Devoted in Death (In Death #41)(104)

“Suspects are up, up and moving. Get the locks.”

“One second. No riot bar.” Roarke angled the portable aside, took out tools. “You’re low, as usual.”

“I’m high, you’re high. Peabody, Carmichael, you’re in behind us and cut right, get to the civilians. Banner, bring the rest in now.”

“We’re clear,” Roarke told her.

“Enter in five, four, three.” She used her fingers for the last count. And they hit the door.

The crash shook the air. Shouts, a wall of noise and movement followed it.

James, naked, held a ballpeen hammer. Parsens, wearing sexy stolen underwear, a small kitchen knife. Parsens screamed, turned to flee.

“Stop! Police!”

James hurled the hammer. Eve heard it thwack against the wall as she dodged.

“I’ve got him,” Roarke said coolly. “Why don’t you take care of the woman?”

James, wild-eyed now, charged at Roarke. Knowing her man, Eve left him to it, went after Parsens.

When Eve found the bedroom door closed and locked, she just shook her head. Rearing back she kicked once, twice, nipped away from a flying bottle when the door crashed in.

“Give it up, Ella-Loo.”

“Stay away from me, or I’ll kill you!” She swept another bottle from the floor, this time smashing it against the wall, then jabbing out with the jagged glass with one hand, the knife with the other.

“Are you kidding me with that? Do you not see the stunner in my hand?”

“I’m going to cut your face off.”

“Okay, give it a shot.”

Swinging the broken bottle over her head, swiping and jabbing with the knife, Ella-Loo leaped forward. Eve considered the stunner in that brief second, then went for the more satisfying. A left cross.

She had to pull it, a little, to avoid the knife. But not much.

She wasn’t sorry when the bitch fell back onto shattered glass and, screaming, rolled over bloody.

“Yeah, how do you like it?”

A dark part of her might have enjoyed rolling the murdering bitch right back over the glass shards, and maybe the boot that stepped down on the knife caught a couple fingers under it.

The quick, shocked yip didn’t hurt her feelings.

But the cop kicked the knife aside, and yanked the spitting, screaming woman up, shoved her facedown on the bed.

“You’re under arrest.” She slapped on restraints as Ella-Loo shrieked for Darryl. “That’s for multiple counts of murder in the first, just for starters.”

“Darryl! Darryl! Get this bitch off me!”

Eve leaned down, covered her recorder. “My man is infinitely more than the excuse for one you have. And he’s already taken Darryl down.”

She uncovered the recorder, hauled Ella-Loo up. “You have the right to remain silent, but go ahead, keep right on screaming. It’s f*cking music to my ears.”

Ella-Loo whipped her head around, snapped her teeth.

“Oooh, a biter. Now I’m scared.”

As Eve dragged her toward the door, Banner rushed in.

“You got her. You okay?”

“I’m dandy, she fell on some glass, so she’ll need medical. I haven’t finished reading her her rights. Why don’t you take her, Deputy, and do that?”

“That would be my considerable pleasure, Lieutenant.”

“She’s a biter.”

He showed his own teeth. “I’ve dealt with biters in my time.”

Eve took a breath when Banner hauled Ella-Loo out, flexed her left hand a couple times, then followed.

Darryl, still naked, lay on the floor, unconscious while a uniform cuffed him. Eve glanced at Roarke.

“I’d say that was grand fun, if not for…”

Together they looked over at the wounded.

Medical worked on them while cops cut bindings, and Peabody soothed.

“Don’t let her die.” Tears streamed down Reed’s face. “Don’t let her die, please. They made me rape her. I raped her, but she stayed strong. She didn’t blame me. Don’t let her die. Her name’s Jayla. They hurt her so bad. They wouldn’t stop.”

“We know who she is.” Eve stepped over to him. “We know who you are, Reed. Nothing that happened here is your fault. Medical is going to do everything they can for her. For you.”

McNab laid a blanket over him, stepped aside for medical. They lifted Reed onto a stretcher.

“Don’t let her die.” Reed’s gaze clung to Eve’s. “Her name’s Jayla.”

She turned to one of the MTs, studied Jayla’s gray face as she did. “Will she make it?”

“Lost a lot of blood. We’re pumping it and fluids into her now.” He shook his head. “I can’t tell you, but we’re about ready to get her out of here.”

“I want to be informed of her status, and Mulligan’s. I’m Lieutenant Dallas, out of Central.”

“I know who you are. Most of us do. I’ll add it to the data. Bastards sure worked her over. Take them down hard, Lieutenant.”

She planned to.

“I want this scene secured,” she called out. “I want sweepers in here. Everybody seal up, now. All records on, now. Suspects locked tight, examined and treated medically. By the book, people, every page of it.”