Good. That would be one less thing on Jack’s mind, but he said a quick prayer that Clarie’s injuries wouldn’t be critical. With an attacker on the loose, it could be a while before they could get an ambulance in here for her.
Jack pushed through another cluster of overgrown shrubs, and he finally saw the edge of the back porch. The pressure clamped around his heart, though, when there was still no sign of Caroline. Hell. Had the person who’d tossed that tear gas managed to get away with her in tow?
He plowed his way through more of the weeds, and running now, he made it to the porch.
And there she was.
Not alone.
Not safe, either.
Caroline was on the porch, and despite the darkness, Jack could see that the color had drained from her face. With good reason. Because there was someone standing behind her.
Someone with a knife to her throat.
“I’m sorry,” Caroline said. There was a trickle of blood running down the side of her head and more blood on her sleeve. “Because of the tear gas, I didn’t see him in time.”
Jack pushed aside her apology for something that wasn’t her fault, and he focused on the “him” who was holding Caroline. Definitely a man. Jack could tell from his size despite most of his body being concealed. The coward was hiding behind Caroline.
Who was it?
Was it just another hired gun who’d been sent to kill them?
Jack couldn’t tell, because the guy was wearing a gas mask. Not for long, though. Using his free hand, he peeled off the mask, tossing it onto the porch, and flashed a smile.
“Hello, Jack,” Kingston said. “Caroline and I have been waiting for you.”
FROMTHEMOMENTKingston had come out of the shadows and clubbed Clarie on the head, Caroline had known it would come down to this. Kingston wanted her dead, but he hadn’t killed her when he’d hit her with the metal pipe because he’d first wanted to use her to lure out Jack. Kingston wouldn’t have been able to use a dead woman to get himself in a position to murder both Jack and her.
And it had worked.
Jack had a gun, and to the best of her knowledge, Kingston only had a knife now that he’d discarded the pipe, but Jack wouldn’t have a clean shot with Kingston using her as a human shield.
“Is Clarie all right?” she asked, hating that her voice shook when she spoke. She didn’t want to give Kingston any more satisfaction from this, and hearing the fear in her voice probably added to his sick enjoyment.
But why was he doing this?
Caroline hoped she could learn that before she got out of this dangerous situation. And she would get out. There were so many lives at risk—Jack, Clarie, Caroline herself and the deputies outside. No way was she just going to let this piece of slime kill them. First, though, she’d need to get away from that knife he was holding. It was sharp—she knew that because he’d already cut her arm to prove that—and now he had it against her jugular.
“Clarie’s fine,” Jack said before he shifted his attention to Kingston. Jack’s eyes narrowed, and his expression was hard as steel. “Let me guess. You’re doing some favors for your old friend Eric.”
“I am,” Kingston readily admitted, and yes, he was enjoying this. He wanted them to know what he was doing and why. “Last year, Eric called me right from this inn while he was holding Caroline, and he asked me to tie up any and all loose ends for him. Ta-da! That’s what I’m doing.”
She didn’t recall that conversation because she’d been drugged, but hearing what Kingston had just said caused the anger to roar through her. Caroline had to force herself not to ram Kingston in the gut with her elbow. They needed more info from him. Because Jack and she had their own loose ends to tie up. Yes, they would stop Kingston and arrest him, but when that happened, he might clam up. They had to know if others were involved in this.
“Kingston hired Scotty to hack into WITSEC and find my location,” Caroline said. She didn’t have proof of that, but considering the circumstances, that was a good guess. “It wasn’t very smart of you to show up at my house, though.”
“Of course, it was,” Kingston immediately argued. “Me being there, it made me look innocent.”
It had. Well, in a way. But Kingston had always been one of their top suspects.
“And after you were done with Scotty, you hired thugs to kill him,” Jack said.
Jack moved a little to his left, and Caroline felt the pressure of the blade against her throat. “That’s a no-no. Stay put, Marshal, or I cut her before I’m ready.”
It turned her stomach to hear him say he was going to kill her no matter what. That made it even more important to draw this out. Because Jack wasn’t the only lawman out there. Gunnar and Manuel were here, too. Maybe one of them could get into position to take Kingston out.
“Scotty was a loose end,” Kingston went on a moment later. “So is Caroline, but she’s been a little slippery when it comes to finishing up things. I thought it would be a nice touch to kill her here. Eric would appreciate that.”
