“The signals are all scrambled!”
“Somebody cut us off!”
“I don’t care who cut us off. Get it back. We need visuals!”
“The audio’s gone, too.”
“We have no radio contact with the field agents.”
A split second later the lightbulb inside the house flickered. The room plunged into darkness.
Julie’s heart filled her throat. It wasn’t the blackness that terrified her, but what it meant. Someone had cut their power supply and destroyed central communications. Someone didn’t want them to watch, to listen, to know what was about to happen.
Bad.
Dread welled inside her. That someone was Luke Silva, and he was in the house with her baby. And soon, Dylan would be there, too.
The knowledge blared in her head and she found herself shouldered aside as bodies pushed and pulled. A door creaked open somewhere and moonlight spilled inside.
Julie fought her way toward the light and burst outside. Everyone was so preoccupied with the sudden blackout that no one noticed her as she slipped behind a particularly large tree and started to climb the fence.
She wouldn’t sit by while things went from bad to worse to...dead. The two people she loved most in the world were facing the worst sort of danger. She had to do something.
She had to go after them.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
IT WAS TOO DARK.
The notion struck Dylan just as he neared the back door of the house—the kitchen, according to the layout the Feds had pinned up in command central. Dylan had expected to see a light shining inside.
He peered into the back window and looked for anything out of the ordinary. Some clue to tell him that someone was waiting. Nothing. The room sat dark, but quiet.
Still, it was too dark. Too convenient.
Something wasn’t right.
He was this close to bypassing the unlocked kitchen door and trying one of the many windows that spanned the back of the house when he heard the faint crying.
Thomas.
Caution gave way to a rush of urgency unlike anything he’d ever felt before. He needed to be inside. Now.
He drew in a deep breath, gathered his courage and opened the kitchen door. The blackness swallowed him up as he stepped inside.
The crying grew louder as Dylan moved down the hallway, mentally calculating the path he’d planned while sitting in command central with the floor plan of the house. He should come upon the dining room first. Then the library. Then the back stairwell.
Dylan took the steps as quickly and silently as possible. He reached the second-floor landing without incident and started down the hallway. That’s when he felt it. His skin prickled. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A presence.
Dylan’s hand went for the gun in his waistband, but he wasn’t fast enough. He felt the cold press of a gun barrel just as his fingers grazed the handle.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Dylan’s hand fell away.
“Up in the air.”
He complied, raising his arms while the man reached around him and retrieved his piece. The barrel nudged him forward.
“Walk. Nice and slow and quiet.” Several steps later and Dylan was ushered inside a large room. A light burned in the far corner and he found himself facing Luke Silva.
“Look what I found, boss. He was creeping down the hallway.”
“Probably a Fed.” Luke barely glanced up from the task of loading papers into his briefcase. “They more than likely panicked when their power source failed.”
“Is that it?” The bruiser in back of Dylan nudged him with the gun barrel. “You a Fed sticking your nose where it don’t belong?”
Luke had cut the power supply. That meant the video cameras were down. No one could see him.
Fear rushed through Dylan, along with a burst of adrenaline. His brain searched desperately for a way out. He had to get out. He had to get Thomas. No one could see the baby’s location. No one could see what danger lurked nearby.
“Packing for a trip?” Dylan asked, grasping for a diversion, anything to buy some time. His only consolation was that Luke Silva couldn’t see him and possibly recognize who he was.
“Exactly.” Silva stashed another handful of papers into his case. “Take care of him,” he said, issuing the death sentence without so much as a blink of his eye. “And bring me Sebastian.”
“You heard the man,” the bruiser said. He nudged Dylan to turn. “Lights out, buddy.” He led him into the hallway and back down the stairs. When they were out of earshot of Silva, Dylan made his move. He jerked around, slamming his hurt shoulder into the man’s chest in a sudden move meant to take his breath away.
It succeeded. The man staggered backward, his mouth open, gasping.
Dylan followed him, slamming the fist of his good arm into the guy’s nose. The man’s head snapped back and his hands went limp. The gun clattered to the floor a heartbeat before the man himself crumpled.
Unconscious.
Snatching up the gun, Dylan turned to head back up the stairs. Instead, he ran smack-dab into the second of Silva’s men.
“What the hell—” The man stared past Dylan at his limp partner.
“Don’t move.” Dylan pressed the gun to the man’s temple and instructed him to turn and march back up the stairs, into Luke Silva’s office.
“I told you—” Silva began, coming up short as his head jerked up and he caught sight of Dylan. Instead of panic, Dylan saw a flash of nothing short of pure hatred in the man’s gaze.
Luke was everything his reputation said—cold. Ice-cold and deadly.
Not this time, Dylan promised himself as he moved inside the room and shut the door.
“You’re dead,” Silva said as Dylan nudged the bruiser toward Silva.
“Change of plans.” Dylan motioned toward the drawer where Silva still had his left hand. “Pull your hand out real slow and easy.”
“Sure thing.”
As expected, the man retrieved a very lethal-looking Glock.
Dylan held his gun to the bruiser’s temple.
“Come now, you don’t really think I’m going to be swayed by a threat to Jack’s life, do you? Jack is loyal, but replaceable. They’re all replaceable.” A shot rang out as Luke fired.
Dylan lunged to the side as a bullet whizzed past. Then another. He heard the bruiser grunt and slam into the floor just as Dylan hit the ground and rolled. Pain splintered his brain and his vision blurred as his shoulder wrenched with the impact.
When he blinked again, he found himself staring up at Luke Silva, who leaned over him, gun in hand.
“That looked like it hurt.” The man smiled. “Then again, think of it as a prelude to what follows.”
Dylan willed his shoulder to move, his hand to close around the fallen gun that lay only an inch from his fingertips, but the pain slowed him. He felt the sticky wetness of the bruiser’s blood before he managed to touch metal.
His fingers grasped the handle just as Luke Silva cocked his trigger.
* * *
THE GUNSHOT cracked open the silence and terror bolted through Julie. She’d meant to simply create a diversion for Dylan. To creep in nice and quiet and assess the situation before giving him the opportunity to rescue Thomas.
But the gunfire changed everything.
Panic burst through her and sent her rushing into the kitchen, down the hall toward the staircase.
Sebastian’s voice floated down the hall. “Damn it, he’s dead!”
Julie’s stomach lurched. With each step, her worry and fear grew. Dead. The word echoed through her head, spurring her faster. She topped the stairs in record time and rushed down the hallway.
Then she heard it. The faint sound of crying. It brought her up short, sending a burst of reality through her. Thomas. She had to calm down. To gather her wits. Thomas was alive and he needed her.
Julie drew in a deep breath and slowed her steps. The sound was comi
ng from the end of the hallway. She took one small step, then another. The sound of her own breathing echoed through her head.
“I knew you’d come.” Sebastian’s voice caught her off guard and she whirled. He cuffed her before shoving her back around and pulling her up against him. “I should have known you were responsible for this. The minute I saw Garrett lying there in that pool of blood, I should have known. Wherever you are, he’s never far behind. “
Dylan...lying there.
His words sent a rush of dread through her. “He’s not—”
“Dead?” Sebastian finished for her. “Thankfully, yes. And pretty soon it will be your turn.”
The barrel of a gun pressed to her temple and her breath caught. But it wasn’t until Sebastian turned her around and she saw the look in his eyes, the coldness there, that she realized he was finally ready, even eager to kill her.
Just as he’d killed Dylan?
“I didn’t have the pleasure,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “He and Luke had it out. Boy,” he smiled, “this is certainly turning into my lucky day. When I started out this morning, I had three enemies to contend with. Now I just have one.”
Fear gripped her as tightly as Sebastian’s cold fingers.
“You can’t do this.”
“I can do anything I want. Don’t you know that by now? Anything.”
“Like hell!” The shout came from the shadows a split second before Dylan lunged forward.
What followed seemed a bad dream that gripped her and refused to let go.
Julie found herself pushed backward as the men rolled and tumbled like crazed shadows toward the far end of the darkened hallway. Then a shot cracked open the silence and one of the shadows fell. Her piercing scream echoed through her ears. A sickening wave of fear surged through her.
All hell broke loose as men seemed to come out of the woodwork. FBI agents barrelled through doorways and windows. Flashlights showered the room in light and Julie blinked, desperately trying to focus her gaze. She couldn’t see. There were too many people. Too many bright lights.
“Come with us, ma’am.”
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
“Let me help you, ma’am.”
The voices surrounded her a moment before hands reached for her. She pushed them all aside and fought her way forward. She had to see for herself. She had to know.
A few steps and the crowd parted.
That’s when she saw him.
Sebastian lay on the floor. Blood gushed from a hole in his chest. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he fought to breathe. But he was breathing. His gaze drilled into hers with hatred and her blood ran cold.
“Stay back, ma’am,” a voice told her, pushing her backward. A commotion erupted as a blood-soaked Luke Silva appeared in the doorway, gun in hand. He fired off several shots into Sebastian’s body before a volley of gunfire erupted as the Feds turned their weapons on him.
Luke jerked back into the room, taking bullet after bullet before sinking to the floor, his gun still clasped in his hand.
Julie stared across the hardwood floor at Sebastian. His eyes were empty now. Lifeless.
Dead...
All she could feel was panic. In a pool of blood. Sebastian’s description of Dylan rushed at her and she feared the worst. What if Dylan was—
“Are you okay?”
“Dylan!” She turned and threw herself into his arms, holding on for dear life. For his life. “You’re all right. You’re really all right. Ohmigod.” She pulled back and just stared at him, noting his blood-soaked clothes. “You were shot. Sebastian said you were dead.”
“No, baby. I got off the first shot. I nailed Luke but wasn’t sure he was really dead. He went down and I moved to check him, but that’s when I heard Sebastian. I stayed on the floor and played dead. With all the blood, Sebastian didn’t even question it. He heard your footsteps and he left. I followed him, and then Luke managed to—”
A soft whimpering sounded and Julie looked around to see an FBI agent appear with her son.
“Thomas!” She took him from the officer and gathered him close, squeezing so tight he squirmed. “My baby!”
“He’s okay.” Dylan’s arm slid around her shoulders. “Everything’s okay.”
“No.” She shook her head and stared up at him. “It’s not okay. Not yet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You. Me. We’re not okay.” Dylan had spent the past ten years being a true and loyal friend. But what he’d just done, putting his own life in jeopardy and facing off with a gun-wielding Sebastian to save her, went far beyond a friend’s call of duty.
As she stared up into Dylan’s eyes, she saw the love shining bright in his gaze, and for the first time, she let herself believe in it. He loved her. He really and truly loved her, and she loved him.
“If you say thank you, I’m liable to go berserk.”
“I love you,” she blurted, watching his eyes widen in surprise.
“I mean it— What did you say?” His gaze narrowed as if he couldn’t quite believe his ears.
But he could. He could believe, and so could she.
“I said I love you. I’ve always loved you. I just didn’t want to see it. I was too scared. Too frightened that what I felt for you wasn’t the real thing, like with Sebastian. But you’re my true love, Dylan.”
“Your last love.” He smiled down at her. “Say it again.”
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you.” His lips captured hers in a fierce kiss before she pulled away and stared up at him. “And?”
“And what?”
“Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t save your life and that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“I know, and thank you anyway.”
“For what?”
“For loving me, Julie. You’ve made my one and only dream come true.” He paused a moment and his eyes grew serious. “Almost. You will marry me, won’t you?”
“I’d like to see you try to stop me.”
“I love you and I love Thomas and I want you both in my life, now and always.”
At his declaration, she leaned up and kissed him again, pouring all of her feeling into the one action. When she finally pulled away, she noticed the gleam in his eyes and an answering warmth spread through her.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“I’m with you. And,” she leaned up to whisper in his ear, “I am going to say thank you, and if you fuss, I’ll show you what berserk really is.”
“Is that a threat?”
She winked. “It’s a promise.”
EPILOGUE
“IT ALL makes sense now.” Dylan stood on the riverbank and tossed a stone into the water. The still surface rippled, catching shafts of gleaming sunlight that streamed down through the towering oak trees that lined the bank. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon at the Double G Ranch.
A perfect day for an outdoor wedding.
“Sebastian kidnapped Diana Kincaid,” Dylan stated to Zach Logan, who stood next to him. The older detective wore a black tuxedo with a bolo tie, black boots and a black felt Stetson like the other three ushers who’d been seating guest after guest several yards away. Rows of white chairs had been set up beneath the canopy of towering trees. Sprays of wildflowers in every imaginable color peppered the area. The slow, sweet whine of an acoustic fiddle filled the air.
Yes, it was a picture-perfect day for an outdoor wedding.
Then again, it could have been pouring down rain and Dylan would have still been grinning from ear to ear.
Zach’s news that Sebastian Cooper had been Diana Kincaid Taylor’s kidnapper several months back only added to his good mood.
Diana, Governor Thomas Kincaid’s daughter, had been stolen away right before the birth of her baby and Dylan had been brought in by Zach to help find her. Working as a team with undercover detective Jesse Brock, the men
had done just that. But what they’d failed to do was actually uncover the identity of the kidnapper.
“Sebastian did it to prove himself to J. B. Crowe,” Zach said. “After that he was basically in—a part of San Antonio’s criminal element. It was the one and only time Sebastian really got his hands dirty.”
“How did Diana recognize him?” Dylan’s gaze shot to the smiling woman who stood near an oak tree draped with swags of wildflowers. Diana, an attractive redhead, said something to Dylan’s sister, Lily, and both women laughed.
“The newspaper.” Zach popped an antacid into his mouth and chewed. “She spotted all the hoopla about the bust at Silva’s house and she recognized a picture of Sebastian. She called Jesse Brock and officially IDed him. Along with that earring of Diana’s you found at Sebastian’s, it was enough to finally close the case.”
“What’s with the antacid?” Dylan asked as Zach popped another tablet into his mouth.
“Nervous stomach.”
“You’re nervous? You’re not the one getting married.”
“I’m the best man. It’s just as bad. You say I do and your stress is over. I still have the toast to worry about.”
“Who’s worried about toast?” Lily asked as she walked up to them and slid an arm around her brother’s waist. She wore a pale-green dress that highlighted her vivid green eyes, and her black hair was pulled up into a loose pile of curls on top of her head. She looked pretty and alive and happy and loved.
“Not toast,” Zach told her. “The toast, as in what I’m going to say at the reception.” He popped another Tums. “I’m not real good in front of civilians.”
“It’s nothing to worry about. Just say what a great couple Dylan and Julie make, and then you carry on about how beautiful the wedding is and what a great job I did coordinating everything, and do it all while picturing everyone wearing rookie uniforms.”
“Is this a spin-off of the naked audience thing?”
“Exactly.” She smiled. “So what were you guys really yapping about?”
“Sebastian’s link to Diana,” Dylan told his sister.
“It’s wild, isn’t it? I mean, how things have finally come full circle. You helped Zach on that case and he turned around and helped you with Thomas’s kidnapping. You brought down Sebastian and he just so happens to be Diana’s kidnapper, who the police have been searching for all this time. Not to mention the locket containing the microchip that exposed Crowe and Silva—Crowe won’t see the outside of a prison for a very long time.” She winked at Zach. “I’d say it’s bargain shopper’s day at Finders Keepers.”
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