Page 23 of Fatal Mistake
Where were you, God? Didn’t these parents deserve their precious son?
He waited for an answer, but why? He’d been asking the same question for too long. Never finding answers. Never finding peace, and nothing he’d done or could do would erase the pain of losing a child. Sure, everyone’s life was precious—these women Keeler had taken and others Cal had lost during his SEAL career—but the death of an innocent child was far harder to bear, and as a result Cal had left the SEALs behind and had tried to make sense of the loss.
Anger rose up and tried to suffocate him, but he swallowed it down and refocused before another tragedy occurred. He moved from tree to tree, scanning the area until he came upon his car. He took a few minutes to look deeper into the woods, and after he was convinced that no one lurked nearby, he slipped into his car and drove down the road, moving slowly and keeping his head on a swivel.
On his initial scouting of the area last night, he’d spotted a rusty old pickup in the brush up ahead. He’d jimmied the lock and found a tote bag filled with items Tara would use for a quick getaway, which was why he’d had to lock her inside the tower. He’d also pulled the distributor cap on the truck just in case. Even if she decided to run again, he could find her at the truck, so he bumped his vehicle off the road next to it.
Once parked, he slipped out of his suit and into tactical pants and a team logo shirt. He resettled his holster and Glock before grabbing his comms unit. He clipped the radio on his belt and wove under his shirt the cord with a mic that sat at chest level and terminated in earbuds.
He inserted the buds in his ears, then pressed the talk switch. “Alpha Two. You in range?”
“Roger that.” Brynn’s voice came through his earbud. “We’re ten minutes out.”
“Report,” he demanded without any pleasantries.
“We’ve reviewed satellite images and the op is set. County deputies are still in formation in a wide perimeter, and they’ll remain in place until we move our package. I’ll set up our command post at their rear and the rest of the team will set an interior line of defense. I’ll also intercept the fire lookout when she arrives and deliver her safely to the tower. Then you and I will move the package to the command station. If things go according to plan, we’ll have a county escort to the airport and have the package onboard our Cessna winging her way to D.C. by noon.”
“According to plan,” he muttered. “Let’s make sure that happens, and we keep the package safe.”
Calling Tara a package felt odd, but on the off chance that someone intercepted their communication, they couldn’t risk mentioning her name. He signed off with the team and shrugged his go pack over his shoulders before heading toward the tower to share the plan with Tara.
He didn’t have to give her reaction to the team’s assistance much thought. She was already mad about him obtaining a warrant for her arrest, calling in a replacement, and then locking her in the tower. When she learned that he’d enlisted the team and the sheriff to ensure that she got on that plane whether she wanted to or not, she’d fire that heated gaze his way. He’d take any guff she threw at him and continue with his plan.
With a longer hike now, he picked up his speed, glad to be wearing tactical boots and less restrictive clothes that allowed him to move with ease. He jogged over rough terrain, pausing to listen at intervals.
A rifle boomed in the distance, the sound coming through the external hear-thru microphones on his earbuds. The report reverberated through the air and sent birds squawking into the sky.
A hunter? Not likely with deer season occurring in the fall.
The tower? Had Keeler arrived after Cal had departed and fired on Tara in the tower?
Another shot ripped through the air, sounding from the gate.
He jerked out his gun and froze to evaluate. The driveway was about six hundred yards long and a basic hunting rifle could easily fire that distance.
Tara!
“Shooter at the gate,” he said into his comms unit, though the team wouldn’t be able to help for another few minutes. “I’m going for the package. You take the gate when you arrive.”
“Roger that,” Brynn replied.
Cal took off running, his heart thumping hard against his chest. He hadn’t prepared for sniper fire, as Keeler was a bomber not a shooter. Without a rifle, Cal was defenseless against a long gun in the hands of a skilled shooter.
What had he been thinking leaving Tara in the tower like a sitting duck?
It didn’t matter. It was too late to rethink his decision. He had to hope she hadn’t exaggerated her ability to use a rifle, or this could end as disastrously as the horrific vision racing through his mind.
Chapter 9
Oren!” Tara hit the floor. “Don’t let him be here. Please. Not him.”
Another bullet zipped through the wall above her head, and she rolled to the side. She had to get out of there, but she couldn’t exit by the door Agent Riggins locked. Not that she’d take that exit anyway. Oren would expect that.
She scooted to the far corner, pulled open the bottom drawer of built-in shelving, and tugged out the same backpack from last night.
Crack. A bullet whizzed through the wall, then another, sending splinters of wood pelting her body. She rolled to her side and used her feet to push a cabinet off a hidden trapdoor before prying the heavy wood open.
Fresh air rushed through the hatch, and hope for escape blew in with it, allowing her to breathe again. She opened a container holding the emergency stairs that resembled a fire escape ladder made for two-story homes. She dropped the ladder down.
