It was a slap in the face. But, he supposed, the collaboration with the Mexican cartel hung in the balance, so The Bookkeeper was taking no chances of something else going wrong.
And this wasn’t strictly business anymore. Not like Marset, who’d been gumming up the works. Not like the state trooper who’d balked at carrying out an order. Not like all the others. This was different. The Bookkeeper had a personal score to settle with Lee Coburn.
Coburn had stopped the car about forty yards away, its idling motor an uneven growl in the stillness beneath the football stadium bleachers, where Doral had chosen to do this. This time of year, the place was deserted. It was on the outskirts of town. Ideal location.
Coburn had the headlights on high beam. The car itself looked like little more than a rattletrap, but somehow it seemed menacing, reminding Doral of a Stephen King story about a car that went psycho and killed people. Doral pushed the ridiculous thought aside. Coburn was screwing with his head again.
But the fed also wasn’t going to come any closer until he saw that Doral did indeed have Emily.
Doral had made sure the interior lights wouldn’t come on when he got out of his car. Crouching lower than the roof, he opened the rear door, slid his hands under Emily’s arms, and lifted her out. Her body was limp, her breathing deep, her sleep peaceful as he placed her on his left shoulder.
He would. He was.
Coburn had mind-fucked him into feeling lower than whale shit, into being nervous and unsure of himself. But he couldn’t allow himself to buy into that or he was as good as dead. All he wanted was one crack at Coburn. If he had to use Emily in order to take out Coburn, well, that was just life, and nobody had ever said that life was fair.
He placed his right hand, his gun hand, in the center of Emily’s back so that it could be seen. Then he stood up and walked around the hood of the car, forcing himself to appear in charge, in control, and perfectly relaxed, although in reality his palms were slick with sweat and his heart was knocking.
Coburn’s car began to roll forward at a snail’s pace. Doral’s gut tightened. He squinted against the headlights. The car came to within fifteen feet of him and stopped. He called out, “Turn off the headlights.”
The driver got out, but despite the glare, he made out Honor’s form.
“What the
“He sent me instead. He said you wouldn’t shoot me.”
“He said wrong.”
“He doesn’t need tricks, Doral. He doesn’t even need me any longer. He’s nailed you, thanks to Eddie.”
“What’s Eddie got to do with this?”
“Everything. Coburn found the evidence he had collected.”
Doral’s mouth went dry. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do. That’s why you killed him.”
“Are you wearing a wire?”
“No! Coburn has already got what he came for. He doesn’t care what happens to me or Emily now. But I care. I want my daughter.”
Doral gripped his pistol tighter. “I told you to get away from the car.”
She stepped from behind the cover of the open door, hands raised. “I won’t do anything, Doral. I’m leaving you to the legal system. Or to Coburn. I don’t care. All I care about is Emily.” Her voice cracked on her daughter’s name. “She loves you. How could you do this to her?”
“You’d be surprised what a person can do.”
“Is she…?”
“She’s fine.”
“She’s not moving.”
“You’ve got only your friend Coburn to blame for this. All this.”
“Why is Emily so still?”
“
“Is she
“Where’s-”
“You’ve already killed her, haven’t you?”
Her screeching roused Emily. She stirred, then lifted her head and murmured, “Mommy?”
“Emily!” she shouted and extended her arms.
Doral began backing away toward his car. “Sorry, Honor. Coburn screwed the pooch.”
“
Hearing her mother, Emily started squirming against him.
“Emily, be still,” he hissed. “It’s Uncle Doral.”
“I want my mommy!” she wailed and began thumping him with her small fists and kicking at his thighs.
Honor continued shouting her name. Emily screamed in his ear.
He released her. She slid to the pavement, then ran toward the car, directly into the bright headlights.
Doral aimed his pistol at Honor’s chest.
Before he could get off a shot, something smacked him in the back of his head hard enough to make his ears ring.
Simultaneously the car’s headlights went out, their twin beams replaced by two bright purple circles on a field of black.
He blinked wildly, trying to restore his vision, even as he realized what Coburn’s strategy had been. Blind him, rattle him, deafen him, and then attack from behind. He spun around in time to catch the full brunt of Coburn’s impetus as he launched himself over the hood of Doral’s car, landing on him like a sack of cement and forcing him down onto the pavement on his back.
“Federal agent!” he shouted.
Coburn’s impact had knocked the wind out of Doral, but he’d been fighting all his life. Instinct kicked in along with a surge of adrenaline. He whipped his gun hand up.
A gunshot rang out.
Coburn backed off Doral.
There wasn’t much blood, actually, because Coburn had fired point-blank into the man’s chest. In death, he didn’t look all that sinister, only bewildered, as though wondering how someone as clever as he could have been done in by a soccer ball. Doral had stalked prey. His target was always in front of him. He hadn’t thought to check his back.
“You should have learned from your brother. I don’t negotiate,” Coburn whispered.
He patted down the body and found Doral’s cell phone. He feared it would conveniently disappear when the police investigated, so he slipped it into his pocket before standing up and walking quickly to the car where Honor was sitting in the driver’s seat, clutching Emily to her, rocking back and forth, crooning to her.
“Is she okay?”
“Limp as a dishrag and already asleep again. He must’ve given her something. Is he…”
“In hell.”
“He refused to surrender?”
“Something like that.” He paused, then said, “You did good.”
She smiled shakily. “I was scared.”
“So was I.”
“I don’t believe that. You aren’t afraid of anything.”
“First time for everything.” His words telegraphed a much more meaningful message than he would allow himself to say. But Honor seemed to understand both the message and why he wouldn’t say anything more. They shared a long look, then he said briskly, “You get Emily to a doctor and have her checked out.”
He lifted Emily from her and gently placed her in the backseat.
“What are you going to do?” Honor asked.
