Linc made his way down off the roof as discreetly as possible and did a quick recon of the area.
Within minutes, all of the partygoers had been moved to a safe area out of range of anyone who might be inclined to start shooting again. A quick scan proved none of them were James Killian. Linc had flashed his credentials so much, he finally clipped his badge to his belt so he could move amongst the officers unencumbered.
Finally, he joined Brady and Izzy in Daria’s bullet-riddled bedroom. He glanced at the floor. Blood. Not a puddle, but definitely a lot of drops.
Izzy frowned at him. “This is a crime scene. You can’t be in here.” Her eyes dropped to the badge on his belt. “Oh, sorry. FBI? You guys got here fast.”
He’d forgotten about his disguise. “Izzy, it’s me.”
Her eyes went wide, and Brady blinked before he let out a guffaw. “Linc?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing here?” Izzy asked, shooting Brady a “shut up” look. Brady ignored her.
“Working a case,” Linc said.
“What? You’re supposed to be on medical leave.”
“I am.”
“Right.” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you here by yourself?”
Linc paused. “No, I had someone else with me, but she wasn’t involved in the shooting—other than to survive it.”
Brady and Izzy exchanged a frown. “We’ll need to talk to her too,” Brady said.
“You can’t, and I can’t explain why you can’t. And if you have a problem with that, I’ll give you Henry’s number.”
Izzy’s brows rose high enough to sweep under her bangs. She and Brady exchanged another frown. “Can you talk off the record?”
“No.”
“Wow. This have anything to do with Nevsky’s bombing of Allie’s and your boat?”
“Absolutely. Now, I’ve got to go find our shooter.”
“We’ve got cops all over the place looking for him. Linc, what’s going on?”
He ran a hand over his new haircut. “It’s a long story. You’ll have to work with the Bureau on this one.” He pointed to the blood on the floor. “I’ve been looking for him and came back to get confirmation that I hit him.”
“We saw the blood.”
He met her gaze. “Did you find his weapon?”
“No.”
“Which means he still has it with him.” He hurried toward the door. “Can you radio and see if anyone’s rounded up a guy with a bullet in him?”
Izzy put out the call and within seconds she nodded. “An officer said he thought he saw someone get into the back of the ambulance behind the pool house.”
“Behind the pool house? The scene hasn’t been cleared,” he said, backing out the door. “He didn’t check the ambulance?”
“He said he started to and was rerouted to another part of the house.”
“By who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you find out?”
“Of course.”
While Izzy worked on that, Linc raced down the stairs to the pool area. With a “shots fired” and an “officer needs help” call put out, every cruiser in the vicinity had turned out. Which would help with crowd control and taking statements and information. He then headed around to the back of the pool house and found the ambulance exactly where it had been reported to be.
From her perch next to the chimney, Allie had a good view of the activity below, near the pool house and beyond to where Linc’s truck sat out of view beyond the wrought-iron fence. Why had Linc gone behind the pool house? More than once, she wished they had COMMS so she could hear everything going on.
Slowly, carefully, she made her way to the other side of the roof so she would be hidden from all the commotion on the pool side and ran to the point where she could surface and watch Linc. He’d exited the house and scanned the area, looking for the shooter, no doubt.
Just like she’d been doing since Linc had left her. The helicopter continued to make pass after pass, and she had to keep ducking behind anything she could find. Fortunately, there were several chimneys and turbine vents that shielded her. But it made for slow going.
Finally, she caught sight of him checking out the ambulance in semidarkness. With her weapon tucked against the small of her back, she took her time, making her way to the bottom edge of the roof. Hoping the gutter would hold her, she closed her fingers around it, then swung over and down to the ground.
She landed just in time to slip behind a bush as two officers walked past her, no doubt doing a perimeter check, still searching for the shooter. Fortunately, they weren’t searching the bushes. Any other time, she’d want to write them up for being slack, but tonight she was just glad.
Once they were out of sight, she opened her mouth to call out to Linc, but snapped it shut just in case anyone else was close by. She’d wait for Linc to finish with the ambulance, then let him know she was there.
Three other ambulances waited out front. So, why had anyone allowed this one on the property?
Linc glanced at the roof. Allie was nowhere to be seen, but he had a feeling she was still there. Probably behind one of the chimneys. At least he hoped so.
He turned back to the ambulance that was parked to the side with the lights off—his first clue to approach with caution. The pool lights illuminated his path to the pool house, but his trek down the side took out of sight of the main house and the stretch of public road that ran in front of the home.
The back door of the vehicle was closed, the interior lights off—his second clue that something was possibly off. The third clue was that feeling in the pit of his belly that compelled him to draw his weapon. He understood Allie’s weird saying about her teeth itching.
With his back to the driver’s side of the vehicle, he inched forward. Looked in the window. Nothing. He returned to the back and twisted the knob. The door flew open and a fist landed against his temple, sending him stumbling backward.
Pain ricocheted through him and he hit the ground, ears buzzing, spots dancing before his eyes. A gun rested against his head before he had a chance to react. “Time to collect my reward,” a voice hissed.
Killian.
Linc bucked and rolled. The pistol fell away. A low thwap sounded next to his ear and the bullet buried itself in the ground much too close to his head.
Another weapon cracked and his attacker took off. Footsteps pounded away from him. A figure darted past him as he rolled to his feet, blinking. Allie?
His vision cleared enough for him to see the shooter and Allie disappear into the wooded area. “Hey!” With no time to grab his phone and call for help and no way to snag the attention of fellow officers, he spared a quick glance into the back of the ambulance to see two paramedics and one police officer. All three were dead with holes in their foreheads. No one had heard the shots because of the silencer on Killian’s pistol. The automatic weapon lay on the floor of the ambulance. At least Killian wasn’t carrying that too.
Linc bolted after the fleeing killer and Allie, his hand fishing his phone from his pocket. He hit the tree line and stumbled to a stop to listen. Which way? He narrowed his eyes, the darkness heavy, with only the slight light the moon offered.
A crunch to his left swiveled him around. He pushed through the undergrowth, his right hand wrapped around the grip of his gun, his left cradling his phone. One-handed, he texted Brady,
In woods. Help.
It was awkward, but he got it sent without slowing down. He could hear footsteps crunching branches up ahead.
A grunt and a sharp cry.
He put on an extra burst of speed, dodging limbs, pushing around bushes, not even bothering to try to disguise his approach.
He shot through the tree line and exited the wooded area to find Allie on the ground with the shooter, her fingers clamped around the man’s wrist, doing her best to force the gun he held away from her head.
12
Allie’s strength had just about ended when s
uddenly she was free. Linc had tackled the man on top of her and the two now grappled in the grass beside her.
She rolled, back throbbing, head pounding, her body screaming its reminder that she hadn’t yet fully healed from the boat explosion.
She ignored its protests and scrambled to her feet.
Linc was losing the fight. Killian had the upper hand and was gradually moving the weapon toward Linc’s head—just like he’d done with her. She took three steps and connected her foot with his chin. Exactly like she used to do to the soccer ball on the high school field.
Killian dropped like a stone, his weapon tumbling from his fingers.
Coach would have been proud.
Linc swiped up the gun and rolled away from the man, who now lay on the ground blinking at the night sky. Killian’s jaw hung at an odd angle and pain-filled groans escaped him. Allie stepped over to Linc and took Killian’s gun from him while he held his own Glock on the prisoner.
Breathing hard, she ordered her pulse to slow.
Sirens sounded, coming toward them. She shoved the weapon into Linc’s hand. “Wipe it. My prints are on it obviously, but we have to turn it in. Killian recognized me. Don’t let him talk, please.” She slipped back into the woods to watch.
With shaking hands—thanks to her still-rushing adrenaline—she dialed Henry’s number.
He picked up on the first ring. “Allie?”
“Linc has James Killian in custody,” she said, not bothering with a greeting. “And I imagine as soon as Nevsky finds out that one of his top assassins is going to be questioned and bargained with, he’ll send someone after him.”
“What? What did you do, Allie?”
“Explanations will have to wait.”
“I’ll get him into protective custody. Are you okay?”
“Fine. But, Henry?”
“Yeah?”
“Killian knows I’m alive. He saw me. If he tells Nevsky in some lame attempt to prove his loyalty—”
“We’re toast.”
“Well, I am, at least. Not sure how you are.”
Silence. Then a low sigh. “I’ll take care of it. Make sure he doesn’t talk to anyone.”
“He’s got a broken jaw, so he’s not going to say much, but he can still write. He’s also going to need medical attention.”
Another sigh. “Where are you?”
“Nevsky’s house.”
“What?” She flinched at his yell. “Tell Linc to bring—”
“Other cops are headed this way,” she said. “I’m hiding. Call him and tell him where to meet you.”
“Stay out of sight, I’ve got this.” Henry hung up.
When Linc lifted his phone to his ear a second later, Allie pressed her palms to her eyes. This had been a ridiculous risk. But it had been beneficial. She now knew where to look for Daria. With one last glance at Linc, she hurried to his Suburban, climbed into the passenger side onto the floorboard, and pulled her phone from her back pocket.
Allie
Daria, text me. I need you to let me know you’re safe.
Daria
I’m fine.
Allie caught her breath. A response!
Where are you? Why did you run?
Leave me alone. You’re just like all the rest. I can’t trust anyone. Now stop looking for me.
I don’t understand. What do you mean I’m like all the rest?
Silence.
Daria? What about the evidence against your father? I need that if you’re ever going to have any kind of normal life free of fear. I need to put him in prison.
It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.
What??
William Blake. I like him. Don’t text me anymore, Allie. If that’s even your real name.
Please, Daria, tell me where you are.
After ten minutes of silence, Allie gave up hoping that Daria would respond again. And she couldn’t even ask Annie to try to trace the messages. Because a dead woman couldn’t make phone calls. Frustration pounded.
Soon, she heard the whomp-whomp-whomp of a helicopter and figured it would land in the large field where she’d tackled Killian.
The driver’s door opened and Allie snapped her gun up. Then lowered it when Linc settled into the driver’s seat. “You okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Henry got here fast.”
“He’s got a lot riding on making sure no one finds out you’re alive. He didn’t clear the decision for you to be dead with anyone, and if the powers that be find out, he could lose his job. So he’s taking Killian back to a safe house where he can keep a muzzle on the guy.”
“What about you? You fired your weapon. Don’t you have a mountain of paperwork to fill out?”
“I talked to Henry and turned my weapon over to him. I’ve been released for now, but I’ll have to talk to SIRG. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem convincing them that I complied with the Bureau’s policy when it comes to using lethal force.” He unlocked the glove box and pulled out a SIG Sauer P226. After he checked it, he slid it into the shoulder holster where his Glock used to be.
“Good, because I think I know where to find Daria.”
“Where?”
“At that cabin in the woods.”
“The one in the picture?”
“Yes. You remember when I said she had skills?”
“I do.”
“Gerard used to take her hunting with him.”
Linc raised a brow. “Nevsky approved of that?”
“He didn’t approve of much of anything, but if Daria killed a deer, or any other animal, and brought it home, that’s the one time Nevsky would offer his praise.”
“Guess he’s not going to win the Parent of the Year Award, is he? So, where’s this cabin?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it may belong to Gerard. If not, he knows where it is.”
“Then let’s go find Gerard.”
One thing they’d learned in their investigation was that Nevsky ran his operation like a legitimate business on the surface. Three shifts of a minimum of two bodyguards on his slow days, and more when he needed them—such as if he felt threatened in any way or needed muscle to convince someone of . . . whatever. All knew they were on call 24/7, but for the most part, they got to have personal lives. It didn’t take Annie long to get the address for Gerard’s personal residence.
Only it wasn’t the cabin.
Gerard Lamb owned a large home near the city in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods. He’d purchased the property the same day Nevsky had closed on his. Both had been cash transactions. Both had bought the houses in their legal names. Both had used the same lawyer.
“He’s been on Nevsky’s payroll a long time if he’s been Daria’s bodyguard,” Linc said.
“I’d say he warrants watching, but right now he’s the least of our worries.”
Linc grunted in agreement. “So, who could the cabin belong to?” He asked as he pulled to a stop just beyond Gerard’s home.
“I don’t know. I sure thought it was Gerard’s. I guess he could have it under a bogus name. Or a relative’s.”
“Or a friend’s,” Linc said.
“Or it’s a rental. Gerard never took Daria out there while I was in the house, or I would have had you track them.”
“No, he didn’t have much contact with her—other than to do his job and guard her—while you were there.”
“Let’s ask Annie to check relatives and see if any of them have a log cabin in their name,” Allie said. “We can at least rule that out. Then let’s get a warrant for Gerard’s financials and see if he charged a deposit to a card in case it was a rental.”
Linc shrugged. “It’s a long shot and could be a huge waste of time.”
“So? When has that stopped us?”
She had a point. Some of the best breaks in their cases had been long shots. But they had to measure said long shot against the time and resources it would take up and decide whether it was worth it.
He asked Annie to check, then requested the warrant.
For the next several minutes, they simply watched the house from the street. While the home was large, the front yard wasn’t. At the end of a cul-de-sac, the lawn stretched to the curb while an abundance of trees lined the property, giving it the appearance of privacy.
“You see any cameras?” He handed her another set of binoculars and she pressed them to her eyes.
“Yes. On the house. I don’t know how far they reach, though.”
“I believe I’ll just walk up there and knock on the door. You staying in the truck?”
“Think I’ll meander around back. The house is practically hidden by the trees except for the front. I won’t have any trouble avoiding the cameras unless I try to get in close.” She shoved the COMMS into her ear and turned to grab a sweatshirt with a hood from the suitcase on the back seat of his truck. “I’ll let you know where the cameras are.”
“He might recognize you if he sees you,” Linc said, mimicking her actions and placing the COMMS piece in his ear.
“I don’t plan to let him see me, but you’re not going in there without some kind of backup.” She tapped her ear. “At least I’ll be able to hear everything and be there if something goes sideways.”
Linc gave a slow nod. He’d insist on the same if their roles were reversed.
Once Allie was out of sight in the dark around the side of the house, Linc approached the front door, stood to the side, and rapped on the glass window.
He waited.
When no one appeared after several seconds, he rang the bell.
More seconds ticked past.
“Allie?”
“Yes?”
“Anything in the back?”
“No. Right now I’m just scoping the house, but there’s nothing alarming. A swimming pool that would be a lot of fun on a warm day, lots of concrete with an outdoor kitchen that would do any chef proud, and landscaping better than Buckingham Palace. But that’s about it.”
“He’s not answering the door.”
“Any cars in the garage?”
“Can’t tell. No windows.”
A pause.
Vow of Justice Page 11