Too quiet.
After that echo of activity about thirty minutes ago, Slade hadn’t heard a thing except some night creature foraging through the underbrush. Had he only imagined car doors slamming and voices carrying through the trees?
No. His gut told him this was it. So he waited, his mind scrutinizing the details of a case that had kept him awake on too many lonely nights. He thought about Kaitlin and how kissing her had made him feel whole again. Then he remembered her angry words to him, words full of an underlying fear for him. But her biggest fear was for herself. She was afraid to love again.
And so was he.
Or, he had been. Now he only wished he could tell her what was in his heart. He loved her. Somehow, Slade had to make her see that, had to find a way to mend her heart and his own heart, too.
One more chance. He just needed one more chance to make things right.
When he heard a definite rustling that sounded like footfalls over the forest, Slade went into action. He lifted out from behind a tree and listened, the echo of the noises vibrating through the deep woods like a stalking animal. Someone was coming, but he couldn’t tell who.
In the end, he didn’t have to figure things out.
“Hey, McNeal, you out there?”
Dante Frears.
Slade let out a huff of breath. How had Frears found him?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Dante shouted, the words distorted and dangerous. “You’re wondering how I always manage to stay one step ahead of you, right?”
Slade didn’t respond. Let Dante come to him.
“I have watchers, McNeal. Watchers everywhere. It’s amazing how easy it can be to bribe people and get them to do exactly what you want them to do.” A chuckle, then, “If I can’t bribe them, I just knock them out or kill ’em. I didn’t kill your detective friend parked to the east, but he’ll have a nice lump on his head when he wakes up.”
Slade swallowed a lump of disgust and dread, but he didn’t speak, didn’t breathe.
“Come on, now, Slade. We’ve fought together enough for you to know I can see in the dark. I know you’re here.”
The footsteps came closer and Slade heard shuffling. The night creatures scurried away, the nocturnal birds lifted out of their roosts, wings flapping a warning. The wind stilled to a hot, silent blanket that suffocated Slade’s senses. Sweat drenched his spine, ran down his face, tickled at his neck. But a cold, hard dread chilled his bones.
“For example,” Dante called out, “your girlfriend here is willing to do just about anything I ask just to save your sorry hide.”
Silence. Slade swallowed again and prayed, an image of Kaitlin in this madman’s arms sickening him.
“Don’t believe me, Slade? I have Kaitlin right here, a gun to her head. If you come out and play, I’ll let you see her before I kill both of you.”
Slade lifted up and stood tall, his weapon at his side, his mind whirling with different ways he could get Kaitlin out of this alive. “What do you want, Dante?”
A harsh cackling laugh filled the still night.
“I want what belongs to me, old friend.”
Slade took a deep breath. “Why show your face now? You’ve managed to avoid this for a long time.”
A ragged chuckle grated against the trees. “Frankly, I’m tired of searching. I know you’re onto me since you made it a point to bring a search dog into my home, but I also realized I have some leverage now—I’ve got something you want, so let’s just get on with it.”
Slade knew what was coming but he bluffed anyway. “Okay, what’s the plan?”
A flashlight shone a heavy beam into the night, temporarily blinding Slade. He blinked and searched the dig site. And saw Kaitlin’s face shrouded in shadows and light, her eyes centered on him, her expression frozen in a silent scream.
“Kaitlin.” He moved toward her, halted, moved again.
“Stay where you are,” Dante said, his features shadowed with an eerie yellow light. Another man stood with him, a gun aimed at Kaitlin. “Stay right there and listen, McNeal.”
“I’m listening,” Slade said, his words shaky, his gaze holding Kaitlin’s.
“First, put down the weapon.”
Slade lifted the gun high then slowly lowered it to the ground, marking the spot. “Okay. Done.”
“Good.”
“Next, my friend here is going to throw you a shovel. You have some digging to do, don’t you?”
Slade nodded. “If you say so.”
Frears chuckled. “Always so agreeable, so consistent.” He motioned to another man dressed in dark clothes.
The man brought Slade a shovel. Slade took it, thinking he’d like to bash it over Frears’s head.
“Now, before you take that shovel and dig in the same spot you started a few nights ago, I need to let you know I brought you some help.”
Dante stepped forward and Slade saw Warrior straining at a leash. The dog was so obedient, Slade hadn’t even heard a whimper from him. But then, his trainer was with him and Warrior would do whatever Kaitlin commanded, even if the animal knew something wasn’t right. Warrior lifted his head, his nose sniffing the air. He’d recognized Slade.
“I see you finally found a way to get a K-9 to respond to you,” Slade replied, his gaze shifting from Kaitlin to Warrior. “What’s the deal, Dante? Why have you gone to so much trouble?”
Instead of answering, Dante shoved Kaitlin toward the other man. “Your ace trainer is going to help me find what’s mine. You’re gonna dig where this dog tells you to dig, got it?”
“Got it.” Slade nodded, but it was for Kaitlin’s benefit. He’d get them out of this, one way or another.
“I sure hope you’ve got it,” Dante said. “’Cause right about now, one of my guys is waiting in your house for me to say the word. If you try anything, McNeal, he’ll get orders to kill everyone inside, understand? So don’t send in the cavalry. Otherwise, your papa, your precious son and...that trainer Francine will all die.”
Kaitlin gasped and struggled. “You can’t do that. Let them go, please. Slade, tell him he can’t do that.”
“It’s okay,” he replied, a solid wall of terror slamming down on his nerves so hard he couldn’t breathe. “Kaitlin, it’ll be okay. Just do as he says.”
“Smart man, wise words,” Dante said, holding her in front of him. “Now, sweetheart, I want you to take your animal here and let him sniff this material.”
He shoved what looked like a piece of clothing toward Kaitlin, then held it back. “This belonged to my son.” He looked up at Slade. “My dead son. My dead son who double-crossed me, right along with my most trusted associates. My dead son, McNeal. You remember Daniel? You shot him during a bad raid. I know you were sniffing around my penthouse the other night, trying to find evidence. Well, now you have it.”
“I didn’t kill your son, Dante,” Slade replied, a calm coming over him. “Jim Wheaton fired the kill shot. I saw the ballistics report. We matched the kill gun to him.”
“Yeah, well, he’s dead, too, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Slade said, trying to stall. “You’ve destroyed everyone who did you wrong. What’s left? What can you possibly gain by killing an innocent woman, by hurting an old man and...my son? By forcing a dedicated trainer to do your dirty work?”
Dante stepped closer, using Kaitlin as his shield. “I want to make you suffer the same way I’ve suffered.” He leaned close to Kaitlin, sniffed at her neck. “You and your sanctimonious attitude, your do-good mentality. You could never get that being the good guy doesn’t pay, Slade.”
Slade inched closer. “So you’ll make me pay for that? For doing what I think is right?”
Dante laughed, yanked Kaitlin back. “I’ll make you suffer because I know you love this woman. You might not know how to show that love and you certainly never showed Angie any mercy, but...at least you’ll feel the same torment I’ve felt since Daniel died. I’ve waited for the perfect moment and it’s here, my friend.”
Slade didn’t know how to reason with such a man. “Dante, I didn’t kill Daniel. I tried to save him. One of your own put that bullet in him. Don’t you think it’s time to let it go and end this vendetta?”
“No,” Dante shouted, the sound lifting over the trees. “No. I came here for a reason. I want what’s mine. I can’t wait any longer. You’re getting too nosy, too close. It’s now or never, brother.”
He shoved the material into Kaitlin’s hand. “You take that dog and you make him earn his keep. You and Slade are going to find my diamonds or die trying.”
He pushed Kaitlin toward Warrior. The big dog growled and let out a sharp bark. Apparently, Warrior recognized that Dante was dangerous, but like a true hero, he’d followed orders. But once Kaitlin had him away from Dante she could let go of the leash....
Slade prayed Kaitlin would make a run for it. He had to tell her, had to warn her. Somehow.
But first, he had to dig for diamonds that were no longer hidden in the ground.
* * *
Kaitlin held the old T-shirt to Warrior’s nose, her pride in the dog’s behavior giving her strength to survive. The rookie K-9 had gone beyond his duty, staying calm in a very adverse situation. She had to do the same. Somehow, she had to make Warrior attack once he’d alerted. Just long enough to either get away or call for help. Francine obviously hadn’t been able to get through on the phone since Slade had been taken by surprise. So that left things up to Kaitlin, Warrior and Slade.
“Here, boy,” she said, her hand on Warrior’s neck. “Get a good whiff, okay? Do your job.”
“He’d better do a good job,” Dante warned. “I still have that mutt Rio to deal with, and I don’t have any qualms about killing him, either.”
“You’ve got nothing to lose, right?” Slade asked, the shovel in his hand, his gaze catching Kaitlin’s.
“No, brother. Not much.”
“What about your wife and child?”
Dante stomped forward. “You shut up about my family, McNeal.”
“Oh, so it’s okay for you to take my family hostage, but I can’t talk about yours?”
“I said shut up,” Dante shouted. “I mean it. I’ll order the kill on your whole family right now.”
Slade didn’t speak, but he kept giving Kaitlin reassuring glances. Was he trying to warn her or get her to make a move?
“Let the dog go,” Dante ordered Kaitlin. “I want this over with and done.”
She whispered into Warrior’s ear, hoping upon hope that she was making the right decision. When she lifted up, she shot Slade one last glance and prayed this would work. If it didn’t, Slade’s entire family and her friend Francine could all die.
She stood, her heart pumping, her gaze on Slade, the unspoken things between them disappearing in the flashlight’s high beam.
I love you, her mind whispered. Trust me.
Slade lifted his chin a notch, his gaze holding hers. She could see the same message reflected in his beautiful eyes.
And for once, they were communicating.
“Attack,” she screamed to Warrior. The big dog jumped into the air and sailed toward Dante, his growl feral, his teeth showing.
Slade turned with the shovel and hit the first man who came at him. Then he swooped down and grabbed his gun from the ground and rolled with Kaitlin, firing random shots behind him while they escaped into the darkness, Warrior’s ferocious barks and angry growls filling the night.
Kaitlin heard a gunshot, a scream and then she heard hurried footsteps. Someone was running away. Warrior’s barks filled the night, followed by foul language and angry shouts. Did Dante have a gun? His man had held a gun on her, but the other one had stayed with Francine.
“Get away from me!”
“Frears,” Slade whispered as he pulled Kaitlin along the path. “Warrior’s taking care of business.”
Kaitlin wanted Warrior with them. “We have to go back. We can’t leave him!”
“Hold tight,” Slade said. He pulled out his phone and made an urgent dispatch call. A hostage situation at his house. After a quick explanation and a plea for the first responders to proceed with caution, he finished. “Get the SWAT team ready, but go in dark. My son and my daddy are in that house, along with my dad’s male nurse and one of my trainers.”
Then he turned to Kaitlin. “I have to get to Frears.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Slade lifted her up and held her tight for a second. “No, run, Kaitlin. Run as fast as you can to the east. Follow the path out to where the unmarked car is parked. Go and get out of here.”
“What about you? What about Warrior?”
“I’ll find Warrior. And don’t worry about me. Just go.”
“I can’t leave you, Slade.”
“Yes, you can. Do this for me, please.” He kissed her, then cupped her face in his hands. “It’s just him and me now, Kaitlin. Just go.”
“Slade, please?”
He turned back long enough to kiss her one more time. “Get help and get to my house. Take care of Caleb for me.”
He took off before she had time to think about what he was really saying to her. Kaitlin stood there, staring into the moonlight, aggressive barking and angry shouts echoing through her mind.
Then she turned and ran into the darkness, the sound of the barking dog drifting toward her. The path wound through the brush but it was hard to see much in the darkness. Limbs and weeds slapped at her arms and legs, insects and spiderwebs hit her in the face, but she kept on going. She didn’t stop running until she’d made it to the edge of the woods.
When she spotted a vehicle parked near an old shed, Kaitlin stopped to catch her breath. And looked up to find Dante Frears standing there, waiting for her.