Chapter 7
Kat screamed as she was slammed to the floor. Badger lay fully on top of her, his weapon out. Her brother had been tossed to the floor at the same time, and Erick had a knee to his back, and a weapon held against his head.
Then more shots followed. Each seemingly targeting something specific. One was aimed at her hot water heater in the kitchen, now flooding the floor. Another hit her fuse box on the other side of the kitchen door inside the garage and sent sparks flying, erupting in a small flash of fire that burned itself out quickly. She waited to see if her electricity went out. Two more shots passed through the same kitchen window facing her backyard to travel across the kitchen and into her living room, then exiting the big picture window there, which took down most of it in the process. Now the shooter could just walk in through the busted floor-to-ceiling window.
In a harsh voice Badger asked, “Who the hell is outside?”
Her brother laughed.
Badger leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I’ll get up and go look. I want you to stay right here.”
She nodded, and his weight came off her. She watched as he bolted across to the garage door, taking a closer look. Cade was already searching for the shooter through the windows, then followed Badger out to the garage. The two kidnappers in the chairs looked terrified. She crawled forward until she sat beside them on the floor.
Bud whispered, “What the hell did we get ourselves into?”
“I don’t know, but it looks like its heading south very quickly,” she said quietly. She studied the front window and their position. “I’m worried you guys are in the line of fire if the shooter fires from the front yard.”
Bud looked at her. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to lie sideways.” And he dumped his chair backward. He lay on his back now, his legs up, then he rolled over once more, so he now lay sideways on the floor.
She glanced at Paul. “I’m not sure what to do with you. No matter which way I turn you, it’ll hurt.”
He said, “Don’t worry about it. Sideways is best. I’d rather be hurt than be dead.”
Together Erick and Kat lowered Paul’s not-insubstantial weight until he was lying sideways on the floor, still tied to the chair.
She turned to see Erick tying up her brother. In the kitchen she pulled zip-ties from one of the drawers on the right. She crawled back, handing them to him.
He looked at them, and his face beamed. He put several together and tied Teddy’s ankles and hands. She had also retrieved a dishcloth from one of the bottom drawers. She tossed it Erick’s way, and he stuffed it in her brother’s mouth.
Her brother gave her a glare, and she just shrugged. “You’ve already ruined my day. I really don’t want you doing more damage.”
With that Erick disappeared, just like the rest of his friends. A pair of kitchen scissors were on the counter beside her. She grabbed them. Did anyone ever have enough weapons in a situation like this? Unfortunately her brother saw her. His smirk said much about how effective he thought she would be. Still, as long as he didn’t consider her a danger, he wasn’t likely to do anything to call attention to her. It was just the kind of thing he did.
She held the scissors in her hands. If she got a chance, she had a special surprise she’d been trying out in her prosthetic. There was an advantage to no one knowing what she carried.
Five minutes passed with no change. Ten minutes passed with no change.
She turned to the two men lying on their sides. In a low tone she whispered, “Did either of you hear anything?”
“No,” Paul muttered. “And I really hate the waiting part.”
“Now I’m really worried about the pizza.”
Paul looked at her incredulously.
“I meant the pizza delivery man,” she corrected herself. “I don’t give a shit about the pizza.”
“I kind of do,” Bud said in a light attempt at levity. “I have to admit to being pretty damn hungry myself.”
Just then she heard a vehicle approach. “Shit.”
What the hell should she do? Would the shooter let the pizza delivery guy walk up on his own? She crawled to the front door, stood and peered through the security peephole. Sure enough, it was the pizza delivery guy. At least one in a pizza uniform. Surely not the shooter in disguise. Not with Badger, Erick and Cade after him.
She sighed. She’d given her credit card over the phone already. Technically she was buying dinner for everyone. How the hell did that work? These assholes should be paying. But at least she didn’t owe the delivery guy anything other than a tip. She checked her pockets and found a couple small bills.
When the doorbell rang, she opened the door, passed him the cash and grabbed the pizzas. She quickly shut the door and locked it behind her, then smirked at her missing picture window. She watched as he got in his vehicle and drove away.
When he was finally gone from sight, she let out a deep breath. “Okay, one less person we have to worry about.”
Now she had to get to the kitchen safely with all the boxes. Crouched low, she avoided as many windows as possible. When she got to the table, she straightened enough to place the pizzas on its surface. And then she crept past her brother again to check on the two kidnappers.
“Okay, pizzas are here, but I really don’t think we should be distracted by eating right now.”
“Stay down and stay quiet,” Bud said. “I think I hear someone.”
She made her way to the door that led to the garage, careful not to slip in the water. All three tied-up men were tucked out of sight enough that, if the door opened, they couldn’t be seen. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t either. She sat on a pretty dry spot on the floor behind the door and waited. And waited. She pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a text. Just before she hit Send, she wondered if it would cause a kerfuffle. Did they all remember to turn their phones on Mute? Worried, she chewed on her bottom lip and then decided to hit Send after all. As soon as she pushed the button, she had second thoughts. But it was too late. Her phone responded almost instantly. It was Badger.
Stay inside and stay down. I’ll be there in a few minutes.
She frowned. But the smell of pizza was getting to her. Her stomach rumbled. And then she grinned. She was closest to the table. She crept over the few feet and snagged a box, dragging it back to where she sat against the wall. She opened it and picked up the largest piece. She sat there munching happily until the men returned.
She was three pieces down when they arrived. They were talking, so she assumed it was all good. However, all noise stopped when they took one look at her. She raised an eyebrow and took another bite. As soon as she swallowed, she said, “What was I supposed to do?”
The men looked at each other, snorted and walked over to the pizza.
“Does that mean it’s safe now?” she asked.
“As safe as can be. The shooter’s gone. I just wish I knew who the hell it was.”
“Well, the good news is, we have my brother here. So either the shooter is an asshole who wanted him dead, or it was somebody who wanted me dead. In which case, my brother’ll still be your best connection,” she said cheerfully. “Can you sit these two guys back up?”
With a muttered exclamation, Badger reached down and helped right Paul again. Erick did the same for Bud. Cade, on the other hand, sat beside the open pizza box. She watched in awe as he placed one piece on top of the other, so he had two pieces in each hand, and started eating the stack on the left.
“Seriously? How can you even taste it that way?”
He looked at her, aggrieved. “It works great.” And he took another huge bite.
A couple of minutes later all four pieces were gone. That’s when she realized five pizzas might not be enough. Now that it was safe, she put on a second pot of coffee. “Did anyone find the bullets?”
Cade said, “I’ve got three. The other two should be in the front yard somewhere.”
“Are we calling the cops?”
Silence.
She groaned. “So, three of you guys are on the right side of the law. Three of you guys are on the wrong side of the law, and I’m stuck in the middle. I’d like my house back. I’d like my life back. And I want to know that these tied-up guys won’t try to kill me again.” She glared at everyone with her hands on her hips. “Doesn’t that mean calling the cops?”
Badger shrugged. “It might be okay. Maybe call your detective. It’s likely to be all connected.”
“And what do I tell him?”
“Tell him you have a hell of a story, and you’ve got three guys tied up.”
Bud piped up. “Or you could tell them just about two guys.”
Paul snorted. “Yeah, better not mention Bud.”
“Mentioning is one thing. Being charged is an entirely different thing,” she said. “While I sympathize with your position, until we get to the bottom of this, none of us are safe. Have you considered that?”
Paul gave her a hard look. “I’ve definitely considered it. Have you considered the fact that whoever was shooting into your house may not have been after you, but might have been after us? We failed. He failed.” He motioned toward Teddy on the floor, still tied up and glaring at them all. “Considering we all came here after you and didn’t complete the job, this guy might have come to ensure none of us could talk and then to finish our job and kill you.”
“I know,” she said. “And that’s not any help.”
Just then Badger’s phone went off again. He pulled it out, frowned and put it away.
“Who was that?”
He gave her a hard glance. “It’s private.”
She rolled her eyes. “Great timing for private conversations.”
“Well, what am I supposed to tell them? Sorry. I’m involved in a shoot-out?” he asked sarcastically.
“Your private life is your own mess.” She deliberately didn’t look at any of their faces as she poured herself another cup of coffee. Badger’s comment brought up unpleasant thoughts. Because of course he had a private life. For all she knew, he had a full-time girlfriend. Just because he acted like he was single didn’t mean he was. Still, just because he acted like an asshole, didn’t mean he was one either.
She groaned. “If I don’t call the cops, how do I get any of these men out of my place? I’m not prepared to let my brother go free.”
“Agreed,” Erick said. “So call the detective whose card you have. If this is connected to your uncle’s murder, then let’s get to the bottom of that at the same time.”
On that note she reached for her purse, pulled the detective’s card back out and dialed. When a voice answered on the other end, she said, “Hi. My name is Dr. Kat Greenwald. I spoke to you before about my uncle’s murder.”
“Yes, I remember your name. I heard somebody reported a shooting around your area.”
“I have three men tied up in my home,” she said in a low tone. “Things just became really ugly.”
“Don’t let any of them go,” he said, alarmed. “I’ll be there in five minutes. You stay safe until I get there. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you. And we were shot at from somebody else outside. We think the shooter is gone now, but I can’t be too sure. So make sure you’re careful when you approach.”
There was silence for a long moment, and he said, “Okay, will do. I won’t be alone either. Are you safe right now? Is somebody holding a gun on you?”
She thought about the knives she’d put in her ankle and back pocket and smiled. “No, I’m fine right now. And I have three men helping me. We’ve got the three other men tied up.”
“Good enough. I’ll be there in five.”
Badger tried to step back when the police arrived. It was always hard to go from being a team leader in intense times back to being a subordinate. And no doubt law enforcement wanted to see all the general public in that manner. Badger knew he had failed when Kat shot him a look and said, “Down, boy.”
He bristled. “What? I’m not doing anything.”
“You look like a junkyard dog with an attitude.”
“They kidnapped you, brought you home to hold you hostage in your own house, and you’ve been shot at. I think I have every reason to feel that way.” Inside he marveled at her description. He was pretty sure his buddies would agree with it. He wasn’t so sure he did. Was it insulting? Was it complimentary? Junkyard dog left a lot of room. Of course, when he looked at his face and the rest of him, it wasn’t a bad description. He was pretty much a survivor of multiple wars. The thing was, he had survived, and he would hold on to that little tidbit of good news. Good news even if only long enough to find this latest asshole.
He inconspicuously pulled out his cell phone and checked for messages. He’d missed a call earlier from somebody with information. And that information he needed. He must slip away and make this call. He was sorry for all the hell now, but something else was breaking loose in his world. He’d waited two years for this. He wouldn’t blow it now.
“Stay close to the cops. I’ll just step outside and make a call.”
She nodded almost absentmindedly.
He glanced around, caught sight of Erick and Cade, held up his phone and then slipped out the front door. It was a little quieter out front but not much. He walked to the end of the property on the sidewalk and returned his call.
The man that answered said, “I have news.”
“I’m listening.”
“It might cost you.”
“Might? Looks to me like it’s already cost me plenty.”
There was a short silence on the other end. “True enough. All betrayal has a price.”
“Sure, it does. Particularly for the victims.”
With that the man on the other end swore.
Badger tried hard to tune his ears to see if he recognized the voice. But it wasn’t familiar. “The guy who took the call left the navy soon afterward.”
“In a rich and wealthy lifestyle?”
“No. A guilt-ridden one. Hit the bottle, lost his marriage, couldn’t get another job, went homeless for a while, now he’s working at a soup kitchen.”
Badger lifted his gaze to stare at the house across the street. Kat’s house was in typical suburbia. Simple block houses upon simple block houses, where everybody stuck to themselves, and nobody stuck out their neck for anyone. He shook his head. “Is he up to talking?”
“For a price. He did say something interesting.”
“What’s that?”
“He said his life changed and not in a good way. He’s sorry for the troubles that you went through. But it’s almost like you’re better off than he ever was.”
“Can’t say I feel too sympathetic at the moment.” Badger snorted. “If he did something to bring this upon me and my unit, he deserves every shitty thing life has available to throw at him.”
“I hear you.”
“How much do you want?” Badger calculated the money in his bank account. He didn’t have a ton. But then what did he expect after a couple years of disability? Thankfully he’d saved all his money from his navy pay. But prosthetics from Kat had dipped into that nest egg recently. The navy covered much of the cost but not all.
“Ten thousand pounds.”
“Is he in England?”
“He is.”
“You aren’t forthcoming with the information.”
“You haven’t said aye or nay to the agreement.”
“Should be dollars,” he said abruptly. Given the volatility of the American dollar and the British pound right now, it still wouldn’t swing in his favor anytime soon.
“None of this should have happened in the first place. But it did. And it isn’t in dollars. So make a choice.”
Badger swore silently. “You getting paid for this?”
“Yeah,” the middleman said drily. “Things haven’t changed that much. Except the prices went up, not down.”
“As long as it’s coming out of the ten thousand pounds, fine. Where and when?”
“Monday.”
“Today’s Friday. I can be there for Monday. Where?”
The caller mentioned an address in The East End of London. Badger stored away that information. “Time?”
“Just after noon. He also says come alone.”
“Of course,” Badger lied smoothly. “Just him and me.”
“Better be. My neck is on the line for this one.” And the man hung up.
Badger pocketed his phone as he turned to stare back at the broken window. His mind was already churning forward several steps. How the hell was he supposed to keep Kat safe and go to England? Then he grinned. There was a perfect solution. She would go with him.
On that thought he headed back inside.
She might fight him on it, but he knew his buddies would be right there with him. On the other hand, he could leave her with them. Although she wouldn’t like that idea either. He grinned. He was actually looking forward to the upcoming argument. Kat didn’t back down when he roared. Instead she reached out and clawed him one. He didn’t have a problem with that. At least it meant she wasn’t afraid of him.
There were certain people in this world who he wanted to be afraid. And the man he was meeting Monday was one of them. But Kat, never. The last thing he wanted was a cowed female in his bed. He wanted Kat, claws and all. And he wanted her damn fast.
He walked inside, a big smile on his face. “Change of plans.”