Concealed Force

Chapter 26

"It worked like we planned," Reid said, sitting on the floor of the bathroom a few minutes later, with Laura wrapped in his arms.

She'd already told him her side of the story, and she'd felt how tense he was, imagining her up on the roof, the fire so close, the building so unstable. Her own muscles strained in anxiety as she listened to his account.

"I slipped in when everyone rushed to the fire. There was a skylight—you were right—locked, but I opened it with a crowbar. It made a huge crash, real loud, and I was worried someone would hear, but Tara kept screaming."

"Yeah, thank God for Tara."

"Reyes was conscious, and tied to a chair in the middle of the room. He stank of piss, sweat, blood. It wasn't pretty and he wasn't in great shape, his nose was broken and he's lost some teeth, there were cigarette burns on his chest and the fingers of his right hand were crushed."

Laura covered her mouth with her hands, catching a gasp.

"Believe me, Laura, they'd barely begun. There was a car battery in the corner of the room they were gonna hook him up to. Sick bastards. He was screaming into his gag when I got into the room. It took me more time than I could spare to calm him down and make him listen. He didn't trust me, even after he started listening; thought it was a trap."

"What did you tell him?"

"Just that I wasn't into this shit. That I liked a fair fight."

"You didn't say you were a cop?"

"Nope. Not worth the risk. But I asked if he could run and he said yeah, and I explained where to go, what to do. Then I cut his ties, and helped him up on the roof."

"You went up with him?"

"Had to, I told you he wasn't in the best shape. I had a bottle of water for him, some candy bars, and I'd drawn him a map. Hope he can find his way. At least he's local, knows the area. Then I dropped him down the rear of the building and jumped back in through the skylight."

"And the room was still empty."

"Yeah. I was ready for a fight, but I guess a fire is the best distraction."

Laura half-smiled. If only it hadn't destroyed so much else. She could still feel Alyssa's hand squeezing her own, the memory like a brand of guilt.

"I slipped out, re-barred the door and took a running jump at the second-floor walkway. Pulled myself up so I could run down the stairs like I'd just heard what happened."

She breathed a sigh of relief just like she had when she'd seen him, reliving that moment. He'd saved the cop, he hadn't been caught, he'd done it.

"It was almost too easy."

"Don't say that. Don't jinx it."

He smiled and hugged her close.

"What now?"

"Now we wait. One good thing is that if the DEA comes to raid the place in the next few days everyone will think it's because Officer Reyes tipped them off."

"You mean they're less likely to suspect you?"

"I hope so. If that's what my superiors—"

A roar went up in the courtyard. First one voice, then another, then another. It was like the noise football crowds made after a goal, only angrier and it sent a flood of panic through Laura. Reid got up to shut off the shower and then the air conditioning, and stood stock-still in the middle of the bedroom, listening hard. At first it wasn't possible to make out the words, but finally Laura understood.