Page 79 of Risk of a Lifetime
Instinct also told him before this walk ended he’d become a wounded prey. His spine tingled with a shot of adrenaline straight to his brain. He needed to react now. Attack before disabled. He couldn’t. Couldn’t attack until he knew Marcy had escaped.
With Wilson’s expertise in explosives, there was no telling what traps he’d placed. Even if she made it out of the cabin, she could be lying somewhere wounded. The man might have even rigged something so she couldn’t get out of the window. Out of the cabin. She might be trapped inside.
“That’s far enough, JB.” Wilson’s voice quivered with excited anticipation. “Turn around.”
The ruse was over. From now on, everything JB did meant life or death for him and his wife. He felt his nostrils flare. Felt his fingers twitch into their fight rhythm. Felt his will for survival kick into fight-to-the-end mode. He might die today, but he for damn sure wouldn’t die easy.
JB turned to face the monster and his weapon of choice.
“Stay right where you are.” Straight and fierce, Wilson kept his gun trained on him. He appeared composed. Confident in his madness that he was on the side of right. “Hold your arms out to the sides. Shoulder height. Then use your left hand to remove your shoulder holster.”
JB complied. “You don’t want to do this. What if you miss a bullet casing? Leave a fingerprint?”
“I wondered how long it would take you to figure this out. You always were one of my best agents. Too bad.” Wilson motioned with his gun. “Pull your Glock out enough to release the clip. Then throw the clip in the lake.”
“Carla wouldn’t want you to do this.” JB did as told. Heard the splash as the bullets hit the water. “Go back with me, Wilson. Get some help.”
“Tell me, did you figure out Jennings, too? He got a little too close to costing me my money. I had no choice but to get rid of him.” The maniac of an agent laughed. “Carla wore her best schoolgirl outfit. Took him in hook, line, and sinker as a snitch. He believed everything she told him. She was being held. Abused. There were others.” Wilson’s expression oozed of pride. “Got him to the right place for me to pop him.”
Confession. JB didn’t move. A confession he might never get a chance to relay.
Wilson kept his weapon pointed an inch below JB’s Kevlar. The man knew the weak points. “Now the backup gun on your ankle. And that knife you’ve got on your calf. Guess you thought I wouldn’t check your routine. I give you credit for the knife thing. May even use the idea myself.”
“Too bad you won’t get to see South America. You and Carla.” JB pushed the limit. He had nothing to lose. Maybe he could get Wilson to break. To drop his concentration long enough to take him down. One split-second…that’s all JB needed. “Oh, that’s right. You were late to the party. Too late to save her. That why you want to kill Marcy? To ease your guilt for being late?”
“Shut up and do what I said.” The man’s face flushed, eyes bulging.
“Late, Wilson. Late.” JB goaded with precision and the rhythm of a lullaby. “You weren’t in time. Carla trusted you’d be there, and you failed her. That must be hard to face.”
Wilson’s cheek twitched. His predatory posture fractured for a second. Eyes moistened.
JB glided slowly into a new position. Again and again. Each placement of his feet measured. His body angled for the best blow he could strike. Almost like a ballet where every movement took into account the next position. Wilson didn’t seem to notice. He hoped to lull the man holding the gun into a stupor. Anything to slow his reaction time when the moment came.
“It’s not too late for you to lower your weapon, Wilson. We can get you some help.” JB stared the man in the eyes. “You know I had nothing to do with your girlfriend’s death.”
Maniacal laughter coupled with a gasping sob spilled into the air. “Girlfriend? How dare you disgrace her memory with such a thought? Carla was my daughter. My. Daughter.”
Daughter? JB sucked in air. The situation had changed. A man might be angry over the loss of a girlfriend. Even be a motive for payback. But in all likelihood, he could be talked down. The killing of a man’s child was different. Could take vengeance to a whole different level. One that meant blood for blood.
“I didn’t know, Wilson.” JB shuddered to think what he’d do in the same situation. How he’d get retribution against someone he thought had killed his son or daughter. “Why didn’t you ever tell us you had a daughter?”
Wilson shook with anger, his finger set against the trigger and pressing. “Why should I? None of you all ever cared about me. Neither did her mother. I was just a trick that produced a problem. A problem she put up for adoption.”
The air seemed to have grown thicker. Made breathing more labored. Life more fragile.
“Didn’t even get to see Carla till she showed up at my front door a few years back. She was in trouble with some dealers. Needed my help.” The man shook his head. “Every time I got her out of one situation, another came up. Figured getting her…us…out of the country was the only way to give her a new start. That meant money…and….”
“So you started skimming the drugs and money we busted. I can understand the odds you were up against.” JB needed time. “After all, you were her father. Who else could she turn to?”
Wilson nodded. “Then Jennings came snooping. Once I offed him, I’d made my choice. Needed to make one big score. Took months to set that meth bust. Then you…you and Landon screwed everything up.”
JB angled with his words, hoping something he said would make the man have a second thought. “We didn’t know she was your daughter. You should have told us she’d be there. We could have—”
“What? Just what the hell would you two upstanding special agents have done? You sure as hell wouldn’t have gone down my path. Besides, I had everything planned. You and Landon screwed everything up.” Wilson shook his head, raised the gun straight, and primed to shoot. “You called the go. Landon could have stopped you if he’d been on time. And that turncoat boss of mine… He ordered the bust a day early. He’ll get his, too. Him and his bratty kids.” Pure venom had oozed in his last words.
In that moment, JB knew there’d be no taking Wilson alive. This had to end today. On this hill. He would not risk other lives to save his own. Either he or Wilson would not walk away at the end of the day. That was all right with him as long as Marcy walked away.
Maybe he could get Wilson to shoot him. Make him think he’d made a direct hit, then come at him from behind when he turned. JB’d seen no sign of Marcy. She still had to be inside the cabin. Okay, she’d be safe there. Backup was on the way. She could barricade herself in until they arrived. Worst case, she had a gun and knew how to use it.
