Silent Surrender

by Rita Herron

  Denise raised her chin defiantly. “What do you mean?”

  “We never intended to kill you, Dr. Harley. We only planned to alter your memory,” Hughes explained.

  “You were going to let me return to my work?”

  “Essentially you wouldn’t have remembered anything about this project, but your mind would still be intact for others.” Hughes grinned, the mole at the corner of his lip jerking with the movement. “You really are a good scientist, Dr. Harley. It will be a shame to see you go.”

  “Sarah, if you’d only left it alone. I’m so sorry,” Sol said in a low sorrowful voice.

  Sarah lifted her hand and signed, her jerky movements a testament to her anger.

  “No, baby, I didn’t try to have you killed.” Sol’s face paled. “I would never hurt you. I—” he hesitated, tears choking his voice “—I found out Hughes hired someone to kill you, so I tried to get you to stop asking questions so he’d call him off. And I—I set up Gates to die, hoping you’d drop things.”

  “You Gates?” Adam asked.

  “Donny’s dead?” Denise clung to his arm, and Adam covered her hand with his.

  Sol nodded. “I didn’t kill him.”

  “But you hired someone,” Adam concluded. “Did Gates really have a fixation with my sister or did you make that up, too?”

  Sol glanced toward Hughes as if he knew they’d gone too far, but he hadn’t been able to stop things from snowballing. “He had a crush on her, yes, but as far as being obsessed…no.”

  They needed to let Gates’s mother know, Adam thought, remembering her anguished cries when they’d removed her son’s body.

  Sarah caught Sol’s attention again and began to sign. Adam knew she was hurting and wanted to comfort her, but he had to focus on an escape plan. Hopefully, Russell would have called Clay by now and backup would be on its way.

  “Let’s go.” Hughes motioned toward Santenelli.

  “No, first, I have to tell Sarah the truth,” Santenelli said. “She deserves to know about her father.”

  THE AIR IN Sarah’s lungs tightened. “Is my father still alive?”

  “No.” Sol said. “He died in the fire that day.” Santenelli moved toward Sarah but she backed away, practically melting into the seat to avoid his touch. Exhaling wearily, Santenelli pulled at his chin. “But he wasn’t a traitor. He never intended to sell his device to the Russians.”

  Relief surged through Sarah, followed by an ache that there was no hope her dad was still alive.

  “Your father loved you, Sarah. He didn’t kill your mother.” Santenelli’s voice broke as he glanced at Hughes. Sarah understood the message—Hughes had killed her parents. “When your father found out about our plans to sell the device, he was furious. He tried to persuade us not to sell, but we’d already given a verbal agreement.”

  “There was a lot of money involved,” Hughes interjected. “Your father was a fool.”

  “So you framed him?” Adam asked, his hand reaching down to squeeze Sarah’s icy one in his own.

  Santenelli nodded. “We hired a man to set the explosion. You and your mom weren’t supposed to be home that day, but you had a cold so your mom didn’t go out.” Santenelli paced across the small room. “The bomb went off just as your father arrived home. I didn’t want your mother to die, Sarah, you have to believe me, I loved her. When I learned she was in there, that you were… God, I couldn’t stand it. I thought I would die, too.”

  “That’s the reason you never married,” Sarah signed, recognizing the truth by the tortured look in her godfather’s eyes.

  “Yes,” Sol said, choking with tears. “And your father tried to get in to save you but…”

  “But what?

  “But I got rid of him,” Hughes announced, waving the gun. “Now, it’s time to finish up this little true confessions.”

  “Wait, explain one more thing,” Adam said. “How could Sarah hear my sister?”

  “The hearing implant,” Sol admitted. “We developed it from the hearing device her father had worked on. Recently we revamped the technology. The guard watching Denise was wearing one of the devices.” He paused for a breath. “In developing the hearing implant for Sarah, some small part of the transmitter must have been left intact so you heard things sporadically. Like a radio transmitter.”

  Sarah blinked back the tears, oblivious to Sol’s explanation as anger at Arnold Hughes churned through her. He had robbed her of her father, her mother, her whole life because of money. She hated him, she hated everything he’d done. Pain swept through her, fueling her fury. She lunged at Hughes, throwing her fists at him.

  “No, Sarah!” Adam pulled her away, and the guards rushed in, waving their guns.

  “You’re not going to kill Sarah!” Sol suddenly jumped Hughes.

  Then the sound of a gunshot exploded into the air.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Everything happened at once. Sol clutched his chest, blood spurting out as he fell to the floor with a strangled groan. Sarah cried out in anguish and dove for him while Adam struggled with the guard. The other guard held Denise, his weapon aimed at her head.

  Sarah pressed her hands over Sol’s bloody ones, his eyelids fluttering.

  “So sorry, Sarah,” he whispered in a pain-filled voice.

  Sarah’s heart ached, confusion tangling with her emotions.

  “Just know that your father loved you, Sarah.” His breathing rasped out, and Sarah realized he was going to die. There was nothing she could do. There was so much blood, seeping through his fingers, running down his crisp white shirt. “And I did, too, I—I tried to make up for all of it. To be your family.”

  Tears clogged Sarah’s throat as he took his last breath, and his eyes glazed over into the fixed stare of death.

  Behind her, she heard Adam struggling and turned to see the guard slam him to the floor. She jumped up to help, but Hughes caught her, just as the guard knocked Adam unconscious.

  “Tie them up. We’ll burn the boat and let the sharks finish them.”

  “You’ll never get away with this,” Denise yelled, struggling against the guard’s hold. “And even when you do, I altered my research. So it’s not worth anything to you.”

  Hughes simply smiled as if she was wrong, then turned and left the guards to follow his orders.

  SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, Sarah and Denise fought against their bindings. Sol’s dead body lay in the corner, Adam’s unconscious one bound between them.

  The scent of gasoline permeated her nostrils, the strong stench of wood and fiberglass beginning to burn. Someone had set fire to the deck. It would only take seconds to reach the cabin. They were really doing it, Sarah thought in horror. They would kill them all, then cover up their crimes just as they had done when they’d framed her father.

  Fury swept through her, a rage more potent because of the things Hughes had actually made her believe about her own father. Her parents’ deaths, Sol’s, all so senseless. All because of money.

  Gritting her teeth, she dug her fingernails into her palms and maneuvered her chair nearer Denise. Denise did the same, trying to talk behind her gag. Several tense seconds later, they struggled to untie one another, the sizzle of the fire crackling along with their labored breathing.

  Finally Sarah felt the knot loosen. She slipped the ropes free, then worked to untie her feet.

  Fire sprang up outside the glass window, the flames leaping toward the doorway. Sarah froze. They would have to go through the fire.

  Memories assaulted her, paralyzing her with fear. She could see her mother in the doorway, the fire consuming her, melting her clothes, her skin…. Her father was on the other side, pulling at the door. Yes, he was going to save them. Then pain slammed into her….

  A sob tore from her, deep and anguished.

  “Sarah, hurry, we have to get out of here!”

  Denise’s frightened voice broke through the haze, jerking Sarah back to the moment. To Adam, the man she loved. The only perso
n in the world she had left to care about.

  She jumped into motion and dropped down beside Denise, tearing at the ropes on his hands as Denise untied his feet. Adam moaned, his eyes remained closed. Fire clawed at the door, smoke seeping below the narrow space below it. Sarah ran to the door and tried to open it, but heat scalded her hand. Panicking, she searched the room for some other way to escape, but they were trapped.

  “We have to open that door,” Denise said.

  Sarah checked beneath the sink and found a fire extinguisher. She hurried to the door and tried to smash the wood. Seconds later, the door cracked. She opened the fire extinguisher and sprayed, dousing the worst of the flames from the door to clear them a path. Frantic, she ran to Adam, and helped Denise drag him toward the door. The fire caught onto the wooden edges and rippled inside the cabin in small patches, sizzling and taking on a life of its own.

  “On the count of three, we go, and go fast!” Denise shouted.

  Sarah nodded while Denise counted. “Three!”

  Heat seared Sarah, her body sweating as she and Denise hurriedly dragged Adam through the blaze, across the deck. Fire clawed at her feet, and a small flame caught Adam’s shirt, but Denise quickly slapped it out with her hand. Finally they reached the edge, cool air hit them and Adam stirred.

  “We have to get off the boat, Adam, it’s on fire!” Denise yelled.

  He moaned and pushed up onto his knees. The firelazed closer behind them, the sound of wood popping rent the air.

  “It’s getting to the gas, the boat’s going to blow,” Adam mumbled. “Jump!”

  Sarah and Denise grabbed his arms and they leaped to the dock just before the boat exploded behind them.

  THE FORCE OF the explosion rocked the dock, and Adam threw his arms over Sarah and Denise, trying to shield them from flying debris. Burning fiberglass and splintered pieces of the boat pelted the dock and sailed into the water. Sarah’s body quaked beneath him, his sister’s hands clawed his arms.

  He quickly checked to see if they’d been injured and helped them both stand. The fear in Sarah’s eyes hit him like a punch in the gut. But it wasn’t fear for herself, he realized, it was fear for him. He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, to tell her it was all right, but there wasn’t time.

  “We have to get to Clay,” he said gruffly.

  “You’re not going anywhere.” One of the guards from Seaside Securities stood over them. Hughes aimed the gun at Adam.

  Sarah flinched, and Adam saw the fierce determination in her eyes as she lunged toward Hughes. She wasn’t going to let Arnold Hughes kill any more of the people she loved. Adam pushed her aside, but Hughes fired the gun.

  Just as the bullet ricocheted through the air, Adam heard Sarah shout his name.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Pain shot through Adam’s shoulder at the bullet’s impact, but he ignored it, fear paralyzing him when Hughes slammed Sarah to the ground.

  A loud rumbling sound suddenly filled the air. Hughes ran from the dock, jumped onto another boat and took off.

  The thunderous roar grew louder. A helicopter.

  A man’s voice barreled through a bullhorn. “Freeze. Police. Put down your weapons.”

  Clay. Thank God he’d arrived.

  Suddenly the helicopter landed, Clay and Bernstein and several other officers charged the area, taking control, putting an APB out on Hughes. Russell jumped from the chopper and swept Denise into his arms. Adam raced over to Sarah, his heart clenching at her crumpled form.

  He felt a slow pulse beating, but blood spurted from her head and as he pulled her into his lap, more blood seeped from her ear. “We need a doctor,” Adam yelled above the noise. “We have to get her to the emergency room now!”

  The next four hours were the longest of Adam’s life. He’d barely been able to endure being treated for the gunshot wound for wanting to be with Sarah. The bullet had torn through his shoulder and exited the other side, but he hadn’t needed surgery. Sarah had.

  He jammed the pain pills in his pocket, refusing to take them because he wanted to be coherent when Sarah woke. He paced the waiting room, praying like he’d never prayed in his life.

  She’d gotten hurt because she’d been trying to save him. And Denise. And she’d called out his name.

  He should have saved her.

  “Adam, stop beating yourself up,” Denise said, lifting a hand to massage his shoulder.

  He shook his head, wondering how she’d read his mind. Russell remained seated on the vinyl couch in the corner, his gaze never leaving Denise. Adam had no doubt about his brother-in-law now. The second Russell hugged his sister, Adam had known Russell really loved her.

  “I know you’re blaming yourself because I know you,” Denise said quietly. She pulled his hands into hers and faced him. “But you’re not to blame here. You saved me, and you probably saved Sarah’s life at the end.”

  “It wasn’t enough,” Adam muttered. “She shouldn’t have been hurt.” And she’d screamed his name to save him. The first time he’d heard her speak, the first time she’d said his name—it had almost gotten her killed.

  Guilt tore through him. How could he have accused her of being afraid? She was the most courageous woman he’d ever met.

  “She seems tough, Adam, she’ll survive.”

  The other woman, Pamela, hadn’t.

  “You want to tell me what happened between the two of you?”

  Adam winced, but shook his head. “It’s complicated.”

  “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

  Adam froze. He had never let himself think about love. Love hurt too much. Having a family and losing it had been too painful. He couldn’t go through that again.

  “Okay, so you won’t admit it, but you are. And she loves you, too, Adam. I saw it in her eyes when you were unconscious and we dragged you through the fire.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Adam said. “My job is my life, Denise, you know that. You of all people should understand it, too.”

  “Yeah, I do.” Denise emitted a self-deprecating laugh. “When I was all alone with my work in that lab, I realized something, Adam. All my adult life I’d poured myself into my job, claiming I wanted to save the world, but I was really hiding behind my work.” Denise paused. “I was afraid of loving too deeply, of having that family I really wanted torn from me like it was when Mom and Dad died.”

  His sister’s words mirrored his own emotions so closely he couldn’t respond.

  “But when I was alone and thought I might not ever have the chance to get my life back,” Denise said, “I realized I didn’t want to hide any more. I wasn’t going to let fear stand in my way.”

  “So, you’re not going through with the divorce?”

  “Russell risked his life and his career to help save me.” Denise gave her husband a secretive look, one that reminded Adam of the silent bond between him and Sarah, the one that was so precious and tentatiI want to have that family with him now,” Denise continued. “Work is work, Adam, but it doesn’t keep you warm at night, and it won’t keep you company when you’re old. Don’t be afraid to go after Sarah if you love her.”

  “It’s not the same,” Adam said. “I let another woman interfere with my job once, a witness, and she died.” He explained about the incident with Pamela.

  “Give yourself a chance, Adam. Mom and Dad would want you to be happy, not to work all the time to avenge their deaths.”

  Adam agreed to think about what she’d said. Denise brushed a kiss on his temple and stood, going back to Russell. Clay’s voice brought his head up.

  “Hey, partner. Any word yet?”

  Adam cleared his throat. “No. What happened with Hughes? Is he in custody?”

  Clay sat down, one hand curled around a cup of coffee. “Crashed his boat into the jetty. Haven’t found his body yet. Divers are searching, but the tide was bad, so it may have washed out to sea.”

  Adam grimaced. He didn’t like loose
ends. But if the sharks finished Hughes off, it would be good enough for him.

  “We matched the prints in Sarah’s house with one of the security guards. He admitted Hughes paid him to off Sarah. He was the one who broke into her apartment and ran her off the road. We’ve got him in custody.”

  Adam nodded. He would make sure the man paid.

  The doctor entered the waiting room and cleared his throat. “Does Ms. Cutter have any family here?”

  “No, no family,” Adam said, hating how empty and alone Sarah would feel without Sol. “But you can tell me about her condition.” He identified himself. Denise and Russell gathered close.

  “I’m Dr. Eugene Hall, chief surgeon here. I’m afraid things didn’t go as well as we’d hoped.”

  Adam’s gut clenched. “She didn’t…” He couldn’t even say it.

  “She made it through the surgery and she’ll be all right.” The doctor worried the pocket of his lab coat.

  “What is it, then?” Adam asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “The hearing implant,” Hall said, his face tight with concern. “We had to remove it. The trauma to the head was too much, it caused internal damage, swelling. We were worried about the possibility of infection which could lead to the brain.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry. Maybe in a few months after she’s had time to heal, she might be able to receive another one. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  The room grew dark around Adam, sucking him into some kind of surreal state. After all Sarah had lost, she was going to lose her hearing again. She’d be cruelly thrust back into that silent world where she’d lived all alone.

  And it was all his fault.

  “Can I see her?”

  “She’s still in recover

  Adam gripped the man’s arm. “Please, doctor…”

  “Okay, but just for a minute.”

  His heart heavy, Adam followed the doctor to the recovery room. The scent of hospital antiseptics and medicine surrounded him, the IV and tubes attached to Sarah a cold reality. She was lying so still, the crisp white sheets tucked around her, her face deathly pale.