The street was empty, no sign of Melissa, no passing cars, nothing but the heat shimmering off cracked pavement. Cal killed the engine, and for a moment the silence pressed down around them.
They slipped out of the SUV, doors closing with the softest thud they could manage. Alena kept low, moving in step with Cal as they hugged the row of shuttered businesses. The old diner loomed on one side, windows boarded tight, its paint peeling in long curls. A sagging laundromat stood next to it, the sign half torn from the wall.
Her hand tightened on her Glock as she pulled it free, the weight steadying her nerves. Cal already had his drawn, his eyes sweeping every shadow.
The closer they moved toward the back of the strip mall, the heavier the air seemed to get. Alena’s heart pounded, each step echoing in her chest. If Melissa were here, if she’d really gotten away, this was where she’d be hiding.
A dark alley cut between two of the shops, leading toward the rear lot. Alena slowed, her breath catching as the silence stretched even thinner.
They moved in silence, their boots crunching softly on broken glass and gravel until they reached the back of the strip mall. Alena pressed her shoulder against the wall, Cal at her side, both of them pausing before the corner. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she leaned just enough to peer around.
The rear lot stretched out in a wide, cracked expanse of asphalt. Faded parking lines disappeared under weeds pushingthrough the pavement. A rusted Dumpster squatted near the wall, its lid propped half open. Beyond it, empty loading bays yawned like dark mouths, their shadows deep enough to swallow a person whole. Scattered pallets and broken crates littered the ground, offering too many places for someone to lie in wait.
No Melissa. No gunmen. Only silence.
Then the silence broke. A scrape of movement from the Dumpster made Alena’s breath hitch. She lifted her Glock higher, every nerve firing as her gaze locked on the rusted metal.
The lid shifted, creaking, and for a fleeting second she caught a pale blur of movement. A face. Hair. Someone.
Maybe Melissa.
Her chest tightened. “Cal,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, “I saw someone.”
Alena kept her weapon steady as she and Cal edged forward, moving from one patch of cover to the next. The Dumpster loomed closer, the creak of its lid still echoing in her ears. She tightened her grip on the Glock, every instinct screaming to be ready.
Halfway there, the sharp crack of gunfire split the air.
A bullet struck the wall inches from her head, stone chips stinging her cheek.
“Down!” Cal barked.
They dove behind a stack of warped pallets, wood splintering as another round punched through. Alena flattened against the ground, her chest heaving. The lot, moments ago empty, suddenly felt alive with danger.
She caught Cal’s eyes, his expression grim. Whoever was out here wasn’t trying to scare them off. They were trying to kill them.
Alena raised her weapon again, scanning the shadows, waiting for the next flicker of movement.
The next shot cracked overhead, and Alena saw the flash of a muzzle on the roofline. She couldn’t make out the shooter, only the length of a rifle barrel jutting over the edge.
Another round slammed into the asphalt near her boots, forcing her to duck deeper behind the stack of pallets.
The gunfire didn’t let up. Each shot came quick, relentless, pushing them down, cutting off any chance of advancing.
Out of the corner of her eye, movement jolted her attention. A man stepped from the shadow of a loading bay, half dragging, half hauling Melissa by the arm. She was fighting him, her screams raw, desperate. “Help me! Please!”
Alena’s stomach knotted. The sound, the sight of Melissa being dragged away, hit her like a punch. For an instant she wasn’t here, she was back in that warehouse, the gunfire, the blood, David crumpled on the floor. The memory clawed at her, threatening to break her focus.
She forced it down, locking her jaw. This wasn’t then. This was now. And if she didn’t keep her head, Melissa was gone.
“Cal!” she hissed, pointing. He followed her gaze, his face hardening as he saw the struggle unfolding across the lot.
But the steady fire from the roof kept them pinned, every bullet a barrier they couldn’t cross.
Gunfire rattled down from the roof, every round sparking against pavement and concrete. Alena’s pulse hammered as she pressed tighter to the broken pallets, but then the sound of footsteps.
She shifted, risking a glance past the stack. Melissa’s captor was dragging her toward a sedan parked in the far corner of the lot. Melissa stumbled, her screams sharp and panicked, but he yanked her forward without slowing.
Alena’s breath caught. If he got her into that car, she was gone.
