Wanting (32 page)

“
Fire alarms. I gotta go.
We have fourteen kids here. Three staff—two are male, one female.
All in their thirties. Plus Calista, Carrie, and me. That’s all. No
clue on the shooter. Get here fast. I can smell smoke already. And
I’ve heard something explode, I think. I’m going upstairs in search
of the shooter.”

“
Dammit, Paige, don’t
engage. Stand down!” It was too late; she’d already disconnected.
She’d answered the phone. Not Carrie. Where in the hell was Carrie?
And why wasn’t she answering?

“
Jeff, call the CCU
bullpen. Malachi Brockman’s team just arrived in. Get them with
Carrie’s sisters. Get them working on the Rush angle. Understand?
Dan...Come on, let’s go.”

“
I’m going with you,” the
strawberry blonde woman said. The tall man who hadn’t spoken
protested.

“
Jerrod, this is my sister.
Same as Brynna, Jillian, or Sydney. I’m going. You can go with me
or stay here with Brynna.”

“
Neither of you are
going.” Sebastian was already moving toward the doors.

“
Try and stop us.” The
strawberry blonde woman pulled something out of her pocket as she
followed. A badge. “The murder of my sister’s mother is an open
case in Texas. I can pursue a witness. Meaning my sister. I brought
a warrant with me and it has her name on it. Already talked to the
boys over at the MSP post. Professional courtesy. Can we go? Before
something happens to my father or my sister? Or someone
else?”

They were wasting too
damned much time here. He’d take them with him, then lock them in
the car if needed. He could tell Reynolds felt the same way. And
Dennis was there. He’d be more than capable of keeping them out of
his way. “You stay out of my way. My first priority is protecting
Carrie and Paige, got that?”

“
Deal. And mine is getting
my dad and my sister home safe. So we can work together, or
apart.”

Chapter 72

*****

She dropped her holster,
never taking her eyes off the man. Why was he doing this here? Why
had he sought her out? “Officer Thompson, you don’t have to do this
here. There are children in this building. The youngest is only
twelve.”

“
Hmm. Useless. Why else
would they be here? That is incidental. Come.”

“
Where? What exactly do
you want from me? My mother and father have been dead for seventeen
years. I don’t know what you think you will get from me now. I
don’t even really remember them.” It was a lie. Carrie had
forgotten nothing about her parents. Nothing. She resisted the urge
to finger the necklace around her neck. She always did when she
thought about her mother.

“
Hmmm. You really believe
that?”

“
What else am I supposed
to believe?” Where was Paige? She knew her friend would have heard
the shots. Would have been on her way up to investigate. “They
died. I went into foster care.”

“
In Oklahoma. Yes, I know.
It cost me a pretty penny that night to get you taken out of state.
Had I known you had it, I wouldn’t have let you leave the state so
quickly.”

“
Excuse me? Why did you do
that?” Carrie took a step away from him. If she could get him out
to the hallway, away from Calista maybe she’d be able to do
something to get away from him herself. And get help. Without her
weapon, her options inside the room were limited.

And she couldn’t count on
Paige. Not without knowing how long this man had been in the
building. Or whether Paige was even alive. Carrie pushed that
thought aside. She couldn’t think that way. Not now. “What did you
do? The fire, I mean? How did you set it?”

He acted bored. That’s what
his body language told her. Why was he so apathetic to what was
happening? She remembered hostage negotiation at Quantico. She had
to get through to him somehow, but with him showing no emotion
other than boredom and impatience, what was she supposed to
do?

Was she even reading him
right? For the first time in a long time she cursed the differences
that set her apart from other people. How was she supposed to know
how to read this man? “The fire? How did you set it? Is it going to
damage the building so badly we can’t use it?”

“
You don’t need to worry
about it.” He stepped closer. Carrie tried not to cringe when he
wrapped long fingers around her arm. In the same place Sebastian
always did. She trembled. This man’s touch turned her
stomach.

He smiled. “You’re
frightened. That’s good. That will make you less likely to do
something stupid.”

“
I don’t want to do
anything stupid. I doubt anyone does. I have a question; why would
an officer with the MSP be after me for something having to do with
my parents that died in Texas?”

“
Are you that dense? I
don’t remember your mother or father being stupid. I’m not an
officer with the MSP, Caroline. Come on. In the hall. We’re going
for a drive.”

“
My name isn’t Caroline.”
But it did sound familiar. Her mind flashed back to her father, the
way he’d dance her around the living room. Calling her his little
Caroline. He was the only one who’d ever called her that. Everyone
else used Carrie. Carrie was what she’d told the social worker in
Oklahoma. Had she forgotten something as vital as her own name? “Is
it?”

The man smiled. “You don’t
even remember your name? Poor thing. Your name is Caroline Marie
Sparks. It should be Beck, though.”

“
Kevin Beck. He’s the man
that showed up at my work looking for me. Who is he?” Stall. Just
stall him. The fire alarms would ring into the police and fire
stations three blocks away. She’d designed it that way. She just
had to buy herself some time. “How do you know him?”

“
Kevin and I are old
friends. We were. Until he testified against me. I was in prison
for seventeen years because of your biological daddy.” He pulled
her into the hall. Carrie bit back a scream.

Paige lay in the middle of
the hallway, gun near her hand. Blood pooled beneath her head. How
had he gotten the jump on Paige? Was she even alive? “Oh God,
Paige…”

“
Friend of yours. I know.
Pity I had to hit her so hard. She was quite a fighter. But I have
spent the last seventeen years studying fighting techniques. Quite
beautiful in a different way. I would have enjoyed some time with
her.”

“
Why are you doing this?
I’ve done nothing to you.”

“
Except be alive. You
should be dead. Seventeen years ago, I never thought to check the
closet. Had I, I wouldn’t have had this much trouble. Now, where is
it?”

“
Where is what?” She
pushed everything else he’d said out of her mind. She couldn’t deal
with that right now, she couldn’t.

“
Don’t play around,
Madeline. You know where it is.”

“
For the second time, I’m
not Madeline. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Had
Paige moved? Was she still alive? Carrie fought to keep herself
from looking at her friend. If he thought Paige was alive and a
threat to him, he’d hurt Paige. She had no doubt of that. This man
was cold. She’d seen a few sociopaths in her work with PAVAD. Had
watched several interviews Hell or Josh or Georgia had done with
them. This man had all the classic signs. Which meant that he cared
about nothing.

She might have trouble
reading emotions, but this man—this man felt no
emotions.

Maybe that’s what she
needed to use? Cold, hard logic?

She closed her eyes for a
moment, to give herself strength, to compose herself, she didn’t
know. She pulled in a deep breath, allowing him to lead her down
the hallway. Toward the stairs. She ran over everything she knew
about the building in her mind. “You don’t want to use these
stairs.”

“
Why not?”

“
This is the main
evacuation route for the upper dorms. It will be filled with kids.
Stupid kids who will only freak out if they see the gun. Someone
could get hurt. I don’t want the kids hurt. Do you? That would
bring a lot of attention this direction. You know the police are on
their way. And the fire department. I set up the system to ring
them directly if the fire alarm isn’t silenced within four minutes
of activation.”

He paused, and she knew he
was considering her words. He nodded. She tried not to let on how
the small victory mattered. How it proved she could maneuver him.
“So what do you suggest?”

“
The roof. There are fire
escapes on this building and the two next to it. I assume you’re
taking me somewhere to get it?”

“
So you’ve decided not to
play stupid, then. Excellent. If your mother had been as
intelligent, she may still be alive. I had no quarrel with your
mother. I didn’t. You need to understand her death was
incidental.”

Red. That was what she saw
for a moment. Red blood, red hair. The man standing over her mother
demanding answers. This man. Carrie pushed those images away. She
couldn’t afford to waver. Not now. “Was it? It wasn’t so incidental
to me.”

“
No. I suppose it wasn’t.
If she’d just given it to me, though. Cooperation. That’s what I
expect. What I expected.” He pushed open the service door that led
to the roof steps. Now was decision time. If he went up, she might
be able to do something. To get away. Somehow.

Chapter 73

*****

Sebastian’s knuckles were
white on the steering wheel and his heart threatened to beat out of
his chest. He looked at the man in the passenger seat. “I
understand now.”

“
What?” Ed Dennis was just
as tense, and Sebastian had no trouble seeing the worry in the
older man’s eyes. Reynolds, Alessandra, and Dr. Bellows were
crammed into the back seat. Ed Dennis had given his own security
detail, headed by Agent Len, instructions to keep an eye on
Carrie’s supposed half-sisters and their friend. Sebastian knew the
other three agents would ensure they remained out of the way and
safe. “What do you understand now?”

“
How Hellbrook felt when
Stephenson had your daughter.”

No one said anything else.
The shelter was sixteen minutes from the PAVAD building. Sebastian
made it in ten. He was out of the SUV before the engine had
completely stopped. Dennis must have turned off the
engine.

The street in front of the
shelter was chaos. The building beside the shelter, once a market
of some sort, was in flames. Smoke obscured the area in front.
Firefighters were working on containing the blaze, but little
attention seemed focused on the shelter or the building on the
other side of it. Yet.

A group of teenagers stood
in a huddle, watched over by the eagle eyes of three adults in
their thirties. The three staffers Paige had mentioned? Sebastian
grabbed the first one by the arm. “Where are Carrie and
Paige?”

The worker looked at him.
Sebastian flashed his badge and repeated his question. The man
finally answered. “We don’t know. All the kids are accounted for.
It’s Paige, Carrie, and Calista we can’t find. We were inside in
the dining hall and heard the explosion. We got the kids
out.”

“
What about the gunshots?
Where did they originate?”

The man shook his head
again. “We didn’t hear any gunshots. All we heard was the explosion
next door.”

“
Explosion probably masked
the shots. We need to get inside,” Alessandra said.

Sebastian barely heard her;
he’d had already taken off toward the building.

He shoved a firefighter who
tried to stop him out of the way, knowing one of the other agents
would deal with the responders. His only goal was to get inside to
Carrie.

Chapter 74

*****

Perhaps going to the roof
hadn’t been such a good idea? Carrie could barely see three feet in
front of her and the smoke from the fire next door was choking her.
“I can’t breathe.”

“
Nothing to worry about,
my dear. We’re going to the fire escape.” He spoke so flatly,
monotone, with just the smallest touch of a British
accent.

“
That will work, but what
about the firefighters? The police in the alley? On the street? You
know they aren’t going to let us pass.” Reason with him. Reason.
That was all she could do.

“
I think they will. I’m
sure you have your badge. And I have Officer Thompson’s. We’ll
stroll right through to your vehicle. Then we will get
it.”

He never referred to the it
as what it was. Just the generic it. “Why do you need it so
much?”

“
You know why.”

“
No. I don’t. It’s been so
long…I can’t remember.”

“
The key unlocks the box,
Madeline.”

Madeline, again. Did she
look that much like her mother? Or was he starting to suffer a
psychotic break? Was it possible for a sociopath to suffer
psychotic breaks?

She knew they could. And
remembered Hell and Georgia discussing the theory that sociopaths
were just a subset of psychopaths. If there was truth to that, what
was she facing? “What box? I don’t remember my mother ever having a
box.”