Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Yes, I did," the intruder confirmed. "While you ran away." She seemed not unduly concerned by the turn of events. She continued to hold her own gun on Kat.

Jake’s hand shook uncontrollably.

"And now you have a new lover," the woman observed, nodding toward Kat. "He must not have been much to mourn over."

Jake looked at Kat. Her look was full of anguish and pain.

Kat wanted to reach out to her, but she remained rooted in place. She held Jake’s gaze, and with a slow, deliberate movement, blinked toward the gun and nodded very slightly. A signal she hoped Jake would understand. She wanted her friend to pull the trigger.

"How about her?" the intruder barked, drawing Jake’s attention. "Will you mourn her? Pretty touching scene I walked in on."

Jake looked back at Kat uncertainly. Her whole upper body shook. She couldn’t keep the gun still.

"Put it down, or she’s dead," the woman warned.

Jake’s head whipped back around to look at the intruder.

The woman had taken another step toward Kat. "Now!" She was only a couple of feet away and couldn’t possibly miss.

Jake lowered the.38 and tossed it toward the end of the bed.

The intruder picked it up, pocketed it, and moved a few feet away again.

"Who are you?" Kat asked, her eyes darting between the woman and Jake, who had collapsed against the pillows.

"Who am I?" the woman repeated, as if she were considering the answer. "Well, I guess that depends on who you ask. I’m using the name Scout at the moment."

The final pieces suddenly fell into place in Kat’s mind. Jake is--was--Sam’s wife. Scout killed him, and Jake saw it happen. But somehow Jake had escaped...in Scout’s stolen car. It explained why Jake had been speeding like a bat out of hell on that lonely road. She was leaving the airstrip.

Kat looked at Jake. Her friend was not the assassin she’d believed her to be all this time. She was an ordinary woman who was ill prepared to deal with this kind of situation. Jake appeared to be in shock. She can’t protect herself.

Kat looked back at the intruder. She still didn’t know how this woman knew her real name, but she was certain of one thing--she was very, very dangerous. Scout had good reasons to kill them both, and she would apparently enjoy doing just that.

"Well, Scout. How about I save you some trouble. I’ll double Garner’s offer if you just leave now," Kat said.

Scout laughed. "Oh, it’s no trouble, Katarzyna. Far from it. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to reminiscing about some of your past...accomplishments." She had a cruel, cold smile on her face. "And now I can also get to know your friend," she added, leering at Jake and licking her lips.

Kat’s blood boiled at the prospect, and she had to fight hard against a sudden urge to throw herself at Scout. The woman was too far away and she’d already demonstrated well-honed reflexes.

Kat had to focus. Wait for the right moment. Push down the rage she felt at the image of Scout harming Jake. Her emotions could make her careless. If she failed, Jake would be defenseless.

Kat looked at Jake again. She was worried about the dazed expression in her eyes. "Jake?" she said, ignoring Scout for the moment in an effort to jar her friend back to reality.

"Jake?" Scout repeated. "Why do you call her Jake? Pet name?"

"It’s Riley," Jake whispered, more to herself than to either of them. "Riley McCann."

"Oh, this is rich," Scout said. "You didn’t tell her your name?" She looked at Kat. "And you didn’t ask?"

"I didn’t know it," Riley said without emotion. Her eyes were clenched shut.

Don’t, Kat wanted to say. Don’t tell her anything. She wanted so much to reach out to her. Riley. That will take a little getting used to.

"You didn’t know it?" Scout snorted, disbelieving. "You didn’t know your name?"

"No. I didn’t remember my name, or anything else until..." Riley’s voice trailed off as her eyes opened and focused on Scout. Her dazed expression seemed to clear.

Kat noticed the change with relief. The shock seemed to be wearing off. She wondered how much Jake--Riley--was remembering.

"Until you saw me? How sweet," Scout purred. She turned to look at Kat. "And how much have you told her, Katarzyna? Does she know about the estate where you grew up? Your famous father? The special academy you got to attend in Virginia?"

Kat tried to mask her shock. How the hell does she know all this? How does she know about the Academy? Her silence seemed to infuriate Scout.

"I bet she doesn’t know about all the people you’ve slaughtered in their sleep!" Scout screamed, her face and voice suddenly conveying all the rage that was pent up inside her.

Kat still didn’t respond.

"On the floor, Katarzyna! Face down, hands behind your back!" She waved the gun at Kat. When Kat didn’t immediately move, Scout aimed the gun toward Riley, and her cruel smile reappeared. She pulled the trigger and the gun went off.

The bullet missed Riley’s head by less than a foot. It slammed into the headboard, splintering it.

Riley flinched when the bullet hit and stared wide-eyed at Scout, who calmly cocked the gun again and took aim at Riley’s head.

Kat dropped to the floor. Her instincts were screaming against it, but she knew Scout’s threat was deadly serious.

Once she was on the floor, Scout approached her and put her gun to Kat’s head while she fished in her coverall pockets for handcuffs. "Don’t test me again," she warned. She put one knee on Kat’s back to pin her to the floor as she fastened the cuffs tightly to Kat’s wrists.

"Who are you?" Kat asked again, her face pressed against the cold concrete floor.

"Justice," Scout replied, just before she brought her gun down hard against the back of Kat’s head, knocking her unconscious.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30