We say goodbye to everyone outside the hospital, and I promise to text updates regularly. Kade and Eva drive us back to Kev’s, and I’ve never been more grateful for peace and quiet. After I grab a quick shower, I run a bath for Kev, making him some mac and cheese while he’s cleaning up. We eat in silence and then head to bed, and I fall asleep quickly, enveloped in Kev’s warm, strong arms.
The next morning, Kev’s delighted when the ringing in his ears has faded and he wastes no time arranging a meeting with his team at the FBI building. Both of us are anxious to find out what happened after we left. All we know is his boss assigned a couple of agents to watch over our place last night, and I’ve avoided thinking about the reasons why.
A couple hours later and we understand the gravity of the situation.
“Unfortunately, Daniel Stanten is in the wind,” SSA Clement explains once we are both seated around the conference table. The full team is here, and the expression on everyone’s face is solemn.
“How the fuck did he get away?” Kev barks. “You said your team at the warehouse would bring him in.”
“That was the plan, but Stanten’s men opened fire the instant the team arrived. It was an ambush, and we lost three of our agents in the exchange of fire. During that time, Stanten fled, and it’s clear it was a diversion executed purely so he could escape.”
“Fuck it.” Kev sighs, and a pained look stretches across his face. I reach under the table, giving his thigh a reassuring squeeze.
“How much can we assume Dan knows?” I ask, feeling remarkably calm despite the obvious threat.
“We have to assume he knows you were involved in this. I’m sorry, Cheryl. The risk to your life is considerable, and the offer of witness protection still stands. You can go into hiding, and we’ll keep you safe until he’s in custody.”
“And what if you never capture him?” I ask, eyeballing him.
“Then you can’t ever come back.”
Silence descends on the room, and Kev’s entire body is tense. I place my hand on his arm, his muscles rigid under the tips of my fingers. “Kev?”
His eyes lock on mine, and unspoken words pass between us. “If it comes down to that, I’ll go with you.”
The SSA clears his throat. “I don’t think that’ll be possible.” He shoots him an apologetic look. “You’re too recognizable and too well-known to just disappear. You would only place her in danger.”
“Then we’ll take our chances here,” I supply, threading my fingers through Kev’s. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“Cheryl.” Kev’s voice is choked, and I watch the inner battle play out on his face.
I speak up before he says what’s on his mind. “No.” My tone carries considerable weight. “We’re not being separated again. We will stay here and put additional precautions in place. We have the resources to do it. Dan is not taking me away from everyone I love. And I believe in you.” I pin Kev with a confident look. “I trust you to find him and to keep me safe.”
Uncaring that we’re surrounded by his colleagues, Kev pulls me onto his lap. “Are you sure?” he whispers in my ear. “This isn’t something that should be decided lightly.”
“I’m one hundred percent sure, and I’ve already given it lots of thought. I understood it might come to this.” I cup his face, gazing into his gorgeous blue eyes. “We’re in this together, babe. Always.”
He nods, and I visibly see determination and confidence return as he holds his head up, and resolve appears in his eyes.
“I have a suggestion,” the SSA says, and we both give him our attention. “You graduate this week, right?”
I nod. “The ceremony is on Wednesday.”
“Why don’t you two go abroad for a while? You have the resources and contacts to hire a full security detail,” he tells Keven. “Get out of the country and lay low while we track this bastard down. You can continue to work remotely, and we can conference you into briefings.”
“What do you think?” Kev asks me.
I smile, instantly feeling some of the stress lift. “I’m thinking Europe sounds good. Plenty of amazing photo opportunities.”
He runs a hand up and down my spine. “Okay, let’s do it. We can make plans tonight.”
The next few days are a hive of activity. Keven is making arrangements with his boss so he can work remotely from wherever we are. We’re planning on spending the summer in Europe and moving around. It will make it harder if Dan, or his father, sends someone after us. We leave for Italy on Friday, and I’m so excited at the prospect of getting to photograph the Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the sites at Pompeii, the stunning cathedrals and architecture of Rome, the waterways of Venice, and so many other stunning locations.
Kev has hired a full team of private bodyguards to travel with us at enormous expense, and he’s also reached out to some organization Kade made contact with last year who specializes in protecting expats overseas. I’ve called my parents and explained the situation, and Kev has assigned bodyguards to each member of my family, and Lin as well, in case Dan makes any move against them.
The SSA feels it’s unlikely we are on Dan’s radar right now—he has more pressing problems, like the international warrant that’s been issued for his arrest—but I’m not naïve enough to assume he’ll let this go. If the Feds don’t capture him, he will come for me, but we’ll be protected and ready, and we have the backing of the FBI behind us so I’m not feeling as scared as I was in the first few hours after everything went down at the house.
I still can’t believe Dan bought that house purely for the tunnel infrastructure. All week, the major news channels have splashed pictures of the house, cordoned off with rows of tape, the street outside crammed with FBI and DEA vehicles, and agents swarming the property as they confiscate all the contraband discovered in the warehouse. Drugs with a street value of more than twenty million dollars have been seized along with box loads of weapons. The Feds found the underground tunnel Dan was using to transport the goods directly to the warehouse. The entrance was on that slip road Kev’s boss mentioned, cleverly concealed behind a fake wall.
I can’t believe I fell for someone like that. That he fooled me so thoroughly. And I’m glad Kev came back into my life, helping me to open my eyes before I made the biggest mistake of my life. I’d like to think I would have called the wedding off anyway. Things hadn’t been right between Dan and me for months, but I shudder at the thought I could’ve ended up in a loveless marriage to a gangster with no easy way out.
“I wish we could go with you,” Eva says later that day as we chat over a late lunch in a coffee shop a few blocks from Sara’s studio. Both our bodyguards stand guard just outside the window, clearly visible from our table.
“I’d love that too,” I admit, stirring my coffee with a spoon. “But it’s far too dangerous, and Kev says it’d be harder to move around unnoticed with a larger group.”
“Maybe we could fly out for a week and join you somewhere,” she muses.
A shrill female scream outside has both of us looking up in concern. Butterflies invade my chest in a nanosecond, and adrenaline courses through my veins as Eva and I share anxious looks. All the blood leaches from her face as she glances over my shoulder. She reaches into her bag as I turn around in time to watch both bodyguards slump to the ground. I’m scrambling for my bag when an ear-shattering explosion rocks the small coffee shop.
High-pitched screaming echoes around us as the lights go out, and thick plumes of dark smoke sweep through the room in oxygen-restricting waves. Chunks of debris drop from the ceiling, falling on top of us. Something heavy hits me in the cheek, and a sharp sting slices across my skin. I drop to my knees the same moment Eva does, and we scuttle under the table together. Her hands are trembling as she rummages in her bag. My eyes burn, and my lungs throb as I cough repeatedly. Reaching out, I stretch my fingers as far as I c
an, grasping the strap of my bag and pulling it toward me.
I’ve just curled my fingers around my cell when I’m yanked out from under the table with force. A meaty arm slides around my neck from behind, keeping me in a chokehold. I can’t see who’s restraining me, but the butt of a gun prodding into my back tells me all I need to know.
“Hello, Cheryl. Mr. Stanten would like a word with you,” a gruff voice says, nudging me forward, keeping a tight hold around my neck as I struggle to breathe. “Come willingly, and you won’t get hurt. Try anything, and you and your pretty friend here will pay the price.”
Chapter 26
Keven
I’m boxing up my things at work when I get the call. “Turn on the TV,” Kade barks out. “Do it now, Kev, and please tell me that isn’t the coffee shop the girls were having lunch at.” Ice replaces the blood in my veins as I race across the room and turn on CNN, watching the news footage in horror.
“Fuck!” My shout reverberates around the room, drawing my colleagues’ attention. Agent Cunningham gets up from her workstation, crossing to me in an instant. “I just received notification, and a team is on its way to the site, along with bomb disposal experts.”
Black smoke billows out of the coffee shop, or what remains of it. The two large windows in front are completely open, shattered glass littering the sidewalk outside. The entrance to the shop has been blown wide open. Police tape cordons off the area, and several prone bodies line the area outside, draped in protective sheeting to protect the horrors from the crowds of bystanders who have congregated outside.
“Keven!!” My brother yells down the phone, reminding me he’s still there.
“That was the place,” I say in a scarily calm voice, walking urgently back to my desk, conscious that I’m ignoring whatever else Sinead is saying.
“Fucking hell, Kev. I can’t get Eva or Rick on their cells. I’ve been trying repeatedly.”
“Calm down. I’m checking their trackers right now.” I say it, and I may look it, but I feel anything but calm on the inside. My fingers fly over the keyboard as I tap into my home surveillance system via VPN and pull up Eva’s and Cheryl’s trackers. “Both their cells are still at the coffee shop, but they’re on the move.” Thank God, I had the foresight to give all my family tracker chips for their shoes. The girls’ trackers confirm they are super close to the airport, and I don’t need to be a genius to figure it out.
“That means they’re still alive, right?” My brother’s frantic plea filters down the line.
“I hope so.” I don’t want to think about the alternatives. Shutting off my emotions is hard, but I’m of no use to Cheryl if I fall apart, so I compartmentalize, pushing my feelings away and looking at this objectively. My brain races like a computer as I scrabble a plan together. “They’re close to the airport, so it’s safe to assume he’s taking them out of the state. Call Dad, Kyler, and Brad, and meet me at the private hangar at Logan. Tell Dad to get the plane ready, and I’ll advise him of a destination as soon as I know where they’re taking them.”
I cut the call, pulling up the surveillance app on my phone and watching the little red marker as it moves. They’ve just pulled into the entrance for the airport, so I hack into the air traffic controller system scouring through all private flight plans.
“The coffee shop was a diversion to get to Cheryl?” Sinead surmises, materializing at my side.
“Looks that way. They have Eva too.”
“Fuck. What do you need me to do?”
“Call the SSA.” It’s fucking shitty timing with the boss and the rest of the team out on an op. “They’re at the airport, and I’m trying to locate their flight.” I glance up at her briefly. “And can you call someone on the ground at the coffee shop for visual confirmation.” Before I set this in motion, I need to ensure the girls aren’t injured or lying dead back there. Bile floods my mouth even thinking the thought, and the trackers don’t lie, so I’m sure they’re not there, but I need to check. Sinead hurries back to her desk with her cell glued to her ear. My next call is to Paul, and he confirms he can’t reach his men. It’s safe to assume both bodyguards have been incapacitated, but he’s going to check out the coffee shop and call me once he’s there.
I sit down, scanning through all the documented flight plans, as I keep an eye on the app. The trackers in the girl’s shoes haven’t moved in the last few minutes which I’m guessing means they’re on a plane. I pull up the list of approved planes for takeoff and find two private aircraft due to leave shortly. Snapping a pic of the flight details, I grab my jacket and jump up, stopping by Sinead’s desk before I leave.
She’s just ending a call as I approach. “I’ve good and bad news,” she says, standing. “The girls aren’t at the coffee shop, and a witness reported them leaving with two men shortly before local cops arrived on the scene.”
I’m hoping that’s the bad news, but no such luck.
“The bad news is the New York operation was a bust, and the team is on their way back, but the SSA said their ETA is two hours. However, he’s placing a few calls to see what backup he can secure. He said you’re to hold tight until he has a team in place.”
Not fucking likely.
There’s no way I’m cooling my jets here while Stanten has kidnapped Cheryl.
“Yeah, so not happening.”
I spin around, but she clamps a hand on my elbow. “You could get kicked out for this.”
“I give zero fucks. He has her, Sinead, and I’m not fucking sitting here waiting for a team when Cheryl’s life is at stake.”
“What are you planning?”
“I know where they’re headed and I’m going after them.” I send her a copy of my screenshots. “There are two private planes scheduled to leave Logan International shortly. It’s one of them. Can you make some calls and see if you can delay both departures until I get there?”
“I’m on it. Go.” She jerks her head to the side. “Good luck and keep me updated. I’ll send backup as soon as I can.”
Paul calls me when I’m battling busy Thursday afternoon traffic en route to the airport. He confirms both bodyguards are dead from fatal bullet wounds to the head. According to police, a shooter took them out from the high-rise building across the street. They didn’t even get a chance to protect their marks. He chatted to the bomb experts, and they confirmed a small incendiary device was detonated from outside the shop. A bunch of people is being treated for minor injuries, and one civilian lost his life from a massive coronary brought on by the detonation.
This was a carefully planned and executed operation, and it leads me to believe Stanten’s had eyes on Cheryl for quite some time. I’ve no clue how he managed to do it right under my nose, and I hate that he appears to be one step ahead of me.
I race across the asphalt to Dad’s plane, climbing the stairs two at a time. Ky, Kade, and Brad all look up as I race inside the cabin, bypassing them and heading straight for the cockpit.
“The flight plan is logged, and you have a takeoff window in fifteen minutes,” I say.
“It’ll be tight, but I’ll do it,” Dad confirms, flicking a row of buttons on the dash.
“You still have that box on board I gave you?” I ask, and he nods. Call it pessimistic or forward thinking, but I had a feeling we’d need easy access to weapons one day, so I stashed a box of guns in the secure hold all, hidden underneath a fake panel.
“I brought it up to the cabin but told the others not to touch it until you arrived.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He clamps a hand on my arm. “We’ll get her back, Keven. Both of them.”
I give him a curt nod before heading back to the cabin. “What’s going on, Kev?” Kade asks, dragging a hand through his hair, strain clearly evident in his tone and in his pinched features
“All I know is they’re on a private plane headed for Texas. One o
f my colleagues tried to stop it from leaving, but we were too late. They took off forty minutes ago.”
“Fucking hell.” Kade slumps into a seat, cradling his head in his hands.
I squeeze his shoulder. “We’re going to get the girls back, and so help me God, if that bastard has laid a hand on either one of them, I’ll kill him stone fucking dead.”
“Not if I kill him first,” Kade growls.
I turn to Brad and Kyler as the plane starts moving down the runway. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, we do,” Kyler snaps, looking pissed. “If this was Faye or Rachel, you’d be the first one jumping to the rescue. Cheryl and Eva are family, and we’re not leaving you two to handle this alone.”
“You sure, man?” I know I told Kade to bring them, but I really wouldn’t hold it against either of them if they wanted to back out. I deliberately didn’t mention the triplets because they’re too young to get involved in this shit, and Kent would be more of a liability than an asset.
“We’re sure,” Brad replies. “And we know how to handle ourselves.”
I know they do. All my brothers are skilled with guns. Because of the environment we grew up in, Mom and Dad felt it was important we knew how to protect ourselves. None of us are strangers at the firing range, and we’re all competent with weapons. Brad too. That doesn’t mean we’re evenly matched with Stanten’s hired guns, but we’ll put up a good fight.
The plane slows down, and I crane my head out the side window as Dad’s voice comes over the intercom. “We have company, Keven.”
“Get the door,” I shout at Kade, a big grin spreading across my mouth as I watch the four FBI agents racing toward us. Dad stops the plane, and Kade opens the door.
I step down, greeting Sinead on the runway. “I couldn’t let you do this alone,” she huffs out. “Clement will be pissed, but he’s hardly going to fire all of us.” She gestures at the three men behind her, quickly introducing them. I know if Wentward, Higgins, and Mead were here, and not on their way home from a busted op, they’d be here too, and it feels good to have a team at my side.
Forgiving Keven: A Stand-Alone Second Chance Romance Page 21
