Читать книгу The Military K-9 Unit Collection - Valerie Hansen - Страница 18

SIX

Jason replayed Serena’s words over and over in his head. She wanted more with him. He wanted more with her, too. More time. More opportunity to know her. To see her smile, hear her laugh. To discover all there was about the pretty deputy.

He’d promised Serena he wouldn’t die while she was gone. He prayed he’d be able to keep that promise.

As the minutes ticked by, his thoughts turned to asking why Mary and Paul had been together that night. Had they been having an affair? Jason had found no evidence to suggest his wife and partner had betrayed him. Witnesses at the restaurant had claimed the two had been in an intense discussion. But that could’ve been about anything. Like a surprise party as Serena had suggested.

Whatever the two had been doing had died with them and left Jason riddled with guilt.

He heard the sound of boots on gravel, and his spirits lifted. Serena was back already? He was going to kiss that woman the next time he saw her.

The unhurried steps on the porch sent caution sloshing over him like a bucket of ice. Slowly, so as not to move too much and cause an explosion, he withdrew his gun and held it at his side.

The door opened. A man holding a sniper rifle in one hand and a dozen roses in the other entered the shack and stopped. The surprise on his face was comical, and if the situation hadn’t been so dire Jason would have relished getting the drop on the Red Rose Killer. But really, the situation was reversed. Jason was the one caught in a trap.

They aimed their weapons at each other.

Yet neither fired. Hyperaware of the explosive device beneath his foot, Jason expelled a harsh breath. Until this morning when a certain deputy showed up on his ranch, he wouldn’t have cared if he lived or died. But now he wanted to live. He had to live for Serena. He’d promised her.

The man in the doorway had regular features, nothing special or memorable. A symmetrical round head with dark blond hair and ice-cold blue eyes. He wore camouflage clothing, heavy boots and a sneer on his face.

“Well, well. Isn’t this a treat?” He moved out of the doorway, keeping the barrel of his rifle trained on Jason. “Drop your weapon.”

“You drop yours.”

The man’s lip curled. “I’m not the one standing on a landmine of my own design.”

“If I move, we both die.”

“If you were going to move, you’d have done so already. And if you shoot me...” He pulled a remote detonator from his pocket and gave Jason a wicked grin. “You die. I’d say you’re in a bad place, Mr. Hargrove.”

So he knew who Jason was. Had he been casing his ranch? Anger simmered within Jason. His fingers tightened around the Sig Sauer but self-preservation kept him from pulling the trigger.

“How about I walk out and shoot you from a distance? That would be more fun,” the killer taunted. “I can’t use this place anymore. Might as well blow it up and you right along with it.” The man pivoted and walked back out the door.

Dread twisted in Jason’s gut. He had to keep the guy here and talking. And not get blown up in the process. He had to give Serena time to get help. “Wait!”

He hoped to extract information that could be used later—if Jason survived. He sent up a silent plea that he’d get out of this situation. For now, the only thing he could do was to comply and trust God and Serena.

With minimal movements, Jason released the magazine, ejected the shell in the chamber and tossed the gun aside.

The creep glanced around before stepping back inside and closing the door. “I saw you at the creek with the cute deputy. Where’d she go?”

Jason assumed the question was rhetorical, because surely the man knew she’d gone for backup. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours. You at least owe me the courtesy for using my land uninvited.”

“Maybe I do, or maybe I don’t owe you a thing.” The killer shrugged. “But you’re going to die today. My name is Boyd Sullivan. My late granddaddy, on my mother’s side, once owned this land before the bank confiscated it and made the Wadsworth family pariahs in town.”

Jason hadn’t taken enough of an interest in the neighboring properties to know the history of the land. “You’re the Red Rose Killer.” He needed the confirmation.

Boyd walked around him and set the roses on the rickety table. “That I am.” He chuckled. “Don’t you just love the media? They get a kick on naming things so obvious.”

“You’ve killed five people. Why?”

“Why not? They deserved it.”

Deserved it? Was he a religious fanatic? Some sort of crusader? “What did those women and men do to deserve being murdered?”

“No-good, uppity so-and-sos. Every last one of them. They thought they were better than me. I showed them, didn’t I?” He cackled, an unhinged sound that raised the fine hairs on Jason’s arms.

Jason was dealing with a psychopath. “So you killed them because they hurt your feelings?”

“I’m doing the world a favor. I will not tolerate being disrespected.”

“Tell me about your victims then. How did they disrespect you? I want to make sure I don’t make their mistake.”

“You already have by stepping into a place where you don’t belong.”

Fighting the urge to lunge at the man, Jason kept his voice calm and controlled. “You didn’t answer me. What did these people do that was so disrespectful?”

Boyd sniffed and curled his lip but didn’t respond.

Aware of the minutes ticking by, Jason became more determined to keep the guy close and talking until backup arrived. They needed this mentally unstable man off the streets. “Your ego that fragile that you can’t even talk about it?” He prayed he didn’t send the guy over the edge.

“Oh, I can talk about it. Not that you knowing what they did is going to do you any good once your bits and pieces are scattered across the forest.”

The threat made fresh sweat break out on Jason’s back. His leg was starting to cramp from being still. His back ached. The urge to shift his weight was excruciating. “Indulge me, then.”

Boyd stared at him a moment then filth spewed from his mouth. Once he got his anger out of his system he talked. “Madison come crawling to me after all these years wanting to renew our relationship even though she dumped me in high school and then thought she could dump me again. I don’t think so.”

Jason wondered if she had been Boyd’s first victim. He honestly didn’t know much about the case. He hadn’t wanted to get interested. He’d been too busy wallowing in his own grief.

“And Lynn.” Boyd spat on the floor. “One date and she decides I’m nothing. No one decides I’m nothing. I showed her. Took her and her new boyfriend out.” He grinned. “Scared them spitless first though, with the rose and note. That was fun to watch.”

Keeping an ear open for movement outside, Jason said, “What about the other two?”

“Made them squirm. Joe was a real meanie in high school. Thought he was big man on campus. I showed him. And that rotten Ed. He was a horrible boss.”

Serena had mentioned another targeted woman. “What about the waitress? What did she do?”

“Slow,” Boyd stated. “But pretty. I would have forgiven her lack of hustle with my food if she’d said yes when I asked her out.” He gathered his things as if readying to leave.

Needing to stall, Jason asked, “How did you learn to make an IED?”

Boyd let out a disgusted scoff. “The air force.”

“Where were you stationed? Overseas? Middle East?”

“If only I’d been so fortunate. Those big uppity-ups over at Canyon couldn’t see my potential. Couldn’t see my brilliance.” He shook his head. “Poor Zoe.”

“Who’s Zoe?”

“Never you mind.”

So there was at least somebody this man cared about. That was worth exploring. “Is Zoe your girlfriend?”

Boyd pulled back his lips. “Ew. That’s disgusting. She’s my baby sister.” He shook his head. “She stayed in the air force like a dummy. She should have left when I did.”

“What would Zoe think of your killing spree?”

Anger flashed in Boyd’s eyes. “Don’t talk about my sister.”

Jason lifted a hand of apology.

Boyd hefted the rifle in his hands as the sound of running feet echoed in the shack. Anticipation and dread clutched at Jason’s heart. He heard only one set of footsteps pounding up the porch stairs. He had to warn her.

“Don’t shoot!” Jason shouted as the door swung open.

Serena filled the doorway, her sidearm drawn. A red bead of light from Boyd’s rifle shone bright on her forehead.