InTooDeep (17 page)

Rena leaned her head back to see Carley’s
face and her eyes widened. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Those rules I was telling you about, well,
one of them is to never let an enemy win or even think he’s won. The way I see
it, when you’re in so much pain your body is begging to be put out of its
misery, you’re not going to be thinking about your life’s successes, are you?”

Carley’s hand fisted in Rena’s hair and she
forcibly pulled the slight woman to her feet. The smaller woman danced on one
foot, trying to keep the pressure off her injured leg. “Now get against that wall.”

Rena’s breath hissed through her teeth as
she stumbled forward. Her leg gave way and she fell, her hands flattening
against the carpet. “You think this is over? You think I’m going to beg you for
my life?”

No, the woman wouldn’t beg. Rena would
think it beneath her and that by refusing to plead for mercy she would die a
noble death if that were to be the ultimate conclusion of this confrontation.

“I think you’re a spineless bitch who sells
your own gender like chattel. I think you deserve a bullet between your eyes
and that I’d like to be the one to put it there. And,” Carley drew back her
foot and delivered a swift kick to the center of the woman’s stomach. As Rena
coughed and wheezed Carley added, “I think the only kind of guarantee you’re
going to get is the death penalty at your murder trial…if you’re not shanked
long before then.”

“I’ll never tell you where your sister is.
So enjoy your bittersweet victory, Carley.” The harshness of her voice and the
brutal look in Rena’s eyes as she rolled to her back caused Carley’s finger to
tighten on the trigger. Just one wrong move. That’s all Carley wanted from her.
Could Rena see the desire in her eyes? The desperate burning need to end hers
life with one single gunshot?

“Put the gun down, Carley.”

The shock of Hunt’s voice over her left
shoulder pulled her attention away from the trigger. For a moment relief edged
away the tension in her shoulders but it returned with a vengeance as she
looked past where Hunt stood. “Dani’s still alive.”

“And we’ll find her, but not this way.”

Carley ignored the promise. “There was
another guy here. He went into another room.”

“Yeah, I know. We got him and the house is
clear. Now I need you to put the gun down.”

“The house can’t be clear. Dani has to be
here.” The note of panic in Carley’s voice brought a pain-filled chuckle from
Rena.

“You must really think I’m stupid if you
think I’d keep a sold commodity in the same house with me.”

Carley kicked her again, this time much
harder than the first time. “Where is she? Tell me where she is!”

“Carley, stop.” Hunt had moved closer. “You
need to put the gun down and back off.”

“Or what? You’ll shoot me?” She leveled the
muzzle of the gun between Rena’s eyes. “This bitch knows where Dani is, Hunt.”
Her knees shook, forcing her to steady the gun with both hands.

What had happened to all the oxygen in the
room? She couldn’t breathe and tears stung the backs of her eyes. Why couldn’t
Hunt just walk away, give her the time she needed?

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.