23:19
Gabe watched through a gap in a ceiling tile as Sophie’s knees gave out and she crumpled into Matt’s arms, her grief hitting him in the solar plexus, mingling with his own shock and fury.
Jesus! Hunter.
Goddamn it!
Moreno laughed about something—the filthy son of a bitch—then started toward the door, saying something to one of his men about the “puta de mierda.” He was headed back to wherever he’d stashed Holly. Poor Holly.
Was DeLuca catching this? If Moreno disappeared before they moved in...
Well, that was HRT’s problem.
Gabe’s problem was protecting Kat.
Below him, she worked through another contraction, Joaquin holding her hands, doing his best to help. Gabe had watched for what felt like hours now, helpless to do anything for her, every contraction making his chest hurt. But he was done waiting.
He did a quick count of the men in the room. The two who’d murdered Hunter hadn’t come back. One had disappeared some time ago—the one Moreno called Tavo. He hadn’t come back either. That left Moreno and two others, and right now they weren’t looking this way.
Gabe saw his chance and took it.
He checked his pistol and tucked it into its holster, then slid the ceiling tile aside, crouched down—and dropped twenty feet to the floor.
He landed beside Joaquin, who gave a startled jerk, then glared at him. “You are loco, man.”
“Thanks, Joaquin.” The man had been a rock for Kat, and Gabe wouldn’t forget it.
But he was here now.
He moved to Kat’s side, keeping his back to the rest of the room, not wanting anyone to recognize him. He’d seen what that bastard Baird had done to Marc and Sophie. He didn’t want to risk the same thing happening with him and Kat.
She was singing softly, sweat beaded on her forehead, her hair damp. She didn’t seem to know he was there.
He took one of her hands from Joaquin. “Kat, sweetheart, I’m here.”
She opened her eyes, stared up at him, then threw her arms around his neck. “I thought you were gone. I thought you were safe.”
“I never left. I’ve been up there, watching over you, for most of the time I’ve been away.” He pointed up at the missing tile. “I’m sorry I left you.”
“Not … your fault.” She settled herself against him, her brow furrowing with pain, her hand tightening around his until her knuckles were white.
Not for the first time in his life, Gabe wished he could take this from her, even if for just a little while. Nature hadn’t divided things evenly when it came to reproduction. All he could do was hold her, kiss her, tell her he loved her.
The contraction peaked, then slowly ebbed.
“It’s different this time. The pain—it’s so much more intense.” She met his gaze, her eyes clouded by fear. “What if something’s wrong with the baby?”
If he’d had any real medical gear with him, he might have been able to check for the baby’s heartbeat to reassure her, but he didn’t.
Then he heard Tuck in his earpiece.
He leaned in, whispered to Joaquin. “You should get Sophie, Matt, and Alex. Tell them to sit down. Keep it low key, casual.”
Joaquin didn’t hesitate.
Gabe brushed the hair out of Kat’s face. “In a minute, they’re going to toss flash-bang grenades into the room and take out the bad guys. There will be some big explosions and gunfire. Try not to let it scare you. You’re safe now.”
No one would touch her.
She nodded, closed her eyes, rested against him.
* * *
23:21
Pepe walked out of the Grand Ballroom, his groin growing heavy at the thought of that little slut and her big brown eyes. At least he could still get a hard-on. She hadn’t ruined him. He had a little while before his cousin arrived, and he intended to spend it using her, making her pay for what she’d tried to do to him.
Outside the doors, he stopped, glanced around him, the hair on the back of his neck rising. He had expected to see Diego and Héctor out here, standing over the SWAT captain’s body. But they weren’t here.
Neither was Hunter’s corpse.
He called for them. “Diego? Héctor!”
No answer.
On the carpet, he saw two fresh trails of blood that led to...
Diego and Héctor.
They were dead.
Pepe drew his pistol, glanced around him. “Hunter! I still have your wife! You were going to die for her, remember, you coward? Now I will kill her! Nothing you can do now will save her!”
Heart pounding, his face hot with rage, he strode backward into the Grand Ballroom, his gaze seeking out Hunter’s whore.
He saw her sitting near her pregnant friend again, three men sitting around her like guard dogs. He tried to remember her name. “Sophie Hunter!”
She turned her head to look at him, her eyes going wide.
He raised his pistol.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Explosions went off around him, the blasts making him jump, smoke filling his eyes, his lungs.
Screams. Men’s shouts. Gunfire.
¡Hijueputas!
His bowels turned to liquid, his heart pounding sickeningly in his chest, panic scattering his thoughts. Still, somehow he knew.
They were trying to free the hostages.
¡Dios mío! ¡Dios mío! ¡Dios mío!
Men swarmed over the room, weapons raised.
He jammed his hand into his pocket, drew out the detonator.
Something punched him in the chest. His legs turned to water beneath him, and he fell to the floor, pressure making it impossible to breathe.
He’d been shot!
Holy Mother of God!
The hijueputas had killed him. He was going to die. He and all his men were going to die. No, they were all going to die together—every last person here.
He looked over at his hand—strange that he couldn’t feel it—and willed his thumb to push the button.
Nothing.
Someone kicked the device from his grasp, the spiky heel of a woman’s shoe coming down on his palm, nailing his hand to the floor.
The little slut stood looking down at him, loathing in her eyes. “Enjoy hell, you son of a bitch.”
He opened his mouth, but no words came out, only a gurgling sound.
And then…
Darkness.
14
Chapter Fourteen
23:30
Reece raised his head, saw that Moreno was dead, men in black tactical uniforms moving through the room. He sat, drew Kara up with him. “Are you okay?”
God knew she’d been through enough tonight.
She nodded, but then her brows drew together in a concerned frown. She pressed a finger to his right cheek. “You’re bleeding.”
“A fragment from one of the stun grenades must have caught me. Secretary Holmes, are you okay?”
She sat a few feet away from him, clearly trying to gather herself together. She nodded. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“Madam Secretary, Lt. Governor Sheridan, Mrs. Sheridan, I’m Special Agent Brad Tucker. If you could go with SA Evers here, we’d like to have the EMTs evaluate you and then evacuate you from the building.”
Reece got to his feet, then gave Kara a hand, while SA Tucker helped Secretary Holmes to her feet. He held out his hand first to Tucker and then Evers. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
“I promised a friend, the man who was just killed, that I’d watch over his wife.” Reece still couldn’t believe Hunter was gone. “She comes with us.”
SA Evers grinned. “You’ll be happy to know Hunter’s okay.”
“What?” Kara’s eyes went wide.
“He’s alive?” Reece asked.
“We just found that out ourselves.” Evers pointed toward the doors. “See?”
Hunter entered the ballroom, a hard look on his face, his gaze moving
over the room searching for Sophie.
Reece felt a dark weight lift off his chest. “That son of a bitch!”
Kara smiled, gave a laugh. “Oh, thank God!”
“He certainly has courage,” Secretary Holmes said.
“Yes, ma’am, he does,” SA Evers said. “Now, if you could please follow me.”
Reece realized the agents wouldn’t start clearing everyone else until they were safely away. He wrapped his arm around Kara’s shoulder and followed Evers, who led them through the main doors and down the stairs, where they were checked over.
“I think you ought to be seen in the ER,” one of the EMTs told Kara. “It’s possible you could have a concussion or a fractured cheek.”
But Kara shook her head. “I just want to go home.”
Evers escorted them out into the cold night, where an armored Mercedes limousine waited for them, part of a high-security motorcade. He waited for Secretary Holmes and Kara to get inside the vehicle, then climbed in behind them, sitting beside Kara and across from Secretary Holmes.
“My wrap,” Kara said as they drove away.
“Our car.” Reece grinned. He took off his tux jacket and draped it around her shoulders to keep her warm.
“Let’s turn up the heat.” Secretary Holmes pushed buttons on a control panel, then lit up a cigarette, her hands shaking. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Normally, Reece would mind, but tonight…
Then Secretary Holmes took an iPhone out of its charging slot, dialed a number. “Mr. President, it’s over. Yes, thank you. I’m fine. They’re taking me back to my hotel now. I can’t be certain, but it seemed to me that all the hostages were rescued safely. HRT did its job well—with some inside help and good local support.” She smiled at Reece. “Sheridan and his wife are also safe. Sheridan handled himself admirably under pressure, sir. His courage and ingenuity helped save lives tonight.”
She chatted with the president for a few more minutes, then called Ambassador DeLacy and had a similar conversation with him, the lights of Denver’s streets sliding past the limo’s tinted windows.
Kara nestled against his shoulder, her fingers lacing through his.
Reece wanted nothing more than to get her safely home. “How’s your head?”
“It’s okay. I’m fine—just tired, really.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the ER?”
“I just want to go home and hug the stuffing out of the kids. My mom must be worried out of her mind.”
“Yeah.” Reece gave her fingers a squeeze.
Secretary Holmes’ hotel wasn’t far from the Palace. She shook Kara’s hand and then Reece’s, thanked them both. “I’ve got my eye on you, Sheridan.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
She spoke to the driver. “Take them anywhere they want to go.”
Reece gave the driver their address.
He touched his fingertips to the swelling on Kara’s cheek. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop him. I just didn’t see it coming.”
He was also sorry that he hadn’t gotten a chance to take a swing at Moreno before HRT had ended his life. But the bastard was dead. That was something.
“Stop apologizing.” Kara shifted in his arms, looked up at him. “I have never been more proud of anyone than I was of you tonight.”
That hit him right in the chest. “Yeah?”
“You stood up to that bastard again and again, trying to protect me, Secretary Holmes, Holly, Sophie, Marc. You tried to protect all of us. I’m so glad he didn’t shoot you just to shut you up.”
“Or you.” Reece kissed her forehead, tension he’d carried all night leaving him at an emotional edge.
The limo pulled up to their house.
Reece stepped out, took Kara’s hand, walked with her to the front door, where Lily McMillan, Kara’s mother, was waiting for them.
“Oh, my God! Are you okay? I’ve been watching the news. They haven’t announced that it’s over. Did you escape? Oh … What happened to your face?”
“I’m so glad to be home.” Kara hugged her mother, Jakey, their old black lab sniffing around their feet, tail wagging.
Behind Lily stood Connor, Caitlyn, and Brendan, looking solemn.
“What happened, Dad?” Connor asked.
Caitlyn held fast to her teddy bear. “Why does Mommy have a black eye?”
“It’s a long story.” Reece hugged Connor, who was now 14, then drew both Caitlyn, 8, and Brendan, 7, into his arms. “Your grandma let you stay up this late?”
“Well, I figured …” Lily started to defend herself, then stopped, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re safe. Did they get the bastards?”
“Oh, yes,” Reece answered, not wanting to say more in front of the kids.
Kara smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks. She held out her arms to the children. “Come here. Oh, I missed you. For a while tonight, I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
Reece’s throat went tight.
* * *
23:32
“We need everyone to stay down.” Tuck’s voice carried above the tumult. “We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can. We know you’ve had a long night and want to go home. But we need to clear you and get those who need medical attention out the door first. Hey, Schroder, can you give Rossiter’s wife a hand? She is our first priority.”
“I’m on it.”
All of it was just background noise to Marc. He pushed his way through the room, looking for Sophie. He found her sitting near Kat, Matt’s arm around her shoulders, the sight of her like a fist to his gut. She looked devastated, confused, her face tear-stained, grief and shock plain on her face. He called to her. “Sophie!”
It was Joaquin who heard him. “Hunter? Madre de ... ”
Sophie’s head jerked around. Her eyes went wide. “Hunt?”
She jumped to her feet, ran to him, and threw herself into his arms, her body trembling. “Oh, Hunt!”
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” He held her hard against him, kissed her hair, her forehead, the feel of her in his arms making him whole again.
She looked up at him, her fingertips tracing his forehead, his cheekbones, his jawline, tears glittering in her eyes. “I-I thought you were …”
“So did I.” He found it hard to speak, his throat tight, a riot of raw emotions inside him. “God, Sophie.”
“Is it really over?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank God.”
And for a moment, they stood there, Marc only vaguely aware of what was happening around them.
“Hunter?” Darcangelo’s surprised voice came from behind him.
Marc looked over his shoulder, saw Darcangelo staring at him as if he were a ghost. “Hey, buddy.”
Marc released Sophie, reached to shake Darcangelo’s hand, and found himself snatched up in a crushing hug. And damned if Marc didn’t hug him right back, the two of them holding each other tight.
“I thought you were …” Darcangelo slapped him on the back a few times, then stepped away, a suspicious sheen in his eyes. “I was looking for your body, but … Yeah … You look pretty good for a dead man.”
“I see you’re running with HRT these days.”
“Someone had to save your ass.”
Marc chuckled. “That someone was Holly.”
“What?” Sophie and Darcangelo said almost in unison.
“I was on my knees with the two of them behind me, and I thought it was over. It took a second after the shot was fired for me to realize I wasn’t the one who’d been hit. Holly had come up behind them. She took out one. Andris took out the other.”
Sophie called across the room to her. “Holly!”
Holly stood near Moreno's body talking with Tuck, Andris beside her. She looked over at them, smiled, her left cheek bruised and swollen.
“Thank you!” Sophie mouthed.
Holly blew her a kiss, smiled.
And then Joaquin, Matt, and Alex w
ere there.
Joaquin clapped Marc on the shoulder. “Glad to see you’re okay, man.”
“Thanks.” Marc reached for Matt’s hand, shook it. “I know what you did for Sophie. I want to thank you. That took a lot of courage. I won’t forget it.”
“Yeah, bro, that took balls,” Joaquin said.
Matt looked embarrassed. “I’m just glad you’re both safe.”
“Excuse us. Coming through.”
Marc looked behind him to see two EMTs with a gurney. They’d come for Kat.
“Oh, thank God,” Sophie said. “Poor Kat. I can’t imagine how horrible this has been for her. She’s been so brave.”
Marc wiped the tears off Sophie’s cheeks with his thumbs. “You’ve been pretty damned brave yourself.”
Seeing her stand up to Moreno had taken a few years off Marc’s life.
“I don’t know about that.” Weariness seemed to wash over Sophie, the aftermath of shock and adrenaline, and she started to babble. “We should call Tessa, tell her what’s happened, let her know we’re going to be late.”
“She knows.”
Sophie went on. “We need to get you to a hospital, and I should help Kat or go in to the office and help Tom get a package of articles ready for tomorrow’s front page. I know he’s going to want to—”
“Sophie,” Marc said, cupping her face in his hands, “you’ve done enough. Kat is with her husband, two EMTs, and HRT’s medic. We’re going to wait to be cleared, and then we’ll head over to pick up the kids.”
Then he remembered she didn’t know about Addy. “Addy has an ear infection.”
“What? Oh! God. Poor thing!”
“Schroder, the medic over there, paid a house call and took her antibiotics and eardrops. Tessa has taken great care of her.”
“How do you know all this?”
He told her about his cell phone contact with Irving and Darcangelo and how Andris and Tower had arrived in one of Cobra’s helicopters and they’d all gotten patched into HRT’s coms.
“Hey, Hunter. I’m glad to see you upright and breathing.” Tuck shook first Marc’s hand and then Sophie’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I’m Tuck.”