Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #1 (56 page)

God, why am I so selfish?

She'd wanted this to be over so badly she'd pushed aside the reality of Jonah being in danger. Sure, he didn't have a “safe” job, but he'd lasted this long because he was good at it. If he got hurt tonight, would he blame her for this, too?

Elise crept into the barn. It was pitch-black, and smelled like a car garage but with an undertone of hay and animals. Hands out in front of her, she felt her way along the outside edge with tentative steps. Still, twice she walked her shin into something. Finally Elise hissed, and stopped.

Sam whined. Apparently he didn't like the dark, either. Did he feel the way she did about spiders? Big animals she could handle, but tiny ones with a million crawly legs? No way.

Parker would make sure Hailey was okay, then he'd come here and get her. It was dark, and she didn't have to hide so much as just crouch behind something. Whoever had the shotgun wasn't going to find her.

The pump action was deafening, echoing in the old barn.

A light flicked on. Brightness filled Elise's gaze, blinding her.

“Gotcha.”

EIGHTEEN

T
he truck jerked to a stop, and Jonah cracked his eyes open to find it was completely dark. Was he in the trailer? Mashed up against a cage, hot air that smelled like raw eggs blasted against his face. He tried to move, and pain shot through his side. He groaned, and the animal replied.

“Nice...whatever you are.”

Shera? He hoped not, but at least the thing was in the cage.

Jonah couldn't move away from the animal, tucked as he was in there, tight between two cages with his head by the door. At least as far as he could tell from the way the truck had stopped and the cold air on his neck, presumably from a bad seal in the trailer's door, he'd been thrown in feetfirst. He couldn't decide which he preferred—cold air from outside or warm tiger breath that smelled.

His hands were tied behind his back, his earpiece had been removed. The wig and beanie were who knew where. His phone—the only way the marshals would know where he was—didn't feel like it was in his back pocket. He tried to reach down with his hands and find out for sure, but didn't have the room to arch his back enough to twist and check both back pockets.

The truck door slammed.

Jonah tensed. Had he ever been in a situation worse than this? Stripped of his weapons, up against someone who could very well best him.

He heard Shera back away and lie still while the trailer door swung open and a shaft of light from outside hit his closed eyelids. Was it morning already?

Hands slipped under Jonah's armpits and hauled him out onto the ground. Jonah slammed against the earth and opened his eyes. They were inside a lit barn, the trailer backed nearly all the way in the door so there was no way anyone outside would be able to see what his neighbor was off-loading.

Where were they? It looked like a normal ranch, but whose?

His neighbor turned, both his hands gripping the barrel of his gun. Was he going to shoot Jonah right here? Jonah didn't especially like the idea of bleeding out onto a dirt floor, all alone. He wanted...

Elise.

And Nathan.

He wanted the chance to live in the way he'd never lived before—a full life with family and laughter. A wife. Kids of his own.

Love.

If it wasn't too late, Jonah was going to do everything in his power to convince her to take a chance on them. But first, he had to get out of here alive.

“Back up.”

Jonah twisted so Tucker could see his hands, tied behind him.

Tucker didn't look impressed. He motioned Jonah back with the gun. “Scoot.”

Jonah inched back, cataloguing his aches and pains. Fresh bumps and bruises made themselves known, but Jonah kept his face impassive. He'd been shot in the stomach, weeks ago. He had no desire to repeat the experience.

Let Tucker think he was scared. Jonah was merely biding his time, waiting for the man to make a mistake. One that would mean Jonah got the upper hand.

God, help me choose wisely.

The wrong opportunity would mean he'd let slip his intentions and likely be shot for trying to escape.

Jonah kept moving back, scooting his hips and essentially dragging his legs with him. “If you kill me, the marshals won't ever rest. They'll hunt you forever. Doesn't matter where you hide, they'll dig you out. You can be sure of that.”

“Brave words from a man with a gun to his face. Too bad you won't be around to see your buddies play hero.” Tucker smirked. He scratched the gray stubble on his chin, pulled off his ball cap and resituated it. “Too bad. Too bad I have a place up north where
no one
will ever find me.”

“You think they can't track you in Washington, or are you thinking Alaska?” Jonah kept moving back until his hands found a wooden support beam. He stopped. “Or Canada? Pretty big country, but our extradition is tight. Not like you'd escape justice when you killed a federal agent.”

Tucker tipped his head to the side. “Why are you assuming it's only one?”

He'd killed more? Jonah didn't know the man's history, beyond them discussing their military days as neighbors. He'd assumed—from his age—that Tucker was retired. But plenty of older people still worked these days. Did his nefarious business stretch beyond transporting exotic animals? With his military skills, it could even be possible Tucker was some kind of killer for hire.

“For now, all you need to know is you're going to die. You and your girl will be blamed for this.” With a sweep of his arm, he indicated the animals in the trailer. “I'll simply be the frail old man who stumbled across a crime.”

He was going to blame them for this? “Not going to play hero and pretend you caught us? Might be some money in a reward if you can return the zoo's animals to the city.”

Tucker snorted. “Maybe if these were the zoo's animals. Except Shera, every single creature in that trailer is the real deal. Genuine one hundred percent tradable product. People don't want sickly animals raised in captivity. Especially this dealer. He wants the rush of the wild.” Tucker made his opinion known about that, and it wasn't complimentary to his client. “He'll probably get bitten within a week.”

Jonah felt around with his fingers, trying to find something sharp to cut the plastic tie. There. A jagged nail in the floor.

“Too bad we're closing up shop, moving it elsewhere, or I'd have been able to stick around and find out what happens to the dealer.”

We?

Jonah nodded slowly, like it'd dawned on him. “Didn't figure you for the trader. Guess you're the hired help, standing around waiting for the boss to show and pick up his animals.”

“This isn't a trade-off. This is closing up shop.” Tucker shifted his grip on the gun. “Tying up loose ends. But I guess you know that, don't you? Fix's big mouth and all. Not that we have to worry about that now.”

Jonah's gut churned. Tucker had already killed tonight, and Jonah was next. Then Elise.

God, keep her safe.

Nathan needed his mom. He'd be upset if Jonah died, but not the way he would grieve if Elise was killed tonight. Especially when Jonah would be left to deal with that failure to protect her. To look his nephew in the eye and know he'd destroyed the teenager's world.

Jonah lifted his chin. “There's no way I'm going to let you walk out of here. You and whoever it is you're working with.”

“Big words from a big man, tied up, on the floor, about to get a bullet between the eyes.”

Jonah shrugged one shoulder. “What are you waiting for?”

The skin around Tucker's eyes twitched. Jonah had succeeded in surprising him. But he wasn't itching to die. He simply wanted Tucker to make his move, because the jagged edge of the nail was almost through his bindings.

Tucker said, “Guess it's time to die, then.”

Jonah swung his leg up and across his body, catching the gun with his boot. He sprang from the floor, hands coming around to grab Tucker's shoulders, bringing his knee up to slam in the shorter man's stomach.

Breath whooshed from Tucker's mouth.

The boom of a gunshot preceded a flash of pain in Jonah's leg. He collapsed with a cry, hot blood flowing from the wound.

Elise walked in the door.

She had shot him?

Then he saw the bigger man behind her. In a haze of pain he saw her being herded toward him by a man they'd all thought was dead.

Tucker stepped forward. “Zane—”

The man behind Elise lifted his gun and shot Tucker.

* * *

Elise ran to a hurt Jonah before Zane could stop her. She pulled off her sweater and pressed it against Jonah's wound, tying the arms around his leg. She whimpered, making a point not to look at the dead man on the floor only a few paces from them.

Jonah gritted his teeth against the pain.

“Sorry.”

Jonah grunted, but she could only think how he wouldn't be mixed up in this if it wasn't for her. He'd stuck around, making a point to step in and end it because of her. “I'm so sorry.”

“Not your fault.” He bit the words out, and Elise's heart turned over.

She glanced back at Zane Ford, the former zookeeper. “How could you do this? You're supposed to care for animals, how can you sell them like this? Given to people who, at best, have no clue the extent of how to care for them, and at worst will mistreat them in unimaginable ways.”

She'd known Zane Ford before, years ago when she was a youth volunteer at the zoo, and he'd never had that hard, dead look in his eyes back then. He'd cared for the animals, and though he'd been aloof, she'd attributed that to the fact that he'd been in charge.

“You think I wanted to waste my life in a worthless excuse for a zoo? It's hardly big enough for more than a few goats and that old tiger.” He waved his arm at the tiger. The shotgun had been discarded in the grass on the way over to the barn in favor of a handgun. Both were scary enough.

“Please
.
”
Zane shook his head. “I have plans, and plans require cold hard cash I won't get on city pay doing fund-raisers and schmoozing with small-town bigwigs, begging for money to pay for animal feed and basic repairs.”

Elise glanced at Jonah. His eyes were open, and he mouthed,
Are you okay?

She blinked in affirmation while Zane kept talking. “This way there's a whole lot less stink to shovel around. I deliver, and I get paid.”

Elise wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream at Zane, but she kept her eyes on Jonah and not the crazy man still yelling, or the dead guy across the barn. She looked at the man she loved, bleeding out on the floor and mouthed,
Parker.

Jonah's brow flickered for a second.

Elise mouthed,
Outside.

Jonah needed hope, and the chance that Parker might have seen or heard Zane take her from Jonah's barn just might be enough to get them through this. Jonah knew Parker had been with her, and if anyone could track a missing person it should be a former SEAL. Right?

Zane had only dragged her across the field to Jonah's neighbor's barn. It was a couple of miles easy, but that was close in country like this.

It shouldn't take Parker long to find them.

Jonah's gaze caught hers again. “Run.” The word was a breathy whisper. “Run, Elise.”

That was the second time tonight someone had told her to run. She looked at the only door, where Zane blocked the way with his loaded gun. Stairs in the opposite corner led up to a loft. Was there a window up there? It wouldn't be the first time tonight she'd jumped. Could she chance—again—not breaking her leg? Jonah certainly couldn't go, though. And she wasn't likely to leave him here to die. So that idea was out.

Besides, Jonah's teammate should be here, as soon as he was done helping Hailey. Elise didn't know how to communicate that Parker might be two minutes, or ten. Taking a breath, Elise mouthed,
Pray.

Jonah immediately nodded. She'd heard him pray earlier, but it still surprised Elise. She was glad he was willing to trust God with the outcome of tonight. She hadn't stopped praying since Jonah left, since he gave her that kiss that changed everything.

Zane grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet. She swung around fighting, despite the fact that he had a gun. Elise was done with this. She was ready to get out of here, and if she could help it, then she was going to do everything in her power. Zane whipped up the gun and slammed it into her temple before she could get her head out of the way.

Elise dropped to her knees, stars in front of her eyes. She blinked and blinked. Even so it took minutes before she could see again.

“Elise.” It was Jonah. “Elise!”

She chanced a look at Jonah, which hurt. Fear for her was in his eyes. He'd sat up, looking like he was getting ready to come over to her.

“No. Stay there.” He shouldn't move, not with a wound.

The sound of an engine firing brought her attention around the other direction. Fix's truck pulled out, spewing gravel and exhaust fumes into the barn. Zane parked, and a door slammed before he got into a different vehicle and backed it up to Fix's trailer.

Elise couldn't let him get the animals. She wasn't going to let him take them and sell them. He was done with his evil business.

Elise climbed to her feet and stumbled to the trailer. She reached in and found Shera's cage. With a flip of the latches she opened each in turn, leaving the door shut so the animal would only have to push the door open to get out. She looked Shera in the eye and motioned for her to come, praying the nearly blind feline would see something.

But Zane was done hooking his vehicle to the trailer. “What are you doing?”

She spun. “Checking the animals. That's all. Just making sure they're okay.”

“Your concern is not required. You think I don't know they're fine? Look at them.” He motioned to the truck even while he kept the gun trained on her. “They're ready to go meet their new owners, and there's nothing you can do about it.”

Zane disappeared again, and Elise hopped out of the trailer. She looked for something to hit the man with, maybe try and knock him out, but there was nothing. And then he was back.

Zane set a can of gasoline on the floor inside the door. “Time to finish this.”

Elise crouched by Jonah while Zane flicked the can around the room, spraying gas on dry straw, on wooden beams and all over the walls.

She pulled up on Jonah's arms and he got the message, gritted his teeth and started to get up. Elise swung his arm across her shoulder, helping him to stand. Like a team, the way they'd always been.

“You can't leave us here to die,” Jonah said. She could hear the pain in his voice, but didn't think Zane would notice. Or care. “Conspiracy to kill the reporter is different than committing murder yourself now. You're throwing away the rest of your life. You won't be able to walk away from this.”