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“Kara has Zac’s new pistol, the one you gave him.” Piper looked at Kane. “He told her to be careful with it but she said she knew all about guns. She tried to force him to open the gun locker but he refused and she stuck the gun to my head.” She started to sob again. “He said she might as well kill me because he knew darn well, she wouldn’t leave any of us alive and he wouldn’t be arming her to kill anyone else.” She buried her face in her hands. “She kept hitting him and he didn’t even lift up his hands to stop her. He just kept saying, ‘Is that all you got?” She looked up at Jenna, cheeks wet with tears. “He was trying to stop her hurting us, wasn’t he?”
Stomach in knots, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, he was keeping the attention away from you, and by saying she should kill you, was taking away her power. It was a very courageous thing to do. He must love you very much.”
“We’ve gotta go.” Kane squeezed her arm. “If the signal drops out, we’re toast.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her.” Carter walked into the room. “Jo will go with them to the hospital. If you send Rowley back to the office to pick up his weapons, we’ll follow as backup.” He looked at Kane. “Where are you heading?”
“Bear Peak.” Kane glanced at his phone. “She’s gotten a good start on us but we only need to know where she’s heading. I’m not planning on risking Mrs. Jacobs life at a showdown on a mountain road.” He met his gaze. “We’ll be going in nice and quiet to get the jump on her.”
Heart already picking up pace, Jenna nodded. “We’ll use our com packs for communication. Don’t use the radio. Sound carries up there and she’s likely got a scanner.”
“Okay.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips. “This Kara woman and her sister seem mighty aggressive. She’s threatening to kill Mrs. Jacobs if she doesn’t get her own way. Why drag an old lady into it when she already has Cade to use as a bargaining chip? Seems a crazy thing to do when Zac has no family attachment to his housekeeper. I mean, she’s an employee not family. However well respected, that makes a difference in emotional blackmail.” He shrugged. “Want me to ask Kalo to look into her background? There may be more to Kara Judd than we figured.”
“I think they’re just two money-hungry women but, hey, go for it.” Jenna shrugged. “In this town anything is possible.”
She followed Kane out of the door and they ran for the Beast. The truck had taken off, spraying the blacktop with dust before she’d clicked in her seat belt. Lights flashing and sirens wailing, Kane maneuvered the truck through traffic and then headed down Main and onto Stanton. The fresh green forest, still patchy with the dead winter bushes, flashed past as the Beast roared into action. Other vehicles became a blur as they increased speed, passing everything, including eighteen-wheelers as if they were standing still.
Mind filling with possible outcomes, Jenna gripped the edge of her seat. She trusted Kane’s driving implicitly but the need to hang on for dear life never left her. The Beast had become a part of him and he drove it with complete confidence. In fact, she could see the comparison between the Beast and his sniper rifle. He never missed his target and right now he was aiming his truck between two speeding vehicles. Before she could take a breath, they’d zoomed past and the highway ahead was clear again, although her pulse had increased dramatically. As they headed for the mountain turnoff, Kane silenced the sirens and turned off the lights. They would go in quiet and hope to take control before things had gotten any more out of hand. She had no idea what Kara was thinking or how far she could push her. The woman had seemed normal enough when she’d last spoken to her, but an attack on a law enforcement officer and kidnapping seemed a little extreme even for her. Was she that desperate for money? She glanced at Kane. “What could have happened to make Kara go off the rails like this? As far as I know, and that’s not much, she has be
en living off the grid for some time, but Amber has been at the same school since Cade and Piper arrived. I recall Rio mentioning that Piper introduced him to a girl who lives in the mountains. I’m sure that’s who he was referring to. He was happy she’d made friends.”
“I bet he’s ecstatic now.” Kane shook his head ruefully. “I hope there’s no permanent damage. He’d been out cold for a time. That’s not good and the blood loss was substantial.”
Ahead Jenna made out the flashing lights of the ambulance heading for Rio’s house, the siren getting louder as it passed by, and then the sound disappeared as if it had been switched off. The too familiar noise stirred so many unpleasant memories. A shiver went through her as they took the off-ramp and then headed along Rocky Road. The Beast accelerated again, eating up the rough road with ease. Unease gripped Jenna as she clung on tight. In town she had a serial killer running wild and the townsfolk needed her to protect them, but Kara Judd was armed, dangerous, and obviously unstable. Right now, Jenna had no control over what might happen next. The realization made her stomach tighten. The immediate future was unknown. Who would die if she made a mistake? She bit her lip until she tasted blood. Her mind raced so fast with probabilities, it was as if she’d fallen into a raging torrent, and was being swept away into the unknown.
FORTY-EIGHT
As they moved higher and higher up the winding road, the blacktop turned to dirt and narrowed. Jenna stared at the GPS. They were heading in the right direction but up ahead a turnoff loomed. “Sharp left just ahead.”
“The forest is dense here. Her cabin might be disguised.” Kane slowed the truck to a crawl and they bumped over the uneven road. “I see tire tracks through the bushes.” He maneuvered the Beast forward at a snail’s pace and then stopped and pointed at a length of cord caught across the hood. “They have a crude but efficient alarm system.” He flicked a glance at Jenna. “They know we’re coming.” He turned the truck around and backed into a small clearing. “They’ll be expecting us to drive into a trap. I’ll hide the Beast here and we’ll go in on foot. From the GPS, I’d say the cabin, if there is one, is about one hundred and fifty yards up the mountain.” He pointed straight ahead. “In that direction. The dirt road will take us right to it.”
One thing Jenna appreciated about Kane was his experience in the field. She didn’t come close to his expertise in assessing threats and making plans on the run. She nodded. “I think we should split up.” She pointed to the right. “The trees closer to the ravine are spaced and I can see an animal track winding in that direction.”
“The forest will only go another fifty yards or so.” Kane peered into the trees. “If you recall, Bear Peak is surrounded by grassy rocky areas. Most of the recent landslides have been on this side of the mountain. This means we’ll be easier to see.”
“Okay.” She squeezed his arm. “I know Kara had a rifle in her truck, so we have to assume she has that, and the M18 pistol. I want her alive, but if she starts blasting us, you might have to disable her.”
“That’s a given. In a hostage situation, I’d normally take out the shooter but with two unknown threats in there, it’s a whole different ballgame.” He slid from the truck and went to release Duke from his harness.
Niggling apprehension wiggled like worms in Jenna’s belly as she climbed out of the truck. “Grab my vest out of the back. I’m not taking any chances.”
“Let’s just hope she doesn’t aim for our heads.” Kane tossed Jenna her liquid Kevlar vest and pulled on his own. Minutes later he’d assembled his sniper rifle and slung it over one shoulder. “I’ll call Carter and update him on the way. He should be on scene soon. Stay safe.”
Jenna headed into the bushes. “You too.”
She moved swiftly along the narrow trail, keeping to the shadows. Underfoot, the rich pine needle carpet was fast becoming dusty gravel. A recent rockslide had peppered the ground with a variety of unstable debris, and as the incline increased, her feet slipped as if she’d hit a patch of ice. Grabbing hold of the thinning trees, she moved closer to the mountain, her eyes peeled for the women’s hideaway. As the trail bent to the left and then hit a straightaway, she could make out a cabin tucked in against the mountain. On one side evidence of the rockslide sat in a mound resting against a small retaining wall, preventing it from spilling into the forest and blocking the road. Out front was a white GMC, but after using her binoculars to search the surroundings, Jenna found no sign of anyone. She touched her earpiece. “I have eyes on the cabin. I can’t see any movement.”
“The sisters are on this side of the pile of rocks.” Kane sucked in a breath. “They’ve spotted you, take cover.”
Jenna hit the ground and then rolled behind the closest tree as shots rang out all around her. Bark and wood chips rained down as the bullets whizzed past, clipping the trees. Making herself as small as possible, she kept her back to the tall pine. The smell of freshly cut wood surrounded her as branches fell from the onslaught. The barrage stopped and heart pounding, Jenna scrambled on her belly, searching wildly for a better position. Ahead was a large boulder and she threw herself behind it, coming up on her knees to peek around. The gunshots came again, aiming at the place she’d been before. The bullets cut through the tree, chipping out so many chunks it looked like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Pulling her weapon, all Jenna could do was wait. She couldn’t see who was firing at her and hoped Kane had a better view. She caught her breath when Kara Judd came into view, rifle held shoulder high and aiming straight for her, but before she could take aim, a shot rang out and the rifle flew from Kara’s hands. The woman let out a blood-curdling scream and spun around. She was yelling, but Jenna couldn’t make out a word. One thing was for sure, her attention was now fixed on Kane. Kara’s arm hung useless at her side, but she had the M18 in the other hand and was attempting to fire it. Her sister had run for the GMC and spun it around to face the rockslide. Jenna stared in disbelief. What could they possibly hope to achieve? They’d backed themselves into a corner and this was a no-win situation. Her com crackled into life.
“Get the hell out of there. Run toward the ravine and don’t look back. Go now, Jenna. I have you covered.” Kane sounded cool and calm. “Run.”
Determined to rescue Mrs. Jacobs and Cade, Jenna shook her head. “We have the upper hand. Kara is injured, she’ll run out of ammo soon enough and then we go in.”
“Dammit, Jenna, Amber is going to ram the retaining wall and the whole mountain will be coming down on our heads. For God’s sake, run. Go now.”
