She went back to cuff Granville. It was harder than it looked and she was breathing hard and covered in his blood when she turned him on his back. “I hope you rot in prison for a long time.”

“You think you know… everything.” He dragged in a breath. “You know nothing. There are… others.”

Her head came up and she grabbed her gun. “Others where?” she asked, alarmed.

Granville’s eyes had gone unfocused. He’d lost a lot of blood. “Simon was mine,” he muttered. “But I was another’s.” Then, dazed, he looked up, his eyes flaring wide in fear.

She started to look over her shoulder but stopped when she felt cold steel shoved against her temple.

“Thank you, Miss Fallon,” a voice whispered in her ear. “I’ll take that gun.” He squeezed her wrist until her fingers opened and the gun dropped to the concrete floor. “Things wrapped themselves up well. Davis is arrested, Mansfield is dead and…” He fired and her stomach wrenched as Granville’s head exploded all over the floor. “Now, so is Granville. The seven are now none.”

“Who are you?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“You already know,” he said quietly, and she knew she’d never known true fear until that moment. He forced her to her feet. “Now you’ll come with me.”

“No.” She struggled and he dug his gun back into her head. “I just need to get help for Daniel. I won’t tell them you’re here. You can go. I won’t stop you.”

“No, you won’t. Nobody will stop me. But I won’t let you go. I have plans for you.”

The way he said it made her knees buckle. “Why? I never even knew you like Gemma or the others.”

“No, you didn’t. But you’ll die, just the same.”

The sob was building again, but this time it was mixed with terror. “Why?”

“Because of your face. It all started with Alicia. It’ll end with you.”

Alex went cold and still. “You’d kill me for a grand finale?”

He chuckled. “That and to make Vartanian suffer.”

“Why? He never hurt you.”

“But Simon did. I can’t hurt Simon, so Daniel will have take to take his punishment.”

“Like you were punished for what Jared did,” she murmured.

“I see you understand. It’s only fair.”

“But killing me isn’t fair,” she said, trying to stay calm. “I never hurt anyone.”

“That’s true. But meaningless at this point. You’ll die, like the others, and you’ll scream, loud and long.” He pulled her backward and she fought wildly.

“We called for backup,” she sputtered. “You can’t get away.”

“Yes we can. I hope you don’t get too sick in a boat.”

The river. He was going to take her away by the river. “No. I won’t go like a lamb to slaughter. If you want me, you’re going to have to drag me by my hair.” He was going to kill Daniel. But when he did he’d have to move the gun from her temple. It would be the only chance she had. The second she felt the pressure against her temple decrease, she twisted, trying to claw his face. Abruptly he loosened his grip and for a moment she was too surprised to do anything.

Then she blinked as a final shot rang out. She had only a moment to look up into the face of… the paperboy… before he dropped. Stunned, she watched as he went down, focusing on the neat hole in his forehead.

“This is the paperboy.” She shuddered when she realized how closely O’Brien had been watching her, then looked up and sucked in a silent scream. A man with a dirty, bloody face stood holding O’Brien’s gun in his hand. He was weaving on his feet.

Alex peered closer. “Reverend Beardsley?”

He nodded grimly. “Yeah.” He leaned up against the door and slid to the floor, carefully placing O’Brien’s gun on the floor beside him.

She looked at the hole in O’Brien’s forehead, then back at Beardsley. “You shot him? How could you shoot him? You were… behind him.” She spun around to see Daniel slowly lower his head to the floor. In his hand he held his backup revolver.

“You shot him?” Daniel nodded once and said nothing. Alex stuck her head out the doorway and looked both ways. “Anybody else here with guns?”

“Don’t think so,” Beardsley said, and grabbed her leg. “Bailey?”

“Granville said she was still alive.”

“She was alive an hour ago,” Beardsley said.

“I’ll find out. I have to get help now.”

Clutching Daniel’s cell phone in her hand, Alex ran until she saw light streaming in through the small window in the outer door. She stopped for a moment, almost blinded by its brightness. Then she opened the door and walked out and dragged in the deepest breath she’d ever breathed.

“Alex.” Luke came running. “She’s hit,” he yelled. “Get the medics.”

She blinked as men came running with a gurney. “Not me,” she snapped. “Daniel’s been hit. He’s critical. He needs to be airlifted to a level one trauma center. I’ll show you where he is.” She ran, adrenaline fueling her muscles. “Bailey escaped.”

“I know,” Luke replied as he ran beside her. Behind them the gurney squeaked. “I found her. She’s alive. In pretty bad shape, but she’s alive.”

Alex knew the relief would hit her once Daniel was on the gurney. “Beardsley’s in here, too. He’s alive. He may be able to walk out on his own, but he’s bad, too.”

They got to the room at the end of the hall and Luke stopped dead at the three bodies that littered the floor. “Holy Mother of God,” he breathed. “Did you do this?”

A bubble of hysterical laugher tickled where minutes before a sob had burned. The medics were lifting Daniel to the gurney and she could breathe again. “Most of it. I killed Mansfield and wounded Granville, but O’Brien killed Granville.”

Luke nodded. “Okay.” He nudged O’Brien with his shoe. “And this one?”

“Beardsley took his gun and Daniel made the head shot.” A grin nearly broke her face in two. “I think we did good.”

Luke grinned back. “I think you did good, too.”

But Beardsley didn’t smile. He shook his head. “You were too late,” he said wearily.

Alex and Luke instantly sobered. “What are you talking about?” Alex said.

Beardsley pushed himself against the wall until he stood. “Come with me.”

Throwing a backward glance at Daniel, Alex followed, Luke’s hand on her back.

Beardsley pulled on the first door to their left. It was unlocked, but not empty. Alex stared in horror. And what she saw would be indelibly etched in her mind forever.

A young girl lay on a thin cot, her arm chained to the wall. She was gaunt, her bones clearly visible. Her eyes were wide open and there was a small round hole in her forehead. She looked about fifteen.

Alex rushed forward, dropping to her knees, pressing her fingers to a thin neck for a pulse. The girl was still warm. She looked up at Luke, overcome. “She’s dead. Maybe an hour ago.”

“They’re all dead,” Beardsley said harshly. “Every one that was left behind.”

“How many were there?” Luke asked, his voice hard with fury.

“I counted seven shots. Bailey…”

“She’s alive,” Luke said. “And she got one girl out with her.”

Beardsley’s shoulders sagged. “Thank God.”

“What is this place?” Alex whispered.

“Human trafficking,” Luke said succinctly, and Alex just stared at him, openmouthed.

“You mean all these girls…? But why kill them? Why?”

“They didn’t have time to get them all out,” Beardsley said tonelessly. “They didn’t want the ones left behind to talk.”

“Who’s responsible for this?” Alex hissed.

“The man you called Granville.” Beardsley leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, and it was then that Alex noticed the dark stain on his shirt. It was spreading.

“You got shot,” she said, reaching out to help him.

He put out one hand. “Your cop is in worse shape.”

“How many did they get out?” Luke asked, and on his face Alex saw the same feral rage that she’d seen the night at the target range.

“Five or six,” Beardsley said. “They took them down to the river.”