Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Cole jumped out of the car, his head and heart thrumming in time to the beep of the antitheft alarm. There was no way to make a surprise ambush now.
Kianna raced past him. The sooner she got help, the quicker they could put an end to things.
Mackey and Victoria whirled and pointed their weapons.
“No!” Kianna screamed. She pivoted and made a beeline for Victoria.
What was she doing? He was supposed to handle Victoria and Mackey so Kianna could make it out alive.
Cole sprinted toward her.
A bang resounded, then a second.
He dropped to all fours and rolled to the side.
Another round of bullets sprayed the area around him, kicking up ice and snow. A cold sensation seared his neck, then trailed down his back.
“Let go of me,” Kianna cried.
The bullets had failed to take Cole out, but her plea stabbed his chest, hitting the mark on his heart.
Cole jumped up and came face-to-face with the criminal he’d put away once. This time, though, Mackey was the one with leverage, and the smug look on his face told Cole he knew it.
Cole took a step toward the man who had Kianna in his grasp. He used her as a shield, and his weapon was flush against her neck.
“Don’t even think about it.” Victoria dropped the gasoline tank and trained her weapon—or rather, his Glock, still in her possession—on Cole, center mass. Where had she learned tactical skills? This woman worked for the city in an office. Not a special ops force.
Cole kept his hands in front of him but could feel the scissors in his back pocket. It wasn’t his ideal weapon, but if he could get close enough without Victoria pulling the trigger, he’d have a shot at turning the advantage around.
“Another move and she dies.” Victoria tilted her head.
Cole shifted his gaze to the left, and bile rose in his throat.
“Officer Stuart. So we meet again,” Mackey sneered. “This time you brought a little lady to join in the fun. I prefer my victims to be teens, but it’s not like I haven’t killed another woman.”
“No one gets away with murder, Mackey.” Cole dug his heels into the snow.
He would not let the man escape and snuff out any more lives.
Not when it would mean another family was destroyed, along with the chance to make memories together.
“There are witnesses to your schemes, Mackey. You can’t hide forever. ”
Mackey laughed. “Such a shame. That female corrections officer thought she knew better too. You’re both wrong. Soon, you’ll join her in the grave.”
Kianna smirked. “You left her for dead, but you failed at your job.” Her voice was strong, despite the loss of color in her cheeks.
“Be quiet,” Mackey shouted. “No one eludes my grasp. That woman is dead.”
“You’re bluffing.” Cole stood his ground. “You’ve been too busy hiding to make another kill.”
“Not when I have an accomplice.” Mackey narrowed his gaze.
Cole turned to Victoria, who still had her gun trained on him.
Her finger hovered too close to the trigger.
“It was an unfortunate tragedy, really. Her body couldn’t muster the strength to recover after surgery, and her heart gave out.
She never even made it home from the hospital. ” Victoria pouted.
“No!” Kianna struggled, still in his hold.
The smile that lit up Mackey’s face made Cole want to hurl. “She barely felt a thing. I promise you won’t notice what hit you either.” He stroked Kianna’s hair, and she flinched.
Cole resisted the urge to rush Mackey and take him to the ground. “Don’t touch her like that.” If it weren’t for the two guns trained on them, he’d have the man in a wrist lock. Instead, he ground his teeth.
Mackey laughed.
Cole flexed his hand. “How’d you bypass the officer stationed at her door?”
“When you work for the city, you make lots of friends. Who trust you.” Victoria smiled.
“Give it up. The police have been scouring the area for you.” Cole stepped forward.
“Don’t move,” Victoria shouted.
“It’s time to put an end to this.” Mackey yanked Kianna and pulled her toward the car they’d just escaped from. “And soon we’ll be on our way to paradise.”
Victoria flicked her weapon at Cole. “Move it.” She pointed to the car.
Cole didn’t budge. There had to be a way to catch Victoria by surprise and then incapacitate her and Mackey without Kianna in the crosshairs.
As if she knew, Kianna peered over her shoulder. Fear and determination filled her expression.
The moment they were back in the car, it would be too late.
Victoria closed the gap and gripped Cole’s arm. She moved to his side, and cool metal kissed his neck. “The waiting is over.” Victoria’s breath raised the hair on his back.
“When you add two more murders to your count, you’ll have the whole FBI on your tail.” Cole wasn’t going to give Mackey and Victoria the satisfaction of thinking they’d won. “If you kill us, you’ll have signed up for war against the police force.”
“Not if it’s a tragic accident and all the evidence disappears,” Victoria interjected.
“They’re never going to fall for that.” Cole dug his shoes into the snow.
“Your boss has already received an email informing him you’re taking a long weekend to attend to a family emergency. Certainly, he won’t question a grieving son who needs to be with family after his dad dies.”
The blood drained from Cole’s face, and he clenched his fists. There was no way she’d know anything about his dad. And Basuto wouldn’t buy it either. Would he?
It didn’t matter. Whether his boss caught on or not, it would be too late.
“Let her go and take me.” Cole might have squandered his chances to make things right with his family.
And if his life ended up being buried and forgotten, so be it.
But he couldn’t let his choices affect Kianna.
Not when she still had a family who she wanted to spend the holidays with.
“She has nothing to do with this case. She’s not even an officer. ”
“Oh, but she wants to support you in your grief and attend your father’s funeral.” Victoria pouted. “She’s hoping for her own Christmas miracle with you. Such a tragedy she dies with you while traveling.”
The cold air slapped Cole in the face. He wouldn’t let Kianna take the hit.
“Enough chitchat,” Mackey bellowed. “I want my crypto and outta here. We don’t have long. The countdown is already set.”
“It’s right here, Mack.” Victoria released her grip on Cole’s arm and held up a flash drive, but the gun never wavered from his skin. “I got it from that mutt at the shelter. Put the girl in the car, and I’ll take care of him.”
So their intuition had been right. They’d hidden the money with a canine.
With Victoria’s attention momentarily on the flash drive, this was Cole’s shot to take her out and pray he subdued her before she could pull the trigger.
He swung his arm and snagged Victoria’s wrist, yanking it up and behind her back. A screech tore past her lips. She whirled and rammed her elbow into his nose.
A sickening crack sent him stumbling back, and warm liquid flowed to his lips.
“The clock’s ticking,” Mackey huffed. “We gotta get out of here. In the car, now.”
Cole straightened in time to see Mackey punch Kianna in the gut.
She keeled over and heaved.
Cole raced toward the man just as he shoved Kianna into the back seat.
The door shut with a thud, the click of the lock snapped, and Kianna’s hands trailed down the window, yanking the handle.
“Cole, look out!” Kianna’s muffled scream sent him spinning around.
Victoria squeezed the trigger, and a bullet whizzed past his arm.
He spun to the side but kept his balance, prepared to turn and make a lunge for Victoria.
In Cole’s peripheral vision, Mackey held up the car key and flung it toward the steep drop-off.
Cole pivoted, ready to dive for the key. But it was too late. The fob disappeared over the edge.
Another shot rang, and a bullet whacked him in the chest. Air whooshed from his lungs, and pain spread across his pectoral muscles as he dropped to the ground.
His chest burned, and dots danced in his vision.
Victoria might have hit his Kevlar vest, but the force still sucked the air from him.
Cole went to stand, but he faltered, and his knees hit the ground. He pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the pool of blood tainting the snow.
Cole closed his eyes and focused on breathing. He wouldn’t be any good to Kianna if he passed out. And he couldn’t focus on the blood right now. It would only sap the strength he needed to muster to get himself and Kianna out of here.
Cole opened his eyes and lifted his gaze.
Mackey and Victoria had sprinted down the road, except they weren’t moving fast thanks to the still-slick roads and mounds of snow along the shoulder.
Kianna pounded on the car door.
Cole met her wide-eyed gaze.
He glanced back over at the fleeing convicts. There was no way he could catch up to and detain them. Not when they still had weapons and he was fighting to maintain consciousness.
Mackey had said something about the countdown already being set. He pushed himself off the ground and groaned.
Who knew what that meant? But he wasn’t going to wait to find out.
Help me save Kianna, Lord. Keep me conscious long enough to help her.
Something clanked behind him, and Cole turned to where the scissors had fallen out of his pocket.
He grabbed them, then hurried to the car, his breaths coming in labored pants. “Stand back.” Cole held up the scissors and pointed to the window.
Kianna’s brow tightened. Her eyes scanned his face, and he could only imagine what he looked like. But she followed his order and scooted to the other side of the car.
He raised his arm and plunged the tip of the scissors into the window. A crack split the glass and sent a spiderweb of lines through the pane. Cole drove the scissors through the weakened spot once more, and glass shattered, raining down around them.
Sirens pierced the air, and Cole spared a glance over his shoulder at the approaching police car and ambulance. His backup was here. Somehow they’d located them.