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Presley cursed and gave up trying to get Dominic back on the line. Instead, she sent a text telling him to approach from the rear. Then she tapped on her comm device.

“Dominic is on his way.” She explained that Elaine Chang had called, and Dominic had checked the air tag. “I couldn’t convince him to stay away.”

“I’ll watch out for him.”

“Me too. Thanks.”

Presley had pulled over when Dominic called, so she shifted into gear. As much as she wanted him to stay away, she couldn’t blame him for coming. Gia was his life. There was no way she could’ve kept him away. But this was her fight. Eddie wanted revenge on her for getting his father fired.

“I’m sending Queen Atta in now,” Kayne informed her.

Queen Atta was a tiny insect-like device named after the flying ant in A Bug’s Life . Queen housed a high-power camera. Eddie would never know it was there, but they could see what was happening inside. Presley swerved behind another building and parked. “Send me the feed.”

She opened the program and watched as Queen Atta took flight. Kayne piloted it expertly, sending the device in through a cracked window. Broken pallets, crushed boxes, and trash marred the floor as the drone navigated the vast space. Kayne steered Queen Atta into one room in the front.

“There.”

Gia was sitting on a stack of pallets with her hands tied and mouth gagged. Presley exhaled. She was alive and looked unhurt. Kayne zoomed closer. Tears streaked her face, but instead of looking scared, she looked pissed. Presley stifled a sob. Gia would be okay. Presley would make sure of it.

Eddie stood by a window, watching the front approach. He had a gun in his hand.

“Someone is coming my way,” Kayne alerted her.

Did Eddie have an accomplice? Was it his degenerate father? Presley gritted her teeth. She’d wanted to slam a fist in his face for a while now. Maybe she’d get her chance today.

“It’s Dominic. Hold on, I’m waving him over.”

Presley closed her eyes. She didn’t want him near this mess. It was bad enough that Gia was caught up in it. Presley’s focus would be split, worrying about him and Gia.

A few minutes later, through her ear, Dominic said, “Presley, I’m here.”

“I gave him a comm,” Kayne unnecessarily explained.

“Kayne, keep him away. I mean it. Shoot him in the foot if you must, but let me do this.”

“Roger that.”

Dominic scoffed. “Seriously? You told him to shoot me? I don’t think so.”

“Dominic,” Presley warned, “Kayne knows about a hundred ways to render you incapacitated in a second flat. Don’t test him.”

“Two hundred,” Kayne interjected.

“That’s my daughter in there,” Dominic bit out.

“And she’s fine. She’ll stay that way if you let me handle this.”

When there was no other protest, she drove to the warehouse.

“We’re in,” Kayne told her. “The situation has changed. Smith is now holding Gia in front of him like a shield. I can’t risk a shot. However, if it looks like he’s going to shoot you, I will take him out.”

He’d been a Navy SEAL sharpshooter. There was no one she trusted more than him to watch her back. “Roger that.”

Presley ensured her vest was in place and slid out of the vehicle. She made a show of glancing around the area. She spotted a truck parked behind a rusted brown dumpster. Reggie had told her Eddie drove a green Dodge Ram. That was it. Instead of walking a straight line, she weaved, making it harder for him to shoot her. She trusted Kayne, but all it took was infinitesimal pressure on the trigger, and, bang, she’d be dead. She wasn’t afraid for herself. Her only concern was getting Gia out of there safely.

When Presley reached the entry, she called out, “Hello? Eddie?”

“Come inside.”

Presley shoved the massive wood door aside and stepped into the warehouse. Light filtered into the building from windows high on the walls. Dust motes danced in the air, and the scent of mold, mildew, and sewer permeated the air. She knew from Queen Atta that Gia and Eddie were to her right.

“I’m here, Eddie.”

Eddie stepped out of the room holding Gia in front of him, his pistol pointed at her head. Presley swallowed hard and tried not to let her panic show. Gia’s tough attitude was gone as tears poured down her cheeks. Presley vowed right then she would kill him.

“Hold your hands where I can see them.”

Presley complied.

“How do you know my name?”

“I talked to your partner, the real Jed Flowers. He ratted you out.”

“Bastard. I should’ve known he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. So, Presley Parrish, you know who I am.”

“I do, Eddie. You got what you wanted. I’m here. Let the girl go.”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“She’s innocent, Eddie. She has no part in this.”

“I don’t relish killing kids, but you’ve driven me to this. You’re going to watch her die before I kill you.”

“How did I force you to become a sociopath? I don’t even know you.”

“You destroyed my family!”

“Eddie, your father drugged me and planned to rape me.”

“He did no such thing,” he spat. “Your word against his, and I believe my father. He dedicated his life to law enforcement. Because of you, he was fired, lost his standing in the community, and my mother. She’s divorcing him. You ruined our lives.”

Aw, too bad.

“This is taking too long,” Dominic complained. “I’m coming in there to get my daughter.”

“No. Stay there.”

Eddie’s brows narrowed. “I give the orders around here, not you.”

“I’ll keep him here,” Kayne promised.

Good. Presley could refocus on the situation. “Eddie, your father brought this on himself. Your reaction is totally unequal to what happened. He lost his job. You murdered people, Eddie. You ended their lives. Bill Fitzgerald trusted you.” She didn’t know if that was true or not, nor did she care. “He did your bidding, and you repaid him by shooting him in the head.”

“Get your hands up!”

She raised them again.

“Fitzgerald was looking at life in prison, anyway. I did him a favor. It was quick and painless. Humane.”

Was this how he rationalized what he’d done? The twisted mind of a psychopath.

“What about Margy Binder? Nancy and Gene Babcock? Charmaine Wells?”

“What about them?”

“They did nothing to you, Eddie. They were innocent. Why did you have to kill them? Have you no remorse?”

The sound of gravel crackling outside had their heads swinging to the partially open door.

Eddie lifted his arm and aimed his weapon at her.

“Sonofabitch, you called the cops. You and the kid are going to die.”