Anna rubbed Shadow’s head. The German shepherd wagged her tail. “Yeah. They clipped her. They were holding her in a cage. McCone didn’t want to have her killed, yet. I’m glad I found her when I did.”
“That’s good.” I pointed back the way Cindy and I had come from. “I took out a few of McCone’s men that way, including that stocky bastard.”
“I think Domingo’s boys have swept most of the building,” Anna said, glancing down at the mural of blood on her coat. “I don’t think there’s many of McCone’s crew left, if any.”
“You all right?” I asked, looking Anna over.
She nodded. “Yeah. A little roughed up, but I’ll live. You?”
“Aside from having the shit kicked out of me, I’m doing all right.” I spotted movement down the hall, and brought the Glock up, training it at the two men stumbling out from the narrow passage in the wall.
Anna turned on her heels, bringing her piece to bear. Cindy moved around to my back, using me as her shield. Shadow whipped around, then lowered to the floor, growling.
Antonio and Domingo stopped, then trained their pistols at us. They didn’t lower theirs and we didn’t lower ours.
“Did you get him?” Anna asked. Shadow snarled and barked.
Domingo shook his head, winded and spent. “We clipped him. He ran into his office. We aren’t able to get through the door. Going to have to get some tools to get in. I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.”
Anna nodded. “Are we good here?”
Domingo glanced at Anna, then over to me. Antonio looked as though he wanted to kill us from his furrowed brow and squinted eyes.
“Yeah. We’re good.” Domingo lowered his heater, then nudged Antonio. “Sweep the building. Tie up any loose ends.”
Antonio tilted his head, then left Domingo’s side. He lowered his piece and walked past us, giving an evil glare.
Shadow growled under her breath as he continued on down the corridor.
We lowered our guns and stood at ease.
Domingo trudged over to us, favoring his right arm. Blood seeped down the outside of the brown coat he wore. He extended his hand to Anna.
Shadow inched forward.
Domingo stopped, lowered his hand, peered at the protective German shepherd, then looked at Anna.
“It’s okay. Stand down, girl.” Anna rubbed the canine’s head. Shadow obeyed, but remained on guard, watching Domingo.
“Cute dog.” Domingo extended his hand to Anna once more.
“Thanks.” She shook his hand.
“I hope we can work together again sometime,” he said, offering a slight smirk through the pain.
“Maybe we will,” Anna replied.
Domingo let go of her hand, then pointed to the front entrance of the building. “Why don’t you four get out of here while we finish up? There are a couple of SUVs parked outside. Feel free to take a few of them. Consider it a parting gift from the McCones. We took out a handful of their men outside, so you should be good to go.”
Anna slapped the back of her hand against my stomach. “Come on. Let’s go.” She walked away with Cindy and Shadow following alongside her. I nodded at Domingo and caught up with them.
We left the building and stepped outside to the bitter wind. Two black Escalades sat parked in the drive. Six of McCone’s men laid face down on the pavement.
I turned toward Cindy. “Did you want us to take you to your son?”
She shook her head. “No. You two have done more than enough with taking out McCone and his men. I’ll be fine from here. I’m going to head straight there. I need to get out of this city. Away from all of this.”
Cindy gave me a tight hug, then Anna. She took a knee and petted Shadow’s head. She stood up, and said, “Thanks again for everything. It’s nice to know people are still willing to help others, especially in times like these.”
“Take care of yourself,” I said.
“I will.” Cindy walked away and ran around one of the parked Escalades. She climbed inside the driver’s seat and started the vehicle. The headlights came on, casting its bright-white glow over the SUV before it. She pulled around the vehicle and made for the street.
We loaded into the other SUV. I settled behind the steering wheel with Anna in the front passenger seat and Shadow stowed in the back. I started the vehicle and pumped the gas.
Anna tossed her piece onto the dash, then slumped into the seat. Shadow poked her head between both seats and licked at Anna’s cheek.
“You ready to get back on the road?” Anna asked, looking at me while rubbing the side of the German shepherd’s maw.
I shifted into drive and glanced her way. “More than anything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SCARFACE
Jackal rubbed his chin and sighed. He slammed his fist against the side of the door.
“I’m telling you right now, I can’t wait to kill this guy. Lawson’s becoming a major thorn in both our sides.” Jackal ran his hand over his face. We drove down the highway in the direction of Salt Lake City, having left the plane wreckage where we’d discovered a single body buried under the ash. “I’m telling you, for all of the shit we’ve gone through, Mr. Coleman should be doubling, even tripling the pay out on this job.”
I raised my hand. “I get it, but that’s not going to happen. You know that. So just calm down and focus. Losing your shit now is not going to help matters.”
Jackal cut his eyes to me. He didn’t like to be told to calm down. It was a trigger that only increased his frustration. “Whatever. How much farther is it anyway? Banking that our mark is still alive, he has a good-sized lead on us right now.”
“We’re not too far away
