If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [107]
“It’s Noah. Your plane was shot down but we’re both okay. Can you track this signal?”
“Yes.” He started typing on his laptop to run GPS, which he had in almost all his equipment. He directed Patrick to follow the signal to Noah’s location. “Right at the main road.”
“We’re holed up in someone’s house. They’re not home, but the bad guys who shot our plane sent dogs after us and we can still hear them. I don’t know how long I can hold them back.”
Patrick turned on the highway and floored the gas.
“I have you. Five minutes. Keep the line open. How’s Lucy?”
“Bumps and bruises, nothing broken but a little skin.” He paused. “I’m sorry about your plane.”
“I can replace the damn plane.” He paused. “But if you even think about borrowing my Mustang, think again.”
Sean heard Lucy laugh in the background and a weight lifted off his chest. She was alive, she was fine.
Patrick turned right on an unpaved road, following the GPS guide. Sean wished he knew the area better, because he could find a shortcut. But he couldn’t risk it in the dark.
Over the radio, he heard dogs.
“Noah?”
There were shouts, and Sean heard Noah order Lucy to cover the rear. Someone was pounding on the door.
The two of them couldn’t secure the house alone.
Noah shouted to make sure Sean could hear, “Four dogs and four or five suspects.”
Sean checked his .45, then reached under the seat and grabbed his bag. Extra clips and a knife. He put the knife in his sock and pocketed the clips. “You ready?” he asked Patrick.
Patrick nodded.
They saw the lights from an ATV and a raised four-wheel-drive truck illuminating the house. Patrick turned off his lights and they rolled in silently, stopping to the side of the long driveway.
They both jumped out and ran along the edge of the property, behind a fenced chicken yard. Two of the suspects were behind the door of the truck, guns drawn, only a few yards from the house. One man stood behind the truck and controlled the dogs. Two more went around back. Sean held up his hand showing five fingers. Patrick confirmed the count.
“Dogs,” Sean motioned to Patrick.
Patrick assessed the animals. “They’re search dogs, not attack dogs.”
“They look vicious to me.”
“I’m pretty certain.”
“You’d better be.”
The dog handler had his work cut out for him, so he wasn’t an immediate threat. Sean quickly assessed the area. There were no fences surrounding the property. “I have an idea.” He motioned toward his truck. “Drive dark behind this chicken coop to the back of the house. I’ll go on foot. On my signal, turn on the brights and that should buy us a minute. We’ll disarm those in the rear and get Noah and Lucy out that way.”
Patrick agreed, and Sean watched him move the truck into position before he ran low to the ground.
One of the suspects was about to kick in the door. Gunfire erupted at the front of the house, which startled him. Sean gave Patrick the signal and instantly, the back of the house was flooded with bright lights. Sean fired at each suspects’ gun hand, disabling both men. He motioned for Patrick to disarm the two while he called, “Lucy! It’s Sean!”
The door opened and Sean was relieved to see Lucy emerge. But he didn’t have time for a reunion. “Patrick’s grabbing their weapons. Get in the truck.”
The gunfire stopped. Sean ran into the house and saw Noah behind a table he’d turned on its side. Noah took aim, but instantly saw it was Sean and tilted his gun down. “Out back,” Sean said. “I’ll cover.”
Staying low to the ground, Noah ran past Sean while Sean fired four rounds out the front window that had already been broken by the earlier gunfire. As soon as Noah was clear, Sean followed him out the back.
He was punched from behind as soon as he was about to exit. A gun was pressed into his head and his .45 was taken from his hand.
“Sean Rogan. My boss wants to see you. Come quietly, and she won’t kill Henry and Emily. You remember