your lord and master.” She sat up and then got to her knees. He was standing over her and was definitely close enough now. “I was not impressed.”
“Delgado doesn’t like surprises. I’ll hear about this.” He raised his gun. “Perhaps this will impress you. I believe it’s time to put an end—”
Kendra leaped up from her knees as far as she could reach and plunged the knife into Dietrich’s hip. He yelled out, cursing, as he backed away from her. She scrambled to her feet desperately trying to strike another blow.
But he hadn’t dropped his gun and he was aiming it at her.
Harley burst from the bushes and sank his teeth deep into Dietrich’s arm!
Dietrich screamed and tried to pull free. His arm was spurting blood, the skin ripping under the force of Harley’s strong teeth. The dog was now thrashing his arm back and forth, causing the gun to wave crazily in the air.
The gun went off twice, muffled by its silencer.
Kendra lunged forward and her knife stabbed down into the back of Dietrich’s hand. He screamed again and dropped the gun. But as Kendra dove for it, Dietrich slid out of his jacket—and Harley’s grip—and bolted into the brush.
Harley thrashed the jacket a moment longer, then looked up at Kendra with those big, brown-blue eyes as if asking for approval.
She picked up Dietrich’s gun and knelt down beside Harley. “Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Good boy doesn’t seem like enough.” Kendra rubbed the soft skin behind Harley’s ears. “Just in the nick of time. I think you learned a lot more about K-9 tactics than anyone thought.”
But Harley was jumping to his feet and running over to where Roberts was lying. He sat down beside him and turned back to Kendra as if demanding something of her.
“I’m coming. I’m right behind you.” She fell to her knees beside Roberts and gently removed the jacket pad. He was conscious, and she saw to her relief that the wound didn’t seem as bad as she’d first thought. “I think the bleeding’s stopped, Roberts.” She took out her phone. “Hang in there. We’re going to get you help right away. As you can see, my friend Harley is nagging me to get it done.”
“Some dog you got there,” Roberts whispered as Harley nestled his head comfortingly on his hand.
The helicopter rotors grew louder. Time was running out, Kendra realized. Dietrich had to be taking Delgado down to meet it by now. Damn!
She quickly voice-dialed Lynch.
He answered immediately. “Where in the hell are you? I’ve been calling you. You said you’d be here.”
“Couldn’t answer you. Change of plan. We don’t have to check Big Rock for a tunnel. Dietrich is here. So is Delgado. They used it to get here.”
“What? Where?”
“Do you hear the helicopter?”
He paused. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah. Follow it. They’re making their break.”
She could see the blue lights of the helicopter. “And send for a paramedic unit right now. Roberts has been shot. I don’t think it’s too bad, but we can’t take a chance.”
“What?” Lynch’s voice was suddenly harsh. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ll tell you about it later. The helicopter. We have to stop the helicopter. I just have to figure out where he’ll land so I can tell you.”
Roberts reached out and touched the phone. “You’re not going to do that sitting here holding my hand. Go help Metcalf and Lynch. Get that son of a bitch who put this bullet in me. What are you waiting for? You just told Lynch you thought I’d be okay.”
She looked at him uncertainly.
He smiled faintly. “I’d never live it down if this job was botched because of me. Get out of here!”
Kendra spun around and ran down the overgrown path. Harley was at her heels. “Lynch, I’m on my way. Have the paramedics ping Roberts’s phone for an exact location.”
“Right. On your way where?”
She thought for a moment, trying to imagine a likely path for a southbound tunnel. “Go to the athletic field. Near where Ronald Kim’s body was found.”
“Are you sure?”
“No. It’s just what makes the most sense to me right now. If they take off in that helicopter, we may never find them. Be careful. From what Dietrich said they’ll probably have half a dozen thugs with guns.”
“We have our own thugs with guns. I’d bet on ours. And we’ll send for backup.”
“And I have my own backup. Harley’s with me.”
“I’d rather rely on the backup Metcalf will send,” Lynch said dryly.
“I wouldn’t.” Kendra looked down at Harley, who was