Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance) (37 page)

Crest made a hand signal to signify that one person was in the kitchen. Kevin swiftly turned the corner. Within seconds, he had the woman against the counter with his hand over her mouth.

“Where are they?” Kevin whispered, catching Crest closing the refrigerator door in his peripheral vision. “Where are the Bennett brothers?”

The scared brunette shook her head, terror shining in her eyes. Kevin distinguished she was telling him the truth and he couldn’t stop his heart speeding up at the thought that the men had already gotten their hands on Elle. Crest tapped him on the shoulder and nodded behind him. Kevin turned to see an open door on the opposite side of the room. Taggart slowly joined them, indicating that he would take care of the woman. Kevin gradually pulled his fingers away from her mouth, demonstrating that she should remain quiet with his other hand. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of his gun.

Not having their earpieces that the team usually wore in situations like this made Kevin feel as if he was at a loss. If that door led to the basement, then Connor would be able to access it from the outside. Unfortunately, Kevin had no way to relay that piece of information. Cautiously crossing the kitchen floor, he took his time looking around the doorframe.

“Eric!”

Kevin immediately recognized Max’s voice and from the pitch of the man’s tone, there was no time to waste. Furtively taking the stairs, Kevin prayed that his knee wouldn’t give out or that his weight and that of Crest’s didn’t alert the men below that they were descending. The moment Kevin hit the hard floor, he took in the scene before him and swore his heart stopped beating.

Cam Bennett was lying on the floor, trying to sit up while holding the side of his head. Relief surged through him at seeing Elle. She stood toward the back of the basement with blood running from her forehead down the side of her face, her hair half undone from her clip, and standing on the cement in bare feet. There was no color in her face and her lips were tinged blue. In between Cam and Elle stood Max. It was only when he moved to the side that Kevin was able to see that Eric was kneeling on the floor.

“Max, it’s over,” Kevin announced, his words echoing through the basement. He hoped that Max still had some reason left within him. Finding out that a man he considered a friend was capable of murdering women shook Kevin to the core. He refused to believe that Max didn’t have some sense of benevolence left inside of him. If not, Kevin wouldn’t hesitate to shoot if it meant keeping Elle safe. “Hands in the air where I can see them.”

“Kevin,” Elle whispered, her need to come to him evident.

Kevin shook his head slightly, needing her to stay where she was. Angst rose inside of him that she wouldn’t heed his command. Crest finessed his way around a workbench and a couple of boxes to give him a better angle while Kevin continued to walk in a straight path to where his targets were located. Elle’s brown eyes didn’t waver from him, for which he was grateful.

“You know I can’t do that,” Max responded in a much too casual way. He had yet to turn around and face Kevin, putting him at a disadvantage. This wasn’t going to go down in an amicable way. He kept his weapon trained on his target. “Elle, tell your lover what I have pointed at you.”

“H-he’s got a gun.” Elle continued to watch Kevin as if she was waiting for him to give her a signal. The bravery she was exhibiting made him so proud, but it was diminished by the fear running through his system that this could end with her life. “His finger is on the trigger.”

“Your brother needs help,” Crest stated from his location on the left hand side of the room. “He’s bleeding and unless we get someone in here to help him, he’s going to die.”

“While we wait to see who blinks first,” Max said, “I’m curious as to how you figured it out. Or did one of the girls upstairs overhear what was taking place and call the police?”

“I know how much you like perfection, Max, but just because you’re a DEA agent doesn’t make you infallible. There’s enough DNA evidence to put both you and Eric away for life. That is if he doesn’t die first.”

Kevin was finally close enough to see what Crest was talking about. Eric Bennett had a crowbar lodged in his stomach. His hands were wrapped around the middle of the tool, but as if Crest’s words on his mortality finally hit home, Eric moved.

“You bitch,” Eric screamed, diving forward.

Crest shot his weapon first, applying the required four pounds of pressure required to discharge his Match Grade Model 1911A1 loaded with 230 grain Hydra-Shock rounds travelling at nine hundred and thirty feet per second. It sounded as if a cannon had been fired, but before anyone had perceived the thunderclap of the shot, the damage had already been done. The high performance round impacted its intended target and dramatically demonstrated exactly what a .45 ACP round was designed to do. The round hit with nearly a thousand foot pounds of energy. Lacking any sort of body armor, the point of entry yielded to the irresistible force and upon contact with its first reasonably hard object, the bullet destroyed Max’s shoulder joint and mushroomed into the size of a half dollar coin. Kevin had no doubt that the hardened tungsten penetrator stuck to the mass of shattered bone and ruined muscle tissue. Max would never have use of his right arm again. He dropped his weapon and thereby removed his ability to threaten Elle.

Kevin fired his 9mm Beretta 92FS, ensuring that Eric didn’t reach his target. Elle’s scream mingled with the reverberations as the back door of the basement burst open, shards of wood splintering into the air.

“You’re safe. You’re safe. You’re safe.” Kevin didn’t remember closing the distance between them. All he knew was that Elle was in his arms…safe. Alive. “You’re safe.”

“I love you,” Elle murmured against his neck, her hold on him as tight as his was on her. “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to tell you that I really do believe you. You do love me. I know that, Kevin. I know that.”

“God, you scared the hell out of me.” Kevin knew he had to let her go and assess the damage she sustained, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go quite yet. “When are you going to get it through your head that I mean every word I say? When I say you’re beautiful, you’re stunning. When I say you’re intelligent, you’re damn smart. When I say I love you, I fucking adore everything that makes you who you are.”

“I know. I know.”

“Kevin, Taggart called for ambulances when he headed back upstairs,” Connor said in a soothing voice. He was handling the situation as Kevin would, not knowing exactly what Elle had gone through before they got there. He tightened his hold on her, not wanting to ever let her go. “Paramedics need to check Elle over.”

*   *   *   *

“I’m fine,” Elle answered, pulling back slightly but not loosening her grip on Kevin’s neck. She couldn’t seem to get enough heat from his body. It sounded insane, but she would have crawled inside of him had physics allowed. “I just fell down the stairs outside.”

“You’re bleeding.” Kevin tenderly took one of Elle’s arms and released her hold on him to holster his weapon. He brushed the flyaway strands away from her forehead for a better look and he winced at what he saw. She assumed from the blood that it was a gash, but the aches and pains that were starting to settle in were more of an all over thing. A trembling had also commenced in her limbs, surprising her. “You might need stitches. Anything else hurt?”

“I just want to go home.”

For the first time since Kevin had appeared, his face softened and he gathered her up once more. Elle didn’t complain when a sharp pain resounded through her side, as she wanted his warmth surrounding her. Unfortunately, he must have heard the hiss that escaped her lips.

“You need to be looked over, city girl.”

When Kevin stepped back, Elle had a clear view of the scene behind him. Officers encased the area while paramedics hovered over Max and Eric. Crest was helping Cam sit up on a crate. She’d only seen him a couple of times before, but something told her he was in charge and not the police. He exuded confidence and power, with his black suit and a long matching dress coat that appeared to cost more than her entire wardrobe. He kneeled in front of Cam, comforting her friend. Cam.

“I have to go to him, Kevin.” Elle placed her unsteady hand on Kevin’s arm. “Cam tried to save me. He had no idea what his brothers were doing. He’s got to be devastated. What I did to Eric—”

“You did what you had to, Elle,” Connor replied. The three of them looked on as one paramedic that knelt over Eric shook his head. Elle tried to feel remorse that the man was dead, but the only thing she felt was guilt for the part that she took in taking his life. If what she heard during the confrontation was true, he’d assaulted those women in the worst way while Max took their lives to cover up his brother’s crimes. Her culpability stemmed from taking away Cam’s brother. “Do not feel guilty for defending yourself.”

“Cam will be all alone.” Elle leaned into Kevin and it wasn’t until he stiffened that she saw what caused his reaction. Max was sitting up, a scowl on his face with his eyes locked onto them. Taggart stood guard while the paramedics cut off his jacket and shirt to reach his wound. This man who took the lives of two women and who knew how many countless more would spend the rest of his life behind bars. It almost wasn’t enough. “Although maybe that’s a good thing.”

“Cam’s got you and he’s got the girls that rely on him upstairs.”

Kevin led her around the left side of the basement, obviously not wanting her near Max. Elle wasn’t about to argue. She’d had all the excitement she could handle today. As they approached Cam, her friend looked up at her with devastation in his eyes. Although she didn’t know what he was going through, she did understand what it was like to feel as if she were alone in the world. One day she would share with Cam the joys of allowing someone inside. She squeezed Kevin’s hand as they stopped in front of a very devastated man.

“Cam, I’m so sorry.” Elle thought she had her emotions under control and was surprised by the catch in her voice. Regardless that Cam had a full beard and mustache, it was apparent that his lips quivered. Releasing Kevin’s fingers, she lowered herself to her knees in front of Cam. “I can’t imagine what—”

“It’s me who should apologize, Elle.” Cam shook his head but never once looked at Elle. His tortured gaze was on Max, his younger brother. “I should have known. I should have put two and two together. I knew there was something wrong with Eric, but I just didn’t want to face that he wasn’t
there
, you know? As for Max, he was always closer to Eric. If only I’d—”

“The only person to blame for those assaults and murders are the culprits themselves,” Crest stated.

“It’s time that the paramedics look the two of you over.” Kevin reached for another crate, pulling it over so that Elle didn’t have to leave Cam’s side. “Be a good girl.”

Elle didn’t want Kevin to leave her, but she knew that he had business to take care and that he wouldn’t be far away. The betrayal he must be feeling in regards to Max Higgens must have hit him hard though he didn’t show it. It would hit the members of the club just as much, considering they’d taken Max in as one of their own. She knew that she would have nightmares about tonight for a very long time to come, but as long as Kevin was by her side, she’d be able to get through anything. Another sob rose up, catching her unexpectedly.

“I will always come when you need me,” Kevin whispered fiercely in Elle’s ear. He said it in such a matter of fact tone that she didn’t doubt him in the least. “I love you, city girl.”

*   *   *   *

“Have you read him his rights?”

Kevin was disgusted as he looked at who he thought had been a friend, a protector of people who’d taken an oath to serve. Max Higgens had betrayed his family and friends. Worse, he’d taken the lives of two innocent women and would have continued to do so had he not made the mistake of leaving behind trace forensic evidence.

“Yes,” Taggart answered, abhorrence lacing his tone. “And now we’ve got the media surrounding this place. I’ll have to make a statement, but this is going to hit the airwaves like a fucking bomb. The DEA will need to be on board. The families will have to be notified.”

“I’ll contact Becky’s family as soon as I know that Elle is all right.”

“It’s because of Eric that she has a life.” Max struggled against the men that were trying to place him on a gurney, but when Taggart stepped forward, he complied. It didn’t matter as Taggart cuffed him to the metal side rail and that his other arm was useless. The detective would remain by his side on the way to the hospital. “If those other women had made a different choice, I wouldn’t have had to do what I did.”

“Your brother was a sick and twisted man.” Kevin looked for an ounce of the man that he thought he knew, but the Max he’d shared meals and laughs with no longer remained. “You’re no better, Max. Those women were doing what they had to in order to survive. They did nothing worth the sentence you gave them.”

“They’re whores, Dreier. They needed to be taught a lesson or wiped from this earth. We do it to scum every day of our lives. They are no different.”

“Take him out, Taggart,” Crest ordered, coming to stand next to Kevin. The paramedics folded the gurney and carried Max away, who seemed content to have the last word although agony was now written across his features. It was a good thing he was taken out the outer door instead of having to pass by Cam and Elle. Kevin didn’t want the fucker anywhere near his girl. He glanced over his shoulder to see Elle sitting with Cam, comforting her friend. “The medic gave her the all clear. She’ll be sore and should probably go for some x-rays, but she refuses.”

“She had an intimate relationship with Eric Bennett early on,” Kevin confessed, needing to get it off of his chest. He rubbed a hand over his heart. How was Elle going to handle that when the dust settled? He would do whatever he needed to in order to ensure she didn’t feel guilt over something she couldn’t control. “He got her into prostitution, yet we now know that in his twisted mind, women should be punished for that.”