The big blond shoved it away with his left shoulder and rushed at Nic again slashing the vibrating blade of the saw in wide arcs. One of the slashes caught Nic on the left arm, and he screamed as the blade chewed into his flesh. Luckily, he was able to back up before the next swing took off his head.

Searching for any weapon of his own and still unable to find his pistol in the darkened room, Nic snatched a two-by-four from a pile against the wall and swung it at the big Australian.

The blond simply ducked his head and raised his shoulder, absorbing the blow as the board splintered and broke in two. Then he was coming at Nic again with the swinging arcs of the saw.

Nic saw a Paslode framing nailer sitting inside an orange case, and hoping that the battery was still in the device, he picked it up, ducked beneath the Australian’s next swing, and grabbed the saw by its base. Then he jammed the framing nailer into the muscular blond’s stomach and squeezed the trigger of the gun in rapid succession.

The Australian screamed in agony as the nails penetrated his flesh, but the guy must have been part crocodile because he shook away the pain and attacked with another head-butt and a knee to Nic’s groin.

Nic doubled over in pain and caught a left-handed uppercut to the jaw that sent him flying onto his back amid the scattered tools, sawdust, and blood.

The wild-eyed Australian raised the Sawzall up like he was Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Nic was on his back with nowhere to go, blocked by sawhorses on his left and a pile of OSB sheeting on his right.

He reached out to try and slide one of the pieces of sheeting off the stack and use it as a shield, but as he saw the vibrating blade coming toward him, he knew that he would be too late.

A loud blast cut through the churning metal whir of the saw, and the Australian’s head jerked with the impact of a bullet. He fell to his knees, his finger releasing from the saw’s trigger and the room going silent.

Nic fought to catch his breath and wiped the sweat and sawdust from his eyes. Looking up toward the balcony, he saw Carter rush forward to the edge, his gun up and ready.

But who had shot the big blond maniac?

Nic sat up and looked over his shoulder just as August Burke walked up to him, stepping in between the mess of tools and lumber. Burke cocked his head at the dead man, and then he lightly tossed the Sig Sauer onto Nic’s lap. Then Burke headed toward the stairs leading back up to where Nic had fallen from.

Over his shoulder, Burke said, “Told you I needed a gun.”

Chapter 90

When Nic stumbled his way back up the stairs to the room of Carl Verbeek’s violent interrogation, he discovered two things. Carter had captured the woman with the hammer. She was now on her knees with her hands in cuffs behind her back. That was the good news.