Chapter 14

When they pulled up, siren silent now, they saw Whittaker's white car parked on the street, a dent still in the rear panel. "Arrogant son of a bitch. He's not even trying to hide."

"He doesn't know we're onto him," Thornton said. "Probably thinks he'll get away with this like he has the others."

"No fucking way. How are we going in?" Gray asked.

Thornton inclined his head toward the side yard. "Around back."

They exited their vehicle after Thornton gave orders to their backup.

They moved silently to the back door. Thornton motioned for Gray to cover the right side when he opened the door.

It was too damaged for the lock to hold. The kitchen was nothing but a burned-out shell so it was easy to see that no one was there.

The living room was also clear, but the mess there indicated someone had been in a struggle. Had Jenna fought Whittaker as he dragged her inside?

"Bedroom," Gray mouthed and pointed toward the hall.

Thornton nodded and signaled for Gray to go first.

He moved carefully, back to the wall, as he listened. He heard a muffled sound, a footstep, then another. He eased down the hallway to the first door on the right. When he kicked it open, gun raised, he thought he was prepared for what he'd see.

He was wrong.

Whittaker had Jenna bound. She lay curled on the floor, duct tape over her mouth. Blood had soaked through her clothing in several places. Whittaker had a long knife in his hand and the tip lay against her throat.

One move, and she'd be dead before Gray could do anything about it. Jenna was conscious, pale and shaking. She looked at Gray briefly, then closed her eyes. Blood dripped down her neck where Whittaker pressed the knife against her skin.

No way could Gray drop Whittaker without Jenna dying too.

"So you finally figured it out?" Whittaker asked.

"Did I?"

Gray heard Thornton move behind him and signaled for him to back down.

"You don't have to hurt her," Gray said.

"I do. I have to hurt them all."

"No. You aren't hurting anyone else no matter what I have to do to stop you. Why do you think the girls deserve to die?"

"You know why."

"Humor me. Tell me what they've done." Gray needed time. If he could keep the man talking, maybe he could figure out a way to save Jenna.

Whittaker shook his head. "No games. Put your weapons on the floor and kick them to me. You shouldn't have helped these sluts. Now you have to stay with me."

Gray considered his options. His best hope of getting Jenna and himself out alive was to go along with the man for now. His lieutenant was there, right outside the door. He kept his distance from Whittaker as he tossed his service weapon and his backup gun on the floor and sent them sliding.

"Now take a seat." Whittaker took Gray's service weapon—leaving the backup lying where it was—and waved it toward a chair. He kept the knife against Jenna's throat, but he couldn't stay in that position forever, especially if he were going to tie Gray up.

"Hands behind your back," he ordered.

Gray apparently didn't move fast enough. Whittaker pressed the knife deeper into Jenna's flesh. Gray's stomach threatened to revolt as he watched blood run down her pale throat. Their chances of making it out alive weren't good. What if he couldn't save them?

You can't be responsible for everything. Mason's words taunted him. He didn't want to die. He needed to see his men again, to go on that fucking vacation with them.

A noise drew Whittaker's attention to the window. He moved away from Jenna but kept Gray's gun trained on him.

"You've got a team out there."

At first, Gray thought the words were in his head, reminding him that he wasn't alone in this. Then he realized Whittaker had spoken.

"You're going to talk to them for me," Whittaker said.

"Okay. Whatever you need. I'm going to cooperate. I want to keep Jenna safe." Gray knew that nothing would keep her safe if something wasn't done quickly to stop Whittaker. He wasn't going to let Jenna or Gray go.

With his gun to Gray's head, Whittaker zip-tied Gray's wrists together behind his back, yanking the tie viciously tight. His hands would be numb in no time. He gave Gray's ankles the same treatment and then pulled Gray's phone from his holster and held it out.

"Tell the cops out there to leave now."

Gray looked up at him. "I can't dial."

Whittaker ignored him. How much of a grip on reality did he still have? He was certainly handling this more sloppily than the other crimes. How had he managed to elude them for such a long time? However Whittaker had done it, Gray might not have much time left to regret accepting Whittaker's alibi.

"They need to bring me the rest of the girls. Once I do away with them, I can let you go."

"I don't think?—"

Whittaker pressed the gun to Gray's temple. "I could kill you now."

Movement caught Gray's attention. Jenna had almost worked one of her hands loose. Keep Whittaker talking. Keep him focused on you.

"But then you wouldn't have anyone to talk to the cops. I'll do my best to persuade them. I want to live."

"Of course you do. You're not stupid enough to sacrifice yourself for some slut."

Gray's phone started ringing then; so much for him needing to dial.

Whittaker showed him the screen. "Is it them? The other cops?"

Gray nodded. It was Thornton.

"You say only what I tell you to. Tell them I want the other girls. Tell them I'll kill you otherwise."

Whittaker answered the call and pressed the phone to Gray's ear.

Before Thornton said anything, Gray did as he was told. "Whittaker wants the rest of the girls who worked for Andreas brought here. He'll kill me if he doesn't get them."

As Gray expected, Thornton didn't respond to his statement. Keeping his voice low, he said, "I've got a SWAT team moving into position. Hold tight. Try to keep him away from Jenna where we can get a line of sight on him."

"Yes, sir."

"Any chance he'll negotiate this, let it end any other way?"

"No, sir."

The call ended.

Whittaker grabbed the phone. "What did he say?"

"He's working on it. He wants to save me."

"Of course he does. He's smart enough to know what's of value. That the corrupt must die. That the world must be purged."

Jenna's arm was a few inches too short to reach Gray's backup weapon from her position. She wiggled, trying to scoot across on the floor. The sound drew Whittaker's attention.

He turned and saw her trying to get to the gun. He kicked out and Gray heard the crunch of Jenna's ribs. As Jenna curled in on herself, Whittaker grabbed for the gun. Gray watched as though time had slowed down. Whittaker fingers closed around the metal and then his brains splattered on the floor and he collapsed.

Jenna screamed.

Gray turned to the window, where a neat hole from a sniper's rifle had punctured the glass. Thornton's team had come through. It was over.

For several seconds Gray remained frozen, staring at Whittaker's corpse. Then the world seemed to move again. He struggled against his bonds.

"It's okay," he said as much to himself as to Jenna. "He's dead. It's going to be okay."

He didn't know if she could hear him over her own screaming. The sound would stay with him forever.

Cops rushed the room. Gray didn't know when he'd ever been happier to see someone he could trust. An officer cut him loose and another bent over Jenna, loosening her bonds and trying to calm her.

Gray moved to her side as soon as he was free. "It's okay. I'm here to help. I'm going to take you to the paramedics."

Despite his soothing tone, she fought the officer's efforts to lift her.

"Let me take her. She knows me," Gray said.

The officer nodded and backed away.

"Jenna, it's Gray. You're safe now. I swear it."

She struggled for a few more seconds, then relaxed against him, finally seeming to accept that she was safe. He vaguely registered that one of the officers was checking Whittaker for a pulse. No way in hell did he have one, not when he was missing a good part of his head.

Gray just hoped to God he wouldn't keep seeing Whittaker die again and again in his dreams. He remained kneeling by Jenna.

She glanced up at him. "You're shaking too."

Was he? Yeah, he guessed he was. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak right then. He needed someone to hold him, to comfort him, but it would be hours before he could get home to Jack and Mason. He hoped he could hold it together until then. He should let them know he was okay before they saw all this on the news, but he didn't know where his phone was and Jenna was bleeding on him.

Jenna whimpered when he lifted her to carry her to where the paramedics were waiting. She clung to him, tears streaking her bloodstained face, when he tried to set her down.

"Stay with me. Please," she begged.

"Of course." Gray sat her down and held her hand, nodding to the paramedics. "Multiple stab wounds and broken ribs. I'm not sure about anything else."

A few minutes later, they had her hooked up to an IV to replenish her fluids and a woman was stitching up the wound in her side, the worst of the gashes he'd seen. The paramedics determined she'd lost a lot of blood, but she didn't have any serious damage. Whittaker had been careful, working her over in a way that wouldn't kill her before he was ready.

But if Gray hadn't found her… The world wavered before him. Fuck. Even sitting down he was dizzy.

One of the paramedics laid a hand on his shoulder. "We should take a look at you."

He shook his head. "I'm fine. He didn't touch me."

"You're pale and shaking. I think you're in shock."

Gray snarled at him. "I said I was fine."

The man wrapped a blanket around him anyway and turned his attention back to Jenna. She was fading as pain meds and exhaustion hit her, but she still clasped Gray's hand tightly.

Was he in shock? No, the world looked a bit fuzzy, and he couldn't keep his hands from shaking—the one Jenna wasn't clasping at least—but he was holding it together. He just needed to get through the debrief and get home. He brushed the hair off Jenna's face, and she gave him a goofy smile. She was safe for now, but what would happen to her? He would have to make sure she was well taken care of.

For the first time since Gray had stepped into Whittaker's bedroom, he became aware of the world around him: the buzz of people talking, news vans, reporters with cameras, onlookers crowding the barricades surrounding the house.

Had Jack and Mason seen the news? Did they know he was okay? Hopefully, they knew only Whittaker had been killed.

Gray scanned the crowd. To his right, Thornton was talking to two of the members of the SWAT team. When he saw Gray watching him, Thornton broke away and headed toward him. "You up to giving me a play-by-play?"

Jenna's grip had slackened in his hand as the pain meds put her to sleep. "She didn't want me to leave her."

"We need to take her to the hospital," one of the paramedics said.

Gray frowned. "She'll panic when she wakes up alone."

"I've got an idea," Thornton said. "Let's call Andy. Maybe he can be there for her and explain that you sent him."

Andy ran the youth shelter where Jack volunteered. He'd know how to talk to Jenna, and maybe she could get a spot at the shelter once she was discharged.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you've been through hell."

"Not compared to…" He gestured toward Jenna.

"Gray, you were held at gunpoint by a psycho and"—he gestured toward Gray's clothing—"you've got Jenna's blood all over you. Even the most stoic of us wouldn't weather that easily."

Gray considered his words. "I am a bit shaken up."

Thornton rolled his eyes. "You're white as a ghost."

"Here." One of the paramedics handed Gray a bottle of water and a chocolate bar. "At least rehydrate and get some sugar in you."

"Okay." No reason to fight that suggestion. He drained half the water and took a bite of chocolate as he listened to Thornton talk to Andy.

"I appreciate it, and so does Gray… I know… Yes… That would be fantastic."

Thornton hung up. "Andy's going to head to Durham Regional in the next half hour. If Jenna's awake, he'll talk to her. He'll also connect with her assigned social worker and get the paperwork started to get her a spot at Bull City Youth Center."

Relief rushed over Gray. Andy was one of the kindest, hardest-working people he knew. When Jack had been struggling to recover emotionally from being shot, Andy had done wonders for him by assigning him to be Henry's mentor.

"You ready to talk now?" Thornton asked.

Gray nodded. But when he let go of Jenna's hand and stood, the world wavered.

Thornton took his arm. "Sit back down."

"No, I'm fine. I just need a second."

"Yeah, right. Let's see if we can get you to the car without you falling over."

An officer ran up to them before they'd gotten through the crowd. "Is this yours, Detective?"

It was Gray's phone. "Yeah. It's not needed for evidence?"

The officer shook his head.

Gray stared at his phone for a second. He wanted to call Jack and Mason right then. Instead, he shoved the phone into his pocket.

Thornton made a disgusted sound. "Would you stop trying to be so fucking tough and just call them?"

Gray gave Thornton a sideways glance. When it came to tough…

"Almost getting killed gets you a lot of leeway," the lieutenant said.

Gray called Jack, knowing he'd likely be home.

"Gray? You're all right?" Jack sound so relieved.

"I'm here too," Mason yelled in the background.

"I'm fine. It'll be a while before I'm home. I just…"

"You damn well better get home as fast as you can and expect to be held for a long time," Mason said, obviously still listening in.

"I… That would be great."

"What about the girl?" Jack asked.

"She'll make it. Andy is going to the hospital to see her. If you?—"

"I'll call him now."

"Okay, gotta go."

"We love you."

"Yeah. Me too." Even after facing down death, he couldn't bring himself to say those words in front of his colleagues. He doubted he ever would, but Jack and Mason knew, and he'd sure as hell show them when he got home.

"You look a little better," Thornton told him.

"It's the chocolate."

He huffed. "Sure it is."

When they got back to the precinct, Gray went over the details of what happened. He told his story to Thornton and to Captain Russell and then he told it again. Then he filled out more paperwork than anyone should ever have to face. Finally, when he was sure he was going to drop from exhaustion and adrenaline crash, Thornton told him he could go home.