Page 29 of My One and Only (Blackhawk Security #10)

D on’s gun stayed steady as they walked to his pickup truck. He opened the passenger door and gestured for Jo to climb in. She did but readied herself to jump out as soon as Don moved away from the door.

Then she heard the click of the doors locking. She yanked at the door handle, but by then Don was framed in the open driver’s door.

“Stop, Jo,” he said, and she turned to find his gun pointed at her as he stood on the running board. “I don’t want to shoot you, but I will if I have to.”

Jo swallowed and let go of the handle. She slid her right hand into her pocket and found her phone. She knew exactly where her recording app was because she’d practiced this maneuver many times. She pressed on the app, starting the recording, then slowly slid her hand out of her pocket, pulling a tissue with her. With any luck, Don would assume the tissue was why she’d reached into her pocket.

“What do you want with me, Don?” she asked, swiveling to face him as he drove out of the school parking lot. “What does kidnapping me get for you?”

“Cam’ll chase after you.” He snorted as he accelerated away from the school. “I recognize that lovesick look on his face from high school. You’ve always been the one for Cam. Once he realizes I’ve taken you, he’ll come after us. By then you’ll be dead, and I’ll have a clean shot at him.”

“You think you’d get away with that?” she said, shocked that Don could be so obtuse. “The first thing he’ll do is call the police.”

“Then you’d better call him right now and tell him not to get the police involved. Or you’re going to die.”

“Why would I do that? You’re going to kill me no matter what.”

“Call him, Jo.” Don’s voice was low. Threatening. “Or you won’t have an easy death.”

If push came to shove, would Don really kill her? Jo had no idea. But she wasn’t about to contact Cam and have him chase after her and Don. “Don’t think so, Don. I’m not easy to kill.”

He glanced over at her, boiling rage in his expression. “Put that gun you have on the floor behind my seat. Or I’ll shoot you right now,” he ordered.

She leaned over and set the gun on the floor, not completely behind Don’s seat, making sure she could reach it if necessary. As she straightened, she thought about grabbing the steering wheel and throwing Don off balance. Taking his gun.

Too risky, she decided. All he had to do was pull the trigger, and he’d have a damn good chance of hitting her in the small truck cab. So as she straightened, she surreptitiously tugged at the loose pants she wore, trying to make it easier to grab her backup gun from her ankle holster.

“So what’s the plan, Don? You wait for Cam or the police to start chasing us? Then you kill me?”

“Yep,” he said. He glanced over at her, smirking. “I’m not taking any chances this time. I did a little research on you, Jo. You’re more than just an old friend of Cam’s. You’re a bodyguard. You work for a company called Blackhawk Security. You’re the reason I can’t get close to Cam. Every time I’ve tried, you’ve been in the way. So I’m going to get rid of you. Then I’ll have a clean shot at Cam.”

Had he forgotten that Fiona saw Jo leave with him? She wasn’t about to remind him about Fiona. “Why are you so eager to get rid of Cam?” she asked. “He made you a partner in his business. I’m sure you’re making good money from it.”

“Not enough.” Don scowled. “I have gambling debts. Big ones. I can’t pay them off, so I need sole ownership of the company.”

“You think you’d get the company if Cam died?” Jo stared at Don, shocked at how oblivious he seemed to be. “I’m sure Fiona is Cam’s heir. You won’t get Cam’s half of the business, even if you kill him.”

“Then I’ll take care of Fiona, too. I have to get that money. There are some scary people after me.”

“I’m sure Cam would lend you the money if you talked to him,” Jo said.

Don was shaking his head before she’d even finished speaking. “Hell, no, he wouldn’t. Before he’d make me his partner, I had to sign a bunch of papers saying I wouldn’t gamble again. If I did, and ran up debts, the company wouldn’t pay them off.” He clenched his teeth, and his jaw tightened. “And I’d be out as his partner.”

“So why did you keep gambling, Don?”

He stared out the window, his fingers tightening on the steering when. “It’s a fever in my blood,” he muttered. “I resisted for a long time, but the need was eating me alive. I started out small. But I got into a hole and couldn’t get out. I tried gambling more, but that didn’t help. Just dug me deeper into that hole. If I owned the business by myself, I could put in the non-spec pipes and studs and pocket a lot of extra money. Use that to pay off my debts.”

Jo drew in a shaky breath. She recognized the road they were approaching. It ran parallel to the river. But instead of asking where Don was taking her, she said, “So you’re the one behind that scheme.”

Don scowled. “Yeah, and it was working like a charm until you stuck your nose into my business.”

“It was my business, too,” she reminded him. “My mom bought one of your houses, and you were cheating her.”

Don scoffed. “That’s an over-fifty-five community. The people who live in that subdivision are all old. They’ll die before the defects are noticed.”

“You think no one will notice?” Jo shook her head. “Just because your buyers are old doesn’t mean they’re stupid. When things start to go wrong in those houses, the homeowners will talk. They’ll realize that they’ve been cheated. You can’t kill all of them, Don.”

She smiled to herself. “Especially because the workers have been warned about what you’ve been doing. They’ve all been told to watch for sup-par materials in the houses they’re working on. Your scheme is unraveling. If I were you? I’d take off before Cam catches up with you.” She swiveled to study him. “Better than rotting in prison for attempted murder.”

“Not going to be anything ‘attempted’ about it,” he said. “You’re gonna die just like Ashley did.”

She sucked in a breath. “You had something to do with Ashley’s death, Don?” Jo asked, horror squeezing her chest.

“She was so drunk that she veered off the road and drove into the Fox River,” he said. “She struggled really hard, but she couldn’t escape the car. Of course, she had some help. She was giving me a ride home, and when she drove into the river, I held her down until her head was under water. When I was sure she was dead, I escaped myself because I’d already rolled her window down. I unbuckled Ashley’s seat belt so it looked as if she’d tried to escape but couldn’t get out the window. And of course there was a lot of alcohol in her blood.”

Horrified, Jo tried hard to hide her revulsion. Swallowing, she asked, “Were you drinking with her? Or did you pour it down her throat before she went unconscious?”

Don snorted. “No one had to force Ashley to drink. She was a raging alcoholic. She tried to quit, but she could always be tempted to have just one drink. Of course, that always became four or five. Or more.”

“Why would you kill Ashley, Don? What had she done to you?”

“I was having an affair with her,” he said. “She held it over my head. Always threatening to tell Cam. She wanted money, too. Cam kept her on a tight leash so she couldn’t buy liquor.” He smiled. “I was always happy to give her a drink or two.”

Oh, God. She’d been right all those years ago in high school. Don Kincaid was a monster. A sociopath. A sudden thought chilled her. “Were you the one who almost beat Cam to death that night at the park?”

He scowled. “Of course not. His family had taken me in, and I was grateful to Cam for arranging it. At the park that night, I tried to protect Cam and got a broken arm for my trouble.”

She had a hazy memory of Don showing up at school with a cast on his arm.

Jo’s stomach churned. “You were buddies with Dwayne Michaels, Tony Reiters and Eddie Teller. You were going to rape me that night, along with the rest of them. Is that why you left Cam lying on the ground, unconscious?”

Don scowled. “Broken arm changed those plans,” he said. “That and your damn pepper spray.”

Jo’s stomach rolled as she looked away from Don. The need to vomit was strong, but she swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Another. Finally, her stomach settled.

The river glistened in the sunlight on Jo’s right. The water was calm, but that didn’t make it less deadly. “Do you really hate Cam that much, Don? That you’d kill Ashley, and now kill me? Cam was loyal to you. He even made you his partner. Why are you trying to destroy him?”

“It’s either him or me,” Don said, his voice flat. Emotionless. “If Cam dies, my partner insurance’ll give me a nice chunk of money. Enough to pay off my gambling debts. Then I can start over.”

“Does Cam know you have partner insurance?” she asked, hoping to stall whatever Don had planned.

“He has no idea. Didn’t want the questions it’d raise.” His voice was cold. Implacable. “Easier to kill him and get the insurance payout.”

Don yanked the steering wheel and veered off the road. The car was now aimed squarely at the river a hundred yards in front of them.

“This is gonna kill Cam,” Don said, satisfaction in his voice. “This is where Ashley went into the river. Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered where. She was so drunk that she never could’ve gotten out of the car.”

Jo studied the river ahead of them. The car had slowed down, bumping over the uneven grass surface. “Are you going into the river with me?” she asked.

“Hell, no,” Don said. “I barely made it out when Ashley drove into the river. I’ll get up a good head of steam, then bail just before the car hits the water. Once the car’s submerged, it’s almost impossible to open the doors.”

She had the advantage over Don because he didn’t know she had a gun. But she’d only have one chance to use it. She studied the distance to the river, Gauged their speed. Her fingers twitched as she watched the river get closer. Finally, knowing it was now or never, she reached down and pulled her gun from its ankle holster. In the same motion, she pointed it at Don’s thigh and fired a shot.

When he screamed and grabbed his thigh, she reached over and threw the truck into reverse. Gears grinding and squealing, the truck shuddered to a stop, then began moving backward. She stomped Don’s foot heavily on the accelerator, and the car shot backwards, away from the river.

Don had dropped his gun when she’d shot him, but he lunged for her, his hands curled into claws. She shot him again, this time in his side. She took her foot off the accelerator, and when the truck slowed, she yanked out the keys, unlocked and opened the door and threw herself onto the grass. The car went a few more yards, then rolled to a stop.

Hands shaking, Jo crouched behind the car, pulled out her phone and called the police. Explained what had happened, and that they’d need an ambulance for Don. He was moving in the cab, so he was still alive, but he wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t want him to die, and she was pretty sure Cam wouldn’t want that, either.

Safely away from the car, she began shaking violently. She’d been in some dicey situations since she began working for Blackhawk Security, but nothing compared to her close escape from death today.

The wail of sirens was closer than she’d expected. At least two of them. Maybe three. She’d tried to explain where she was, describing the cemetery and park they’d passed, and the dispatcher seemed to know her location.

She peered into the window of Don’s truck. He was conscious. He glared back at her, and his mouth moved. She couldn’t hear what he said.

Which was good. She had no desire to hear anything more from Don.

The sirens were close, and suddenly a police car veered off the road and rolled toward her. An ambulance followed, tailed by another police car.

The first police car rolled to a stop, and two officers jumped out. “We got the APB. Thank God you called in your location. Are you okay?” the first one called. “Do you need an ambulance?”

Cam must have called the police when Fiona found him. Thank God. She swallowed the sour taste of bile in her mouth. “I’m fine,” Jo said, wrapping her arms around her waist. She nodded toward Don’s truck. “He was going to drive me into the river and drown me.” She pulled her phone carefully out of her pocket, turned off the recording, and showed it to the officer. “I was able to record everything he said. My phone was in my pocket, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to hear everything.” She swallowed. “He told me he killed Ashley Pierce. He drove her into the river and drowned her in the water that poured into the car. Then he got out and let the car sink.”

Her teeth chattering, Jo said, “My gun is on the floor of the back seat. I had a backup in an ankle holster. I used the backup to stop him. He has a thigh and chest wound.”

She watched as the paramedics yanked open the driver’s side door and assessed Don. After several minutes, they lifted him out and placed him on the gurney. There was a scary amount of blood on both his thigh and chest. But he seemed to be conscious.

Don’s voice drifted over to her. “… bitch shot me. Twice. I was just talking to her, and she pulled her gun. Put two bullets in me.”

“Let’s get you to Delnor,” one of the EMTs said. “You need to have those wounds taken care of.”

The two EMTs pushed the gurney toward the ambulance, lifted it inside and snapped it into place. One started an IV, while the other put pressure pads against both wounds. After triage, one of the men jumped out and trotted to the cab. The other closed the door. In moments the ambulance was bumping over the uneven grass, siren wailing.

As soon as the ambulance began moving, Jo turned to the police officers. “My gun is in his truck. May I retrieve it?”

“Is it the one you used to shoot him?”

“No. That was my back-up piece.”

The officer studied her for a moment. Sighed. “I’m sorry, but we have to confiscate both weapons. Check them for gunshot residue. Match the ballistics to the bullets the docs’ll take out of your abductor. And we’ll need to make a copy of the recording on your phone.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “I know you’re the victim here, but we have these protocols for a reason. Have to follow them, so when the case goes to trial, there aren’t any holes that the defense can squirm through.”

“I understand,” she said. “Can I at least use my phone to call Cam Pierce? I’m his bodyguard, and he needs to know where I am and that I’m okay.”

The police officer handed her his phone. “Use this one. I don’t want to take any chances with your phone. That recording is essential evidence.”

Jo nodded and dialed Cam’s number. Cam answered after two rings. “Did you find Jo?” he demanded. “Is she okay?”

“It’s me, Cam. I’m fine.” She drew a shuddering breath. “I had to shoot Don twice. He’ll survive, but he’ll be going to prison. Now I need to go to the Ogden police station. Can you meet me there?”

“Leaving now,” Cam said. He blew out a breath. “I’ve been frantic. Thank God you called.”

“Is Fiona okay?” she asked him.

“Seems to be. I took her to my parents’ house. I didn’t want her to see or hear anything about what happened. We’ll talk to her later.”

“Okay,” Jo said, relaxing her hand which was gripping the phone too tightly. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

After returning the phone to the police officer, Jo pulled her back-up gun out of her ankle holster and dropped it into the evidence bag the officer held. “My other gun and my purse are in the truck. Do you want me to get them?”

“We’ll do that,” he said. “I’ll have to search the purse back at the station, but no reason you can’t have it back. But we’ll have to keep the other gun until we’ve done ballistic tests on it.”

“I’m a bodyguard,” Jo said. “I need to have at least one of the guns.”

“Did you fire the one that’s still in the truck?”

“No, I didn’t,” she said.

“Then I think we can do a few quick tests for gunshot residue. If they’re negative, you can have that gun back.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Hard to protect someone without a gun.”

“We’ll need to see licenses for both guns, though.”

“They’re in my purse.”

“One of the techs processing the truck will get them,” he said. He studied her for a long moment. “You sure you’re okay? You don’t need to go to the ER and get checked out?”

“I’m fine,” she said. All she needed was Cam. “Not the first stressful situation I’ve been in, but it was the worst.”

“Yeah,” the cop said. “Having someone threaten to drive you into the river? The stuff of nightmares.”

“Yeah.” When Jo dropped her hands to her side, she felt the knife in her pants pocket. She pulled it out and showed it to the cop. “Forgot about this. Do you need to take it?”

“Did you use it at all?” the cop asked.

Jo shook her head. “No. It was in my pocket the whole time.”

“Then we don’t need it.”

He studied the technicians and the other police officers swarming over Don’s truck, then he turned to Jo. “C’mon. I’ll drive you to the station.”