Ruthless

by Marlie May

  If it was too much for her, we’d climb back out and go with an alternate plan. This wasn’t the only way to eliminate a potential killer.

  “I am.”

  I studied her face and was pleased to see the glow of confidence that must be growing inside her. Giving someone their strength—as I’d do freely whenever she asked—was like a bandage. It covered the wound, but the true healing needed to take place inside.

  I was glad Mia was finding herself. After we eliminated Russell, she could put this behind her.

  Yes, we’d be hiding in the ground, but there was no reason I couldn’t make this as comfy as possible. I removed a thin blanket from my bag and spread it out on the subfloor I’d installed with pressure-treated lumber years ago. Now, I wished I’d added chairs. A table. Hell, a bullet-proof room. “Want to sit?”

  “Sure. Thanks.” She dropped her bag and sat cross-legged. Her hands trembled, but she gave me a shaky smile. “It’s going to be okay. Really. I’m not scared about being underground. It’s kind of cool.” Her smile grew. “Maybe we can come back someday and have a picnic here. Actually, to be honest, I’m more worried about what’ll happen next.”

  “I understand.”

  “I know you’ll protect me.” Certainty rang in her voice. “But who’s going to protect you?”

  “We’re in this together. We’ll protect each other.”

  She nodded.

  I finished setting things up, which meant closing the hatch until only a sliver of light could eke through. It would be stuffy inside, but no one would find us unless they pretty much stepped on the hatch. I supported the opening with a few small stones.

  I also loaded my rifle and made sure my handgun was ready.

  Kneeling on the steps, I was able to see a good part of the field—thanks to the kid who’d been out recently to mow. Sure, there was dead grass strewn around, but I could see well enough through the night vision scope mounted on my 308. I nestled the tip of the rifle in the tiny opening.

  Had I considered every possibility? No one would ever suggest a DEA agent was dumb. I’d need to be on hyper-alert to eliminate this threat.

  And elimination was probably what this would come to. I had no hope of us coming out of this alive unless Russell was either dead or severely incapacitated. I wouldn’t shoot to kill but I sure as hell had no problem taking him down for a good long time.

  Mia crept up and perched on the stairs beside me. She rested her head on my shoulder.

  I wrapped an arm around her and squeezed. Kissed her forehead. “The last few days…Well, as tough as they’ve been, they’ve also been special.”

  “For me, too.”

  “When we’re done with all this, I’d love to take you on a normal date.”

  Her muted chuckle rang out. “One without a kidnapping?”

  “And no fish.”

  Her teeth gleamed in the low light when she grinned. “We have a lot left to explore with each other.”

  “We’ll get the chance.”

  Her chin lifted. “We will.”

  “You up for movies?”

  “What kind?”

  “Only the best.”

  “Do they involve princesses?”

  “And villains and heroes.” My favorite kind.

  “It’s a date.”

  I gave her a quick kiss, longing to deepen it but knowing I couldn’t take the chance. If my assumptions were correct, we didn’t have long.

  I’d do whatever I could to avoid involving Mia in a firefight, but I was determined to end this and ensure she was safe forever. I wouldn’t back down. I’d give this my all.

  “Not long now,” she said softly, mirroring my thoughts. Not a hint of fear in her voice. She’d lived through something I couldn’t save her from and while it ate through my gut like an ulcer, I’d be there for her from now on.

  I checked the time. We’d been inside forty-five minutes. Per my calculation, Russell should arrive soon.

  A pall of dread fell around my shoulders. Not because I worried about myself. I'd been in hairy enough situations before to know that, at any given moment, my time could be up. I'd come close with that IED.

  I worried about Mia. Things could step beyond my control.

  The scant vibration of her phone kicked my heart into overdrive.

  At my nod, she answered. “Hello?” Her face cleared and she whispered to me. “It’s my lawyer.”

  I watched her face as she listened and the utter relief spreading through her body had me loosening my grip on my rifle.

  “Okay, thank you.” She hung up. A mix of feelings I couldn’t define filled her face. “Russell’s…” She gulped. “He’s dead. Deputy Franks caught him in my backyard, trying to break into my house through the back door. My alarm system tipped her off.” Her breath shuddered. “He ran behind my shed and it turned into a shootout. When Russell ran, my neighbor, Elwin, shot him. Said he was finally cleaning up the neighborhood.” She shuddered, and her phone dropped from her hand, clattering down the stairs and onto the ground. “I can’t believe it. After all this time, it’s finally over.”

  I’d never wish anyone dead, but there was no denying the utter relief filling me. While I’d been prepared for a showdown, knowing I wouldn’t have to battle it out with Mia at my back made my gut unclench. She was safe. We both were.

  We could begin our lives together from this moment forward.

  My phone vibrated and I pulled it from my pocket, expecting a text from Flint or Jax or even Coop.

  No text.

  I held back my shout when I scrolled into the screen.

  Someone had triggered the first camera half a mile back down the road. My heart rate plummeted.

  A man I couldn’t identify crept past the camera, dressed in camo, carrying a rifle. I zoomed in on the device in his ear: the bud component of a tracking device that allowed him to hear the signal coming from the component in his hand. It no doubt tracked the bug I’d found—and disabled for a short time—on my Jeep. He also held his phone and I spied on the spy, seeing the blinking light indicating what he hunted: from its location, my vehicle.

  “What’s going on?” Mia hissed out.

  I feverishly clicked through the screens on my phone. “Someone just passed zone one.”

  “But, but…Russell’s dead.”

  “Russell came to Maine to find you, but I don’t think he’s responsible for the strikes.” Dread uncurled inside me, spreading poison through my limbs.

  “Who, then?”

  My swear ground from my throat. “I programmed the locusts for Russell. Face recognition.” I wanted to smack my head. “I’ve been so stupid. Why didn’t I see this happening?”

  I stared down at the screen, horror roaring through me like a hurricane.

  As if the guy suspected I’d set up a bunch of tricks, he kept his head tucked forward, hiding his face from view.

  One thing was clear.

  This wasn’t Russell.

  Some unknown man was determined to kill her.

  29

  Mia

  My upbeat mood fled, and my lips trembled. “I…I don’t understand.”

  “Someone else is coming down the road and we know it’s not the guy from Mexico or Russell.”

  “Are you sure this person’s after me—us? It could be a…I don’t know. A hunter?”

  “Not this time of year. People hunt coyotes maybe, but only at night and with more than one hunter.”

  “Someone out for a walk?”

  “This is private property. It’s well marked. No local would trespass.”

  “You think they’re after me.” I gulped. “Who could it be?”

  “Other than Peter, I’m fresh out of ideas.”

  “Peter?” This made no sense. He was a friend. “Why would Peter want to hurt me?”

  “Good question.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “I saw Peter talking with the guy from the stairwell. When questioned, Peter exp
lained it away, but…”

  My sigh slid out and my shoulders drooped. We’d been so close to feeling safe I could almost taste it. That wonderful feeling had been stomped into the ground. “We can’t trust anyone.”

  “Never.”

  I leaned forward, staring down at his phone. “You said the cameras would send you clear shots. You must be able to identify the person.”

  “He’s wearing a ski mask.”

  “All right. Well.” I tightened my spine. “We’re ready for him. Your traps are in place.”

  “Damn right. We came here to take down a threat and that plan’s still in place. We’re ending this. Permanently.” He sounded grim, and I loved that about him. Alone, I’d be terrified. With Eli beside me, a strength I couldn’t define surged through me. I didn’t know how this would come out, but we’d face it together. “He triggered the first motion detector. What do we do now?”

  “I can’t reprogram the locusts without a face. They’re a prototype. Eventually, they’ll be programmed to change targets. They’re smart. They’ll learn from mistakes like this and will be able to switch prey, but the programming for that is still up here.” He tapped his temple. “Not loaded into them.”

  “You’re sure it wasn’t—” I waved my hand. “—a deer or something like that?”

  “It’s a man.” He turned his phone so I could see what he described. “Camo. Tracking devices. A signal I can see on his phone—my Jeep. Let alone the fact that he’s come loaded for bear.”

  A rifle. Any other weapons?

  Another hum erupted from his phone.

  “Zone two?” I whispered.

  He nodded.

  Then three and four. Each strike ratcheting another anxious notch up my spine.

  Eli kept his face blank, his posture loose but ready to jump if need be. On guard but casual, to give me the impression this didn’t faze him a bit.

  “I’m scared,” I admitted.

  “Me, too. I’d be a fool if I wasn’t.” He rubbed my shoulder and stared into my eyes, his filled with confidence and reassurance. “We’re coming out of this alive. I’ll save us both.”

  “Since he’s hitting the zones, he’s staying on the road,” I said softly, awe coming through in my voice. “Like you said he would.”

  Eli was no ordinary guy. In my mind, he was a hero, forced into a situation where he had to defend himself and me.

  “This is no job, Mia.” He stroked my face. “There’s no place I’d rather be than right here and right now. With you.”

  I gulped back my tears because I felt the same. And I was terrified it would end too soon. That we’d never be given a chance to have more.

  I didn’t deserve him. But here I was, nestled against his side, knowing he’d give his life to keep me from harm. I wouldn’t let him down. He’d fight for me, and I’d do the same for him.

  Ten minutes passed. I fidgeted. Eli held himself still, staring through his scope, watching for movement outside.

  “How many zones are there?” I whispered. “We spaced them out evenly, right?”

  He nodded.

  “This last stretch has been longer than between the other zones.” Although, I wasn’t exactly watching the time. “Do you think he left the road?”

  “Maybe.”

  “That’s bad.”

  “Don’t give up on us yet.” He squeezed my hand.

  “If he left the road, he’d—”

  Eli’s phone vibrated.

  “Good,” I said. “Zone five.”

  Eli stared down at the picture, keeping the screen tipped away so I couldn’t see it. “He…found camera number five.”

  I leaned forward. “Let me see.”

  His hand dropped over the screen. “Not much to see.”

  “Eli.” Why did he think he could keep anything from me?

  “This guy has had training.”

  “You saw his face? You recognize him?”

  “He used a hand signal for the camera’s benefit. I’d say cop or military. And, no face.”

  “What did he say?”

  Eli looked up, and his face was grimmer than I’d ever seen it. “Nothing we don’t already know.”

  “Please. Tell me.”

  “He signaled, I’m coming for you.”

  My heart stalled. Eli was right. We already knew this. Confirmation that this wasn’t a hunter or a local out for a walk shouldn’t shake me to my core.

  “What will happen—” A scream cut my words off. “What the hell…”

  The satisfaction on Eli’s face drove away my unease.

  “I believe he discovered the danger of playing with knives. Or your pen.”

  “My pen?”

  “Let’s hope it hit something vital.”

  I narrowed my gaze on Eli’s face. “What did you do?” My voice was half filled with curiosity, half filled with amazement.

  “Set up a few surprises to slow him down.”

  “Booby traps,” I whispered. “You’re better than any old MacGyver. Does this mean it’s over?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe not.” He held up a finger and listened. “If he keeps on coming, we’ll hear…”

  A whoosh was followed by a couple of smacks.

  Yes. “Looks like he found your nutmeg.”

  He grinned. “I think he’s missing the eggnog, though.”

  “Just got egg on his face. Or, in this case, nutmeg on his face. Carefully dumped inside your nylon knee-highs, I assume. The one’s you’ve yet to model for me. Let me guess, spring-loaded with the exercise bands?”

  He turned briefly away from staring down his 308’s scope. “They’re not just for building muscle.”

  “But if he keeps coming…”

  “The nutmeg wasn’t our last hold-out.” He sighted down his scope

  There must still be more traps awaiting the man. Unless he somehow evaded them.

  Wait. My heart rate spiked. What was that sound? And that smell?

  Eli held up his hand before I could whisper a word.

  Crackling.

  Eli reared back, his nostrils flaring.

  “What’s happening?”

  “A rabbit ran by the hatch.”

  I didn’t like this. My sixth sense was scraping along my back, and it couldn’t be denied.

  Eli inhaled sharply, but his breath stalled before he eased it out. “Smoke.”

  “A campfire nearby?”

  “Nobody else out here but us, and…”

  My shoulders slumped. “And him.” A clever fiend who’d run the foxes to ground and now planned to smoke them out.

  Eli grabbed his rifle. “You prepared to move fast, Mia?”

  “We’re changing plans.”

  “Have to. He set the field on fire and it’s roaring this way.”

  Crawling around to face forward, I squinted through the narrow opening and gasped. Flames skipped along the ground, setting the world outside alight, turning it into an inferno. “Where will we go?”

  “Where you can disappear. I’ll find you a safe place to hide while I hunt him down and finish this.”

  I wanted to insist I’d go with him, stand at his back to defend him. But I was a doctor, not a Seabee. He’d be safer if I wasn’t around.

  “On three. One.” He took my hand and placed it on his back, encouraging me to grip his shirt. “Hold on tight and don’t let go.”

  “Okay.” My voice shook. “I’m ready.”

  “Two.” He paused. “And, three.”

  30

  Eli

  Shoving up the hatch, I bolted up the stairs. When I hit the surface, I crouched low.

  Smoke filled the air, making it almost impossible to see.

  The hatch slammed closed behind me.

  Mia! No hand on my back. Where was she?

  No time to look, because someone jumped me, slamming into my side, driving me to the ground face-first. I bit dirt and arched up, shaking to dislodge the man from my back.

  While the guy tumbled and
flipped onto his feet, smoke billowed around us. Scorching my lungs, making me cough.

  I spread my arms wide. Shit, I’d dropped my rifle. And where was my handgun?

  The man dove toward me from out of the smoke, a knife extended in his fist. He slashed it forward, aiming for my gut.

  I flung myself sideways and kicked out, hitting the other man in the knee cap. He grunted, but the knife grazed my previously injured leg. It sliced through my jeans and bit deep. Adrenaline blazed through me, and I blocked out the growing pain, hunkering low to avoid the smoke hanging in the air. To my left, flames leaped, dancing from tree to tree, but they appeared to be skirting this area.

  Wobbling on his feet, the man blinked and said, “I promised her I’d make this right. Mia doesn’t deserve love. She stole my love from me.”

  “Jim? Jim Taylor?” I asked, stunned. The older man from Christmastown. The guy having fun with his granddaughter, seemingly accepting his wife’s death. Mia had found his wife in the park, dying of a heart attack. She’d been unable to help the woman.

  He blamed Mia.

  Jim wiped his face with his palm and staggered sideways.

  The nutmeg was working.

  “Give up,” I said. “It’s over.”

  “I took down worse than you when I was a cop in Boston.” His wavering voice rose. “Don’t you see? I don’t have my wife, so Mia can’t have you. One of you has to die, and it might as well be you.” He slashed toward me with the knife again.

  A shadow darted to my right, but the smoke was too thick to see who it was or where they were going. Was Jim alone or did he bring a friend? My cameras hadn’t picked up anyone else but that meant nothing.

  “Stephanie,” the man shouted. He gouged the knife out again, and it sliced through the air. But when his gaze fell on me, his eyes cleared and he ran forward.

  I struck out with my foot, hitting his arm but not dislodging the knife. He deflected my quick series of hits. While he might not be as strong as me, he’d had considerable training. Without the hallucinogen on board and the fifteen or so years on me, it was anyone’s guess who’d come up the victor.

  Jim whimpered and peered toward my left as if seeing ghosts. Blood trickled down his leg from a wound in his thigh—caused by a kitchen knife or pen.