J Saint - Collateral Damage

He nodded. "Then let's go."

The pace he set through the trees seemed agonizingly slow to her as she wanted to run to Thomas's house. She didn't realize it until she saw the surface of green-blue water rippling just ahead that Jack had cut his way down to the lake before heading to Thomas's house next door.

Reaching the water, Jack crouched behind a cropping of bushes and looked up at the sky. "Damn. I'm afraid this is going to be bad."

"What?" Lauren joined him and squinted up at the sky, expecting to see the dark clouds of an approaching storm.

He pointed at two large black birds flying in a circle overhead. "I thought I heard buzzards but wasn't sure." He opened his backpack and slipped out a pair of binoculars, directing his gaze toward Thomas's house, which was partially visible from its perch on the wooded hillside.

His body tensed. He had seen something. "What is it?" she whispered.

"Either our friendly neighborhood assassin and his side-kick cop have a set of twins or they're a step ahead of us. They're on the back deck of the house looking at a broken rail." Jack shifted the binoculars. "There's a body on the ground, but from the looks of him, he's been dead a while. Let's go."

"But-"

"Orders are not discussions. We'll talk later. Stay low. Stay behind me, and make as little noise as possible."

She followed Jack like a shadow until they reached the car. Once inside, he took off, going opposite the direction of Thomas's house. The circling road would eventually take them back to the entrance to the subdivision. He handed her his phone. "Turn it on and call Edward Weiss. See if you can get him on the phone. Then turn it back off."

"All right, but shouldn't we call the police? They might be able to catch the killers at Thomas's house."

"Those two are likely killers, but they didn't kill the man on the ground. Not unless they did it a day or two ago and returned to the scene of the crime, which is highly unlikely. The broken rail leads to the thought that he could have fallen, but that's just too damn suspicious to believe. We can't call the police until we reach a pay phone. Even if there is a chance they already know who I am, with a dirty cop after us, I'm not giving them anything they can use to track me down."

Thomas was dead, or at least someone was dead. And it was real. Dear God. Her hand shook as she dialed information and called the Weiss's home phone. Though Edward's wife Sandy and she had never really hit it off, Lauren feared for Edward, her and their daughter. A woman answered the phone in sepulcher-like whisper. "Hello."

"Sandy?" It had been a while and Lauren wasn't sure if Sandy had answered or not.

"This is her sister, Amy. Can I help you?"

"This is Lauren Collins. I needed to-"

"Lauren. Yes, I remember. Your husband is one of Edward's closest friends. God, I have some awful news. Edward was murdered last night. He apparently walked in on a burglar and the bastard beat him to death with a golf club. They found him this morning when he didn't show up for an important closing. Sandy is on her way back from California now."

"Dear God." Lauren had to reach deep for her voice. The horrendous pounding of her heart created a deafening roar in her ears.

"I know. I'll tell Sandy you called and we'll be in touch with you about funeral arrangements. I'm sure she'll want Bill and the others to be part of the funeral."

Lauren wasn't sure what her strangled reply was, but it must not have been that Bill and Thomas were dead because Amy hung up the phone. Lauren sat there staring at the trees and mail boxes whizzing by. Suddenly the car bumped and she was slung to the right as Jack whipped into the parking lot of a mom and pop bait and tackle store. While she'd sat stunned he'd exited the residential area where Thomas lived and had reached the main road that would lead them to Interstate 85.

Jack took his phone from her numb fingers and latched onto her hand. As hot as his was, hers must have been like ice. He pressed her hand between both of his. "Tell me."

Lauren sucked in a deep breath, realizing she hadn't even been able to breathe. Spots wavered before her eyes and she practically reeled in the seat. "Edward was murdered last night. Clubbed to death in his own home. His sister-in-law says it was a burglar, but, Dear God, Jack that's too coincidental. Who's next? My children? What would have happened to us if you hadn't shown up yesterday?" Lauren shuddered hard.

"Come here." He pulled her across the console and wrapped his arms around her. He held her against his chest, his voice a deep rumble as he spoke. "Don't let yourself go back and worry over it. I was there, that's all that matters." He was warm and solid, so very real and assured as he hugged her closer that her careening world stabilize a little. She inhaled again, drinking in his scent, already finding comfort in its familiarity amid the surreal macabre world surrounding her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to Matt, Mitch, you or Angie, okay? So wipe that worry out of your mind. What we need to focus on is moving forward. We need to call the rest of Bill's friends. Warn them. Find out what they know, then we need to sit down and try again to figure out what in the hell is going on, okay?"

He brushed his fingers along her cheek and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. His gentle touch and soothing manner were at odds with his rough soldier persona, but she didn't mention it. She could tell he was totally into her, into comforting her, and easing her fears and it was because he truly cared about her. He wasn't condemning or judgmental, although she was sure he knew death and danger on a level she couldn't even imagine. There hadn't been a lick of sexual anything in his embrace either. He'd reached out human to human to comfort her and she was sorry to say that was something she'd never gotten in her marriage. Why did the man think he sucked at relationships?

Before she could say what was on her mind, he spoke. "Don't look at me like that, Lauren. I'm no hero."

She didn't argue with him at the moment, but did wonder why he was so down on himself, so uncomfortable with the truth. She eased back to her side of the car. "I need to call the others."

He handed her the phone again. "Tell them that Bill was killed and that both Thomas and Edward have died as well and that you don't think it coincidence. Tell them to get someplace safe and to let you know where so you can meet them. You need to talk to them about Bill."

Lauren nodded. She called Ray in Savannah, Georgia, and left a message on his answering machine to contact her immediately. That he might be in danger. The same with Bob in Tampa, Florida. Conrad in South Carolina picked up after the first ring. "Thank God, you answered," she said. "This is Lauren. Bill's wife."

"Yes, I know. I was just about to call you. I am so sorry. The news about Bill from Sao Paulo just reached me, I can't believe it. Where are you? I'll come and help."

"No. Listen, Conrad. Something very wrong and very bad is going on. Edward was murdered in his home last night. They say a burglar. I think Thomas is dead too. A fall, maybe. But I don't think their deaths were coincidental or accidental either. You need to get someplace safe fast and we need to talk about Bill. I'll come to you, okay?"

"Thomas? Edward? Dear God. I can't believe this. You're really scaring me, Lauren. What in the hell is going on?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can figure this out together. I'll be at Lake Hartwell in a little over an hour and a half. Give me your address and please be careful." She'd added a few minutes for traffic and so they'd have time to call the authorities about Thomas.

"I will." Conrad then rattled off his address and Lauren wrote it down with the paper and pen Jack produced. "Call me when you get here." Conrad hung up before she could say anything else.