Page 87 of Shadow of Fear
Plan in mind, Dev raced for Colin’s window, but his speed was hampered by his injury.Buck up. You can do this. Have to do this.
He gritted his teeth until he could clutch the windowsill to take the weight off his hip. “An assailant has Kinsley at gunpoint. He’s getting ready to leave and take her with him as a hostage. Have any idea who the guy is?”
Colin shrugged. “Could be the guy Russ said matched the drone prints.”
“His name?”
“Harry Yapp. He stayed in the Bluebird Cabin back in the nineties. Jada and Kinsley played a few pranks on him. That’s the only relationship to them that we know about.”
“Seriously?” Dev stared at his brother. “You don’t think he’s here to kill Kinsley and Jada because they played pranks on him when they were kids?”
Colin shook his head. “I figure he has another motive, but we won’t know what until we find him. I was writing algorithms for the internet to locate information on him, and Russ is looking into him at his office.” He paused. “We should call Russ.”
“He would come barreling in here, lights blazing, and who knows what this guy would do to Kinsley then.”
“We could ask him to run silently. He’s a good cop and would do the right thing.”
“Yeah, then take over and tell us to stand down. Kinsley’s safety is my responsibility, and I won’t back down unless I’m incapacitated.” He turned to look through the smoky air that seemed to be getting even more dense and darker in color. “I need to get over the fence before he reaches it.”
“What do you want me to do?” Colin asked.
“Get to a vehicle and wait until this guy exits the front gate. Give him time to cross the road to his car. It’s parked on Beeker’s old logging road. I’ll keep an eye on him until he gets in the car. Maybe there’ll be an opportunity to separate Kinsley from him. If not, you’ll find me on the logging road. Untie Jada then pick me up, and we’ll tail him.”
Colin arched an eyebrow. “Pretty risky for him to go back to the same place he operated the drone.”
“Seems like he’s got nothing to lose.” Dev swallowed hard, his throat dry from the smoke. “I have to go. I’ve got Hayden’s phone. Stay in touch.”
He bolted down the path in the woods leading to the fence, the thick and caustic air irritating his lungs. Then he had to slow for his hip again. No matter how much he gritted his teeth, it threatened to take him down. At least his path was a much more direct route than the driveway, and even with his bum hip, he should be able to shimmy over the fence before the assailant reached them.
God willing. With the pain nearly bringing him to a standstill, he didn’t know what would happen once he got to the fence.
Don’t think that way. Picture Kinsley with that gun at her head and let adrenaline take over. Give it your all. Even give up your life to save hers because it’s meaningless without her.
