Top Secret Target

The crunch of footsteps made her draw back.

Sullivan or Andy?

Andy’s last voice mail message echoed in her ears. When I finally catch up to you, I am going to enjoy killing you slowly.

She gritted her teeth. If he was going to kill her today, she’d make sure it would be the hardest thing he’d ever done.

The sounds drew nearer. Her mind sought options. Flag someone down? Ethan had been behind her for a while, she’d noticed, but she’d lost sight of him a few miles back. Incredibly, she heard no traffic at all on this back road out of the Baylor Marine Corps Base. She reached for her cell phone when she heard a whispered voice.

“Kendra?”

The voice didn’t belong to Andy, that was certain. This voice was a low baritone, complete with a Tennessee drawl. Ethan. She let out a slow breath.

“I’m coming over to you,” he continued, “so don’t do anything crazy like shoot me.”

She kept silent, gripping the Glock and training the gun toward the direction of the shots. Ethan rounded the corner with a dog at his side. The pointer immediately stiffened, ears erect.

“I don’t like dogs,” she snapped.

“That’s okay. He probably doesn’t like you, either. Cops and marines should be on their way.”

“What are you doing here?” She shot a look at the animal still in alert position. A patrol or scout dog, she suspected.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Maybe we can do the pleasantries later? After the cavalry arrives?”

She would have retorted, but a shot whistled through the air and they hunkered low for cover.

“Sullivan doesn’t usually do his dirty work in public,” he said over his shoulder, peering in the direction of the shooter. “Anyone else you know who might shooting at you?”

“Could be anyone,” she said, earning another exasperated look.

“You can play innocent with me, but I don’t think the marines are gonna be as warm and fuzzy.”

“If you think you’re warm and fuzzy,” she said, yanking the back door handle, “then you’re pretty clueless.”

He put out a hand to stop her. “Leave it. We have to move. Shooter is going to change locations to get a better bead now that we’re pinned down.”

She ignored him, pulling harder on the door, which opened with a reluctant groan.

He grabbed her forearm. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“Hearing and listening are two different things.”

A shot drilled the rear window, sending glass rocketing in all directions. They both ducked.

“You’re really stubborn,” he said, but she was already lugging the animal carrier out of the car, and he reached in to help.

Another shot pinged the metal car roof, sending off sparks.

“Come on,” he said, taking her arm and propelling her toward the shrubbery.

It was all she could do to hold on to the carrier.

“I thought MPs were supposed to stand their ground,” she huffed.

“We do, but this isn’t my ground and I happen to be saddled with an irrational civilian.”

So much for warm and fuzzy.

He pushed her ahead of him, and he and the dog took up position right behind her as another volley of shots bored into the tree just above their heads.

TWO

Ethan put as many sturdy tree trunks between them and the shooter as he could. His mind churned faster than his feet. Had Sullivan finally snapped and changed his tactics to include daylight ambushes? It was possible. Sullivan wasn’t much of a shot, he happened to know, and this gunman was all over the place. Two more bullets whistled by, the last a wild one that lost itself in the tree branches. Sirens were converging from all directions. The marines would be responding, and the local police. With that many guns and that much adrenaline pumping, he figured their safest option was to stay still, very still. He put Titus into a sit.

“Stay put,” he told the woman. “Marines are here.”

The Jillian look-alike stood with her back to a tree, her arms curled around the animal carrier. Now that he got a close look without a couple of feet between them, he could see that her mouth was fuller than Jillian’s, the hair more auburn than copper, the spray of freckles more subtle, but still...uncanny.

“Still staring?” she demanded.

He flushed. “How do you know Jillian?”

A flash of emotion crossed her face, indicating that whatever her connection was to Jillian, it was a strong one. Then the expression disappeared and she shrugged. “Friends.”

His instincts went berserk, as if he was inches from stepping into a trip wire, but he had to know. “You’re a pretty good friend to paint a target on your back.”

She flashed a smile this time as she pointed to several armed marines scurrying down the slope, geared up for battle. “I think that conversation is going to have to wait.”

She was right. The marines were in no mood for chatting. Once they ascertained that Kendra and Ethan were not the bad guys, they searched the area until the police arrived, finding no sign of the shooter.

One marine approached them. “Hey, Airman. Heard you slammed the door on Colonel Masters an hour ago.”

Ethan grinned at the marine police captain, friends from the time their deployments overlapped. “News travels fast, Hector.”

MP Marine Captain Hector Sanchez squashed his smile and regarded the woman next to him intently. “Your name, ma’am?”

“Kendra. I had a meeting on base with Lieutenant Colonel Terence Masters.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Pertaining to?”

“Ask him, if you want to know.”

“Due respect, ma’am, but we’re not in the mood for coy around here.”

Ethan wasn’t, either. He was in the mood for a little rest and recuperation before he threw himself back into the Red Rose Killer investigation. Now that he was working for Masters, the situation was changing from bad to atrocious. The good news was Kendra would have to come to her senses now and tell Masters she was quitting.

Hector greeted the arriving police officer and they launched into an intense conversation. The US Marines did not like having to relinquish any authority to the local cops, but the shooting was not technically on base property. The cop, whose name tag read Alonso Carpenter, drew Ethan and Kendra aside. He was a tall man, almost as tall as Ethan, with a narrow chin and skin tanned from the sun.

“We need to have a talk back at the station with you both, to document all the details,” he said.

“It this really necessary?” Kendra’s arms were still wrapped around the carrier as if she was holding on to a life preserver. “I’m sure Colonel Masters—”

“Masters,” Carpenter said, with a certain something in his voice, “is not the boss on this side of the fence.”

Ethan caught the grin on Hector’s face. He realized he was sporting the same smug smile on his own. Masters always got what he wanted one way or another by whatever means necessary. It was nice to know the local police did not jump when he snapped his fingers.

He wanted nothing more than to head back to his apartment at Canyon Air Force Base and forget the whole nutty plan, but perhaps Masters’s scheme would actually draw Boyd out. It was possible the shooting had been Sullivan’s work. But something still didn’t feel right. Sullivan was not the type to take shots from the bushes. His killings were up close and personal. Ethan’s stomach tensed thinking of how Sullivan had snuffed out the life of his friend Landon Martelli. Landon hadn’t even had a chance to defend himself.

If it wasn’t Sullivan, then who else might want Kendra dead and why? He shook away the thought. Not your problem, Webb. He wasn’t going to work with Kendra Bell only to see her become another victim of Sullivan’s, and he intended to force her to see reality one way or another. The best thing for her would be to get away from this part of Texas, and especially from Masters.

Kendra walked by him and slid into a waiting police car. She did not flash him a glance, just bent her head and cooed to the bony white cat she’d removed from the carrier.

He could see that her profile wasn’t exactly a match for Jillian’s; her nose was smaller, the cheeks softer and there was more delicacy about this woman than his ex-wife. Her hair looked soft, as if it would be silky under his fingertips.

He brought those thoughts sharply to heel, calling to Titus, who had been nosing along at the tufts of grass. A moment later the cat caught sight of Titus and mewed in fright.

Startled, Titus barked loud enough to make Ethan’s ears ring. The cat erupted from Kendra’s arms and streaked away into the woods.

“Baby,” Kendra screamed, leaping from the car. She fired an angry look at Ethan. “Can’t you control your brute of a dog?” she said before she ran away in search of the cat.

“What?” he said dumbly to her back.

“She said, ‘Can’t you control your brute of a dog?’” Officer Carpenter said and Ethan detected a look of enjoyment in the man’s eyes.

Ethan huffed out a breath and shot a glare at Titus. The dog blinked and looked away as if to say, “Sorry, but it was a cat, after all.” Then he noticed the officer was heading into the shrubbery.

“Aren’t you taking her to the station?” Ethan called.

Carpenter chuckled. “Son, I’ve been married twice and I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two. I think I can safely say that Ms. Bell isn’t going anywhere without that cat.”

“Does that mean I can go and you’ll call me when you’re ready to talk to me?”

Carpenter raised an eyebrow. “No, that means you and Wonder Dog are going to comb every inch of this property until you locate the cat, Airman.” He turned his back and left Ethan and Titus standing there.

Ethan turned to his dog. “This is your fault, you know.”

Titus licked Ethan’s hand.

“Don’t try to act all cute now. Get into those bushes and find the cat you just bullied.”

Titus put his nose to the ground and got to work.

* * *

Kendra’s cheek was scratched from a low-lying branch and her feet were aching since she was wearing ballet flats instead of hiking boots. It didn’t hold a candle to the pain inside her. Baby was gone. The sun was low in the sky and there was still no sign of the old cat.

The cop had trudged back to the car after she’d promised to follow in five more minutes. With each second her breathing grew more panicky, sweat making her palms clammy. Ethan and Titus continued to prowl through the bushes, but even the dog could not seem to catch a scent of Baby.

Ethan clumped out of the bushes, wiping sweat from his brow, and faced her. “Uh, I’m sorry your cat ran away,” he said, not exactly looking her in the eye.

She rounded on him. “She didn’t run away. Your dog scared her.”

Now he turned eyes the color of melted chocolate in her direction. “Look, I’m really sorry, okay? I’ll keep searching, or maybe I can get you another cat.”

“Another cat?” she snapped, fury taking her breath away. “And if Titus there got lost, you’d just give up on him and get another dog?”

“No way, but Titus is a dog. I mean, uh, what I meant was, you know, cats can take care of themselves.”

She stared at him, tears pricking her eyes. “For your information, Baby can’t. She’s sixteen and she’s in poor health. She’s been the only one...” She swallowed hard. There was no way she was going to unload all of her big fat messed-up life at the feet of this insensitive blockhead. “Never mind.” She stalked past him, but he grasped her arm, his fingers strong but gentle.

“Hey, wait. I’m sorry. I was being a jerk. I’ve only been back a couple of months and I think I’m rusty at some things. I know the cat means a lot to you.” His gaze was soft, or maybe it was a trick of the failing sunlight. Either way, she couldn’t answer over the thick lump in her throat.

“I...” He sighed and shook his head, letting her go. “I lost a dog before Titus to a grenade. It hurts, no matter how you lose them. I, um, I’ll keep looking. Give me your cell phone number and I’ll text you if...I mean, when I find her, okay?”

Still unsure of her powers of speech, Kendra managed to give Ethan her cell number and programmed his into her phone.

“Ms. Bell?” Officer Carpenter called. “It’s time to go.”

She raised her chin and blinked hard, fighting for composure as she allowed the cop to usher her into his car.

Sitting next to the empty carrier, she was overwhelmed by the thoughts that she’d been blotting out the last few hours. Someone—maybe Andy, maybe the Red Rose Killer, maybe none of the above—had tried to kill her. That was not a new experience for a private investigator and a former bounty hunter, but this person had gotten very close to getting the job done. Muscles deep in her belly began to quiver.

And now Baby, the only creature in the world whom she loved and who loved her back, was gone, lost in the woods, an old cat, easy prey. She squeezed her hands together to stop the shaking.

You’ll find her, she told herself savagely. Right after the police interview you’ll come back and you’ll find her. Baby had chosen somewhere to hide, that was all.

Lord, she prayed, bring Baby back and help us both find a place like that.

As they drove through the shadows, her newfound faith was not enough to screen out the memory of the bullets fracturing the windshield, boring into the trees.

She was just like the cat. Easy prey.

THREE

After hours of fruitless searching Ethan made it back to Canyon Air Force Base. He’d done his best, but there was simply no sign of the cat. Titus was ready for a cold drink of water and some grub and so was he. Maybe in the morning...

As he unloaded Titus from the truck, they both caught the sound of whimpering coming from the bushes in his front yard. Titus dashed toward the foliage, tail wagging. Ethan followed, getting down on his knees as the soft cries turned into full-blown yips.

Titus was nose to nose with a gangly puppy, a Malinois with pointy ears and a dark muzzle. The ears were erect and the tongue was out, busily bathing Titus.

“Hey, fella,” Ethan said. “How did you get here?” He was close enough now to see that the puppy was wearing a filthy training center collar.

Ethan’s throat constricted. It was one of the animals that had been let loose by Boyd Sullivan when he killed the two K-9 trainers and left his signature red rose calling card. With Titus’s encouragement, he coaxed the dog to come out. It didn’t take much, as the poor critter was clearly weak and terrified. The pup was skinny, his ribs protruding. He smelled of garbage, which was where he’d probably been scrounging for food to stay alive for so long. Ethan noted a long gash in the dog’s side. His anger at Sullivan kindled fresh and hot. How could a guy who’d once wanted to become a K-9 trainer let hundreds of dogs loose to be injured or worse? But Sullivan’s twisted sense of revenge didn’t stop there. He’d killed a commissary cook a few miles from base, and some of those in his basic training flight group had received roses and threats...including Jillian.

Ethan poured some water from a bottle into his cupped palm and the dog lapped at it eagerly while Titus gave him a thorough sniffing. Wrapping the pup in his jacket, Ethan ignored the growling in his stomach and loaded both dogs into the truck.

In twenty minutes he was pulling up to the K-9 training center. He’d called Master Sergeant Westley James and his new wife, base photographer Staff Sergeant Felicity James, on the way. At the entrance to the training yard, Westley waited, a head taller than the petite Felicity, his face grave.

“Another one found,” Felicity said, cooing to the puppy. “He’s skin and bones. I’ll get him to the clinic.”

Westley shook his head. “If I could just get a lead on Sullivan...”

“You and everyone else,” Ethan said. “We’re all hoping to be the one that brings him down.”

“And his accomplice,” Felicity added. “He isn’t doing all these things without help.”

Someone was helping Sullivan certainly, but the list of suspects shifted constantly, and the team assembled to track down the killer was growing more and more frustrated.

Trainer Rusty Morton rushed over, tossing the rag he’d been using on the ground. “Oh, man. Is that Rocket? I heard he’d been sighted on and off in the woods and raiding garbage cans. I left out food and water where they said they’d spotted him.” He leaned over to stroke the dog’s ears tenderly. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, buddy.”

Puzzlement played across Felicity’s face as she handed the dog into Rusty’s arms. “Hang on to him for a minute while I alert the vet, okay?”

Ethan shared her uncertainty. Rusty was on the list of Sullivan’s potential accomplices, under scrutiny from the investigation team as he’d been a friend of Boyd Sullivan’s during their basic training days.

But Ethan saw tears shining in the guy’s eyes. They weren’t fake, he was certain. That contradicted Ethan’s earlier suspicions. He made a note to mention it to the investigative team leader Captain Blackwood. Surely a guy who loved dogs as much as Rusty wouldn’t have helped Sullivan let the animals loose, would he?

Ethan thought about his friend Landon. Man, he missed talking to him about anything and everything.

“You okay?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Just thinking about Martelli.”

“We miss him, too,” she said quietly.

Ethan’s phone rang and he moved away to answer it, Titus roaming the enclosed yard.

“Heard you got into some trouble near Baylor, Lieutenant,” Justin Blackwood said. He was a captain in the Security Forces and a veteran of two tours of duty in Afghanistan, which gave him stellar credentials in Ethan’s book, the perfect guy to be the leader of the team trying to hunt down Boyd Sullivan. “Was the shooting Sullivan’s work?”

“Uncertain, sir. Doesn’t seem like his MO.” Ethan felt the tension crackling through the phone.

“I wouldn’t rule it out completely. Sullivan was spotted near Baylor Marine Corps Base hours prior to your shooting incident.”

Ethan’s pulse ticked up a notch as Blackwood continued.

“A marine has been killed off base, his uniform and ID are gone.”

Ethan’s stomach dropped at the news of another murder. And now Sullivan had access to the base and Kendra. Perhaps the shooting really was a case of mistaken identity?

“We’ve got our hands full on this case,” Blackwood said. “I know you’d rather be doing anything other than working with Jillian and Masters, but maybe you can find that lead we’re all looking for.”

“I’ll do what I can, sir,” he said.

“Fair enough. Keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir,” Ethan said, disconnecting.

His eyes landed on Rusty as he cooed to the pup, who looked half-starved in the training center lights. Immediately he thought about Kendra cradling the pet carrier, tears glistening in her eyes, knowing her cat was lost like Rocket had been.

Your fault, Ethan.

On impulse, he sent her a text.

Did you find your cat?

Should he add something like another apology? An “I hope so” or something to soften it?

“I’m glad to have Rocket returned,” Westley said. “But there are still plenty of dogs on the loose as well as a serial killer.” He looped a protective arm around Felicity’s shoulders.

A text materialized on Ethan’s cell phone screen.

No.

He imagined Kendra’s lip caught between her teeth, a sheen of moisture in those brown eyes, the same brown as the glossy acorns that festooned the trees on his mother’s property back home.

She’s been the only one... Kendra had said of Baby, and he thought he had an inkling about the rest. The only one to understand, to listen to the painful things that could not be spoken to human listeners, the only one who did not judge, did not condemn. He got it. Titus had heard more about Ethan’s life story than anyone, except for the One who’d seen him through it.

He nodded to Felicity and Westley. “Okay. Thanks for taking care of Rocket. I’ve got to get on the road.”

“Where to?” Felicity asked him.

“Back to Baylor.”

She quirked a look at him. “That’s a three-hour drive. Didn’t you just get back from there?”

“Yeah,” he said, with a weary sigh. But I’ve got to go find a cat.

* * *

Kendra had finally returned to Jillian’s rented home just outside base property somewhere after 7:00 p.m. It would be a short break to wolf down a granola bar and rehydrate. Then five minutes to change clothes and grab her pack and then she would search again for Baby. It was only another hour until sunset. Her stomach churned into nausea.

“Hang on, sweetie. I’m coming to get you.”

A knock at the door startled her. She pulled the curtain aside a crack. Ethan Webb stood on the doorstep, arms crossed, expression stony.

What now? She had no time for another row with him. She yanked the door open, staring him down. “Come to apologize?”

He quirked a brow. “For what?”

“Disrespecting me in front of my boss. Scaring my cat.”

“Disrespecting...” He rubbed a hand over his tanned face. “Whatever. We just have one piece of business left and then I’m hoping you’ll see reason and quit this job.”

She shook her head.

“You can’t trust Masters,” he said. “Get away from him as quick as you can. This situation is only going to get you hurt or killed.”

“Thanks for your concern, but you didn’t have to drive over here to tell me that. I’ve known Jillian for fifteen years so I’m well aware that her father is a manipulative man with no ethics.”

He gaped. “Then why would you work for him?”

Because I owe his daughter my life. She shrugged. “Not your business, but thanks for dropping by.”

“So you’re still going to persist in acting as a decoy for Sullivan?”

“Yes.”

His lips thinned, his nostrils flared and he started to speak, stopped, then started again, folding his arms across his broad chest.

Amused, she folded her arms to mirror his. “Cat got your tongue?”

“Wait here,” he snapped.

She was about to respond when he stalked to his car. Titus sat in the passenger seat, ears alert, snout poking through the open window. He reached into the back and returned with a blanket, pushing the bundle into her arms.

Her heart stopped at the sight of Baby, mewing plaintively. She could not hold back the tears that filled her eyes as she snuggled the cat under her chin. “You found her.”

He shrugged. “Cost me a couple hours of searching and a million mosquito bites, but yeah. Baby’s back. Titus was not thrilled about sharing his vehicle with a cat, but he’s grounded so he doesn’t get to complain about it.”

She laughed. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“You can call me Ethan,” he said. “I guess we’ll be stuck in this idiotic mission together if you won’t listen to reason.” With a sigh, he started to walk away.

“Wait.” She put a hand on his shoulder, muscles hard under her touch, and he turned back halfway. “I’m sorry for my rudeness. I really do appreciate what you did, more than I can put into words. Baby is...so much more than just a cat to me.”

She thought his cheeks might have pinked a bit, but she could not tell for certain. He blew out a breath and he turned to face her fully.

“I’m serious here. I know we got snarled up in the beginning, but Masters is trouble and so is his daughter. Neither of them cares who gets hurt, so long as they get what they want. You are expendable and so am I, do you get that?”

If she wasn’t mistaken, she thought she saw a deep-down pain shimmer in his eyes before he cleared his throat. She nodded. “I understand.”

His gaze lingered, poring over her face from under a thick fringe of lashes. “Okay, well, it’s late,” he said. “We can work out the nuts and bolts tomorrow. Call if you need...you know...anything.”