Chapter 23

Kane stared at Mateo, waiting for his next move, but a man walked into the room interrupting any further conversation. With a nod from Mateo, the man lined up instruments on the metal table. He gave Kane a satanic smile and held up a scalpel before adding it to the line.

Kane glared at Mateo. “There’s no place you or your goons can hide from me. Each time you threaten my son, your time left on earth is growing shorter.”

“Wait outside.” Mateo turned to the man. “I’m sure Deputy Kane understands why you are here.” He rubbed his knuckle where bite marks stood out sore and swollen. “If he denies my request, I will get much pleasure in watching you use your skills on the boy.”

Rolling his shoulders, Kane moved his attention back to Mateo. “I don’t lie and the bit about feeding you to the pigs is a promise.”

Time was running out and he needed all the players in the room. He couldn’t risk leaving anyone behind who might hurt Jenna before he could get home. Eyes fixed on Mateo, Kane took a step back and wrapped the chains around his hands. Beside him Tauri trembled but his grip had lessened and he’d turned ready to run to safety. He sucked in a breath. “Go.”

Without a second’s delay, Tauri ran past Mateo dodged out of the grasps of the other men and slid under the table. He pushed himself so tight against the wall that in the shadows he’d become almost invisible. In the distraction the armed men turned their backs on Kane. It was a fatal mistake and one he’d counted on. He had a split second to react before the men reached for their rifles. Timing now was everything. The move must work or Tauri would become a target of Mateo’s twisted mind. He could never allow that to happen. Bunching his muscles, he pulled down hard on the manacles, testing the resistance. He gathered his strength and roared.

In a controlled burst of rage, Kane ripped out the bolts in a shower of broken bricks. Armed with two lengths of chain, he spun one of them around his head like a lasso. Time spent on Rowley’s ranch lassoing cattle quickly became an asset as he wrapped it around the neck of the closest man. Dancing forward, he wrenched down hard, dragging the gasping man toward him. The rifle clattered to the floor as the man, eyes bulging, raked at his throat, gasping for air. Kane tightened his grip, squeezing the life from him until he fell limp in his arms. One down.

Free to move, Kane held the man before him as Mateo reacted first, drawing his weapon and firing. His shots slammed into his guard’s vest, protecting Kane as Mateo emptied the clip. Before Mateo could reload, Kane tossed the body at him, knocking the gun from his hand. He spun around using the chain to take out the second man before he had the chance to pull his rifle from his shoulder. As the life drained from the man, he ripped the chains from his inert body. Two down.

He turned. He wanted his prize, the man who dared to kidnap his son. He would make him pay. He stalked calmly toward the unarmed man, fingers flexing. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I don’t think it’s my day to die.” Mateo pulled a hand grenade from his pocket, backed away, and pulled open the door. He stepped into the doorway, grinning.

Fear for Tauri’s safety gripped Kane and he froze on the spot. If he attacked Mateo now, it was instant death for both of them.

“You’ve made a big mistake, Deputy. This could have been easy, a small retraction of a statement and everyone would have been happy. I never lose and now there won’t be enough of you left to testify. I would have killed you before, but we needed to be sure my family would be set free. Now I know you’ll never cooperate we’ll take our chances in court.” As he backed out, he laughed. “I would have taken much pleasure in killing the boy and will enjoy watching my men with your wife. Think about that in your last seconds on this earth. I’m going to get her now and I promise her death will be slow.” Mateo ran along the passageway.

As Mateo disappeared, Kane heard the familiar bounce and roll of a tossed grenade on cement. The brown ball of destruction rolled toward the entrance to the room. With seconds to live, survival instinct took over. He ran at the doorway, kicked the metal door shut and chains trailing behind him, dived beneath the table. Gathering Tauri in his arms he wrapped his body around him. “It’s going to be okay, cover your ears. There’s going to be a loud bang.”

In his arms, Tauri sobbed and trembled. Pain of deep loss rammed through him. He’d let his family down. His mind counted down the seconds before the explosion would change the world forever. He tightened his grip around Tauri, using his body to protect him the best he could. Maybe one of them would survive, but alone, Jenna would be in a fight for her life because of him. He’d been such a fool to risk everything and to trust the FBI had planned everything down to the last second. The takedown should have worked out fine, the cartel arrested, and his name suppressed for the trial. No one outside a small circle should have known his identity. The time counted down, one second left to live or die. He tensed for impact. I’m so sorry, Jenna.