Count to Ten

No gas filled the air yet. Either Kates was still preparing or he was waiting to spring his trap. She sca

"Help me." It was really two muffled grunts from behind the gag, but A

Mia put her finger to her lips. Then she pulled a knife from the block on the counter and prepared to cut her mother's bonds. With one less hostage, she could focus on Jeremy. She'd taken a step toward the chair when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Put the knife down, Detective."

Even though she'd mentally prepared herself for exactly this sight, Mia's heart froze. Jeremy stood trembling in front of Kates, one of Kates's gloved hands in his sandy red hair and Kates's long shiny blade at his throat. Jeremy's freckles jumped out from his white face. His eyes were terrified and… full of desperate trust.

"You've seen what my knife can do, Detective," Kates said smoothly. "So has the boy. Haven't you, Jeremy?" She watched his fingers tighten in Jeremy's hair, watched Jeremy's small jaw tighten as he struggled to control his own fear. "Put down the knife."

Mia set the knife down, hilt out so she could grab it quickly if the opportunity arose.

"And the gun." He yanked Jeremy to his toes. "Now. Kick it over here."

Again she complied, and her gun went sliding across the kitchen floor.

"Mia." It was Spi

One flick of Kates's wrist and Jeremy would die. The snipers couldn't fire until Jeremy was clear. She had to get him to let Jeremy go first.

"Don't hurt the boy." She didn't plead, didn't command. "He's done nothing to you."

Kates laughed. "He has and we all know it, don't we, Jeremy? He told you I'd been there. Led you to my things."

"No, he didn't. We found the house on our own. Jeremy said nothing."

"Impossible."

"Truth. We found the car you ditched the night you killed Brooke Adler. It had an aftermarket GPS you didn't see."

His eyes flickered. He was a

"You like animals. You let out the cat and dog before you set the houses on fire."

His jaw cocked. "I'll repeat the question. So?"

"And you had access to curare. We checked vet clinics and pet shops and their employees in a one mile radius of the car we found. And we found Mrs. Lukowitch."

His mouth flattened to a line. "And she told. I wish I'd killed the bitch myself."

"No. She lied. But not well and that made us suspicious. We found your stash the old-fashioned way, Kates. Good detective work and a search warrant. Jeremy said nothing. Let him go." Kates stood still as stone. "He's only seven. He's i

The hand that held the knife tightened on the hilt. "Don't say his name." Kates's chin came up, eyes narrowing. "I don't recall seeing a single sweater like that in your closet. I only remember those clingy shirts that you wear to show off your breasts because you're a tease. You're wearing a vest. Take off the sweater, Detective. Now."

"Mia, keep the vest on," Spi

"Take off the sweater or the boy dies right in front of your eyes."

"Mia." Spi

Tears were welling in Jeremy's eyes. But he never wavered. Never whimpered. Kates's brows lifted. "I cut Thompson's head nearly off his body. Jeremy is so much… smaller. You want that on your conscience, Mitchell?" He pulled Jeremy's head back and the steely look of determination in his eyes left Mia with absolutely no doubt he'd make good on his threat.

"All right."

"Mia!" Spi

Kates's lips curved. "Now the vest."

"Goddammit, Mia. Do not take off that vest. That's an order."

Her fingers were steady as she pulled at the Velcro. "You protected Shane, Andrew. You sacrificed yourself to Tyler Young to keep him safe." She was pulling at the Kevlar vest slowly, strip by Velcro strip, hoping to make headway before she was completely at his mercy.

"I told you not to say his name." He straightened abruptly and Jeremy sucked in a breath as he stood on his toes.

Mia wanted to beg, but kept her voice calm. "I'm sorry. I know it hurt you to lose him. I know you've been paying back that hurt all week." Her fingers had paused on one of the last remaining Velcro strips. Kates's eyes were fixed on hers. She was getting through. "But I also know that it all started when Jeff and Ma

Anger flashed in Kates's eyes. "You don't know shit." He clenched his teeth. "Take off the damn vest. Now, before this kid's blood runs like a river."

Damn. Her fingers pulled at the last strip. The vest hung loosely on her body now. "I know more than you think I do, Andrew. I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of the same sacrifice you made for your brother. My sister did the same for me."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. My father molested my sister and she didn't fight back so that I could have a normal life. I live daily with the guilt that I didn't protect her. So I understand more than you think, Andrew. You don't want to hurt this child. Your beef is with me. All along you've punished the people who've hurt you." Except for his mistakes, but she'd keep him focused. "You've never hurt a child before. Don't start now."

He stood, uncertain. Sensing victory, she pressed.

"Your beef is with me, Andrew," she repeated. "I'm the one who found your real name, found you. I'm the one who took your stuff. I'm the one who's trying to stop you. Not the boy. Let him go. Take me instead."

At the top of the basement stairs, on the other side of the door, Reed listened. His heart sank, even though it was what he'd expected her to do from the moment he'd heard the words "Put down the knife, Detective." He'd had his hand on the doorknob, ready to run to her aid when he heard Kates threaten the boy with his knife. Reed had stood, his own weapon in his hand, waiting for the right moment. She'd get him to release the child, of that Reed had no doubt. At what cost to herself, he didn't want to consider. Kates had been silent a long time, then he spoke. "I could kill you both."

Mia considered Andrew Kates carefully, made herself logically process all that she'd learned over the last week. "You could. But I don't think you will." He was a man who for ten years buried the fact that he'd killed his own brother. He would readily accept what he found more palatable than the truth. "You spared Joe Dougherty a painful death. You spared the animals. You've punished those who deserved your anger. Pe

She took another tack. "If you kill this child, I'll fight and kill you myself. None of the women you killed this week are trained like I am. You read the article in the paper. I took down a man twice your size all by myself a week ago today. You may kill me, but you won't walk away, either. I promise you that. Let him go and I won't fight you."