Chapter 16 #2
In the distance, Saint could hear fire engines and police vehicles approaching.
Now that everyone was safe, it sank in. The fucker had blown up his apartment!
And he assumed the intent had been for him to be in it.
Now, more than ever, he was grateful that he’d listened to King when his boss had advised him to get a safety deposit box for all his important documents, including his passport.
Everything else in his apartment was just things.
Anything of sentimental value was at his mom’s.
But he couldn’t say the same about his poor neighbors.
If the fire department didn’t put the flames out, all these people would lose everything.
This bastard had to be stopped. Another explosion went off, but this one was different.
It was related to the fire. Wait. The fire was spreading fast. Way faster than normal.
Fuck. That bastard had used an accelerant.
What could have happened between this guy and Val to make the guy commit murder? And why hadn’t Val mentioned him? Or had he? Could it be one of the firefighters who’d been fired back then? It made sense. He turned around and spotted a dark figure beside the burning building near the pond.
No way. That son of a bitch!
Had he waited around to make sure Saint had been caught in the explosion? To watch his handywork?
“Wait for the police,” Saint told the others before he took off. Whoever the bastard was, he wouldn’t wait for Saint to get to him. The moment Saint bolted in his direction, the guy darted off.
Saint broke into a full run, surprised that the guy was fast. Really fast. When the guy got to the fence behind the building, he jumped over it.
Saint cursed under his breath and did the same.
He landed on the grass on the other side and took off again.
They sped down Clipper Street, weaving between houses and through people’s backyards before the guy cut through someone’s lawn to get to Schooner Court. Where the hell was he going?
It soon became clear. Saint knew the area well; although most of it was residential houses and apartment buildings, there were also businesses.
The guy was heading toward the inn. Around the small inn were several small businesses, including a self-storage place, which meant lots of places for him to hide.
As Saint suspected, the guy disappeared into the shadows in the self-storage lot. Saint slowed down. He needed to be careful, especially since he was unarmed. Damn, his gun. Good thing his safe was fireproof. Though he wasn’t sure how well it held up against explosions.
Some of the lampposts and lights were out, and Saint was sure that wasn’t a coincidence.
He slipped into the shadows, making his steps as light as he could as he moved.
The guy was close. Saint could feel it. He couldn’t underestimate his opponent.
This man’s grudge was so fierce he’d planted explosive devices and shot at innocent people.
He had no problem with killing and couldn’t care less who got in the way.
Saint considered turning location tracking on in his phone, but if he did, his phone would light up and tell this guy exactly where Saint was.
Speaking of giving his position away, he reached into his pocket and flicked the button to silence his phone.
It wasn’t ideal, facing this guy without using his phone, but if the guy couldn’t see him, Saint had a better chance of getting to him first.
I know you’re there. Saint crouched between the fence and the self-storage facility’s back wall.
He listened intently, hearing sirens in the distance, the traffic on A1A, and the usual sounds of frogs and crickets.
Val had mentioned having several altercations, two of which had been with firefighters who’d lost their jobs.
It made sense that one of them could be behind this, considering how quickly his apartment building had caught fire.
What didn’t make sense was how Jack hadn’t found anything about this guy returning to Florida. There had to be more to this.
Saint moved closer to the end of the self-storage unit and peaked out.
He could see the inn’s parking lot from here, but there was no movement.
Scanning the area, he saw nothing. Was the guy hiding, or had he run off?
Saint had just rounded the corner when a bright light burst on, hitting him in the face and blinding him.
“Fuck!” He threw his left hand over his eyes and quickly stepped back, swinging when he felt someone near him. Blinking repeatedly didn’t help. All he saw was white. So he closed his eyes and backed up, his fists in front of him, not that it would help if he was shot at.
Feeling someone moving in behind him, he whirled around and swung, satisfied when his fist connected with a body.
“You cocksucker!”
Well, guess it was obvious who’d sent those thugs after Val. Although his vision was bright and blurry, Saint could see movement and jumped out of the way when something came toward him.
“Okay, enough!” The guy shouted, and the distinct sound of a gun cocking had Saint going still. “Move, and I’ll shoot you. Do you think I’m going to fight you?” He snorted. “Please. I know you were a SEAL. Now turn around. Or this time, I won’t miss.”
Smart. The guy stayed far enough away so Saint couldn’t grab the gun.
“Turn around.”
Saint turned, his hands up at his sides. His vision was starting to return to normal. “What now? Have you even thought this far ahead? I assume you were expecting me to die in my apartment.”
“I didn’t assume anything. Like I said, I knew you were a SEAL. Now move.” He shoved the gun into Saint’s back.
“I heard you,” Saint growled. “Where exactly am I moving to?” He walked into the lot and paused again.
This time when he stopped, he whirled around and grabbed the gun with his right, twisted it, and swung with his left.
The guy went reeling back. It had been easy, which should have been his first warning.
Something sharp struck Saint in the arm, and he cursed, his hand automatically going to the source of the pain. He glared down at the object sticking out of him.
“What the fuck?”
Oh shit. He was suddenly nauseous and dizzy.
“You fucking shot me with a tranq gun?” Saint could hear his slurred words as the world around him spun.
He aimed the gun in his hand, but suddenly multiple figures appeared before him.
Had more men appeared, or was it his vision?
Screw this. He fired and ran as best he could, forcing himself to push through the haze.
It didn’t matter if he hit anything as he fired.
He just needed a chance to get somewhere he could hide and maybe make a call.
A few feet away was a small parking garage, and next to it was a small shop. Saint dove behind the large tree surrounded by bushes and greenery. He remained perfectly still, the gun resting against his leg. Fuck, whatever they shot him with was determined to knock him out.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” someone whispered hoarsely.
“Shut the fuck up. You owe me. After what you did? I should have put a bullet in your fucking head.”
“This has gone too far.”
“Why the fuck didn’t he go down?” The man hissed at his friend.
“I don’t know. The guy was a Navy SEAL. Adrian, you have to stop. Please. Let my family go. They had nothing to do with this.”
So, whoever was working with the man—Adrian—wasn’t doing so willingly.
“Shut up,” Adrian snapped.
Saint was fading fast, but he couldn’t just sit here waiting for Adrian to find him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and, despite his blurred vision, managed to unlock it.
Thank goodness for facial recognition. Somehow he managed to get to his setting and turn his location tracking on.
Returning his phone to his pocket, he did his best to stay awake, but his body was heavy, and darkness crept into his vision.
“There you are,” Adrian growled.
Saint tried to lift his arm but couldn’t manage it in time. Adrian grabbed the gun from his friend and shot Saint again. Saint couldn’t fight it this time, and as he slipped into unconsciousness, his last thought was of Val and how much he loved him.