'Good girl. Now get up.'
I pulled myself to my feet, using the sofa. My bad leg was shaking so hard, it could barely support me.
'The phone. Put it away.'
I stuck it in my pocket. Had my surveillance team heard the shots? Doubtful. They were over a block away.
'What happened to your face, Charles? Cut yourself shaving?'
'Such bravado in a hopeless situation. You're a hero to the end, Jack. But how are you going to handle this, hero?'
He shoved Latham in front of him, aiming his weapon. I watched, helpless, as he shot Latham twice in the back.
Latham flopped forward, his head bouncing off the floor. Then he was still.
'Any more smart comments?'
I limped to Latham, but the killer rushed over and kicked me in my bad leg. I howled, dropping to the carpet.
'Do I have your attention now, Jack?'
He kicked again, this time at my head. Motes of light burst in my skull, a fireworks display of pain.
'Looks like the coward is kicking your ass. Maybe you're the one who's going to cry for her mama. Isn't that what you said on the news?'
I tried to focus, looking for where I'd dropped my gun. He followed my gaze and picked it up.
'You know why I said those things.' My head was swimming, my leg on fire.
'Naturally. To get me to come after you. You should be happy. It worked.'
My cell phone rang. Neither of us moved.
'It's the team checking in.'
'Keep it simple. You're making dinner. Everything is fine. One wrong word...'
He put the barrel of his gun to my bloody pants and pressed. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying.
'Make it good.'
I spoke through my teeth. 'You want them to hear me scream?'
He relieved the pressure and I sucked in a breath before answering the phone.
'Yeah?'
'You okay, Lieutenant? We heard what might have been gunshots.'
'We're fine. Making dinner right now. Everything is peachy.'
'Peachy' was the code word. They'd be here to rescue me within a minute, if I lived that long.
'Just checking.'
He hung up. They did know the code word was 'peachy,' didn't they?
'Good job, Jack. Now we'll go for a little ride. Where's your surveillance?'
'A block away. Down Leavitt.'
'Okay. We're going out the alley. My truck is back there. Get up.'
I struggled to get to my feet, putting all my weight on my good leg. He wound his hand in my hair and jerked me upward. Then he pulled my head to his face. I felt his breath on my neck, sour milk and rotten meat.
'We're going to get to know each other, Jack. Like only a man and a woman can. We're even going to make a little movie.'
He licked my ear. The revulsion I felt was so intense, I had to pull away, ripping out some of my hair in the process.
'Oh, it won't be so bad. I'm going to make you famous, Lieutenant. Our video will be on every news show in America. They'll have to edit out the nasty parts, though.'
My cell phone rang. The signal. I dropped to the floor and covered my head just as the door burst inward.
Gunshots. Breaking glass. A moan. One of my guys went down in the doorway, and Charles ran away through the kitchen.
I pulled myself along the floor, over to Latham, checking for a pulse.
Faint, but there.
'Harris!'
He was kneeling next to the fallen body of his partner, a cop named Mark.
'I'll call for backup!' I told him. 'He has a truck out back. Go!'
Harris took off after the killer. I found my phone and dialed 911, saying the most dreaded words in police
