Guilty as Sin (52 page)

Which left Tommy’s electronic tracking skills essentially worthless. If they wanted to find Kate, they would have to rely on good old-fashioned eyes in the sky and feet on the street. Or on the lake, as it were. Unfortunately, Burkhart’s boat, similar to so many others, had been spotted going in every direction imaginable, which narrowed the search area to roughly one hundred fifty square miles of water.

And that was assuming he hadn’t ditched the boat already and found another mode of transportation.

While Tommy fruitlessly scanned the lake, he thought about what he’d learned from Burkhart’s banking records.

Judging from the sizable transfers Burkhart made overseas within the past thirty-six hours, he’d been preparing to run. Tommy felt his stomach clench at the amounts in question. With that amount of wealth and the relative ease with which he could access it, if Burkhart managed to get over the border, he’d have unlimited resources for a life on the run.

You can run, but you can’t hide, motherfucker. I will not lose her again, not to you, not to anybody.

As though the universe heard him, there was a shrill beep and vibration from the phone in his pocket. He jumped, startled, as he dug it out. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline at what he saw on the display.

“What?” CJ asked.

“I think we might have found her,” Tommy said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Though he didn’t want to get his hopes up—it was possible Burkhart had ditched the boat at the location displayed on the GPS tracking app Tommy had set up and someone else had turned the system on—he couldn’t stop the rush of anticipation.

After a hoot of excitement, CJ took down the coordinates. “He’s up toward Oden Bay. I’ll get everyone out in that direction ASAP.”

Tommy frowned. “If we go that way, he’ll see you coming three hundred yards out. You spook him, he could hurt Kate.” Assuming he hadn’t… he didn’t even want to go there.

“There’s no other way to access the shore there,” CJ said impatiently.

“That’s not true. If you go up Sunnyside there’s a trail that goes down to the beach. It’s only about two miles through the forest.”

“I’ve never heard of any trails up there.”

“It’s not on a map—it’s just an old game trail we used for hunting.”

“So where exactly is it, and how is that better than approaching from the water?” CJ asked, still sounding skeptical.

Tommy tried to explain. “You got about four miles up Sunnyside from where it splits off Railroad. Trust me, it’s the best way.”

CJ studied him for a moment, then: “Deputy, take us back to Burkhart’s. We’ll take Tommy’s truck up to the trailhead.”

Even though Tommy was sure this was their best chance at getting the drop on Burkhart, his gut was twisted with doubt. If he was wrong, if he fucked up, if Kate got hurt…

“I hope I’m not making a huge fucking mistake trusting you,” CJ muttered as they motored up to the dock in front of Burkhart’s house.

“That makes two of us,” Tommy said grimly.

Hang on, Kate. Hang on and I’ll be there as soon as I can.

T
ommy broke several traffic laws as he sped his truck to the trailhead, CJ and Deputy Roberts following in the cruiser. Even though the app would sound an alarm if Burkhart’s boat moved from the current location, Tommy checked the screen compulsively. He pulled to a stop just past the split tree and loaded his Beretta while CJ pulled the cruiser up behind him. He pulled his M1A hunting rifle from behind his front seat, along with a pair of binoculars that could switch to night vision mode once the sun went down, and strapped his KA-BAR Tanto to his calf for good measure.

“You’re certainly prepared,” CJ remarked as he loaded up his own M1A. “How accurate are you with that thing?” he asked, eyebrow cocked as he looked pointedly at the rifle slung over Tommy’s shoulder.

“A thousand yards, iron sights. I was first in my class in sniper training, and I’ve made sure to keep up my skills. You?” He nodded at CJ’s gun.

“Last fall I caught a bull elk in the eye at six hundred yards. Foggy day too.”

Tommy gave a grunt of approval, checked the magazine on his Beretta, and tucked it into his waistband. “Hopefully we won’t have to find out who’s the better shot.” He slipped on an earpiece and a mike and headed into the trees.

I should just leave the bitch to die
, John thought viciously as he paced up and down the beach. He’d had to get away from her, afraid he would pull out the gun and finish the job, once and for all.

No. That would be too easy. After the way she treated him, turned her nose up at him, ruined everything for him, she deserved far worse than to die of a simple gunshot wound.

But as he climbed back on the boat and saw Kate slumped on the deck, he was afraid matters were out of his hands. Cursing viciously, he bent and slid his hand to her throat. Her pulse fluttered weakly against his fingers, but if she didn’t get medical attention soon…

His plan was to wait until dark to slip into a marina, boost a car, and from there head to the Canadian border. As he looked at Kate, her naturally pale complexion gone nearly gray, her lips bleached of all color and her chest moving in short, shallow breaths, he knew she wouldn’t make it that long.

He flung himself in the captain’s chair. The sun was heading behind the mountains, but full dark wouldn’t come for another hour and a half. Dammit. He would just have to go now and take the chance of someone seeing him.

So what if someone does?
he reassured himself.
There’s no reason for anyone to think Kate is in trouble or that you’re even involved. By the time anyone figures it out, you’ll both be long gone.

He grasped onto that, pushing the doubts aside. He’d had close calls before, and still no one ever had a clue. This wouldn’t be any different.

As he went to insert his key into the ignition, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. His stomach pitched to the floor when he registered what it was.

The green light, indicating that the GPS navigation system had been turned on.

Locating them would be child’s play for a technical expert like Tommy.

Panic and fury roared through him, drowning out the voice of reason trying to reassure him that so what if Tommy
could
find them, it didn’t matter because there was no reason for him to be looking.

Yet he couldn’t escape the sensation that the walls were closing in on him, the end was rushing up, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

He surged from the chair, pulled the gun from his waistband as he loomed over Kate. “How long has that been on?” he shouted. “How long!” he repeated, kicking her in the leg when she didn’t respond.

Kate gave a feeble whimper and tried to open her eyes. “Don’t,” she whispered when she saw the gun pointing at her head.

Oh god, this is it
, Kate thought through the haze of pain.
He’s going to finish it.

Her eyes drifted shut, but she could hear him cursing, call her a host of filthy names. She blocked it out.
I’m sorry, Tommy
, she thought, as though somehow he’d pick up her thoughts in the ether.
I’m sorry I pushed you away.

She could hear the scuff of John’s feet on the deck, assumed he was getting in better position to aim.

Maybe I’ll get to see Michael again.

H
e and CJ were halfway down the trail when they heard a gunshot, followed immediately by a shrill alarm from Tommy’s phone indicating that the GPS signal was lost.

Panic surged in his chest.
Holy shit, he killed Kate. I’m too late, and he killed her.
The thought echoed through his head as he took off at a flat-out sprint, CJ following close behind. “Call in the boats, get them to block him off,” Tommy said, unnecessarily, it turned out. Before he even finished the sentence, he heard CJ shouting the orders into his mike. Burkhart had parked the boat in a narrow, U-shaped cove no more than fifty yards wide. They’d completely lost the element of surprise, but it would be easy to block off the escape route. Within a minute a voice came through his earpiece assuring them the boats were in position.

As they got closer to the lake, the brush thickened, and Tommy felt branches tearing at his arms as he crashed through the foliage. When they were close enough to hear the rumble of the boat engine, they slowed their pace to keep the noise level down.

Burkhart had only gotten about twenty yards off the shore before the boats pinned him in.

Over the noise of the boat’s engine, one of the deputies
called through a megaphone, “Put down your weapon and release the girl.”

Tommy’s stomach flipped as he raised the binoculars to his eyes to confirm what he already dreaded. Burkhart was standing at the helm, and though he didn’t have a clear view of Kate, it was obvious by the man’s stance he was holding a gun to her head.

There was a moment of relief. Despite the gunshot they’d heard, if he was using Kate as a hostage, it meant she was alive.

The relief fled immediately as he focused in on her and got a better look. She was unconscious, he realized, her head slumped forward. And—Jesus Christ, his heart froze in his chest—the front of her shirt was covered in blood.

She looked like she was dead.

He shoved the thought away, forcing himself into mission mode. If she was dead… He couldn’t go there. He had to keep it together. Because if she was alive and he lost his shit right now and didn’t get her to the hospital in time, her death would be as much on his head as Burkhart’s.

Tommy and CJ locked eyes. CJ pointed at him, then at the north end of the U. Making his way carefully through the brush so Burkhart wouldn’t see him, Tommy moved until he was parallel with Burkhart’s boat while CJ took up the same position on the opposite side of the cove.

“I’ve known you for a long time. I know this isn’t who you really are,” the deputy called over the speaker. “John,” the deputy said in a softer tone.

“You don’t have a fucking clue who I am and what I’m capable of,” Burkhart screamed.

“It’s clear she’s wounded. I know you don’t want her to die. Let her go.”

Burkhart’s response was to pull Kate tighter against him and dig the barrel deeper into her temple.

Tommy pulled his rifle off his shoulder and put his eye to the scope, which allowed him to take in the scene in excruciating detail. “You in position?” he said to CJ.

“Affirmative,” CJ’s answer came clearly through Tommy’s earpiece.

So CJ too could see Kate’s pale, unresponsive face and the fact that not only did Burkhart have a gun to her head, he had his hand wrapped firmly around her throat.

“If you don’t move in five seconds, she’s dead. Five, four…” Kate’s head lolled to one side. Just the opening he needed.

“I have a shot.” Tommy took a deep breath and settled the M1A more firmly against his shoulder.

“So do I,” CJ said into his ear. “Let’s do this.”

“Three, two…”

A loud
crack
, another following a millisecond later. Time seemed to stop for a moment as Tommy watched Burkhart’s head explode into a bloody pulp, his body falling lifeless to the ground.