“We need to get Lydia and get back to the house,” Kline whispered.
They were already into the yard, and they approached the body lying prone on the ground. As JD drew near, his elation vanished—he recognized the figure on the ground.
“Oh no!” he said. He dropped the Glock, horrified. “Lydia!”
Kline was saying something, but he didn’t hear it. He sank to his knees and stared at his wife’s body, and the dark spot on her shirt.
“Oh my God, I shot her.” He grabbed her and pulled her toward him. “No, Lydia. I’m so sorry.”
How could this happen? She was the love of his life. He didn’t want to harm her, he just needed her to understand what was going on. He had to stop Jo, and then he was sure he could make everything right with his wife.
JD rocked with her body. Why did she have to run? Didn’t she know he loved her? He’d protected her from his violent tendencies, the things he’d subjected the other women to. He couldn’t do those things with his wife.
He held her close and wept, not caring about anything else. His world was shattered.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Several trees and thick bushes stood at the side of the house. Jo darted into the thicket, and as she moved forward, she heard Kline and JD behind her. When the voices stopped, she glanced back and saw a shadow near the corner of the house. She pressed herself into the ground. In the stillness, JD’s sobbing reached her.
Jo wanted to cry out as well. Lydia had been shot, and she hadn’t been able to protect her. She began to second-guess herself, wondering what she might’ve done differently. Should she have broken into that house, so they could hide? But the noise of breaking the sliding-glass doors or a window might’ve drawn gunfire from JD or Kline. And who was to say if she and Lydia had hidden somewhere that they wouldn’t have been discovered? Then she would’ve been leading Lydia into a trap. Like the one she was in now.
Where was Kline?
She didn’t move a muscle, her right cheek pressed into damp earth. The smell of the soil was pungent in her nostrils. Something buzzed over her head—a fly or mosquito—but she didn’t swat at it. She was alert, listening for Kline.
And thinking.
She had the advantage. Kline had to search for her. He couldn’t leave JD waiting with Lydia’s body forever. Someone would hear them soon enough. And although Kline had been military trained as well, she wondered if he was on the same level as her. How often had he had to track somebody in a dangerous situation, where any false move meant you were dead? She’d been in places where she’d had to hunker down for hours, where she couldn’t move. She wouldn’t move now, either.
Was he that good, or better?
Her ears strained. JD’s sobs stopped. What was he doing? She was tempted to turn her head, but she didn’t. She could see through the bottom part of the bushes to the grass. The bases of tree trunks dotted the terrain. A couple of feet ahead and to the left, she saw an opening between the bushes. She didn’t think anyone peering in could see her, but she couldn’t be sure.
She listened for the sounds of sirens. Maybe some neighbor had heard commotion outside and wondered what was going on, and they’d dialed 911. Her phone was in her pocket, but she didn’t dare move her arm to reach for it. Kline might shoot her. She continued to wait, hoping to hear sirens.
Only the stillness.
She looked toward the grass, surprised to see black shoes appear in her vision. Kline was moving forward, quickly but very stealthily. She hadn’t heard him, hadn’t even had an inkling he was approaching.
He was good.
The shoes stopped moving. Jo held her breath. He had to be looking around, and she prayed he wouldn’t see her hiding. Then a foot crept slowly forward. As it did, she moved as well, barely perceptible. Kline took another step, his footfall soft on the grass, which barely rustled. She used that small noise to her advantage and inched upward. Then she looked up. Through the branches, Kline was silhouetted in the moonlight. He held a gun, the long barrel signaling a suppressor. If he shot at her, no one would hear the noise.
He took another step forward.
She got into a crouch, the muscles in her legs like springs.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Kline left JD with Lydia. He didn’t have time to focus on that. He had to take care of Jo now.
He darted to the corner of the house and peeked around. Tall trees and shrubs stood dark, and he didn’t see the woman. He listened, cursing his boss for making so much noise. Then he glanced back and signaled to JD, who put a hand to his mouth, muffling his cries. Kline looked forward.
He didn’t see Jo, but he didn’t think she could’ve gone far. No noise came from the back of the house, no sounds of Jo pounding on a door, no voices. She was probably unarmed, so there was only so much she could do against him. He took a few careful steps forward and listened, staring into the bushes, the shadows mocking him. He waited, listened, and watched.
Glancing to the backyard of the house, he didn’t see anything. He had to hurry. If she or anyone else had called for help, he had to take her out and clean up the mess before the police arrived. He moved quietly, faster than he wanted to. Even so, his footsteps barely stirred the grass.
His heart thudded a steady beat.
He took a couple more steps forward, scanning into the bushes on his right, then into the trees to his left. He knew who he was dealing with, that Jo had been trained well. However, he wasn’t scared. When he’d been in combat, he’d felt a thrill. He’d always loved the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Kline had killed many times without a second thought. This time would be no different. Then he’d get the bodies out of there and cover up his tracks. JD would have a lot to deal with, and he’d have to keep it together. Kline frowned. His boss wasn’t making it easy, but he’d figure it out.
Kline peered to his right again. He didn’t see anything in the bushes, so he took a few more steps forward. Then he heard something to his right, a whisper of movement. As he turned, something came at him from underneath the bushes.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Jo sprang at Kline, hitting him solidly in the shins. She heard the telltale muffled sound of a gun with a suppressor firing. She had no time to duck as a bullet whizzed past her, hitting the side of the house with a thunk. Kline went down. She was on him instantly, hauling her fist back and hitting him solidly in the jaw.
She didn’t have a moment to spare. He was well trained and bigger than she was. Jo knew martial arts, but she didn’t want to get in a fight with him. Not only could she end up on the losing side, but she didn’t know at what point JD might emerge from his grief and come at her with his weapon.
Kline flailed at her, grazing her cheek with an open palm. She had the element of surprise, though, and before he managed to crawl to his feet, she smacked him on the side of the neck, hitting a pressure point, a vulnerable spot that knocked him out. He would only be unconscious for a few moments, but those precious seconds were enough. While he lay still, she rolled off him and looked around. His gun lay within his reach, and Jo snatched it up and backpedaled.
He stirred, a froth of cursing emitting from his mouth. Jo aimed his gun at him, thinking he might try to talk his way out of his predicament, but instead, he leaped at her. She jolted to the side. He hit the ground, twisted around, and looked at her, his muscles tense. She aimed the gun and put a bullet right next to him. Others might’ve jumped, but he wasn’t fazed.
“The next one goes in your knee,” she snapped.
His eyes glinted in the moonlight, full of pure hatred. She was dealing with a desperate man, one who couldn’t afford to get caught. In her mind, however, he was going to face the law. Death was too good for him. A second later, he did what she expected. He launched himself at her again, and she fulfilled her threat, pulling the trigger again. Blood sprayed from his shattered knee. He dropped down, clutching at the wound, but he didn’t yell. Air whistled between his clenched teeth, and he cursed her again.
