34. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
ETHAN
I holster my weapon, then zigzag around an assortment of shrubbery and a swing set. Behind me, Beckett calls my name, but I’m hurtling straight for the parade route, where hundreds of people stand shoulder-to-shoulder to get a view of the floats passing by. I scan the crowd from east to west and decide to go against the grain. Hiding in plain sight only lasts so long. People will see them, especially if this Everett guy has a gun.
I need a sign. Anything. But it’s damn near impossible to see past the thick crowd. There are moms with strollers, dads with kids on their shoulders, dogs on leashes, and wagons and bikes everywhere.
I’m about to turn around and check on Beckett when a piercing scream pulls my attention across the street. A woman roughly a few hundred feet away stands along the curb, clutching a toddler to her chest. A small crowd forms around her as I run across the street in front of the incoming marching band.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice ragged.
“Those people ran right into him. They knocked him over and didn’t even stop.”
The boy is crying, but other than the scrape beneath his chin, he looks to be fine, so I snap my head up and follow the direction of her finger.
There’s my sign. Kinzie’s espresso hair swooshes in the wind as a man prods her forward. He is of average height, with an average build. He has a hat pulled low on his head and a fucking gun pressed to her back.
“Go,” Beckett shouts. “I’m right behind you.”
She apologizes to the woman with the toddler, but then she’s on my heels again. “I bet he’s heading for the Brickstone,” she says between breaths. “It’s the only place that’s empty.”
I nod. If he did his homework, then he would know exactly where to take her to get her out of sight. Brickstone is the local pizzeria, but it’s closed for remodeling, and it’s the only place right off the parade route that is not only empty but has an exit on the other side of the building. A perfect escape.
Though I’m not sure his end goal is escaping with her. According to his file, he mutilates his victims until they give him the information he needs, and then he ends their lives in places where they can easily be found.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t factor me into his plan.
Everett pulls open the side door of the pizzeria and peeks inside. Then he shoves Kinzie through the door, digging his gun farther into her back.
Adrenaline pumping, I bolt through the last of the crowd and place my hand on the knob of the weathered and damaged door.
Beckett, who’s still behind me, gives dispatch our location, but there’s no way in hell I’m waiting for backup.
I throw the door open and immediately begin clearing each area.
A creak overhead tells me they’re upstairs.
Beckett nods at me, and then we’re off, traveling tightly to the staircase.
We have to climb slowly to keep from making any noise but quickly enough to find coverage. There are only two rooms. I’m about to poke my head into the first of the two rooms on the second floor when I hear Kinzie’s shaky voice.
“You have the wrong person. I have no idea who Oliver Newman is.”
“Shut up,” Everett hisses. “I’ll tell you when you can speak.” The floorboard creaks like he’s pacing.
Kinzie mumbles, though I can’t make out the words, and then there’s a thud.
Oh, hell no. This guy isn’t going to lay another hand on her. Not if I can help it. Heart pounding and with adrenaline coursing through my veins, I extend my arm, gun out, and sprint down the hall. Just as I turn into the empty office space and catch sight of Kinzie where she’s tied to a chair, a deafening bang goes off, followed by two more.
“No,” Kinzie screams, her tone one of sheer terror.
A few more rounds go off, but none of them are mine.
There’s more screaming.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I got you.”
But I don’t think Kinzie hears me. The room is dark. I can’t see anything. And then I can’t hear anything either.