Chapter 22

22

Colin turned into the parking lot for the Veritas Center and aimed for the ramp to the garage. He hadn’t wanted to go back to the lab, but they had to regroup to find Brooklyn. Dev had called one of his buddies at the Clackamas County Sheriff’s office to see if he would run the jacked-up pickup’s plate, but his buddy didn’t answer, and Dev had to leave a message. If the deputy didn’t call back by the time they reached Nick’s lab at the Veritas Center, he would hack the DMV database to search for the license plate.

Colin’s phone rang. “It’s Micha. Maybe he has something on the gun we recovered.”

He pulled up to the barrier and answered his phone. “Tell me you have something to help.”

“Boy, do I.” The excitement in Micha’s tone sent hope growing in Colin. “I finished calling local gun dealers.”

“And?” Colin almost snapped out as he was eager to hear the news and didn’t want to wait.

“And I found the dealer who sold the Sig to Tarver. Of course, that’s not the name he used to buy it.” He paused, and Colin wanted to push him more but waited. “He went under the name of Lionel French, and the address matches the house that burned down.”

“The name doesn’t mean anything to me.” He looked at Nick. “What about you?”

He shook his head. “But I can get a search going right away. See what we can learn.”

“He likely assumed a deceased individual’s identity,” Dev said.

“Good lead, right?” Micha asked.

“Maybe,” Colin said.

“C’mon, man. You have to admit it’s the best thing we’ve found so far.”

Colin shared the license plate number for the truck.

“Oh, man, the crime boss has her? Well, yeah, you should be able to track that plate down.”

“I hope so. Having this name is great, but if it’s tied to the address Tarver bailed on, and even if we find information on Lionel French, we’re probably already too late for it to help bring the guy in.”

More importantly, too late to save Brooklyn from the terrible fate Albertelli had planned for her.

They all piled out of the truck near the enclosure. The space didn’t surprise Brooklyn, except for the size of the fenced area. She estimated it to be thirty-by-thirty. Way larger than the kennel-type structure at the house that had burned. The grassy area held two large maple trees and a big water trough. Kane had surrounded the area with heavy metal panels, much like she’d seen with cattle fencing. But unlike the type used for cattle, this fencing was two sections high, making it ten feet tall or taller. She assumed that jaguars could jump high, and of course, he wanted to keep the cat inside.

Kane stroked the fencing as if it were a favorite pet as he gazed at her with a mixture of hatred and admiration. “Took me weeks to build this. When I wasn’t trying to find you, I was here.”

She wasn’t stepping in that enclosure if she could help it, and maybe she could delay by questioning him. He’d always liked to brag about himself, so hopefully, he would go along with her and Luka would let him talk. “You were never one for pets. Not that I guess Sumo is a pet, but why a jaguar?”

Kane leaned against the fence, his face still holding a great measure of pain. “I didn’t plan to keep him. Got into wildlife trafficking as a side hustle and bought Sumo to sell to a big-time drug dealer. Before I could deliver him, the dude got himself arrested and sent away for twenty years. He obviously couldn’t take Sumo to prison with him, so he was out as my buyer. I tried to find another one. Didn’t happen right away, and I started to like having the stupid cat around. Found out when I went out to feed him that I could talk to him.”

Wow, and a personal thought she never expected he would share with her. “You could make a human friend to talk to. That would be a lot easier than keeping—what?—a two hundred pound cat alive?”

“He’s closer to three hundred, but yeah, he does eat a lot and require some care. But he doesn’t talk back. Humans do. Sumo just grunts and growls. I can handle that.”

“But you must’ve been talking to a human too, right? I mean the guy who died in the fire.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. The fire didn’t get my brother.” Luka scowled and thumped Kane on the head. “He did. Popped him in the head using his stupid little Sig.”

“Loved that gun.” Kane’s words were said matter-of-factly, like he was talking about the weather not killing a man. “Gonna have to get another one like it.”

Luka let his fist fly into Kane’s face. “You’re going to respect my brother and feel remorse for what you did before we finish here, so help me.”

Brooklyn agreed. Not to the point of violence, but she didn’t care if Kane missed his gun. He’d killed a man with no regret. “Why do it? Why kill him?”

“Not my fault. They made me.” He glared at Luka. “I accidentally stepped on his toes. Apparently, he’s big into wildlife trafficking. My bad. Should’ve done better research, but the money was too good.” He chuckled, but then it faded as fast as it came and morphed into a scowl. “They stole Sumo and warned me to back off.”

“And you couldn’t let it go at that,” she said, knowing him. “Sumo belonged to you, and you had to get him back. Like you think I belong to you.”

“You do know me, don’t you?” He laughed but grimaced and stopped. “And you do belong to me. Time you start realizing that.”

She wouldn’t go there. “So what happened?”

“Luka took something of mine, so I took something of his. Maybe a little more important, but still his.” That wry smile came back, but he stopped and touched the wounded corner of his mouth.

“What did you take?” she asked.

“Not what. Who.” Luka glared at Kane. “My brother.”

Ah. That made sense . “Matteo.”

Kane flashed her a wide-eyed look. “So you figured out his ID, huh? I thought the fire would’ve taken care of obscuring it. Or did Luka here tell you?”

“Not Luka, and the fire did make things difficult, but my new friends at the Veritas Center lifted his print from the finger you left behind.”

He cursed and slammed a hand on the fence, then held it close to his body as if he’d hurt it more. “I ran out of time. Couldn’t grab the box after I’d worked out a deal with Luka to trade Matteo for Sumo.”

“A deal you reneged on.” Luka cuffed Kane across the face again.

“Well, yeah. Did you really expect anything different?” Kane stared at him as if he couldn’t believe someone would do the right thing.

“So what happened?” she asked.

Kane faced her. “Luka’s thugs were breathing down my neck, and I had to leave fast. Figured no one would find that box under the floor until I could get back there for it. But, of course, you would remember that I hid things in a crawl space in the past.”

She remembered far more than she would ever admit to him. “But you weren’t planning to release Matteo, then?”

“Not hardly.” He eyed her, passion burning from his eyes, then he shifted to face Luka and raised his shoulders. “Can’t let someone treat me that way and get away with it, now can I?”

Luka roared and plowed into Kane with his shoulder to the ribs, knocking Kane to the ground. “You’ll pay for this insubordinate behavior.”

Kane clutched his abdomen and curled up. “I don’t have much to lose at this point.”

Luka fisted his hands but held them at his side. “Time to start thinking of your sweetie here. Next time you give me any of your guff, she gets it.”

Kane shrugged but locked gazes with her. “No skin off my nose. She’s not going to get away with bailing on me. Either I give her to Sumo or you do.”

His sudden glazed anger directed at her sent fear coursing through her body again, but she resisted letting it take hold, swallowing hard and not letting him know he was impacting her. “But you got Sumo back.”

“I did. Luka here sent two goons to bring him to me.” Kane sat up. “I dragged Matteo out on the porch as proof of life and had them unhook Sumo’s trailer from their SUV, then go wait at the end of the driveway for Matteo.”

“And then you killed him and started the fire.”

“Well, yeah, but first I hooked Sumo up to my truck so I could drive out the back way. But I had to hurry before the goons came looking for Matteo and I got into a shoot-out. I couldn’t clean up any evidence of my being there, so I grabbed a spare can of gas and set the place on fire, then bolted to come here.”

She shook her head, not sure what to say. “All for the love of money.”

“Is there anything else worth loving?” He smirked.

“Not even Sumo?”

“This stupid cat? Nah. After he takes care of you once and for all, and you fatten him, I’ll be selling him to the highest bidder.”

“Not if you’re not alive to sell him to anyone,” Luka said.

Her mouth fell open over the man’s blunt statement. Just a day ago, she had one man wanting to kill her, and she thought that unbearable. Now two men wanted her dead, and a three hundred pound wild cat would likely be used to end her life. Her odds of survival got less by the minute, and she needed a miracle to get out of this dire dilemma alive.

Dev’s buddy didn’t call back. Of course not. That would’ve been too easy, and Colin could have already been on the road to where Brooklyn was being held. Instead, they’d wasted thirty minutes while Nick hacked into the system. Thankfully, he was skilled, or the database wasn’t as secure as everyone would like to think. Either way, he’d just plugged in the license plate number.

“Vehicle’s registered to a Danny Newton with an address in Tillamook,” Nick announced from behind his computer.

“You think the truck belongs to one of Albertelli’s guys?” Colin asked. “Or could it be another alias for Tarver and somehow Albertelli is driving his vehicle?”

“We can find out soon enough.” Nick’s fingers ran over the keyboard. “I’m searching for a corresponding driver’s license to get a look at the photo.”

Colin leapt to his feet and moved behind Nick. The computer churned through records in the DMV database until it landed on one and opened. The photo displayed.

“It’s Tarver all right,” Nick said. “And the address matches.”

“C’mon, let’s move,” Colin said. “Get out there now.”

“Hold up.” Nick lifted a hand. “I’ll bring up a satellite photo so we know what we’re up against.”

“And now that we know we’re dealing with Albertelli,” Reid said, “we’ll need additional weapons and surveillance equipment that we don’t have with us.”

Colin couldn’t waste more time. He just couldn’t. Not with Brooklyn needing him right now. But could he afford to rush off? Could they take Albertelli with just handguns?

No. He had to listen. “You’re right, but no way we have time to go back to Shadow Lake for them.”

“Call Grady. “ Nick kept his attention on the computer. “Extension 126. Have him round up what we might need. We’ll stop by to pick it up on the way out.”

“I’ll do it,” Reid said.

“Hey, thanks, man,” Colin replied as he was too frazzled to think straight to request what they might need. “Make sure we get a semi-automatic rifle that we can use to take Tarver or Albertelli out from a distance if needed.”

“Roger that,” Reid said.

Colin looked at his brother. “Without Micha here, you’re our best marksman. Be ready to take a long shot if needed.”

“You got it.” Dev’s enthusiasm for the job shone on his face. He wouldn’t want to kill another human being, but he would want to be able to use his skills to help, and if Brooklyn’s life was in danger, he would take the shot. After all, law enforcement officers were trained to protect innocent lives at all costs, and that meant taking the hard shot when necessary. As a former deputy, that training would never leave Dev, and he would man up if needed.

“Okay,” Nick said. “The place is on the Wilson River. Tree canopy too thick to really see anything else.”

Colin looked back at Dev. “With the river, we might need your water rescue skills too.”

Dev gave a firm nod. “Glad to help.”

Reid hung up. “Grady will have the supplies ready in five. He also offered to come along if we need him.”

“The four of us have it covered,” Colin said, and prayed he was right. “Let’s move.”

Nick grabbed his laptop. “It’s about an hour drive. I can do additional research on the property on the way.”

Colin hadn’t been coherent enough to think about the fact that they had a long drive outside the metro area. At least they were on the west side of town right now, putting them closer to Tillamook. A helicopter could get them there faster, but there wasn’t any place in the area where one could put down other than on the road. Besides, it would draw attention to their arrival, and if they were going to take on both Albertelli and Tarver, Colin and the guys would likely need the element of surprise.

Still, they were an hour away from taking anyone down.

They raced for the elevator, their footfalls pounding on the tile floor. Inside, Colin looked each guy in the face. “No matter what we do, we need to pray that Brooklyn has an hour to wait for us to get to her.”

Brooklyn was trying to stall. Move slowly but not anger Kane or Luka. A fine line to balance as Kane had snapped at her a few times while they got Sumo ready to move. Sure, she was simply putting off the inevitable. Her fate appeared to be sealed. Death by Jaguar. Unless God intervened in the last minute. He could still decide to rescue her. Like He saved so many people in the Bible.

Luka went to the truck and took out a soft-sided red case that held a tranquilizer gun. “Rocco and I’ll be over here. Try to unleash the animal on us, and we’ll take him down, then you both will follow.”

Rocco drew his handgun as if for emphasis that Brooklyn didn’t need to be made clear. Though honestly, death by a bullet would be preferable to dying by a jaguar attack. So maybe she should be thinking about how to make that happen.

“Now get to it.” Luka waved the red case.

She wanted to get her hands on it in the worst way. She could use the tranquilizers on both the four legged beast as well as the two legged ones.

“Okay,” Kane said from where he stood near the pacing cat’s crate door. “When I get Sumo into the enclosure, Brooklyn, you close the door behind him.”

She looked dubiously at the door that swung inward into the enclosure. Kane had backed the trailer up to the wide gate, leaving zero space between the crate and the enclosure. No way she could close the door without going inside. Maybe that was Kane’s plan, but she doubted it as he would want the cat to be safely inside when he attacked her so he could watch from the outside where he would be protected.

“And just how do you suggest I close it?” she asked.

“Use the rope I tied on it. I’ll open the crate, prod Sumo out, and keep him from coming back in the crate. Then once he clears the gate, you tug it closed. Grab the rope now so you’re ready.” He stared at her until she picked up the heavy rope.

“Be ready because he’s not going to like me prodding him and might fight to stay in the crate.”

She nodded, looking at the big animal pacing the small space as if he knew they were planning to irritate him.

“Ready?” Kane asked.

How did she answer? Was anyone ever ready to try to slam a door behind a wild and irritated jaguar?

“I asked if you’re ready,” he snapped.

“Ready.” She twisted the rope around her hand.

He grabbed the plastic bag he’d gotten from the refrigerator and took out large steaks. He placed a thick slab of red meat near the crate door and then tossed a few on the ground in the enclosure, each further out than the next. A perfect trail for Sumo to follow.

The jaguar pounced on the one at the mouth of his crate. Kane pushed up the door latch with a long metal pole.

Sumo grabbed the steak and dragged it to the corner. Yes, stay inside, Sumo. You don’t want to hurt me, do you?

She resisted pumping up her fist as the jaguar did just the opposite of what Kane and Luka might want.

Kane cursed and tossed another steak in the doorway, then stood back. Sumo gobbled down the first steak and went for the new piece of bloody red meat at the door.

Kane got behind the big cat and jabbed the tip of the pole into his back.

He turned and roared at Kane.

He didn’t back down or even look afraid, but he crouched in pounce mode. Kane stood his ground and tapped the floor by the meat, redirecting the jaguar’s attention as a parent might do with a toddler.

Sumo clamped his monstrous jaws on the steak and leapt out into the enclosure with the meat dangling to the side of his mouth. He stopped in the gateway to consume the steak with sloppy, noisy chewing, then promptly snatched up the next one. And the next one. And finally, the one that had him clearing the gate.

She had to force her mind not to imagine him chomping down on her in the same way.

“Close it now!” Kane yelled.

She pulled and dragged the heavy metal toward the trailer. The edge caught on the ground, and she had to dig deep to get it moving again. She planted her heels and jerked hard until it inched forward, then broke free. Her injured ribs screamed, and she had to pant to breathe, but she jerked the latch side to the pole.

Kane flipped down the heavy-duty hasp and settled an equally strong padlock on it, then tugged.

Brooklyn sagged with relief. Not only had she done her job, but Kane had locked the enclosure, which meant he didn’t think anyone was going to toss her in with Sumo right now. But then, he had no idea of Luka’s plan, right?

If Luka hadn’t arrived, what would Kane be doing with her? Would he torment her with the thought of being consumed by a jaguar so she was even more terrified by the time it occurred? Sounded like something he would do. Especially if he was super confident that no one could find them.

“We’ll head back to the house, now,” Luka said. “First to give the two of you a chance to tell me where my missing item is located.”

“Not happening.” Kane tried to cross his arms but winced and let them fall.

“No worries.” Luka grinned. “It’ll also give Sumo time to work up an appetite again. Then we’ll come back here, and your girlfriend will be the main attraction.”

“I can hardly wait.” Kane grinned.

She obviously didn’t share his sentiment. She could wait and would use the time to pray and try to figure a way out of this deadly situation.