Lone Star Christmas Mission (Hard Justice #9.5)

Chapter Seven

Harvin had another hostage. This one in a Santa suit, too.

Even though Cash wasn’t actually looking at the photo at the moment, he could still see it so damn clearly in his mind. That image meant he was having a fierce battle with himself to focus on stopping Harvin from killing not just the new hostage.

But also Kayla and him.

That fierce mental battle was involving several moving parts. Some literal ones since he was driving. While Cash did that, he listened to the chatter on his phone of Ruby barking out instructions. Ones that would hopefully give Kayla and him a decent shot at surviving this.

“I want feed from the drone as soon as it’s in place,” he heard Ruby tell one of the techs.

That drone would give them info to help them pinpoint Harvin’s location. Once they had that, then Ruby could put some boots on the ground to get them near the site. Close enough not to be easily seen but to be able to provide backup.

Cash trusted the “boots” that Ruby had chosen. Jericho McKenna and Rafe Cross. Both veteran members of Maverick Ops, and they were already on their way to Coyote Creek Road. They would be armed and ready.

But Harvin would be ready as well.

And Cash had to consider that Harvin was nowhere near the location where Kayla, Jericho, Rafe, and he were heading. In fact, the attack could take place enroute, and that was the reason Cash was keeping watch around them.

Not an easy task.

The entire area was basically jammed with trees, thick underbrush, and bluffs. Too damn many places for Harvin to lie in wait and ambush them in a hail of gunfire.

The SUV was bullet-resistant, but that didn’t mean shots couldn’t get through. It also didn’t mean Harvin wouldn’t resort to something more powerful than bullets. He could use explosives or even strip spikes on the road to disable the tires so he could then move in for an easier kill.

In case any of that happened, Cash did have plenty of backup weapons in the vehicle, but he didn’t want to get into that kind of pissing contest with some asshole who’d set up the sick rules of this deadly game.

“I’m tracking you,” Ruby said, “and it appears you’re within a minute of taking the turn onto Coyote Creek Road.”

“I am,” Cash verified. “No sign of Harvin. Any further word from him?”

“Not yet, but I suspect he’s got the road under surveillance and will know when you’re there,” Ruby answered, and then she paused. “How are you holding up, Kayla?”

Kayla opened her mouth, no doubt to get an automatic answer of I’m fine , but then she stopped and perhaps did some rethinking. “I’m scared, but that won’t stop me. This is probably the fastest way to prevent Harvin from killing anyone else.”

Ruby made a sound that might have been agreement. Or concern that this was a huge mistake. Cash had the same worry. He was essentially taking Kayla straight into the arms of a killer.

“Harvin had rules, and, Kayla, I have one for you, too,” Ruby went on a moment later. “Cash is well trained for ops like this so I want you to follow his lead.”

Kayla sighed. “He’ll just tell me to stay behind him. He’ll put himself in immediate danger to save me.”

“Yes, he will,” Ruby verified before Cash could say that was the absolute truth. “And that’s a good thing. Harvin wants both of you, and if you go in side by side, it’ll give him an easier shot to take you both out at the same time.”

Kayla stayed quiet a moment and then muttered, “All right.”

“Good,” Ruby said. “Glad we’re of a like mind on this. Now, I’m going to mute what’s going on here so you can focus on what’s happening around you. I’ll be able to hear you so if you need to ask me something, just let me know, and I’ll come back on the line.”

The background chatter ended, and the silence settled around them. Cash wasn’t sure that was better for his concentration because his thoughts assaulted him. Somehow, he had to make this work. He had to put an end to Harvin’s reign of terror and keep Kayla alive.

Somehow .

Cash slowed to take the turn onto the road where the trees and shrubs were even thicker. Weeds were growing up through the surface of the cracked asphalt and along the ditches. He didn’t see Harvin or any signs of weapons or surveillance equipment, but that didn’t mean any or all of those weren’t around.

The SUV bobbled over the surface, which was basically one deep pothole right after another. Since he was creeping along, Cash had only gone about twenty yards when Ruby came back on the line.

“Harvin’s made contact,” Ruby said, her voice sounding tight but focused. “There’s an old, abandoned store about a quarter of a mile from where you are. Stop there in the parking lot and await instructions.”

“Hell,” Cash grumbled. That wouldn’t give Jericho and Rafe much time to get in place. “Do we have drone images yet?”

“Just got them,” Ruby confirmed, “and I’m sending them to you now. Note the helicopter on the road just up from the store.”

The feed loaded on his dash monitor, and Cash did indeed see the chopper, which would be out of sight from the store since it was on the backside of a steep curve in the road. That was no doubt how Harvin had arrived.

And how he planned to escape.

“Is Harvin actually in the store?” Cash asked.

“Possibly. Someone is anyway. The drone just checked the store for heat sources,” Ruby explained, “and there are six people inside. Three more on the sides and back of the building.”

Cash cursed again. “That’s a lot of hired muscle. That chopper’s not big enough to transport nine people.”

“Agreed. There must be another vehicle parked somewhere out of sight. The drone is searching for it.” Ruby stopped when there was some more chatter in the background. “Rafe and Jericho are still ten minutes out. Try to stall until they’re in place.”

“Will do,” Cash assured her, and he hoped that would be possible.

He kept driving, kept glancing around. And he saw no one or nothing suspicious. Not until the store came into view. Like the road surface, the concrete on the parking lot had plenty of weeds, and from the looks of it, some of them had been recently trampled down.

“I don’t see anyone on the sides of the building,” Kayla relayed to Ruby. “Are they still there?”

“Yes, according to the drone feed,” Ruby verified. “They’re both belly down, and judging from the angle of their hands and body, they’re both heavily armed.”

Of course, they were. Whoever these people were, they were hired guns, and Cash only hoped they didn’t have orders to kill Kayla and him on sight. If so, they’d be gunned down the moment they stepped from the SUV unless Jericho and Rafe managed to get into place first to neutralize them.

“Get down lower in the seat,” Cash told Kayla as he pulled to a stop in front of the store.

Or rather in front of the building that had once been a store. There wasn’t much left of the original structure. Part of the roof and some of the walls had been caved in and all the windows had been broken.

“I can’t see anyone inside,” Cash told Ruby. “Where were the heat sources the drone found?”

“All the way at the back of the building. My guess is it’s some kind of storage area.”

That made sense. Being out of sight was better protection for Harvin and the hostage. Well, it was if the building itself was secure enough. It looked ready to fall down with a gust of wind.

“How the hell did Harvin know about this place?” Cash asked, still keeping watch.

“His grandparents used to own a hunting camp near there,” Ruby supplied. “He spent a lot of time in this area as a kid.”

So, Harvin would know the terrain. Which gave him a huge advantage, especially with all the hired guns he’d brought with him.

“Jericho and Rafe are still six minutes out,” Ruby added a moment later. “They’ve parked just off the main road and are on foot now.”

Ruby had barely finished that update just as there was some movement in the doorway. Cash spotted the man in the bright red Santa suit, and he saw the same terror on this one’s face as he had from those in the live feeds.

Cash also saw Harvin.

The SOB was behind his hostage and had a gun to the man’s head. Harvin was also grinning in triumph, and Cash had to choke down the rage that shot through him.

“Come on and join us,” Harvin called out. “Oh, and that’s not an invitation. It’s an order. Move now.”

Shit. Jericho and Rafe weren’t nearly close enough, and Cash was trying to figure out how to stall. But he didn’t get the chance.

The sound of the gunshot blasted through the air. And the Santa yelled in pain.

“He shot him,” Kayla blurted. “Harvin shot him.”

Yeah, he had but not in the guy’s head. Not a kill shot. Instead, Cash saw the blood spread over the shoulder of the suit.

“For every second you piss around and don’t get out, I’ll keep putting bullets in him,” Harvin shouted. “Message received?”

“Message received,” Cash spat out, and he opened his door and stepped out. “Get out on this side behind me,” he whispered to Kayla.

She nodded and crawled across the console and driver’s seat to get out. Thankfully, she stayed behind him.

“Oh, I can see you wore Kevlar just for me,” Harvin announced in that mock sappy voice. “Well, don’t just stand there. Come on in. My trigger finger’s getting itchy, and I might put another shot in Santa if you drag your feet.”

Cash started walking, but since Harvin hadn’t ordered him to put up his hands, he kept them by his side so he could better reach the flares and the slingshot.

“All right, stop for a sec,” Harvin instructed when Kayla and Cash were still about ten feet away from the doorway.

There was the sound of someone moving on the side of the building, and a man wearing all black and wearing a ski mask scurried out. He used a handheld metal detector wand on Cash. Then, on Kayla.

“She’s got the knife,” the thug told Harvin.

“Good. Then, she’s obeyed the rules,” Harvin said. “Now, go back to your post since I suspect Ruby Maverick will have some of her operatives coming along shortly. The second you spot them, shoot to kill and go for the throats or thighs. Kevlar won’t do shit to protect them there.”

No, it wouldn’t, and that knotted every muscle in Cash’s body. But he had to hope that Jericho and Rafe would see the threat and neutralize it.

“Come on in,” Harvin went off, his attention going back to Kayla and him after his thug had run back to the side of the building.

Keeping the bleeding Santa as a human shield, Harvin backed up enough so that Kayla and he could enter. They stepped in, and Cash immediately did a sweeping glance around the place.

There was debris everywhere. Old boxes, wood and shingles from the roof, and some trash. The fast food bags and the remains of a campfire let him know that the store had gotten some visitors over the years.

“That way,” Harvin ordered, tipping his head to the back of the building.

As Ruby had speculated, it appeared to be a storage room. One without a door. Probably not a window either. There was no sunlight coming from there, but the area was lit up, maybe with flashlights since there was no electricity.

“Keep walking,” Harvin snapped, the sickening glee still in his voice.

Kayla and he were moving at a snail’s pace, as slow as Cash thought it was safe to do. He didn’t want to give Harvin an excuse to shoot the hostage again, but he wanted to buy that time for Jericho and Rafe.

“Why did you want me to bring the knife?” Kayla asked.

Harvin looked at her and beamed. “Oh, you’ll soon find out, bitch. Soon,” he emphasized.

Harvin stopped outside the storage room and again tipped his head for them to go inside. Cash did, fully expecting to come face to face with three more ski mask wearing gunmen.

But he didn’t.

Thanks to about a half dozen large flashlights, he had no trouble seeing there was one such thug in the corner, and he was holding an assault rifle. He had it aimed at the three women kneeling on the floor.

“Fuck,” Cash growled.

All three were wearing Christmas costumes. One was an elf, another an angel, and the one in the middle was dressed as Mrs. Santa. The elf and the Mrs. Santa gave him the flashbacks from hell since those were the costumes Kira and Kayla had been wearing when Virgil had attacked them.

Judging from the gasp Kayla made, she was getting a shitload of flashbacks, too. Of course, she was. All of this was meant to dick around with their heads.

And Harvin was succeeding.

Not just for Kayla and him but also for the hostages.

Cash glanced at the trio again, and he was betting not a one of them was over eighteen. Again, Harvin was trying to mimic the scene when Kira had been murdered. Each of the hostages had their hands tied in front of them and were gagged and blindfolded. Despite the blindfolds, tears had streaked down all of their cheeks, and they were clearly terrified.

“I didn’t want to leave the ladies out of this adventure,” Harvin boasted. “I found this group going to their high school party and brought them here to join in on the fun. Does it bring back memories?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I sure hope so. I want you reliving every last second of your sister’s life.”

They were, and Cash prayed it didn’t lead to Kayla having a panic attack. Or a full mental breakdown.

Harvin’s expression turned to ice. “Do as I say, or they get to feel bullets being fired into various parts of their bodies.”

It took Cash a moment to get his jaw unclenched so he could speak to this piece of shit. “We’re here, aren’t we? We’ve done as you’ve said. Now, let them go and you can deal with us.”

Harvin pretended to think about that and shook his head. “I think I’ll hang onto them just in case your Maverick Ops’ friends get past my guys out there. I’ll call them insurance. FYI, they’re nearly the same age you were when you caused my uncle to end up in jail.”

Yeah, and that meant they were the same age as Kira had been when said asshole uncle had killed her.

Behind him, he could hear Kayla’s breath start to gust, and he could practically feel the panic rising in her. “What do you want?” she snapped, surprising Cash. Her voice sounded a hell of a lot stronger than he’d expected. “Am I to use this knife on you?”

“You wish, bitch,” Harvin spat out. “But I want you to try. I want you to come at me and plunge the knife…here.” He used his left hand to reach around to the front of his hostage, and he tapped the guy on the heart. “I know you’re good at killing people because you killed my dad.”

There was plenty of emotion in Harvin’s voice now. And worse, that was an unhinged look in his eyes. That’s when Cash knew that Harvin didn’t intend for any of the hostages to get out of this alive.

Cash sized up the thug in the corner. His rifle was still pointed at the girls. Harvin’s gun was pressed to his shield’s temple. So, neither of them had taken aim at Kayla and him. That could change in a blink, of course. But maybe a blink was all he needed.

“Get down,” Cash whispered to Kayla, and before the words were even out of his mouth, he yanked out one of the flares and set it off.

Immediately, intense red light began to spew through the room.

But so did the sound of gunfire.

Someone pulled the trigger.