The noise and awful odor only grew more intense as she moved through the open doorway. The sensory assault roiled her stomach. She was in a large room that she could tell had once been a storage area. Racks that once held motor oil cans and tires were empty, and there was no other furniture.
But there was blood. Blood everywhere.
Lynch . . .
She moved through to the front office, stopping to lookinside the single small bathroom. Empty. The entire building was deserted, except for the thousands of flies buzzing over the blood pooled on the cement floors.
The insects were especially thick at half a dozen spots around the room. Kendra stepped toward one of the groupings and bent over. There was something there . . . a chunk of meat?
It was human flesh.
She backed away. God, no . . . This couldn’t be happening. If only she’d—
Two strong hands grabbed her from behind. “Kendra!”
The hands spun her around. It was Jessie.
Kendra’s stomach churned even harder. She felt as if she was going to throw up. “We’re too late. Lynch . . .”
Jessie was guiding her to the back door. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here. Move!”
Kendra felt herself being pushed outside, where she practically gulped the fresh air. Her nausea subsided as the cool air struck her face.
Jessie finally let go of her. “You okay?”
Kendra nodded. “I thought you were going to wait for my all-clear signal.”
“That was the plan, but you were taking too long. I was worried.”
“I thought I was prepared for anything, but I wasn’t.” She was shivering. “You saw it, didn’t you? All that blood . . .”
“Of course. But it didn’t mean anything. Lynch could still be okay.”
Kendra felt the nausea returning. “His footprints went in but never came out. There were human remains inside. And all that blood . . .”
Jessie’s grip tightened on Kendra. “Stop it.”
CLICK-CLACK!
The metallic sound came from behind them, and Kendra had heard it before. She and Jessie spun around to see three men standing at the gravel lot’s edge with assault rifles leveled in their direction.
One of the men stepped forward. “Don’t move. Not a muscle. Understand?” He spoke with an Eastern European accent.
Kendra looked down at their boots. They seemed to match the prints she’d seen at the front of the station. Were these the same men who may have killed Lynch? If so, she wanted nothing more than to make them suffer. She could feel the hatred burning hot and bright within her, and her hand reached out to close on the gun in her pocket.
“Weapons?” the man asked.
No way would she give these animals her weapon. Kendra shook her head. “No.”
Jessie didn’t respond.
The man stepped toward Jessie. “Weapons,” he repeated. “Put them on the ground in front of you. I believe you two might be the women we’re looking for. Give us your weapons. Or we will kill your friend here.”
Jessie slowly reached under her jacket and pulled out the gun she’d taken from Lynch’s safe house. The men laughed and yelled their approval.
“Such a big gun for a little lady,” the lead man said, still smiling.
“I’ve handled bigger.” Jessie leaned forward and placed the gun on the ground.
