He fell to the side.
She shoved to her feet, grabbing the knife and plunging it downinto his thigh.
He bellowed and swung out, hitting her in the knee. She flew across the cement floor and scrambled up, running as fast as her shaking legs would allow. She hurried around the van, spotted the warehouse door, and ducked her head to run. If he caught her, she was dead.
She hit the door and shoved it open, barreling out into a silent morning. No wind, no snow, no storm. Only more metal buildings in an icy world. Wait a minute. She recognized this place. She turned to run and a sharp pain ripped through her head as he clamped his hand in her hair and twisted. She cried out, frantically trying to turnand fight him.
He dragged her back inside the garage and threw her against the van.
Her shoulder impacted the metal with a burst of pain and she fell. Before she could regain her feet, he manacled a hand around her throat and lifted her, shoving her around the van and then pushing her back against the wall where she’d sat.
Watching her, he opened the van and dug a silk men’s tie out of a pack, quickly wrapping it around his bleeding thigh. Fury made his movements jerky.
She stood, her legs wobbling. Then she dove for the bloody knifeon the ground.
He beat her to it, backhanding her almost casually. The force of the blow shot her back against the wall, and she hit her forehead, seeing stars. Then she fell and rolled over to a sitting position, facing him. Pain cascaded though her head and body. Fear chilled her and she blinked away tears.
He walked toward her, his hand on the bloody knife. “I’m going to enjoy this much more thanI anticipated.”
She screamed.
Chapter Forty-One
The neurons in Jethro’s brain misfired. He paced the hallway, his movements frantic. “He got her. I let him get to her.” He pulled on his ear, trying to regain that calmhe always had.
Angus grabbed him by the arms and shoved him against the wall. “Nobody in their right mind would think Fletcher would poison abunch of kids.”
“I should have.” Jethro pushed him away.
Angus snarled. “Take a fucking breath. Think. We talked about this asshole for hours last night. What does he want?” Fury and determination glowed bright in the man’s deep green eyes. “You’re the only one who knows him, Jethro. Now think. Why would Fletcher go to so much troubleto get Gemma?”
Jethro couldn’t think. Right now the doctor was flushing Trudy’s stomach with activated charcoal in the hope of counteracting the ricin poison. Would his brother have done such a thing?
Angus shook him. “Stop. Calm. Think.”
The world narrowed, and Jethro let go of the professor inside him, drawing out the killer. He exhaled. Why would Fletcher take Gemma? “To hurt me.”
“What else?” Angus asked grimly.
All right. He could figure this out. “Fletcher always needs to get things perfectly right. He can’t stand failure.” Jethro wiped a hand over his mouth. He couldn’t think about what Fletcher would to do Gemma. He had to. “All right. He failed with our mother. I arrived before he thought I would, so that was a failure. I got to say goodbye, even though she was a witch until the end. He went to prison and I did not, so that was a failure. I won and he lost.” Even if Fletcher would never admit, even to himself, that this was a game, there was still success and failure. “He’ll kill Gemma the same way as our mother but do it right this time.”
Angus released him.
Jethro set his stance. “He’ll also want to make me pay. Oh, that’s too petty for him to admit, but he’ll want to make me pay for betraying him and turning him in. He won’t be able tohelp himself.”
“Where?” Angus asked. “Let’s think. He killed your mother at her home?”
“Yes,” Jethro said. “We need to coverall the bases.”
Angus looked at the Deep Ops crew, who were all assembled in the hospital hallway. “This this is your op, Jethro. You call it.”
He had to think. Jethro took everyone’s skills and potential damage into account. He looked at the expectant and furious faces of the warriors around him, knowing that he’d need them all. “All right. Ian, Oliver, and Nari, I need you here covering Trudy. I don’t trust my brother not to come for her. He’s obviously willing to do anything.”
The three nodded. Though the men were injured, they were highly trained and would protect Trudy with their lives. Nari was an exceptional fighter and would do the same.
“Wolfe, you check out the university because it’s my second home, and Angus, you go to Serena’s former apartment, where Gemma and Trudy were living.” He shook out his hands and willed his frantic energy out of his body. It was entirely possible his brother would use any ofthose places.
He started toward the exit. “I’ll hit my former apartment. Everyone remember that Fletcher is well trained and has no problem killing. If you have to kill him, do it.”
