Hunt’s voice grew closer as he walked toward her. “Rena Baulding isn’t walking away from anything. She’s under arrest.”
“And she’ll use the money she got from selling women to hire a high-priced attorney and plead down to unlawful imprisonment or some other one-to-five crime.”
“Regardless of how the system repays her for her crimes, you can’t take the law into your own hands. Don’t make me arrest you too.” Hunt’s gaze centered on Carley’s face, his eyes searing into hers.
Carley wanted to look away but the hold was too strong. How could this man she barely knew and yet knew so well have such control over her will?
“You know you can’t do this, Carley.”
“I’m not going to kill her.” Carley toed Rena’s bleeding leg. “I just want to make her suffer.”
Rena yanked her leg close and scooted across the room.
“Stay put,” Hunt snapped. He held out his hand. “Give me the gun.”
“Yes, Ms. Morgan. I suggest you do exactly as Agent Chandler says.”
Carley turned, giving the owner of the voice one quick appraisal then promptly ignoring him even though he too, held a gun aimed in her direction. She’d had a gun pointed at her before. It hadn’t intimidated her then and it sure as hell wasn’t going to intimidate her with her sister’s captor on her knees.
“Deputy Director Baulding.” There was no respect, no subservient tone in Hunt’s voice, which told Carley the man didn’t deserve either. “Your wife needs an ambulance.”
“I’m aware of what my wife needs, Agent Chandler, but what I need is for you and your girlfriend to lower those guns.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hunt spun, taking aim at the tall, thin man’s chest. “Maybe you missed out on the part where we discovered your wife is responsible for the kidnapping of at least twenty women and the murder of at least five. So the odds of me putting my gun away, well, they’re less than slim.”
A bead of sweat broke out on Baulding’s forehead. “I can’t let you arrest her, Chandler.”
Hunt stiffened and the slight movement was enough to make Carley train the gun she held on the deputy director as well. “That’s not your call.”
“Yeah it is. Annie’s done some crazy things but she’s not a bad person. She just needs help, the kind of help she won’t get in prison.” Baulding licked his lower lip. “So I’m asking you nicely to just put your gun away.”
Nicely? As if that was all it would take for him to just let a murderer walk away? Not damn likely. Rena Baulding had done enough damage for several lifetimes and she’d earned her place behind bars. And he was damn sure going to put her there.
“Not happening. Sir.” He added the last word though his lip curled. Baulding have given up his right to respect long before he’d pointed his gun at him and Carley. And Hunt had given up any pretense of giving a shit what this man thought of him or threatened to do to his career.
“Ryan, I’m hurt.” Rena whimpered and pressed her back against the wall.
“Just shut up! I need to figure this out!” His hand jerked, the gun slipped and Baulding muttered a curse. “You don’t move, Chandler. Just don’t move.” His voice squeaked like a scared mouse.
It appeared the director’s balls had shriveled to the size of frozen peas. Hunt doubted Baulding had ever shot much more than a target necessary to pass qualifications. Now, faced with the possibility of shooting an FBI agent and an innocent civilian, the director was unraveling. Which was actually good news.
“I know it’s hard to see your wife like this but you can’t save her.” Hunt kept one eye on the gun while hoping Carley wouldn’t take advantage of his distraction to put a few more holes in Rena Baulding’s body.
The director’s gaze drifted to his wife and his shoulders sagged. “Annie, how could you do this?” His breath hitched. He took two staggering steps toward his wife then stopped. “My God, I thought Robin had quit but you…you…killed her.”
Rena clamped one hand over the wound in her leg and glared upward, her eyes glittering with bitter rage. All trace of helplessness had disappeared. Hunt couldn’t help but wonder what had happened in Rena Baulding’s life that would turn her into such a monster.
“And you destroyed everything we had. I loved you!” Pure hatred spilled from her lips. “But that wasn’t enough for you, was it? I wasn’t enough for you. That slut deserved to die.”
She swung her venomous gaze to Hunt. “I don’t give a damn what you say, Agent. I have no intention of going to prison. You’re going to have to kill me…or let your girlfriend do it.”
“I…I…Rena.” A thump brought three sets of eyes toward where Ryan Baulding had been standing. Now he was on his knees, the gun having fallen from his hand. All the color had leeched out of his face and his eyes were two rounded orbs of surprise.
“Sir?” Hunt didn’t lower his gun as he started backing his way toward his boss. “Are you all right?”
As Baulding toppled over Rena slithered forward faster than a snake on smooth glass, snatching hold of his discarded gun. She rolled to her side, pointed it up at Carley and squeezed the trigger.
The rustle of movement had Hunt spinning around and the second he saw the gun in Rena Baulding’s hand he dove toward Carley, taking her to the carpet in a tackle just as the bullet ripped through his right shoulder.
“Damn!” Rena struggled to stand, shot again, but the bullet buried into the far wall.
“Stay down,” Hunt ordered in Carley’s ear before he rolled to his back, held his gun with both hands and squeezed off a bullet that caught Rena right between the eyes. Her husband’s weapon fell from her lifeless fingers and she followed it, landing face first in the carpet.
As the blood began to pool beneath her head Hunt scrambled forward and raked the gun out of her reach with the toe of his shoe.
“Is she dead?” Panting, Carley leaned over his shoulder.
He felt for a pulse, already knowing it was more an automatic reaction than an expectation. “Yeah, she’s gone.” He reached up to cover the bloody hole in his shoulder, wincing with the effort.
“So is your director I think.” Carley sat back on her heels.
Hunt spun around, his shoulder protesting with the slightest movement. He cursed, kept his arm as stiff as he could and got to his feet. As the room began to fill with agents, he pressed two fingers against the side of Baulding’s neck.
He shared a glance with Carley. “You’re right. The question is, what the hell happened to him?”
“Could have been a heart attack,” Dave offered from the doorway. “The guy was complaining of chest pains back at the sheriff’s office. Probably spent way too much time behind a desk. All this activity and the stress of finding out his wife was a perverted killer, well, that would do it.”
Hunt stared up at his partner. “Who are you?”
Dave grinned. “I’m a man of many surprises. Ambulances are en route. You look like you could use one. And you broke our deal.”
Hunt frowned, in too much pain to decipher his partner’s words. “What are you talking about?”
“When we were first partnered we both promised not to get shot.” Dave grinned, strode forward and stuck out his hand to Carley. “We haven’t officially met, Ms. Morgan, but I’m Detective Dave Polponia. I’m Hunt’s partner, well, I was until I found out he’d been lying to me all along. Now I guess we’re just friends.”
Carley accepted his hand but her attention had already been captured by the activity outside the door of the office. “I’m going to look for Dani.”
Attendants wearing blue coveralls rolled a stretcher into the room and Hunt took hold of Carley’s elbow. “No, you’re not. If she’s anywhere in this house my guys will find her.” He jerked his head in Dave’s direction, giving the unspoken command.
Dave gave a two-fingered salute and backed out of the room.
Hunt swung his gaze back to Carley. “We will.” The fear in her gaze kicked him in the
stomach. He didn’t want to consider the possibility that Rena had been lying. Had she handed Carley hope when there was none? Was it just another one of her mind games?
Carley shook her head. “Don’t. I know what you’re thinking but Dani’s alive. I feel it.” She looked at his shoulder and grimaced. “You need to get to the hospital.”
“Nice try, but this isn’t my first day on the job. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“You’re bleeding,” she reminded him.
“I’ve bled before; it’s just a flesh wound. Luckily Rena wasn’t a very good shot.”
“It’s not just a flesh wound, Hunt.” She tugged his hand away to get a better look at the hole. “You could have been killed.” Carley stared at his shoulder as though realizing for the first time he’d been willing to sacrifice his own life to save hers.
With two fingers under her chin, he lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. “Yeah, but I wasn’t.”
“Thank God,” she whispered.
Heat punched him in the gut. Now was the time he should tell her that everything would change. Instead he only wanted to hold her, to take her in his arms and never let her go.
“Agent Chandler, the women are on their way to the hospital. We’re checking the house out now.” A fresh-faced agent Hunt didn’t recognize jerked his head toward the stairs. “That Dave guy is upstairs barking orders now.” His frown made it clear he didn’t appreciate taking orders from a cop.
“Follow his lead.” Hunt couldn’t take his eyes off Carley’s face.
The junior agent grunted his assent. “The medical examiner is on his way. Will you be staying here until he arrives?”
“I don’t think I’m going anywhere just yet.” The look of gratitude on Carley’s face solidified his decision. “We’ll wait until Dani Rivers is found.”
“But, sir, there’s a chance that she—”
“That’ll be all, Agent,” Hunt interrupted with a snap in his voice. As the tears welled up in Carley’s eyes, he shook his head. “Don’t worry. Wherever she is, we’ll find her. I promise.”
Slowly the downstairs portion of the house began to clear, leaving Carley alone with Hunt in the foyer. They both stood at the door, watching the last of the two ambulances drive away. She felt his gaze on her face and looked at him.
He said her name then she was in his arms and he was holding held her so tight her lungs fought for room but she squeezed back, grateful to be alive.
“Just so you know, you scared the hell out of me.” His voice hoarse, he buried his face in the curve of her neck.
“I didn’t exactly have a lot of say in the matter.” She curled her arms around his neck, melding her body to his. He felt so warm, so alive. She didn’t want to let him go.
He lifted his head, cupped her face and kissed her with a gentle touch of his lips. “Once this is all over, we need to talk.”
Carley pressed her palm against his chest, just over his heart, where the blood had run down to stain the white cotton. The rapid beat brought a sad smile to her face. “Your heart’s racing.”
“Weren’t you listening to me when I said you scared the hell out of me?”
“Didn’t you think I could take care of myself?” She meant the question to be light but it took less than two seconds for her to realize Hunt didn’t take it that way.
He captured her wrist to hold her hand in place. “I wasn’t thinking about what you could or couldn’t do, Carley. I was thinking about what could happen to you. I didn’t want—” He broke off. A muscle jerked in his jaw as he pinned her with eyes filled with anguish. “If anything had happened to you…” Stopping again, he shook his head. “No, let’s not do this here. There’ll be plenty of time to talk once your sister is found.”
“She’s here!”
The announcement set Carley’s heart racing and she spun around in time to see Detective Polponia carrying her sister’s unconscious body down the stairs.
“Oh my God! Dani!” She broke free of Hunt’s embrace and ran to her sister’s side.
Two paramedics were already shouldering their way through the door. “Everyone, step back. Let us get her out of here.”
“Is she going to be all right?” Carly stroked Dani’s limp hair. She looked so pale, so lifeless. “Is she breathing?”
“Miss, please back up. Let us take care of her.”
Carley nodded but she couldn’t let go of Dani’s hand. She fell into step beside the stretcher as the two burly paramedics carried her sister out into the sunlight. Somehow she got shoved out of the way and could only watch in abject horror as the men feverishly worked to stabilize Dani’s vitals.
There were words she didn’t understand followed by myriad tubes and an oxygen mask. As her legs went weak an arm went around her shoulder and she recognized the scent of Hunt’s aftershave. Leaning into his strength, she closed her eyes.
“She has to be okay.”
“We have a strong pulse. We’re taking her to St. Francis.”
“I’m going with her.” Carley rushed to the back of the ambulance but one of the paramedics intercepted her.
“I’m afraid that’s not allowed, ma’am. You can meet us there but we need all the room in the back of the vehicle.” He didn’t give her time to object. Once Dani had been loaded, he climbed in beside her and closed the double doors.
Carley fought back the tears and turned to Hunt. “I have to get to the hospital.”
Securing her close against her side, he guided her to the nearest sedan. “Come on. We’ll probably beat the ambulance there.”
Hunt had just devastated one more family, told them their little girl wasn’t coming home. Closure wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, especially since it eliminated hope.
Climbing behind the wheel of his SUV, he slid his sunglasses into place and just sat. The day had already drawn to a close and the sun was dipping low behind the clouds. Technically he was off-duty, on his own time. He could go back to his rented apartment, pack some more, maybe even catch a game.
But that wasn’t where his thoughts were.
He hadn’t seen Carley in two days, not since Dani had woken up in the hospital. Carley hadn’t left her side and he couldn’t stay, not with so many families waiting to hear about their loved ones.
She hadn’t called him. That shouldn’t bother him as much as it did but this heavy knot had settled in the pit of his stomach the day he’d walked out of the hospital and had refused to go away. So yeah, he was bothered. And angry. Frustrated. Helpless.
Today had been the final day of notifications as the last family had been out of town until this evening. He’d drawn the short straw and he’d had to tell them. The look on the father’s face when he realized his daughter was dead had nearly brought tears to Hunt’s eyes.
And now all he wanted was to see Carley, to make sure she was okay. And to tell her he was going back to Virginia.
Hunt pushed open the door to the hotel room without knocking, strode across the carpeted floor and snagged hold of Carley’s arms. Their gazes locked and held. Neither spoke but the air tingled with electricity. She didn’t have time to be stunned that he was standing in front of her after two days for he was already dragging her forward, capturing her lips, drawing her breath into his own lungs. His tongue sparred with hers, tasting her, savoring her. Carley held on to his shirt and melted into the experience.
“I went by the hospital first. Dani said you’d left to get a change of clothes.” Hunt provided the information in between kisses.
“You haven’t called.” Carley held on to him so tightly her arms ached. She’d missed him. God how she’d missed him. Even as she’d sat at Dani’s side, talking to her about everything, she’d thought about Hunt.
Had he been thinking about her too? Had he been wanting to get her alone again, to touch her, to kiss her like this? She needed him, needed this. Since Dani had woken up, Carley’s world had slipped back into place and she’d realized how much she wanted Hunt to be
a part of that world…no matter what it took.
Her hands framed his face and she leaned into the kiss, sucking on his tongue, nibbling on his lower lip. Drinking in his flavor. When Hunt started to pull away she moaned in protest, wrapping her arms around his neck.
He traced the outline of her lips with his finger. “You didn’t call either.” His voice held no recrimination.
She smiled. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to hear from me, and I’ve been with Dani.”
“She looks like she’s doing okay. Do the doctors know when she’ll get out of the hospital?”
“Probably tomorrow, even though I want her to stay a little longer. She wants to come home.” Carley gave a little laugh. “She says the scars on her body can heal just as well at home as they can in the hospital, but it’s the other scars I’m worried about.”
Hunt kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be difficult, and there will be nights when the nightmares will keep her from sleeping more than a few minutes at a time. But she can get through this with the proper care.”
“I’ll make sure she gets whatever she needs.” She dropped her head to his shoulder for a brief moment before lifting her gaze to his face. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.”
His gaze pierced her face, revealing something dark and dangerous in the depths of his eyes. A warning, maybe? Maybe he’d come for one last connection with her. Was his intent to carry her into the bedroom and have one last night of sex before he left her?
She didn’t want to consider that possibility but was she kidding herself? They couldn’t be together, not with her history. Hunt was dedicated to his badge and it didn’t matter that she’d decided to quit. Her past would always be a part of her.
Hunt took hold of her hand, threaded her fingers through his.
“What’s wrong?” She didn’t remove her hand.
“I don’t want you to think I just came here because…” His voice was strained, almost choked.
InTooDeep Page 18
