Summer Kisses (244 page)

“He’s doing great.” The scanner beeped as Jill ran his potato salad over the glass. She flashed a huge grin between him and Tory.

Will knew from an earlier conversation with Tory that his family had a tough year. He pulled a twenty from his wallet. “Oh, yeah? What’s the good news?”

“Looks like I’m going to get to go college next year.” The kid was nearly jumping with excitement.

“That’s great, man. Did you land a scholarship?”

“No. He found this woman, a run-away, right here in town and is going to collect the huge reward.”

Jill held the milk carton up and Will’s heart hit the brick wall of muscles in his chest. His snatched the carton from her. Staring down at a younger Nicole, his hands trembled.

“I was the first one to report her, so I get the reward,” Tory said. “I haven’t told anyone yet, just Jill here and my parents. The guy said I should keep quiet until she’s checked out.”

“What guy?”

“The federal agent. I called that number right there.” Tory pointed to the carton. “Ms. Smith seems like such a nice lady. Who’d have thought she—?”

“When?” Will snapped.

“What?” Tory blinked.

“When did you call him?” Will opened his wallet and flashed his badge. Keeping his identity a secret from the town’s people was no longer important. Nicole and Luka were his priority now. He pushed the urgency from his voice, held Tory’s frightened stare and asked again, “It’s very important you tell me when you called this guy?”

“Is Ms. Smith in trouble?” Jill interrupted. “I can have the manager call 911.”

Will held up his hand, stopping her from reaching for the phone alongside her register.

The paper bag in Tory’s grasp crumbled. “He wasn’t a federal agent, was he?”

“No.”

The blood drained from the kid’s cheeks, leaving him as white as cream under the florescent lights. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I was just trying—”

“I understand, Tory. Just tell me when.”

“Around seven or seven-thirty. I was on my break.”

Fuck. Going on three hours. If Gorgon was still hiding in New York or New Jersey, he could have arrived in the area an hour ago. Will reached for his cell. Fuck. He forgot he’d shut the phone down while trying to catch ten minutes of shut-eye before Chase walked into his office and convinced him to go home. “Okay. You didn’t give him your address did you?”

“Yes. He said he needed it in order to send me my money.”

Will’s mind whirled with scenarios while his stomach wound into a fuckin’ boulder. If Gorgon hadn’t already gotten to Nicole, he might come looking for Tory. “Does he know where you work?”

“No.”

It didn’t matter. If Gorgon needed the information, he’d kill to get it. “You stay here. Don’t go home.”

Will headed toward the door, while dialing the local authorities. They had to watch over Tory’s family while he got to Nicole and Luka. He prayed he wasn’t too late.

~~~

Gorgon checked the rearview mirror. The road behind them disappeared into a black void. There hadn’t been a street light or house for miles, just trees. His son, his heir, was strapped into his car seat. In a few hours, they would be in upstate New York. From there they would board a twin engine plane his family kept at a tiny airport and, in a hop, they’d land in Canada. Leaving Canada wouldn’t present a problem. He had the proper documents waiting for them.

He sighed. Documents for three.

He shrugged and relaxed against the seat. Katrina had made her choice.

A smile played on his lips. He might have fun looking for a new mother for Luka.

~~~

Sharon peered through the pane on the kitchen door. Except for the light above the stove, the house was dark. With her pistol ready and her heart nearing her throat, she eased back the screen door and twisted the inside door’s handle. Damn. Locked.

Quietly, she closed the screen door and stepped back off the porch. Nicole had shown her where an extra key was kept. Using the pen light on her own key ring, she found the rock in the flower bed and the key underneath it. She tiptoed up the steps again and this time unlocked the door and stole inside. Immediately, Max barked.

She refused to think of her family as she swept the dining and living room, listening for any movement upstairs. Hearing nothing, she headed toward the laundry room to where Max seemed to be locked up. Hugging the door’s frame, she swung the door wide, ready for an attack by the dog, but none came. Max’s barking reached a fever pitch. She heard his cage rattle and flashed her light in his direction and gasped at the sight of blood seeping across the floor. “Nicole.”

A moan.

Sharon hit the lights.

“Oh My, God.” She raced to the cage, slipping on the blood and grabbed the wire top and steadied herself. Nicole had already lost a lot of blood and was barely conscious. She had to get the woman out and stop the flood of blood before it was too late, but the son of a bitch had locked the cage with an industrial-strength plastic tie. She dropped to her knees and spoke through the rods, “Don’t worry, Nicole. I’m here. I’m going to get you out and call for help.”

She punched 911 into her cell and raced to the kitchen to find a knife to cut the tie.

~~~

The moment Will’s cell latched onto a tower signal, his phone blared. While maneuvering the town’s sleepy streets, Gary filled him in on Sharon’s suspicions and told him she was checking out the safe house. His CUFF team had also been alerted and were already on the move to the area where the GPS showed Nicole’s junker headed north toward the New York border.

Will’s gut rolled. There was no doubt in his mind this case was going to end tonight. He just hoped it didn’t end badly for anyone other than Gorgon.

He turned off his car’s lights, rounded the corner and rolled to a stop behind Sharon’s empty SUV. With his gun drawn, Will hopped from the car before the engine wound down. Most of the houses on the block still showed signs of activity within them, but not Nicole’s. The bungalow was dark.

He raced through the shadows toward the front door, watching for any sign of his best friend’s wife. As he crept along the house to the back, Max barked like a mad dog. The lights inside came on. A shadow crossed over the pulled kitchen drape and he froze. He heard kitchen drawers being yanked opened.

Adrenalin overload had his heart pumping faster than his veins could handle. Keeping low under the porch’s rail, he rushed to the back steps. With his Glock trained on the doorway, he climbed them, one step at a time.

The dog’s insane bark and deep-throated growl scared the shit out of him as he reached for the door handle. Knowing whoever was inside, now knew he was there, he flung the door open and jumped inside, ready to fire.

Empty.

The laundry room door stood open. Max loped around his legs and dashed off into the washroom. A bloody trail of footprints leading into the room caused Will’s stomach to roll.

“Get out,” Sharon yelled to the dog. “Hang on, hon. I’ve called for an ambulance.”

“Sharon.” Will skidded to a stop as his heart dropped to the floor. Nicole lay half inside Max’s cage. “Is she...?” He couldn’t say the words.

Sharon looked up over her shoulder. “Will, thank God you’re here.” She sliced the rope holding Nicole’s hands together. Free, she wrapped a cloth around Nicole’s wrist and held her arm up in the air. “No, but…”

Blood marked Nicole’s face and arms, her shirt and her jeans. Sharon knelt in a puddle. Her hands now coated a wet red.

Nicole’s blue lips called to him.

“I called 911. The EMTs should be here any second. She’s in shock. Get a blanket. Over there.” Sharon nodded toward the shelf above the washer and dryer.

Will’s heart broke as he grabbed the same blanket he had lain on with Nicole on that starry night in the backyard.

She needed him to be strong.

He pushed his horror away and dropped to his knees beside Sharon. Quickly, he covered the woman who had stolen his heart, tucking the blanket under her chin.

“Here hold her arm up.” Sharon instructed. “I’ll open the front door and put Max in the bedroom upstairs so he’s out of the way.”

Will changed places with Sharon and gingerly laced his fingers around the blood-soaked cloth. “Luka? Is he here?”

Sharon shook her head while wiping her hands on another towel she grabbed from a stack atop the washer. “Unless he’s hiding. Stay here. I’ll double check every nook.”

Will swallowed, staring at Nicole’s ashen face. Luka was only a child. Had he witnessed this attack on his mother?

He brushed his fingers across her cheek. Her skin was as cold as the floor. Damn. He was supposed to protect her and he’d failed.

He leaned over and placed his forehead against hers. His tears marked the blood smearing her beautiful face. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve--” His words failed to get past the emotions clogging his throat. “Please don’t leave me. There is so much I need to tell you.”

Eyelashes brushed against his cheek and he pulled back.

Nicole struggled to open her eyes. Her tongue peeked out between her thin lips. “Will.”

He couldn’t stop the burst of relief that escaped him. “I’m here. Did Gorgon do this?”

“Yes,” she spoke so softly he’d barely heard her. “Luka. He has Luka. Stop him. Promise me.” Her eyes drifted closed.

As the sound of sirens drew closer, Will felt her pulse grow weaker.

Will had pushed his car’s speed to the limit navigating the dark, winding, rolling Appalachian Mountains. He’d almost lost traction and careened off to the side twice because the road was slick with wet leaves. He checked the digital clock as he rolled to a stop and jammed the car into park. It had taken him a little over thirty minutes to catch up with his men, and Gorgon.

Nicole’s blood stained his jeans. He checked his cell which hung silent, on his hip. He had no signal. Sharon said she’d text him the moment she had any news.

Nicole had to be okay. He couldn’t imagine his life without her and Luka.

Will sprinted toward the gas station. A quick scan told him at least a dozen State Police officers crouched in the shadows beyond the luminous circle lighting up the building located a half-mile south of the interstate. Beyond them was a deep forest with dangerous terrain filled with sink holes, sharp shale pits and murky quarries stretched for miles. The Pennsylvania State Troopers had barricades up, stopping traffic from both directions from coming into the area. Everything was quiet except for the occasional slap of a moth against the gas station’s overhead lights. There was nowhere for Gorgon to escape, except to hell.

“Does everyone have their headsets on?” Will whispered into his mic.

“Roger that,” Chase’s voice crackled into his ear piece. “Including the State Police.”

“Good.”

“Where are you?”

He could see Chase and Aden hunched behind the agency’s unmarked van parked next to the air pump station. Aden stared through a set of field glasses, peeking through the windows of the van. Chase had his weapon drawn and was also keeping guard on the building. “Coming up behind you now.”

Chase glanced over his shoulder and signaled for Will to stay low as he approached.

“What’s the status?” Will cut the corner and rushed through the dry reeds to approach the van at a protected angle and took the position on Chase’s right, between him and Aden. He pulled his Glock and checked the clip.

Chase twisted his wrist and glanced at his watch. “Gorgon took the kid inside going on five minutes ago.”

Damn. Five minutes was too long. “He’s not going to stay in there forever. Once he’s out, the only way to stop him from getting in that car and driving off could blow this place to hell.”

“According to the station’s diagrams, we’ve got two twenty-thousand gallon gasoline tanks in the ground,” Aden added, dropping his field glasses and locking onto Will’s gaze. “One stray bullet and poof. We’ll have one big ass hole.”

“Fuck.” Will swallowed. They had their work cut out for them if everyone was going to go home in one piece. “How many civilians inside?”

“I spied seven. Cashier, a donut shop worker, a cleaning person and four customers.”

“With Luka that’s eight.” Will drew in a calming breath and stared toward the building, hoping to get a glimpse of the boy who had stolen a part of his heart over the past four months. He had to keep a level head, if everyone was going to live.

“If we let him leave, we take the civilians out of the equation,” Aden whispered.

Will shook his head. “Everyone except Luka. If Gorgon gets Luka in that car my gut tells me he won’t get out. No. We need to take him out here. Before he exits the building.”

“How?” Chase shifted in place. The rookie’s adrenalin already cascaded through his veins was evident by the constant shift of his eyes.

“We’re going in.” Will started to step around his man, only to be stopped.

“Not without a vest. Here.” Chase reached under the van and grabbed a protective vest marked with the U.S. Marshal logo.

“I taught you well.”

“Yes, sir.” Chase winked.

Will donned and secured the vest in record time. “Can you see Luka anywhere, Aden?”

“Negative. They might be in the john.”

“Good. Gorgon isn’t suspecting anything. We’re going to walk in the front door, rush the civilians out and when he and Luka come out of the bathroom, we’ll take him out. Sound like a plan?”

“As good as any. Copy that, SP1. Hold fire.” Aden pressed his mike to this throat. “Safety net the civilians.”

“Roger that, CUFF.”

Will held Aden’s and Chase’s stares and nodded. “On three. One. Two. Three.” With weapons aimed, they moved out, rounding the van and heading toward the store’s entrance at different angles. There was no reason to lay out the game plan for once they were inside. They’d worked as a team long enough to know exactly where each would take up position.

Will entered first, swinging the door wide and immediately put his finger to his mouth, quieting the cashier whose eyes rounded in surprise. “U.S. Marshals,” he said softly, signaling for the woman to move out from behind the counter while his men entered behind him and swung to the right and left, disappearing down the aisles.