Page 29

29

STONE

I parked near Mallory‘s car in the warehouse lot. Mags had called me on the drive over to confirm Grey and the rest of the team were on their way with the sheriff, and I’d asked for information on Mallory‘s vehicle, almost hoping I was wrong and wouldn’t see it.

My heart dropped when I spotted the red car with the matching license plate sitting in front of me.

I pulled out my gun and made my way toward where I knew the High Tide Pub’s warehouse space was.

There wasn’t time to wait. I wouldn’t risk Len’s life waiting for the deputies to arrive as back up.

The last time I didn’t wait, my partner ended up dead, but this wasn’t that.

The decision was all mine this time. I was alone, and there was no one else at risk. Len was the victim, the one taken, and if I waited, and it was too late when we found her, I would never forgive myself. I would rather die than sit by and wait while she was in harm’s away.

I slowly made my way across the lot, hoping I wouldn’t encounter anyone. I didn’t want more roadblocks in the way of rescuing Len. My heart pounded each step I took.

My gun remained raised all the way until I made it to the building I had searched not long ago. There was only one door in and out; I knew that from the last time I was there to search for the Coastal Killer.

My next move wasn’t really a decision at all.

With each passing second, the statistics for recovering Len unharmed worsened.

I checked the watch I wore on my wrist—only forty minutes had passed. I prayed they made it sooner rather than later.

My hand hovered over the handle of the door before I grabbed it and pushed it open. My weapon was raised once more, leading me into the warehouse.

The second I walked through that single door leading inside, I saw her. Len stood with a knife to her throat, her eyes pleading with me. I knew it was a trap, but there was nothing I could do.

I had to save Len.

“I knew you’d come,” Mallory hissed.

Her voice vile, and the knife that had killed so many at the hands of the Coastal Killer remained pressed to Len’s throat. I knew if we checked it against every last victim, it would match.

“Don’t hurt her,” I said, pointing my gun at Mallory.

I didn’t have the shot. She was using Len like a human shield. There is no way for me to fire without potentially hitting Len.

“Let her go,” I demanded, keeping my voice as even as possible.

I dealt with many hostage negotiations; I knew what to do, but it was hard to keep focused on the task with Len’s life at stake. It was easier when I didn’t know the victims.

“No,” Mallory snapped. “You can’t take her from me.”

There it was: the fear, the idea I would take Len from her, that Len belonged to her.

“I won’t do that. We both want her unharmed,” I said, planting the idea in her head.

“You did this to her,” Mallory snapped.

The knife moved a little, and I saw Len tense at the sharp edge touching her skin.

“It’s me you want,” I said.

“You tried to take her from me. I won’t let you do it again,” Mallory said.

“I’ll do whatever; just let her go,” I said, keeping my voice even.

I tried not to let the growing panic show on my face. Len needed me to remain focused. If I could reason with her, show her what she was doing would only harm Len, there was a chance.

There were only two endings to this all.

She would either Len go, her love and obsession enough to protect Len’s life. Or, Mallory would kill her, her possessiveness enough to convince her if she couldn’t have her, no one could.

I couldn’t let the second happen.

“Put down your gun,” Mallory demanded.

“How do I know you won’t hurt her? How can I be sure you’ll let her go?” I asked.

I knew it was a useless question. There was no way I would ever know for certain.

“You’ll have to trust me,” Mallory said.

Laughable.

“You put the gun down, I’ll let her go. You take her place. If you care so much about her, you won’t mind if it’s you at the end of my knife instead.”

I hadn’t expected much else. The second I realized Mallory was the Coastal Killer, I knew her endgame.

With me out of the picture, Len would be all hers.

“I’m going to put my gun down slowly,” I said.

My knees bent as I slowly lowered, one hand raised and my other hand placing the gun gently on the floor. I quickly stood back up, my hands raised.

It was by far the dumbest decision an agent could make. The second we lost our weapon, we lost all the power, all our control over the situation. Everything was at the hands of the unsub.

Yet, time and time again, we did it anyway. It was the only way to ensure the safety of those we took an oath to protect.

“Kick it over here,” Mallory demanded.

I didn’t argue. The gun skidded across the floor as I kicked it. I made sure to aim slightly off to the side so it was still out of her reach. If she took the gun, there was no leaving this warehouse alive.

“No!” Len called out.

“It’s okay,“ I said directly to her. “You’ll be okay.”

“You for her. That’s the deal,” Mallory said.

I knew the second I took her place, Mallory would slit my throat. There would be no hesitation. If I wanted to protect Len and get her out of the warehouse alive, I needed to try to get closer to Mallory. If I could disarm her, she’d be useless.

I started to walk towards them, and Len writhed in her friend’s grasp.

“Don’t,” she whimpered.

“Shut up,” Mallory sneered.

“It’s all right, Len.” I needed her to stop struggling. Resistance would only anger Mallory further.

I knew what the profile said, and I needed Len to understand.

When I was only inches from them, Mallory turned Len away from me, the knife still pressed tightly to her throat. One small movement would end her life. She reached down to the belt holding her skirt up and unhooked a pair of handcuffs.

She handed them to me.

“Lock yourself to that,” she said, nodding to a large metal shelving unit as high as the ceiling. There would be no escaping that .

“The second you do, I’ll let her go.”

I realized my mistake the second we took a few steps in the direction of the shelving. My gun sat feet away. I couldn’t let her pick it up.

Len seemed to follow my gaze and understood. I met her eyes and saw the moment she made her decision.

“No,” I said, catching Mallory‘s attention.

It was too late. She stomped her foot backward, landing right on top of Mallory‘s. Mallory stumbled in shock for a moment, and Len darted, heading for my gun. I tried to lunge for it, but I was the furthest.

Mallory recovered quickly, and with Len’s arms tied, her movement was limited, and Mallory beat her to it. I was still moving toward the pair when the shot rang out, the piercing sound echoing through the warehouse.

For a moment, I thought Len was hit. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled away from Mallory. It wasn’t until I felt the excruciating pain shoot through me a second later that I realized I was wrong.

My leg ached, the pain knocking me to one knee. Looking down, I noticed blood already dripping down the side of my leg.

“No,” Len screamed.

I was lucky. It wasn’t anything lethal, but the pain did limit me.

She raced over to me, and Mallory lifted the gun, aiming it at her.

“Stop,” I called. “Don’t hurt her.”

Her eyes flickered between the two of us as she weighed the choice.

“Don’t hurt her,” I pleaded again. “You have what you want. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

I accepted my fate. One more bullet, that’s all it would take. Tears streamed down Len’s face.

Mallory stared at the pair of us. Movement to my right caught my eye at the doorway. It was slight, so slight that the other two didn’t notice. The small reflection light flickered again, and I knew.

“Let me say goodbye,” I said to Mallory.

“No,” she said.

“Please,” Len cried.

“It’s not for me; it’s for her,” I assured Mallory. “Just let her say goodbye.”

Mallory nodded and kept the gun pointed at us. Len quickly melted to on the floor, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Do something,” she begged.

“Grey,” I whispered in her ear.

It a one single word, but it was enough for me to feel the way her muscles relaxed for only a second.

She moved back, and her eyes held mine, searching.

I gave her a little nod, one Mallory would think was me encouraging her to go. Instead, I confirmed what she thought.

“I won’t leave,“ Len said and stood to turn.

She put her body in front of me, placing herself between me and the gun.

“Move,” Mallory demanded.

“No,” she said. “If you want to kill him, you’ll have to kill me first.”

My chest ached at that. Len was playing with fire and I didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much more I could do. We needed to hold Mallory‘s attention.

“Move,” Mallory demanded again.

“No,” she said. “You’ll have to make me.”

Mallory started to stalk across the warehouse, gun still raised, pointed directly at Len’s head. I tensed, praying my team would move fast.

With Mallory finally focused entirely on us, her back to the door, I saw the first person enter.

Mallory was inches from Len and held the gun straight to her head. I could see the way her finger twitched on the trigger and held my breath as Len closed her eyes.

Before she could pull the trigger, a shot rang out, and Mallory collapsed.

I forced myself toward her, the pain in my leg agonizing, but I was able to still limp.

Len rushed away from her, but I hurried toward her and knelt beside her to check her pulse. By the time my fingers met her neck she was completely gone .

I moved over to Len, who stood shaking and staring at her friend‘s lifeless body. I held her up.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I asked.

“No, I’m all right,” she said. Each word sounded unsure.Her friend kidnapped her and held her at knife point. That wasn’t something you got over in a day.

I heard the sirens in the background, and Grey gave me a curt nod to head outside to meet them.

“Let me get you out of here,” I said as I wrapped an arm around her, afraid her legs may give out any moment.

I walked outside, and immediately, an EMT met us with a blanket, wrapping it around Len as I slowly let go near the back of an ambulance. I let her go, knowing it was for the best.

Agent Grey was the first to exit the building behind me, meeting my gaze.

Deputies passed by me, heading inside with their guns raised; unbeknownst to them, they didn’t need them anymore. I limped over to the rest of my team, near another ambulance. Some of the agents clapped me on the back while others gave me sad nods.

“You didn’t wait for back up,” Grey noted.

I pulled out my wallet and handed over my badge.

“What is this?” he asked.

“My badge. I didn’t follow orders again. I know my time in the field is done,” I admitted.

Grey stared at the badge, his hands turning it over. “You see that woman over there?” Grey motioned to Len.“If you had waited for us, I doubt she’d be alive. The moment the lab got those results back, you pieced it together, faster than anyone else could have. You built a profile all within moments and knew Len wasn’t safe. You did what anyone else with the same profile would’ve done,” he said.

“Len was a fixation for Mallory. With that attention taken away, she felt betrayed. When Len didn’t appreciate the gifts she offered, she escalated to taking her. If she would’ve denied her what she wanted, Len would’ve been dead.”

“I didn’t wait for back up, the same as I didn’t with Blythe,” I answered.

“This is not the same,” Grey said. “You made a decision based on a profile, a good one. You saved her life. This is not the same as last time.” Grey placed a hand on my shoulder before he handed my badge back. “Once you complete your psych evaluation, you’ll be cleared for the field. I’ve already submitted the recommendation.”

“You can’t be serious?” I asked.

“As long as you follow orders next time, you’re still welcome on my team. Besides, where else will I find a brain like yours?” He chuckled.

“I’d be honored to come back,” I admitted.