The Return (The Eliminator Series Book 11)
Page 17
“Unless they keep following you and not her.”
“But what if they don’t? And what if they split up, and some come after me, and a few stay back with her? Then she has no protection.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about that. I just assumed they’d go all in on you. Can’t take that chance, though.”
Jacobs then thought he had it. “What if wherever we go, once we get there, Eddie’s waiting in the back, and she quickly slips out before they have a chance to get set up? That way we don’t have to worry about her.”
“I think it’ll work as long as there’s a back exit. And it’s gotta be fast.”
A few minutes later, Franks came back into the room. “It’s all over, ladies and gents. I’ve got the perfect place.”
Jacobs was waiting in his car with Gunner in the back seat, waiting for Tiffany to come out of the building. This was the second day that she’d been back to work. Jacobs wasn’t sure if he was relieved that nothing had happened the day before, or mad because they had to do it all again. Nobody had followed them yesterday. And even though he still didn’t like putting Tiffany in obvious danger, he did want to get it over with as quickly as possible.
As he sat there and waited, Jacobs looked around. He didn’t notice anyone waiting around in a car to the side or the back of the lot. And he didn’t notice anyone on the street as he pulled in. A few minutes later, Tiffany came bouncing out of the building with a little hop in her step. She looked really pleasant for someone that knew she was a target.
She got in the car and gave Jacobs a kiss. “Hey. I missed you.” Gunner barked. Tiffany laughed and reached into the back seat to pet him. “I missed you too.” After finishing with Gunner, she glanced at Jacobs, who was still staring at her. “What?”
“Just wondering why you look so happy?”
“Oh. Do I?”
Jacobs nodded. “You do.”
“Oh. I don’t know. I guess I just missed being away. I love this place. I love the kids, I love the job, I love everything about it.”
Jacobs leaned over and kissed her again. “You’re a special person.”
“So is today the day? I try to block all that out of my mind when I’m teaching.”
Jacobs shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t see anyone yet, but who knows? Maybe someone’s out there watching. We’ll just have to see.”
He put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot. He turned to the right, keeping a close eye on all his mirrors. They were driving for about two minutes when he did a double-take in the driver’s side mirror. He noticed a car get in behind him, though they were still keeping a good distance between the two vehicles.
Jacobs continued driving, but kept a close eye on the vehicle behind them. After several minutes, and a few turns, the car was still there, though a couple other cars had now gotten in between them. Tiffany glanced over at him and could tell he was preoccupied with something. She noticed him looking in the mirrors.
“What is it?”
Jacobs was hesitant to answer at first, not wanting to alarm her. But considering what the plan was, it didn’t make sense to keep quiet about it. “I think we might have someone.”
“Who?”
“Can’t tell. Looks like two people in the car. They’re three cars back. Been following us since we left school.” Tiffany started to turn around to look, but Jacobs put his arm out to stop her. “Don’t turn around. We don’t want them to think we’re on to them.”
“What are we gonna do?”
“We’ll keep driving for a while, see if they keep following.”
“And if they do?”
“Then I guess we’re in business.”
The car did keep following, though they were careful not to get too close. They kept a two or three car-length distance away at all times. After driving around for fifteen minutes, and making numerous turns, Jacobs felt that was enough.
“That’s them. Nobody else would turn that many times with us.” He called Thrower, letting him know it was on. “You ready to go? Looks like we got action.”
“Anytime you are.”
“You need more time?”
“Nope. Bring them in.”
“What about Eddie?”
“He’s here waiting too.”
“OK. Should be there in about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be on the lookout.”
Jacobs hung up and kept driving. “You know what to do?”
Tiffany nodded. “Soon as we get there, I go into the building, then run out the back into the car, and Eddie drives away.”
“No stopping, no looking back.”
“I got it.”
Jacobs got to the place in exactly twenty minutes. It was a one-floor building on the edge of the city and hadn’t been used by anybody in several years. At least not for legal means. The building was starting to fall apart, so it was easy to get into, which made it ideal for those who skirted on the outskirts of the law.
Jacobs drove onto the property and headed straight for the building, stopping just in front of it. Everyone got out, and while Jacobs and Gunner stayed outside for a few seconds, Tiffany immediately ran inside, making her way to the back of the building. She ran out through the back door, which didn’t even have a door, it was just an opening. Franks was sitting outside in a car, with the passenger door open, waiting for Tiffany to hop in. Once she did, he immediately took off.
Jacobs and Gunner went inside. He put his ear comm in. “How we looking out there?”
“Another car just showed up,” Thrower replied.
It wasn’t a straight line from the entrance of the property to the building that Jacobs was in. There was the gate area, which didn’t have one anymore, and then after a few yards, there was a right turn which led to the building. There was another building to the left, though it wasn’t quite on the property, which was the building Thrower was in at the moment. He had a clear view of the entrance.
“What are they doing?” Jacobs asked.
“Just sitting.”
“Let me know if they move or others show up.”
“Will do.”
The car continued to sit for a few minutes, and then the men got out and walked over to the corner, peeking around to see where Jacobs was. Seeing his car still parked in front of the building, they thought they had him covered. One of the men got back in the car.
“One of them just got back in the car,” Thrower said.
“Probably to tell the others,” Jacobs replied.
“Could be. Might be getting some action soon.”
“They’re gonna want to hurry this up and not take the chance of me leaving before they get here.”
He was right. Mallette, Butch, and the rest of their beleaguered force got there within ten minutes. They lined up just around the gate area. Thrower had them all in his sights.
“They’re here, buddy.”
“How many?” Jacobs asked.
“Looks like about fifteen.”
“Is that all they got left?”
“Might be. Wish I had a rocket launcher right now,” Thrower said with a laugh. “I could get all of them right now and be done with them.”
“Well, we’ll just work with what we got.”
Thrower noticed the men beginning to move. “Stay sharp, they’re on the move.”
While several men stayed near the corner behind the wall, including Mallette and Butch, about five of the men turned it and started approaching the building.
Jacobs was sitting down, underneath a window, which like the rest of the building, didn’t have one. “Let me know when they get close.”
“They’re staying close to the wall. When I give you the word, you jump up and start spraying to your immediate left. You can get all of them before they know what hits them.”
“OK.” As he waited, Jacobs pet Gunner on the head. “Almost time, bud.”
Close to a minute passed. Jacobs was calm as he waited for the word from his partner. Then he got it.
“They’re right there!” Thrower yelled.
Jacobs clutched his rifle and jumped up, appearing in the middle of the frame of the window. He instantly looked to his left and caught the five men near the wall. He opened fire, mowing the men down with ease.
Mallette and Butch looked on from the safety of the corner. Neither were pleased.
Mallette looked at a few of the men that were with them. “Go over that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction. “We’ll get in behind him.”
Three more of the men started running parallel to the building that Jacobs was in. Little did they know they were running right into Thrower’s sights. From his vantage point, Thrower pointed his rifle at the men, and took them out one by one without any problem.
Butch had seen enough. “This is a trap! We’re out of here!”
“You’re out of here when I say you are!” Mallette replied. “We’ve got them here. We can finish them.”
Butch shook his head. “You’re blind. You can’t see the nose in front of your face. They lured us here, the same way you did to them. We can’t win here. You’re so blinded by hate that you can’t see. But I can.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means I can see that this isn’t working. I’m not losing any more men with you. We’re done.”
“You’re done when I say you are.”
“I’m done now. And so are we.”
Mallette swallowed his anger and took a step back. Butch turned away from him and went over to tap a couple of his guys on the shoulder to let them know they were leaving.
Mallette removed his pistol from inside his jacket and pointed it at the back of Butch’s head. Butch turned around, alarmed to see the gun staring him right in the face.
“What are you gonna do?” Butch asked defiantly. “Shoot?”
Mallette calmly replied. “Yes.” He fired, the bullet entering Butch’s forehead, and he dropped to the ground.
Butch’s men jumped around, seeing their boss dead. Mallette glared at them, the gun still in his hand.
“It looks like you boys need new employment. If any of you choose not to follow me, leave now.”
The men looked at each other, but none of them left. Selby came over to Mallette and tugged his arm.
“Butch was right, boss. This is a trap. Let’s get out and regroup. Hit them another time. We need to get more men.”
This time, Mallette was willing to listen to reason. They got in their cars and left, Mallette knowing they didn’t have enough men to get the job done.
Once they were gone, Jacobs and Thrower came out from their respective buildings and checked on the damage done. They met back up in the middle of the property.
“Eight more,” Thrower said.
Jacobs was satisfied, but not overly pleased. “Yeah. But still not the head man.”
“We’re getting there, though.”
“What’s that?” Jacobs pointed to where Butch’s body was now lying.
Though they heard the extra shot that Mallette took, neither of them could see exactly what had happened. They walked over to it.
“Butch,” Jacobs said, a little shocked at seeing him in that condition.
“Looks like there was a little falling out.”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, works in our favor, right? Now we don’t have to do it. Mallette took care of it for us,” Thrower said.
“Yeah, one down. Still two more to go, though.”
“Hey, two’s better than three.”
“It is.” Jacobs looked up at the sky, seeing the sun break through the clouds. A sliver of light shone down.
Thrower looked up at it as well. “Maybe that’s a sign. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Yeah. Maybe there is.”
About the Author
Mike Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Author. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, and four children. He’s the author of the bestselling Silencer Series, as well as many others. Visit his website at www.mikeryanbooks.com to find out more about his books, and sign up for his newsletter. You can also interact with Mike via Facebook, and Instagram.
Also by Mike Ryan
Continue reading The Eliminator Series with the next, and final, book in the series, The Finish.
Other Books:
The Silencer Series
The Extractor Series
The Cain Series
The Cari Porter Series
The Ghost Series
The Brandon Hall Series
A Dangerous Man
The Last Job
The Crew