“I think Eva’s in there with the big boss, a man named Grant Ulrich.”
“The owner of The Fitness Club?” Zach’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, he owns this place, too.” Finn tried the handle and was surprised when it opened. He knew Eva had a key and wondered if she’d left the door open on purpose.
“I’ll take the front. You and Eddie cover the back. Tell Branson to meet you there. His K-9, Jessie, will give us added strength.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ll breach the building in three minutes.”
“Three minutes. Got it,” Zach agreed. He and Eddie disappeared around the corner.
Finn eased into the building, moving as silently as possible. The sounds of dogs barking helped to cover the noise of Abernathy’s pants. He felt terrible about delaying his partner’s care, but was determined to get Eva out of here alive.
Above the barking din, he heard a man’s deep gravelly voice. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?”
“Me?” Eva’s incredulous tone would have made him smile under different circumstances. But at the moment, he wanted her to play along rather than antagonize them.
“Where is the package?” The roar was a clear indication that Ulrich was losing his temper.
“I don’t know!” Eva’s hoarse yell was followed by a hacking cough. “Don’t you think I would have given it to you by now if I had it? I couldn’t care less about your stupid drugs!”
Finn flattened himself against the wall, edging closer. He held his weapon high near his ear, his attention focused on what he might find up ahead.
“Too bad. Without the package you are of no use to me. And I don’t tolerate loose ends, which is why I had Wade fetch you for me. It’s time to snip them off, one by one.”
Finn’s heart stuttered in his chest at the threat. What if he shot Eva before they were ready? The minutes were going by too slowly. Logically he knew he had to wait for Zach and hopefully Reed Branson to get in position, but standing there doing nothing was pure agony. He edged a little closer and risked a quick glance into the room.
Eva was standing between two men, one of them a stranger who was holding a gun on her. His gut twisted as he realized Wade Yost was there, too. Yost also held a gun, which meant he wasn’t an innocent bystander. Yost had been involved all along. Finn knew the stranger holding Eva at gunpoint had to be Ulrich.
He rested back against the wall for a moment, committing the location of the principals to memory. With Eva standing between the two men, the likelihood of her being injured was far too high.
A diversion? He thought for a moment about sending a canister of tear gas inside, but he didn’t have a mask and neither did Zach. The gas would hurt Eva and their K-9s’ eyes, too.
No, they had to use their strength and instincts to take these two perps out, permanently if necessary. He stared at his watch, silently counting the seconds until it was go time.
Three, two, one. Now!
Finn heard the sound of Zach kicking open the back door as he stepped into the doorway. “Drop your weapons!” He waited a second, then yelled, “Eva, get down!” Yost lifted his weapon toward Eva, so he fired his gun at the same time another shot rang out.
Ulrich howled as he fell face forward, hitting the floor with a thud. Finn rushed in, getting to the prone figure of Yost before he could move. Both of their bullets had hit their marks. He stepped on the guy’s wrist, pinning the gun to the floor as his gaze sought Eva.
She’d thrown herself down and to the left. Zach rushed over and held Ulrich down, disarming him.
“Eva? Are you okay?” Finn couldn’t leave Yost until he had him secured, and since his cuffs were still on Greer, he’d have to use the plastic flex ties.
“Fine,” she said in a weary voice followed by a muffled cough. “How did you find me?”
“Greer talked.” He used the flex ties to secure Yost’s wrists before dragging the man to his feet. “Did you hear that, Yost? Ulrich? Greer told us all about you in exchange for a deal on his sentencing.”
Zach cuffed Ulrich’s wrists behind him, then drew him up to his feet, too. “Well, look at that. Eddie has caught the scent of drugs. What do you have hiding in your pockets?”