The Promise: An Elvis Cole and Joe Pike Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

sniffs at the bath and bedroom, but slowed at the closed door. She seemed to study the door for a moment, then sank to her belly and gazed at the door. Scott saw her nostrils work, but she didn’t bark as she would if someone was in the room.
    Budress said, “Front rooms are clear. What’s she got?”
    “Dunno. What’s with the smell? Chemicals?”
    “Bleach. It’s killing my eyes.”
    Scott moved closer. Maggie glanced at him proudly and wagged her tail, but stayed on her belly. Scott had never seen her alert this way.
    Budress shouted.
    “Police. Open the door and step out. Do it
now
.”
    Scott pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing. He shrugged. Budress pointed at the door, and nodded.
    Scott threw open the door and lit up the room.
    Behind him, Budress whispered.
    “Clip her, man. Do not let her go in.”
    Scott clipped Maggie’s lead, then keyed his mike.
    “We’re in the house. Do not approach our location. I say again, do not approach.”
    The incident commander’s voice crackled from their radios.
    “What the hell? Say your situation.”
    Scott wasn’t quite sure how to say it.
    “Explosives. There’s enough explosives in here to blow up the neighborhood.”
    Scott glanced at Budress, who motioned him back.
    “Back away, Scott. Let’s back the hell out of here.”
    Scott backed from the room with his dog.

4
    Mr. Rollins
    T HE ON - AGAIN - OFF - AGAIN RAIN speckled his windshield with diamonds. The windows fogged with steam from his body, so he cranked the defroster full blast. It did nothing to wash the stink of bleach from his nose.
    Mr. Rollins sat in his car three blocks outside the perimeter, wiping rain from his face as he worked to contain his fear. It was important to play this out in a way that solved his problem.
    “You sent an idiot, Eli. The police followed him to my house.”
    “Wait. Carlos?”
    “Your idiot brought the police to my house. They have him. He’s probably ratting us out.”
    “You are high.”
    “Pray I’m high.”
    Eli’s voice grew sharper and his accent more pronounced.
    “Say something I understand. What are you talking about?”
    Mr. Rollins watched the helicopter slice the dark with its saber only a few blocks away. They were still hunting, only now they hunted for him.
    Eli’s voice was cold.
    “I am not saying this twice. Put Carlos on the phone.”
    Eli was a dangerous man, but Mr. Rollins did not fear him. Under his own name and others, Rollins had committed robberies, armed robberies, and interstate hijackings before he realized he could make more money buying and selling what others had stolen. He had three felony convictions in his past, and had served two stints in prison. He had murdered seven people including his brother-in-law, and each time he met a buyer or seller, he was prepared to do murder again. But now, he tempered his voice.
    He planned the play and worked the plan. Always.
    Rules.
    “I can’t, Eli.
Listen to me.
The police have him.”
    “You are serious?”
    “The police were chasing him. On foot, the helicopter, dogs. He was bleeding and talking crazy. I think he’s dead. I barely got away.”
    “You are serious.”
    No longer a question.
    “The house is gone. I can never go back or use it again. Everything in the house is gone. The cops have everything.”
    Now Eli sounded worried. Worried was good.
    “I need these things.”
    “Send someone better than Carlos next time.”
    “These dates will not wait. We have a timeline.”
    “Everything’s gone, Eli. I didn’t ask Carlos to bring the fucking police.”
    Rollins stopped talking so Eli could crunch the numbers. Eli hadfallen behind his timeline and would keep falling unless he replaced the things he lost and acquired the materials he still needed. He would need Mr. Rollins to do this and time was running out.
    Neither spoke for almost a minute, then Eli gave ground.
    “What of the material you tested tonight?”
    “What of it?”
    “It is as the seller