gun. Fully loaded. She wished she’d brought another clip, but slipping her wallet out of her satchel had been the best she could do without alerting Logan and Monty. She wasn’t worried. Walker was just one man, and he wasn’t trained like she was. She donned her FBI-issued jacket again, then took her knit cap out of one of its pockets and slipped it on her head. She was thankful she was wearing jeans and a thick, warm sweater. And that she’d chosen boots over pumps this morning.
She pulled up her hood, then took a deep breath and opened the car door. She struggled to get out of the ditch, slipping several times before she finally made it. Then she lowered her head and pushed against the ice that pelted her as if trying to keep her away from her destination. Her jacket was lined, but it didn’t offer much protection against the bitter cold and ice crystals that felt like tiny knives flying toward her with ferocity.
It seemed to take forever to get near the house, but she finally stepped onto the property. She was right. Someone was here. The light she’d seen came from inside. Maybe a lamp. Did they have electricity for this place? She made her way to a side wall and leaned against it. Her legs felt like limp spaghetti, but she pushed herself off and inched her way toward the front of the house. She stepped lightly onto the porch and carefully looked through a window. The drapes were partly closed, but as she peered through the crack, she saw a lantern close to the back of the house. It was still too dark to make out anything, though.
She edged her way off the porch and walked around to the other side of the house, which provided more protection from the weather. She noticed a car and an SUV parked behind the house and crept near them. The car was a silver Honda Accord. The SUV had to be the vehicle he’d been using undetected—or at least one of them.
This was it. She’d found him.
After taking her phone out of her inside pocket, she discovered she still had no reception. Between the trees and the fact that she was at the bottom of a hill, there was no way a call was going out.
She put her phone back, then took out her gun. She’d started back around the house when she noticed light coming from a window near the ground. A basement window. Alex knelt to look inside, then gasped at what she saw—a large wooden table with a young woman tied to it, the only light coming from a few lanterns. A dark-haired man stood to the side, looking down at the girl. Alex couldn’t see his face, but he had to be Walker.
Although the last thing she wanted to do was face the Train Man alone, she had no choice. He was going to kill that woman, and then he would begin his plan to murder even more people. She had to stop him. No one else could.
She stood and crept back to the front porch. As the ice hammered down around her, drowning out any other noise, she quietly tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. She was about to push it open when something hard touched the back of her head.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a male voice said. “Put down your gun and kick it away, or I’ll pull this trigger.”
“Okay,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
Alex hesitated, trying to find a way out of this. If she could get him off his feet and grab his gun, she had a chance to subdue him. But if she tried that and failed, helping the woman in the basement and finding the virus would be impossible. At least Logan and Monty would know what she’d done by now. And Harrison knew about Lake Lotawana. Were they on their way? Would they get here in time?
She needed to stall. Her best move was not to provoke this guy. Make sure the woman downstairs stayed alive and hope the cavalry showed up soon. She put down her gun and kicked it away.
“Good. Now go inside. We’ll join our friends in the basement.”
Walker was his friend? What did that mean?
“He’s had help, I see,” Alex said. “We’ve been wondering about that.”
He pushed her through the door, then stopped and put his hand on her shoulder, turning her around.