He held his breath as long as possible, swimming as far away from the dock as he could, before he finally came up for air. He barely lifted his head out of the water before going right back under. He could hardly see a damn thing in the dark water, but he just kept on swimming. Another quick breath and then back under the water. He kept doing this until he thought he might pass out before taking his first full moment to catch his breath.
Lifting his head out of the water, he turned to take a glance back at the dock. He was shocked by how far from shore he’d already swum. He was halfway to the other side of Lake Austin. He could see red and blue flashing lights on the street beyond the dock and what looked like officers shining flashlights all around. One of them finally came down to the dock and started looking out over the water. Jake ducked below the water, turned, started swimming again. He waited until he thought he might drown before barely lifting his mouth, just enough to catch a breath. Then back under, away from the dock, making his way to the other side. It took him about ten more minutes before he finally found land again in the dark recesses of a swampy shoreline.
He turned around to peer back toward the dock on the other side of the water. It didn’t look like any police officers were still there searching for him. He pulled himself clear of the water, feeling completely exhausted. He’d done it. He’d managed to get away. But now what? His whole body was shaking. He needed to get into dry clothes before he got hypothermia. And then he had to find and rescue Piper.
SEVEN
Dani Nolan got the call from her boss while standing in the backyard of her two-bedroom condo in her flannel pajamas, waiting for her dog, Bailey, to finally take a crap. Her golden retriever could sometimes take forever. She had to first sniff every square inch of grass. Dani was extra frustrated tonight because of the crisp chill in the air. Looking at her phone, Dani sighed, wondering if this call was going to be personal or FBI related. She really didn’t have the energy for either at the moment. She just wanted to crawl up in her bed with Bailey and find something mindless to binge on Netflix until she fell asleep. It had already been a long week. She was looking forward to a much-needed day off tomorrow.
“Hey, Simon,” she answered.
“Dani, we got a problem.”
“We have lots of problems. That’s why we’re on a break, remember?”
“I’m not talking about you and me for once.”
“What is it?”
“Someone in our office was shot dead a few minutes ago.”
“Damn. Who?”
“Caitlin Kingston. Have you met her? She just started doing analytics work over in Martin’s department. Young gal—straight out of school.”
Dani repeated the name. “I don’t think so. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I need you to go find out.”
“Seriously? I’m in my pajamas already.”
“The sexy red silky ones?”
“Simon . . .”
“Look, I don’t want to send Mason over there for this.”
“Why? He’s actually on duty.”
“Apparently, the girl’s grandfather is kind of a big deal. I want to make sure we handle this right from the beginning. I don’t need any extra headaches right now. I trust you way more than I trust Mason.”
“If this is your way of winning me back, it’s a lousy strategy.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. But I need you there ASAP.”
“Fine. Text me the address.”
Fifteen minutes later, Dani drove her black Mazda SUV down a narrow street already packed with police and emergency vehicles. She’d pulled her brown hair into a ponytail and put on a black ball cap because her hair was still wet from her shower earlier. After parking and getting out, she tugged on her standard dark-blue jacket with FBI emblazoned in yellow on the back. She’d been trying to place the girl in the office who’d been killed tonight but was having difficulty. Dani was still new herself, having moved from DC only six months ago to join the local FBI unit. She’d never expected to come back home to Austin. DC was the center of the FBI world. She’d already put in thirteen good years there, working her way up the special agent ranks. But her father had grown ill over the past year, and she didn’t trust her kid brother to provide the kind of care he needed in his last days. Even at thirty-five, her brother was still a goof-off and could never seem to keep a job longer than a few months. He’d rather sit around his dumpy apartment and play video games all day.