Birds of Prey (19 page)

She shoved herself away from the counter and straightened her shoulders. If she went down, it would be with a fight.

With conviction, she strolled out of the kitchen and through her house. She grabbed her keys and bag off the side table and was out of the door.

As she locked up, she continued to run through the words she’d rehearsed the night before.

She turned and nearly ran into someone and jumped back, surprised.

The young man in front of her held up a stun gun. She knew him and tried to dodge out of the way. She pitched to the side as she tried to dodge him but knew that she wouldn’t get away.

* * * *

Cody leant back in his chair and stretched. It had taken all night, but they’d finally broken into Robert Dawson’s computer and gone through his files.

He had been shocked at how organised the man was. The guy had the entire ranking system and positions of both the Flock and the Cast. Dawson had even outlined his plan.

To take down both groups, he would remove them one by one until only the low-level shifters remained. Then he would step in, unite the two factions and become the most powerful bird shifter leader. He’d been working at his plan for several years already.

The guy had even kept a diary.

And he had a to-do list.

Dawson had put so much work into the plot, Cody wasn’t entirely sure that the guy wouldn’t have succeeded.

By reading Dawson’s diary, they were able to pick out the names of the people who had helped him. There, Cody could finally connect Cast and Flock members to the planned takeover. Cody was disgusted to find out that Adrian Brown had actually been set up. Even Adrian’s hooker had been in on it.

After Gregory’s death and Adrian’s conviction, Dawson had set the groundwork to enter the Cast and become the saviour. Cody doubted it would’ve worked. There were too many high-level shifters who would have stepped up. But the mind of a psycho didn’t make sense to him.

Kevin had been Dawson’s connection to the Flock. Unknowingly, Kevin had given the evil man information on which members should be targeted. Dawson had been amused that Kevin had never figured out what he was up to.

While thinking that he was helping a young man to decide whether the Flock would be a good home for him, Kevin had actually been giving Dawson the information he needed.

Once Dawson had got everything he needed, he’d taken Kevin out.

The third victim was an even sadder story. He’d been identified as Casey Rowlings. Casey had come to Lake Worth in the hopes of actually joining the Flock.

Instead, Dawson had got a hold of the naïve kid and had played him.

Casey had thought he’d been doing research into the Flock so he would impress Anton and be invited to join. Cody knew that Anton would have welcomed Casey with open arms. But Dawson had convinced Casey that he needed to show Anton how much he wanted to become a member.

Casey had got suspicious and started to pull away from Dawson.

Dawson, afraid that Casey would go to Anton, had decided to end Casey’s life.

Cody felt for Casey. The terror he must have felt as Dawson held him down on the bed and slit his throat.

The details in the diary were horrific.

Names of the people who had helped Dawson were also in the diary. Dawson had used them also, but they had at least known what he’d planned to do.

One of the night guards at the Cast, Joey Michaels, had let Dawson into the compound the night before Gregory had been killed. Joey had known how to manipulate the cameras so that Dawson would go undetected.

Cody remembered the interview with Joey and had to admit that he’d never suspected the man.

He’d sent his team out to arrest everyone they now knew was involved.

One of them had to know where Dawson was hiding. They had to find him, and fast.

There was no telling what Dawson would do now that they’d found his hidey-hole and the computer.

* * * *

Aubrey groaned as she blinked her eyes open. Her entire body hurt and she felt very sick to her stomach.

She tried to move her arms to find that she was completely tied up.

She jerked, thinking back, and cursed mentally. The guy who had killed Gregory and the others had been on her front porch when she’d left her house.

She was in the backseat of a car. A rope ran from her shoulders down to her ankles. Her arms were secured against her sides and she could barely move her fingers.

“Awake?”

She lifted her head to peer up at the driver. Yep, it was the same man.

“I’m glad,” he told her. “I would hate for you to miss our next stop.”

Dread filled her. She tried squirming to loosen the ropes.

“That won’t help!”

She glared at him, but stopped moving around. It had hurt.

“You just couldn’t leave things alone,” he said. “If you had just butted out, you wouldn’t have been involved.”

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m Robert, but my friends call me Bobby.”

“What do you want?”

He laughed. It was an ugly, high-pitched sound that grated on her nerves.

“You ruined things for me. Because of you, the Coalition found my place. Now you have to pay.”

That didn’t sound good. “I didn’t mean to.” She tried to sound sincere.

He snorted. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter now. I’ll be leaving town as soon as I take care of you. A fresh start. I already have everything in place.”

“Why me?” She really didn’t want to piss this guy off more, but she needed time to think of a way out.

“I told you they wouldn’t have ever found me if it wasn’t for you!” he said, pounding his hand on the steering wheel. “I’d just got started! I was having fun!”

“You killed people.”

He grunted. “Duh! That was the best part.”

Oh hell, this guy was certifiable. “Uh, where are you taking me?”

He laughed again. “You’ll see.”

Shit! She couldn’t shift. If she transformed while tied up, the chance of one of her wings getting caught was too high. Her wings were more fragile than her arms. If she injured a limb in her falcon form, it would take a long time to heal.

The car started to slow and she braced herself for whatever was going to happen next.

She should have called Cody, just spoken to him and told him what was going on. She would have liked to have heard his voice one last time.

And her mom’s and dad’s. They were the best parents a girl could have. At least she’d got to tell Adam and Mike how much they meant to her. After she’d decided to defy Adrian, she’d hugged them both, thanking them for their support. She didn’t know how to help herself and she really,
really
did not want to die!

Panic clawed at her throat and she tried to clear her mind. She had to think. Somehow, she would have to get away.

The car stopped and Aubrey tried raising her head to see where they were. She couldn’t get enough leverage.

Robert climbed out of the car, and a moment later, the rear passenger door opened. Behind him, she saw the railing of the Lake Worth Bridge.

Oh God! She tried to kick out with both feet as he reached for her, but it wasn’t any use. She screamed, loud and long, until he clamped his hand over her mouth.

“Shut up! Not that screaming will do you any good. I don’t like it,” he told her calmly, although he did withdraw his hand.

It was broad daylight. He couldn’t just throw her off the bridge.

If he did, there was no way she would be able to stop herself from drowning.

Tears pricked her eyes. “Don’t do this!” she pleaded. “Please, there has to be another way. You don’t have to kill me!”

He smiled. “I want to.”

Aubrey yelled, hollered, and prayed that someone would come to her aid as he pulled on her legs to tug her out of the vehicle.

She turned her head and tried to bite down on the upholstery to keep herself inside. The old fabric ripped as he heaved her out and into the fresh air.

Sobbing, she spat the material out of her mouth while looking around desperately.

How could no one be on the bridge?

“Any last words?” he asked her with a cackle.

“Please!”

“Please,” he mocked. “Please, please, please! Oh, I love it when they beg!” He rubbed his hands together. “Beg some more.”

But she couldn’t. Panic cut off her air, forcing her to gasp.

He laughed at her. “Too bad.” Yanking her arms, he hefted her up onto her shaky legs. “It’s a beautiful place. Think of the view you will have on your way down!”

She whimpered. Her mind whirled, trying to think of an escape.

“Are you ready?” He reached for her and she dropped to the ground.

Her shoulder and hip took the brunt of the pain when she was unable to catch her fall. She cried out, tried to make herself pure dead weight.

Maybe he wouldn’t be able to lift her.

He grumbled and yanked her head up by her hair.

Aubrey howled in pain.

“We don’t have time for this,” he shouted. “Get up.”

She couldn’t have got up even if she had wanted to. Not that she was going to tell him that.

He crouched, yanking her head back again. “Stupid bitch.”

* * * *

Cody had just snatched a cold bottle of water from the fridge when the office door crashed open.

“Cody!” Ryder ran in panting.

“What?” he asked, alarmed.

“Mike called. Aubrey never showed up at the Cast house this morning.”

Cody reached for his phone.

Ryder shook his head. “They’ve been calling and even went by her place. One of her neighbours saw a strange car earlier.”

“What kind of car?”

The two detectives raced into the room.

“Dispatch just received a call about a man trying to throw a tied-up woman off the Lake Worth Bridge. The car matches the BOLO out for Robert Dawson.”

“Fuck!” Cody shouted. He took the stairs, jumping down most of them.

Ryder stayed right behind him.

Cody was out of the stairway and sprinting to the front entrance while pulling his shirt over his head. He had to shift and get to Aubrey.

Chapter Sixteen

Cody flew as fast as his wings would carry him. Ryder was next to him, the powerful red-tailed hawk racing with him to get to Aubrey in time.

Cody reduced his height when the bridge was just in his sight. God, he hoped that Aubrey was still okay. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.

He hadn’t even paused before he had shifted. It was the fastest way to get out to the lake. He was glad that Ryder was with him, though. Both detectives were following in his vehicle and had promised to call in more back-up.

They were almost there.

But he was still at a distance when he saw them.

Aubrey had red rope wrapped tightly around her from her shoulders to her ankles. Robert Dawson had her bent over the waist-high barrier rail of the bridge.

She was screaming.

He couldn’t hear her, but with his enhanced sight he could see her open mouth.

His falcon cried and it seemed to echo around him.

Dawson squinted up at him. The sun was behind Cody so Dawson would have a harder time seeing him.

From the opposite direction, he saw the huge wingspan of a golden eagle heading right towards Dawson and Aubrey. Byron was getting ready to attack.

Cody put on a burst of speed. Dawson was starting to really struggle to get Aubrey pushed off.

Where was the rest of their back-up?

Byron started a dive-bomb manoeuvre, and Cody watched in horror as the golden eagle slammed into Dawson who pitched forward a little more.

If Dawson was pushed over the bridge, Aubrey would go with him. A whistle from Byron had Cody flying up just as Aubrey fell over the edge. Cody used everything he had inside himself to push past his exhaustion as, in horror, he heard her scream.

With barely enough time, Cody positioned himself directly under her. It was all he could think to do.

Suddenly Ryder was by his side as Aubrey landed on him.

He’d managed to catch her upper body while Ryder had taken the weight of her legs.

They sank at the velocity she’d dropped.

Cody worked, flapping his wings furiously to keep all three of them from hitting the water.

Working together, he and Ryder were able to stop their descent and hover.

The closest land was still a good distance away.

Pure determination was all he had going for him right then. It would be tricky getting Aubrey to safety without dropping her. Luckily, she was smart enough to remain completely still. Well, that wasn’t completely accurate. She was shivering and panting.

But she was not struggling, which made their job a little easier.

Above them on the bridge were loud commotions, but Cody couldn’t worry about that. He had to get Aubrey to safety.

If Dawson did manage to get away, they would find him. He wouldn’t be able to show his face in town without someone recognising him, Cody would make sure of that.

He was starting to feel the strain of Aubrey’s weight as they finally reached the sandy ground.

They lowered her, and as soon as she was safe, Cody started to shift back.

Ryder tilted his head towards Cody before he flew away and up with Byron. Since Cody was tired and stressed, his transformation took longer than it normally would have.

“Baby.” Cody dropped to his knees next to her. “Talk to me! Are you okay?”

“Un…untie me, please!”

He didn’t have anything with which to cut the ropes. He tried to yank them down, but she screamed and he had to stop. He couldn’t cause her pain.

“I’m sorry, honey, I have to get something to cut you free.”

“Don’t leave me!” she called when he rose.

“Okay.” He ran his hands over her face and neck. “Okay, breathe for me, slowly, come on, take deep breaths.”

She nodded and took a big gulp of air before letting it out. He matched her. The two of them just stared into each other’s eyes as they tried to calm themselves.

When she had stopped shaking, Cody bent and ran his lips gently over hers.

“I was so scared when I saw you hanging over the barrier,” he confessed.