Friendly Fire (Ricochet 2)

As they got closer, Rick started to panic. Quinn could seriously be lying in a ditch somewhere, Mack’s crappy truck overturned with her trapped inside. “Where do I go, Mara? Tell me!”

“Don’t snap at me, Rick. I’m trying to remember. I’m ninety percent sure it’s on the next street.” Mara was typing on her phone while glancing at the letterhead they had stopped to get from Quinn’s apartment. After insisting she could find the place, Mara hadn’t been able to remember the law firm’s name. “She’s going to be pissed that you broke into her place, Rick.”

Rick gripped the steering wheel harder, pressing his mouth into a tight line. Like he could give a shit about picking a lock if Quinn was in need of his help.

“There!” Mara pointed to a building on the left.

Even with traffic barreling towards them from the opposite lane, Rick jerked the wheel in front of them, pulling into the drive right before getting clipped by an oncoming SUV.

“You asshole!” Clint smacked the back of Rick’s head. “My wife is in the goddamn car.”

“I fucking know that, Clint!” Rick used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. He drove into the attached parking deck, scanning each level for Mack’s truck. There were very few cars left, so it wasn’t a difficult search.

“There!” Clint pointed to the left.

Rick jerked the car to a stop and jumped out, not bothering to turn off the ignition or pull into a parking spot

.

“Oh my God,” Mara whispered, her hands covering her mouth as she exited the car.

Clint and Mara exchanged horrified looks while Rick stood next to the cab of the rusty old Ford.

All of the training in the world couldn’t have prepared Rick for what he saw. The driver’s side door of the truck was open, the interior lights dead. Quinn’s purse and its contents were scattered along the oil-stained concrete. The rest of level three was completely empty.

Trembling, Rick hunched down to examine a small, dark spot on the ground, swiping his index finger through it. When he lifted his hand, the end of his finger was red.

Blood. Quinn’s blood.

He sank to his knees, not able to feel the rough concrete that dug into his skin, tearing at his flesh. Rick wasn’t sure if the scream he heard echoing through the garage came from Mara, or from him. All he knew was that the only woman he had ever loved was gone, the woman worth changing his life for, and something terrible had happened to her. A rush of regret made him nauseous.

I never told her I loved her.

“Rick.” Mara put a shaky hand on his shoulder. “I think I know who did this.” Her voice was thick as she spoke between sobs.

Rick staggered to his feet, clutching Mara’s arms for support. “Who? Tell me. If they hurt her, I’m going to fucking kill them!” Mara’s eyes widened at the seriousness of Rick’s statement, the truth in his eyes. She understood that he meant every word he said.

“Mara!”

Tears began to fall, streaming down her cheeks. “It… it was her husband.”

End of part 2