Blind Trust Page 17

  “I heard about the fire on the news and rushed over.” Her boss elbowed the paramedic out of the way, dropping to one knee beside her. The paramedic took a few steps away as if to provide them some privacy. Wade reached out to lightly stroke Cocoa. “I’m so glad you’re both okay.”

  It was odd that he’d come here in the middle of the night. And how had he known this was where she lived in the first place? Her address was on file at the training center, but it was a little creepy that he’d recognized the house from the news. Yet she told herself to get over it. He hadn’t revealed the truth about Malina because he hadn’t wanted to lose Eva as a trainer. She appreciated his support. “Me, too. Cocoa helped me get out through the fire. He’s going to make an awesome guide dog.”

  “I believe you.” Wade smiled, and then she felt something blunt and hard poke into her side. “Now, listen to me. We’re going to walk away from here, understand? You make one false move and I’ll shoot you right here. With all the chaos, they’ll never catch me, and you’ll be dead from the blood loss before anyone can help.”

  A gun? She froze, her mind scrambling to understand what was happening. Wade was her boss. He ran the guide dog training center. Why was he doing this?

  “Take that oxygen mask off and stand up. We’re going to take a little walk.”

  After removing the face mask, she rose from her seat at the edge of the ambulance bumper. Casting a furtive glance toward the paramedic, she hoped and prayed he’d notice something was amiss. But he was in deep conversation with another firefighter. She took two steps, then stopped. “I’m still connected to the monitor.”

  Wade yanked the cords off her in a swift movement. Though the monitor alarm beeped, the sound was lost amid the chaos of people talking and rushing water, and no one seemed to notice. That simply reinforced what Wade had threatened. He could shoot her now and ditch the gun, and no one would be any wiser.

  Feeling helpless once again, she walked alongside Wade, still cuddling with Cocoa. They crossed the street, leaving the paramedics and firefighters behind.

  “Where are we going?” She did everything she could to drag her feet, unwilling to leave the relative safety of the police and firefighters behind.

  “The training center. The big boss wants to meet you.”

  The big boss? The one in charge of the drug running? Was this how her sister had been led astray? Why would Wade have fired Malina if she was secretly working for him? Did her termination have to do with stealing the package of drugs?

  Eva sent one last desperate glance over her shoulder searching for someone, anyone who might help.

  Nothing good would come from meeting the big boss. And she knew that this time, there was a good chance she wouldn’t survive.

  * * *

  Finn kept his knee wedged in the center of the stinky guy’s back as he gently probed Abernathy’s wound. It didn’t look too deep, thankfully, just a bit of a gash but he still needed to get his partner to the vet ASAP.

  “You’ll be okay, boy.” He gave Abernathy a one-armed hug, then shifted his weight off the prone perp. “Get up.” He grabbed the guy beneath his arm, helping him stagger to his feet.

  “I’ll cut a deal.” The guy’s twang had turned whiny. “I’ll give you the big boss.”

  “What’s your name?” Finn asked, pushing him toward the road. He could see cops milling around, but they hadn’t stumbled upon the narrow alley.

  Finn wasn’t sure he would have found it, either, if not for Abernathy.

  “Stu Greer,” was the grudging response.

  “Well, Stu, you’re under arrest for arson and attempted murder of a police officer, among other crimes.” He rattled off the Miranda warning, then added, “I’m not sure that a deal is in your future.”

  “I’ll give you the big boss,” Greer repeated. “And I didn’t attempt to shoot your dog. The gun went off by accident.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Finn didn’t doubt that Greer’s lawyer would play that angle. “Come, Abernathy.”

  Gamely, his K-9 partner kept pace beside him, and Finn wished he could carry his partner to safety. When he reached the street, he waved a uniformed officer over. “Take this guy for me, would you? My partner is injured.”

  The officer nodded and took Greer’s other arm. Finn bent down and lifted his seventy-five-pound yellow Lab into his arms. Abernathy licked him on the cheek.

  He strode quickly toward the spot where he’d left Eva. The cop urged Greer along as well, keeping pace. He noticed the fire crew had doused the flames inside Eva’s home, and they continued to pour water on the building to be safe. In the summer heat any spark they missed could easily ignite a second fire.

  “Where’s Eva Kendall?” He raked his gaze over the area. When he noticed the ambulance in the center of the street, with some sort of wires lying across the bumper, a bad feeling settled in his chest. “Eva? Eva!”

  At the sound of his shout, the paramedic glanced over at him, then looked at the empty spot where the monitor was quietly alarming. “Hey, where did she go?”

  Finn set Abernathy just inside the ambulance. “I need you to clean him up and put antibiotic ointment on his wound.”

  “I don’t treat dogs,” the paramedic protested.

  “You do now.” Finn wasn’t about to take no for an answer. He raked his gaze over the crowd, searching in vain for Eva’s blond hair. “How long as she been gone?”

  “Just a minute or two.” The paramedic was grudgingly using gauze to wipe away the blood from Abernathy’s flank injury.

  “Abernathy, stay.” He gave the command before hurrying toward the street. It wasn’t like Eva to wander off, especially since he’d told her he’d return. How well could she see anyway? Her eyes had been watering badly when he’d got her out of the house.

  “Eva!” He raised his voice to be heard over the din. Several of the cops and firefighters glanced at him, but there was no sign of Eva.

  He returned to the ambulance, where the uniformed officer was still holding Stu Greer. “Tell me about the big boss.”

  Stu sneered at him. “Not saying anything until I get my lawyer.”

  The words were similar to what Roach had said, only the guy still hadn’t talked. Finn wanted to grab the cuffed man by the shoulders to shake him until his teeth rattled. But of course he couldn’t. Instead, he stepped closer until he was invading Greer’s personal space.

  “If anything happens to Eva, I’ll make sure you go down for her murder, understand? Now, tell me who the big boss is!”

  Greer stared at him for a long moment before admitting, “We call him Uno. As in he’s numero uno in the cartel.”

  “Number one?” That information wasn’t the least bit helpful. He needed a name! “What else does Uno stand for? What’s his real name?”

  “Ulrich.” Greer said the name so softly Finn almost didn’t hear it. Then it clicked.

  “Grant Ulrich? The owner of The Fitness Club and the furniture store?”

  Greer nodded. “He owns a lot of places, uses them to launder drug money.”

  Finn remembered the white powder found in the office at the guide dog training center. “Does Ulrich own the guide dog training center? Is it part of the drug-running organization? Is that where he got the idea to use Cocoa as bait?”

  “Yeah.” Greer craned his neck to look back at the officer who still had him by the arm. “You’re my witness. I gave him information to help his case, so I expect a lighter sentence, understand?”

  Finn felt a chill snake down his spine at the implication of the training center. He glanced over at Abernathy lying in the back of the ambulance. The K-9 lifted his head, his dark eyes laser focused on Finn.

  As much as he needed to get his partner to the vet, he sensed there wasn’t a moment to waste. He crossed over to the ambulance. Cleaning the wound had helped and the gash didn’t look de
ep enough to need stitches, yet he still wanted his partner to be checked out by the vet.

  He debated between sending Abernathy to the vet without him or taking him along to find Eva. It wasn’t an easy decision, but he needed his partner’s keen scent. He lifted the dog and put him back on his feet.

  “Come, Abernathy.” Finn glanced around, then picked up the oxygen mask, hoping, praying there was enough of Eva’s scent left behind for Abernathy to use. He held the face mask to Abernathy’s nose. “Find. Find Eva.”

  Abernathy sniffed at the face mask, then went to work. He made a circle around the area in front of the ambulance, then trotted off in a direction that led across the street.

  Finn followed, relieved that his partner was on Eva’s trail. As they went down one bloc, then another, he saw the guide dog training center up ahead.

  This time he wanted backup, so before they got too close he used his radio. “This is unit twelve, I need backup at the guide dog training center for a possible hostage situation.”

  There was static on the line, then another officer responded, “This is Zach Jameson. I’m on my way.”

  “Reed Branson and Jessie, also responding,” another voice said.

  “Ten-four.” He continued toward the training center. Even from this distance, when they were still a few blocks away, he could see a dim light shining from the back of the building.

  Interesting that it wasn’t from the office area. He quickened his pace, then slowed down when he realized Abernathy was doing his best to keep up with him.

  Abernathy alerted just outside the front door of the building. Finn praised him, then glanced over as Zach Jameson and his drug-sniffing beagle joined them. There was no sign of Reed, but Finn hoped he’d show up soon.

  “I think Eva’s in there with the big boss, a man named Grant Ulrich.”

  “The owner of The Fitness Club?” Zach’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah, he owns this place, too.” Finn tried the handle and was surprised when it opened. He knew Eva had a key and wondered if she’d left the door open on purpose.

  “I’ll take the front. You and Eddie cover the back. Tell Branson to meet you there. His K-9, Jessie, will give us added strength.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ll breach the building in three minutes.”

  “Three minutes. Got it,” Zach agreed. He and Eddie disappeared around the corner.

  Finn eased into the building, moving as silently as possible. The sounds of dogs barking helped to cover the noise of Abernathy’s pants. He felt terrible about delaying his partner’s care, but was determined to get Eva out of here alive.

  Above the barking din, he heard a man’s deep gravelly voice. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?”

  “Me?” Eva’s incredulous tone would have made him smile under different circumstances. But at the moment, he wanted her to play along rather than antagonize them.

  “Where is the package?” The roar was a clear indication that Ulrich was losing his temper.

  “I don’t know!” Eva’s hoarse yell was followed by a hacking cough. “Don’t you think I would have given it to you by now if I had it? I couldn’t care less about your stupid drugs!”

  Finn flattened himself against the wall, edging closer. He held his weapon high near his ear, his attention focused on what he might find up ahead.

  “Too bad. Without the package you are of no use to me. And I don’t tolerate loose ends, which is why I had Wade fetch you for me. It’s time to snip them off, one by one.”

  Finn’s heart stuttered in his chest at the threat. What if he shot Eva before they were ready? The minutes were going by too slowly. Logically he knew he had to wait for Zach and hopefully Reed Branson to get in position, but standing there doing nothing was pure agony. He edged a little closer and risked a quick glance into the room.

  Eva was standing between two men, one of them a stranger who was holding a gun on her. His gut twisted as he realized Wade Yost was there, too. Yost also held a gun, which meant he wasn’t an innocent bystander. Yost had been involved all along. Finn knew the stranger holding Eva at gunpoint had to be Ulrich.

  He rested back against the wall for a moment, committing the location of the principals to memory. With Eva standing between the two men, the likelihood of her being injured was far too high.

  A diversion? He thought for a moment about sending a canister of tear gas inside, but he didn’t have a mask and neither did Zach. The gas would hurt Eva and their K-9s’ eyes, too.

  No, they had to use their strength and instincts to take these two perps out, permanently if necessary. He stared at his watch, silently counting the seconds until it was go time.

  Three, two, one. Now!

  Finn heard the sound of Zach kicking open the back door as he stepped into the doorway. “Drop your weapons!” He waited a second, then yelled, “Eva, get down!” Yost lifted his weapon toward Eva, so he fired his gun at the same time another shot rang out.

  Ulrich howled as he fell face forward, hitting the floor with a thud. Finn rushed in, getting to the prone figure of Yost before he could move. Both of their bullets had hit their marks. He stepped on the guy’s wrist, pinning the gun to the floor as his gaze sought Eva.

  She’d thrown herself down and to the left. Zach rushed over and held Ulrich down, disarming him.

  “Eva? Are you okay?” Finn couldn’t leave Yost until he had him secured, and since his cuffs were still on Greer, he’d have to use the plastic flex ties.

  “Fine,” she said in a weary voice followed by a muffled cough. “How did you find me?”

  “Greer talked.” He used the flex ties to secure Yost’s wrists before dragging the man to his feet. “Did you hear that, Yost? Ulrich? Greer told us all about you in exchange for a deal on his sentencing.”

  Zach cuffed Ulrich’s wrists behind him, then drew him up to his feet, too. “Well, look at that. Eddie has caught the scent of drugs. What do you have hiding in your pockets?”

  Abernathy had come over to sniff at Eva, licking her face as she rested on the floor as if she didn’t possess the strength to get up.

  When Zach began digging in Ulrich’s pockets for whatever had caught Eddie’s scent, the man lashed out with his booted foot toward Eddie and hit Abernathy instead. The toe of his boot connected hard with the injured spot on Abernathy’s flank.

  His partner yelped in pain as he went flying across the room beneath the force of the kick. His flank wound began to bleed, worse than before, and a red haze of fury filled Finn’s vision.

  “You just assaulted a police officer,” he yelled.

  Eva pushed herself upright, scooped Cocoa back into her arms and went to Abernathy. She glanced back at him, concern darkening her eyes. “Finn? We need to get him to the vet right away!”

  Inwardly railing at himself for bringing Abernathy along, Finn nodded and pushed Yost toward Zach. “Call for assistance. We have to go.”

  Zach nodded. “Backup is on the way. Oh, and here’s Reed Branson. We’ve got it from here—just go.”

  Once again Finn lifted his K-9 partner into his arms, tears stinging his vision. If anything happened to his K-9 partner, he’d never forgive himself.

  SEVENTEEN

  The blood coating Abernathy’s rear flank was horrifying. Eva held the chocolate Lab puppy against her chest while placing her other hand over Abernathy’s wound in a lame attempt to stop the bleeding. As they left the alley, Eva glanced around, then released Abernathy long enough to flag a passing squad car. The patrol car slowed to a stop. She rushed forward and bent down to look at the pair of officers inside. “K-9 officer injured,” she managed between hacking coughs. “We need a ride to the vet.”

  “Sure. Get in.” The passenger-side officer gestured with his hand.

  Eva didn’t hesitate to open the door for Finn. Still cradling Abernathy to his chest, he awkwardl
y slid inside. She closed the door behind him, then went around to get in on the other side. She was relieved that Cocoa was content to sit in her lap.

  The officer driving the squad was on the radio, informing the dispatcher about the need to drive an injured K-9 for care. Afterward, the cop caught her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Where’s the vet?”

  Eva glanced helplessly at Finn. He lifted his tortured gaze to hers.

  “There’s an emergency veterinary clinic in Jackson Heights near our K-9 headquarters.” Finn’s voice was low and husky with emotion.

  “Got it.” The officer behind the wheel hit the lights and gunned the engine. “What happened?”

  Finn didn’t answer, his attention laser focused on Abernathy. She could hear him murmuring words of encouragement to his partner. Eva rested her hand on Abernathy’s silky fur, hoping and praying he’d be okay, then caught the driver’s gaze in the mirror again.

  “He was grazed by a bullet, then kicked by a suspect on his wounded flank.” She coughed again, wondering if she would sound like a heavy smoker for the rest of her life after being trapped in the fire.

  “Man, that’s terrible,” the officer commiserated. “Hope the jerk rots in prison for a long time. I’ll do my best to get you to Jackson Heights soon as possible.”

  Finn buried his face against his partner’s coat, and she knew he was beating himself up over Abernathy’s aggravated injury. But the showdown at the training center was her fault more so than Finn’s.

  Abernathy had been put in harm’s way because she’d allowed her boss to dupe her, taking her from safety at gunpoint. Why hadn’t she understood that Wade Yost was part of the drug-dealing operation from the very beginning? Looking back, Wade’s involvement made sense. Obviously, he was the one who’d exposed Malina to a life of crime. Lured her with easy money and likely convinced her to try their so-called merchandise. Maybe the painkillers she’d taken after her surgery had set her up for switching to cocaine. Eva had heard that it was all too easy to become addicted, that one hit was all it took.