The Predator (30 page)

A cupboard was against the wall to the left of her and to the right, what she imagined was the back door. She’d seen her uncle leave through it and a short time later, he’d returned. She guessed it led to some kind of outhouse because it was obvious the cabin didn’t house a bathroom.

A wan light flickered, catching her attention. Her uncle held an old-fashioned lantern in his hand. The smell of kerosene singed her nostrils. Panic flared in her belly. She cleared her throat and tried to speak normally.

“W-where are we? This place looks old.”

The distraction seemed to work. Her uncle acknowledged her question with a brief smile and placed the lamp on the table. “This cabin’s been here for more than seventy years. It belongs to my father and I think it was his father’s before that.

“I come here when I need time to think and to get away from everything. Not many people even know it exists. No one bothers me here.”

Something inside of Cassie told her she had to keep him talking. She offered him a shaky smile. “It must be nice to have somewhere special to go, away from everyone.”

James smiled. “Oh, yes, although I don’t come here as often as I wish. Work and…other things have a way of interfering.” He spread his arms wide. “As you can see, it’s been awhile since I was here last.”

“Have you ever brought anyone else here?” She bit her lip the moment the words left her mouth.

His expression turned sly. He walked toward her.

“Why, are you jealous? I brought you here.” He crouched beside the bed and ran his hand along the length of her ribcage, spreading the torn singlet as he did so. “Sweet, sweet, little Cassie. You belong here.”

Terror paralyzed her limbs. Panic began to choke her. “P-please, Uncle J-Jim. P-please don’t hurt me. P-please let me go. I p-promise I won’t tell anyone. M-mom and Dad p-probably don’t even know I’ve g-gone. I p-promise I won’t say anything. P-please, please…”

She hated the whimpering fear in her voice, but was powerless to stop it.

He stood and leaned over her, his lips inches from hers.

“I can’t,” he whispered, “even if I wanted to. It’s too late.” His hand reached out and cupped her breast.

Cassie screamed.

* * *

A high-pitched scream rent the quiet stillness of the bush. Alex froze. A startled cockatoo took flight, screeching its own protest. Her gaze flew to Brandon. He stared back at her, his face pale.

Declan’s head whipped around. Beside him, the handful of State police officers stared at the ground.

Alex glanced around at the members of the taskforce, all dressed in camouflage fatigues. They were heavily armed, including the men led by Declan. His face was tense in the early evening dimness, but he kept still, his gaze focused on the rundown cabin perched on the edge of the woods about fifty yards away.

Alex thought of Tom and Lily, waiting helplessly at home for news. Alex knew how hard it had been for them to remain behind and let the police do their job. Both of them had wanted nothing more than to leave for the cabin and find their daughter. Alex wasn’t the only one grateful that they’d seen sense.

Upon the team’s arrival at the fishing cabin, they’d spied the white Ford pickup parked a few feet from the dilapidated building and their suspicions of Gibbons’ whereabouts had been confirmed. They’d had the cabin under surveillance for the past ten minutes while Ryan Boland and Jack Nelson, both armed with Glock 19 semi-automatic pistols, carried out a reconnaissance. They were on their way back to the group when the scream tore through the night.

The noise unnerved all of them, even as it justified their presence. Gibbons was not alone. The officers reappeared and headed straight to Brandon.

“You’re right, mate. He’s in there. And so is the girl. He’s got her tied up on the bed against the back wall. She looks unharmed, although it’s hard to tell. We only caught a quick glimpse through the front window. The place is so full of dust and grime, it’s difficult to see anything.”

Brandon nodded, his face tense. “Thanks, fellas. You’ve done well.” With his voice pitched low, he called for them to gather around.

“All right, this is how it’s going to happen. I’m going to call Patrick and tell him we’ve found them. There’s no signal here, so I’ll have to go back up the hill a bit. It’s a good thing. It means Gibbons won’t have any means of communicating, either. We won’t have to wait for INTERPOL or the FBI to give us the go ahead. We’ll have him in handcuffs before he has an inkling what’s happening.”

He drew in a deep breath and continued. “After I bring Patrick up to date, we’re going in. I’ll lead the assault from the front. Alex, Ryan and Jack will come with me. Declan, you and your men will take the back. You’ll need to stay low in case he looks out the window. Dirty or not, we can’t take the risk that he sees us.”

His gaze traveled around the group. “Any questions?”

Alex drew in a deep breath. “Let me talk to him.”

Brandon swung around to face her. He was shaking his head back and forth even before he uttered a word.

“Please, Brandon. It makes sense. I know him, but not like Tom and Lily know him. Or you. I only met him once. He may not even remember me, but then again, maybe he will. He doesn’t know I’m in law enforcement. He knows nothing about me, other than I’m a friend of Lily’s.”

She pleaded with her eyes. “It might be all we need. If I can put him off balance for even a few moments, one of us might be able to get to Cassie and free her. If we can prevent having to draw our weapons, we have a much better hope of avoiding bloodshed.”

Declan nodded thoughtfully. “Alex is right. Her presence on his doorstep might confuse him. He won’t immediately connect her to law enforcement. It might give us the chance we need.”

Brandon’s lips compressed in an agony of indecision. He stared at Declan and then back to Alex. His frown was fierce. She reached out with a hand that was not quite steady and laid her palm over his heart, feeling the strong, steady beat of it through the layers of his clothing.

“It’s okay, Brandon. I’ve trained for this. We both have. I’ve worked beside you, remember? Nothing’s changed. I’m as sharp as I ever was.”

Ryan stepped forward. “She’s right, mate. She’s the best shot we’ve got. Of course, we hope it doesn’t come to that…” He looked down at his feet, shifting uncomfortably.

Brandon’s expression turned grimmer. He looked at Alex, his eyes boring into hers. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Then nodded.

“Okay.”

She sagged in relief, even as adrenaline surged through her. Fear edged her consciousness. Fear was good. She was about to go into what could explode into a lethal situation. Fear kept her sharper, more wary. Fear could save her life. Brandon spun on his heel and headed up the hill with his cell phone in his hand. Less than five minutes later, he returned.

“We’re good to go,” he said, his gaze encompassing the assembled group of law enforcement. “Patrick hasn’t yet received the nod from INTERPOL, but with Gibbons out of communication range, he’s given us the green light.”

Alex drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing her heartbeat to steady. Brandon turned to her, his expression somber.

“You ready?”

“She nodded grimly. A moment passed. Without thinking, she pulled Brandon’s head down to hers and pressed her lips against his. She felt his momentary surprise, but then his arms came around her and he squeezed her tight. There was desperation in his hard embrace.

“I love you,” he murmured against her ear and then set her away from him. “Be careful.”

Alex pulled out of his arms and stumbled away. She tried desperately to concentrate on the cabin that loomed up in front of her. Brandon’s parting words reverberated inside her head. Joy warred with disappointment as she realized she hadn’t had the wherewithal to respond to him. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Lives were at stake. Cassie’s, definitely, and maybe even hers.

No one knew if Gibbons was armed, but they had to assume he was. What they did know was that when he realized they’d found him and that he was cornered, he’d likely become desperate and desperate men were dangerous.

Dread weighed like concrete in her belly. She crouched low in the undergrowth and crept forward one step at a time. She was now close enough to see a faint light visible through the front window.

Glancing behind her, she was reassured by the darker shadows of Brandon and his team. They’d agreed she would approach the cabin on her own and try to draw Gibbons out. At the same time, Declan would approach from the rear and attempt to rescue Cassie.

The plan was sound, but anything could go wrong.

She sucked in a breath and counted slowly to ten. She was less than five feet from the door. The low hum of voices reached out to her. Night had fully descended, but the moon was with them, glowing golden from a perfect, round orb. It was enough to illuminate the ground in front of her and the crumbling concrete steps that led to the front door.

Taking another breath, she stood and trod carefully up the stairs. With a fist that was not quite steady, she knocked on the door.

“Jim, it’s Alex. Alex Cavanaugh. We met at Lily’s barbeque.”

* * *

Cassie’s heart leaped with gladness at the sound of her aunt’s voice. Aunty Alex was outside! Oh, please, please God. Please, let it be all right. Let her uncle speak with her aunt and let her go. Let her leave this place of horror and never come back.

She still lay spread-eagled on the musty mattress. Seconds earlier, her uncle had used the knife on her skirt, leaving her sick with terror.

Her uncle was as surprised as she was to hear Aunty Alex’s voice. The wildness in his eyes momentarily subsided. He stopped pulling at her gym pants and rose from the bed. His body stilled. She couldn’t tell if he was poised for fight or flight. She watched it all as if in slow motion.

“Alex? Alex from the barbeque?”

The confusion in his voice was reflected on his face. He turned and walked toward the front door then halted abruptly and did an about-face. Cassie shrank back against the mattress, the ties at her wrists and ankles protesting against the movement. She bit her lip against the pain.

“Jim, please open the door. I know Cassie’s in there. Please let me see her.”

His body jerked and Cassie tensed, hardly daring to breathe. He clutched his head in his hands and turned it from side to side. He turned and paced the length of the cabin.

“
No, no, no!
Alex, you can’t come in. I’m here with Cassie. We’re here together. Sweet, sweet Cassie. Go away, Alex. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Please, Jim. At the barbeque, you seemed like such a nice man. Not the kind of person to do something terrible. I’m sure you love Cassie as much as I do. You don’t want to hurt her.”

Cassie’s heart thumped hard against her chest. The front door cracked open and slowly widened.

Aunty Alex appeared in the doorway, looking strange in camouflage clothing. She had one hand extended toward her uncle in a gesture of peace. Cassie held her breath.

“Hello, Jim. Remember me? We met at the barbeque. You told me about your job and all the traveling you do. We had a lovely chat.”

Her uncle cocked his head, as if he was listening and weighing up her aunt’s words. Frantic prayers chased themselves around inside Cassie’s head. She tried to slow her breathing, forcing tiny quiet breaths through her parched lips.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and watched as the back door she’d spied earlier eased open. The tiniest crack of moonlight landed amongst the dirt, sending the dust mites dancing.

Another thought struck her. If her aunt was here, then her parents might also be outside. Someone had told Aunty Alex about the cabin. She only prayed it had been her mom. That meant she knew. She knew about Uncle Jim. She knew about Cassie. Her mom could be trying to come through the back doorway right now.

She risked another glance in her uncle’s direction. He was still focused on her aunt who had now made it all the way inside. Aunty Alex caught her eye and nodded in her direction—the tiniest of movements, but Cassie took it as a sign of encouragement. Hope flared in her chest.

* * *

Brandon watched Alex disappear into the gloom of the cabin and hoped he’d made the right decision. Tension knotted his gut.
Why the hell had he agreed to let her go?
Gibbons could have any number of weapons and no one had any clue how he’d react when he realized he’d been discovered. Brandon would never get to her in time if Gibbons decided to hurt her.

Anxiety gnawed at him and he resisted the urge to check the safety on his gun. The heavy weight of the Glock was reassuring against his palm, but he’d be a hell of a lot calmer when Alex reappeared safe and sound. Now that she was out of sight, the tension was driving him mad. Not knowing what was happening in there was almost more than he could bear.

As if he could read his mind, Ryan moved up beside him and gave him a nudge. Brandon offered him a grim smile, acknowledging the other man’s attempt at reassurance. Brandon had initially been suspicious and probably even a little jealous of Alex’s closeness to her partner, but right now he was glad to have the support of someone who cared about her.

“What do you think’s going on?” Ryan asked, his voice low.

“No idea, but at least it’s quiet. That has to be a good thing.”

* * *

Alex tried to breathe through the nerves that churned inside her. She had to keep him calm, keep him talking. Keep him thinking about normal everyday things and not what he was doing in an old fishing cabin in the middle of nowhere with his teenage niece.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and watched the back door ease open. In silence, she let the first feelings of relief slide through her and sent a desperate plea heavenwards. With her gaze trained on Jim, she tried once again to distract him.

“This is a pretty cool place, Jim. I bet you love coming here.”

He frowned and looked as though he was struggling to follow the thread of her conversation. It took him a moment to respond.

“Yeah, it’s my father’s. He used to bring me here all the time when I was a kid, when he wanted to get away from my mother. She did nothing but yell and swear all the time. It was an escape for both of us.”