Pay the Price (Harmony Grove Book 3) by Carol Post (which ebook reader txt) 📕

chin held high. Stoic, even though she was walking to her death. When her gaze met his, there was no fear there, just dogged determination. She would go down fighting.

Her eyes flitted past him and widened slightly. He didn’t have to look to know what she’d seen.

God had answered his prayers.

Reinforcements had arrived.

Jessica expelled a breath that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. Relief coursed through her, along with gratitude to a God she had only begun to know.

Two men approached from the right, weapons drawn. One was Alan. The other she didn’t recognize. She glanced to the left in time to see a third round the corner of the building. Spike hadn’t seen them yet. What would he do when he did? Her mind ticked through several scenarios, then settled on the most likely.

He would use her as a shield while he escaped, then keep her as a hostage. Once he was finished with her, he’d shoot her anyway. If he got caught, he’d be charged with Prissy’s murder. What was one more?

“Freeze!”

At the sharp command, adrenaline spiked through her and she whirled to see Spike’s head swivel to the right and back again. He lunged toward her at the same time she executed a perfect crescent kick, sending the gun sliding across the asphalt. A second kick to the gut knocked him down.

Shane rushed forward to plant a boot across the man’s throat. He’d hold him there until the others could take over. Already, a half dozen men converged on them from both sides.

Jessica staggered sideways, suddenly dizzy. The pain in her head had returned with a vengeance, accompanied by a ringing in both ears. Shadows began to close in from the periphery of her vision, and she sank to her knees.

Alan reached her first. He knelt down in front of her and grasped the corner of the duct tape. “This is going to hurt.”

She gave him the go-ahead with a nod, and he ripped the tape from her face. His grimace was worse than her own.

“Go get Branch and Hammy. They’re inside.”

“We know.” He moved behind her to work on the rope securing her wrists. “Two other FBI agents and several Polk County folks are taking them down as we speak. Tommy’s in there, too.”

She looked over at Shane. Another law enforcement officer had just freed him, someone from Polk County, judging from the dark green uniform. Both the rope and tape were gone. Two other men had Spike face-down on the pavement and were cuffing him.

Shane rushed toward her and helped her to her feet. She tried to read the emotions playing across his face. There was relief, but something else, too. He was angry with her. She deserved it.

“I’m so sorry.” She dropped her gaze to the pavement. “I should have listened to you. I almost got you killed.”

He threw his arms wide. “What were you thinking?”

“I was trying to get the evidence you would need to set up a raid.”

“We were working on the same thing. But we’re trained. We don’t charge into dangerous situations. You know that stealth we talked about?”

“Hey, that’s not fair. I was being stealthy.”

He gave her a doubt-filled glance.

“The owl was the one not being stealthy.”

He shook his head. “What owl?”

“The one that gave away my position right when Spike and Hammy were ready to walk back inside. The plane had just left and—” She inhaled sharply. Shane didn’t know about the plane. No one did.

“The figurines. Hammy and Spike are hiding drugs inside the figurines.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. A plane just picked up a bunch of boxes. I counted twenty. Before giving Spike the money, the guy opened one of the boxes, took out a figurine and smashed it. Inside was a plastic bag filled with white powder. That leather satchel you saw inside holds Spike and Hammy’s payment. As you know, Branch’s cut is in his pockets.”

“My guys will find that when they search him.”

“I hope there are more boxes of those figurines.” It would be awful if they prepared only what was sold and there was no evidence left behind.

“I know there are more.”

“How?”

“There’s a room they keep locked. I’ve never gotten in, but I’ve looked in the window. A couple of nights ago, it was full of boxes. Now half of them are missing.”

“The missing boxes went on that plane.” Those left behind were likely more of the same. Plenty of evidence to convict the Driggers brothers.

She smiled with a sense of satisfaction that was bittersweet. Prissy’s killers would be brought to justice. But now that Shane’s drug case was wrapped up, he’d be on his way, off to his next assignment.

Tommy stepped around the back of the building and approached them.

“Did you get Branch?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. He’s vigorously proclaiming his innocence, insisting he was getting ready to bring Hammy and Spike in himself. But he’s having a hard time explaining the four wads of hundreds they pulled out of his pockets.”

Jessica laughed. She’d just been vindicated after years of abuse. “What about Hammy?”

Tommy grinned. “He’s jabbering away like an auctioneer on steroids. They say blood is thicker than water, but in Hammy’s case, self-preservation is thicker than blood. He was throwing Spike under the bus before they could even get the handcuffs on him. Then he gave us the scoop on Branch and a Nick Lombardi who sets up the deals and basically acts as a thug for the Driggers boys.” He looked her up and down. “What about you? Are you okay?”

“I’m all right, all things considered. I just want to go home and get a good night’s sleep.”

Tommy shifted his focus to Shane. “So we’ve had an FBI agent in our midst. Did you know?”

The question was for Jessica, but Shane didn’t give her a chance to answer.

“After she hacked into my computer.”

“Hey, I didn’t exactly hack.”

Shane draped an arm across her shoulder. “This lady’s pretty resourceful. We might put her on the payroll.”

“No, after getting knocked out