by Dale Mayer
“Nice friend.”
Saul nodded. “The father of one of our bosses. We stay with him regularly when we’re out west.”
“Nice.” She wished she had more people to draw on in times like this.
They hit the warehouse district after another five minutes. “Aren’t we going to the same warehouse first?” she asked.
He turned to look at her. “No, the other vehicle with Carney and Pete stopped here and hasn’t moved since.”
She nodded. “As long as they don’t see us,” she warned.
“That’s the plan.”
Saul drove ahead, slowing down as he approached the GPS location. He killed the lights on the car and slowly drove forward. The car sat parked at the front of a warehouse that looked deserted as hell.
“Aww, shit,” he said under his breath.
“What do you see?”
“I don’t see anything or anyone.”
“So why aww, shit?”
“Because I don’t like this.” He pulled in and headed around the back. As they moved forward, she saw no lights anywhere in the building. And she knew the inside of that warehouse would be deserted.
Saul pulled up to Stone who stood beside the jeep, his phone out, talking to someone. Saul rolled down his window and spoke to Merk, standing beside Stone. “And?”
Merk turned a grim face in his direction. “One bullet hole between the eyes for each of them.”
“Goddamnit.”
Rebel reached over and grabbed his hand. “What does that mean about the meeting? Does that mean they won’t be there?”
“It means these two won’t be there,” Merk said. “Now we’re dealing with the unknown. And that’s not a twist I like.”
She closed her eyes and slumped into her seat, her hands fisted.
Saul gently wrapped his much larger hand around one of her fists. “Easy. Somebody will still show up. We have the key.”
“Why don’t we just give them the real key?” Rebel asked. “We already have a copy. It doesn’t make any difference. Let them have the real one, and let’s just get our people back.”
She watched as he got out of the vehicle and walked over to talk to the men. With the windows down, she could almost decipher the conversation. They were so close to finding Tammy that she could hardly breathe. If Rebel lost this lead, chances were good she’d never save her friend. As much as she didn’t want her two stalkers dead, she was glad for the information they’d gotten from them first.
She tried to swallow a sob caught in the back of her throat. The abandoned warehouse might appear to be silent and empty, but that didn’t mean it was. The last thing she wanted was a bullet between her eyes—or Tammy’s. But she also knew their time was running out.
Just then Saul hopped back in the vehicle. “We will give them the key because, like you said, we have a copy. It’s our best chance of convincing them we have what they want. The problem then becomes, since they will have what they want, they don’t need us or Tammy or Daniel anymore.”
“What about Detective Wilson?”
“He’ll meet us there.”
She gave a strangled laugh. “If he makes it on time.”
Saul shook his head. “Take it easy. He’s doing the best he can. They’ll probably be an extra five or ten minutes, but that’s it. They know how important this is to their case too.”
She nodded, but she didn’t feel like agreeing to anything.
When Saul started the vehicle and drove out slowly, she wanted to yell at him to hit the gas and get to the meeting. She wanted to scream with frustration but finally gasped out, “Why are you driving so slowly?”
“Because the guys and I want to see who and what might be wandering around this part of town.”
Logical, reasonable and it didn’t make a bit of difference to her. “I don’t see how you can see anything out there. It’s so damn dark out.”
She barely recognized the area even though she’d been here earlier. When he drove into the warehouse parking lot and parked the car, almost at the exact same spot she’d parked in before, she breathed a sigh of relief. Without giving him a chance to stop her, she hopped out and quietly closed the car door. She listened, her head tilted toward the inside of the building. The area appeared deserted. Saul got out, walked around to her side. Instead of looking at the building he searched high above.
“What you are looking for?”
He turned toward her, then whispered, “Snipers.”
Her heart froze. How the hell would she handle that? She had no idea what all she could be up against right now. And these men were so much better prepared than she was. It was a daunting thought how she’d been coming close to smacking into this very situation anytime in the last week. Plus, if any of these men had caught her, she’d become a hostage, just like the rest. Or worse, she’d be dead just like the two men they’d killed just moments ago.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. “Stay with me. Stay silent. Do not, under any circumstances, separate from me. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “I understand.” She turned to look around for the other men, realizing the jeep hadn’t showed up. She squeezed his hand and walked toward the building. “Where are the others?”
“They’re already here.”
She let out her breath gently. Just because she couldn’t see them, it didn’t mean they hadn’t arrived.
He squeezed her hand in reassurance and slowly walked her toward to the front of the building. “Have you got the key?”
She lifted it in her fingers.
He nodded. “Good.”
They stepped inside the building. This vast monstrosity of glass and tin was deserted, desolate. Shivers ran down her back. How she wanted to run home. But, if Tammy was here, no way would Rebel turn tail and run. She thrust her chin forward and glared at the building that terrified her. Things would likely get so much worse tonight. She had to keep a handle on her emotions before Saul sent her back to the vehicle and insisted she stay locked in there. That was the last thing she wanted to do.
With him leading her, they slowly and silently searched the bottom of the building and then took the stairs. She knew they would end up in the room where the homeless man had been killed. It made sense that, somewhere along the line, Tammy had been here.
Upstairs, still walking quietly, Saul led her in the direction where the homeless man had been found. Just before entering, he stopped and listened, his head leaning to one side. He squeezed her hand, and, in a low voice, almost soundless against her ear, he whispered, “They’re here. Be prepared.”
She stiffened and gripped his fingers like a lifeline.
He stepped around the doorway.
In the shadows of the darkness, a man said, “Step inside.”
Saul took a step forward, dragging her with him.
She tried to see in the darkness, not even the moonlight allowed inside. She could see shapes on the ground, but she didn’t know who or what they were.
“Did you bring it?”
An owl hooted close by, making her shiver at the lonely sound. “Yes,” she said defiantly. “Where’s Tammy?” Remembering the look from Stone, she added, “And Daniel.”
“You’ll get them as soon as I can check the merchandise.” A soft glow came from a laptop as it opened.
Saul took the key from her hand, took four steps forward and held it out.
A man detached from the shadows. She didn’t recognize him. He took the key from Saul’s hand and walked over to man with the laptop.
Saul stood beside her again. Instinctively she reached out for his hand. No way could she stop him from feeling the shivers wracking her body. She was so damned scared.
Silence reigned while the key was inserted, and the documents opened. Then the laptop was closed, and they were ordered, “Turn around, and stand in the doorway.”
She gasped. “Where’s Tammy? You promised us Tammy was here.”
“Turn around, and stand in the doorway,�
�� the man said again. His tone told them that no arguments were allowed.
She heard guns cocking, and she realized she finally may have hit the end of the road with her own reckless actions. At Saul’s urging, she stepped into the doorway with him. And she waited.
For the bullet that would end her life.
*
Saul knew the guys wouldn’t be far away. He could only hope they were in the room already. There had been another hallway, leading to other rooms. He squeezed Rebel’s hand, and, in as low a voice as he could, he whispered, “Get ready.” He felt her stare of surprise and whispered, “Three, two and one.”
She was jerked to the left. He pulled her all the way to him and out the doorway into the hall. He listened for footsteps; none came. She stared at him in surprise. He held a finger to his lips. And then he heard the hoot of an owl again. He relaxed.
He motioned back to the room and said, “Now to call Stone.”
She stared at him with wide eyes. “What?”
He led her back into the dark room, almost having to push her, she was so resistant. And then they heard it again. An owl. Only this time it was superclose. She gasped as a flashlight turned on.
“It’s okay, Rebel. It’s us.”
Saul stared into the faces of Saul’s men, then dropped his gaze to the floor. “Did you get them?”
“We got two of them. One of them has disappeared.”
“What about Tammy?” She raced forward. “Where’s Tammy?”
The flashlight moved through the room, but nobody else was here.
She spun and stared at Saul. “We have to find her.”
Saul shared hard glances with Stone. They both knew the chances of either hostage being handed over was minimal.
“What was that?” Rebel cried out. She turned and raced out.
“Wait,” Saul called out.
But she was gone.
Swearing, he darted from the room behind her. And then he heard what she’d heard.
A woman sobbing.
The others heard it too. With flashlights shining in front of them, they searched the top floor. “Rebel, where are you?”
“I’m downstairs.”
“Damn woman.” Saul raced after her, knowing the men would finish searching upstairs and then make their way downstairs.
Rebel screamed.
“What? Wait for me,” he roared.
“No, its okay,” she cried out, laughing and crying as he got closer. “It’s Tammy. She’s alive. I found her.”
Chapter 12
Rebel dropped beside her friend.
The woman moaned, her sob deep, guttural.
“Easy, Tammy. Take it easy. Help is coming.”
The woman made a small head movement and groaned again.
Rebel could hear the men coming toward her.
“Over here,” she said. “Bring a flashlight.”
Instantly light shone in her direction and then fell on the woman, first on her face, then at her feet.
“Oh, my God,” Rebel said.
“What?” Saul said, dropping to his knees beside her. “What does that mean?”
“It’s not Tammy.” Her heart stricken, Rebel stared down at the female supervisor Tammy had never got along with. “This is Samantha, Daniel’s and Tammy’s boss.”
“Well, I guess that answers a few more questions.” Saul reached out and touched the woman’s pulse. “She’s been badly beaten, and her pulse is thready.”
Blood was everywhere. Her leg was obviously broken. Her breath came out in short gasps. Saul said, “Broken ribs, possibly a punctured lung too.”
Stone came up behind them. “The ambulance is on its way. We’re taking a quick look around, inside and out, to make sure Daniel and Tammy aren’t here as well.”
Rebel heard them, but she was so shocked she couldn’t have spoken if she’d tried. She reached down to the woman’s hand, hearing her groan in pain. She backed off and whispered, “Oh, my God! What have they done to her?”
“Probably broke almost every bone in her body,” Saul said, fatigue and wariness in his face. “We see stuff like this with drug deals that have gone bad. Although nowadays they usually just put a bullet in you. A beating like this is very personal and usually as a warning to others.”
“And Tammy? Does that mean they’ve done worse to her?”
He lifted his gaze and studied Rebel. “Keep hoping, remember? We don’t know where or how Tammy is.” He motioned at Samantha and asked, “Any idea how long she’s been missing?”
Rebel shook her head. “No, I’ve been out of the loop most of this last week.”
Worry about finding Tammy was all Rebel could do besides whispering encouragement to the poor woman. Samantha was in such a bloody mess. Rebel wanted to pat her arm or squeeze her hand or give her a hug, but she didn’t dare touch Samantha for fear of hurting her further. It was such a relief to hear the ambulance’s wailing siren in the distance. Surely the cops were coming too. Like where was the detective? Mentally she willed them to get here faster. Anything to help this woman.
At the same time, she was desperate to search more of this building to hopefully find Tammy. “Why would they have brought Samantha and not the others?”
Saul didn’t say anything for a long moment.
She took a wild guess. “Because they could. Because they held all the cards. Because Samantha was still alive, and the others are dead.”
“They could still have brought the others even if they were dead.”
“It’s also possible,” Merk added, “that they wanted to make sure they have exactly what they need on the key, or they may need more information from Tammy and Daniel before they kill them.”
“And yet we found out nothing further. We don’t know where Tammy and Daniel are, and the vehicle we tracked here only led us to the pair of dead men. The asshole who took our friends is gone in the wind yet again.”
The truth was so damn painful she didn’t know how to handle it. She wanted to scream in rage, and yet she wanted to curl up in a corner, defeated. As she stared down at the poor broken woman in front of her, she realized Tammy didn’t have a hope in hell.
Rebel reached out a trembling hand, brushing back a couple strands of the woman’s hair and heard a heavy gurgling sound followed by silence. As in all-the-way silent. Rebel gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she frantically waited for the woman’s chest to rise yet again.
But it didn’t.
“Oh, no, no, no, no. Please breathe. Please breathe.”
Saul grabbed her hand. “Stay steady.”
She raised dripping eyes to him and whispered, “She’s dead.”
“Yes. But I don’t think any of us could have done anything for her in the meantime. She was very badly injured.”
Just then uniformed men, police burst through the door. EMTs came running to the body. Saul stood, stepped around the body and pulled Rebel out of the way. The EMTs went to work.
As she watched, she kept up hope. “She just stopped breathing,” she cried out. “Please try to save her.”
The men didn’t seem to hear. They were so focused on the woman in front of them. They worked on her heart, trying to keep it pumping, but ten minutes later they shook their heads.
Rebel burst into tears—her heart hurting and the fear in her mind growing by the second. She was tucked up against a warm chest.
Saul wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He just held her; he didn’t rub her back or arms. He didn’t share any platitudes this time.
She was ready to implode, like a hurricane was inside her, drawing everything inward. She cried, hating the sense of weakness that was desperate for a release from the constant tension inside.
When the worst elements of the storm blew over, she stood quietly in the circle of Saul’s arms, wondering if there was something more she could’ve done to save the woman.
Saul gently stroked her hair from her face. “What can I do to help you right now?”
<
br /> She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, like a two-year-old. She stepped back but didn’t look at him. “Sorry about that,” she muttered. “I haven’t broken down like that in a long time.”
“It’s to be expected. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve had a series of shocks, culminating in what we thought was relief, only to find defeat instead.”
She lifted her gaze to stare at him dully. “I don’t even know what to do now.”
“You need to sleep. We all do.”
She looked around. “Did the others find anybody else?”
He shook his head. “No.”
She bowed her head. “Tammy’s dead, isn’t she?”
Saul didn’t answer.
*
Saul didn’t want to answer. Because, if Tammy wasn’t already dead, chances were she’d soon wish she was. In his mind he couldn’t come up with one reason for keeping Tammy and Daniel alive. Samantha was so badly beaten. This asshole was responsible for two kidnappings and four deaths now.
Stone walked toward them, motioning at the police all around them and asked, “Ready to go?”
He nodded. “Where to?”
“To the police station. Of the two men we caught, one was shot. The EMTS will take him into custody and take him to the hospital, but the other one is heading to the station. Neither had IDs on them.”
Saul nodded. He remembered the mention of catching the men, but he sure as hell didn’t remember most of the details after handing over the key. It all had moved so damn fast afterward. That they had two live men to question, well, that made him feel like cheering. “I sure hope we get a chance to question them after the police do,” he said. “After what they did to that woman …”
Stone nodded, his gaze hard. “Don’t worry. Even if he makes it to jail, he won’t live long.”
“Still too damn long,” Rebel said passionately. “They broke her to pieces.”
Saul wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her close again. “That doesn’t mean the same thing was done to Tammy.”
Rebel took a deep shaky breath and then let it out slowly. “I keep hanging on to that.”
