Fatal Exchange Read Online Free PDF Page B

he’d missed. Somewhere between telling him about the ransom demands and now, Rafael had decided to take things into his own hands.
    Mason’s heart pounded at the ugly truth. He’d been here before. A no-win situation where you realize that no matter how hard you try, there is no way out. But while Rafael’s voice had sounded worried, Mason hadn’t gotten the impression he was desperate. So how had he gone from trying to save his brother to committing a felony? Panic, guilt, feelings of responsibility? At some point, something inside that boy had snapped and pushed him over the edge.
    Mason dialed a second number and gave his call sign and location before explaining to the dispatcher what he knew. Gunmanat school, at least one weapon, Dogwood Academy, probable hostage situation . . .
    A sick feeling flooded through him as he answered the dispatcher’s questions. No matter how things played out, it wasn’t going to end well for Rafael. And if the situation wasn’t contained quickly, Rafael might not be the only person caught in the crossfire.
    Avery was still at her desk, going through paperwork, by the time he’d hung up with dispatch and entered her office out of breath.
    “Did you find your friend?”
    “Yes . . . I . . . ” Mason paused in the doorway. How did he tell her that he’d made a mistake in reading someone and her sister was now being held at gunpoint? If anything happened to Emily, he’d once again be the person to blame. But that wasn’t the issue here. Emily’s life—and the students in that room—were at stake.
    “Mason.” Avery set her pen down. “What’s wrong?”
    “When I spoke with Rafael this morning, I missed something.”
    Her expression darkened. “What do you mean?”
    “I thought Rafael wanted us to help him. He called me because he trusted me, but instead of letting the police handle things, he . . . he showed up at the school a few minutes ago with a gun.”
    “You’re telling me he’s at my daughter’s school with a gun?” Avery shoved her chair back from her desk, knocking it against the back wall, and jumped up. “If there’s been a school shooting—”
    “We don’t know that. I’ve called dispatch. By now officers are heading to the scene, and the school will have already initiated their emergency procedures.”
    Mason watched Avery’s face pale. She dug her keys out ofthe side pocket of her pinstriped blazer. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
    “Rafael didn’t meet me at seven thirty like he promised.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “So you went to the school?”
    “Rafael told me he knew Emily. That she’d gone out of her way over the past few years to help him. I was hoping I could find him there. That she might have seen him this morning,”
    “But he never showed up?”
    “Not by the time I arrived, so I left and asked her to let me know if she heard from him. She called me just now, told me that he showed up for class. Then I heard her say he had a gun. He told her to lock the door. After that, we lost the connection.”
    Avery grabbed her phone and started dialing.
    “I’ve tried to call Emily back. She’s not answering her phone.”
    “So either she’s still in the classroom and he’s holding students hostage, or he’s shooting up the school.”
    Avery let the phone ring. Emily still wasn’t answering.
    He knew her sister wasn’t the only person Avery was worrying about. He tried to choose his words carefully. “Is Tess in Emily’s classroom?”
    “No.” Mason caught a sliver of relief in Avery’s eyes. “Emily teaches high school. Tess’s classes are in the middle school, which is located in a completely separate wing.”
    “That’s good.”
    Avery replaced the phone in her back pocket. “Give me a minute to brief my team, then I’ll meet you at the school.”
    Mason nodded, then walked through the precinct bullpen where her team was working. No matter what he might think about Avery on a personal level, she and her