“Okay.” She scooted over to the driver’s seat. “Good luck, Wolfe.”
“Thanks.” He turned and ran through the forest, his boots pounding, his ribs feeling as if they were cracking open, one at a time. Images of Dana propelled him faster, his lungs struggling with this newest fight.
Gulping, he circled around the trees to the side of his house, crab-walking between the trees and crouching against his fence, pressing speed dial on his phone.
“Force.”
Wolfe ducked down lower, swearing at the clear night. It was hot and humid with no cloud cover. “Here’s my plan.” He slowly laid it out, finishing with, “So, I go in first, and then you guys breach from every direction.” Hopefully shock and awe would throw Gary for just enough time.
Force was quiet. “That’s crazy.”
Wolfe closed his eyes against a wave of terror at what Dana was going through. “It’s all we’ve got.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Dana fought against the ropes binding her wrists as she sat on the sofa. She instinctively knew that telling Rock she was pregnant would be a mistake. “You’re going to get us both killed,” she said.
He finished attaching some weird putty to the front door and added a piece of metal to it, tweaking something with his back to her. “Yeah, but think how beautiful the blast will be.” He smoothly moved to the front window, his pack in hand. “I’ve never felt the heat of a blast, you know. Sure, I’ve set a bunch and watched everything disintegrate, but I’ve neverfeltthat.”
God, he was crazy.
Kat howled from the pantry, and Roscoe still hadn’t moved.
Dana waited until Gary started affixing another device to the front window before edging closer to the table. He’d put the gun away after tying her hands, so now was her only chance.
“You move and I’ll cut you,” he said, not turning around. “I’m going to cut you anyway, but it’ll happen sooner rather than later if you try to run.” He looked over his shoulder, his now blank eyes freaking her out. “I wouldn’t mind getting started, but I have a couple more windows to do first.”
She gulped down fear. He’d already wired the back slider, the door to the garage, and the windows in the master bedroom and bathroom. The office was the only window left. “You don’t have to do this. If you jump out of the office window, you can run and they won’t chase you. They’ll be worried about me.” And Roscoe. She didn’t want him to focus on the dog again, so she didn’t mention him. “Just go, Gary. Live a new life or something.”
He chuckled, finishing with the device. “Live a new life? Wolfe will never stop coming, and you know it.” Snagging her bound hands, he pulled her off the sofa and shoved her toward the office. “This ends today.”
She stumbled and then walked, trying to see if Roscoe was still breathing. Red matted his fur, and his eyes were closed. Was he moving? She couldn’t tell.
Gary shoved her harder, and she fell into the office, landing on her side. Pain blew up her forearm, and she twisted, kicking out and trying to trip him. He sidestepped her and looked down. “That wasn’t nice.” Pulling his boot back, he kicked her in the thigh.
Agony exploded in her leg, and she cried out, her eyes filling.
Pounding came from the front door this time. Gary shook his head. “They think they’re distracting me.”
How could she let them know the place was wired? If she yelled, he’d be on her in a second, and he’d promised to cut out her tongue. But could she get enough of a warning out first? Probably not.
He grabbed her by the hair and lifted, shoving her into the desk chair. “Sit here and shut up for a minute.” He patted her injured leg, and she gasped, leaning forward as the pain attacked her again. He laughed. “You’re going to be fun. I can already tell.” He reached in his pack, turned, and carefully set up another device.
Tears slid down her face and her nose started to run. She grabbed a tissue from the desk, struggling since her hands were bound. “How did you find me, anyway?” Telling him about herself hadn’t helped, but maybe if he talked about himself, she could buy a little more time.
He finished with the device and zipped up the backpack. “Once I knew about you and had a couple of pictures of you and Wolfe from the wedding, it was easy. A quick search online, and your interview with Angus Force came up.”
Oh yeah. After they’d caught the Senator, she’d immediately taped an interview with Force. “So you figured that I was working with Angus Force.”
“No. I figured that Wolfe was working with Force, and you were dating Wolfe.” Gary turned around and tossed his pack into the corner. “It was a surprise to see you leaving Force’s office.”
“You followed me from there?”
“Yes. I stayed far enough away that you wouldn’t notice and then parked, running a few miles until I found these two bungalows. It took a couple of tries, to be honest.” He looked around the room. “This area is too small.”
She was going to puke, but she set the tissue down and smoothly grasped a blue pen. “Why did you kill Candy?”
He moved to the closet to open it. “Wolfe doesn’t have any good sex toys, does he?”
