Читать книгу Top Secret Target - Dana Mentink - Страница 15

THREE

After hours of fruitless searching Ethan made it back to Canyon Air Force Base. He’d done his best, but there was simply no sign of the cat. Titus was ready for a cold drink of water and some grub and so was he. Maybe in the morning...

As he unloaded Titus from the truck, they both caught the sound of whimpering coming from the bushes in his front yard. Titus dashed toward the foliage, tail wagging. Ethan followed, getting down on his knees as the soft cries turned into full-blown yips.

Titus was nose to nose with a gangly puppy, a Malinois with pointy ears and a dark muzzle. The ears were erect and the tongue was out, busily bathing Titus.

“Hey, fella,” Ethan said. “How did you get here?” He was close enough now to see that the puppy was wearing a filthy training center collar.

Ethan’s throat constricted. It was one of the animals that had been let loose by Boyd Sullivan when he killed the two K-9 trainers and left his signature red rose calling card. With Titus’s encouragement, he coaxed the dog to come out. It didn’t take much, as the poor critter was clearly weak and terrified. The pup was skinny, his ribs protruding. He smelled of garbage, which was where he’d probably been scrounging for food to stay alive for so long. Ethan noted a long gash in the dog’s side. His anger at Sullivan kindled fresh and hot. How could a guy who’d once wanted to become a K-9 trainer let hundreds of dogs loose to be injured or worse? But Sullivan’s twisted sense of revenge didn’t stop there. He’d killed a commissary cook a few miles from base, and some of those in his basic training flight group had received roses and threats...including Jillian.

Ethan poured some water from a bottle into his cupped palm and the dog lapped at it eagerly while Titus gave him a thorough sniffing. Wrapping the pup in his jacket, Ethan ignored the growling in his stomach and loaded both dogs into the truck.

In twenty minutes he was pulling up to the K-9 training center. He’d called Master Sergeant Westley James and his new wife, base photographer Staff Sergeant Felicity James, on the way. At the entrance to the training yard, Westley waited, a head taller than the petite Felicity, his face grave.

“Another one found,” Felicity said, cooing to the puppy. “He’s skin and bones. I’ll get him to the clinic.”

Westley shook his head. “If I could just get a lead on Sullivan...”

“You and everyone else,” Ethan said. “We’re all hoping to be the one that brings him down.”

“And his accomplice,” Felicity added. “He isn’t doing all these things without help.”

Someone was helping Sullivan certainly, but the list of suspects shifted constantly, and the team assembled to track down the killer was growing more and more frustrated.

Trainer Rusty Morton rushed over, tossing the rag he’d been using on the ground. “Oh, man. Is that Rocket? I heard he’d been sighted on and off in the woods and raiding garbage cans. I left out food and water where they said they’d spotted him.” He leaned over to stroke the dog’s ears tenderly. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, buddy.”

Puzzlement played across Felicity’s face as she handed the dog into Rusty’s arms. “Hang on to him for a minute while I alert the vet, okay?”

Ethan shared her uncertainty. Rusty was on the list of Sullivan’s potential accomplices, under scrutiny from the investigation team as he’d been a friend of Boyd Sullivan’s during their basic training days.

But Ethan saw tears shining in the guy’s eyes. They weren’t fake, he was certain. That contradicted Ethan’s earlier suspicions. He made a note to mention it to the investigative team leader Captain Blackwood. Surely a guy who loved dogs as much as Rusty wouldn’t have helped Sullivan let the animals loose, would he?

Ethan thought about his friend Landon. Man, he missed talking to him about anything and everything.

“You okay?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Just thinking about Martelli.”

“We miss him, too,” she said quietly.

Ethan’s phone rang and he moved away to answer it, Titus roaming the enclosed yard.

“Heard you got into some trouble near Baylor, Lieutenant,” Justin Blackwood said. He was a captain in the Security Forces and a veteran of two tours of duty in Afghanistan, which gave him stellar credentials in Ethan’s book, the perfect guy to be the leader of the team trying to hunt down Boyd Sullivan. “Was the shooting Sullivan’s work?”

“Uncertain, sir. Doesn’t seem like his MO.” Ethan felt the tension crackling through the phone.

“I wouldn’t rule it out completely. Sullivan was spotted near Baylor Marine Corps Base hours prior to your shooting incident.”

Ethan’s pulse ticked up a notch as Blackwood continued.

“A marine has been killed off base, his uniform and ID are gone.”

Ethan’s stomach dropped at the news of another murder. And now Sullivan had access to the base and Kendra. Perhaps the shooting really was a case of mistaken identity?

“We’ve got our hands full on this case,” Blackwood said. “I know you’d rather be doing anything other than working with Jillian and Masters, but maybe you can find that lead we’re all looking for.”

“I’ll do what I can, sir,” he said.

“Fair enough. Keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir,” Ethan said, disconnecting.

His eyes landed on Rusty as he cooed to the pup, who looked half-starved in the training center lights. Immediately he thought about Kendra cradling the pet carrier, tears glistening in her eyes, knowing her cat was lost like Rocket had been.

Your fault, Ethan.

On impulse, he sent her a text.

Did you find your cat?

Should he add something like another apology? An “I hope so” or something to soften it?

“I’m glad to have Rocket returned,” Westley said. “But there are still plenty of dogs on the loose as well as a serial killer.” He looped a protective arm around Felicity’s shoulders.

A text materialized on Ethan’s cell phone screen.

No.

He imagined Kendra’s lip caught between her teeth, a sheen of moisture in those brown eyes, the same brown as the glossy acorns that festooned the trees on his mother’s property back home.

She’s been the only one... Kendra had said of Baby, and he thought he had an inkling about the rest. The only one to understand, to listen to the painful things that could not be spoken to human listeners, the only one who did not judge, did not condemn. He got it. Titus had heard more about Ethan’s life story than anyone, except for the One who’d seen him through it.

He nodded to Felicity and Westley. “Okay. Thanks for taking care of Rocket. I’ve got to get on the road.”

“Where to?” Felicity asked him.

“Back to Baylor.”

She quirked a look at him. “That’s a three-hour drive. Didn’t you just get back from there?”

“Yeah,” he said, with a weary sigh. But I’ve got to go find a cat.

* * *

Kendra had finally returned to Jillian’s rented home just outside base property somewhere after 7:00 p.m. It would be a short break to wolf down a granola bar and rehydrate. Then five minutes to change clothes and grab her pack and then she would search again for Baby. It was only another hour until sunset. Her stomach churned into nausea.

“Hang on, sweetie. I’m coming to get you.”

A knock at the door startled her. She pulled the curtain aside a crack. Ethan Webb stood on the doorstep, arms crossed, expression stony.

What now? She had no time for another row with him. She yanked the door open, staring him down. “Come to apologize?”

He quirked a brow. “For what?”

“Disrespecting me in front of my boss. Scaring my cat.”

“Disrespecting...” He rubbed a hand over his tanned face. “Whatever. We just have one piece of business left and then I’m hoping you’ll see reason and quit this job.”

She shook her head.

“You can’t trust Masters,” he said. “Get away from him as quick as you can. This situation is only going to get you hurt or killed.”

“Thanks for your concern, but you didn’t have to drive over here to tell me that. I’ve known Jillian for fifteen years so I’m well aware that her father is a manipulative man with no ethics.”

He gaped. “Then why would you work for him?”

Because I owe his daughter my life. She shrugged. “Not your business, but thanks for dropping by.”

“So you’re still going to persist in acting as a decoy for Sullivan?”

“Yes.”

His lips thinned, his nostrils flared and he started to speak, stopped, then started again, folding his arms across his broad chest.

Amused, she folded her arms to mirror his. “Cat got your tongue?”

“Wait here,” he snapped.

She was about to respond when he stalked to his car. Titus sat in the passenger seat, ears alert, snout poking through the open window. He reached into the back and returned with a blanket, pushing the bundle into her arms.

Her heart stopped at the sight of Baby, mewing plaintively. She could not hold back the tears that filled her eyes as she snuggled the cat under her chin. “You found her.”

He shrugged. “Cost me a couple hours of searching and a million mosquito bites, but yeah. Baby’s back. Titus was not thrilled about sharing his vehicle with a cat, but he’s grounded so he doesn’t get to complain about it.”

She laughed. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“You can call me Ethan,” he said. “I guess we’ll be stuck in this idiotic mission together if you won’t listen to reason.” With a sigh, he started to walk away.

“Wait.” She put a hand on his shoulder, muscles hard under her touch, and he turned back halfway. “I’m sorry for my rudeness. I really do appreciate what you did, more than I can put into words. Baby is...so much more than just a cat to me.”

She thought his cheeks might have pinked a bit, but she could not tell for certain. He blew out a breath and he turned to face her fully.

“I’m serious here. I know we got snarled up in the beginning, but Masters is trouble and so is his daughter. Neither of them cares who gets hurt, so long as they get what they want. You are expendable and so am I, do you get that?”

If she wasn’t mistaken, she thought she saw a deep-down pain shimmer in his eyes before he cleared his throat. She nodded. “I understand.”

His gaze lingered, poring over her face from under a thick fringe of lashes. “Okay, well, it’s late,” he said. “We can work out the nuts and bolts tomorrow. Call if you need...you know...anything.”

He hesitated.

“Something else you wanted to say?” she said.

He held up his palms. “Now don’t get a burr under your saddle about it, but did you check the house? Make sure the doors and windows are secure?”

She grimaced, wishing she could have answered yes. “Um, actually, I was in such a hurry to go searching for Baby, I didn’t. I’m sure Jillian checked before she left.” Some PI you are, Kendra.

“Want me to...?”

“No,” she said firmly. “I can handle it, thank you.”

“All right, then.” He walked the few steps to his truck, where he leaned against the front fender. “Just wave at me when you get it done and I’ll scoot.”

“You always this pushy?”

“I’m as calm as clam shells on most days, but when there’s a serial killer roaming around, I get a little testy.”

Though his posture was relaxed, long legs stretched out, boots crossed at the ankles, she had a feeling he would stay there until she reported that the house was secure. Period.

“I’ll just be a minute.” Blowing out a breath she made a quick check of the tiny front room and the kitchen, depositing Baby on the linoleum with a bowl of water and some kitty kibble. It warmed her insides to see Baby chowing down with gusto. She felt a deep surge of gratitude toward Ethan that, for the moment, outweighed her frustration with him.

Kendra moved onto a small bedroom being used as a study. The area was sparse, minimally decorated, as was in keeping with Jillian’s unsentimental personality. Jillian hadn’t said exactly where she was staying while Kendra lived at her place, only that she’d keep in touch by phone. Jillian was not touchy-feely about friendships, either. When Kendra paid back the debt she owed Jillian for saving her life that long-ago summer day when she’d helped her escape from Andy, she suspected there would be no further connection between them.

Kendra hastened to the back of the house to check the master bedroom. She reached out a hand to push open the door and something large and soft fell from above. A paper sack split as it hit the floor and suddenly the room was alive with enraged wasps streaming out of a fragment of wasp nest.

In her panic, Kendra stumbled and fell backward, screaming as the stinging insects swarmed over her.