Page 88 of Storm Warning
“I didn’t see his face. He wore a scarf or something over it. He was taller than me, dressed like you are, only all black.” The rat spat out the words desperately.
Nick smiled grimly, vaguely pleased at the rat’s obvious fear. The man’s terror was a small, dark satisfaction in the ocean of his own anguish.
Nick kept his gaze glued to the scene in front of him, forcing himself to remain still when every instinct screamed to move, to act. Zach stared the rat down, not moving a muscle, just waiting, looming over him like death itself.
“Honestly, I don’t know anything.” The rat’s eyes followed Zach’s hand as it inched down to his thigh, to the knife strapped there. The movement was deliberate, theatrical. He flicked open the strap with a softsnickthat seemed loud in the tense silence, and withdrew it, the matte black blade seeming to suck all light into it.
“Hey, man, what are you doing?” The rat strained in his chair, the legs scraping against the concrete floor, pushing back as far away from Zach as he could. His gaze jumped between David and Nick, wild and pleading. “Stop him, man! I didn’t hurt anyone! Help me!”
Zach smiled—a cold, savage expression—and the stink of urine filled the room, sharp and shameful, as the rat peed on himself. The wet stain spread across his pants. Nick felt nothing but contempt.
“Hey, all I know is the guy who paid me drives a crappy old Jeep, used to be green, maybe, but it’s so covered in rust you can’t tell. That’s it!” The rat's voice rose to a near-shriek as he glanced around, wild-eyed with fear.
Nick’s brows dropped as Zach slid the knife back into the sheath and stepped back.
Nick, I don’t think we’ll get anything else out of this idiot. Why don’t you touch-read him? Maybe you can pick up more.
I’ll try.Nick pushed off the wall, a grim determination settling over him.I certainly don’t care if it scrambles his brains.The thought should have bothered him. It didn’t. He’d burn the world for Kate.
He stepped up behind the rat and put his hands on his head, feeling the man’s greasy hair, the heat of his scalp, the trembles of terror running through him.God, please let this work.He narrowed his focus, spearing his thoughts through his fingertips into the rat’s brain, pushing past the surface fears and into his memories.
Show me everything you know about the man who hired you.His order reverberated through the man’s mind like a shockwave, and flickering images appeared in Nick’s mind—disjointed, fragmented. A man dressed all in black, his face hidden by a dark scarf. The jeep, as the rat described it, rust-eaten and ancient. The conversation, words echoing strangely in the rat’s memory.
Nick’s eyes snapped open, and he released the rat, pulling his hands back as if burned. The rat’s head lolled forward. “Hey, man, what did you do to me?” His voice slurred.
He spoke the truth, but in the conversation, the man commented that his future guest would find her new accommodations very different from where she was now, and he hoped she liked dirt and animal droppings.Nick’s stomach churned at the image that conjured—Kate in some filthy hovel.That’s all. The only places I can think of that fit that description are the old, abandoned shacks on the other side of the island. There’s a couple of them.
On it.David stared at his tablet, unblinking, his fingers flying over the screen. Zach grasped David’s arm and ledhim down the hallway as he worked. Images flickered across the screen faster than Nick could follow before stopping on a satellite image of an old, broken-down building with a rusty Jeep parked in front.
Got it.David’s voice hummed with satisfaction.
They moved to Zach’s office, and David threw the images up on Zach’s monitor. Nick leaned forward, his hands bracing on the desk, studying every pixel.
“Okay, the Jeep is at an abandoned house about fifteen minutes from here, up the coast. I’m pulling up the live satellite now.” David rambled as he searched, throwing up each item as he found them. “Hmm, I only see the one jeep, but there’s at least two guys outside. Looks like they’re patrolling. I think we’ve got the right place. Let me find the floor plans ... ok, it’s old. One room. I don’t even see hard walls for a bathroom. It’s probably just a corner with a curtain. Probably had an outhouse originally.”
One room. Kate was in there. So close. Fifteen minutes away. The knowledge thrummed through Nick’s veins like electricity.
Zach considered the diagram, his eyes moving methodically over every detail. “Flip back to the satellite.”
Zach’s eyes moved all over the screen, studying every inch, calculating angles and approaches. “Two. There’ll be at least one inside—they wouldn’t leave Kate alone. That Jeep only holds four, so assume four threats. Three of us. No problem.”
He straightened up and locked his gaze on Nick, and Nick felt the weight of that stare like a physical thing. “That is, three of us if you can hold it together. Can you, or do I have to lock you up here? You go off script, you could get Kate killed.”
The words hit like a slap, cold and sobering. Kate killed because he couldn’t control himself. The thought cut throughthe red haze of his rage. Nick met Zach’s eyes, pulling on his immense control, the discipline Zach himself had drilled into him over years, pushing all his fears aside, burying them deep where they couldn’t interfere.
“I can. I will do whatever needs to be done to get Kate back.” His voice was steady now, controlled. He meant every word. He held his breath as Zach studied him for a minute more, those sharp eyes searching for any crack, any weakness, before nodding.
“Okay, here’s the plan. We’ll drop the SUV about a mile away and jog in. We don’t want any noise to announce our arrival. Stage one: David, you grab the highest ground you can find and scan for threats. Keep an eye on that satellite, too. Make sure no other threats are incoming. I’ll handle the outside threats. Nick, you stay under cover and watch our backs at this stage.”
Nick opened his mouth to protest, frustration and anger surging up again, but Zach held up his hand, stopping him with that single gesture.
“Stage two: we enter the building. I’ll take point; Nick, you follow on my heels. I’ll take any inside threats. You go straight to Kate. Stay between her and anyone else in the room. Your job is protection; that’s it. David, you stay on over-watch outside. Got it?”
Nick sighed in relief, the tension in his shoulders easing marginally. Zach wasn’t trying to stop him from protecting Kate but was assigning Nick a job he could emotionally handle. Protection. He could do that. Hewoulddo that. Nothing and no one would touch her again.
David and Nick both nodded their understanding. “Good. Vests on, and let’s go get Kate.”
Nick pulled on his vest, the weight settling over his chestlike armor. Each buckle, each strap, was a ritual, a preparation. His hands were steady now, his mind focused to a laser point.