Slade impatiently nodded while the SWAT team commander and the bomb squad team went over the plan. Jackson Worth stood by with Titan since the police dog was trained in sniffing out bombs.
“I got it,” Slade said, glancing around the headquarters parking lot. He’d gone through the chain of command to secure the box of diamonds, signed them out of the evidence room and now held them in a small black satchel. “I get in, give him the diamonds and get him out before he blows up all of us.”
The SWAT team commander held his cell, getting reports from the team surrounding Slade’s house. He listened, then turned to Slade. “He’s there. The team’s spotted a man and woman entering the back gate to your house. He’s armed.”
Slade’s heart seemed to burst. “Is it Kaitlin? Does he have Kaitlin?”
The other captain nodded. “Affirmative.” He gave Slade an apologetic glance. “Gun to her head.”
“Let’s go,” Slade shouted, his anxiety mounting. Dante knew they wouldn’t fire on him if he was using Kaitlin as a shield.
The SWAT commander held up a finger. “He sent two men dressed in black out the back door. Probably lookouts.” He told his men to stand down, but to put eyes on the two henchmen.
Parker, Lee, Austin and Valerie all stood to the side, listening. And they’d each brought their K-9 partners. Justice, Lexi, Sherlock and Kip were all sitting at their partners’ feet.
Slade had Rio and Warrior in his truck. He’d get veterinarian Connie Mills to check Rio later. Right now, he could only feed the dog and hope for the best. He had to get his family out of that house.
He glanced at his truck where Warrior and Rio were still buddying up to each other. “I’m ready to roll. I want this over with.”
“My men will hold back as long as we can,” the SWAT commander told him. “Slade, you give the go signal.”
“Got it.”
Slade got in his truck and started the short trek to his house, prayers stuck inside the lump of dread in his throat.
“It’s now or never, boys,” he told the two dogs who’d helped him tonight. “I need you both to be on your best behavior, okay?”
Warrior’s big tongue hung out, but he looked official in his K-9 officer black Kevlar vest. Rio wasn’t wearing a vest, but he’d stay in the truck anyway. Hopefully, Slade wouldn’t need either of them. But they both had a stake in this, too.
He pulled up into the driveway and noticed the house was dark except for a lamp silhouetted through the drawn blinds in the den. Taking a deep breath, he got out and called Dante’s number.
“I see you came alone,” Frears said. “Good man.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Slade replied, his tone curt. Turning to Warrior and Rio, he ordered them to stay. He’d left the windows open so they could get some air.
“I’ll be waiting at the door.”
Slade carefully walked up to the porch. The neighborhood shined in an inky, wee-hours darkness, the sounds of the night playing like a soothing symphony through the trees. He heard the screech of an owl, a car’s horn somewhere toward downtown, the pitter-pat of an alley cat running away.
Just a nice, normal neighborhood sleeping the night away, but the surroundings felt dark and menacing to Slade.
Dear God, don’t let this maniac blow up my home and my family.
The door flew open before Slade could touch it. Dante dragged him inside, then centered Slade near the opening between the kitchen and den, obviously to protect himself from snipers. His gun pressing against Slade’s ribs, he said, “Take a good long look, my friend. This will be the last time you ever see these people alive.”
Kaitlin and Francine sat tied to dining chairs in the middle of the den.
Slade’s gaze slammed into Kaitlin’s. She looked defiant and calm, but he could see her knee twitching. Francine’s big eyes widened but she didn’t flinch.
Slade scanned the room. “Where’s my father and son?”
Jasper shuffled out of the kitchen. “Your papa’s sleeping, Captain McNeal. He’ll wake up just fine in the morning.”
Slade let out a breath. Was Jasper involved with Dante? “And...my son? Where’s Caleb?”
Kaitlin’s eyes held his and her chin lifted. Was she trying to warn him, or let him know something?
Slade turned to Dante. “I said where is my son?”
“We can’t find him,” Jasper said, his head down. “He took off when...when things got bad.”
“Shut up,” Dante said, his tone full of malice. “You are a big stupid goon and if you want to get paid, you will shut your mouth.”
Jasper looked embarrassed. Slade’s stomach roiled with a new fear. What had Jasper done to his father and his son? Slade shifted, the steel of the gun hitting against his Kevlar vest. “I want my son, Dante.”
“I’d like to have my son back,” Dante shouted, all patience gone now that he had Slade where he wanted him. Rage shook him, sweat dripped down his dirty face. “But Daniel is dead, Slade. Dead.”
“I didn’t know he was your son until this week,” Slade replied, hoping to stall him. “I didn’t kill him, Dante.”
“Maybe not, but you went out that night to take him down and you did nothing, nothing to help him.”
“Did you?”
Dante issued several choice words. “I tried. I gave his mother anything she wanted, tried to show them I cared. But they all double-crossed me—Daniel, Sierra, even Arianna and Gunther, and that conniving Jim Wheaton. Hiding my diamonds so they could go off on their own.”
“So you just kept on killing anyone who got in your way?”
“I killed them because they betrayed me.”
Slade felt sorry for his buddy. “Even Sierra, the mother of your son?”
Dante didn’t seem so confident now. “She kept nagging me, man. It was an accident. Didn’t mean to smother her, but I had to keep her quiet. I couldn’t risk Yvette finding out.”
Slade zoomed in on that, hoping to appeal to Frears’s obvious love for his family. “Yvette and Emily, what will become of them?”
Dante shook his head. “I won’t leave them. I’ll send for them real soon and everything will be okay again.”
Slade stared into Dante’s cold, dead eyes. “I can get you some help.”
“I don’t need your kind of help!” Dante jerked Slade close, the gun digging into Slade’s side. “That bulletproof vest won’t save you and it sure won’t save these people.” He shrugged. “I doubt any of us can be saved, huh?”
The man had a death wish and nothing to lose.
“How are you planning on pulling this off?” Slade asked, a calm steadying him each time he looked at Kaitlin. “You’ve confessed to a lot of things in front of several witnesses. The cops are all over the Lost Woods, gathering evidence, comparing notes. We have an evidence sheet on the diamonds. It’s over, Dante. Why don’t you turn yourself in?”
“I don’t need to do that,” Dante said on a sneer. “You’ll all be dead the minute I shut that door. And I’ll finally be free.”
“You’ll never be free.” Slade wanted to shout that Dante would be the one dead. He had to end this and if that meant letting Frears escape—
Slade’s gaze held Kaitlin’s. Now he understood why she had pulled away. He had to let Dante go in order to be able to get back to his family and her. He had to put them first. In a weird way, Dante had been controlling all of them, but mostly, he’d been in control of Slade’s life. Not anymore.
“Give me the diamonds,” Dante said, waving the gun in the air. “I know you’ve got people out there ready to dive in and save the day, but this is not the time to be a hero. So let’s get this over with.”
That sounded almost like a request instead of a command. Could Slade do this and save everyone, including Dante? Not until he knew Caleb was safe. “I want to see my son first.”
Dante shook his head, sweat pouring down his brow. “I don’t know where your boy is. Maybe he’s hiding or maybe he ran away. That’s the truth, Slade.”
Jasper grunted, his eyes shifting to the old toy house in the dining room. One of Caleb’s favorite hiding places and thankfully, the open handles on each side would give Caleb enough air to survive. If he was still alive.
Was the night nurse trying to tell Slade something? He glanced at Kaitlin. Her eyes went past him to the trunk.
Now Slade’s whole agenda shifted. He prayed Caleb would stay in that trunk. Dear God, keep him safe. Keep him hidden there.
But it wasn’t to be. Slade heard a little voice calling to him. Then the trunk’s rickety plastic lid popped open. “I’m here, Daddy. Right here.”
Kaitlin’s eyes widened and Francine cried out. Slade watched in horror as Dante rushed to the trunk and tugged Caleb out with one hand. “Ha, ha. What have we here? Hiding from Uncle Dante, huh?”
Caleb fought at Dante. “No, I want my daddy. You’re a bad guy. Jasper told me to stay put.”
“Well, you’re right about that, little buddy,” Dante said, holding Caleb up against his chest. “Jasper is going to regret that suggestion—hid you after my men left, did he?” He yanked Caleb up with one hand, gripping the boy around his middle.
“Daddy!”
Slade couldn’t bear to see his son being manhandled by Dante Frears. He gave Kaitlin one quick glance then turned as fast as he could and shouted, “Dante, want the diamonds?”
Then he opened the box and threw the diamonds into the air. They lifted up with the flair of shimmering crystal fireworks and started falling like broken crystal onto the hardwood floor.
“No,” Dante shouted, one hand holding Caleb, the other still clutching the gun. “No, no!” He put the gun to Caleb’s head. “You’ll pay for that, McNeal.”
Slade rushed forward to grab Caleb, but in the same instant a large dog sailed out of the darkness from the hallway and flew up into the air, capturing Dante’s gun arm with a growl and a snarl. Chief! And then he saw Papa standing there, holding on to his cane, his expression grim and determined.
Dante screamed and dropped the gun. Caleb wiggled out of Dante’s grip, kicking and screaming. Slade heard the dogs barking in the truck so he grabbed Caleb and shoved him toward Kaitlin’s chair. Jasper grasped a frying pan while Slade opened the front door and called, “Come. Attack.”
Warrior and Rio hurled out of the open truck window and leaped up the steps and into the house, both of them tearing into Dante’s arms and legs. Jasper pivoted around the dogs, avoiding bites until he was behind Dante. Then he slammed the frying pan down onto Dante’s head.
Dante fell to the floor, the dogs still snarling around him. “Sit. Stay.” Slade and Kaitlin both shouted at the same time. All three dogs sat back and stared down at Dante Frears. Rio let out one more growl for good measure.
Jasper put down the frying pan and started crying, then he hurried to untie Francine and Kaitlin.
Slade ran to Kaitlin. “Are you all right?”
She nodded as she swept Caleb into her arms. “We’re fine, aren’t we?”
Francine hopped up and hugged Jasper. “Better than fine.”
Caleb reached for Slade. “Daddy, we got the bad guy. The one who was in my dreams.”
That innocent declaration sealed the deal on this investigation. His son must have seen Dante the day he’d kidnapped Rio.
“We sure did. I’m so proud of you,” Slade said, tears burning his eyes. He kissed Caleb and then kissed Kaitlin. “Take care of him for me. I’ll be back.”
Kaitlin touched a hand to his face. “You’d better hurry back.”
* * *
As dawn lifted pink-faced and new over the horizon, Slade and Kaitlin stood over Caleb’s bed, watching him sleep.
“I didn’t think that could be done,” Slade said, kissing the top of her head, his gaze on his son.
Joy shot through Kaitlin. They were all alive and together and she was thanking God. “What?”
“Three dogs and a boy all piled up in a twin bed.”
“They deserve this special reward,” she said, turning into his arms. “It’s over.”
“Yes.” He glanced down at her, then tugged her out into the hall. “Before we go to headquarters to give more statements, I have a statement of my own.”
Kaitlin stared into his tired, beautiful eyes. “Oh, what’s that?”
“I love you.”
She smiled, tears gathering in her eyes. Seemed they always had their serious talks in this hallway. “Really now?”
“Really. Now. And forever.”
She wiped at her eyes. “I love you, too.”
Hugging her tight, he whispered, “I finally got what you were so afraid of, why you couldn’t watch what I’d become.”
“It wasn’t that—”
“I placed Dante above you and Caleb and Papa and everyone else. I had to take him down and I put you all in danger just to prove I could do it. If something had happened—”
“It didn’t, in spite of everything. And I was wrong to pull away from you when you’d been working so hard for so long.” She gazed tenderly up at him. “I know how things work with a lawman, but I pushed you away when I should have stayed by your side. I was afraid, Slade.”
“You were amazing,” he said. “I’ll have to remember to stay on your good side.”
She grinned at that. “You can now. You did it, Slade. You brought him down and we’re all okay.”
“We did it,” he said, his smile etched with fatigue. “But I didn’t make it easy.”
She kissed him, then leaned back. “You’re a police officer. No one said that would ever be easy.”
“I’m going to do better now, though. I promise.”
She laughed at that. “The only promise I need is that you will always love Caleb, and Papa and me.”
“That’s easy.” He kissed her back. “And Warrior, and Chief and Rio, too.”
“You have a lot of love to go around I think.”
“That I do.”
Together they walked back to the kitchen.
Francine was cooking breakfast. “What can I say? I’m nervous. And Mama is on her way over, too.”
“Oh, boy.” Slade grinned at that. “We’ll have food for days.”
A doctor came out of Papa’s room. “He’s fine,” he said. “Jasper didn’t drug him nearly as much as he could have. Probably what saved him. Just watch him for a few days and keep him quiet.”
“Oh, boy,” Slade said again. “Can we see him?”
“Sure, he’s been asking for you.”
Kaitlin and Slade went into the big bedroom. She stood back while Slade and his father had a quiet talk. His father was coherent and proud. “I slept right up to the good part.”
“Be glad you did. And, Papa, thanks for saving the day.”
Papa McNeal shrugged. “Chief did that. He kept scratching at the door, so I knew something was going on.” Then he turned serious. “What will happen to Jasper, son?”
Slade glanced at Kaitlin then back to Papa. “He did help more than he hindered. He sent the intruder away the other night, and he didn’t give you too much of the sleeping drug. He also hid Caleb in that playhouse and he whacked Frears with a frying pan. I think he’ll get a lesser sentence and probation. He’s willing to testify so that’ll be in his favor, too.”
“The thought of Dante bribing and threatening that poor fellow into drugging me and planting a bomb.” Papa shook his head. “But then, Dante did a lot we can’t believe.”
“Yes, he did. At least Jasper thought better of it in the end. And the bomb squad deactivated the bomb easily, thanks to Titan confirming exactly where Dante forced Jasper to place it under the kitchen sink.”
Papa glanced over at Kaitlin. “Did my son do right by you, young lady?”
“He did, sir.” She smiled and put her arm around Slade’s waist.
“I hope Kaitlin will be around a lot, Papa,” Slade replied. “But right now, you rest up.”
“Do I smell bacon?”
Slade laughed. “We’ll bring you breakfast, don’t worry.”
When they were back in the hallway, Kaitlin turned to Slade. “So you expect me to stick around, huh?”
He grabbed her close. “I expect you to marry me.”
“Is that your way of proposing, Captain?”
“Is that your way of accepting, Ms. Mathers?”
“Yes to both,” Francine shouted from the kitchen. “Enough already. Come and get some food.”
“And that settles that,” Slade said.
Then he kissed Kaitlin and together they walked into the kitchen.