“Goddammit, boss!”
“Look,” Lenny said, laying a hand on Colin’s shoulder. “It’ll take Jack ten minutes to get there. Just hangon. In the meantime, get into some riot gear. I know nothing on earth will keep you from going, but I won’t allow you to engage unless you’re armored up.”
Colin spun away and strode toward the locker room to change. “Colin!” Lenny called after him. Colin turned to face him. “Don’t even THINK about picking up a gun!”
Colin hesitated, frowning, then spun away and disappeared into the locker room.
David approached and laid a hand on his arm. “Lenny...”
“NO!” Lenny told him, moving past him at a fast clip. “You CAN’T go with us! You shouldn’t be here in the first place!”
“Damnit!” David muttered.
“Do you know where they’re headed?” Nate asked.
David glanced around. The room was nearly empty. The police officers had dispersed to various parts of the police station to prepare for the rescue operation. He peered at the computer screen where the map still showed a single blinking dot. “It’s near the I-64 freeway,” David muttered. “On an old dirt road that...”
He frowned, staring more closely at the screen, then he lifted his head and turned to Nate. “What was the message he sent his sister?”
“Something about being closer to god than she was?”
David peered at the map once again, then straightened up. “Lenny!” he yelled, moving toward an adjacent room. “Colin! One of you guys! I need you.”
Colin stuck his head into the squad room, half-dressed in police riot gear. “What? What’s is it, David?”
“Is there a church near that location?” David asked. “Think about the message he sent his sister! I’d bet anything he’s holding Josh in some old, abandoned church!”
“Donnie!” Colin yelled. “C’mere!”
Donald strode to Colin’s side, and the three men conferred for a moment, then Donald spun back to the computer and enlarged the map. All three men stared at the screen as Donald searched for the location of any church that was or ever had been active that area. “There!” he cried, pointing to the map.
On the edge of an overgrown field on a deserted dirt path called Reservoir Road, there was an abandoned two-room church. Their image of the church was grainy and vague, and overgrowth had nearly obscured the building from view. “Built in 1947,” Donald read. “Abandoned since 1962.” He lifted his head and gave Colin a grim smile. “That’sit. That’s where he is. It’s damn near on top of Joshua’s ping.”
Lenny contacted his advance team who quickly confirmed the building’s location. “Stay there,” Lenny told them. “We’re on our way.”
Colin clenched his teeth and leaned against the computer desk, breathing in short, shuddering gasps. “Hang on, baby!” he begged, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Please, hang on! I’mcoming!
Chapter 17
Deliverance
The final count showed twenty-seven law enforcement officers involved in the joint police action to rescue Joshua from the hands of Lukas Page. Colin rode with Lenny and Donald Thompson in the lead vehicle. He did not speak during the ride to Reservoir Road. Lost in his own grim thoughts, he crouched in the back seat with his head down. His fellow officers could hear the erratic rush of his breathing, but did not try to engage him in conversation.
He had no idea what lay ahead of him in the abandoned church. The possibility that his husband would be lying dead on the floor was very,veryreal. He tried to imagine how Joshua would want him to react in such a moment. He tried to stiffen his spine and make himself ready for whatever might be waiting at the end of this dark road. But no insights came to him. No uplifting thoughts or feelings found their way into his heart. No inspired rush of courage touched him.
If he’s dead...Colin mused, and with that horrifying suggestion, his every thought and feeling shuddered to a halt. He was numb. All feeling had died. He couldn’t even conjure up the need to weep or rage, and he nodded in understanding.If he’s dead…that will be my life. That will be me. A cypher. A nothing. My heart will have died with him.He lifted his head and drew in a deep breath.
“Whatever we find there,” he told his two friends, “I want to thank you guys for helping me. For helpinghim.”
“Colin, we’re going to bring him home!” Lenny told him.
“We don’t know that, Lenny,” Colin replied. His voice was low, and both men were surprised by the lack of emotion. Up until this moment Colin had struggled to hold himself together. But now he seemed bereft of all emotion.
“Are you OK?” Donald asked him, turning to peer at his friend over the seat.
Colin’s lips were pressed into a thin line, and his head gave a quick, taut snap. “I don’t know.” He turned, and his eyes met Donald’s. “Everything inside me feels dead. I can’t even feel angry.”
Donald did not reply, but nodded and pressed Colin’s hand.
