Page 42 of Beachcomber Danger

Chapter 12

As soon as he swerved onto their road Dane took in a crazy scene—lights flashing, police cars and several black SUVs lined up, and men running. He slowed the car and as they got to the house, he saw Ronnie leaning against a police car that blocked the end of the driveway. The kid looked white as the moon in a black sky. Three fed types were talking to him, one taking notes.

Stilling the rising rate of his seemingly endless adrenaline, he clenched the steering wheel, but there was nothing he could do about the pain clenching between his shoulder blades. He pulled the Jeep onto his already rough front lawn, angling sideways because his yard was shallow. Before the vehicle stopped, before he shoved it into park and pulled his key, he put a steadying hand on Shana’s shoulder.

She’d been about to leap from the car, but he made her wait until it was fully stopped.

“We’ll deal with this. You and me.” He gave her a hard look and she gave him one right back.

“Sassy.” It was all she said, her voice crumbling. But the slight nod and softening around her eyes before she flew out the passenger door placated him. He watched her run for the house and disappear.

Maybe he didn’t need to worry about her. Maybe he worried about her so he didn’t focus on his own churning gut at what they’d find inside his home. Yet again ground zero for a crime scene. Damn, damn, damn.

Exiting the car at a deliberate pace, the loudness of the scene hit him. The cacophony of the shouting voices, police radios and cop and ambulance sirens closing in ratcheted up the vise grip his muscles had, pulling his shoulder blades together unnaturally and painfully. At least the stabbing sensation hadn’t started. Yet.

He walked toward their back door, listening for Shana’s voice in the melee of sounds. In the six seconds it took to walk from the Jeep to the back door, he’d taken in everything—the state police car, the officer trotting over to Ronnie, the two unfamiliar unmarked sedans, the dark-suited men with grim mouths and troubled eyes, walking the perimeter looking for whatever. He counted the number and volume of voices shouting orders at each other at eight. Then he zeroed in on his back stoop, where the screen door hung open.

Every possibility of what might lie inside that door sped across his mind. He prepared himself to be gut punched by whatever it was, because he knew it would be bad.

Dane stepped inside his kitchen. He thought he’d been prepared, but he wasn’t.

Blood spatter covered his white refrigerator, leaving long reddish-brown lines to the floor.

“Sassy’s gone.” Shana spoke as if she were out of breath.

Tearing his eyes from the refrigerator, Dane saw everyone in the small kitchen at once. Cap stood with an arm around Shana. Andrews stood at the sink splashing water on his face. And Agent Goodley lay on the floor with a man leaning over him, ministering with a hunk of bloodied gauze and a needle and speaking in a low voice.

Dane addressed Andrews first as he turned from the sink.

“He’ll be okay?”

Andrews shrugged. He looked pale. “Shot to the shoulder. A lot of blood loss. It depends.”

Shana left Cap’s arms then and came to Dane.

“Sassy is missing.”

Dane felt the blow like a vicious kick to his balls. His mind filled with dust for a moment like someone had shaken it up. He felt guilty for being glad it was Sassy missing and not Shana.

Andrews said, “She could be anywhere. Don’t assume the worst—”

With the aid of Shana’s hand on his arm and his mental bag of survival tricks, he marshaled his thoughts and everything else in him, reviving his cool. Albeit with a fiery blast of vengeance fueling him.

“Let’s assume the worst,” Dane said. “That way we can find her if she’s in trouble.” He put an arm around Shana and was almost surprised it wasn’t shaking. They knew where he lived. Where Shana lived. They’d followed him or somehow found them after all.

“Let’s go talk to Ronnie and see if he can tell us more.”

“The kid’s useless,” Andrews said. “In shock I’d say.”

“I’ll come with you,” Cap said. They all escaped the bloody room. Dane slammed the screen door closed, making sure it stayed shut.

When they approached the men surrounding Ronnie, Cap took the lead.

“Gentlemen, we’d like a word with Ronnie.”

The two agents looked at each other before noticing Andrews trailing toward them.

Dane didn’t wait for a response.