Retribution (Otter Creek Book 8) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  About the Author

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  About the Author

  RETRIBUTION

  Rebecca Deel

  Cover Design: Melody Simmons

  Copyright © 2016 Rebecca Deel

  All rights reserved.

  #

  To Mom. I love you.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Katie Henderson coughed, wrinkling her nose at the acrid scent. Nearby, a dog gave a strident bark, frantic to gain someone’s attention.

  She frowned and settled deeper into her pillow. Why didn’t someone check on a dog in obvious distress?

  Another cough. She tried to draw in a breath and broke into a sustained coughing fit. Her lungs and throat burned. Was she sick? Had she fallen asleep too close to the campfire? Something niggled at the back of her mind, but Katie couldn’t drag herself out of bed to take a pain reliever or check her temperature. Too tired. In the morning, she promised herself.

  Sighing, she felt herself drifting off again until a muffled shout dragged her closer to the surface of wakefulness.

  Hard hands shook her. “Katie, get up! The house is on fire!”

  Fire? No, please, not again. She moaned, coughed. Katie forced her eyelids open, blinked against the sting as she peered through a thick haze of smoke.

  “Good girl. Let’s get you out of here.”

  She recognized her cousin Lance’s voice. His engine company must have responded to the alarm. “Charlie.” she croaked. “Save Charlie.” Katie loved her three-year-old Search and Rescue partner, a black Labrador Retriever. Losing that sweet boy would break her heart.

  “We got him. He’s safe.” Lance lifted her into his arms. “We have to leave. This baby is burning fast and furious.” He hurried to the hall and raced for the front door. He pulled up short when he reached the living room. “The fire spread. Our escape route is blocked.”

  Her cousin twisted toward the back door, but the undulating orange glow told the tale. A fire blocked that exit from the house as well. Bitterness swelled inside Katie. What were the chances an accidental fire had blocked both the front and back doors? Nil. Someone was trying to kill her. Again. And from the look of things, this time he might succeed.

  Flames roared, and inside the house, the heat rose. They had to escape now or she and Lance would burn alive.

  Lance ran to her bedroom, the room farthest from the fire. Not much protection. Flames were spreading fast. Someone must have spread an accelerant. Her cousin cleared the threshold, slammed the door closed, then crossed to the window and unlocked it. One of his firefighter buddies reached into the room and helped Lance carry her outside. Her cousin cradled her in his arms as he raced away from the house. Before they reached the emergency vehicles, the windows in the living room exploded outward.

  Her cousin angled himself to better protect Katie. More coughing to expel the smoke she’d inhaled. Man, how long had the flames been burning before Lance and his co-workers arrived on the scene? EMTs from the waiting ambulance strapped an oxygen mask over her face as soon as Lance laid her on the gurney.

  “You’re going to be okay, Peaches.” He gave her a quick hug, then backed out of the ambulance. “I’ll come to the hospital as soon as we’re finished here.” Lance closed the door and signaled that he was clear.

  Within minutes, the ambulance parked at the ER entrance and Katie was whisked into the hospital. Medical personnel directed the EMTs to one of the exam rooms where a doctor evaluated her. After being poked, prodded, and questioned extensively, Katie was grumpy and still coughing, though the spasms were spaced further apart.

  Two hours after her arrival, her cousin hurried into her treatment room, his hair still wet from a recent shower.

  “You okay, Katie?”

  “I’ll live,” she said, her voice raspy. “I’m well done, though.”

  “You have burns?” His expression reflected his horror.

  “No worse than a sunburn. I’m okay, Lance.” She grasped his hand. “You saved my life. I’ll never forget that. How is Charlie?”

  “He’s safe at the firehouse. The guys are having a blast with him. They’ll watch over him, Peaches.”

  “Spring me. I’ll take him to the vet, have him checked out.”

  “Johannsen’s brother-in-law is a veterinarian. He stopped by the station and checked Charlie. He’s fine. No burns, minimal smoke inhalation. You’re worse off than Charlie, Peaches. Once you’re discharged, we’ll go pick him up.”

  “And then what?” Her gaze locked with his. “What are we going to do?”

  “Run,” he said, his voice grim.

  Her heart sank. “When does it stop?”

  “I know a guy who owns a private security firm. He owes me a favor. I’m collecting.”

  She dreaded having to uproot their lives again. “Do we have another choice?” Something better than reinventing themselves for the fifth time.

  “We can give up and let h
im burn us to death next time.”

  She flinched. “No thanks. Sorry. Didn’t mean to whine. When do we leave?”

  “As soon as you’re released,” he murmured. “We’ll collect Charlie and go. Nashville is four hours from Atlanta.”

  “What about our belongings?” The house would be too hot to salvage anything for a while yet.

  “There’s nothing left.” Anger flushed Lance’s face. “He did a good job. The house and everything in it was a total loss. If our engine had been five minutes later, we wouldn’t have saved you or Charlie.”

  #

  “Lance, Katie, come into my office. Bring Charlie.” The tall man with the blond buzz cut stepped aside for them to enter his office.

  Katie slipped past Brent Maddox into a large office with several televisions on the walls, each one displaying continuous news or feeds of military operations. She frowned. Why would Maddox have access to government soldiers? Maybe the uniformed people were his.

  Maddox waved them to the chairs in front of his desk, then sat in his own. “Tell me what’s going on, Lance.”

  Her cousin gave Maddox the short version. Katie wanted to laugh. Lance had left out a lot of details. Fifteen years this had been going on. By the time they finished answering the Fortress CEO’s questions, exhaustion weighed her down like a suit of armor.

  “What do you need from me?” Maddox asked.

  “New identities in a new place,” Lance said. “We just want to live in peace.”

  “I can do that. There’s only one way to stop the fires, Lance. Expose the arsonist.”

  “Then find him and rip off his mask,” her cousin snapped. “You can drop kick him off the nearest cliff for all I care. I just want Katie safe.”

  Maddox studied them a moment. “I hope you mean that.”

  Oh, man. Katie didn’t like the sound of that. “We want to be left alone. When you find him, turn him over to the police. If you and your people are as good as my cousin claims, it should be child’s play.” Right. That’s why she and Lance had never been able to uncover this guy’s identity.

  He was silent another minute. “Katie, have you and your cousin been separated when you changed locations and identities?”

  Alarm shifted her heart rate into the stratosphere. “We’ve been together since I was ten years old.”

  “That’s about to change.”

  “What? No!” Lance surged to his feet. “You can’t send Katie off by herself. This monster wants to kill her. Who will protect her?”

  “I have a safe place in mind for her and Charlie.” He turned to Katie. “Interested in training Search and Rescue workers?”

  Talk about a dream come true. That’s what she’d wanted to do since she and Charlie became partners. She should consider adding another dog to her family after Maddox caught this creep. Katie’s hand dropped to the top of Charlie’s head. The silky fur of his ears soothed her ragged emotions. “I would love that.”

  “Good. I’ll arrange it. Fortress has a bodyguard school. Personal Security International is expanding their training program to include Search and Rescue. I think you and Charlie would be perfect. We already have an experienced S & R man on board and PSI begins training the first class in two months.”

  Two months? What would she do in the meantime? Sit around the house and wait for the arsonist to catch up with her? No thanks. Too much time on her hands left her too much time to think. Not good when her circular thoughts centered around the person who had sabotaged her life for years.

  “I don’t like this.” Lance scowled at Maddox. “She shouldn’t be alone. If this madman comes after her again, who will protect her?”

  “I have people in place. Good people. They’ll watch over Katie.”

  “What about Lance?” Katie asked.

  “I can take care of myself,” he insisted.

  Unlike her? She sighed. Might as well face reality. More often than not, Lance had saved her. Didn’t mean she liked to acknowledge her failure. So much for being independent and self-sufficient. “Mr. Maddox, will my cousin have protection?”

  “It’s Brent and yes, he will have bodyguards. The arsonist has almost killed both of you more than once. Neither of you will be without backup until the arsonist is behind bars or dead.”

  “We’ve tried for years to figure out his identity.”

  Maddox smiled. “You didn’t have Fortress. We’ll uncover this clown’s identity and give you back your life.”

  “I hope you’re right. In the meantime, what will I do for two months until the S & R program is ready?”

  “Do either of you have weapons or self defense training?”

  They glanced at each other, dread curling in Katie’s stomach. She hated guns. No, she corrected herself. She didn’t know how to use one and so she was afraid. Time to change that.

  “No training,” Lance admitted.

  “Past time you got some.” His gaze locked with Katie’s. “The training might save your life.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Katie turned off the engine of her SUV and stared through the windshield at the uninspired brick building in front of her. Not Katie now, she reminded herself. Heidi Thompson.

  Minimal landscaping, she noted. Then again, no one could plant in February if they even bothered to worry about the greenery. Personal Security International probably wasn’t concerned about the outward appearance. No, their important work went on inside the building and on the grounds. She doubted they cared about flowers or shrubs.

  Scanning PSI’s grounds, Heidi stopped when she saw a town. Intrigued, she opened the door and stepped down. A whine from the backseat drew her attention to the black Labrador Retriever watching her, his tail slapping against the upholstery. “Want to stretch your legs, Charlie?”

  A yip answered her query. She grinned. “We have a few minutes before the interview.” Heidi grabbed Charlie’s leash and attached it to his harness. “Let’s go, buddy. I hope this is going to be our new workplace.” Maddox had said the job was hers, but she was afraid to believe his words.

  Heidi locked the vehicle and crossed the grassy expanse. A fake town. Training, she realized. Hostage situations, urban warfare. Impressive.

  She breathed deep of the cold, pine-scented air, hopefully the scent of a new beginning. Heidi thrust her troubling thoughts aside. Time enough to wrestle her demons in the dead of night.

  Charlie growled. Heidi glanced at her canine partner, then turned her attention to the man striding toward them. She used a hand signal and the growls stopped although Charlie remained alert, his gaze fixed on a potential threat to his mistress. Watching the man, Heidi decided Charlie was right. He was a threat to her equilibrium and peace of mind. He reminded her of the reasons she avoided dating seriously. This man would be lethal to a woman’s heart. Not hers, though.

  The closer the male came to her, the larger he appeared. By the time he reached Heidi, she realized he was tall, powerful. Broad shoulders, arms roped with muscle, trim waist, muscled thighs, the stride of a man in peak physical condition. Sandy brown hair topped his head, a color Heidi would have given almost anything to have instead of her fiery red mop. She envied his tanned skin. She burned no matter how much sunscreen she slathered on.

  Her gut clenched into a tight knot as she got a good look at his face. How could Maddox do this to her? To the good man standing in front of her? Quinn Gallagher had been more slender in his teens, but nothing could change those memorable brown eyes.

  She prayed he didn’t recognize the girl who had idolized him all those years ago. Her family had caused his nothing but grief and heartache. Not her doing, but the result had still left Quinn furious and devastated. He must have hated her. The rest of the town did.

  “May I help you?”

  The deep, rich voice sent a surge of goosebumps up her spine. Wow, really nice. Quinn’s voice had deepened in the intervening years to something she would be happy to listen to for hours. Not likely to happen when he learned who she real
ly was.

  If his voice hadn’t short-circuited her brain cells, she might have come up with ways for the source of her adolescent crush to help her. First on the list would be unloading the trailer filled with her belongings that she’d towed into Otter Creek, then left in the driveway of the house she had rented outside of town, sight unseen. Not a lot of options for housing and the owner of the house agreed to let Heidi set up Charlie’s training equipment in the backyard. “I’m Heidi Thompson.” She rested her hand on Charlie’s head. “This is Charlie. We’re here for an interview.” And hopefully a job, provided this man didn’t fire her before she worked one day.

  If not, she’d start her own dog training school. Surely there were enough dogs in and around Otter Creek that needed obedience training. Hopefully, Quinn wouldn’t object to her staying in town as long as she wasn’t in his face often, reminding him of his painful past.

  “Search and Rescue?”

  “That’s right.”

  “ID.”

  She froze. That fast? Please, no. She needed a job and a safe place to hide, and this was where Maddox had sent her. Security was their business, she reminded herself, while she presented her identification, and waited. Cold sweat formed at the small of her back.

  After careful examination, Quinn gave back her ID and extended a hand. “Quinn Gallagher. Nice to meet you, Heidi Thompson.”

  Thank God. She breathed a sigh of relief. Quinn didn’t recognize her. Maybe, just maybe, she’d have a chance to prove herself before he learned the truth. She smiled. “Heidi.” She glanced at Charlie. “Charlie, this is Quinn. Greet.”

  The Lab immediately sat and raised a paw.

  With a chuckle, Quinn gently shook Charlie’s paw. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Charlie. You’re a good boy.” He straightened and turned to Heidi. “You’ll interview with Deke Creed first, then with me and my teammates.”

  Butterflies dive bombed her stomach. Why two interviews? Maddox hadn’t mentioned that possibility. In fact, he had approved her hiring provided Mr. Creed accepted her and Charlie. Heidi wasn’t a great liar, a good thing under other circumstances. Now, her life depended on carrying off this role. She had to own this role, become Heidi Thompson, to convince anyone else, especially someone like Quinn who knew Katie Henderson. “Brent said you and your unit train bodyguards for Fortress.”