“Annabelle,” he croaked, struggling to get up and find her.
“Lay still, bud,” Mason said. “I don’t want to have to apply a tourniquet.”
That didn’t sound good. Then his face contorted in agony, his teeth clenching as darkness danced along the periphery of his vision. “Damn, Mason,” he hissed.
“I know. Sorry. I need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.”
“Kellan?”
Annabelle’s beautiful face appeared and despite the excruciating pain, he smiled. She was here and she was safe.
“Love you,” he said before the blackness consumed him.
#
Annabelle recoiled as a gun exploded so close to her head, she feared her eardrums had shattered. Then her eye widened in horror as Kellan dropped to one knee, his khaki tactical pants instantly turning red. Vespa shot him!
She jumped to her feet intending to go to him, but Vespa clamped onto her arm. Then the woman dropped her hold and let out a shriek that, if Annabelle hadn’t already been rendered temporarily deaf, she was sure would’ve been quite shrill. There was a struggle behind her, but then Ethan was in front of her removing the vest, so she ignored it. As soon as it cleared her head, Noah grabbed it from his brother and disappeared. Now Ethan was the one restraining her. She tried to break his hold, but he pushed her to the ground and covered her with his body as an explosion rocked the cabin.
Noah reappeared, announcing that he’d flung the vest into the woods, his voice sounding far away. Breaking free from Ethan, she scrabbled across the floor for Kellan. A sob caught in her throat. There was so much blood.
“Kellan?”
His pain-filled eyes blinked and then he smiled. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he said before he passed out.
“Why is there so much blood?” she asked Mason, who was calmly tending to the wound.
“The bullet nicked his femoral artery.”
“What?” He repeated the sentence, louder this time and Annabelle gasped. People died from that, and rather quickly. Hands gently tugged her back as more of his coworkers surrounded him: Logan, Dante, Sawyer and Noah. They tore the fabric away from the wound but all she could see was blood.
“He’ll be okay,” Luke said, obviously the one who urged her back to give them room to work. “These guys all have combat field training.”
Distantly, she realized her hearing had returned because Vespa’s high-pitched shrieks were causing her head to pound. Kayla and Ethan hauled her to her feet, her arms and legs bound, her face twisted in a mask of rage.
“I’ll kill you,” she screeched, spittle flying. “I’m The Viper! I’ll kill all of you.”
Several policemen filed inside the house, two of them wrestling a still-fuming Vespa away. Annabelle’s gaze passed over Robbie. She’d forgotten all about him in the melee. Dan was crouched over him, then he looked up at her and shook his head. Robbie was dead. She should feel something, shouldn’t she? Either sadness or joy. Instead, all she felt was numb.
The men surrounding Kellan lifted him and rushed outside. An ambulance was already waiting, and they loaded him inside.
Panic flared. They were leaving without her. “I need to go with him.”
“I’ll take you.”
She raced outside with Luke. Several police cars, their red and blue lights flashing, were scattered around the area. She noticed the sheet covering what was left of Gabe’s body.
“He fooled me,” she murmured, staring at the white cloth.
“He fooled us all,” Luke said, opening the door for her to climb in his SUV. Then they were speeding after the ambulance.
How long did it take to bleed out from the femoral artery? Three, maybe four minutes? She swallowed. Time seemed to stand still, but it had to have been at least five before they loaded him into the ambulance. He’d never make it to the emergency room in time. It was too far away. “How long will it take to get to the hospital?”
“Too long,” Luke said, confirming her thoughts. “They’re headed for the compound. Dr. Howell is standing by for his arrival.”
She felt a little better knowing Amelia would be the one to tend to his wound.
Luke tried to reassure her. “It was just a nick of the artery. The guys stabilized him before transporting him.”
She prayed that was true and Luke wasn’t just saying it to make her feel better. She didn’t think she could go on without him. It was too much to think about, so she asked, “How did you find me?” She thought after Gabe ditched their phones, there would be no way for Kellan to know what happened to her.
“Gabe stole Riley’s electronic gate pass,” Luke said, glancing over her shoulder as he passed a vehicle puttering a good twenty miles under the speed limit. “The perps used it to enter the compound. We were able to pull Gabe’s print from it. Once we ascertained you two were missing, it was a matter of tracking the GPS on his truck.”
She wanted to apologize for everything that had happened. Because of her, hell had rained down on their lives. Parts of the compound were destroyed. She had no idea how many people were hurt or, she swallowed heavily, killed. But her throat was too tight to talk.
It seemed like forever before they were turning onto the road leading to the compound. Maggie and Carter McQueen were standing guard with deadly-looking machine guns propped against their shoulders as they waved Luke through. When they reached the spot where Tucker Nash’s gatehouse used to stand, her stomach dropped. One glance at the building that used to be the daycare center and it fell all the way to her feet. So much destruction.
The ambulance was parked straight ahead in front of the gym, the lights flashing, the back doors open, but the bay empty. Luke screeched to a stop beside it and she was out of the SUV before he turned off the engine. Plans had been drawn up to build a separate clinic for Amelia when she came on board full time, but she was currently working out of rooms inside the workout facility. Annabelle skidded to a stop to see Mason and Sawyer standing outside the closed door. They were both covered in blood.
They turned when she approached. She must look horrible because they both quickly reassured her that his vitals were good, and the bullet only grazed his artery. They’d stopped the bleeding before they arrived.
Now there was nothing to do but wait.
#
Annabelle sat beside Kellan’s bed in the make-shift hospital room inside the gym. Wyatt Hollister was resting in another bed, having been injured when the airport hangar exploded. They both had IV’s pumping liquid in their veins. Amelia had assured her that they would both make full recoveries. Still, she’d feel better when both men opened their eyes.
The lights had been dimmed but the television was on with the sound muted. She’d found an episode of Wheel of Fortune and glanced at the screen every so often to try and solve the puzzle, but her heart wasn’t in it. She’d been distraught to learn that the entire maintenance crew and their head pilot had been inside the hangar when the first bomb dropped. The explosion had been instantaneous, helped along by jet fuel that burned hotter than gasoline, so they didn’t suffer. It was a small consolation.
She’d also been horrified to find out that Echo had been shot. She knew he’d had surgery and had pulled through, but she didn’t know his current status. She wanted to visit him, but she wasn’t leaving Kellan’s side.
Every employee had stopped by to check on their coworkers. She could hear heavy machinery rumbling around outside as Luke and Logan wasted no time with clean-up. Still, it would be a while before the compound was back to normal.
Despite a serious aversion to hospitals, even temporary ones, BeBe rolled inside the room. A few weeks ago, BeBe told her that she used to race bikes and had been training for the Olympics when she was hit by a car that never stopped. She’d been paralyzed from the waist down, ending her dream for gold. She was one of the nicest, most efficient women Annabelle had ever met. She didn’t let her injury keep her down. She was proud of the moniker she’d been gifted with: hell on wheel
s. It fit her perfectly.
“Any change?” she asked.
Annabelle shook her head. Kellan hadn’t regained consciousness yet, but Amelia told her that he probably wouldn’t for a while. Once again, she’d added a sedative to his fluids. “I have to slip it in when they don’t notice,” Amelia defended herself, “otherwise, these guys would never get the rest their bodies need to recover.”
“I have some news for you,” BeBe said.
Annabelle sat up straighter in her chair, hoping the news was good. She could use some right now. “What is it?”
“Vespa was being detained in a holding cell until her arraignment. When the cops went to get her, they found her dead.”
“What? You’re kidding?”
BeBe shook her head. “She used a bed sheet tied to a bar on the window. Funny thing is, she had a cellmate who swore she had no idea what happened.”
Annabelle couldn’t picture the woman who so brazenly called herself The Viper taking her own life. She probably thought she’d get out of the charges. “Do you think the cellmate did it?”
“I don’t know, and the cops aren’t saying.”
Frankly, Annabelle could care less which scenario was true. Vespa was dead. That’s all that mattered.
BeBe stayed for a while and then left when Amelia returned to check on both men. When Annabelle was alone again, she switched the channel to a rerun of The Office.
“This is a good one,” a raspy voice said. “Jim impersonates Dwight. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.”
She jerked around and jumped to her feet. “Wyatt!” She was too relieved to laugh at the sad Dwight Schrute impression. “I’m so glad you’re awake. How do you feel?”
His eyes were closed, but his lips were turned up in a grin. “Smashing.”
“Smashing as in grand, glorious, first-rate?” she hoped.
A deep chuckle sounded and his lids blinked open. “Smashing as in I feel like someone carried me to the top of a twenty-story building and tossed me off, but no worries. I won’t cark on ya. What happened?” She told him about the explosion and the attack on the compound and how her former stepsister-in-law was responsible. The hand not connected to the IV covered his eyes. “Chet…the crew…”
“Wyatt, I’m so sorry.”
His hand dropped away, and blue eyes pinned her. “Not your fault, and don’t try to tell me it happened because of you.” He blinked. “We’ll continue this discussion once I’m not so damn knackered.” Then he promptly fell back asleep.
“Belle?”
She spun around so fast she almost tripped over her own feet rushing to the other bed. “Kellan!” She cupped his face with her hand, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Thank God you’re awake. I was so worried…why are you scowling?”
His jaw was clenched tighter than a cheapskate’s wallet. “Because I’m angry.”
“You’re angry? Why?”
“You were hurt.” His voice was gruff as his fingers brushed against her tender cheek. “So damn sorry.”
“Kellan, you found me.” Her hand covered his. “Against all odds, you saved me. I’m the one who’s angry—at Vespa for shooting you. I was so scared, Kellan. There was so much blood. I was afraid that you’d found me only for me to lose you. Please don’t ever get shot again. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, babe. And I’ll never leave you. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
# # #
Epilogue
Annabelle smiled as the plane banked to the right in preparation for landing. She’d spent the last four weeks in California wrapping up ties to her old life. She’d stayed by Kellan’s side while he healed from his injury, but then things happened quickly. After attending funerals for the victims—that Annabelle insisted she pay for, along with trust funds for the families—Rob’s will had been finalized with the assistance of COBRA Securities lawyers. She now owned more money than she’d spend in a lifetime.
She had no doubt that she wanted to move to Indiana and spend her life with Kellan and the entire crew. They made her feel like part of the family from the first day. She loved her job and she loved her friends and she loved Kellan, not necessarily in that order. It would be a good life.
During the nights she spent alone, she’d come up with plans for charitable contributions. When she first learned that Rob had left everything to her, Mr. Windham had her draw up a will in case anything happened to her. She split the money between causes that honored all three of her parents: military veterans in honor of her father, a scholarship at her mother’s Alma Mater, and cancer research for Rob. She still planned to donate a substantial amount to each of those, but she’d also established generous trusts for Andre and for Andy Garvey’s daughter, Callie that included money specifically set aside for college, as well as for the children of the maintenance personnel who’d been killed in the hangar bombing. She also wanted to launch a foundation for animals, specifically dogs rescued from illegal fighting. Those poor animals deserved a shot at a happy life.
Rob’s house had been thoroughly cleaned from the smoke damage and listed. It sold after three days on the market. The new owner wanted to keep most of the furniture including the baby grand piano, so the pieces had been written into the final price. It saved her from having to try to sell or donate the items she didn’t want to keep for herself. Those had been loaded onto a moving truck and were en route, along with her Lexus—after she paid a hefty fee to retrieve it from long-term parking. Most of her belongings would be kept in storage for now.
Luke and Logan didn’t know it yet, but she was signing over the house in Aspen and the one in Hawaii to COBRA Securities. They could use them as safe houses or vacation houses for agents. She would have first dibs though when she wanted a get-away with the man she loved.
She insisted that she pay for the damage Vespa caused to the compound. Luke and Logan argued that insurance would cover it, but it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been staying there. She’d been shocked at the devastation. The airport hangar, Gulfstream and helicopter had been incinerated. The daycare center flattened. Thank God the children had been away at school. A hole the size of a tank had been blown into the office lobby, destroying BeBe’s aquarium, and Tucker Nash’s booth had been demolished as well.
Tyler told her that the attack pointed out weaknesses in their security that he’d be able to correct, one being a biometric scanner at the front gate. Now it would take a retinal scan to enter instead of an electronic tag on the car. He’d also developed weapons that were attached to posts and trees around the compound that could be remotely activated if someone tried to sneak inside with an RPG again. He had several more concepts that he planned to implement.
When the plane rolled to a stop and the Fasten Seat Belt sign clicked off, she stood and removed her bag from the overhead compartment. A perk of first class was that she’d be one of the first to disembark. Kellan was meeting her at the Indianapolis International Airport. He texted that he had a surprise for her. They’d spoke every night on the phone, but they hadn’t talked marriage. Her heart galloped in her chest. Could it possibly be a ring?
#
Kellan stood with his surprise for Annabelle, his eyes locked on the jetway. She was scheduled to arrive any moment and he was filled with excited energy. It’d been a month since he’d seen her—thirty days to be exact. They’d talked each night apart, but it wasn’t the same as holding her in his arms and kissing her soft lips. He’d have jetted off to California with her but Amelia wouldn’t clear him to fly, and then with the destruction of the compound and the new contract the bosses negotiated, they were swarmed with work. Luke and Logan were about to hire more agents.
After spending time back home, he wondered if she was questioning her decision to move. She assured him that she was looking forward to coming back, but things looked different when you were away for any amount of time. Take for instance his feelings for her: they weren’t the same as when she left. They were a hundred
time stronger. He knew what it was like to wake up in bed without her cuddled at his side and he hated it. Muddling through the day, knowing she wasn’t waiting for him in her office or their apartment was torture.
Together, they’d gone over plans for their house and he was officially on the builder’s schedule. It had every feature Annabelle wanted, including a separate office suite, though Luke and Logan told her she could keep her current one. She hadn’t decided if she’d take them up on their offer. He knew she felt guilty occupying a room that could be used for a new hire, but most of her work directly benefited the company through family ties.
He was just about to check the arrival board again when he spotted her walking down the gateway and his breath caught. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered. She let out an excited shriek when she recognized him. Arms wide, she dashed towards him. He opened his arms and closed his eyes, anticipating the impact of her soft body against his, but it never came. His eyes snapped open and he glanced all around, his arms falling to his sides. Then he spotted her crouched down, fawning all over his surprise.
“Echo! My sweet boy, you look so beautiful. Do you feel better? Who’s a good boy?”
“Uh, hello?”
She smiled up at him and his heart did that happy dance it did every time she looked at him. Slowly rising to her feet, she threw her arms around him.
He breathed in her scent and hugged her tight. “I missed you so damn much.”
“I missed you, too.”
Then he was kissing her. Heaven. Right here. This was the air he needed to breathe. He would’ve kept going if not for the people that kept breezing by them with knowing chuckles or naughty suggestions. He eased back with great reluctance.
Her smile was brilliant. “Thank you for bringing Echo. I missed him.”
“He’s the surprise I told you about.”
“Well, it was a good one.”
“No, I mean he is the surprise…as in, he’s yours now.”
Her eyes shot to his and she clutched his arm. “What?”
The Viper Page 27
