Missing Lynx (29 page)

Gater and I quickly fell into a rhythm. We drove to the office and worked regular hours there - or mostly regular hours based on what puzzles landed on my desk. Since Striker was out, our team wasn’t doing any field work. On a few occasions, we needed to stay in the barracks; but for the most part, we were home by six. I cooked dinner; Gater did KP.

The rhythm broke when Striker called to tell me he was heading home. I did a little happy dance right there on the phone with him. Apparently, a puzzle I’d recently solved showed there were a lot of players at risk on the case he was working. Too many good guys were in the way for him to take down the bad-guys successfully. The agencies were going to have to put a different plan into place, get some of the hands out of the cookie jar. Turned out that one agency was using us to play another agency. It made no sense. We were all supposed to be on the same team, right? Turf wars. Well, Iniquus was handing the case back; we don’t play bully on the playground.

“So, I’ll be home very late tonight, maybe around two? I miss you. I want to see you bad.” His voice was softly urgent and made me think…Well, what I thought was that Striker Rheas would be getting a well-deserved hero’s welcome that would make us both very happy.

“Me too,” I said. Yes, Little Miss Webster was ready for her relationship to be defined now, thank you very much. I hugged myself in anticipation.

“You’re smiling,” he said.

“Absolutely. I’m impatient to see you.”

“Oh, really? Are you at your house?”

“Yes at my place. Do you want to head right here?” Smiling was an understatement; I thought my face might split — my grin was so wide. Oh, I was excited.

Now that I’d made my decision, I wanted Striker here in my arms. Waiting sucked. I busied myself with primping, then I invited Blaze and his girl, Faith, Gater and Amy, Jack and Suz over for the evening to hang out in my backyard. I desperately needed distraction, and today had been one of those rare winter days when the air suddenly warms, and smells of hope and the possibility of spring.

Circled around the crackling fire pit, we drank hot cider with Beetle and Bella warming our feet. We laughed as Gater told us stories about growing up in the swamps when his momma used to call him Mud-Pie.

Suddenly, my skin prickled. I heard the scream of a wild cat in my head. I swung around, startled and found myself hunkering with gun in hand. My dogs growled low in their throats, flanking me. The men had leaped instantly out of their chairs, and crouched, vigilantly scanning the walls, guns drawn. Blaze hustled Faith, Suz, and Amy into the house and told them to go down into my basement, until he came for them.

Gater placed a hand on my back and whispered in my ear “What’s happening, Lynx?”

“I don’t know. Instinct.” That’s all I had. Something terrible was about to happen. Adrenaline shined my skin, every nerve ending strained for information. For survival.

Blaze and Jack left the walled garden to search for anything unusual. My girls growled their warning.

“Your dogs are picking up something, too - can we let ‘em loose? Will they take us to it?”

“Beetle. Bella. Find it.”

Off they sprinted as soon as the command left my mouth. They ran to Consuela’s old house then up to Sarah’s house, where they howled until Tammy came to the door. Tammy? What was she doing there?

I peeked past Tammy’s form to see inside Sarah’s house. Everything looked normal. “Hey, I’m Lexi. I live across the street there.” I turned and pointed toward my house. “Is everything alright here? Where are Mike and Ruby?”

“Yes, ma’am, everything’s fine.” She seemed perplexed. “I’m babysitting. Ruby’s down for the night, and Mike’s playing video games.”

“Do you know when Sarah and Bob will be home?”

“Tomorrow morning. They went to a wedding in Richmond.”

“And, you’re sure everything’s okay?” I stalled, hoping for divine inspiration – a “knowing.” Something. Anything.

Tammy pulled her brows together. “Yes, ma’am, everything’s fine.” She was guileless, obviously telling the truth, but the quiver in my gut told me that this was where the danger lay.

I fake smiled and retreated. Beetle and Bella trotted beside me sniffing the air.

Gater and I headed back to my house where I found Blaze at the front door. Jack was out back. We gathered in my living room – their dates still sequestered in my basement. The men sat and waited for me to talk. I didn’t really have anything to say; I gave them a shrug and pinched my lower lip to keep it from trembling.

“Okay, Lynx, you obviously felt something, and we all know to pay attention when you do. Your dogs sure picked up on the same thing, and they tapped Consuela’s house and then Tammy,” said Blaze.

“Don’t know what to do with that.” I bit at the inside of my cheek.

“Do you think Consuela might be in the neighborhood?” Blaze asked

I shrugged and shook my head. I didn’t know.

“What are you feeling?” Jack asked.

“The heebie-jeebies.”

“I think you should pack a bag and stay at the barracks until we can review the surveillance tapes,” Jack said.

I shook my head.

“No?” Jack’s voice held his surprise.

“Tammy’s staying with Ruby and Mike; their parents aren’t going to be back in town until tomorrow. If there’s something that’s going to go down - I need to be here to make sure the children are safe.”

“You could look at it that way, Lynx, or you could look at it that your being here makes things more dangerous for them,” said Blaze.

Dilemma. Conundrum. What should I do? Which was the bigger risk? I pursed my lips. “If I knew what the danger was, if I knew it had something to do with me. . .that’s not a given at all. It could be…anything. I don’t have enough information – just heebie-jeebies.” Wow, that should take my professional image to the next level. Could I sound like a bigger moron?

They sat quietly; no one offered an opinion. 

“I can’t leave the neighborhood while I think the kids are in danger. And Striker is supposed to come back into town tonight. He’s coming straight to my house around two this morning.” I took a quick peek at my watch. Eleven. Four more hours and Striker would be here. The thought of him calmed me. “I’ll pack a bag and go back to the barracks as soon as Sarah and Bob get back into town tomorrow.”

The guys nodded.

“I’m sorry, but I think it would be best if you guys took your girls home.”

“Jack, can you take Amy for me? I’m not leaving,” Gater said.

Gater watched sports on TV. I paced. I sat in the dark and tapped frustrated, anxious fingers on the dining room table. The dogs lay calmly at my feet, and I wondered if my own shot of adrenaline was what made them react earlier. Maybe I was just so tightly wound from…well, everything… that knowing Striker was headed home, and that I had made the decision to take the plunge. Maybe I just started unwinding too quickly and overloaded my synapses. I remembered the sense of foreboding I had before he left and jumped up again to resume my pacing, wringing my hands. I wanted Striker to be home already.

I decided to go lay down. Gater said he wouldn’t leave until Striker ordered him out. I pursed my lips. Fine. But I wasn’t planning on sleeping, and my being up would keep Gater up; that felt like overkill on a case of heebie-jeebies. As time passed with no issues, I felt down right embarrassed. Jack called in to say that they had reviewed the surveillance, no one suspicious had contacted Tammy. He and Blaze had come back and swept the neighborhood. They found nothing suspicious there either. Yup. I was feeling more ridiculous by the minute.

Still, Gater refused to leave. When Gater entrenched himself, it would take a bulldozer to move him. I set the alarms on my house and went to bed fully clothed, leaving Gater to do whatever.

At one in the morning, my phone rang. Gater filled my bedroom doorframe, his gaze intense as I answered. I was hoping it was Striker coming in ahead of schedule.

“Lexi?” A soft voice faltered. “This is Tammy across the way. Sarah left your number with me in case of an emergency.”

I was instantly upright. I had the phone trapped between my shoulder and ear as I grabbed my cross trainers, pulling them on while I listened.

“It’s Ruby. There’s something wrong.” Her voice hitched. “She’s making funny gurgling noises, and her skin is blue.”

“I’m on the way. Go open the door.” I pushed past Gater and thundered down the stairs, yelling back at him that Ruby wasn’t breathing. As I reached for my front door knob, Gater lifted me off my feet and threw me bodily onto the couch.

He pointed a commanding finger. “You stay put. Call the team. Call 911,” he ordered.

Gater sprinted out the door and down the street.

I punched three into my speed dial. “Jack. Here. Now.” I screamed and disconnected. I dialed 911 with a shaking finger. Every second counted; her brain needed oxygen. I had to get to Ruby. I ran out my door. I paused for a split-second when I saw Gater crouched, gun in hand, behind Manny’s Camry, scanning Sarah’s house. What was he doing? Ruby needed air. She was blue. He turned as my feet stampeded down the stairs. I had 911 on the phone and told them the address as I ran past him.

“SHIT,” he hollered, grabbing my hand and yanking me to the ground. I went down hard, scraping my hands and taking out the knees on my jeans.

“I said stay back,” he yelled over his shoulder at me as he ran up the lawn to the house, his long legs propelling him forward.  

But, Ruby! I bolted up the stairs behind him and straight into Sarah’s house where I slammed to a stop. My mind reeled as I tried to grasp what I saw. Gater twitched on the ground, two probes stabbed into his chest and bicep. I followed the long wires up to the Taser held by a man with a ski mask over his face. Sparks flew from the probes. Gater made guttural reverberations from down deep in his chest as he jolted on the ground. Ski-Mask held a gun in his right hand - it pointed at Gater’s head. Gater’s gun lay at Maria’s feet.

Everything moved in slow motion. I’m sure only a moment had passed, but in my mind, everything was cold molasses. I focused on Tammy. She was on the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably, the phone still in her hand. Maria stood with Ruby in her arms. Sleeping? Dead? Unconscious? A hunting knife was poised over Ruby’s heart. I raised my hands in the air in submission.

“STOP IT. STOP IT. I’ll do whatever you want Maria. Tell him to stop Tasering Gater.” I jerked my head toward Ski-Mask.

Maria threw a bag at Tammy. “Take out the cuffs and leg irons and put them on him.”

Tammy fell from the sofa onto her knees — I saw her phone bounce on the floor — she pulled out a pile of cuffs. Maria pointed at the leg irons with her toe. Tammy picked them up along with a pair of handcuffs and crab walked over to Gater. Crazily, my mind willed Tammy to hurry and get Gater secured so Ski-Mask would stop torturing him.

Tammy tilted her head up at Ski-Mask who took his finger off the trigger and the electrical current stopped sparking. With hands that trembled to the point of being useless, Tammy worked to get the cuffs on. Gater was panting and drooling on the rug. My mind was stuck in neutral and no matter how hard I pushed on the gas, it wouldn’t move forward.

“Now you. Face down,” Maria barked at me.

Gater was still attached to the probes, gun to his head; Ruby’s heart was still under the knife. I went back in my training scenarios. What should I do? A trained operative would abandon the scene. Should abandon the scene. Escape and get help. The chance of Maria actually plunging that knife into Ruby’s heart, as I fled, was almost zero. I knew that. Cerebrally, I knew that. But this was
Ruby.
Maybe I could gather the wherewithal to run, if this were an unknown. But I could not, would not, risk Ruby.

Stall. That’s what I should do. Help was coming. “What do you want from me, Consuela?” My heart ricocheted around my ribcage like a pin-ball.

“I need you as leverage.”

“For what? I’ll do anything you want me to. Just put Ruby down.” It was my sweet, fluffy voice. My trademark disguise. Trained into me by the best.
Get here, Jack.

“She’s safe, as long as you’re a good girl and do what you’re told, Lexi. You’re going to be going on a little trip with me.”

Oh? “You’re kidnapping me?” My eyebrows jumped to my hairline. I stood there like a scare-crow, pinioned to this one spot by fear. Any of the Kung Fu moves that played in my mind were useless. Maria and Ski-Mask were physically too far apart for me to take them down together. I would have to sacrifice either Ruby or Gater.

“I don’t really know if it can be called kidnapping if you’re going voluntarily. Lie down on your stomach. Hands behind your back. Ankles crossed.”

“Don’t do it Lexi. Run,” Gater roared. Ski-Mask sent another jolt of electricity through Gater’s central nervous system.

I complied instantly, throwing myself prostate at her feet.
Stop torturing Gater!

Tammy clamped the cuffs around my wrists; the cold metal bit into my skin. I hoped she would leave them loose enough that I could wiggle my hands free. She wasn’t thinking, though; she had snapped them down tight. When the leg irons were on my ankles, Ski-Mask came over and lifted me to my feet. He put a bag over my head.

Jack,
I screamed in my head.

Claustrophobia gripped at me.
Panic will kill you, Lexicon. It makes you unable in mind and body.
I heard Spyder’s voice in my head. I hyperventilated and swayed with dizziness; he would be so disappointed in me.

Maria and the man spoke briefly in Spanish. She left to get a van parked down the road, out of sight. Moments later, I heard the rumbling of an engine, and Maria came back in the house. The sirens from the EMS screamed toward us. I knew that Iniquus would be out in full force seconds away. I just needed something – anything — to stall, to give me those few moments until salvation. Like the seconds counted off before the parachute could be pulled.
Stop and think. Maybe my pulling that ripcord would save me – but what about my Ruby – my Gater? You or them, Lexi? Them. Obviously. Without a single doubt.