by Dale Mayer
Still, there was always going to be that one instance where the rule didn’t hold true. He hoped it wasn’t this one. The dog looked well cared for except there was blood on his haunch. His own or someone else’s? He took a step toward the animal, speaking in a low voice. As he approached, the dog curled back his lip and showed fangs. Shadow stopped and searched for food. Behind the one dog, lay a second one. Injured. Or dead. Oh, crap. He shouldered his rifle and walked closer as if he had the right. The dog had been raised by people and likely a gun had been responsible for the injury. The dog growled deeper but let him pass. He crouched down beside the injured dog and gently ran a hand over the older lab cross. She was dead. A bullet square in her ribs. She’d not had a chance. Bastards. He hated anyone killing animals unless for food, and when it was a pet like this one—well there was no excuse.
Slowly, Shadow turned to the other dog, “I’m sorry, boy. She’s gone.” At the sound of his voice, the dog lay down and dropped his nose on his paws. And whimpered.
Shadow gently stroked the young animal’s head. “You already knew that though, didn’t you? Sorry, buddy. There’s a lot of pain going on around here right now.”
He gave a quick search to the garage and found a truck parked on the side. He walked over. The engine was still warm. He popped the hood and pulled off the distributor cap. At least no one would be running away in this rig.
With a final glance at the dog, he quietly closed the door and left. The dog was safer inside right now. But he’d be sure to open the door before he left the property.
The house stood before him. Still no lights or sounds. He raced across the short distance until his back was up against the wall. He listened intently. Still quiet. There were a few basement windows, dusty and caked in dirt. He doubted they’d been cleaned in years. If the windows would open, he could get in that way. But if they were as unused as they appeared to be he wasn’t likely to do so silently.
He slid around to the back of the house and the small porch. Also old and creaky likely, but the door was slightly ajar. He frowned, his senses on alert. A trap or someone in a hurry.
Then he heard it.
A tiny snuffle.
Not a young one either. An older woman with a cold came to mind. The proverbial hankie in her hand. And likely a captor at her side.
She sniffled again.
“Shut the fuck up.”
Shadow smiled. Perfect. Now he had a target.
Chapter 17
Arianna wandered the store feeling useless and hating the wait. Her mind spun endlessly after seeing the photo of herself in that man’s pocket. To know someone had been taking photos of her without her knowledge. What a horrible feeling. Especially when she should have been safe now. This mess over and done with. Right? Her family was home safe. Right?
She spun to look at Cooper. “Has anyone had an update on my family?”
There must have been something in the tone of her voice because Cooper turned to her, his glance searching. “We know they arrived at the hospital in San Francisco.”
She closed her eyes. “Okay, good. Just for a moment there, given that picture, I was afraid they might have taken my family again.”
“We’ve had confirmation they arrived. We don’t have an update on your father’s condition, but you already know he’s in critical condition and he’s not expected to survive the head injuries. Last I heard, your stepmother was recovering.”
She nodded. That’s what she’d expected. Not easy to deal with given her current circumstances. She’d loved her own father but… For Kevin’s sake, she hoped her stepmother survived and was capable of raising Kevin. He needed it. He’d had a cold childhood already. He needed so much more.
She needed to get home to him. “Is someone coming to help out?”
He nodded. “The other military team is on the way. And they have the hostages still. More soldiers are en route to help out.” He glanced at his watch. “They should be here soon.”
“Then what?”
He shrugged. “Good question. I’m not leading this and we’re not on home territory. Quite likely we’ll be sent on our way.”
She brightened. “Perfect!” She glanced over at the man on the ground. “I wonder what happened to the leader.”
“The man you sent the photo of?”
“He said something in passing that he was picking up someone.” She shrugged. “I don’t know who.”
Cooper stared at her. “Interesting.”
She nodded. “Maybe if we knew who and where they were we could grab both of them. But that was a long time ago. He’s likely halfway around the world by now.”
“Could be. Any idea why they targeted your father?”
“Something to do with needing his vote on something major.” She studied the man on the floor. “But that made no sense to me. My father has always made his position clear.”
“Is he close to anyone else in the House?”
She glanced over at him. “Close, no. Not really. He doesn’t socialize with many and when he does it’s usually for political or charity functions.”
He wandered the store, never losing that alertness inside.
“What are you thinking?”
“Your father is well known to be a hard ass, correct?”
“Correct.”
“So what if someone was using him to force other Congressmen to take a stance. Your father is known to never give in. Never break and what’s happened to him sends a hell of a message to others.”
“I don’t understand exactly how the voting works but getting someone else appointed wouldn’t be easy.”
“But he’s not out, is he? As long as he’s alive they won’t move to change the status any time soon. So in theory if he’s used as an example, the others might cave in a lot earlier. You know when you’re up against a street gang, if you take out the leader, then the others scatter.”
“So you’re saying that by taking out my father, the others are more likely to do what they are told to do.” She snorted. “Now that could be. I’ve been tossing this all around in my head and coming up empty.”
“We’ve got a good idea of how this went down but need the details.”
“Like?”
“How they knew where you were going, why you were going, when you were going. And how did all of you come together.” He walked the few steps toward her. “And we have to consider if there was anyone on the inside.”
“Well, it wasn’t me,” she said with feeling. “The arrangements were made by my father’s office. They’d know when and where.”
“Anyone else?”
“I don’t know who Kevin and Linda might have told but not likely anyone. It was a fast decision. In fact…” She considered the issue. “It was too fast.”
“No warning.”
“No, I wondered about that. I didn’t hear about it until early in the week. And as soon as I did…” She peered out the window but didn’t see anything but her memories. “I invited myself.” She studied the dead man again. “And as that’s the case, why would he have my photo?”
“Maybe you invited yourself, but it’s also possible you were going to be forced to go regardless. They could have easily kidnapped you and held you somewhere else.”
“I can’t understand what makes people do things like this.”
“Money and power.” He held out the picture to her. “Any idea when this might have been taken?”
She glanced over at it. “I’m wearing the same coat I always wear so that could have been anytime.”
“It’s in the evening.”
“Is it? Then that narrows it down as I don’t wear that coat out for any evening functions. It’s more for going for a walk or to pick up a few groceries.”
“So when would that have been?” he persisted.
She looked at the image again. And saw her neighbor in one of her Old Russian day dresses she always wore. The old woman had passed away a couple of weeks ago. “I can say it’s at least thr
ee weeks old,” she explained.
“And did you know about the plans three weeks ago?”
“No,” she said in surprise. “I only heard about it on Monday. We flew out on Friday.”
“For the long weekend?”
She nodded. “It was a short holiday and a rather long flight. I think that was my stepmother’s biggest issue. But then you have to understand, if a longer vacation was planned, she’d have bitched about it as well. She didn’t like to travel.”
“But your father insisted?”
She cast her mind back. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I was never involved in the discussion.” She clenched her fingers into a fist. “I only heard from Kevin that she hadn’t wanted to come.”
“Any reason to believe she’d be involved?”
Her head shot up and stared. “No. Why would she be?”
“Who inherits?”
That caught her by surprise. “I don’t know,” she said slowly, not liking his line of questioning. “Likely my stepmother. There should be something there for Kevin’s education as well. My father is very wealthy, but I don’t know what’s in the will.”
“What happens if all of you die except Kevin?”
Her stomach started to bubble with an overload of acid. “I don’t know.” Lord, she hadn’t wanted to know. “His guardian would be responsible for him I’m sure.”
“And who is that?”
She studied Cooper. “My father’s aide. He’s been with my father for decades. I’ve known him all my life. He’s my step–uncle, actually,” she confessed. “He introduced my father and my stepmother to each other way back when.”
*
Shadow pushed the back door open with the toe of his boot like a strong wind would. The door swung open soundlessly. About time something worked out. He’d already contacted his team, letting them know where he was and what he was doing.
He slipped inside. And stilled.
The kitchen was empty.
And dark.
He studied the layout, his attention lingering on the chipped teapot and half cup of tea on the table, a single plate with crumbs and a bit of bread left. The decor was dated, unkempt. Not dirty but badly in need of repair. He studied the two doorways into and out of the kitchen. One on the left and one on the right. He shifted to the one furthest away. He could see a living room ahead, but it was dimly lit and held only shelving that he could see. He checked out the room moving silently forward. Whoever lived here had likely been here most of their lives. And had little money or interest in upkeep or modernization. Given the voice and sniffles he’d heard earlier he could see this being a pensioner, likely a widow left alone now and waiting out her last days. He hoped she had someone who cared close by. But given the age of the town and the lack of people living there, he doubted it.
Seeing the room empty and not connecting through to the other side he envisioned it as a parlor from days gone and then closed off later. It was the other side of the house he needed to reach. As he turned back to retrace his steps, he saw a huge cupboard. Weapon in hand, he opened it. And realized it was actually a doorway that matched the old wall panels. It led to the front entrance. He stood and listened. There was only one major room downstairs and whatever was upstairs. He glanced up the old staircase, but there was no way to make it up without alerting whoever was in the house that there was an intruder.
At the entrance to the other room, he could hear an odd sound. His mind raced to catalogue it. And realized it was the sound of someone playing cell phone games. The almost silent sound of the fingers tapping and his soft groans when he missed something and angry breaths as he lost, the muted music as the game played.
Good. Keep the asshole distracted. He slipped around the corner. An old woman huddled on an old dusty couch, her wrists bloodied from the ties on her paper thin skin. She raised her head, her mouth opening to cry out. Shadow placed his finger to his lips. She subsided, shaky but valiant as she glared at the man, dressed in khakis, playing his cell phone.
Shadow raised his rifle.
In a low deadly voice, he said, “Now you have to kidnap old ladies after losing the senator and his family. Is that a demotion?”
At Shadow’s first word, the man froze. By the time he’d stopped talking, Shadow was staring into the glittering eyes of one of the kidnappers he recognized from the senator’s cabin. So one had escaped and come to warn the men waiting here. Interesting.
“You have two choices. You can stand up and be taken as my prisoner back to Washington or you can reach for that weapon at your side.”
The man glared at him. “My death won’t matter. Another will take my place. We took money for a job. It must be done.”
A spidery tingle shot down Shadow’s spine. “Mercenaries. Interesting. We figured you for terrorists.”
He shrugged. “We are. But sourcing money is always an issue. Mercenaries bring in good money.”
It was and there was a never ending source of assholes who wanted shit done. “And the job?”
He laughed. “It was a double whammy. We got paid for two jobs.”
“So tell me…” Shadow said in a conversational voice. “How do two jobs dovetail like that?”
“Some senators needed to make a decision and refused. We were supposed to make an example of Senator Stephenson so the others would cave easier. Beating up that old man felt damn good.” He sniggered. “And the other job wanted the old man and the young woman dead. We know the old man isn’t going to make it. The young woman, well, if you assholes hadn’t rescued her we’d have been in the clear there too.”
“And who wanted her dead.”
The asshole laughed. “I’m not saying anything more.”
Shadow expected as much. “Not a problem. We have a pretty good idea already. It always comes down to money, power or sex.”
The man smiled. “Well, it’s up to you to figure out which one.”
“Not bothered.” Shadow motioned to the man’s gun. “Kick it over here.”
“Nah. You come and get it.”
Shadow smiled. “I don’t think so.” He lifted his rifle butt. “After the men you’ve murdered I’m totally okay with pulling the trigger right here and now.”
The old lady stood up shakily. “He shot my dog,” she said, tears in her eyes. “Both of them.”
“The old girl didn’t make it, but the young one is in the garage and still doing fine.”
He heard the old lady’s gasp of joy. She struggled to walk past him rubbing her sore wrists. “You be careful,” Shadow warned.
“I will,” she whispered. “Just please don’t let him get away.” She shot the stranger a scared look. “He said he’d do me a favor and kill me before he left. That would be an easier death than old age.”
The stranger laughed. “Look at you, old and dried up. That’s no way…” He scooped up his weapon.
And Shadow shot him.
Dead.
Chapter 18
Cooper’s phone went off. Arianna raced to his side to listen.
“Hey, Shadow. Yes, she’s fine.”
Arianna beamed. Cooper rolled his eyes at her. “No, I’ve been taking good care of her. No, I haven’t had an update from the others. No, we haven’t had anyone else in the store.”
When he hung up the phone, Cooper was grinning. “Shadow has taken out one asshole. Now if only we knew how many we were up against.”
“No,” Mason said in a doorway. “We’ve taken out four now. Is Shadow on his way back?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” Mason said. “I just got word the military should be here in an hour to sort this out.”
“Are we needed here after that?”
“Only to hand off the operation to them. If they need anything more one or two men can stay behind.” Mason studied Arianna. “You’re looking better.”
“Feeling it too,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “More than ready to leave.”
He nodded. “Aren’t we a
ll?” And he turned and walked back out.
Cooper raised his brows. “Sounds like this one is almost wrapped up.”
“I hope so. I just want to go home.”
That happened sooner than she expected. With a speed that left her stunned, the military arrived by helicopter. They landed on the edge of town and were followed by a second and third. Soldiers surged through the tiny town, and she could only watch in awe as the military machine took over.
She was quickly helped into one of the helicopters and airborne before she knew it.
Cooper was the only one of the SEALs she saw at the end. She clung to him as they approached the helicopter. “Am I going alone?” she whispered, her eyes darting from one stranger’s face to the other, searching for those she knew.
“Yes. They are taking you to the next hospital. You have to get that leg checked. Should have done that hours ago,” he said in a reassuring voice.
“I know.” She gripped her arms around his neck twice as hard as he loaded her onto the huge black machine. “Doesn’t mean I want to go alone.”
“If we can, we’ll come by. I can’t say if we’re still needed here or if we’ll be sent on our way, but home for us is California.”
“Me too.” She brightened. “Can they fly me there?”
He shook his head. “No, they can’t.”
Her face fell. Another soldier motioned at a seat in the helicopter. She swallowed and slowly released her arms from Cooper’s neck. Just before he walked way, she called out, “Say good-bye to everyone for me.”
He stilled, turned back, and said, “You’ll see us again.”
“Will I?” she said in a forlorn voice. “It doesn’t feel like it.”
“I promise.”
And he was engulfed in chaos as men ordered him back. The helicopter started up. One soldier hopped up beside her. Seconds later, she was airborne.
It looked like a bad movie as she was slowly lifted above the scene. She watched as the men scurried through every house and a stretcher was brought out for the storekeeper. Too quickly she was too high up to see anything or anyone clearly. She leaned her head back and tried to ignore the man beside her. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t the man she wanted beside her. Then, no one was. Was it really over? How could she have connected with Shadow only to lose him at this stage?
