Murder in Misery (Spook Squad) (21 page)

“The property spans six acres,” Matt answered. “We need the man power and the insight you guys have.”

The sun was setting when they made it out to the abandoned property. All the officers taking part in the take down were huddled together in the woods waiting for orders from detective Hollis.

From what Keegan could see from between the gnarled branches of the trees the grass had grown over across what had once been the front lawn. There were juts of rotted stumps,
shrubs had grown wild and thorns threatened to scratch at their legs.

Keegan and the rest of the spooks hung towards the back of the crowd while Matt brushed
passed the rest of the street officers up towards the front. He was patting the Velcro of his vest in place as he moved in between detectives and officers. His voice was steady and he commanded the groups and instructing them on what, when and where they needed to be. Com units were passed out to SIU and the main leaders of each of the groups.

“You don’t move unless
I tell you to,” Matt barked out. “Any mistakes and we can lose him. We can’t afford to do that. Not now. We are taking Bryton Anderson down tonight.”

“Morne, you got anything to add?”

“He’s going to hear us,” Keegan informed the teams. “As a shifter he’ll know we’re out here. The objective is to get as close to the house as we can to eliminate the possibility of him shifting. The closer we get the better chance we have at a clean arrest. Move quickly, quietly and be ready for resistance.”

“You hear her.” Matt gestured for everyone to get into position. Within minutes the teams would have the house surrounded and hopefully have Bryton Anderson in custody.

Once they were all in position Keegan sucked in a deep quiet breath. Her chest expanded against the tight hug of her bullet proof vest as she waited for the go command. She stood directly behind Detective Cassidy and Leeroy flanked her side. They stood close enough that she could smell the crisp after shave of Detective Cassidy with every anxious breath she took. The grip on her gun was loose and relaxed. She could hear the moan of winter’s wind, whistling in her ears around the ear bud used for communication. Everything was so quiet but as soon as the count started everything magnified.

             
Matt’s count was loud and clear through the ear bud but probably no louder than a whisper as he spoke the words out loud. With his word everyone in her group moved through damp grass and gnarled bushes with stealth. She could see the team opposite adjacent to hers moving in a tight group, darting around trees and bushes up towards the house Bryton had holed up in.

             
She ignored the way thorns caught on the leg of her jeans and cut into her calves. Instead she focused on the main objective of being here and completing this mission tonight. They were going to get Bryton and prove that he was the monster killing his prowl members.

They weren’t more than a few feet from the house when the front door tore open.
It slammed against the wall and dust shook free from the siding. Every member of the task force froze as the sleek muscular form of a leopard darted out from the house and lunged towards the closest group of people. Keegan heard the raw screams of fellow officers going down as Bryton in his shifted form lashed out. Bullet proof vests weren’t going to save any of them. Leopards went for the kill when they felt threatened. A leg, the neck or even the arm would provide the carnage they were hoping to produce. They would cut off the main vessels of life as quickly as they could before moving on to their next target.

             
The air shifted around Keegan as the task force split from the tight groups they were working in and everyone tried to understand what they were seeing from across the yard. Matt’s group had scattered and one of his guys had taken a heavy hit from Bryton. Blood was seeping through the gash across his neck. And there wasn’t any possibility that he would be alive by the time paramedics got to him. The wind carried a soft gurgling sound and she could already taste death at the back of her throat.

             
Gunfire echoed around her. Most of the task force began to search for some semblance of cover from Bryton while they cowered in fear from the shifter. They didn’t know how to handle a shifter in its animal form. They panicked and it only served to excite him more.

Keegan shouted out orders for homicide to stand down and let SIU handle it. She could already see Gary, Mel
inda and Leeroy emerging from the groups they had been appointed to and moving closer to the leopard. Gary’s eyes glowed in the dark while he darted from between trees and closer to where Bryton had decided to take his stand.

             
Melinda tucked her gun back into its holster and her bones began the painful dance of shifting. Her entire body contorted and crumbled to the ground in a tangle of snarls and growls until there was a light gray wolf standing with her teeth barred and ready for a fight.

Leeroy moved to Keegan, placing his palm on the back of her neck. “
Do what needs to be done.”

             
Keegan met his bright blue eyes and nodded. She understood what he was giving up and for her to stop Bryton from killing anymore people. She wasn’t going to let anyone else die tonight. Her grip loosened on her gun as she focused in on Bryton. She let her power call out to him. She let it brush out with a silent threat hoping to distract him enough to keep him away from the rest of the humans out here.

             
The roaring snarl and the way the leopard turned towards her let Keegan know that she was successful. The returning raspy growl from behind her wasn’t what she expected. Melinda stood on four legs, her hackles raised and teeth exposed. Gary stood next to her, his fingers woven through the fur and soft hisses passed from his lips and Melinda’s claws dug deep into the moist ground. It looked as if she were waiting for his permission to attack.

             
Chanting in her mind Keegan called out to the beast inside of Bryton, trying to stop him from killing anymore. The words repeated in her mind, willing to stop him. Instead, the leopard shook its head as if there were a mosquito buzzing in his ears. Bright yellow eyes focused in on Keegan and the leopard charged her.

She stopped chanting in her mind and began chanting out loud. She ignored the yells from other officers on scene. She focused on the leopard in front of her. Bryton rushed her before pulling out and disappearing into the foliage behind her.

Melinda’s growls filled her ears and they were running after him. Keegan moving faster than human thanks to Leeory’s aid and Melina and Gary keeping stride with her as she burst through the dying branches and after Bryton.

She motioned for Melinda
and Gary to move in a wide arc hoping to cut Bryton off. With her gun in hand Keegan spotted a blur of spotted fur and she chased after him. Her heart was pounding in her chest and no matter how fast she ran, she lost track of him. Keegan stopped and concentrated on the sounds around her and extended her senses. Death waited in the darkest corners of the woods and Keegan followed the call.

She had stumbled over the body of a fallen officer when she spotted the spotted blur heading back towards the house. She pushed herself up off of the ground and ran after the leopard.

A loud burst of gun fire greeted Keegan as she burst forth from the woods. She saw Bryton attack one of the detectives who had bravely left his spot of safety to try and stop the shifter.

Keegan stepped up her chanting.
The words were louder and the will behind them stronger. She watched the way Bryton’s body contorted as he tried to fight off the hold she was starting to gather over him. His head snapped back and forth, struggling to clear his mind of her influence.

Bryton snarled and he focused in on her. His claws dug into the ground before he was moving to attack. Her gift wouldn’t be of any use now, not
if it hadn’t stopped Bryton.  She watched as he tore past her and she whirled around to see Detective Hollis batted to the ground.

             
A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as her body reacted instinctively. She flicked the safety off her gun and took aim. There was no other way to end this. People were going to get in its way and they were going to die. There wasn’t going to be anymore death. She couldn’t allow it. Finding a clean shot, Keegan pulled the trigger and she pulled it again. She watched the way the leopard stumbled in confusion over Matt’s body. Blood began to mat its fur within a matter of seconds and Keegan knew who the man hiding beneath the skin of the beast was going to die. She stood shocked and her ears ringing from the sound of the gun shot. Her hands shaking at the thought of killing another supernatural, even in order to keep her fellow policemen safe from harm.

Keegan ran towards Matt, not caring that Bryton was still alive. When she was close enough she could see the darkness in the leopard’s eyes. Even i
n his last moments Bryton understood what was happening to him. He was going to die and he wasn’t going to go without hurting the person who brought him down. Bryton lowered his paw and Keegan heard the shriek of pain coming from Matt. Matt had his hands pressed below the vest he was wearing and against his stomach. He curled to his side to shield himself from further injury but there was no helping him now. Keegan took a deep breath and fired her gun one last time into the neck of Bryton Anderson and watched as the leopard collapsed off to the side of Matt.

Keegan slid to her knee
s next to Matt, her hands instinctively pressing against the wound at his neck and her eyes darting to the leopard that lie dying on the ground next to them. She pressed harder against the gash as she watched Bryton took his last breath with a shudder. Ignoring the dead leopard next to her Keegan looked around her to find some kind of help. “Call an ambulance! I need help! Please?”

Grabbing at the walkie on her belt she fumbled with pressing the right bu
ttons with blood soaked fingers, “Officer down towards the eastern end of the scene! We need immediate medical attention!”

Keegan dropped the walkie talkie on the ground and pressed her hands back to
the wound that was bleeding worse, his stomach. She felt the sting behind her eyes as his blood started to seep through the cracks of her fingers. It wouldn’t stop. The sound of two more gun shots echoed in her ears and she looked up to see the leopard shifting back from death and into its human form. Even as she saw the man she killed, she couldn’t find it in herself to care. She didn’t care about anything but the way Matt’s frightened eyes stared at her desperately hoping that she could do something more to help him. Keegan tried to smile reassuringly at him, telling him she was going to make sure he was okay.

“I’ve got you,” Keegan whispered
as she pressed harder against the wound. “You’re going to be okay. I promise you’re going to make it. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?”

The message went awry and tears were streaming from the corners of his eyes.
Detective Cassidy was shoving her out of the way and placing towels on his belly and barking out orders to one of the men standing near them. They stood there stock still not doing anything for the fallen detective. Keegan scrambled to kneel at Matt’s head, and leaned over so he could see her. She placed her bloodied hands on his cheeks, “Hey, none of that. Me and Cassidy we’ve got you. He’s your partner and he is not going to let anything happen to you. Okay? You’re going to be okay. We’ve got you.”

Keegan grimaced at the way he ground his teeth
together from the pain before he spoke, “Hurts. It hurts so much.”

Matt’s face turned from a heavy shade of red and drained to pale white as the strain of his muscles slackened and he gasped for air.
Keegan glanced down to see Cassidy working franticly. More fabric was added to where he had started. Keegan gave up trying to understand how adding more towels and pressing them against the wound would help Matt. She focused on the man below her, “I know it hurts. But you are the strongest man that I know Matthew Hollis. You are going to be okay. You are going to make it out of here alive.”

He shook his head against her hands, “Burns.”

Keegan swallowed down her fear and the need to just scream about what was happening. She leaned down and wrapped her hand in his. “You just hold tight Matt. You’re going to be just fine. You hear that? Help is on the way.”

The sound of sirens were growing closer and Keegan felt hope blossom in her chest.

“The ambulance is almost here. You just have to hold on for me.” Keegan ducked down and pressed her lips to his forehead. “Okay? Just hold on for me.”

Matt clenched his eyes closed, “Hurts so much.”

“I know,” Keegan gripped his hand tighter, “But you have to fight. You have to keep fighting. Just keep fighting for me.”

“Don’t know…
” Matt gasped out before the remaining color drained from his cheeks, his eyes rolled back into his head and the grip on her hand loosened.

“Matt?” Keegan felt her voice break on his name. She nudged at his cheek, “Matt? No, no, no. You
have got to wake up. Matt! Don’t you dare do this to me! Matt!”

A pair of arms pulled her away across the dewy grass and away from Matt. She felt her entire body jerk and fight against the hold. She needed to get back to him. She needed to be with him.
She couldn’t stop the way she was shouting Matt’s name until her voice and throat grew raw.