Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(82)

“What? You mean they lost him?”

“I mean they claim they never had him. Whoever intercepted my call to the police department last night must’ve been in league with him. Did you think Becker might’ve planted that rose just to keep us spun up and jumping through our asses?”

Zack growled again, his conversation skills disintegrating with every additional piece of bad news. “Listen, Mark. It sure as hell fits. The bastard’s a pro, especially if he’s really working with the Bureau, but the guys who bombed Shelby’s car are not. I’m telling you, there are two very different things going on here. I think we’re caught in the freakin’ middle of a high-tech operation and terrorist wannabes.”

Mark raked a tense hand over his head of hair, fighting the urge to pull it out. Every day The TEAM fell apart a little bit more, and they were no closer to locating Kelsey’s assailants or Alex, IF the sonofabitch really was alive.

“So you’re telling me we’ve got two different guys after Kelsey?” Mark asked bluntly. “How is that supposed to convince me you can keep her safe now that Gabe’s missing?”

“He’s not missing. He just hasn’t caught up with us yet. But think about it. Whoever hit Shelby’s car was most likely out to kill Kelsey, but whoever left the rose is out to save her. At least to help her.”

“I can’t believe the FBI cares enough to send flowers.”

“Then who do you think did it? Because I’m here to tell you, Mark, the flower’s the real deal, and Kelsey’s a new woman today because of it. You should’ve seen her after the bombing. She was ready to kick ass. You’d have been proud. Even had her pistol strapped on.”

Damn. Mark honestly didn’t know how to answer his friend. Alex alive? No way. But a rose to wake up to after Becker sucked the hope out of her last night? Mark scrubbed a hand over his face, glad that Zack couldn’t see his mounting doubt. Did Alex even do sentimental crap like bring Kelsey flowers? Mark buckled. “What now?”

“Like you said,” Zack reminded him. “We do our jobs. I’ll keep Kelsey safe and off the grid. You guys go after Fallon. Becker too. Alex will show up when he’s able. You’ll see.”

Zack made it sound simple.

“Where are you?”

“Somewhere safe. That’s all you need to know. Kick ass. I’ll be in touch.”

The second he disconnected Mark’s cell vibrated at his hip holster. Mother. Just great. He still hadn’t had a free second to chat with her, and his to-do list grew longer every day. His migraine along with it.


“Are you still at Kelsey’s?” Impatience edged her tone.

“Just leaving. What’s up? Did you get an update from Steven and his team?”

“Don’t worry. They’re safe, but I’m patching Connor and Rory through to you. They’ve intercepted your shooters. Shots have been fired. Two police cruisers are in pursuit and D.C. Metro already set up a roadblock.” She transferred the call to his cell before he could say yay or nay, dumping Mark into the middle of screeching tires and mayhem.

“Boss, you there?” Connor yelled over the din.

“Here,” Mark answered, gripping the back of his neck with his free hand, scrubbing it up and over his head.

“We’ve got ’em in our sights. The guys who hit Kelsey’s this morning. They’re traveling east, doing over a hundred. Just like the Escalade Gabe found in the river. Wait! The bastard’s shoot—”

A loud BOOM vibrated through the connection. Mark pulled his cell from his ear.

“Hell! Rory! You good?” Connor’s voice came back shrill and angry as more shots were fired, hopefully from Rory or Connor’s weapons. Screeching tires told Mark the race was still on. Another shot sounded, but Connor halted his progress report.

Mark strained to hear over the wail of sirens and gunfire. Rory uttered an expletive, unusual for him, then nothing. Mark didn’t know what he was listening to—the deaths of two more of his team or a rollover. Acid pooled in his gut as the racket reduced to silence.

Finally, Connor came back on line, out of breath. “Boss. You still there?”

“Yeah. Speak.”

“Police are here with us. We’ve got... wait a second. Who is that?” Connor hollered away from the phone. “Looks like we’ve got Stevenson and...”

Mark listened as yelling and racket ensued on Connor’s end of the line.

“Mark? You still there?”

Shit! I’m here already!

“Copy that,” Mark replied, exasperated at being asked the same question without getting enough intel to picture the mayhem on the other end of the line.

“The police have Stevenson and Bukowski in custody. Stevenson just knifed an officer, so he’s not going anywhere soon. Found a couple pipe bombs in the back seat of their vehicle. Looks like they weren’t done terrorizing folks yet.”

“You guys okay?”

“Yeah. We’re good. Found a box of rat poison, too. You know why they’d have something like that?”

Shit. Were these guys cruel enough to have poisoned Kelsey’s dogs? Her boys?

“Yeah. They might have used it on Whisper and Smoke. Give me the brand name. Step on it.”

Connor came back on the line in seconds with the requested information. “There’s something else you need to know.”