Page 17 of Winters Heat

“Parker’s running the scanners. We’ve got nothing. Doesn’t look like that alarm is tied to a monitoring system. No 911 call out. And best we can tell, those security cameras are for show. We cut the phone lines. You have a quick minute to find your girl.”

“10-4.” Winters blew out and ended the call.Simple package extraction, my ass.

Seconds ticked by as he planned his next move. The clerk lay curled in a ball on the floor, hands over head, whimpering near the soda cooler. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. At least that wasn’t a headache he needed to worry about. Winters crunched over the shards of glass and maneuvered back outside to an offensive position.

He crouched behind a thick telephone pole, weapon in hand. There had to be two additional men in the wooded area behind the gas station. It was the only way to explain how the third man had enough cover to drag Mia’s limp body into the woods.

As if he asked for their locations, they fired at him. Amateurs, giving away their position. That was unexpected after the pros at the airport.

Winters peered from behind the pole and squinted toward the woods, narrowing his kill zone. Triangulating. He couldn’t see the men, but he could predict beginner mistakes. Two more shots pinged out. One sparked off a nearby dumpster. The other one splintered a piece off a telephone pole.

It was exactly what he needed. Those greenhorn gunslingers should’ve stayed home.

He fired. Pop. Pop. One short cry. Another gurgling cough. No return fire. His shots were accurate. But were they lethal? Both shooters were down, he was sure, but he needed confirmation. He waited. One, one thousand. Two, one thousand. He wanted to wait until ten, but he got to nine and about gave up. Giving them a chance to move was torture. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. He’d be no help if he needed a toe tag. Every second, each passing heartbeat, was too long to wait.

No sounds disturbed the night other than the now hysterical store clerk and rhythmic screech of the alarm system. Winters ducked from his safe position and ran to the dumpster. No one shot at him. He crouched to reload from a clip at his belt, then moved toward the tree line, heading down the same path as Mia.

Her kidnapper wasn’t trying to hide his trail. Thirty yards to the left, Winters saw a downed man. He might have been shooting blind into the woods without a target to set his sights in, but damned if he didn’t have a laser-pointed sense on where to take the fuckers down. He continued to follow the trampled brush. Mia’s second shoe was in the leaves. Anger rolled through him.

Someone stepped on a branch. Seconds passed. Not even the blaring alarm sounded now. The clerk must have disarmed the system. It would be only a few minutes until police arrived at the gas station, assuming the clerk got his shit together and called 911 from a cell phone.

Another cracking sound. Winters’s body jerked toward the sound and launched into motion. The kidnapper shuffled, panting hard, struggling to move with his load. This didn’t make any sense. It was amateur hour. All of the noise from the man acted as a homing beacon. What happened to the professional level of the earlier team? The man sweated whiskey and tobacco. Even if he weren’t making all that noise, Winters could smell him.

I’m coming, honey. Don’t you worry. I’m gonna kill this fucker for you.

Silent as a breeze, he closed the gap. Winters pressed through the thick Kentucky backwoods, zeroing in on his target. Her perpetrator panted harder now. Cigarette smoke and cheap booze poured from his sweat. The man circled the same few feet, unsure what direction to commit to. He seemed disoriented, unsure of the path to his getaway vehicle. The woods were blindingly thick. It would be easy for a novice to lose focus.

Mia gasped. She sucked air like a woman hell-bent on coming round.

He saw movement through the trees, less than forty feet away.Target acquired. The man struggled. He was overweight and panic-stricken, glancing in every direction, knowing he was the hunted.

One stealthly step after the next, Winters drew closer. He would sidle up behind the man and snap his neck. He was the Grim Reaper right now and had never been happier to own the role.

Ten feet. He crossed a downed tree. The man stalled. Mia stirred again, registering a croaky cry. It hit Winters in the gut, blazing a fury in his blood.

Five feet. The man had no idea just how close he was to death.

Mia roared out. Her palm flew straight up, connecting with her captor’s nose. Winters heard a clear crack of a nose breaking. A smile crossed his face.That’s my girl.

Her attacker released her legs to cover his nose. She slopped back a kick that rang true to the man’s nuts, doubling him over. He let go and covered his crotch. Gravity did its job, and she hit the ground, flailing, but then righted herself.

Hell, yes. No doubt. That’s my girl.

Not that he needed the distraction, but Winters took full advantage of it. He snapped the man’s neck and let go. His only concern was gathering Mia against his chest. He tried to calm her, brushing off the leaves and sticks clinging to her. She thrashed wild. Each limb fought for freedom.

“Let me go.” Her speech was slurred, but it didn’t keep her from shouting.

With one arm around her torso, he attempted to put a hand on her cheek and direct her gaze to him. To assure her that she was safe again. She bit down hard on his finger.

“Son of a bitch!” He didn’t let go of her waist, but her struggle lessened a degree as she recognized him, trying to piece it together.

“What?” Her confusion evident in her unfocused eyes.

“Calm down, Mia. It’s me. Colby.” He hushed her, whispering in her ear and trying to counteract her reaction to whatever drug had knocked her out. His lips danced across her temple. Her silken skin was like heaven. “You were drugged, but you’re okay.”

She hung limp in his arm. Her hard breathing regulated, and her shaking slowed to a gentle shiver. “I thought you liked to be called Winters.”

He laughed. The comment was absurd. Her mind didn’t work like other victims, and it fascinated the hell out of him.

---