Merrick dropped.
But he wasn’t dead.Please,don’t be dead. He had to bewearing a bulletproof vest. But this had been point-blank. He dropped to his knees next to the wounded man. The vest hadn’t spared him from the blunt-force trauma, and now he saw that a bullet had pierced his chest.
And Merrickhadn’tworn a vest.What?
“Why’d you make me do it, man?” Cole asked. “I told you on the bridge. It’s over. You could have come in.” He felt the man’s pulse. Thready, but still alive.
He kicked the knife out of reach. Cole tugged his cell out, but it was dead. He found Merrick’s cell in the pocket of his waterproof jacket. Cole fished it out. Yeah, he was messing with evidence, but a life was at stake. Using the cell, he called for emergency services.
The guy mumbled. Cole used the flashlight on the cell so he could see his face. His bloody teeth. The guy was actually smiling?
“Glad to be taken out by you,” Merrick said. “You’re a worthy opponent.”
Dude,this isn’t a video game.“The thing is, I shouldn’t be your opponent. We fought on the same side. What were you thinking?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe not right now. Hang in there. Help is on the way.”
“I’m checking out before then.”
Cole hated to sound crass or like he didn’t care, but ... “Tell me what I need to know to save the girl, man. You were once a soldier. Let the good side of you be the voice that speaks now. Why did Martin hire you?”
That would depend on how deep this guy had to reach to find his way out of his mercenary role.
“My uncle ... he has a way of getting what he wants. He’s worth billions, you know. The only person who could take him down is Jo’s father.”
“Then why didn’t he take him down?”
“Uncle Troy would kill anyone who tried to take him down. The ones who knew about it.”
“Your uncle or you? You killed Mira, didn’t you? And what isit? And what does Jo have to do with this other than she’s Driscoll’s daughter?”
“He ... needed tofindhim. Draw him out. The woman he loved. The daughter he didn’t even know. He had accomplished that. I didn’t know about my aunt. That he killed her. Not until this week. I figured it out, but I was already in it up to my neck. In it with him. Like you said, it’s over now, at least for me. I might as well check out.”
Draw him out so he could kill him. That’s why Driscoll put the distance between him and Jo, but it wasn’t enough. Did Jo’s father have a clue that she’d continued to be targeted? Seething, Cole pressed harder, blood seeping through his fingers. The light grew dimmer as it grew colder and darker outside.
“You’re wasting your time here,” Merrick said. “My uncle knows where she is, man. He knows. You’d better get to her.”
Closing his eyes, he said nothing more. Cole feared moving Merrick would only cause more damage, so he did his best to staunch the bleeding. He’d caused it, but it had been Merrick’s life or his own.
“No! No, no, no.” He punched the ground. Where were emergency crews when you needed them?
37
As the county vehicle approached the safe house, Jo’s chest tightened with her rising panic. She might have fallen asleep from exhaustion along the drive that took almost three hours.
But now she was wide awake. A couple of outdoor lights illuminated the house along the coast.
What was she going to say to Hawk?I let your brother run afterthe killer. I left Seattle,left him behind...
She closed her eyes and tried not to berate herself—because really, what could she have done to stop him? It wasn’t like he asked her opinion before he jumped out the window and chased after the guy. Cole had made his own decision. He’d made his choice. Still, his determination to stop Merrick revolved around protecting Jo.
She hadn’t heard anything yet about Cole—had he survived, or was he ... gone? She tried not to think the worst.
Please come back to me,Cole.
As if she had any right to him.
