“Long story. My brother, Mitch, brought back the term. I like it.” He waved over his shoulder and almost knocked Ben off his feet in his haste to leave.
“Where’s the fire? Did dispatch put out something I missed?” Ben asked.
“No emergency. Kris can fill you in. Later,” Jake said halfway out the door, not slowing down.
Hannah worked in the morning and had classes in the afternoon. If she went straight home from school, he figured she should be back at her apartment soon. He debated going home to shower and change, but decided against it. Time was of the essence. He needed to see her now.
Because he was in uniform, he got into her building easily. Someone let him in without question, and he took the stairs two at a time to her floor. Outside the door, he paused. Shit, what was he going to say? He hadn’t thought that far in advance. He probably should have texted to say he was stopping by, too. Second-guessing his impulsive decision to just show up, he decided to call first and come back later. But just as he turned to go, he heard Hannah’s voice. She wasn’t alone. Curiosity got the best of him. He looked up and down the hall, making sure it was empty, and then pressed his ear against the door, only to catch the faint sound of a male voice. And his flicker of hope flickered right out. She’d already moved on.
As he moved away from the door, he heard Hannah yell loud and clear, “Zach, you’re high. You’re not thinking straight.”
Shit.Jake quietly tried the doorknob, but it was locked. He backed up as far as the narrow hallway would allow and slammed his foot into the door. Thank God the deadbolt wasn’t engaged. The force split the wood of the frame, and the door flew open.
Hannah screamed, and Zach turned toward him.
“What the…?” Zach exclaimed, backing into the kitchen, dragging Hannah with him. His pupils were pinpoints, and Jake could tell instantly that he was high on something.Please don’t be meth. Please don’t be meth.
Jake put his hand on his gun but decided to try talking to him first.
“Hannah? You okay?” Jake said it to Hannah, but didn’t take his eyes off Zach.
“Um, not really. Zach was just telling me he’d do pretty much anything to get at my money and was trying to force me to sign a power of attorney form.”
“Zach? You know you’re in big trouble. There’s nowhere to go. You’re under arrest. You wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?”
Jake could see the wheels turning, then registered the exact moment Zach decided to fight. He drew the butcher knife from the knife block sitting on the counter, and Hannah gasped.
“Huh. So, the hard way.” Jake drew his weapon but kept it by his side. “Dude. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to bring a knife to a gunfight?”
Zach started mumbling to himself, apparently giving himself a pep talk. “I gotta do this…Grandparents need me…I can do this…He won’t shoot me…”
Hannah had slowly put a little distance between herself and Zach, but she was still way too close. Zach noticed her inching away and grabbed her arm, pointing the knife at her. Jake flashed back to Annie’s kitchen, not six months earlier. He hoped for a better ending this time around.
“You can’t hurt her while I’m standing right here. Even you’re not that stupid,” Jake said calmly. “I can tell you’re listening to the drugs, but they don’t know shit. Put the knife down.”
He debated the logic of trying to reason with an unreasonable person, fairly certain the standard de-escalation tactics weren’t going to work in this case. But if he could just keep him talking until Hannah was safe, he’d work out the rest.
“You don’t understand,” blubbered Zach. “My grandparents need that money. They need me to help them, and this is the only way. I gotta have that money. The money is the answer to all my problems. I got no job, no place, nothing. My life has turned to shit, and it’s all Hannah’s fault.”
“How you figure that?” Jake asked, taking a minuscule step in Zach’s direction.
Zach used the dull edge of the knife to scratch at his arm. “Ever since she broke up with me, my life has been heading downhill. She owes me something!” The blubbering turned to agitation, and he waved the knife very near Hannah’s head, pointing to the crumpled piece of paper he’d been trying to get her to sign.
“That’s debatable. Listen, here’s what’s going to happen. Hannah’s going to walk over here behind me, and you’re going to stay where you are,” Jake said. Hannah made a move to walk away, but Zach only tightened his grip, making her wince.
“Big mistake, man. Look, I don’t want to shoot you. I just killed someone a few months ago, and it’s messy.” The statement was meant for shock value. He wasn’t really so cavalier about taking a man’s life last summer. He just needed Zach to put down the knife.
Zach’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “You’re lying.”
“Fuck around and find out,” said Jake.
“Didn’t you hear about the shooting at Sam MacDonald’s girlfriend’s house?” Hannah jumped in. “That was Jake.”
“I said I didn’twantto shoot you,” said Jake. “But make no mistake. I will if I have to.”
While Zach was distracted, processing that information, Hannah pulled out of his grip and ran to Jake. He pulled his cell phone off his belt and handed it to her with his free hand.
“Call 911,” he said without looking away from Zach. “Seriously, man. Just put the knife down. I’ll even put my gun down. No one needs to get hurt.” He kept his tone soft and even as he placed his gun on the table and held up both hands as if surrendering.
