“Hold this. Keep pressure on it so you don’t bleed to death.” Not that he really gave a damn.
The guy groaned and pressed down on the square of cotton.
Jase felt a trickle of wetness on his face, reached up and wiped the blood off his cheek with the back of his hand. Somewhere in the fray, Harding had managed to land a punch. Jase wished he’d had time to throw a few punches of his own.
“We need to call the cops,” he said to Jax. “Tell them we have Randall Harding in custody, along with two of his closest chums.”
A shaky voice came from the bathroom doorway. “I have already called them.” Rosa Diaz held up the cell phone she had managed to get her hands on. She was pretty, small and slender, with long, straight black hair nearly to her waist. She had bruises on her face and neck. Jase figured there were more under her ratty blue robe.
She walked into the living room, over to where Randy sat on the floor, his back propped against the chair, hands cuffed behind him.
Rosa leaned down and spit in his face. “You are scum,” she said with a thick Spanish accent. “I hope they kill you!”
Harding growled low in his throat and leaped for her, but Jase stepped in and shoved him back down a little harder than necessary.
“Fucking whore!” Harding shouted.
“Leave her alone,” Jase warned. “She’s done with you.”
Rosa got right in Randy’s face. “You filthy pig. I should kill you myself!”
“Get her away from me, or I swear to fuck—”
Jase grabbed him by the throat. “You won’t do jack shit, Harding. At the very least, you’ll be spending the rest of your life in jail. You’ll be lucky if they don’t fry your sorry ass.”
Harding fell silent. Sirens in the distance grew louder. Jase pulled out his cell and called 911, identified himself and told dispatch he and Jaxon Ryker were bounty hunters, legally armed. He told them about the firefight, who they had in custody, that one man was dead, the other wounded, explained the men had been holding a woman prisoner but that she was now safe.
Jase ended the call and looked over at Ryker, who casually held a gun on the men. “Good work,” Jase said. “Thanks for the help.”
“Nice when a plan comes together.”
Jase almost smiled. It felt good to do good work, help someone, make people safer. He didn’t like ending a job with casualties, but they had acted in self-defense. Still, the questions would be endless, the paperwork over the top. His plan to get home in time to go to Kate’s sister’s funeral looked like a bust.
When the first patrol car rolled up in front of the apartment building, Jase dropped the mag, emptied the weapon, and set it on the floor out of reach. With a last glance at Ryker, he pulled open the door, raised his hands in the air and walked out of the apartment.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The day was drab, the sky sullen and dark, a damp drizzle clouding the air outside Kate’s apartment windows. The weather matched her mood on the dismal day she would bury her sister.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored elevator wall, puffy eyes, her face too pale. She’d chosen a black skirt-suit, white cotton blouse and black pumps, her hair wound into a tight knot at the back of her head. The stark colors and severe hairstyle made her look even grimmer.
Though the outfit, like the weather, seemed fitting.
The elevator door dinged open and she stepped into the lobby to find her friend, Lani Renton, waiting. She was as tall as Kate, with short black hair and a slender build. She pulled Kate in for a hug.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Lani said. “Your sister’s at peace now. When this is over, you will be, too.”
Kate took a shaky breath and slowly released it. “It won’t be over until I find whoever killed her. I won’t stop until I do.”
Lani reached down and caught her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. “One day at a time. Come, on. Let’s get going.”
Kate spotted Cece behind the wheel of her Mazda compact SUV outside the front door. Lani opened the front passenger door, urged Kate into the seat, then got into the backseat behind her. They all clicked on their belts.
“How you holding up?” Cece asked as she put the car in gear and pulled into morning traffic.
“I’m okay...considering.”
“You’ll feel better once this is over,” Cece said.
