Singh knew it was Jasmine Hill. Her doting, desperate father had shown her the photos before he had disobeyed her direct orders.
She screamed for help, her eyes squinting at the first sign of light for days, and Andrei wrenched her towards him.
In his other hand, he held the knife.
‘Let her go,’ Singh yelled, her arms aching but holding firm. The sight of her gun was aimed directly at his chest.
‘Put down the weapon or I will slice her fucking throat,’ Andrei screamed, his words alive with fury. There was nowhere to go.
A man with nothing to lose.
The most dangerous kind.
Singh kept her weapon trained on him. She carefully took a step closer, and he lifted the blade, placing the sharp edge against the pale, gaunt throat of Jasmine who froze with fear.
‘I mean it,’ Andrei yelled, his words crazed. ‘I’ll carve her open right now.’
Singh relented, opening up her hands and letting the pistol swing around her finger. She stared at Andrei with hatred before looking at the terrified Jasmine.
‘Jasmine. I’m DI Singh,’ she said calmly. ‘I’m here with your father.’
‘Dad?’ Her voice croaked.
‘Yes. I’m going to take you to him.’
‘She stays with me,’ Andrei barked, pressing the knife firmly into her neck. The tip broke the skin and Jasmine cried out as a line of blood dribbled down her chest.
‘Let her go,’ Singh ordered. ‘Let her go and we can work this out.’
Andrei’s eyes widened with fear as, through the darkness, the armed police officers emerged, having successfully taken down or arrested the rest of his men. They stepped out from the shadows, their helmets and vests soaked through and they all trained their rifles in the direction of the standoff.
A woman strode forward, her seniority as clear as his own and Andrei glared at Assistant Commissioner Ashton. With her rain coat wrapped around her shoulders and a plastic cap over her own hat, she raised her megaphone.
‘DI Singh. Stand down,’ she commanded. ‘Stand down or you will be arrested.’
‘I can’t do that, Ma’am,’ Singh yelled over her shoulder. ‘Not until he lets her go.’
‘DI Singh, this is a direct order.’
Singh ignored her superior, knowing full well she was flushing her promising career down the drain. As much as she’d obsessed with catching Sam Pope, she’d realised that it was driven by their similarity. He did what was needed to help people. While she would never condone taking the law into her own hands, she realised now that Jasmine’s life was worth more to her than her sparkling reputation.
Andrei’s eyes were manic, darting from rifle to rifle that was trained on him. Singh knew it was only a matter of seconds before something tipped him over the edge.
Something would cause him to snap. The man was a powerful criminal who would not bow nor bend over for anyone.
He would kill Jasmine and follow her swiftly to the afterlife.
She needed to act.
Just as she went to flick her hand back around the pistol that swung from her raised hand, that very reason Singh was dreading appeared. Through the rain-soaked metal corridors emerged Aaron Hill, stepping out behind the armed officers and he followed their aim towards the situation ahead.
He saw four dead bodies, all of them ripped open by an unstoppable force.
He saw Singh, standing with her hands up.
Then he saw her.
Jasmine.
The barbaric man who clutched at her with tattooed fingers held a knife to her throat, his other hand wrapped around her waist as she feebly struggled for freedom. Aaron felt the magnetic pull of parenthood, his need to be with his daughter causing his feet to pick up speed.
He raced past the armed officers and their superior officer, who barked something at him.
Probably an order to stop.
He ignored it. As he got within twenty feet, he screamed her name.
‘Jasmine!’
Singh turned and looked over her shoulder, her wide eyes warning Aaron to stay back. As he raced forward, Andrei realised that the moment had arrived and that his final stand had begun.
In Singh’s mind, everything slowed down.
As Aaron raced towards his daughter and her captor in slow motion, she spun and launched forward, hoping to get to Jasmine first. Andrei readjusted, his fingers tightening their grip, and he lifted the knife for leverage, before bringing it down towards Jasmine’s throat.
Singh watched as the blade sliced through the rain drops, the blade millimetres from ending the young girl’s life.
A gunshot echoed.
The rush of wind that followed the bullet whipped past everyone and in a horrifying instant, the impact hit Andrei directly in the right shoulder. The explosion of blood and ligament erupted forward and his right arm fell to the floor, the shot severing his arm completely. The knife clattered out of his hand as it hit the floor and Jasmine screamed before racing past Singh.
Andrei paled, the shock of the severance dominating the pain and Singh raced the final few steps, knowing full well Ashton and her officers were quickly approaching.
With all her might, she swung and rocked Andrei with the hardest punch she’d ever thrown. His nose broke instantly and he fell backwards to the wet concrete, his body shaking with pain. As she shook the impact from her hand, Singh turned towards the open container.
Through his scope, Sam watched Singh shut Andrei Kovalenko’s lights out and couldn’t help but smile. The woman was a relentless pain in his arse, but he admired her tenacity.
With extreme discomfort, he swept to the right and he felt the hairs on his arm lift as Jasmine’s bare feet slapped against the concrete, carrying her far away from her captor. A few feet away,
