Her mind sifted through all of the conversations, jokes, arguments and encouragement she had shared with Mike. He was like a second father to her. He had believed in her when she didn’t even believe in herself. She didn’t want to think about her life without him. He was always the person she relied on to keep her grounded and now he was gone.
A shadow in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She focused on it and watched as two figures moved up the side of Mike’s house before disappearing around the back. Kate jumped out of her car and followed them while dialing her phone.
“Andy! Someone is breaking into Mike’s house I need back up. I’m going in.” She heard him say something, but disconnected the call before she rounded the back corner of the house. She didn’t hear the crashing of glass or the splintering of wood. If the visitors were inside, they either had a key or they picked the lock.
She found the back door open and pulled her gun. She listened intently for any noise as she moved silently through the house. She heard footsteps on the second floor. She crept through the kitchen and into the living room. She cleared the office and the main foyer before she headed toward the staircase. She rose to the first step and heard a key in the locked door behind her. She backed up, the doorknob twisted and there was nothing she could do. It opened and, whomever it was, stepped inside.
Melissa.
Kate saw her, grabbed her in a hug, covering her mouth. Melissa struggled for a moment and then recognized her assailant. Kate spoke with her eyes and Melissa nodded in recognition.
In the same moment, the crashing of furniture came from upstairs. Kate looked to Melissa. She reached down, pulled Melissa’s shoes off her feet and then grabbed her hand. She pulled her through the foyer to the back door. Kate reached for the handle when they both heard the thudding of heavy footsteps descending the stairs. Kate waited. The footfalls reached the bottom of the stairs.
Kate made her decision. She yanked open the door, pushing Melissa out and followed her. Kate heard the cursing of men behind then. She turned and saw the men raise their weapons. She pushed Melissa to the ground. Two shots fired and she pulled Melissa back to her feet. She led her around the corner of the house and stopped. “Go! I’ll hold them off!”
Kate heard the crunching of approaching footsteps and knew she had to give Melissa time to get away. Where the hell is Andy? She took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the house, her gun raised. “Stop, FBI.”
The pursuant moved within a foot of her position. He smiled and raised his hands in surrender.
Kate hesitated, and remembered there were two. She turned. A booted leg hit her arm, knocking the gun out of her hand. She ducked and retaliated with a sweep of the legs, sending the unseen attacker careening to the ground.
She heard him grunt when he hit the ground and got to her feet. Kate regained her balance, but was punched hard in the chest. She fell. A spike of pain rushed up her back when she met the ground. His heat on top of her, she clawed at his face. She angled her feet in front of her and pushed him away. She saw the gun to her left and rolled toward it. A steel boot crushed her stomach.
Kate struggled and was unwillingly lifted off the ground. Her arms were pinned behind her back. She faced her opponent and saw the claw mark she’d left imprinted on his face. A wide triumphant smile spread across her face and his eyes blazed unbridled fury at her mocking. He threw his right fist into her jaw, his left into her abdomen. Unable to defend, the blows hit her hard and fast. Her head swam in pain. She tried to burn his face into her mind.
She fought against the strong arms of his partner. She sustained another blow to her stomach and heard a crash. She dropped to the ground. Two shots echoed in the darkness, followed by two thuds. She struggled to reclaim power over her lungs. After a moment of coughing, she managed to lift herself upright.
“Jesus, are you alright?”
“What?”
“Melissa Reynolds. She’s a friend of Mike’s. She arrived at the house in the middle—”
“Kate, slow down,” he put his hands on her arms. “We met her down the street. Mitchell is getting her statement. What the hell were you doing in there?”
“Nothing…I mean I wasn’t even inside until I saw them going around the back of the house,” she said, her head beginning to throb. “I was sitting in the car and saw them. That’s when I called you.”
“Nighton is going to be pissed.”
“Fuck Nighton, I just gave him two suspects in Mike’s murder,” she replied in between gasps of breath. “He’ll get over it.”
* * * *
Come Find Me!
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