew he’d get rid of her as soon as he had the opportunity. One way or another. Otherwise she’d point the authorities straight to them.
Tom shouted over the blustery wind. “Move it, TJ. We need to get out of here before the FBI track us down. We can figure out everything else later.”
Charlotte heard Truman calling for her on the radio again.
“Here.” Tom tossed the radio to his son. “Listen to that in case they send out a search party for this one.” The kid caught it and stuffed it in an outer pocket. Then he started moving north, his arm wrapped protectively around Kayla’s shoulders.
Tom waved his gun at Charlotte. “Give them a few feet head start.”
“So you don’t hit them when you put a bullet in me.”
“No reason to put a bullet in you if you do as you’re told.”
Sure, Jan. She purposefully dragged her feet through the snow, leaving a trail someone would hopefully be able to follow. She pictured Novak on the first night they’d arrived finding traces of TJ’s passage over frozen ground.
Find me.
“You don’t have to do this, Tom. You haven’t done anything wrong yet.” Except assaulting a Federal Agent and a few dozen other felonies.
“Look, lady, don’t treat me like an idiot, and I’ll return the favor.”
“Charlotte. My name is Charlotte.” Making herself human to him, not merely a Special Agent.
He glanced away. “Get moving, Charlotte. Or die. Your choice.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sweat poured off Novak’s brow, and he wiped his sleeve over his face. He’d dismantled the tripwire and then worked his way along each wire, looking for booby traps.
Echo team were searching the inhabitants for weapons before sending them across to a ladder system they’d rigged which seemed like the safest exit out of the compound in the shortest possible time. The clock was ticking. Signal blockers had been set up to prevent the bombs being remotely detonated, on purpose or accidentally, but they didn’t have time to dismantle all the possible timers that had already been armed.
Novak spotted Cowboy cradling a baby as he climbed quickly over the wall.
Snipers had been ordered down from their overwatch positions as they’d been effectively blinded by the storm. And even though the FBI had some of the best pilots in the world, the wind was gusting too much to risk the helicopter. Charlie team had been dropped at the ranch and were now driving out to help escort these people to a processing center for interview.
He lay on his back on the ground and observed the device from that angle. Three wires went into the black box at the back. Red, black, green. He tried to see inside, but the thick plastic was opaque. He took photographs with his cell.
“Time to move it, boss.”
He looked up at Cowboy who was now standing over him.
“We’re as sure as we can be that everyone is out. Two minutes before the explosives underground are due to blow. We need to evacuate.”
Damn. He was right. Novak swore and rolled away from the devices. There was no point in risking disarming them if the whole place was gonna blow anyway. Why did Harrison want to kill everyone here? If he hated them that much, why hadn’t he thrown them out months ago?
“Right behind you.” Novak told him.
They dashed over the ladder. The inhabitants had all been herded down a nearby trail. Cowboy went to follow, but Novak grabbed his arm. “This way.”
They sprinted through the snow toward where Novak had left McKenzie and the negotiators. The creek bed would provide good cover as they had no idea how much C4 Harrison had packed into the place or how much ammunition was stored within the walls.
They threw themselves down the bank and skidded to a dramatic halt. Novak scanned the row of people who were taking cover.
“Good job back there,” McKenzie told him.
Novak nodded. Where the hell was Charlotte?
“The unanimous opinion, according to the people coming out of there, was that everyone was accounted for except Tom Harrison, his son TJ, and Malcolm Resnick. They said the Harrisons had locked themselves in their rooms.”
Novak frowned. He saw Eban looking at him with a worried expression on his face that told him Charlotte hadn’t yet returned.
“Where’s SSA Blood?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but if she doesn’t have a good excuse, I’m going to give her an official reprimand.” McKenzie was pissed. The horses whinnied from where they were tied to a nearby tree.
“Nothing from SWAT?”
“SWAT and the locals withdrew. Conditions are getting too dangerous.”
He and Eban stared harder at one another.
“I’m going to look for her,” Novak gritted out.
“No, you’re not,” McKenzie said.
“I’m not asking permission, boss. I think she’s in trouble, and I’m going to look for her.”
McKenzie raised his hand for silence as Romano counted down the seconds on the radio.
“Five, four, three.”
Novak hunched his shoulders and crouched low to the ground, resenting the delay.
Everyone ducked and covered their heads.
“Two, one.”
The explosion was enormous and made the earth shake. The horses he and McKenzie had ridden up here reared in fright. A plume of smoke and dust blew forty feet up in the air, flames visible above the trees. Secondary eruptions rocked the ground beneath him. Holy shit. If Novak’s men had walked into that, they’d all be dead.
Tom fucking Harrison had been serious about killing everyone within a hundred feet of that place.
A feeling of unease crawled over his shoulders, and he climbed to his feet before the debris had finished falling.
McKenzie rolled his eyes, obviously recognizing Novak’s intention. “SSA Blood had better have a damn good excuse.”
Novak ran over to the horses, grabbed the reins and the horn of the saddle, and mounted up. Eban Winters was right with him.
No way would Charlotte not be here when things were going down, not when she cared about everyone as much as he did. He urged the horse into a full gallop, crouching low over the horse’s neck and deftly avoiding overhanging branches.
They pulled up at the crime scene, horses blowing hard, yellow tape fluttering in the wind. They scanned the area and then quickly circled it, searching the snow for Charlotte. Had she had an accident? Twisted an ankle?
No sign of her.
Eban went to call out her name, but Novak stopped him with a firm grip on his sleeve.
“Look.” He pointed at a series of footprints and a fast disappearing trail of broken snow cutting through the woods heading north. “Go fetch help.”
Eban shook him off. “I’m coming with you.”
Novak shook his head. “We might need reinforcements, and we can’t risk using the radio.”
Eban frowned and then caught on. He swore. “You think someone took her?”
Novak nodded. “She wouldn’t have simply wandered off. Whoever has her possibly has access to our communications.”
Eban grabbed him by the straps of his ballistics vest and shook him. “Do not lose her, Novak. Else I will fuck with your life for the next fifty years.”
Novak nodded, unable to speak. He couldn’t lose her. He’d only just found her.
* * *
They were out of the wind in a gully, and TJ took a moment to savor the relative calm. Kayla was struggling to make progress through the snow and kept stumbling against him.
He looked down at her pale features. He’d given her his mitts, but her teeth were chattering. “Are you okay?”
“She was very sick,” the FBI agent shouted behind him. Her name was Charlotte. She’d apparently helped Kayla. “That’s why she didn’t meet you on Wednesday morning. Brenna came up the mountain to tell you she was ill. Kayla needs to get out of this storm.”
Her skin was almost as white as the snow with the exception of dark shadows beneath each eye. She nodded, then stumbled again, and he realized she was exhausted. They needed to get out of the storm, but the deer hide was at least another mile through rugged terrain. TJ bent down and lifted her as his father groaned with exasperation.
TJ held Kayla’s thin frame tight against him as he looked back at the FBI agent. “I didn’t kill Brenna. I know who did though. I found photographs on Brenna’s camera.”
“Wait,” the FBI lady said sharply. “You had Brenna’s camera?”
“Found it under my Uncle Malcolm’s bed.”
“Malcolm Resnick?”
TJ watched the lady Fed’s expression. She was pretty and didn’t look like he’d expected a Federal Agent to look. She was nervous. She didn’t understand his father wouldn’t hurt her. He might tie her up and leave her at the deer hide, but he wouldn’t shoot her. TJ would make sure she’d be warm enough.
“I understand you must be close to your brother-in-law, Mr. Harrison, but I’m surprised you’d shelter and protect a wanted killer,” the FBI agent commented.
“Dad didn’t know,” TJ assured her.
“I’m not talking about Brenna.”
TJ frowned.
“You knew about the reporter Malcolm killed, right?” Charlotte directed her question at his dad.
The words didn’t make any sense. “What’s she talking about?”
His dad was breathing hard, clouds of frozen air bellowing from his mouth. “I didn’t want to let him stay, but my wife wouldn’t forsake her own brother. I could hardly turn him away.”
“Even if he killed Brenna?” Charlotte pushed.
TJ frowned.
Kayla gripped his coat. “Who killed Brenna?”
“My uncle,” TJ said bitterly. “He was stealing gold from us. Brenna took photos of him. I think he killed her for that, tried to blame me instead.”
Tom cocked his head. “I knew he was on the run, but he swore he didn’t do it. When the girl was found dead, I suspected him, but he’d already established a hold over everyone. There was nothing I could do until we had a chance to escape.”
“Was your wife ill before Malcolm Resnick arrived?” the Federal Agent asked softly.
Tom’s nostrils flared as he absorbed her words.
The world shook beneath their feet. TJ staggered, trying to hold onto Kayla and stay on his feet. Flames and smoke billowed above the trees.
Tom glanced wearily toward the compound. “I don’t think we need to worry about Malcolm anymore.”
Ice sliced through TJ. He let Kayla slide to her feet. “What did you do?”
“I did what I had to do. To keep you safe. To protect you.”
TJ backed up a step. “You blew up our home?” Tears burned his eyes. “What about everyone in it? What about the children?”
“They weren’t exactly willing to help you, now were they?”
The Federal Agent went sheet white. “This is your escape plan. Destroy the bunker and everyone inside and it’ll be months, if ever, before anyone even realizes you weren’t there.”
“Keep moving,” Tom said coldly.
TJ was in a state of shock, but he kept walking. He couldn’t believe his father had blown up their home with people inside. People they’d lived with for years. He forced one limb in front of the other, arm wrapped tight around Kayla, helping her as she visibly struggled. He no longer knew the man who’d raised him, whom he’d loved all his life. He’d never imagined his father would harm anyone, let alone women and children.
His mother had brought some of those children into the world.
His stomach churned.
His limbs started shaking, and he staggered to one knee.
His father rushed forward. “Are you, okay, son?”
The Federal Agent lunged for Tom, but some instinct must have warned him, and he whirled toward her, and the gun went off. She crumpled into the snow.
Cold Wicked Lies Page 29