Her pulse pounded, but Forge’s heart thudded a steady rhythm against her left shoulder. She recalled Kent explaining how people like Forge did not experience a physical fight-or-flight response when faced with imminent danger.
She could be unpredictable, but Forge had the advantages of ruthlessness and rock-solid nerves.
Panic was the enemy, and she could not succumb. She had accomplished her objective. Selena was safe. Whatever happened next, Nina could die knowing no one else had paid the price for Forge’s obsession. It would end here and now. When she made her move, he would pull the trigger, but those outside would do the same.
Forge had intended to kill her twenty-eight years ago. She had been destined to die with her parents that day. Fate had intervened in the form of Carmen Cardona, who had discarded her and counted her as dead. Twice, she had escaped what seemed to have been preordained for her.
With a sudden rush of clarity, Nina realized she had been living her entire life on borrowed time. Now the moment had arrived when her story reached its end.
Destiny had finally caught up to her.
Chapter 58
At least she would have sacrificed herself for something worthy. Selena and her baby would go on. Teresa would not have to bury her daughter and granddaughter as she had buried her sister and the ashes of the baby she thought was her niece.
Nina was new to both families. An outsider they barely knew. They would heal and move on. The thought absolved her of any guilt for what she was about to do.
Forge’s breath blew hot against her ear as he spoke. “Move.”
She let him force her forward. The glass doors hissed open at their approach. The wide expanse of concrete in front of the building was empty. If she didn’t know otherwise, she would assume it was deserted.
He gave her another shove and she stepped over the threshold. Instantly, her earpiece crackled to life. Apparently, Forge’s jamming device only worked inside the building.
A burst of static resolved into a clear transmission. “Repeat. Agent Guerrera, if you copy, stomp your left foot.”
She had never appreciated how wonderful Buxton’s voice sounded until that moment. Pretending to stumble, she lifted her left knee and brought her boot down hard. Forge—head on a swivel, trying to spot the police—merely pushed her ahead again.
“I want a car,” he called out.
The words reverberated off the walls of the buildings around them, the last echoes dying into silence.
Nina let out a contemptuous laugh. “They’re not going to give you a car.”
“Then you’re about to sustain some serious bodily injury,” he said to her, then shouted, “Bring a car around to the front of the building. Now.”
She braced herself for what was to come. The FBI would not let Forge escape any more than he would set her free. She was every bit as trapped as he was.
In the silence, she considered the differences between them. Forge operated on base instinct while she answered to a higher calling. She was a protector, a guardian. To her, there were things that mattered more than her own survival. Forge, on the other hand, was only concerned with his own needs and desires. A self-contained entity, he had no friends, no family, no tribe.
Despite the cruelty she had faced in her life, she was still capable of compassion, of love. That was how she had been able to sacrifice herself for Selena and the baby. She had also learned to be part of a team, which was why she had tried to shield Kent from the sniper’s bullets during their jog.
As the memory flashed through her mind, an idea took hold. She had come out with Forge planning to go for his gun, even with the knowledge that he would be able to pull the trigger before she could stop him. The team would drop him where he stood the instant he fired. She had come to accept that neither of them would survive.
But what if there was another option? Something she would never have considered only a few months earlier. Her life was already forfeit. She had nothing to lose by trying.
Fully aware everyone was listening through her transmitter, she asked Forge a question. “Have you ever been pinned down by the enemy with no way out?”
She spoke on two levels, simultaneously directing her comments to Forge and to her team, hoping her message would be received.
“That’s where you are right now,” she continued. “More importantly, that’s where I am.”
“Shut up,” Forge said, still scanning the area around them.
This was the moment. She would have to be strong enough to put her life in someone else’s hands. It would require perfect timing on his part and total faith on her part. If it didn’t work, so be it.
Every muscle in her body tensed as she uttered the one word that was her last hope. “Flashpoint.”
She instantly bent her knees, allowing her back to slide down Forge’s chest. At the same time, she lowered her head, doing her best to expose his forehead for a split second. A small target, but any other shot would leave Forge capable of pulling the trigger as he collapsed, ending both of their lives.
Forge reacted with surprising speed, repositioning the barrel of the gun to push against her head again. She closed her eyes, preparing for the explosion of a hollow-point round inside her skull.
She was the Warrior Girl. From childhood, she had fought for others. No one had ever fought for her. She had been let down so many times it had been hard to trust anyone. To have faith in anyone.
Kent was a warrior as well. A warrior who had learned to put his life in someone else’s hands. This time, she would have to do the same. Either she would live or she would die, and she had to accept that she could not control the outcome.
She had made her choice.
A single gunshot split the air. She felt Forge’s body jerk, then slump. She had experienced a man’s deadweight pressing down on her before and recognized the sensation even before the blood and brain matter spattered the ground in front of her.
Her body bowed under the strain as a phalanx of black tactical boots thundered toward her. Forge’s bulk suddenly disappeared when he was roughly yanked away and hurled to the ground. HRT members would treat him as armed and dangerous until they confirmed his status, but she already knew his reign of terror was over.
Calloused palms clasped her cheeks. “Nina.” Kent tilted her head back to peer into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “You heard the code? You’re the one who took the shot?”
“Fuckin’ A.”
Chapter 59
The wail of a siren drew her attention. Nina turned toward the sound. “Where’s Selena?”
“The team medics called rescue to check her out,” Kent said, pointing toward the edge of the building. “HRT has vehicles staged around the corner.”
She took off at a dead run, desperate to see that no harm had come to Selena during her captivity. Who knew what Forge had done to her?
She rounded the building and saw an ambulance stopped in the parking lot next to a lumbering black beast of a SWAT vehicle. Two EMTs leaped out and hurried to where Selena lay on a cot a few inches off the pavement.
Nina caught snatches of conversation as she reached their vicinity. Words like blood pressure, contractions, and labor floated to her ears. She came to a halt at Selena’s side and squatted down to grasp her hand.
Selena’s terrified eyes locked with hers. “I—” She let out a howl and clutched Nina’s hand with bone-crushing force.
One of the paramedics tapped Nina’s shoulder. “We need to get her in the ambulance. We may not get to the hospital before the baby comes, but I’d like to try.”
“I’m coming with,” Nina said to him.
“Only family can ride inside with a patient.” The medic looked apologetic. “Sorry, but that’s our policy.”
A mixture of awe and unfamiliarity swelled within her. “I am family.” She pointed at Selena, who was already inside the ambulance. “That’s my cousin.”
He nodded, apparently satisfied. “Suit y
ourself.”
A new objection came from another direction.
“I need you here, Agent Guerrera.” Buxton had materialized beside her.
She stood and turned to face him. “I can provide my statement later.”
“I’ve called SAC Wong,” he said. “She’s on her way here. I’m sure she’ll want to speak to you right away. She’s planning a news conference in a couple of hours.”
The special agent in charge of the Phoenix field office was the least of Nina’s concerns. The ambulance crew was preparing to close the vehicle’s rear doors, and she was determined to be inside with her cousin when they left for the hospital.
“Sir, I can’t add anything you don’t already know.”
Kent stepped forward. “I fired the fatal shot, not Guerrera. I’m the one who has to be here to answer for my actions when SAC Wong comes.”
Buxton regarded Kent a long moment before turning to Nina. “Go.”
Without another word, she hoisted herself inside the back of the ambulance seconds before the doors thudded closed.
Nina perched herself on the short bench seat opposite the EMT, who began hooking Selena up to equipment to check her vitals as the ambulance started to roll.
“Hold her hand and help her through the contractions,” he said to Nina. “I’m going to see how far she’s dilated.”
Nina focused on Selena. “I’m here for you, honey.”
The EMT slid down to the end of the bench closest to the doors. “All right, Selena, I’m going to have a look and see how things are going, okay?”
When Selena nodded, he draped a crisp white sheet over her lower body and got to work.
“I need to call my husband,” Selena said. “And my mom.”
The EMT’s head came up. “No time for that now. You need to concentrate on your breathing. We’ll call them as soon as we get to the hospital.”
Nina smoothed a sweat-soaked tendril of hair from Selena’s reddening face. She murmured words of encouragement between the spasms that racked her cousin with pain.
A few minutes into the ride, the EMT called out to her. “This baby is coming right now, get ready.” He glanced at Nina. “When I give the word, tell her to push.”
Like all law enforcement officers, Nina had taken a course in basic first aid, which included delivering a baby. She had never thought that small amount of training would be needed.
“Now,” he said.
She got in close to Selena, breathing with her. “Push.”
Selena released a low groan that crescendoed as her entire upper body tensed and reddened with strain. As Selena curled upward, Nina placed a hand on her back, urging her on. She cut her eyes to the EMT, who hunched at the juncture of Selena’s splayed legs. She wanted him to tell Selena to stop, to give her a chance to catch her breath before trying again.
The EMT’s eyes darted up to meet hers. He shook his head as if reading her thoughts. “We’re almost there. Don’t stop.”
Nina understood. The baby was making its way out. Stopping at this point was not an option—doing so would put her at risk. Now that the child had started through the birth canal, Selena’s baby needed to complete the journey.
Nina turned back to her cousin. She could tell Selena was spent. The ordeal of being kidnapped, of having a gun to her head, and of having that same gun pressed against her belly had taken a massive toll. She hated to demand more of her, but that was exactly what she did.
“Push, Selena. Don’t stop.”
Selena gazed at her, wild eyed, and strained with effort again. This time, they were rewarded with a shout from the EMT.
“Got her!”
Nina looked down to catch a glimpse of the tiny baby as the paramedic clamped the umbilical cord, cut it, and worked quickly until a mewling cry filled the space around them.
He swaddled the baby and leaned forward to place her on Selena’s chest, then returned to his previous position to take care of Selena as the two women focused on the new arrival.
“She’s beautiful,” Nina murmured.
Tears streamed down Selena’s cheeks as she cradled her baby. “Come here, mi’ja.”
The words brought a familiar bittersweet feeling to Nina. Her own mother had never had the chance to call her mi’ja, had never even been able to hold her. A twist of fate had taken Nina from her family, and another twist had returned her to them.
The ambulance lurched to a stop, and Nina realized they had arrived at Phoenix General’s emergency room. Both doors popped open, and a swarm of medical personnel surrounded them. Apparently, the driver had radioed ahead to notify the staff, who made short work of wheeling Selena and the baby out of the ambulance and inside the building.
Nina started after them but stopped short when she heard her name. SAC Jennifer Wong was walking toward her at a fast clip.
“SSA Buxton told me what happened,” Wong said. “I dropped by on the way to the scene to pick you up and take you there. You can brief me in the car.”
“But my cousin—” She paused. Had SAC Wong been apprised of her DNA results?
“After you check on your cousin, of course.” Wong smiled. Evidently Buxton had filled her in on that development as well. “Looks like you have a new addition to your family.”
Her family. She still had trouble adjusting to the concept. “Yes, a baby girl.” She stiffened, remembering Selena’s request in the ambulance. “I’d better call her husband and her mother.”
“Already taken care of,” Wong said. “Agent Wade had their contact info. They’re on the way to the hospital.”
They both walked inside the ER, where they found the two EMTs standing in the hallway.
“They’re being checked out,” the one who had delivered the baby told them. “You can’t go any farther until they’re cleared for visitors, which could take a while.”
“But they’re both okay?” Nina asked.
The ambulance driver nodded. “Mother and baby are doing fine.” He gestured to his partner. “And we get a sticker.”
Nina looked from one to the other until the driver explained. “When a baby is delivered in an ambulance, we put a stork sticker on the side. This one will be holding a pink bundle in its beak.”
Nina grinned. “Nice tradition.”
Wong pulled her attention away from the men. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to wait around for visiting hours. I’m sorry, Agent Guerrera, but duty calls.”
Duty. That had been Nina’s sole credo for years. She hadn’t experienced much in the way of a personal life. It was all about the job. She accepted that this was part of what it meant to be in law enforcement. But her calling had never caused her this much pain before. She had never felt so torn. Then again, she had never had a family before.
The brief feeling of elation evaporated when she realized her professional obligations may have ruined any possibility of having a relationship with her newly discovered relatives. When they had asked her about the investigation, she had put duty first, not disclosing her own connection to the case. She could have provided answers they had desperately wanted. Instead, she held back key information because of the constraints of her job.
Would a family who barely knew her understand? Would they forgive her?
“Time to go,” Wong said.
Even in this moment, Nina was being asked to choose duty above all else. She cast a wistful glance down the corridor where her family would soon be gathering, then turned and followed the SAC out of the hospital.
Chapter 60
Several hours later, Nina was with her team at the Phoenix Royal Suites, where they had returned to meet with hotel security. Within minutes of their arrival, the security chief located a room service attendant who had reported his universal electronic room key missing a few days earlier. Once they knew when it had been lost, they reviewed the front desk video for that date and saw Forge in disguise booking a suite under a false name with a matching credit card. The security chief had let them into the room
before returning to the lobby.
“Forge has been busy in here,” Nina said after the team was alone.
Kent looked around. “We’ve found his base of operations.”
Breck strolled over to the desk. “This is a different computer than the one he left at the scene.” She bent to peer at the devices resting beside it. “Looks like this one is dedicated to his monitoring equipment.”
Before they’d left for the hotel, Breck had spent the past few hours using her cybercrime skills to datamine the computer Forge had left behind in the building.
A chill swept through Nina. “That equipment will contain files that could land us all in a world of trouble.”
The room stilled. When FBI evidence techs eventually listened to the recordings, they would hear Nina and her team agreeing to hide information from their supervisor.
“I don’t think so,” Breck said, pointing at a red rectangular device with a tapered metal tip attached to one side.
“What’s that thing?” Wade asked.
Breck grinned. “A degaussing wand.” She sighed when no one appeared to understand. “Let’s just say it’s a powerful magnet designed to permanently wipe data. Forge obviously used it to cover his tracks before he left.”
Nina caught on. “He planned to escape, so he destroyed any possible cookie crumbs for us to follow.”
“Exactly,” Breck said. “No one’s going to find any files—or hear any recordings—on this computer. Problem solved.”
Nina felt a surge of relief. She continued to search through the room, confirming another suspicion when she opened the closet. “Look at what I found.” She lifted a hanger and turned to show the others a red-and-gray bellman’s uniform.
Wade crossed the room to have a look. “Between the universal keycard and this outfit, he would have been able to access our rooms anytime he wanted.”
“What do you want to bet he had help from that young bellman who handed me the cell phone in the lobby earlier?” Nina said. “The kid was downright hinky. He knew more than he let on.”
A Different Dawn (Nina Guerrera) Page 29
