"Let her go," she said through gritted teeth.

Or what? he taunted.

The words sent a chill down her back. "If you hurt her--"

"Youre too late."

Nicky kneed him in the gut, and he let out a wheeze as he dropped her wrists. Nicky quickly regained her balance and moved her gun with lightning speed. She pointed it right at Franks chest. He froze, but a smirk tugged at his lips that made Nickys blood burn.

"You're not gonna shoot me, he said. Youre some sort of cop. You cant just kill me. Go ahead and put me in jail, but you wont shoot.

Wanna bet? Nicky wanted to say. But she kept it in. He was rightshe couldnt go around murdering suspects if they didnt pose a direct threat to her life or others. But there were some things she could do: "I'll shoot you through the leg if you come any closer, she threatened.

His eyes flicked to the right, where his own gun had landed. Nicky ground her teeth.

Dont, she warned.

But he didnt listen. He dove right for the gun.

Nicky didn't hesitate.

POP!

Her bullet flew through the air with deadly velocity, hitting the man dead-center in his chest. No! She hadnt been going for the kill shotbut she realized, by the way he grabbed at his chest and collapsed to the ground, that she had gone too far.

He went limp on the floor, his eyes glossed over, unseeing.

Nicky swallowed the sick feeling down her throat and crouched next to the body. Her eyes fell onto the man's hands as she turned him over to click on the Maglite. His body was still warm when she touched his neck, but there was no pulse. No breath. She'd killed him.

Nicky's breath came in short bursts. She knew about the people who did all kinds of things to victims--kidnapping, rape, murder--and she'd be lying if she said she felt bad about this one. This guy had been keeping Masie for over a year. Who knows what he had done to her in that time?

But still. Nicky hadnt been planning on taking a life today, and it made her head spin. This was the job. She'd known what she signed up for, and she could never let fear get the best of her.

Now, she had to find Masie.

Going back into the hall, she checked the next room with the Maglite. To her surprise, there was nothing in the room except for a dirty old mattress. But there was a smell in the house. Now that her adrenaline was high, Nicky could feel it.

Something wasn't right.

She hurried down the hall and pushed open the door to the bathroom--her heart sank. The smell was coming from inside the room. She stepped inside and shone the light around the dark roomand her gaze landed on a small, pale body lying on the floor. Nicky took a step closer.