Chapter 20 The Hunter Becomes the Hunted #2
She pushed through the woods, her main concern the crunching beneath their feet. It was impossible not to make a sound. The forest floor was heavy with too many inches of leaves and twigs. She continued toward her favorite tree on the property.
At least a dozen kids—sometimes as many as twenty—spent many-an-afternoon playing hide-n-seek. While everyone ran around the woods, Robby would stay well hidden in the treehouse her dad and uncle had built for them.
One time, Sydney had climbed an oak tree thirty yards from the treehouse and spied her cousin hiding there. Rather than tell him she’d seen him—or tell him her own excellent hiding spot—she kept the secret to herself.
To her relief, the stunning oak she’d once claimed as her own still stood tall and strong against the star-studded sky. With her gaze on the upper branches, she turned to Tank.
“Boost me,” she whispered.
One strong lift, and she was climbing like a monkey. Tank took off into the woods.
When she’d reached her old perch between two large branches, she eyed the treehouse through her night goggles. If Robby was hiding there, she couldn’t see him, so she set her sights on the surrounding trees. No Robby in any of those either.
“Tank, I don’t have confirmation,” she whispered into the comm.
“Neither do I,” he replied. “You ready to lure him out?”
“Do it,” she said.
“Robby!” Tank yelled. “I can see you!”
BANG!
Robby fired Tank’s Glock, the gunshot shattering the silent night, like a cannon ball.
“You missed, asshole,” Tank’s booming voice now coming from a different location.
High in the oak, Sydney was level with the treehouse. The structure looked unchanged from what her dad and uncle had built all those years ago.
Using the night goggles, she peered around, but still couldn’t locate her cousin. “Where is he?” she whispered.
“He’s on top of the treehouse.”
She focused the goggles on the treehouse roof, homed in on her target. Robby was crouched on the top of the treehouse, clutching a nearby branch, his folded body obscured in darkness.
Gotcha.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Like a madman, Robby was firing the Glock in every direction.
He’s gonna run out of bullets.
Sydney placed the rifle against her shoulder, peered through the scope. Using the laser pointer, she found her target.
“Robby,” she called out. “Last chance to set down the weapon, put your hands up, and take your punishment like a man.”
He raised the Glock, pointed in her direction, and screamed, “I am the mighty King Alpha, the man they serve!” He opened fire in her direction.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Sydney’s heart squeezed as she pulled the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Silence, then Robby came crashing to the ground, landing with a thud.
“Target down,” she murmured. “I repeat, target down.”
She’d taken out one of her favorite people from childhood. Her cousin had turned into a stark, raving narcissist who used and hurt women for his own financial and emotional gain.
What happened to you, Robby?
After clicking on the rifle’s safety, she started climbing down.
“Sydney, I’m here,” Tank said.
Relief washed over her as she made her way down. At the lowest branch, she eyed the ground, eight feet away.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” was all he said.
She handed him her rifle. After he set it down, he held out his arms. She could let him help her down or she could jump. She’d worked solo for so long, it felt foreign to reach out her arms, like a child, but the choice was an easy one.
He was her partner. That was his job, to offer an assist or to accept one.
When he wrapped his large, strong hands on her sides and lifted her off the branch, she felt complete. In the middle of the mayhem, she knew that she’d found her forever person.
As he set her down, she believed he would always be there for her. She had no crystal ball, no way of knowing for certain how they’d be in twenty or forty or even sixty years—if they were lucky to make it that long—but she had confidence they’d weather life’s surprises together.
Always together.
“Thank you,” she said.
“That was rough,” he said. “You holding up okay?”
“You mean, because I just took out my cousin?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “This was personal. This was family.”
She clasped his hand, gave it a little squeeze. “It was him or us.”
They make their way over to him. While Tank made a call, Sydney found Robby’s cell phone.
After Tank gave the person on the phone their location, he hung up. “Cooper Grant co-runs, ALPHA,” he said. “He and a team are on their way. He’ll call his contacts at the Bureau and at Langley. They can take it from here. Congratulations. You got King A.”
“We got King A,” she said. “And yes, it was difficult pulling the trigger.”
Her heart felt heavy for her family, especially for her aunt. “I avenged Naomi and I stopped that monster, but we didn’t find Haqazzii or his men.”
“Not yet,” Tank said with all the confidence she’d come to expect from him. “We’ve got Robby’s phone and we’ll start with that.”
“He told me he was doing business with a wealthy entrepreneur from Dubai. Bjorn Shariff. That’s gotta be Haqazzii.”
“Nice work.”
“He’s got a business deal with Shariff where he was set to make fifty mil, then drop off the radar.”
“When?” he asked.
“Two weeks.”
As they stood guard over Robby’s body, Tank grew silent.
She knelt, stared into the lifeless eyes of a stranger. Then, with gloved fingers, she closed her cousin’s lids. “You made so many wrong choices,” she murmured.
“Two weeks, huh?” Tank repeated.
She stood. “That’s what he said.”
“Let’s move Robby’s body to the driveway,” he said. “I need to get into his torture chamber and check out his computers. If the feds take everything, we’ll never find out what he and Haqazzii are up to.”
After they moved the body to the driveway, Sydney noted that Grey’s SUV was gone. She pulled her phone from the SUV, called Caroline. Seconds later, her sister answered.
“What’s happening?” Caroline asked.
“Robby’s down,” Sydney said. “We’re waiting for Cooper and his team to get here. Tank’s going into the dungeon to grab any computer equipment.”
“How are you doing, Sydney?” She could hear the concern in Caroline’s voice.
“I gave him a chance to surrender, but he started shooting at me. Not gonna lie, it was hard to take him out.”
“You made the right call. He made his choice when he started trafficking and murdering all those women.”
“Aunt Valerie’s gonna have a rough time with this,” Sydney said.
“We’ll be there to help her,” Caroline said.
“I’ll feel like a total hypocrite. Consoling a woman whose son I killed.”
“Don’t go there,” Caroline said. “We’re taking the vic to the hospital. She’s sleeping in the back seat. She’s physically and mentally wiped, but grateful to be alive.”
“It’s gonna take Cooper a while to get here,” Sydney said. “I’m gonna dig up one of those mounds.”
When Sydney hung up, Tank wrapped her in his arms. “You want help?”
She hugged him hard. “I got this. You should grab whatever equipment you need.”
Forty minutes later, Sydney had unearthed enough of the grave to find a decomposing corpse, the putrid smell making her gag.
Tank strode outside, two laptops in hand. “The fucking mother lode. That monster recorded every torture session, every murder. It’s beyond gruesome.”
“Ohgod,” she whispered. “He was evil incarnate.”
He tossed a nod toward the second computer. “This one was hidden. I couldn’t access it, but once I do, I’m confident we’ll know about his business deal with Bjorn Shariff.”
“Nice,” she said.
His gaze jumped to the partially exposed body. “Jesus,” he bit out.
“When forensics IDs her, I’m certain she’ll be one of the missing twelve.”
Tank’s phone rang. He answered. “Hey, Cooper, what’s the word?”
“I’m pulling into the neighborhood. Am I first on scene?”
“Yeah,” Tank replied.
“Good. I want you two gone before they show. We’re still chasing The Day of Destruction and we gotta keep a tight lid on it.”
She and Tank made their way toward his SUV.
“Once we make contact with Cooper, we’re out,” Tank said.
Shortly after, Tank and Cooper were shaking hands. Cooper Grant was tall with short blond hair and a warm smile.
After Tank did the introductions, Cooper said, “Excellent work, Sydney.”
She’d done her job, completed the mission, but nothing about it felt excellent. She’d found King A and eliminated the threat, but it didn’t feel like a win. Never did she imagine he’d be family.
Her stomach roiled.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Cooper continued. “We’ve got a number of quality resources if you experience PTSD or just need to talk it out. Have you been to our office in Tysons?”
“No,” Sydney replied.
“Tank, bring Sydney by anytime,” Cooper said before regarding her. “Don’t shoulder this alone. Understood?”
She extended her hand. “Thank you for being so supportive. Much appreciated.”
Cooper eyed the laptops. “I see you got yourself some souvenirs.”
Tank cracked a smile. “Once I review the torture tape, the laptop’s yours. I think this other one will crack The D of D case wide open.”
Cooper’s phone rang. “The FBI is almost here.” Before he answered, he said to them, “If you need anything, call or text me.”
As Cooper answered, she and Tank jumped in the SUV and headed out. As they left through the quiet neighborhood, a car whizzed past.
“One mission down,” Tank said. “One to go.”
In the darkened vehicle, he clasped her hand. “I love you Sydney Austin and I respect you so much. You are the real deal, and I’m a damn lucky man.”
A lump formed in her throat, tears pricked her eyes. Fighting against the emotion, she said, “Thank you. I think I’m luckier. I have you, and you, Theodore Santini, are as good as it gets.”
“We did good, didn’t we?”
Despite the heartache, she said, “Yeah, we did damn good.”
TEDDY