Page 24 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

For the next few hours, Nathan and Andrew worked on the case of the hijacking.

He looked up other hijackings over the past twenty years and printed them out.

There weren’t that many, but he was curious to know if any had been instigated by the Serpentine Network.

He took a short break and checked in with Chief Badami, who said they’d found the spent shells at the scene of the accident, which were now with forensics.

The shells not matching his or Kristine’s weapon were from a Glock 19 as they’d suspected.

Finally, the fatigue kicked in and he looked over at Nathan. “I’m going home.”

“It’s about time. This is your day off, remember?”

“Right. See you later.”

Andrew grabbed a couple of pizzas from the Brick Oven Pizza Factory on his way home—well, as home as an Airbnb could be. But he liked the house. It was something like what he’d buy if he was going to stay in Lake City.

The home was perched on a mountain slope and had a rustic elegance feel to it.

The exterior, constructed of wood and stone, blended into the natural surroundings.

His favorite part of the house was the large windows offering panoramic views.

The back deck was perfect for enjoying an early morning cup of coffee or just watching the sunset after a long day of investigation and chasing bad guys.

And it was a perfect safe house for Hank.

When he got there, one of the Bureau vehicles was gone. He frowned and walked inside to find Tim and Hank playing cards at the kitchen table.

“Where’d Sherry go?” He set the pizzas on the counter.

“She had a little family emergency,” Tim said. “Her son fell and broke his wrist.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. But it’s been quiet. Hank had himself a good nap but said television hurt his head, so ... cards.”

Hank stood and walked to the refrigerator to grab a Coke. “Got some steaks for the grill. Corn on the cob and baked potatoes.”

“You went to the grocery store?” Andrew couldn’t help the slight note of disapproval in his voice. “You’re supposed to be hiding and healing, remember?”

His friend shrugged. “I can’t sit here all day doing nothing. I’ll go stir-crazy. Cooking steaks? Now that I can do. Besides, Tim and Sherry are great. We just looked like three friends shopping for dinner.”

Andrew refused to argue with him. The man had killers after him and pulled this kind of stunt. He sighed. He was a grown man who made his choices. He’d just have to live with any consequences. And pray for no collateral damage.

Hank frowned. “Seriously, man, we watched our six the whole time. No one was watching.”

Tim shook his head. “We dressed him up in a disguise. A really good one. We were fine.”

Hank’s frown deepened. “Honestly, I’m a little confused at how quiet it’s been. This isn’t like the SN.”

It wasn’t. But it also wasn’t wise to be out in public when someone was trying to kill you.

Andrew let it go. They were all professionals. If they were confident in that little outing, then fine. He ate two slices of pizza before shoving the leftovers into the fridge and decided to grab a few more hours of sleep. First, he checked in with Kristine.

How are you?

Tired. You?

The same.

Anything new?

No, Jacob wasn’t there and no one has seen him. I might go back and talk to his friend Chey and see if she has any other ideas.

That sounds good. My aunt Wendy just got here. She’s Mom’s sister. She’s going to be helping with Emily even though she and my dad can’t stand each other. That’s another thing Jess and I have in common. Her aunt couldn’t stand her father either.

Ouch. But still, that’ll help having her there, right?

Guess we’ll see. Probably. I came back to the hospital to wait for Wendy. There’s no sense in us both being here, so I think if I can spell Wendy every so often, I can still *not* help with the investigation. You know what I mean?

I got you. Let’s talk in the morning and make a plan for the day.

Sounds good. I’m going home now, will come back early in the morning to check on Emily, then be free to NOT help.

Haha. Understood. Later.

Later.

No heart emoji this time.

Well, that was disappointing.

He must have fallen asleep faster than he’d thought he would, because he was almost surprised when he woke. The house was dark. Quiet.

And yet...

Something had disturbed his sleep.

Or maybe he’d just had enough rest and his body was ready to get up?

A buzz next to his bed startled him. Ah, the phone. He forgot he’d left it on vibrate. Four in the morning. All righty then. The text was from Kristine.

I can’t sleep. I hope you have your phone on silent, but on the off chance that you’re awake, feel free to text me.

I’m awake. Want some leftover pizza?

He hit send before he could delete it, then wondered what had possessed him to ask her that.

If you’re serious, I can bring cheesecake.

He blinked. Okay, he really liked her.

I hate to ask you to get out at this time of morning. I can come to you. You might want to go back to bed once you’re up for a while.

Haha. Cute. After so many years flying, my circadian rhythm is permanently damaged. I don’t mind coming there.

Andrew chuckled.

I’m fine with you coming over.

Okay, send me the address.

He did so.

Hey, that’s not too far from me. Ten minutes max. See ya in a bit.

A low hum caught his attention and he lifted his eyes from his phone to listen. As though that would help.

Coming from outside? Maybe.

He threw the covers off, pulled on a T-shirt, then a sweatshirt, and shoved his feet into his sneakers, all in under five seconds. He walked to the window and listened.

Nothing.

He frowned and left the bedroom to step into the combination dining area and great room. The back deck was off that and the kitchen was to his right. The other two bedrooms and bath were straight across from him.

The living space was empty. “Tim?” Andrew glanced at his watch. The agent could be walking the perimeter of the house, checking for weak areas.

He sniffed. Gas?

He strode into the kitchen, started to flip the light on, and froze.

Flipping a light switch when he thought he smelled gas might not be the smartest move.

Instead, he tapped the flashlight app on his phone and the strong beam lit up the area.

He crossed to the gas stove and found all the burners off.

Okay then. The basement? He looked back over his shoulder. And where was Tim? He walked to Hank’s room and pushed the door open. If the man felt good enough to go grocery shopping, he could help him out. “Pssst!”

Hank’s eyes opened and his hand slid to his weapon on the end table. “What is it?”

“Not sure, but we’re going to investigate. I smell gas, so no flipping light switches. You good?”

“Right behind you.” His phone light added to Andrew’s helped brighten the area. “Where’s Tim?” he asked.

“I was hoping you’d know that.”

“I was catching up on years of lost sleep. Sorry.”

Andrew didn’t blame him. They walked back through the great room, then into the kitchen. “Basement?”

Hank nodded and opened the door. Gas hit them in the face and Andrew gasped and shut the door. “We’ve got to get out.”

“He’s waiting to pick me off,” Hank said, “but yeah, this place could definitely blow. We’re going to have to take our chances.”

“Grab your wallet and anything else you can fit in your pockets, and we’ll go out the master bedroom window.”

“Dude, that’s a two-story drop.”

“If we go out any normal exit, someone could be waiting. We’d be sitting ducks. We have to do the unexpected. There’s a fire escape ladder in the master closet.”

“Then let’s go.”

Hank took off toward his room, and Andrew headed toward the master bedroom and grabbed his wallet, badge, and weapon too. Then the ladder. He was worried about Tim, but he wasn’t in the house, so getting out was priority number one. Then they’d look for the agent.

Hank had come in and opened the window. A cool breeze blew in and they both breathed deep of the refreshing air. Then Andrew connected the ladder to the window frame and threw the rest of it out.

He looked at Hank. “I’ll go first. This is going to hurt your rib going down. And whatever you do, don’t look down. Your head isn’t exactly steady.” He’d text Kristine as soon as they were free of the house and the gas. She didn’t need to walk into this situation.

“I got this, Ross, just go. I’m sure it’s not going to feel great on your arm either.”

He had a point. Andrew climbed out and down as fast as he could, ignoring the fire shooting through his shoulder. He got to the bottom and tripped over something.

A body.

He knelt next to the man and shone his phone light in his face. “Tim.” With a gash on his forehead. “Tim’s down here. Be careful.”

The ladder rattled and Hank was halfway down. “What happened?”

“Don’t know.” He held the ladder still for Hank, who stepped off the bottom rung with a grunt. “Tim’s out cold, but he’s still breathing.” And he still needed to text Kristine not to come. He grabbed his phone and sent her the text.

Stay away from the house. In the middle of a situation.

“Well, we can’t leave him here. If the house blows, it’ll fry him.”

“Yeah.” And Hank couldn’t help carry the man. Andrew wasn’t sure he could either, but he was going to have to try. Tim groaned and Andrew helped him to his feet. “Good timing.”

“My head is going to explode,” Tim muttered.

“What happened to you?”

“I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”

“No time to talk about it now anyway. Head down the hill away from the house. It’s full of gas and we don’t want to be anywhere near it if something sparks.

” He held on to Tim on one side and Hank did the same on the other, even though the action had to be torture for his broken rib.

They headed toward the hill not nearly as fast as he would have liked.

The sound of a car pulling into the drive froze him for a brief second. “Oh no.”

Kristine.