pulled it out and then slipped it back into the holder on her belt.
Fonthill must have texted her.
“Goddammit!” I slammed my hand against the wheel. Why hadn’t she told me?
Worry and confusion mutated quickly into rage and betrayal. She was just going to give herself up to that bounty hunter without a word. How could I be her partner if she shut me out?
All questions I could ask once she was safe.
I got to the highway, but no sign of the Lotus.
She could be anywhere.
Chapter Forty-Six
When I got to the lumberyard, I shut off the headlights. I didn’t need them to see in the dark anyway, and I’d take any advantage over Fonthill I could get. No lights were on inside the offices, and the front parking lot was empty.
I turned off the engine, parking the car in the center of the lot, ready for a quick getaway. With the keys in my pocket, I drew my Glock and jogged toward the side of the building. The gate was ajar, a clipped Master Lock dangling lifelessly at the end of the thick chain. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs and forcing my pulse to slow.
Becoming a jaguar had definitely enhanced my police skills. Beyond seeing perfectly in the dark, I was stronger, faster, and virtually silent.
“Here, kitty kitty.”
Sadly, Fonthill didn’t need to hear me. He could smell me.
The sound of his voice sent a chill down my spine, but I kept moving, gun at the ready. If I could find him before he found me, I might be able to get a shot off.
“Sasha, no!”
My sister’s voice was followed by a loud slap that echoed across the deserted yard, and it froze me in my tracks. I took another breath through my nose, biting at my lower lip.
“Sister is a sweet little morsel,” the bastard crooned. “I’m thinking maybe I don’t need the bounty for you, kitty. The way I figure it, I’m dying anyway. Might as well go out with a nice piece of tail, right?”
Sick twisted son of a bitch. Nadya’s muffled sob made me want to run out in the open and kick his ass.
He was counting on that. I was trained not to take the bait.
But training didn’t make me want to any less. It also made me realize that coming here alone had been a mistake. Who was I kidding? One of the first things they teach you is a lone cop can easily become a dead cop.
I couldn’t help Nadya if he killed me first.
Quickly, I pulled out my cell phone and texted Aren one word:
The wood exploded beside my head. Splinters brushed my cheek as I dove for cover. More silent shots followed my every move.
“You’re not the only one who can see in the dark, kitty.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
I rolled into the abandoned drive-in when I got her text:
I stared at the message for a moment before it hit me. Fonthill must’ve changed the meeting place. Send the Pack to the drive-in while he killed Sasha right next door. The only thing keeping me sane was the first-hand knowledge that Sasha was very hard to kill. The woman was intelligent, well trained, and dangerous in her own right.
But Fonthill had her sister, and that tipped the scales.
Fuck.
I started to turn the car around when Adam pulled up in his Jeep with General Sloan in the passenger seat. He jumped out as Gareth and Jason drove in.
“I guess we’re early.” Adam scanned the dark parking lot, lifting his head toward the breeze, searching for a scent he wouldn’t find.
“Sasha’s at the lumberyard. Fonthill changed the rendezvous point.”
Adam spun around. “And she didn’t tell us?”
“I’m guessing he told her to come alone.”
“She let us work out this plan to back her up, and she knew she wasn’t coming here all along?”
I clenched my jaw, caging the “fuck you” that was aching to burst out. “I don’t have time for this shit. Come to the lumberyard or don’t. Sasha needs me.”
Without waiting for a reply, I drove away. Regardless of how pissed my brother was, I knew my Pack would be behind me. Our strength came from being able to count on one another.
They wouldn’t be happy about it, but they’d still back me up.
I just hoped we wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter Forty-Eight
“Come out, pussycat…”
I braced the barrel of my gun against the top board of a stack of two-by-fours, scanning for the source of his voice.
My sister screamed to my right, and I swung the Glock toward my target.
In a bunker made of stacks of plywood, I caught a glimpse of Nadya. Fonthill stood behind her, twisting her arm while he stared into the darkness with his infrared goggles.
“Let her go, Fonthill.” His head swiveled in my direction. “Let her walk away, and I’ll come out.”
He laughed. “I may be dying, but I’m not stupid.” He jerked Nadya even closer, making her gasp. “Little sister here is my shield. Without her, you’d have a shot. I remember the kill-shot rumors around the precinct. Your nickname was Dead Eye for a reason.”
“Fine.” I threw my Glock out in the clearing in front of him. It clattered into the dirt. “I’m unarmed.”
He stared at the gun, then back toward my hiding place. “You got balls for a kitty. Come out with your hands where I can see them.”
“I’m not coming out until you let my sister go.” I was rapidly running out of moves here. What if Aren never got my text? What if the Pack was still at the drive-in right now?
I couldn’t think about it. I took a breath, repeating my mantra in my head.
I still had the Ruger on my calf. I could still take this asshole down.
