They inched into the gap between the first and second Jeeps. They were convertible—with nothing that would shelter them from being seen. Roll bars did little to prevent getting shot. Colby reached up and fumbled for the ignition. He couldn’t believe it. There was a key.
Colby turned back to Regan. “You’re going to have to drive.”
Regan nodded. He motioned for Olivia to crawl in and lie down in the back. He got in after her. Regan eased up into the driver’s seat and turned the vehicle’s engine over.
That was when a window broke and the gunfire started. Regan threw the Jeep into Reverse and stomped on the gas, causing Colby to fall forward against the dashboard. He grabbed his assault rifle and laid down suppressive fire toward the building until Regan could get them moving forward.
She braked hard. The car swiveled slightly as she threw it into gear. Colby braced so he could keep his position. Once they were moving, he grabbed the rocket launcher and loaded it. He stood, keeping his stance wide, and fired.
A direct hit to the other Jeep. At least they wouldn’t follow them that way.
That was when he saw four men pour through the hole he’d also left in the side of the building.
* * *
All Regan could do was follow the worn route through the brush in front of her. There wasn’t clearly a road but what appeared to be more of an old Jeep trail. Hadn’t there been streets leading in and out of this facility?
Soon, her question was answered when they struck pavement.
“Olivia, are you okay?” Regan asked.
In the rearview mirror she saw Olivia’s head pop up and her hand gave her a thumbs-up sign. She turned to Colby. “And you?”
He turned to her with a tentative smile. “Good but—”
And that was when they heard it, the thumping of the helicopter blades quickly closing in.
“That’s what I was worried about.”
He stood and faced backward, steadying himself against the roll bar. Regan heard what sounded like the worst hail storm ever closing the distance on their vehicle.
“Faster,” Colby said.
Regan looked quickly behind her as he settled the rocket launcher on his shoulder. She turned back around and that was when she saw the deer standing in the middle of the road. She veered to the left. A scream pealed from Olivia’s lips, kicking Regan’s heartbeat into a dizzying pace. Colby was knocked awkwardly over the passenger seat. She heard the ping of metal against metal.
Colby shot upright. “Step on it!”
Regan righted the vehicle and nearly stood on the gas, making the Jeep rear forward. The dirt puffed violently beside the vehicle in tiny explosions as it was blown apart by a spray of bullets. Regan’s head throbbed. She gritted her teeth.
If their captors moved that gun a few inches to the right, she would feel those bullets rip through her body.
Regan heard the whistle, felt the heat of the rocket leaving the launcher, and then a faint hit of metal hitting metal.
The world burst bright and heat whooshed over Regan, her hair fanning forward from the concussive wave of the blast. An unseen hand forced their vehicle off the road and Regan’s hands came off the wheel as Colby covered her body with his.
The Jeep eventually slowed. Colby squeezed tighter but Regan began to push him off in a fight for air.
He eased back, and she looked up, seeing trails of black smoke drift under the blue cloudless sky and shrapnel rain down.
“Is it over?” Olivia asked, crawling up from her place in the back.
Regan scanned Olivia and didn’t see one drop of blood. She looked at Colby and brought her fingers up to his hair and face. “Were you hit?”
He grabbed her hands in his. “I’m fine. We’re okay. I think that was the last of them.”
“What now?”
“Just this.”
He leaned forward and kissed her.
“Seriously?” Olivia cried out.
But then came the sound of another helicopter. Regan looked up and saw a military helicopter hovering over them. Ropes fanned out from either side and men rappelled down each one. Six in total.
“I think these are the good guys,” Colby said.
The first man who landed on the ground took off his helmet.
It was Colby’s friend, Nicholas Abrams.
TWENTY
For the first time in a long time, Colby was actually relieved to see Nico. Old feelings returned—the kinship kind and not the disappointment and anger he’d felt after their comrade’s death. After everything he’d been through, perhaps he was ready to let bygones be bygones.
“Always late to the party,” Colby said.
Nico smiled. “Always have to do everything on your own. Friends are here to help if you’ll let them. And just FYI—we are a day earlier than planned.”
“That’s true. And the reason for your early arrival?”
“We used the chips you swallowed to find the compound. Once the helicopter flew in, we knew we better end things.”
Colby reached out his hand and when Nico grabbed it, he pulled him into a quick hug. “Glad to see you here. By the way, what happened at the bank?”
“Turned out to be another interested party—not the good kind. We know Brian was trying to play several entities against one another to drive the price of his bioweapon up. Some of this information we found hidden in the lab on his personal property. We didn’t know all the players, but the few we knew were definitely bad apples. The men that kept you here at the compound were private security hired by Brian until he could pick his ultimate winner.” Nico spoke into his shoulder microphone, and the helicopter veered off in the direction of the compound. “Those guys will go back and secure the compound, though it looks like you handled the situation pretty well.”
“There’re still some stragglers back there,” Colby said.
“They’re prepared for that.”
Colby looked back. Olivia was huddled next to her mom. Both alive and well, though a little worse for wear.
“What happens now?” Colby asked, keeping them in his sights.
Lord, please... I don’t want to lose any more women in my life. People I love...
Was that true? Did he love Regan? Could love happen in a matter of days? Long-lasting love? Would he be blessed enough to find it twice in his lifetime?
“Colby.” Nico pressed the toe of his boot into the dirt and started shuffling stones. He didn’t...or maybe couldn’t look at Colby. “It’s Sam.”
It was as if a sword pierced Colby’s gut. In the days they’d been gone had something horrible happened to his sister?
Had the worst thing happened?
“What is it? Please—”
“She’s alive, but sicker.”
“We have to get Regan back. We put the cure somewhere safe. I can... You can go and get it—”
Nico raised a hand. “Colby, slow down. We recovered the polio virus. It wasn’t too hard for us to track once we knew you were helping Regan. It’s safely back at the hospital.”
“Great. Then you can fly Regan straight to Sam...” Colby’s voice trailed. Something in Nico’s gaze twisted the invisible sword in his belly.
“I have to take her into custody, Colby. This is a national security concern. I’ll see what I can do about getting her released, but the hospital is a different story. They may never let her touch a patient there again.”
“Nico—” Colby placed his fist against his chest “—you can fix this. You have the power. You know what kind of duress she was under. She’s got what you need as far as Brian’s buyers. That information alone should secure an immunity agreement for her.”
“That’s all true—but the hospital—that will be the challenge.”
Nico wal
ked away and approached Regan. After no more than five seconds her hands were to her face, her shoulders heaving. A few words Colby couldn’t hear were exchanged between them, but the meaning was clear from Regan’s body language.
Nico walked back to Colby. “She asking if you’ll take Olivia...for now. Says you’re the only one she trusts.”
He nodded. Regan smiled weakly, and Olivia jumped out of the Jeep and straight into his arms.
* * *
Regan was tired, so tired. There was little to do but look at the four nondescript walls painted in beige. There was one mesh window in the steel door that locked her in this room.
From one prison to another. Things are not looking up for me.
They’d interrogated her for hours. Maybe interrogation was too harsh a word. Nico had been very matter-of-fact in his questioning. He was constantly back and forth from the room as if he was verifying Regan’s story with what they’d found at the compound. Colby and Olivia were questioned, as well, but they hadn’t been detained.
For once, she didn’t worry about Olivia. Regan knew she was safe with Colby. She was worried about Sam. About whether or not they’d let her try to save her life.
Lord, after everything Colby’s done for me—please, have them release me. Please let the hospital allow me to perform Sam’s surgery.
There was a microwaveable cup of macaroni and cheese sitting in front of her that had congealed long ago. The most her stomach could take was a few sips of water. At that moment, she began to understand something about faith. Only when she was in trouble did she think to turn to God. When things went well, she didn’t sense a need for help. But here, in prison, when everything had been stripped away, it was the only thing she could think of.
Is it weird to feel almost thankful this happened? I learned that a man could want the best for me...could actually help me. That he could make me feel safe and not harmed. Olivia and I are closer than ever. I feel like God is with me.
That whatever happens will be okay—except for Sam. Lord, please, don’t let Sam be collateral damage.
She leaned forward and remembered the picture she’d hastily tucked into her back pocket. She pulled the page out, unfolded it, and traced her finger over the innocently penned lines Olivia had drawn.
A house. A man, woman and child off to one side. A tree. The sun with radiant beams. A rainbow. The figures clearly represented Colby, Regan and Olivia. The man stood between the woman and child, holding each of their hands. And then a heart—not drawn by Olivia but by Colby given the fluid assuredness of the line, surrounded all three figures.
Did that simply drawn heart mean he wanted what she did—to never be apart again?
There was a brisk knock at the door and Nicholas stepped in.
He sat in front of her. “Brian Hollis has confirmed every bit of your story. We found the notebook you mentioned still on him. Thankfully, the contents of the lab survived the explosion when Colby blew up their spare vehicle. Brian basically gave a full confession to everything. To coercing you into stealing the virus. To killing Polina. To kidnapping you and Colby.”
“And what did he get for that?”
“Let’s just say he won’t see the light of day again, but he’ll live. Sometimes life, even in prison, is worth bargaining for.”
“So what now?” Regan asked.
“We’re going to release you.”
“What about the hospital?”
Abrams folded his hands in front of her. “Without disclosing too much, I made contact with your hospital CEO, chief of medicine and chief of surgery. I explained that you’d been very helpful in thwarting several probable terrorist attacks much at the risk to your own life. That you should be viewed as a hero...or heroine, I guess.”
“But is that true?”
Nicholas leaned forward. “Regan, heroes are made not because they always make the right choices, but in how they finish. Your actions are understandable considering the pressure you were under. You never put any lives in danger, but were willing to sacrifice yourself to keep Brian from accomplishing what he wanted. That is heroism.”
“What about the notebooks?”
“We have them. They’ll be locked away.”
“I want them destroyed. I don’t want anyone to see the early versions of my work—whatever happened that led to those deaths.”
Nicholas slid one hand forward. “Regan, Brian confessed to manipulating your early experiments. He just really needed to find the jumping-off point from where he started. That’s why he allowed you to get your journals. It surprised him that you still had them. He couldn’t remember the right version he’d manipulated. What you have in those notebooks is benign. Trust me. I’ve had our best microbiologists review them.”
For the first time in a long time, Regan felt like she could breathe again.
“First, I need to go to the hospital to check on Colby’s sister.”
“Of course.”
Regan was escorted out of the building. Nicholas pointed off to the side, where Colby waited with Olivia. She approached them, and Colby’s arms swallowed her, and she was safe and whole again.
“Let’s go save Sam,” Regan said.
Colby’s hands smoothed up her back and settled on top of her shoulders. He eased her back from his embrace and locked his eyes with hers. “I need to say something to you.”
Regan’s heart thumped at the base of her throat. She swallowed to try to chase it away without success. It was hard to read the look in Colby’s eyes. What is he going to say? Did I misinterpret the feelings I thought he had for me? Is this the easy letdown?
“I want to be sure you understand something. It’s important to me that you hear these words before you see Sam.”
Regan pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. She would die right here if he didn’t get to the words soon, but so was fear seizing her chest at what those words might be.
“Regan Lockhart—I love you. I love Olivia.”
Tears brimmed Regan’s eyes and Colby pulled her tightly against him.
“I love you, too,” Regan said.
His chest heaved underneath her and he squeezed her tighter.
“I know that you’ll do all you can to save Sam and she still might die. I need you to hear, right now, that I will not blame you if that happens.”
Regan pressed into him, unable to stem the flow of tears. He gripped her tightly in a one-arm embrace and then tipped her chin up as he gently pressed his lips against hers.
What she hoped for was realized.
“I’ll always be with you,” Colby said.
And it was the first promise from a man that Regan believed with everything in her.
EPILOGUE
Nine months later
Regan clutched Olivia’s hand in hers as they stood on Sam’s parents’ front porch. It was a day she’d hoped against hope would come.
A party for Sam to celebrate her remission. Regan’s cure had saved Sam’s life.
The door flew open and Sam piled out, enveloping Regan in a breath-halting hug. Regan encircled Sam with her arms, laughing, returning the embrace. “You get stronger every time I see you.”
Sam eased her back. “Can you believe it! Another clear scan? The tumor just melted away like you said it would.”
The physician in Regan wanted to temper Sam’s expectations, but today was not a day to do that.
Regan reached her hand out and laid it against Sam’s cheek, feeling tears brim her eyelids. “You are so beautiful.” And Sam was, truly. Her hair had grown back. Her cheeks were vibrant with a hint of rosy pink. Her smile was infectious—the good kind.
“Well, don’t keep standing there. Come inside. Someone’s waiting for you.”
Regan’s fingers tingled.
&nbs
p; Olivia skipped into the house. “Colby!” she yelled.
“In the backyard,” Regan heard his voice call out.
When she’d been released by the military, she and Colby had raced to the hospital only to find Sam in what could be called a very bad state of affairs. The seizures had taken such hold that the medical team had put her in a drug-induced coma to keep them at bay. She’d been heavily sedated and on a breathing machine. The medical team had scanned her that morning and the tumor had grown—over the point where Regan thought the virus could actually work.
Against the hospital’s wishes, Regan had decided to go ahead with the procedure.
After infusing the virus, the inflammatory response her body mounted was impressive and, though the tumor was dying, the immune reaction was causing significant swelling in Sam’s brain. At one point, Regan thought there’d be little chance Sam would make it.
But every day, Regan would spend time with Colby at Sam’s bedside. All Regan could do medically was done. So they would pray—for hours on end—for Sam to wake up.
And she did. Though the road was hard, she’d come through it.
Sometimes illness was the glue that held people together, and Regan worried that had become the case with her and Colby, but once Sam was on the path to recovery they hit an easy stride and found that they truly were connected in every meaningful way.
And, most importantly, Olivia loved Colby—maybe more than Regan did, if that were possible.
Regan wove through Sam’s parents’ house. It wasn’t the first time she’d been there, but things were amiss.
Sam hovered playfully behind her, giggling every now and then.
Regan turned around. “I thought we were celebrating?”
“We are—just not me. We’re celebrating you and...”
Regan laughed. “Sam, seriously. What is going on?”
The French doors opened and there stood Colby underneath an archway of summer flowers. Sam’s family stood off to the side—these people she’d grown to love and cherish over the past several months. People she felt were the family she’d never had.
Taken Hostage Page 18
