Page 73 of Her Final Hours
It happened instantly; Tommy whirled around and fired multiple rounds at the partially closed French doors. Ray returned fire, striking him once, then twice. Tommy hit the floor; the gun flew out of his hand.
Ray slid open the door, one hand gripping his belly where a round had gone in just above his pelvis; the other held his Glock. He fired another round and struck Tommy in the back of the leg as he clawed toward his piece.
Crack.
Another, this time in his other leg. Ray stumbled in, his firearm aimed at Tommy’s head. A final shot. It would be over. He’d never be able to hurt her again.
“Ray. Please don’t do it. This is what he wants. This is what he wants!” she said again, raising her voice. “We can get him put away for the rest of his life. Don’t do it.”
Ray pressed a foot down hard on Tommy’s leg. He squirmed beneath it, bleeding out, groaning but at the same time looking as if he was enjoying it all. To him, this was the show. The conclusion he’d wanted. To mark the name of the Sutherlands. To drag at least one of them into jail with him, if that was even possible.
In Ray’s mind, he heard his sister pleading with him not to kill but to let him be and let justice deal with it, but at the same time, his own voice was telling him to squeeze the trigger.
“Put it down, Ray. Please. We can send him away for good.”
There was a pause.
“Only one problem with that is…” Ray muttered. Tommy looked at him, a smile lingering as blood stained his teeth. “He gets to live.”
With that said, Ray squeezed the trigger, and it was over.
26
Thursday, March 22, 8:17 a.m.
On the way over to Alicia’s, parental paranoia wanted to override the common sense of Noah’s investigative experience. This asshole wanted to cloud his judgment and make him reactive instead of active. It was a form of control. But how much was the abductor really in control? He wanted Noah to believe he could see and hear everything he did, but even that had limitations.
His home.
His vehicle, perhaps.
The phone he was told to carry. Could he be heard through it when he wasn’t using it and was away from the Bronco and house? He’d seen the new smartphone technology used to eavesdrop on conversations even if a phone wasn’t on.
But was he that clever?
That advanced to have access to it?
Even that was a stretch for him to believe.
His conversation with Mia’s abductor hadn’t given him any indication that he knew where Jane Doe was being kept, which meant that Alicia’s home couldn’t possibly be bugged.
The decision to use her abode as a safe house was made at the last minute. As an outsider, Alicia was someone he felt no one would consider. The transfer of Jane Doe from the hospital to her home had occurred late at night. They’d removed her by ambulance and then transferred her into his vehicle further down the road.
Now he had to alert Callie and McKenzie through Alicia.
Of course, he’d have to ditch the cell to be sure the abductor wasn’t listening, but that could be done. He could be set down in another room while he spoke with Alicia elsewhere.
As hope rose, so did fear. The two battled it out, fighting for control of his decisions. There was so much that could go wrong. For Mia’s sake, he couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Noah arrived at Alicia’s home, carefully maneuvering through the snowy conditions. As he parked the vehicle, he glanced at the state troopers stationed outside, their patrol car parked nearby. He knew they were there to keep watch and provide backup if needed, but after what happened at the hospital, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were still alive.
After getting out, he trudged through the snow over to their cruiser. As he approached, the biting cold seeped through his jacket. Before he got within two feet, one of the troopers rolled down his frost-covered window. “Noah,” he said, greeting him, his breath visible in the frigid air. “No coffee for us?”
Noah managed to break a small smile, trying to mask the worry gnawing at him. “Not this time, guys. Things are a little… complicated.”
The troopers exchanged concerned glances, realizing there was more going on. “How did it go last night?” Noah asked.
“Quiet.”
