The Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 7-9 Read online

  “Shut up and move to that corner.”

  He directed her toward the front of the building. She didn’t have any weapons on her, but even in the darkness of the warehouse, there was just enough light to see the glint off the barrel of his weapon so she starting walking.

  At the scrape of metal on metal, she jumped into the defensive position Aaron had taught her. Someone was entering through the side door they had just walked through.

  She turned around, but Bruce wasn’t behind her anymore.

  Then another man stepped into the light from the exit sign over the side door.

  Chapter 36

  Death got out of the car and checked each and every vehicle at the car pool lot. None of them held his two men and Sarah.

  Something had gone wrong.

  “People are going to die over this,” he said as he slammed a fist into the open palm of his other hand.

  He jumped back in the car and verified the time.

  “They’re more than late. They knew where to come. Something happened.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Enrico asked. “Drive to the house?”

  “Let me think.”

  Death tapped his leg, stared out the front window and wondered how it could all go wrong. Two men. One woman. One chained up woman. Maybe he underestimated her. She looked strong, tough. Talked that way, too. Was two men enough to guard someone like her?

  “Shit. Take me to the warehouse on Keele Street.”

  “Why there?”

  “Drive!” Death shouted.

  After they were underway, he added, “It’s possible, unlikely, but possible, that our guys thought we were meeting there. I had said the warehouse for Sarah’s benefit. But the roof wasn’t high enough.”

  “Maybe that’s it,” Enrico agreed.

  “Or Sarah did something to escape. If so, she would come to the warehouse looking for me because I told her I would be there. She strikes me as that kind of woman.”

  Five minutes later, Death told him to pull over on the south side of the train bridge.

  “Why here? We gotta cross the bridge and take the first right.”

  “No. I’m going in the back way. If someone’s there, I’ll surprise them. You stay here.”

  “Here?”

  Death looked at him. “Are you fucking deaf? Stay here. When I whistle, drive around to the front and pick me up. Keep your car window down and listen for my whistle.”

  Enrico nodded. “Whatever you say.”

  Death got out, checked the knife on his hip, and started walking. The car turned off behind him.

  “Someone’s gonna pay for this fuck up,” Death said to himself. “Someone’s gonna pay, big time.”

  Death started running.

  Chapter 37

  Aaron Stevens stood just inside the door of the warehouse, his empty hands flared out to his side.

  “Sarah?” he called. “You okay?”

  “Good to see you, too. Where have you been? Could’ve used you over the past few days.”

  “Sorry, babe. Been busy. Hunting this asshole.” Aaron nodded at Bruce. “Come on, Martin. Give it up.”

  “Martin?” Sarah asked. She looked at him. “Not Bruce?”

  “Not Bruce,” Martin said. “Now shut up and keep moving toward the front of the warehouse. We’ve got over half the building to cover.” He waved his gun toward the front.

  Then he casually turned the gun toward Aaron, raised it, and fired, the sound deafening in the empty warehouse.

  Aaron ducked out of reflex and dropped to the ground. He did it so fast it almost looked like gravity had stopped working under him. Then he rolled up against the wall and was lost from sight.

  “What? No warning?” Aaron shouted. “Fuck!”

  Sarah edged backwards slowly, trying for a pillar about eight feet away. She had to get something between her and Martin.

  The gun swung back to her. “Don’t make me shoot you, too.”

  She stopped.

  Aaron stayed hidden.

  “You hit, Aaron?” Sarah asked.

  “No, but that was close.”

  “What happened to Jennifer?” Martin asked over his shoulder.

  “That bitch at the Range Rover?”

  “She’s not a bitch. She spends her life helping women do the right thing. She chose an honorable profession. What happened to her?”

  “She’s in police custody. Banged up, but in custody.”

  “Liar. Lyson wouldn’t show up with his friends. He knew the deal and it was too serious to fuck around with.”

  “I’m his friend,” Aaron’s voice echoed throughout the warehouse. “I’m here. So you’re wrong.”

  “How come Lyson isn’t here?”

  “He sleeping.”

  “What’s to stop me from pushing the detonator button? It looks like my work is done here.”

  Aaron stayed silent. Sweat trickled down Sarah’s forehead even though it was cold in the warehouse.

  “You’re bluffing,” she said. “You don’t have a detonator. Your sister had it.”

  “You think I would come this far and not be prepared?”

  “Prepared?” Sarah said in his tone. “I’m sick of people like you. If you had a problem with the way things were, fix it. People like you are destructive, not constructive. You don’t fix things by killing people. What is wrong with you?” She thought about what she just said. “Wait, I take that back. Unless they’re people like you.”

  He aimed the gun at her face. “You see,” he said. “That’s the shit I have to take from women. Why can’t you just shut up? I would’ve killed you last.”

  There was movement behind him. She guessed Aaron was creeping closer, remaining silent. In mere seconds he would be behind Martin.

  “But you are an asshole,” she continued, keeping his attention riveted on her. She tried to study his hand in the dim light to catch the movement of his finger if it depressed the trigger. “A dirty piece of shit. How about you drop the gun and come and fight me. You’re only as tough as your weapon. Fucking child, that’s what you are—”

  Aaron was in the air, his foot aimed high.

  The gun went first, kicked so hard that Martin’s wrist snapped before the gun hit the floor. Aaron’s other foot landed perfectly on the side of Martin’s head, knocking him into the air sideways. Then they were both sprawled out on the floor of the warehouse.

  Sarah ran to Aaron and reached for the gun on the way, but he was already getting up.

  Martin’s good hand disappeared inside his jacket.

  Aaron dove for him. Sarah turned and kicked at Martin’s arm, hoping that he didn’t have a detonator.

  At the second the three bodies converged, a large explosion imploded the front wall of the warehouse tossing huge chucks of metal and cement toward them. The shock wave shoved them along the floor at least a dozen feet.

  Her hearing temporarily gone and the building suddenly cast in darkness as all the lights went out, Sarah covered her head and waited for the debris to stop falling.

  The weight of a body had landed on her.

  She closed her eyes and screamed Aaron’s name, hoping he was okay.

  Chapter 38

  Death descended to the train tracks, carefully ran over them in the dark and climbed up the other side. When he reached the top of the embankment on the warehouse side, an explosion knocked him back. He staggered on his feet.

  “What the fuck was that?”

  He wondered if it had anything to do with him. Could Sarah have had a plan all this time?

  Death ran across the field, arms pumping hard as he went, the knife on his belt snapping into his thigh every step. Anyone close to the building when the explosion happened would’ve been knocked off their feet, so he had no fear of running into anyone.

  Sirens screamed from a few blocks away. When he got to the warehouse, he wouldn’t have much time. If Sarah was here and still alive, he would do everything he could to take her with him.
/>   He stopped running thirty meters short of the ruined warehouse wall and whistled. Enrico flashed the car lights and started over the bridge.

  Death continued running toward the warehouse. He looked along the side wall that was somewhat still intact near the back. Halfway up, it crumpled in and near the front was completely gone. What was left of a vehicle burned in the parking lot out front, casting an eerie light on the premises as the street lights were all out in front of the warehouse.

  Enrico eased into the warehouse parking lot slowly, his lights off.

  Sirens were only blocks away.

  Death scanned the building for a way in. He ran the length of the wall and climbed in over the rubble that had collected where a side door used to be.

  “Anyone still alive in here?” Death asked.

  “Over here,” a man shouted back. “Help me. Sarah’s trapped.”

  “On my way,” Death said.

  He pulled his knife out and started toward the voice.

  Chapter 39

  Sarah cupped her hands in front of her face to breathe. The body on her wasn’t moving but the weight of that body was so much that she couldn’t move under it.

  Her hearing returned slowly, sounds coming as if through a tunnel. She took two deep breaths and pushed up and to the side.

  Nothing moved.

  Shit.

  She tried again. From far away Aaron’s voice broke through, telling her to remain still.

  Hearing him and realizing that he wasn’t the lifeless body on her was a great relief. She let the air out of her lungs, and focused on her breathing. The warehouse air was gritty with dust. There was a rank smell about it, and she covered her nose again before she breathed in.

  The weight on her back adjusted, then settled again.

  Aaron’s voice grew louder as her hearing returned.

  “Anyone still alive in here?” a man asked.

  That’s not Aaron’s voice, but I recognize it.

  “Over here,” Aaron shouted. “Help me. Sarah’s trapped.”

  “On my way,” the other voice responded.

  Her stomach stirred at the sound of that voice. The explosion had knocked her down. She had slid on the floor, banged her head. Things weren’t coming together yet.

  The weight adjusted again.

  “Sarah, stay still,” Aaron said. “There’s a small chunk of concrete leaning on Martin’s back. Once we pry it off, we’ll get him off you.” He was close but she couldn’t see him. She breathed in and out through her hands.

  “Looks like this chunk snapped his back,” Aaron said. “Okay, Sarah, we’ve got a metal bar. We’ll try to pry the cement off Martin’s body. Hold tight.”

  Her hearing was good enough to make out the sounds of grunting as two men worked the bar. Emergency sirens were close now.

  Then the weight was gone. Blood flowed freely to her legs. She flexed her ankles and hands and turned over as Martin’s dead body rolled off her.

  “Thanks guys,” she said as Aaron took her hand and helped her slowly to a sitting position.

  Then the other voice registered.

  “Death …” she muttered.

  “What?” Aaron asked.

  Headlights turned on at the front of the building, shining through the large hole the explosion made. Silhouetted in their glow, a man stood behind Aaron.

  The man held a metal bar, but he was holding it like a baseball bat.

  “Aaron. Look out!”

  Death swung. Aaron ducked.

  But not fast enough.

  The bar hit Aaron above the ear. He crumpled to the floor like jelly, as if his body had no bones.

  “Come on, bitch. We’re going to finish this.”

  The knife in Death’s hand glinted in the light. He grabbed her forearm and yanked her to her feet. He leaned back and did something to Aaron, but she couldn’t see what. She resisted his grip to pull him away from Aaron, but with his incredible strength he brought her in close and jammed the blade against the underside of her jaw.

  “Pull away again and I’ll bleed you like a pig. Don’t fuck with Death.”

  A horn blared outside. Red lights strobed through the night, coming closer.

  Death ran, yanking Sarah behind him, her dazed mind wondering how she would cope if Aaron was just killed in front of her.

  At an opening in the wall, Death hopped out and pulled her out behind him. She stayed on her feet but almost tripped when he wrapped an arm around her neck.

  “Stay close. Trying to run or shout for help will only get you killed. You saw what we did to those FBI guys. Killing cops don’t bother me.” He pointed. “That car. Go.”

  Emergency vehicles were lined up a block away. She figured the fire trucks were staying back until the bomb squad got here to make sure there was no more danger. Two police cars screamed up Keele Street on the other side of the snowy field.

  The Range Rover she arrived in was gone. In its place, a black hole was cut in the snow. Across the street, an unmarked cruiser sat parked by an office building, its lights out. It looked like its windows were all broken in from the explosion.

  When they reached the waiting vehicle, Death shoved her into the back seat. He jumped in behind her.

  “Go,” he shouted to the driver, who spun the car around and drove away from Keele Street, the lights off.

  It’s all my fault, she thought.

  She had allowed herself to get close to Aaron. He had come for her and paid the ultimate price.

  She would go with Death. Killing him in the backseat of his car wouldn’t be good enough. She stared at the side of his head. No, she would kill him in the most violent way possible.

  If it was the last thing she did.

  Chapter 40

  Russell Anderson had spent a considerable amount of money to check into the hotel two days ago. He had told them he was here on business, in Toronto from the States as a sanitation advisor. At least that’s what Penny had told him to do. That explained the two metal garbage cans in his room, the kind with metal lids and handles. Why the ruse was beyond him, but since Penny had died years ago at the hand of a madwoman, she had whispered prophecies into Russell’s consciousness and he listened.

  In Vegas, when he met his cousin, Sarah Roberts, those messages had saved both their lives.

  Tonight he guessed the messages were only for Sarah.

  Penny had instructed him to take two lids off the metal cans and go to the twenty-eighth floor tonight after midnight. He was to wait until an employee of the hotel showed up to open the door to the roof. Knock him out and gain access to the roof.

  Sarah was in danger and a man was coming to the roof to do her harm. Russell was supposed to stop that from happening.

  Then he would get to see his dead daughter.

  At least that’s as much as he got from Penny. He had waited a long time to get to this day. The search for his father in Vegas had turned out favorably, but now that Russell had been in Toronto for the last five months, he hadn’t spent a lot of time with him.

  It had been a month since their last call.

  All he had was Penny. All he wanted was to hold his daughter again.

  She’d promised him all that.

  He got up from the bed, walked over to the garbage cans and picked up the two lids.

  Then he checked himself in the mirror. Bags had formed under his eyes. Weariness creased the lines on his face and depression had become him. If only things worked out with Penny’s mother, life would’ve gone another way.

  But it hadn’t and now he had a chance to help a family member.

  He looked away from his reflection and left the hotel room. At this late hour, the corridor was empty. He headed for the stairs.

  At the highest level near the roof access, he backed into a recess in the wall beside a large box that contained a fire extinguisher and waited.

  It wouldn’t be long now.

  Then he would do what was required of him.

  Only then wou
ld Penny come back to him.