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“Roger that,” Smith replies.
We end the call. All I can think about is Shawna. Why isn’t she at work? Even her cook said it was unlike her. What are the chances that Jarred’s in town and now Shawna’s missing? I don’t have a good feeling about this.
Nelson pulls into Alice Feldman’s driveway, and Rob pulls in behind us. I get out and walk over to investigate the car and minivan, and sure enough, they’re rentals. Could this be it? Are we finally going to come face-to-face with Jarred Feldman? And if so, who’s with him? Who drove the second car?
I turn to walk up to the front porch with Rob, but before we do, I hear someone calling for help. The other guys hear it, too. A chill runs up my spine as I hear the screaming again. It’s coming from somewhere behind the house.
Rob puts his forefinger to his mouth, telling us all to be quiet, then motions for Smith and Nelson to stand guard in front of the house, and Rob joins me to look around back. With our guns drawn, we quietly begin walking to the backyard, but as we round the side of the house, we hear the front screen door slam, then Smith and Nelson yell for someone to put their hands up.
“Fuck!” Rob and I turn in unison and jet back to the front to find an older man—not Jarred—standing on the front porch, pointing a gun at Smith and Nelson.
He sees us approach and points his gun in our direction. “Get off my property!”
“Put the gun down!” Rob yells. “Let’s do this peacefully!”
“Fuck you! You’re trespassing, and I have the right to shoot!”
“We just want to talk to you,” Nelson says, trying to defuse the situation. “We’re only here to talk.”
Analyzing the situation, I realize I have an opportunity from my position. I’m standing near the corner of the house, practically out of view, so I can easily sneak around to the back without the man noticing right away. As I slowly step back, Nelson tries to talk him down. Rob notices me moving out of the corner of his eye and gives a subtle nod, signaling he understands what I’m about to do.
Surprisingly, it works. I make it around to the back of the house without being seen, but I stop in my tracks when I not only hear the front door slam again but also Rob yelling, “Jarred, put your hands up!”
Shit. Is it just the two of them, or are there more people in the house, too?
“Help me! Please! Somebody!” The screaming comes again, this time louder from the backyard. I notice a shed in the back corner of the property about thirty yards away from me.
“Mommy!” A new voice yells from inside the house, and I instantly recognize it as Noah’s.
“Shit!” Without a plan, I bolt up the stairs of the back porch. Swinging the back door open, I enter the house with my gun drawn in case anyone else is there.
As I enter the living room, I hear a scuffle out on the front porch, but I can’t see what’s going on because the door and all the curtains are closed. Noah’s still crying for his mom from a bedroom somewhere down the hallway, and my heart hurts for him. Jarred is fucking going down, and I hope I’m the one who gets to do it.
Even though I hear lots of yelling outside, I decide to head down the hall to find Noah. Just as I reach the first bedroom door, there’s a gunshot, followed by three more. Hoping none of my guys are hurt, I run back to the living room and peer through the curtains to see what happened. I see Jarred lying at the top of the stairs, calling out in pain. Rob and Nelson are next to him, and I see Smith on his phone, presumably calling 911. I don’t see the other man, but he must be down.
I run to the door and open it. “It’s me!” I announce so they don’t think I’m another one of Jarred’s accomplices.
Rob looks up, startled at first, then relieved to see me. “Check the house and make sure no one else is here,” he replies.
Noah’s cries come louder, so I bolt back into the house to find him.The house isn’t big. I already know there’s no one in the kitchen or living room. All the bedroom doors are closed, so I open them as I make my way down the hall. I doubt anyone else is in the house, aside from Noah, but I check anyway. He continues to cry, and it’s killing me. The last bedroom door is locked with a sliding lock on the outside, so I unlock the door and swing it open.
Noah looks startled at first, crying in the middle of the floor. As soon as he realizes it’s me, he jumps up. “Nate!” I holster my gun and kneel to embrace him.
“It’s okay,” I say over and over in a soothing voice, trying to calm him. He continues to cry, his arms wrapped tightly around my neck.
I hear sirens approaching, as well as the guys talking at the front of the house. But I also hear more cries for help from the shed in the back and know I need to get Shawna out of there.
Noah must hear her screams, too. He looks at me and cries, “Mommy! Where’s my mom?”
“I need to get her for you. Come with me, okay?”
He nods but won’t let go, so I stand with him hanging on for dear life. As I walk into the living room, I find Rob walking into the house. “The paramedics and police are here,” he says. “Is that Noah?”
“Yeah. Back shed. Shawna,” I tell him, and he rushes out the back door. I continue to comfort Noah and decide to step out on the back porch. I don’t want him to see what’s going on out on the front porch, and the stench of stale cigarettes still lingering inside the house is getting to me.
As I step outside, I see Rob breaking down the door to the shed, then the cries of relief from Shawna. A moment later, he walks out of the shed, his arms around Shawna’s shoulders for support. They walk across the yard, but when she looks up and sees me with Noah in my arms, she dashes toward us, leaving Rob behind.
“Noah!” she calls. Noah pulls his head away from the nook of my shoulder to find his mom.
