Extreme Measures Read online

  That boy wouldn’t be standing before her with a gun he intended to use against her. Her breathing hitched, and she inhaled deeply to regain focus, forcing herself to see beyond the gawky adolescent who’d taught her how to drive even though she wasn’t old enough.

  “You can’t outshoot the police, and even if they aren’t out there yet, they will be soon. Matt knows where I am.” She’d never been a good liar, but she had to use what she had at her disposal.

  Stuart let her see his grin. “Oh, I don’t doubt that, sis. If my brother-in-law is anywhere in this city, it’s right outside these doors. Bastard’s always been good at his job, nose like a bloodhound, but what he doesn’t know is I’ve had plenty of time to do some thinking. And a thinking man is the one who wins.”

  The first loud pop jerked Erin away from the wall. Her heart thundering in her chest, she scrambled to her feet. “What was that?”

  Shrinking back against the concrete wall, Stuart looked as stunned as she felt. “Sounded like gunfire.” He rounded the room and peered up through the thin slit of a window next to one of the water heaters. “Can’t see much of anything, though.” He chuckled. “Maybe the police are just practicing.”

  Matt was out there. In the middle of gunfire. Erin sank back down to the floor before her knees gave way. Another shot had her drawing her knees up to her chest. “Something’s wrong.”

  With a sneer, Stuart turned to look at her. “Something’s always wrong when there’s gunfire involved, Rin-Tin.”

  Her nickname. She hadn’t heard it in years. Because Stuart had been the only one who called her that, a play on her name once she’d gotten braces. The reminder of the youth caused hope to flare within her.

  “Haven’t heard that in a while,” she whispered, summoning a smile, though it didn’t feel genuine.

  “You might have had you bothered to come see me.” Any trace of warmth she might have imagined she heard had evaporated from his voice. He gave her his full attention. “Why is that, sis?”

  Erin met his gaze, facing her demons as well as his. “You killed our parents, Stuart. What exactly did you think was going to happen? I’d come visit you once or twice a week and we’d play cards, maybe reminisce about our childhood? You had to know that was going to have some kind of effect on our relationship.”

  The hot splash of fury flooded his face. “I ask you a simple question, and you give me a smart-ass answer?” Stuart waved the gun around his head in a circle. “Do you not see what I’m holding here, Erin? Are you stupid? You don’t talk smart to someone holding a gun, especially someone who’s gone through hell just to see you.”

  She didn’t back down from his shouts. “You didn’t come to see me, Stuart. You came to kill me. So I doubt it makes a difference how I talk to you.”

  Stuart’s lip curled. “I see my brother-in-law has been doing some talking.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, wait. That’s ex-brother-in-law, isn’t it? Heard about the marriage breaking up. Can’t say I was sorry to hear it, but I was a little surprised to discover Matt was here in the city anyway. I didn’t think you’d go crawling back to him because of me.”

  Erin eyed the door even though she knew she couldn’t make a run for it. Not as long as Stuart held the gun. “Matt came looking for me actually. You had to know the FBI would get involved when you broke out of prison. He is still FBI.”

  “Oh, yeah. I never doubted that. He loves his job too much to quit, even more than he loves you apparently.” Stuart walked toward her, his eyes glassy. “How did it feel when he walked out on you, when he chose the job over your marriage?”

  She didn’t flinch at the barbs, mainly because he was so far off the mark. But the last thing she was going to discuss with her brother was the dissolution of her marriage. “What are you waiting for, Stuart? If you’re going to kill me, why don’t you just do it and get it over with?”

  “In a hurry to die? Whatsa matter? Matt reject you again?” He squatted down in front of her, tapped her knee with the muzzle of the gun. “If you want, I can put a bullet in him first. Just for old times’ sake.” His grin dripped of evil.

  It took all the energy she possessed not to lunge at her brother. But he wanted to push her buttons, goad her into responding. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. “If I were you, I’d be more concerned about the bullets flying outside this building. You never know if one of them has your name on it.” The lightness of her tone did the trick.

  Stuart glared at her and leaped to his feet then stomped back to the window. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Always thought you were smarter than me.”

  “The only time I thought I was smarter than you was when you turned to drugs. We’d both been taught better than that.”

  Another pop, this one much closer and louder than the previous two, silenced Stuart. He tugged a rope from the back pocket of his jeans and returned to her, his face a mask of rage. “Give me your hands.”

  Tying her up meant he was leaving her. The knowledge gave her a little bit of hope. Erin offered her hands obediently.

  “You’re gonna stay right here while I go see what’s going on. Then you and I are gonna have ourselves a talk, Rin-Tin.” He stroked her hair, and for a fleeting moment, Erin thought she saw regret in his eyes. Maybe it was just what she wanted to see, for a second later, the coldness had returned his to his gaze. He dragged her further away from the door, yanked her wrists tightly together, and secured them around a long pipe protruding from a line of water heaters.

  “Why would you be interested in talking, Stuart?” Erin captured his attention before he stood.

  His eyes scrunched for a second as though thinking about how he should respond. Then he shrugged. “Maybe there are some answers I want.” His head swiveled, his gaze searching the room.

  “Doesn’t mean I’ll give them to you.” Erin followed his line of sight, saw him reach for a knife strapped to his waist. Her heart pounded so loud it drowned out her heavy breaths. “Stuart, what are you doing?”

  He winked. “Just preparing a little insurance, that’s all. I can’t leave you knowing you’d live if I don’t make it back alive. That would defeat my entire reason for breaking out of prison.”

  “I thought you said you wanted to have a talk with me.” Sweat ran in a thin line down between her breasts.

  “Oh, I do, but I can’t take any chances. If I don’t make it back here in thirty minutes, give or take a few, well, let’s just say my ex-brother-in-law will be picking out a casket for you. If I do make it back, you’ll survive for a little while longer. ‘Course, you’ll have one hell of a headache, maybe even some brain damage.”

  Stuart shuffled to the wall, running his hands along the black lines hooked to the concrete. “See, this here water heater runs on gas, Rin-Tin, which means it has a combustion chamber. Those things produce carbon monoxide. You just let that vent get clogged, and all that stuff just backs up right in here.”

  The lump in her stomach couldn’t grow any bigger without exploding. “It’s nice to know you picked up some extra knowledge in prison.”

  Stuart continued on as if she hadn’t spoken. “It won’t be easy, of course, but I used to keep Mom and Dad’s water heater running. They probably never told you that, did they? Anyway, the good news is it won’t be a painful death. Well, that’s good news for you. I’d much rather make it as excruciating as possible.”

  “Why? Because I wouldn’t visit you in prison?” Fighting back hysteria, Erin shouted the question. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Stuart! You can’t be so psychotic that you’d want to kill your sister because I didn’t send you packages or light candles for you at church.”

  He turned, his eyes blazing with fury. “Psychotic? Is that what Matt told you I was? Because let me tell you, sister. I’m so very far from psychotic. In fact, I’m probably thinking clearer now than I ever have before.”

  “Is that because you’re drug-free?” She tried to draw his attention away from the lines, hold him off
until help could arrive. If help was even out there. She didn’t know who was shooting and if it was friend or foe. But the longer she kept Stuart from severing that gas line, the longer she had to live.

  With a snort, he ran his hands up toward the top of the water heater, standing on tiptoe to reach the vent. “The drugs actually make me think better. You should be thankful for that. If I was withdrawing, you probably wouldn’t have made it this long.”

  “The drugs make you think better? Is that what you told yourself when you butchered our parents?”

  “They deserved to die!” Stuart spun and shouted, his words echoing off the concrete walls. “You have no idea what those two put me through with their sanctimonious lectures and ultimatums. They were so pious in their hatred of me, and you know what?” He returned to her, dropping to his knees in front of her again. “They both begged me not to kill them. That’s right. They begged me. For the first time in my life, they needed something from me.”

  Horror had sunk into her bones, and all Erin could do was rock back and forth in an attempt to quell the shivers. “And you didn’t give it to them.”

  His lips curled back in a sneer. “I’ve never been the giving type.”

  “Just do what you’re going to do, Stuart.” Suddenly tired, Erin wanted him gone. If this was going to end, if her life was over, she’d rather die alone than listen to any more of her brother’s lunacy.

  He reached out, stroked her face, frowning when she shrank away from him. “Too good to let me touch you, huh?” He shook his head. “You should have stuck by me, Erin.” His hand caressed her hair again, and there was nowhere for her to go, no way to stop the stroke of his fingers against her scalp.

  Hot tears burned her eyes, but she fought them back, somehow managing a fragile hold on self-control. “You know, Matt was right. You never should have been given a life sentence. If you’d been sitting on death row, you wouldn’t have been able to escape.”

  Cursing, Stuart staggered to his feet. “I should have killed you the night I killed them. You and Matt both. I could have done it easily enough.”

  Knowing Matt, Erin doubted it, but before she could say it, another shot pinged a window a floor above, and the sound of shattering glass captured Stuart’s attention. He cursed again, strode back to the water heater, and stabbed his knife into the center of the vent pipe.

  Erin didn’t watch him work to ensure her death. When he finished, his shirt was missing, leaving him clad in a dirty t-shirt, and the aluminum pipe was bent at an odd angle. From the smile on his face, she could tell he’d succeeded.

  “Oh, don’t look like that, Sis. I kept something so you could remember that I was the one who won this time.” Waving a soiled piece of his shirt in one hand, he approached her. “I can’t have you calling out for help. I mean, we’re in a lower floor and all, and the chances are slim that anyone would, but I don’t believe in taking chances.”

  She tried to turn her head to keep him from securing the piece of cotton that smelled of oil and sweat between her lips, but Stuart held her fast, tying the shirt sleeve around her head quickly.

  “There. That’s better.” He pushed himself to his feet and winked at her. “Sweet dreams, sis.” He left the room without looking back.

  The second he was out of sight, Erin began to twist and turn in a desperate attempt to reach the nail file she’d stashed in her pocket. It might not do much against the ropes, but at least it was a fighting chance.

  She estimated the amount of time she’d have before she lost consciousness, decided she’d better go for the alarm first. It might only bring Stuart back to her, but he could have followers.

  And she hoped like hell those followers were the good guys.

  His footsteps echoing on the stairs, Matt eased up each level in the office complex. Two SWAT team members flanked him, high-powered rifles at the ready. He got to the second floor, pressed his back against the wall. With hand signals, he indicated his intention to open the door.

  A team member took aim, jerking his head toward the entrance.

  Matt nodded and swung open the heavy door, coming around the corner quietly into a large room filled with modern cubicles and fluorescent lighting. The carpet muffled his footsteps as he inched forward, going from post to post, scanning underneath the desks.

  All the adjoining offices had been vacated, leaving one room at the far back left unsearched. The blinds had been pulled, sequestering the occupants of the room from view.

  Matt motioned behind him and was joined by one SWAT member, the other remaining behind to guard the door. “Remember what O’Malley’s wearing?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Our unknown is Chambers, but he’s 6’4 so he won’t be hard to miss in a group.” Matt gave a short nod and opened the door, the click of the rifle over his shoulder reminding him he was covered.

  Women screamed and held onto one another while the few men rose from the seats, putting on brave faces though Matt read the fear in their eyes. He lowered his weapon, and the officer behind him followed suit.

  “I’m Agent Giles with the FBI. We’re going to escort you out of the building, but as you pass, please take a look at these three photos and tell us if you’ve seen either of the two men or the woman.”

  Everyone scrambled to the feet, making a mad rush to the door. “Please remain calm,” the officer instructed, his voice both soothing and authoritative. He held the pictures in place as the people filed by. They barely glanced at the photos in their eagerness to escape a potentially lethal situation.

  “Be advised we have twenty-one en route to safe ground through main lower door.” The SWAT member at the door began the lead out after making the notification with his shoulder mike. Within seconds, two more officers had taken his place.

  Matt gave the signal to continue the search up to the next level. They made it up two stairs before a feminine voice interrupted them. All men turned back to see a blonde with heavy mascara that now ran in streaks down her face. An officer held onto her arm.

  “She insisted on coming back. Said she thinks she knows the bigger guy.”

  Matt descended the steps to stand in front of her. He held up Chambers’ picture. “Is this the man you saw?”

  The blonde nibbled her lower lip and gave a jerky nod. “I was coming back from lunch. He held the door open for me. Looked really nice. Not like that picture.” She jabbed a finger at Chambers’ mug shot.

  Lady, you don’t know how lucky you are. Matt mentally shook his head. If only she knew she’d been given the chivalrous treatment by a murderer. “Did you see where he went?”

  “Downstairs, but the lower level is only for maintenance. There aren’t any offices down there.” Her squeaky voice went a little higher. “What did he do? I mean, what did he go to prison for?”

  Matt saw no reason to drop a bomb that could very well send the woman to therapy for years. Passing shoulders with a killer wouldn’t be something she’d get over in a day or two. “Thank you for your help, Ma’am. Officer Mira will escort you out of the building.”

  She made protesting noises, her curiosity obviously overcoming her sense of self-preservation. The officer propelled her toward the door with a firm hold still on her arm.

  A SWAT member whistled. “Damn. She came close.”

  Matt’s insides tightened. “Let the guys outside know we have a confirmed sighting and get the rest of the team in here to sweep out this building as fast as we can. We need to get the rest of these people to safety now. Chambers went down, and that tells me he isn’t looking for hostages.” He skirted past the officers and began down the stairs.

  “Back up is on its way.” The leader of the SWAT team shouldered his way forward.

  “Just focus on getting the people out.”

  “The rest of the unit will clear the building. Officer Gant and I have firm orders to remain with you, Agent.”

  He didn’t have time to argue, and the extra guns would come in handy. “Fine, but no one goe
s down, not a shot is fired, until I know where Erin Prescott is. Understood? I need both subjects alive until her location is established.” And if anything had happened to her, he’d be the one to fire the first shot.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Wake up.” Stuart kicked Billy again, this time a little harder. The bastard still hadn’t moved, and from the sounds above, they were about to have company in a few minutes. “Get off your ass. Come on.”

  Billy moaned and opened one eye. “What the hell, man? Did you hit me?” He rubbed the back of his head to answer his own question.

  “Yeah. Someone was coming, and I had to think quick.” The lie seemed to pacify Billy even if the convict didn’t really believe. “But company’s back, and there’s a lot of them. You know anything about all those shots going on outside?”

  Wincing, Billy struggled to get out from under the staircase, unfolding his six feet plus frame with grunts and mumbles. “Some guy had a hard-on for the police. Wanted to see if he could take out a few cops.” He continued to rub his head. “We figured it would be a good distraction.”

  “Guess you didn’t think the cops would automatically check this building along with every other building within a five hundred foot radius, did you? Dumb-ass.” Stuart shook his head. What he really wanted to do was kick the hell out of Billy Chambers, but the guy outweighed him by a good fifty pounds, and now that he was on his feet, could probably take him.

  Billy’s brows lowered into a scowl. “What did you call me?” He flexed his hands, and Stuart pictured them going around his neck.

  “Never mind. Sounds like the shooter has stopped, but there’s cops in the building.”

  The anger on Billy’s face segued to worry. “You sure?”

  “Yeah. On the way down here, I took a peek out a window. Saw a few of them trailing in here like ants. You know of a way out besides the obvious?”