Murder Stalks (37 page)

Chapter 42

Tony fidgeted with the papers in front of
him. He pushed his chair away from the table and paced around the
room. He needed to be out there searching. Michael Rains was smart.
He knew by now they were on to him. His shift wasn’t over with and
he hadn’t checked in. Rex had Michael’s cell company triangulating
the area where his last call originated, and Sally was having the
phone company search for Ally’s address. Once they had the area, he
would send his entire team out to canvass the neighborhood.

The sun was down and the stars were out, but
no moon hung in the night sky. They could walk within fifteen feet
of Marissa’s car and never see it. A deep longing settled in his
chest. He slammed his fist against the wall. Activity came to a
halt as all eyes trained on him.

“
I’m going out there.
Sally, have dispatch call me when we know what area to search
in.”

“
Tony, wait,” Rex called
across the room. He motioned for him to follow across the hall and
into another conference room. The door shut behind them, locking
them away from the frantic activity in the hall.

“
Tony, why don’t you stay
here and let me go out and search for her,” Rex said.

“
No way. I need to be out
there. Marissa’s life is in danger. She needs me.”

“
You aren’t going to do
anybody any good if you get emotional.”

“
Damn it, she’s my
wife.”

“
That’s why I think you
should stay.”

“
I can’t. Marissa needs me
and I’m going out to search for her.” Determination made Tony feel
stronger. He wouldn’t back down from Michael Rains, or Andrew
Carson, whoever the hell the bastard was. His future was in danger,
and he would do whatever it took to save the love of his
life.

“
Fine, but at least let me
go with you.”

“
We’re leaving now.” Tony
whipped open the door and jogged through the halls of the police
station. He never looked back to see if Rex was following. He was
in the parking lot before he remembered his car wasn’t at the
station. Cars were everywhere, double-parked and a few people had
even driven up onto the lawn. The entire department was on high
alert. How the hell was he going to find a car to use?

“
Tony, let’s take my car.
It’s over here.”

For a moment, he’d forgotten Rex was with
him on this. He ran to the Hummer and hopped in. They were rolling
forward when someone started pounding on the passenger side window.
Dickey Farris. Tony jumped then pushed the button to roll down the
widow.

“
I found it.” Dickey
smiled, his eyes bright with excitement.

“
What did you find,
Dickey?” Tony barked.

Dickey shot him a look then shook his head.
“Her address. I talked to a woman who lived next door to Ally at
her old apartment. She wasn’t home earlier. I checked with Sally,
it matches the area the phone company just gave her.”

“
Give it to us,” Rex
barked.

“
She’s on Live Oak.
Eighty-one twenty is the street number.”

“
Good job, see you there,”
Tony said before they rolled away.

Rex took off, leaving Dickey Farris standing
in the parking lot looking after them. Tony placed a call for
backup. “No lights, no sirens. Everyone park on Elm in the
eighty-one hundred block. We’ll approach on foot. Michael Rains has
two hostages, Marissa Santos and Ally Underwood. He most likely
knows we’re coming. Expect him to fight.”

Rex sped down side streets, running lights
when the traffic was clear. He pulled up beside two marked cars and
Tony’s feet hit the ground before the car stopped rolling. He took
a Glock from one of the uniformed officers, explaining that his was
in lockup.

Dickey Farris pulled up behind Tony and
hopped out of his car. His eyes were overly bright and his
movements jerky. Tony pulled Rex aside, “We need to approach
cautiously. I don’t want any of the rookies too close. Let’s keep
the invasion team to those with experience.”

Rex pulled his gun from his holster,
checking his ammunition. “Sounds good.”

Tony organized the officers, telling the
three rookies to circle around the block and stand in the park
across the street from Allison’s house. If the suspect ran, they
were to stop him.

Janice showed up and joined the invasion
team. The three of them approached the house from the front and
another team was positioned in the rear. Tony turned the knob and
the door swung open, letting out a loud metallic squeal before it
banged against the wall. He crouched low, shining his flashlight
into the darkened room.

Sweat drenched his hair. The salty mixture
ran down his forehead, and into his eyes. He swiped at his brow
with his arm, wiping away the excess moisture and clearing his
vision. Blood pumped through his veins at a frenzied pace. He would
shoot Michael on sight and ask questions later. Rex entered the
room behind him, hugging the wall and keeping low.

Janice was in the doorway when gunfire
cracked in the night air. Tony, Janice and Rex fell to the ground,
searching for the source of the shot. A scream went up across the
street. Tony was the first out the door, jumping over Janice. He
raced across the street as Dickey Farris stumbled out of the trees.
Before Tony could reach the young rookie, he fell to the ground.
Blood flowed from Dickey and his eyes stared off in the
distance.

Tony bent down and touched his neck,
searching for a pulse. Nothing. He placed his hand on Dickey’s
upper chest and didn’t feel the solid shell of his vest. Damn it.
He should have checked each officer for proper equipment. “Don’t
they teach these rookies anything?” he muttered, fighting the
sorrow that clogged his throat. “You wear your vest all the
time.”

Tony switched off his flashlight and let his
eyes adjust to the dark. He saw movement in the trees up ahead. His
white shirt would be a beacon, drawing Michael’s fire, but he
didn’t have time to go back and change. He ran towards the woods,
praying he wasn’t too late to save Marissa.

Chapter 43

The police officer stumbled away. Marissa
wanted to go after him. He wouldn’t make it far with a hole in his
chest. Tony ground his teeth together, anger boiling over another
senseless death.

They’d all been stunned when the young
officer had burst through the trees. Michael turned and fired
before the cop could even reach for his gun.

Ally had run at Michael but wasn’t fast
enough. He turned, hitting her across the face. She dropped to the
ground and didn’t move again. Marissa’s only hope was to make it
across the creek. She ran as fast as she could but not fast enough.
Michael grabbed her, crushing her to him.

“
You can’t escape me, I’ve
told you that already.”

Marissa flailed her arms, striking Michael
in the face. He punched her in the side of her head, creating an
explosion of light behind her eyes, knocking her breath away. Stars
swam in her vision and hopelessness sunk in. She would die out here
without ever seeing Tony again. Tears streamed down her cheeks and
a sob escaped her lips.

“
Yeah, go ahead and cry.
They all do before I take them. Marissa you’ve been a bad girl. I
wanted this to end differently. We could have been so good
together. I would have ruined you for other men. That puny little
dick your husband has would have been nothing compared to
me.”

Michael ran his tongue up her face. Bile
rose in her throat. She was going to be sick. He grabbed her breast
and squeezed hard, hurting her. She cried out in pain. Michael spun
her around and kicked at her. She skidded out of his way, but he
caught her leg, knocking her to the ground.

“
Oh God, you are sick.”
Marissa spit blood on the ground at Michael’s feet.

“
Don’t disappoint me. Beg
for your life and I might spare it. Ashley begged,” Michael said
with a chuckle. The grin on his face was evil, like a scary mask
worn at Halloween.

“
You’re lying. You said
you drugged her.” Marissa felt her control slipping. She wanted to
rip Michael’s flesh from his face. He’d killed her baby.

Michael reached down and grabbed Marissa’s
arm, pulling her up to him. He was powerful, and she could do
nothing to resist his clawing embrace. Pain shot through her head
as he grabbed her hair and pulled her to him. In desperation, she
fell against his chest, pushing him to the ground. They landed with
her on top. She didn’t waste a moment in scrambling off of him.

With feet flying, she raced across the
grass. He fired a shot, but missed. Fear seized her muscles, and
she halted her progress. Michael dove for her and knocked her to
the ground. They struggled, rolling across the grass.

Then, miraculously, Michael was off of her.
She scrambled to her feet, watching in concern and relief as Tony
punched Michael, sending him to the ground.

“
Run, Marissa, go
now!”

She hesitated, debating which way to go. She
couldn’t leave Ally. She stumbled to where her friend lay on the
ground. She grabbed Ally’s hand and pulled her to her feet.

Marissa looked back to Tony. They were
punching and kicking, going after each other like she’d never seen.
Michael fell to the ground but popped back up quickly.

“
Marissa, get out of here.
I need you safe.”

Ally pulled at her hand, leading her away
from the fight. Marissa’s movements were sluggish and stilted. Pain
radiated from every pore in her body, but she led Ally through the
trees, away from where Tony struggled with Michael. Marissa dodged
under a low limb, then tripped and they both fell, Ally screamed
out in pain. Another shot rang through the trees.

“
Get up, Ally. Run,”
Marissa yelled.

“
Which way?”

“
Our only safe escape is
that way, through the creek. I’ll need your help. I don’t think I
can swim across.”

Marissa helped Ally to the bank. They waded
out into the moving water as far as they could before they had to
swim. Ally grabbed onto Marissa’s arm and pulled her until they
both could touch the bottom of the creek again. In moments, they
were climbing out and onto the other side.

A loud crack rang out across the water. The
noise was deafening as dirt flew on the bank at their feet. Shock
stopped Marissa in her tracks. She turned to find Michael firing
round after round at them.

“
Tony,” she called out
before Ally grabbed her by the hand and dragged her into the trees.
A large warehouse blocked their path. Marissa eyed it, unsure which
way to go.

“
We’ll hide in there.
Maybe we can find a phone and call the police,” Ally
suggested.

“
He shot Tony,” Marissa
wailed.

“
Marissa, we don’t have
time. Tony’s a strong man. He’ll be fine. Let’s concentrate on
getting away from Michael.”

Ally tried the door. It swung open,
revealing a dark warehouse filled with boxes, leaving them nowhere
to go. It looked hopeless to Marissa. Ally climbed over one crate
and pulled Marissa behind her. Their clothes were dripping wet,
leaving a trail of water wherever they went.

Ally grabbed Marissa’s arm, stopping her
progress. “We’re leaving a trail. We need to ditch our wet
clothes.”

Marissa whimpered but complied. Ally pulled
her shirt over her head and dropped it behind a box. Marissa did
the same. Next their shoes came off.

“
Our pants are dripping,
too,” Marissa said as she began tugging at hers.

“
Then shed them. We’ll
leave him a trail if we keep them on. It’s hot in here
anyway.”

They navigated the twisting path of boxes
and crates, having to retrace their steps more than once. The heat
pressed around them, leaving both of their bodies glistening with
sweat. Every sound they made echoed throughout the building.
Marissa knocked into a crate and a metal bar crashed to the floor,
shocking them both. Ally picked up the bar, carrying it with her as
they searched for anything resembling an office.

The place was organized in a chaotic way.
Dust moats floated through the shafts of light. They moved around
the stacks of boxes, pausing every few seconds to listen for
Michael. Marissa stepped on a piece of wood and tripped, striking
her knee hard against the cement floor.

“
I have to stop.” Marissa
hugged her knee, rocking back and forth, trying to overcome the
pain.

“
Marissa, come on. We need
to keep moving. He’s going to come after us, and when he does, he
won’t be nice.”

“
He killed Tony. What am I
going to do?” she asked in hushed tones. Ally bent beside her,
using both hands to frame Marissa’s face. Marissa gulped over the
lump in her throat. They may not make it out of this warehouse
alive. If Michael showed up, he would hunt them down and shoot
them.

“
Think about your baby. We
have to survive, don’t give up.”

Ally wrapped her arms around Marissa and
held her while she cried quietly. The door banged open at the other
end of the building. Marissa jerked away from Ally. She held her
breath, trying not to make a sound.

Ally and Marissa exchanged a knowing look.
They would fight together. They moved between rows of boxes,
careful to make as little noise as possible. The large boxes were
stacked three high in most places, hiding them from view. Marissa
had difficulty breathing in the stuffy heat. She swiped at the
sweat running into her eyes. If they could find a phone, they could
call the police. Maybe they could make it out of here alive.