Kate grabbed the radar gun and jumped out of the car. In the distance, beyond the house in front of her, she could see an object streaking through the sky toward her like a fiery meteor. She checked the readout. Ten seconds until impact.
She aimed the taggant gun at the game-cleaning facility and squeezed the trigger, using the laser function to create a target on the wall, hoping it would attract the missile.
• • •
Carter watched the missile closing in on the house. An instant from impact, it abruptly acquired a new target and made a sharp turn.
Carter had only a split second to comprehend what had happened, but that was long enough for him to experience true, bone-chilling terror before the missile hit.
The bunker-busting missile was so close to the house when it turned, it sheared off the shingles on the roof before it slammed into the game-cleaning facility.
The building burst apart in an eruption of fire, chunks of concrete, and jagged sheets of metal that frisbee’d through the air like flying buzz saws. The metal sheets sliced into tree trunks, the barn, and the side of the house.
On the missile’s impact Kate and the remaining firefighters had flattened themselves on the ground, and they were so busy kissing the dirt, they didn’t see the predator drone as it streaked overhead, then banked to make another pass at the house.
Jake O’Hare saw the course change from his position in the hunting blind. He picked up the rocket launcher and aimed at the drone. He knew he had only one shot, a split second of opportunity, before the drone released another Hellfire missile on the house. This missile wouldn’t miss.
Jake centered the target and squeezed the trigger. The rocket shot out, the backfire on the launcher punching a hole in the wall behind him.
The rocket slammed into the predator drone and it exploded in midair, the flaming debris spiraling through the air and splashing into the lake behind the house.
There was a long moment as the sound of the two explosions dissipated, the ground seemed to still, and all that was left was the ringing in Kate’s ears and the smell of smoke.
She staggered to her feet and looked up at the wooded hillside. She couldn’t see her father, but she knew he could see her in his sights. He’d saved her life. She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
Clay climbed up into the hunting blind where Jake and Walter were high-fiving each other.
“Just like old times,” Jake said.
“Even better,” Walter said. “I thought I’d never get another chance to feel this way before I died.”
“Kate is one tough daughter-of-a-bastard,” Clay said. “I think I’m in love.”
“You’ll have to move to the back of the line, buddy,” Jake said. “Somebody has already beaten you to her.”
After the weeks of international travel and dangerous heists, it was hard for Kate to go back to the procedural drudgery of routine FBI work, tying up the loose ends of the Carter Grove case and wading through a seemingly endless amount of paperwork.
She felt like a prisoner in her cubicle at the Wilshire Federal Building, but getting some of the credit for bringing down Carter, returning the Rembrandts to the Musée de Florentiny, and repatriating the scores of long-lost masterpieces to museums worldwide made it easier to take.
Director Bolton grabbed a big chunk of the credit for himself, claiming that the investigation into Carter Grove had been ongoing for some time but had gained momentum when it dovetailed with Kate’s pursuit of Nicolas Fox. Even Kate’s ex-boyfriend, FBI Special Agent Andrew Tourneur, got his share of the limelight for arresting Julian Starke as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to sell forgeries to wealthy suckers and for dealing in stolen art.
The big rig accident that led to the exposure of Carter’s cache was blamed on some unknown person, probably a kid, who’d stolen a gasoline tanker for a joyride, lost control of the large vehicle, and then fled the scene.
Two teeth and a Cartier belt buckle were found on the driveway a quarter mile from the game-cleaning facility and were identified as belonging to Carter Grove. No other remains were found.
Kate heard from Nick two weeks after the events in Hawesville. He invited her to a mansion on Broad Beach in Malibu. The place belonged to an actor who was shooting an eight-hour gothic mini-series in Bulgaria. Nick was an actor friend from England who was housesitting. At least that’s what he told the neighbors.
Kate wore her favorite date-night outfit of jeans, Glock, and navy FBI windbreaker. Nick had Toblerones and caviar set out.
“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were trying to seduce me,” Kate said, eyeing the Toblerones.
“You could be right,” Nick said.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We’d like to thank James T. Clemente, Mark Safarik, Jay Stringer, Laurence Light, D. P. Lyle, Graham Smith, Jamie Freveletti, Christopher Reich, Alan Guthrie, Sam Barer, Gregory Nunn, Tim Hallinan, Cassandra Troy, Howard Shrier, Zoe Sharp, Lisa Brackmann, and Kate Kinchen for sharing their expertise with us. Any creative liberties we’ve taken with the facts, or any mistakes we’ve made, are our fault and shouldn’t be blamed on these innocent bystanders.
BY JANET EVANOVICH
THE FOX AND O’HARE NOVELS
with Lee Goldberg
The Heist
The Chase
THE STEPHANIE PLUM NOVELS
One for the Money
Two for the Dough
Three to Get Deadly
Four to Score
High Five
Hot Six
Seven Up
Hard Eight
To the Nines
Ten Big Ones
Eleven on Top
Twelve Sharp
Lean Mean Thirteen
Fearless Fourteen
Finger Lickin’ Fifteen
Sizzling Sixteen
Smokin’ Seventeen
Explosive Eighteen
Notorious Nineteen
Takedown Twenty
THE BETWEEN THE NUMBERS NOVELS
Visions of Sugar Plums
Plum Lovin’
Plum Lucky
Plum Spooky
THE LIZZY AND DIESEL NOVELS
Wicked Appetite
Wicked Business
THE BARNABY AND HOOKER NOVELS
Metro Girl
Motor Mouth
Trouble Maker (graphic novel)
NONFICTION
How I Write
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JANET EVANOVICH is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Barnaby and Hooker novels and Trouble Maker graphic novel, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.
Visit Janet Evanovich’s website at
www.evanovich.com
Facebook/JanetEvanovich
or write her at
PO Box 2829
Naples, FL 34106
LEE GOLDBERG is a screenwriter, TV producer, and the author of several books, including King City, The Walk, and the bestselling Monk series of mysteries. He has earned two Edgar Award nominations and was the 2012 recipient of the Poirot Award from Malice Domestic.
www.leegoldberg.com
JOIN JANET ON FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK.COM/JANETEVANOVICH
FOLLOW JANET ON TWITTER
@JANETEVANOVICH
VISIT EVANOVICH.COM
FOR UPDATES, EXCERPTS, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
Janet Evanovich, The Chase
(Series: Fox and O'Hare # 2)
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends