Mortal Pursuit

35

“You hear me, freckle-face” Cain frowned. “Hey, Ally … Robinson”

No response. The cop had switched off.

Well, it didn’t matter. She and her little friend had heard plenty. They ought to be rattled good, not thinking straight, and that was just the way he liked it.

Still on the same frequency he said, “Lilith, you still there”

“Of course.”

“Start licking your chops, sweetheart. I’m giving the Kent girl to you. You can warm her up-and I’ll finish her off.”

A purr of pleasure, then a sigh. “I’d rather have Robinson.”

“We don’t play games with her. You in position”

“Standing post.”

“Stay alert. The rookie’s armed.”

“Ooh, I’m scared.”

Cain had to smile at that. The only thing Lilith knew about fear was how to instill it.

Clipping the radio to his belt, he headed out of the kitchen, down the rear hall.

Eyes shut, Trish pictured the backyard’s layout, looking for any kind of escape route.

The gazebo, she remembered, stood at the end of the long diagonal walkway that led to the patio. The walkway was bordered on both sides by hedges of lavender.

Earlier she had used those hedges for cover when approaching the house.

Could she do it again

The idea seemed crazy-going toward the house when the killers were inside. But being crazy, it was the last thing anyone would expect.

She risked a look over the gazebo’s low wall. Nobody was visible at any of the lighted rear windows. Surely the yard was under observation from some vantage point-one of the unlit windows, perhaps, or the dark hallway beyond the patio door.

But from the hall, at least, a watcher wouldn’t see a person crawling low to the ground on the west side of the hedge rows.

“Okay, I’ve got something.” She slipped onto elbows and knees again. “Follow me.”

“You have a plan” Ally whispered with desperate eagerness.

“Sort of.”

Not the most reassuring answer she could have given. But a sort-of plan was the best she had to offer right now.

Tyler and Gage stood waiting for Cain at the rear doorway, nearly invisible in the darkness, their uniforms like liquid shadows.

“Where’d she get the radio” Gage snapped as Cain approached.

The kid’s face was pale, the sparse hairs of his mustache beaded with sweat. Like Lilith, he and Tyler had overheard the crosstalk. And now he was scared.

“We’ll deal with that later,” Cain said calmly.

“Where’d she get it”

A screamer. Quick to panic. Way out of his depth. Blair must have been crazy to bring him along.

“From your brother.” Cain showed him a sneer. “Where do you think”

“She couldn’t have. No way.” Gage shook his head vigorously, starlight flashing on a gold earring below a bunched mass of oily dark curls. “That little bimbo never could take out Blair.”

“That little bimbo,” Cain said without inflection, “got out of a locked trunk underwater. And nearly put two bullets in me. Did you hear what I told her about not underestimating a lady with a gun I meant it.”

“Blair could handle her with his damn eyes closed.”

“Maybe he had his damn eyes closed, and that’s why she handled him.”

“Christ …” A sob caught in the kid’s throat.

“Hey, Gage, take it easy.” That was Tyler, speaking for the first time, his tone smoothly reasonable. “Just because she got Blair’s stuff doesn’t mean he’s dead or anything. She probably just tied him up, is all.”

Cain didn’t know if Tyler believed any of this, but the reassurance had its intended effect. Gage’s rising panic abruptly receded.

“Think so” he whispered. “Think my bro could be okay”

Tyler shrugged. “Robinson’s no killer. Ain’t got the stomach for it.” He rapped Gage’s shoulder, a gesture of manly affection. “Not like us.”

“Yeah.” Gage hitched in a breath, calming himself. “Yeah, not like us.”

Cain smiled briefly. Nice work on Tyler’s part. The problem had required a diplomatic touch, which the cowboy had neatly supplied.

“All right,” he said briskly, reasserting command. “Last I saw of our two friends, they were in the garden. Assuming they continued toward the gate, they would have ended up near the gazebo.”

Gage nodded. “That’s where I hunkered down when Mrs. Kent turned on the light.”

“I’m betting they’re pinned at that spot. They can’t leave without revealing themselves.”

“Sitting ducks.” Tyler’s thin lips skinned back from his teeth in a gunslinger’s bloodless smile.

“Yeah. Thing is, they know it. Cornered, Robinson will have to fight. So watch yourselves. And remember, she’s the prime target. Waste her, and we can take the Kent girl alive.”

Tyler gave it a thumbs-up. “No sweat.”

Hugging the doorframe, Cain flipped a switch. The patio light died, but the rest of the yard remained illuminated.

He ducked low through the doorway and slipped behind a redwood lounge chair.

A second later Tyler and Gage joined him. Together they crawled to the flagstone path. Bent double, Cain advanced along a row of lavender bushes bordering the walkway.

The hard part was over. Now it was time for some fun.

In his life Cain had killed two cops by his own hand. He was looking forward to number three.