by Tara Thomas
“It’s very obvious what he did to get out of bed with his debtors. He agreed to work for them and to do their dirty work,” Brent said. “Unfortunately, he got involved with somebody who is very dangerous. And they have Janie. So for now, the conversation about money has to wait. For Janie’s sake.”
They hadn’t heard another scream from Janie. It was growing darker, and the dot representing her phone still hadn’t moved. He had a feeling they were running out of time. Finding her was more important. Finding her had to be the priority. He looked over his shoulder. “Let’s get back to work.”
Alyssa eyed him warily, but otherwise seemed anxious to change subjects. “I suggest that we split up. He’ll be expecting us to show up together and, like I said, surprises can damn well debilitate him. Two years ago, I decided to throw him a surprise party for his birthday. I thought he’d like it. Something different, you know? But when we got to his place and everyone jumped out and said, ‘Happy Birthday,’ he totally freaked out. Ran to the bathroom and wouldn’t come out. It was awful. Later, he apologized profusely and said he’d always been like that. Said he couldn’t stand it when things didn’t go they way he planned for them to.”
Brent nodded. “Any luck pulling up a satellite view of the surrounding areas?”
“There was only one I could access without putting in my personal details. It’s over ten years old.”
Brent’s stomach sank. “Ten years … that doesn’t do us any good. Too much could have happened.”
“It’s the best I can do. If I pull up anything newer, it’s possible Mac or whoever he’s working with will know, the newer images show the information of who has accessed them recently and I can’t imagine a scenario that works out well for Janie.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her it was a chance he’d risk when she continued. “Look at this,’” she said while her fingers flew over the computer keyboard.
He leaned over her shoulder to have a look and when he caught sight of what she had pulled up on the screen, he gasped. “Holy shit!”
“Right?” Alyssa agreed as they both looked at what appeared to be a gardener’s shed. It was the only building to be found anywhere near where they were. “It must be used as a storage unit, workspace, or outpost structure.”
“Or all three. Where was this structure ten years ago?” He tried to imagine what it would look like today, but quickly gave up. There were too many variables. Had the shed been taken care of or had it been left to rot? Were there any people nearby or inside? And if there were, how would they know if they were in cahoots with Mac.
Alyssa pulled up more info on the screen. “Ten years ago, it was almost a mile that way.” She pointed in the direction the scream came from.
His heart pounded. “That’s it. It has to be.”
She nodded. “I think so, too. So here’s my plan: Because there are two paths that lead directly to the shed, we should split up. The darkness will help keep us hidden.” She pulled up a map of the area and pointed out the two paths. “You take this south one. It’s more direct so you’ll get there before I will, but wait for me to arrive before you go in. I’ll take this path that approaches from the north. We’ll meet in this small clearing here, off to the side of the building once we both arrive and regroup.” She pulled out her phone. “I still have service, do you?”
He checked his phone. “Yes. You don’t think we should stay together and both of us take the shorter path?”
“When he sees you, he’ll think you followed him or something. He won’t expect me to be involved because he thinks women are weak and have no business being in law enforcement.” At his raised eyebrow, she added, “That’s my suspicion based on recent conversations anyway. And the truth is, he can’t keep an eye on both paths at the same time.”
“Not unless the guy he’s working with is here and they’re both watching a path.”
She shook her head. “From what I’ve seen, the person he’s working with didn’t know what he had planned tonight. Knowing that, I can’t imagine him being here yet.”
“Tell me this. If Mac hates surprises, why would he pull one off?”
“I’m not sure.”
Which was bad news all around for Janie.
* * *
Mac was talking on the phone. Again. Since she’d woken up the last time, he’d made three phone calls. She didn’t know if they were all to the same people or not. What she did know was that with each call, Mac grew more and more agitated. The call he was currently on was no exception. Whoever he was talking with, he was damn near yelling at.
Call her crazy, but she wasn’t all that thrilled about being around him when he got off the call, not that she was overly excited to be around him period. The only thing was, she really had to pee badly. Before, in the truck, she’d told him the same thing and he’d told her to just go. He’d probably known she was just saying that and didn’t really have to go. Surely, if he knew she really, really, really had to go, he’d let her.
The phone call he was on had ended and she heard his footsteps as he walked back toward her.
“Mac,” she said. “Can you untie me? Please? Just for a minute? I really have to go bad.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” he asked.
“Of course not. I just assumed you’d think of a way to make it work. Like give me forty-five seconds only. Or something.”
He thought about it. “Forty. And you leave the door open.”
That would never work. “Thirty-five and you leave it cracked.”
He leaned over her while he undid the ties. “Deal. But if I see you try anything, hell, if I even think you’re trying anything, I’ll put an end to you and not think twice.”
She had no idea how she would make things work with that little amount of time. But maybe she could use the first time in the bathroom to gain information about how he worked and what he did. That way, the second time he let her go she could have thought about all the possibilities and decided on a plan of action. It wasn’t the best idea; heck, she wasn’t certain she’d get to use the bathroom a second time. She just didn’t see any other viable alternatives at the moment.
He jerked her off the table. “Come on,” he said.” Let’s go.”
It had been far too long since she stood and she stumbled over her feet. Resulting in a slap from Mac.
“Hurry up,” he said. “Damn klutz.”
He shoved her to the bathroom, leaving the door open just a crack as they had agreed upon. “You have thirty-five seconds.”
She just made it to the toilet when there was a knock on the back door. Hope blossomed in her chest. Though why exactly, she wasn’t sure. It was doubtful anyone looking for her or Mac would knock on the door.
“Anybody in there,” an unfamiliar voice said. “Park rangers. Open up now.”
Mac cursed under his breath. “Give me just a minute.”
“Open this door now or we bust in.”
Mac opened the door on her and seemed to be satisfied that she was in fact going to the bathroom. “I’m getting rid of them, then I’ll be back. You don’t try anything. Remember, I’ll kill you.”
Maybe he would kill her, but the way she saw it, she was dead either way. She was going to run because this might be her only chance to try. There was a low window in the bathroom. She quickly relieved herself, pulled up her pants, and opened the window when she heard the front door open.
“This is private property, sir,” the ranger said. “And not only are you not allowed on it, you are not allowed in here.”
Mac couldn’t risk looking back at her, not with the rangers standing with him in the doorway. There was far too great of a chance that he would be discovered and she would be as well. It was a chance, but one she was willing to take. Before Mac could answer the park ranger, she was out the back window.
She thought about running toward the car that the rangers had arrived in and hopping in the back. Unfortunately, it was too close to the front of the hous
e. Which meant Mac would definitely see her. He definitely had a gun. She wasn’t sure if park rangers carried one, but she didn’t think they did. If she alerted them to her presence, all she’d do is get them all three killed.
Therefore, even though she hated to attempt to run away at night, on foot, and unsure as to where she was, she would do it. She found an overgrown path nearby and started running. She didn’t slow down to look over her shoulder. If Mac was following her, she would find out eventually. Right now she had to get away as far as possible, and as quickly as possible. Surely by now people were looking for her.
She reached in her back pocket and grabbed her cell phone. Two rapid gunshots sounded behind her and she jumped, dropping her phone. She glanced around for it, but couldn’t find it. Obviously, Mac wouldn’t be far behind. She needed to keep moving, even if doing so meant leaving the phone.
* * *
Mac looked down at the two dead rangers in disgust. It had not been his plan to shoot them, but they wouldn’t listen to reason and kept insisting he travel with them. He couldn’t do that with Janie in the bathroom. Nor could he figure out how to explain her presence to them. He wasn’t sure if she had been listed publicly as missing yet, but he wasn’t going take a chance.
She had taken off, exactly like he’d predicted. That was okay. He would find her and when he did, he would make certain she paid for running out on him.
His phone rang right as he was getting ready to leave the shed. He sighed deeply, because he knew who it was.
“Sir,” he answered.
“I’ve made a decision,” the man on the other end of the phone said. “Kill the woman and bring me the body. I’ve decided I don’t want her. She’s too much trouble and will be better off to me dead.”
“Are you sure, sir?”
“Would I have called you if I wasn’t? Don’t question me again, boy.”
“Of course not, sir. I’m sorry, sir.” Damn, damn, and triple damn. What was he going to do now?
“How soon should I expect her body?” The Gentleman asked.
He wasn’t sure how to answer that. The Gentleman didn’t know that he had lost Janie. He wasn’t about to tell him that, either.
“Give me two hours, sir.”
“You have forty-five minutes.”
“Sir?” There was no way he could met that timeline.
“Forty-five minutes. You’re here with a body. Or else you’ll become the dead body.” The Gentleman hung up, leaving Mac listening to dead air.
He had to find Janie and find her quickly.
CHAPTER SIX
“Move, move, move, move, move,” Brent chanted over and over again. He kept his eyes cemented on the red dot on the tablet, willing it to move again. But it didn’t.
He wanted to howl, throw the tablet, and punch a tree. Either of those. He had started to hope, like he had not hoped all night, because he had watched as the dot on the laptop began to move. It wasn’t a lot, and it didn’t go far, or fast. But it was moving. He knew, knew in the depths of his heart, that Janie had gotten away.
But then he heard those two shots ring out. And as soon as they had, the red dot stopped moving. Yes, Janie had gotten away. And then he was almost certain that Mac had found her and shot her.
How did you move on when the worst-case scenario came to pass? Even more, how did you move on when you’d been part of what brought that scenario to pass? He’d known it would be a bad idea for her to go to the cookout with the stalker situation unresolved. He’d known it. And yet, they went anyway, and now Janie was dead.
How would he live without her?
He couldn’t think about that now. Now he had to find Alyssa. Surely she had heard the shots. He contemplated heading back to her car, but decided to continue on to the shed.
He checked the gun he took out of Alyssa’s duffel bag without her knowing. Loaded and ready. The next time he saw Mac, he planned to shoot him as many times as possible. He walked down the overgrown path, imagining the scene.
Unfortunately, without fail, doing so brought to mind images of Janie. He choked back a sob. “Janie.”
A twig to his right snapped. He swung around and pointed the gun in the direction the sound came from. “Come out slowly with your hands up and let me see you.”
Another twig snapped, but he still couldn’t see who or what was making the noise. “Come out now, or else I start shooting.”
He thought he heard someone speak, but the sound was so low, he couldn’t make it out. He aimed toward the ground, hoping he wouldn’t actually hit anyone, but that whoever was out there would take him seriously.
“Brent?”
He froze. It couldn’t be. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. He shook his head. He couldn’t start imagining voices now, he had too much to do.
“Brent.”
He never thought figments of his imagination would sound so real. He squinted and looked toward where the sound came from. Out of the dark cover of trees, Janie appeared. For a second she looked at him as if he’d drift away.
“Oh my God,” she said. “It is you! Brent!”
Then neither one of them said anything. He wasn’t sure who made the first move and he didn’t care because she was in his arms and the world made sense again. He held her to his chest tightly and never planned to let go. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I heard those shots and I thought.…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
She couldn’t answer any of them the way her head was buried in his chest. She gripped his shirt in a death grip. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay. I have you now.”
“Can you get me out of here?” she asked.
“Alyssa!” he said. “She’s headed to the shed. We need to get to her first.”
He knew heading back to the place Mac had held her would be tough, but he also knew there was no way they could leave Alyssa behind.
“We need to get off the main trial. Mac may still be around somewhere.” Janie pulled him back toward the trees. “We can get to the shed this way.”
They held hands as they jogged. Brent wasn’t about to let go of her. “We’ll stay hidden in the tree line once we get to the shed. That way we can wait for Alyssa without Mac seeing us.”
It didn’t take long for them to reach the shed. Brent couldn’t believe how close they had been. “Did he bring you here in that truck?” he asked, pointing to the vehicle in the drive.
“No, that must belong to the rangers who came by. I wonder.…” her voice trailed off as a look of horror covered her face.
“You wonder what? Here, have a seat.” He cleared a place for her to sit; she still looked a bit too weak for his tastes. As he’d hoped, their location shouldn’t be visible from the house, but gave them a view of the path Alyssa would be arriving on.
“There were two rangers who arrived right when I was escaping. And not long after I heard two gunshots.”
“Probably too much to hope that the rangers shot Mac.”
Janie looked straight ahead. “Mac has totally lost it. It didn’t even sound like him.”
Brent rubbed the top of her hand. “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters. We’ll get Alyssa when she comes. For now, let’s call for backup and they’ll take care of Mac. You never have to see him again.”
A gun clicked behind them. Brent squeezed Janie’s hand, but stilled the rest of his body.
“I’m afraid that’s not how this ends.” Mac sounded entirely too calm. “Now, I need you both to go get in the rangers’ truck. We’re going on a little trip.”
“I’ll stay right here, thank you very much.” Janie crossed her arms as if to tell him that was that and she wasn’t discussing it.
“I’ve about had enough of your mouth. I just shot and killed two men. Trust me when I say I have no problem adding a mouthy ex-cop to the list.”
“I don’t care. I’m staying here.”
“Get in the truck!” Mac yelled.
“No.”
&nb
sp; Mac aimed his gun and shot Janie in the foot. She yelled and crumpled to the ground.
“You son of a bitch.” Brent dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her to his side. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll get you to a hospital.”
“Shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” Mac leveled his gun at Janie. “Now, get in the truck.”
Brent grabbed his gun and aimed it at Mac. He’d expected the man to turn his gun away from Janie and toward him, but Mac kept the focus on Janie. “Nice try playing hero, but it won’t work. Drop your gun and get in the truck or I shoot you and leave your body here.”
“He’s bluffing,” Janie said through clenched teeth, her voice sharp with pain.
“Janie, Janie, Janie,” Mac said. “This is what happens when you leave before you should. You missed so many things. Like me killing the rangers. I suggest you get in the truck now.”
Janie looked over to Brent. He could see past the pain in her eyes to her need for the assurance that everything would be okay. He wished he could give her something. He whispered to her, “On three.”
He took a step as if he was going toward the truck, imploring Janie silently to stay where she was. She raised an eyebrow and he shook his head. Her lips were pressed tightly together, but he wasn’t sure if that was because she was in pain or disapproved.
“One. Two.” Brent watched Janie as he mouthed the numbers, afraid that if he looked at Mac, he’d give himself away. On three, he meant to act as if he were putting the gun down, but to instead shoot Mac. Unfortunately, Mac must have been on to him, because no sooner did Brent lift the gun only the slightest bit in order to shoot at Mac, than a searing pain rippled across his left upper arm. Completely unprepared, he dropped the gun and grabbed his arm, only to see blood flowing from between his fingers.
“Brent? Oh my God, Brent,” Janie cried. “Are you okay?”
“He shot me.” Brent still couldn’t believe it. Moving with one thought in mind, shoot Mac, he reached for the gun, only to see Mac standing above him, aiming the weapon he dropped at him. His heart plummeted to see he held Janie with his other hand.
