"Alright, alright,” I said, then nodded to Jack. “You do that, you lose your leverage.”
We’d both had enough of this scumbag.
42
Iangled around, moving out of the line of fire.
Jack flicked a quarter through the crack. It bounced off the floor and rolled, drawing Earl’s attention. He twisted from Teagan, pulling the pistol away from her head involuntarily. It gave Jack a momentary window.
BANG!
Jack took the shot.
Muzzle flash flickered.
The bullet rocketed across the shack and drilled into the back of Earl's shoulder, painting the front wall with crimson.
Teagan spun away at just the right moment.
Earl’s hand went limp, and the pistol fell to the floor, clattering away.
I kicked the door open and stormed inside, my rifle aimed at the dirtbag. “On the ground, now!”
Earl clutched at his shoulder, his face twisted with pain. Blood oozed through his fingers. “You fucking shot me, man!”
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
“Get down! Now!”
Earl sobbed and complied, his right arm limp. The brachial plexus had been shredded. If he ever regained the use of his arm again, he’d be lucky.
I kicked his pistol to the far corner, then pounced on the scumbag. I slapped the cuffs around his wrists and wasn’t too gentle about it. Earl groaned in pain.
JD joined me in the shack.
With the perp secure, I put pressure on his wounds, trying to stem the tide of crimson. I wanted this guy alive so the families of the missing girls could get closure. Who knew if he would talk. I read him his rights.
Jack checked on Teagan. "Are you okay?”
Frazzled, she nodded.
Sweat and tears had streaked her mascara, and her disheveled hair made her look feral.
He released her handcuffs and pulled the gag from her mouth. She gave him a tight hug. "Thank God you found me.”
"Good thing you had your earbuds with you.”
Jack stepped outside and signaled to Tango One. The helicopter touched down in the meadow a few moments later.
EMTs and paramedics arrived soon thereafter and took over with Earl.
I stepped to Teagan, and she flung her arms around me and held tight.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine. I don’t know what I’d do without you two.”
The rotors swirled, bending the high grass as I escorted Teagan out of the shack and across the meadow to the bird. I helped her aboard, and a deputy gave her a bottle of water.
