Chapter 27 #2
Heather didn’t respond. She seemed to be shutting down, blocking out what would happen to Annie once Marcus arrived.
Without a doubt, he was the muscle behind this operation.
“He came to see you, didn’t he? Five years ago.
Marcus was piecing together what happened to Seth.
” He’d interviewed Evan and Caleb. And they told him about Kayla.
It made sense that Marcus would want to speak to Kayla’s best friend, which led him straight to Heather.
Both of them in pain, both of them wanting to blame someone for what’d happened to Seth.
The reunion provided an opportunity. Heather had known every detail about the event. She had their phone numbers, the itinerary, had installed the wireless cameras, and spied on their conversations. She’d been feeding Marcus information from the very beginning.
Wind rushed into the barn as the door flew open. The light in the kerosene lantern flickered, but then steadied as the door swung shut again. Annie peered into the shadows, her heart racing. She could barely make out the shape of a man. Marcus.
Sweat beaded between her shoulder blades, and she shrank against the chair as he silently came into the light.
Rainwater slid down the length of his gray jacket to drip onto the floor and the tops of his combat boots.
A rifle was slung over his chest and he gripped a hunting knife.
His eyes were devoid of emotion. A flat, icy blue that terrified her more than the weapons he carried.
“What did you do?” His gaze never left Annie, but the question was for Heather.
“She’s our insurance policy. Where’s Preston?”
“I couldn’t grab him,” Marcus growled. “The bomb I threw into the cabin worked, and everyone ran outside, including Preston. But the little snake slipped away, and the Ranger got to him before I could.” His attention flickered to Heather.
“Dawn is in three hours. We’re out of options. Let’s kill her and bail.”
Annie’s chest tightened with terror. Prayers filled her heart, but she couldn’t find the words in her mind. The silence that descended over the barn seemed impenetrable. Somewhere overhead in the loft came the sound of another rat, and a few strands of hay fluttered to the ground.
Marcus stiffened. “What’s that?” He whipped a flashlight out and shone it into the loft.
“It’s just a rat. This place is full of them.”
“I hate rats,” Marcus grumbled, flipping off the light. Then he adjusted the grip on his knife, taking a menacing step toward Annie. Desperation pressed her back against the wooden chair. She yanked at her bonds, unwilling to go down without a fight.
“No. There’s another way.” Heather removed a radio hooked to her jeans. Dwayne’s? Or the one she’d used to track their communication? Annie didn’t know. Heather tilted the radio one way and then the other. “We’ll call Tate and have him bring Preston to us. An exchange. Preston for Annie.”
Marcus cursed, whirling to face her. “I told you before, he’ll never agree to that! He’s trained to protect civilians.”
“And I’ve told you, I’ve seen the way he looks at her. Tate’s in love with Annie. He’ll do whatever it takes to save her.”
Annie’s breath caught. Tate would do what he could to save her—not only because of his feelings for her. He’d do it because that was who he was. She knew it. Had seen it. Tate had risked his life over and over again to protect others.
She couldn’t allow them to put Tate in an impossible situation. “Marcus is right. Tate will never agree to bring Preston here.”
That icy stare settled on her again. She had the urge to shrink back, but prayed for strength. “It’s over, Marcus. Tate’s fellow rangers know about you, and they’re already on their way. They’ll be here any minute. But not all is lost. There’s still time to end this before more people get hurt.”
“Shut up!” Heather held up the stun gun threateningly before turning to Marcus.
She stepped closer to him, moving into his line of vision.
“Don’t listen to her. We came here to avenge Seth.
It’s what you said you wanted. Our mission isn’t complete, not without killing Preston. He has to pay for what happened.”
“And we tried to make that happen, but we can’t!
” Marcus erupted. The force of his rage surprised Annie, but it faded as fast as it came.
His complexion paled, and he lifted his jacket, along with the layers of clothing underneath, to reveal a long bandage along his flank.
Blood stained the gauze. The wound looked angry.
Marcus cursed again. “I can’t take on a Texas Ranger in hand-to-hand combat, don’t you get it?
Not with this injury. He’ll take me down, and what good will that do you? ”
“Then shoot him.”
“I’ve tried that!” he snapped back. “But my old war injuries have screwed up my aim. I can’t even shoot well at close range.”
Annie rocked on her chair, trying to loosen the rungs her zip ties were attached to. They were going to kill her, no matter what. At the very least, she could give herself a fighting chance.
Marcus dropped his jacket and sighed. “It’s over, Heather. At least for now. We can get Preston later, after the investigation cools down and things return to normal.” He gestured with his knife toward Annie. “Like I said, let’s kill her and bail.”
A shadow in the darkness shifted behind Heather and Marcus. Too small to be human. Annie strained to see, but couldn’t make out what it was. The wound on her skull pounded with the force of her heartbeat. She felt one of the wooden rungs on the chair crack.
Heather shook her head. “No. This is our chance.” She glowered. “I thought you loved Seth. I thought you were willing to do whatever it took to punish the people responsible for his death.” She lifted her chin. “Or are you a coward? Do you quit when things get hard?”
Marcus got in her face. “How dare you question my loyalty to Seth. He was my brother!”
“Then act like it!”
Annie snapped the second rung on the chair, and her hands came free.
A sudden movement from the loft drew her gaze upward just in time to glimpse Tate’s determined face before he launched himself at Marcus.
Heather screamed and fell back as the two men tumbled to the ground.
They rolled, disappearing into the darkness of the barn.
It was her chance! Annie threw herself backward in the chair, and it hit the cement with a painful jolt that shattered the rickety frame. Heather’s expression shifted from shock to rage. She moved toward Annie, the stun gun held at the ready.
Fighting a wave of nausea brought on by the sudden movements, Annie rolled. Heather’s arm shot out, trying to shock her with the stun gun.
A growl ripped from the shadows. Bud flew out of the darkness and latched onto Heather’s outstretched arm.
She howled as his teeth sank into her skin.
The stun gun clattered to the ground. Heather twisted, trying to dislodge Bud, but the shepherd mix held on.
Annie stumbled forward, grabbing the stun gun.
Heather’s screams continued. Bud had her on the ground.
Trusting the dog to keep Heather secure, Annie pitched forward on unsteady feet toward the men.
Flesh struck flesh, followed by grunts. For a second, it seemed Tate was winning, even with his injured hand, but Marcus head-butted him.
In the span of a breath, he was on top of Tate, knife held to the ranger’s throat.
NO! Annie screamed the word in her head as she lunged forward. Her focus narrowed to the small strip of skin barely visible between Marcus’s jacket and his hairline. She jabbed the stun gun into his neck and pressed the button.
Marcus stiffened as the electricity jolted him.
Tate swiped the knife away from his throat and flipped Marcus onto the ground. Using twine he must’ve found in the loft, he secured the former soldier and stripped him of the knife, the rifle, and—tucked in his waistband—Tate’s own Glock. Annie’s head spun.
The barn door crashed opened, and two figures burst inside. “Police! Hands where we can see them!”
“Grady, Luke, over here!” Tate called.
Relief washed over her at the sight of backup, and the spinning of her head increased.
She registered Tate had been updating his fellow rangers on his location as he and Bud followed Marcus across the property, but their voices sounded far away and muffled.
Annie did her best to stay conscious as Tate urged Bud to let go of Heather.
By the time Heather was also secure, Annie was leaning against an old stable door.
Her vision blurred. She sank to the ground. Bud whimpered as he pressed against her. Then Tate was there, floating above her. “Annie! Annie!”
She wanted to speak, but couldn’t make her mouth work.
And then darkness took hold.