“Eight seventy-four, damn it, hold your position.”
“With all due respect, sir, I am just not going to do that. The woman I love is being held in that building. She is naked, cold, and scared…”
“Stand down!” he cut in.
“No! There are two dead women in the room with her. One of the women is her mother. The amount of time we have is limited; let’s not waste it arguing over this because I will not sit with my thumb up my ass.” Caleb softened his voice and added, “Sir, you can trust me, I will not do anything that will put her in harm’s way. If I do, I will hand in my badge.”
It was the God’s truth because if something happened to her, and if it was because of something he caused, he would not be able to live with himself.
“Don’t make me regret this eight seventy-four. Team one, friendly coming in behind you.”
“Copy.” Mueller’s voice came over the ear piece. “Get your ass down here; we go on three. Make sure to cover our six.”
Caleb could barely hear Mueller through the mic, but he could hear him enough to know what he needed to know. He flew into position, and on the three count, they silently entered the building. Kara was being held in the center of the building. They had the schematics of the building, so they knew the layout. Other than the offices in the back, the main part of the building was one large open area. Santiago had gotten a visual through from a neighboring rooftop by looking through the front window. When they entered, they found low watt lamps lighting the way. One thing was for certain: the two men holding her were not dumb.
Low wattage lamps would draw less attention. Just because the warehouse wasn’t used for its intended purpose didn’t mean that it wasn’t a potential useful home for a squatter. There were other abandoned buildings in the area, and they all were prone to squatters. Holding Kara in the very center of the building helped ensure that it would be harder to hear her screams. Not that most of the people hiding out in these buildings would do anything about someone screaming. More than likely, they would ignore it. They would assume someone was high on drugs, and if they thought it was someone being attacked, they still wouldn’t get involved. They’d just be happy it wasn’t them.
Soundlessly, they hurried through the debris toward the center of the building; they were low and fast coming in. Once they got close, Mueller stopped, turned, pointed to his eyes and pointed to the dark space in front of him. and then he vanished around the corner of a stack of boxes that had been left behind. Then Kingsley followed, Caleb behind him. They found themselves in another long labyrinth because of all the junk that had been left there when the owners had vacated the building. If it hadn’t been for the lamps, they would have had no idea where they were going.
Coming up behind Mueller again, they waited as he held up three fingers—Mueller indicating they would go on three. Slowly, he lowered his fingers, and when on the last finger he shoved his shoulder into another wall of boxes, dropping to his knees once he was through and in the center of the building. Kingsley and Caleb rushed in behind him, covering him as they entered the room.
Then everything was bedlam as the other teams breached from the other entrances they had come through. Shouting ensued from all vantage points as they yelled at the two men to drop what was in their hands and get on their knees. As the other men secured Devon and Marshall, Caleb quickly scanned the room looking for Kara, his eyes lighting on Constance Vanderbilt and then the body of the nurse he’d met at the hospital. He wasn’t sure of the connection, but there would be time to find out.
Then he saw her and rushed to her side. As he moved, he grabbed a shirt off the ground, obviously the one her mother had been wearing, and draped it over her. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to sit up and he gently pushed her back down to the ground.
“Just lie still for a moment, let me check you over.”
“I’m fine. I’m a doctor, remember? Just a lot of bumps and bruises.” After she sat up and he was certain she wouldn’t tip over, he helped her into the blouse, which had to be held shut because the buttons had been pulled off when one of the men had apparently ripped it from Constance’s body in the throes of passion. Once the shirt was on, he pulled her into his embrace. Inhaling her scent deeply into his lungs, he felt whole once again.
“God, I was so scared. Get me out of here, please.”
“Let’s wait for a stretcher.”
“No. I want out now. I can feel a panic attack coming. I need fresh air.”
Seeing her struggling to get to her feet, Caleb gave up arguing and stood reaching down to help her up. Once she was standing, he wrapped her in his embrace again. She trembled in his arms and then he felt her stiffen, the tension in her body had the hair on his neck standing on end. Kara reached for the gun at his waist and pulled it, pushing him out of the way in one quick movement. He felt something solid hit his back over and over and the air rush out of him as he landed on the ground. What the fuck…?
Before he could register what was happening, he heard muffled shouting as Kara unloaded the clip in his gun. His ears were ringing as he turned to see the body of Devon Bristol slump to the ground, blood spilling from wounds that were center mass. Before he hit the ground, he was already dead. Marshall was also on the ground, his hand on his neck, trying to stop the flow of blood from the wound. With the amount of blood spilling between his fingers, the wound would most certainly be fatal if he didn’t get help and fast. Yet, no officer rushed to his aid.
Civic duty or not, they were all hoping the taxpayers would be saved the time and expense of a trial. Adrenaline coursing through him, he still didn’t register what had caused the pain in his back, and he didn’t have time to think about it as he watched Kara standing in a daze, holding his gun, and then she shook her head, and he could see she had regained control.
Kara snapped out of her trance, set the gun on the ground, and rushed to the side of the man who had abused her. The doctor in her beat out the victim, and she knelt beside Marshall and tried to pinch the artery that had been nicked in his neck. She didn’t want to save him, and in all honesty, she didn’t think she could save him. That didn’t mean she would sink to the level of her sadistic brothers. She was a better person, no matter how hard they had tried to ruin her humanity.
“Always…the…perfect…girl…” Blood coated his teeth as he struggled to speak, making him seem even more sinister to her.
“Fuck. You.”
“Ah…the girl…has bite…after all…”
“You should do us all a favor and shut up,” one of the officers said from above her. “Ma’am, I strongly encourage you to step away from the suspect.”
Paying no heed to the words coming from the officer, she continued to apply pressure to the neck wound, knowing it was most likely too little and too late.
“I don’t know if I can save you, but it doesn’t mean I won’t try, you bastard. What kind of doctor would I be if I did?”
“My…sis…ter…” The word was faint as he began to lose consciousness. Kara was aware of every eye in the room on her.
“Knife!” someone shouted.
Kara instinctively slid to the side, her finger slipping on the artery as the nearest officer wrestled the scalpel out of Marshall’s hand, which had gone slack after he had used his last bit of strength to try to stab it into her throat. Regaining her composure, she clamped her fingers back on the artery in his neck, but it was too late. The brother she never knew she had took one last, stuttering breath. The sound of the death rattle always sent chills down her back; it was no different this time, and then he was gone.
Bowing her head, she closed his eyes, not out of respect, but because she couldn’t stand to look into the eyes of that monster and see familiar eyes—her eyes—staring back. Looking at him now, the resemblance was obvious. Marshall and Devon, or whoever they were, were identical twins, and they looked remarkably like Kara. She dry heaved at the thought. If she’d had anything left in her, she would have retc
hed right there.
Falling back on her hands and backside, she crab walked as fast as possible away from him, only stopping when she backed into a wall. Except it wasn’t a wall. It was Caleb; his warm hands were on her, calming her, but something was wrong with him. His motions were choppy. That realization was all it took to get Kara back in her groove. Whipping around, she turned to look at him.
“What is it? My God, were you hit?” A newfound panic swelled in her. No longer was she acknowledging her ordeal; rather, she was assessing the man in front of her. His face was pale, but there was no blood. “Caleb, answer me. Were. You. Hit?”
“It hit the vest, in the back. I’m fine. Probably a bruised rib or two, just having a hard time with my range of motion.”
“Humor the ER doctor; remove your gear so I can take a look.” As she issued the order, she checked his vitals. “Now that the scene is secure, can you bring in a stretcher for him?” she asked over her shoulder at one of the very muscular men wearing tactical gear.
“I’m not being wheeled out on a stretcher, the vest stopped it. Stop fussing. It did its job.”
“Let me be the judge of that. Take. Off. Your. Shirt.”
“Never thought I would see a guy argue with a gorgeous woman asking him to get undressed,” came a retort from behind her. She knew it was to reduce some of the tension in the room, so she smiled tightly.
“Stuff a sock in it, Mueller,” Caleb bit out.
“Vest. Now.”
“Man, are you bossy.” He undid the Velcro of the vest and tried to shrug out of it, but when Kara saw the pain it was causing him, she gently placed her hands on his, effectively stopping him, so she could take the gear off for him.
After his chest was bared and she saw no wounds, she walked around to look at his back. She sucked in a breath when she saw the very easy to discern bruises starting to show from a cluster of bullets that had hit him in the back. Thank God for the Kevlar. As tenderly as possible, she probed the area around the bruising.
“I don’t think any ribs are broken, but I want to have an X-ray done when we get you to the hospital.”
“Maybe you can get a sponge bath from one of the nurses,” came another wisecrack from the men in the room.
“Geez, guys, you’re a bunch of comedians. Anyway, the only person giving him a sponge bath is going to be me.” Kara winked at Caleb as she came to stand in front of him. Fully in control of herself once again. The roller coaster of the last several hours had taken a toll on her, but she was strong enough to weather it.
“That was one hell of a shot. Who took them out?” Caleb asked, his face tight.
“That would be the doctor assessing your sorry ass right now. She shoved you out of the way, hit the one with the burns several times center mass a split second after he got a couple shots off at you. The other one saw him get the gun and was hit in the neck when he tried to dive in front of him. I’m Aaron Mueller, damn pleased to meet you.” Smiling from ear to ear, he shook Kara’s hand.
Both found themselves amused by the expression on Caleb’s face.
“That was an expert shot. I take it you…”
“I go to the shooting range regularly. I’m not a fan of guns, in my line of work all you need to see is one GSW, I am sure you understand that feeling. Anyway, I also understood there might be a need for the skill one day. Seems I was right.”
Caleb shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. Even though she could tell he was in pain, he hugged her tightly.
“So, doc, am I going to live to see another morning with you in my bed?”
“You seem fine, but I’m still going to insist on a full assessment when you go to the hospital.” When he opened his mouth to protest, she raised her hand, effectively silencing him. “Notice I said when not if? No need to be a tough guy.”
“I’m fine. But if it’ll make you feel better…”
“It doesn’t matter if she’s suggesting it; I’m ordering that you go to the hospital. Even if you were wearing your Kevlar vest, I want you looked at,” barked Captain Bob Wickman, who had just walked into the room to survey the carnage. “We’re going to need to know what went on in here, but it can wait until after Montgomery gets looked at.”
“Cap, I’m not going if she stays here…” Caleb began to protest.
“Like I said, it can wait until after you’re looked at. I assumed that she would go with you as she needs to be looked at, as well. No arguments from you, you broke rules earlier, don’t let me forget that I gave you a pass on that.” And then he walked away to talk to Mueller.
Kara took that to mean it was time for her to escort him to the hospital since he clearly wasn’t going to go without her. Linking her fingers with his, she leaned into him and led him out of the blood-soaked room, out of the building and outside, where it was going from night to day, and the sun was rising in the distance, turning the sky multiple shades of pink. Inhaling deeply, she felt free for the first time in ten years.
33
After numerous tests and X-rays, Dr. Chiglo had given him the all clear, and he gratefully accepted a scrub shirt to wear. He’d had enough of hospitals for a few days; he couldn’t imagine how Kara could spend her days here after spending so much time in the hospital as a patient.
“I hear that Dr. Chiglo has cleared you to go,” she said, smiling as she came through the door into his room.
“Affirmative. How about you?”
“I was cleared a while ago. Other than some abrasions and a few cuts and bruises, I’m fine. Trust me when I say that this was nothing this time around. Anyway, I went upstairs and visited Ethan for a bit. Good thing, too, because in the chaos, they had neglected to update him that I am okay.”
“Uh-oh. I imagine he was about to take out the security guard.”
“Yeah, just a little bit. Good news is he refrained from hitting Charles over the head, who, by the way, is a very nice man. Even better news is that Ethan is doing really well. Better than really well. Good enough he should be able to get out of here in another few days. The swelling has gone down, and his CAT scans look good. All great news.”
“How are you, really?” he asked as he pulled off the hideous gown and pulled the scrub shirt over his head, wincing from the pain it caused to do such a simple act. How had she gone through what she had? He felt like a freight train had hit him. He was obviously a wuss compared to her. After he pulled the hem down, he looked up and saw her frozen, staring at him, mouth agape. “What?”
“Uh, nothing. I just…you are so magnificent. I didn’t think after today...I was worried...that I wouldn’t be able to...you know. Be attracted to you or anyone ever again.” Her cheeks flamed crimson, and he found it adorable, but his heart broke when he thought about how she had worried that all their progress had been for nothing.
“Honey, it’s okay, we’ll just take things slow again.”
“No. You don’t understand,” she said as she advanced on him—her hands suddenly were under his shirt, touching him gently. He shivered at the contact before she stood on her tiptoes and then her mouth was on his.
“It appears that I absolutely don’t understand. Maybe you should explain it to me?”
“I want to devour you right now. I want to get lost in you, I want to feel—I don’t know, good. Make me feel good, Caleb.” Her hands were all over him, and he was having a hard time focusing, but he knew this was not the right location. Regrettably, he pushed away from her, and when he looked at her, he felt his chest constrict with panic. He could see the wheels turning.
“Kara, don’t do that. I want to devour you, too, and the only reason I stopped…” He paused and put a finger under her chin, lifting it until she looked at him, really looked at him. “…is because we’re in the ER of the hospital you work for. It would be a little bit of a problem if one of your co-workers walked in.”
With a jerk of her head, she let him know she understood, but that she wasn’t happy about it.
“Let’s comprom
ise,” he said, lightly pecking her lips.
“I’m listening,” she said.
“My captain doesn’t know that I was cleared to go and they’re probably at the scene still. So, we have some time. My place is close to here, and yours is a crime scene still, how about we go to my place, and I prove to you that you can still enjoy me?”
“Deal, but I have a request.”
“Anything. You can ask me anything, and it’s yours.”
“I don’t want to go back to my house. Ever. Which is a shame, since I really loved it. But I can’t. I’m moving forward, and I can’t walk into that house and let memories assail me at every turn. Not only did one of those bastards sell me that house …” She noticed his confused expression and paused taking a deep breath before continuing. “The other guy, the one with the neck wound, he was my realtor, Nurse Abfall’s husband, Marshall Abfall.”
“But it didn’t look anything like him...shit, the second disguise.”
“Yep, anyway, I just can’t go back there. So, I was thinking…” She paused.
“What were you thinking?” He nuzzled her neck.
“Does your place allow dogs?”
“Regrettably, no. But my lease is almost up.”
“Perfect. How about we find a new place that’s just ours?”
“That does sound perfect. Now, about that enjoying-me request?”
“I’m totally game to go back and show you that they didn’t break me. I get to take charge; you, patient, and me, doctor. Doctor says you need to take it easy.”
“Sounds to me like the doctor is planning on taking advantage of the situation.”
“No. I only plan to take advantage of you.”
In the Night (Darkness Falls Book 1) Page 28
