Vendetta

by Iris Johansen

  Fast.

  Hard.

  Unexpected.

  She kicked the guard to her left in the kneecap, jerked her arm away when his grip loosened. Then she did a backflip and a roundhouse kick that connected to the other guard’s larynx. He went down, gurgling and grasping his throat. She grabbed the key from his pocket and took off running. She heard Kraus cursing as she streaked back toward the prison. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Kraus and Huber dashing after her. The two guards were still on the ground, struggling to get to their feet. Kraus hadn’t called any of his other men yet. No real alarm since they probably thought they’d be able to trap her again when she reached Maria’s cell.

  She threw open the arched door and was once more within the prison. She motioned quickly to Maria in the cell as she threw her the key. “Not yet. Stay where you are!”

  She whirled as Huber burst through the doorway. “You decided catching me was worth more than honoring your scumbag of a father?” She glared at Kraus, who had just entered. “I found I couldn’t bear to watch you or that ugliness you planned. So why shouldn’t I let you kill me instead. Why don’t you just pull that gun and get it over with?”

  “That was never your choice,” Huber said. “And I’m very angry that you interrupted Kraus when I’d given him an order.” He was coming toward her. “So I think that I’ll give you a few minutes of my time before I have him make that call to Van Deek.” He took out a lighter from his jacket pocket. “A few painful burns in excruciatingly sensitive places…”

  “Stay away from her, Max,” Kraus warned. “You saw what she did out there.”

  “Let’s see how good she is while you’re holding a gun on her. She said she wanted you to shoot her.” He flicked the lighter on. “Let’s see how fast that eagerness erodes in the next couple minutes.” He tore open Rachel’s blouse. “No fatal wounds, Kraus. I want her to feel every—”

  She kicked him in the groin and leaped on top of him. She rolled to the side to try to use his body as a barrier to block any shot from Kraus. “No fatal wounds,” she said through her teeth as her fingernails tightened on Huber’s throat. “Not for me. But how many fatal wounds have you ordered, Huber? My family, hundreds of other families.”

  “Get her off me, Kraus.” Huber screeched. “Take the shot!”

  “But you told me that you wanted to have your fun,” Kraus said mockingly. “I don’t know which order to obey. You know I only want to please you.”

  It was the reprieve for which she had hoped, Rachel thought. Kraus was making his move. She could only pray that she’d be able to use it.

  “What are you doing to me, Kraus?” Huber was struggling to get to his gun. He made a sudden motion, and Rachel was abruptly beneath him. “There. I knew she was nothing.” He glared down at her as his hands moved to her throat. “Just a woman. Nothing like Venable.”

  All the deaths. All the torture. All the destruction.

  Do it. It was time.

  “Just a woman,” she whispered. Her hands moved gently to his wrists as she pressed and released the tiny envelope imbued in the polish beneath her nails. “But maybe a little like Venable.”

  She dug her nails into Huber’s wrists!

  He had no time to scream.

  He went rigid. He was staring at her in horror, gasping for breath, as the painful poison entered his bloodstream.

  He knew he was dying. She could see it in his face. The fear, the horror.

  She removed her nails from his flesh. “No, I’ve changed my mind. I think I might be a lot like my father.”

  Huber was collapsing on top of her. She quickly reached for his gun.

  But Kraus was there kicking the gun out of her reach. “No, I think that we’ll have to end this right now.” He was pointing his own gun at her. “Though you handled his assassination beautifully. But I do have to be the one who takes revenge for his death. It’s only fitting, considering I now have a duty to take over Red Star. You’re not surprised?”

  “You stopped him from kicking me to death. I was told you might be hungry to take Huber’s place. This was a convenient time for you to make a move. I thought I’d be a perfect weapon if you chose to use me.” Her lips twisted. “But let’s face it, I didn’t have much choice. I had to take a chance.” Keep talking, distract him. He was only a few feet away. She could roll fast and dig her nails into his ankle. He’d be helpless. The poison was so efficient, it froze any response but the death she’d designed.

  “Stop thinking,” Kraus said. “Make a move, and I’ll shoot the child. She might survive if you don’t—”

  “Drop the gun, Kraus.” Brandon was at the door, dressed in the gray-and-taupe uniform of Huber’s militia. He didn’t wait for a response but was across the room and tackling Kraus with blinding speed. His hand came down in a karate chop to Kraus’s neck. Then the butt of his pistol came down hard on Kraus’s head. As he went limp, Brandon whirled to Rachel. “Grab Maria, Rachel. We’ve got to get out of here. Dillard’s men are giving us cover fire, but we’ve got to be over that wall in the next four minutes.”

  “You grab her.” Maria was already unlocking the cell and Rachel motioned for her to come with them. “I can’t risk touching anyone right now.” She was running out the door. Shots from the walls surrounding the compound. Return shots from Huber’s militia.

  And that huge TV was still showing the sleek, dark supertanker on its screen.

  Still? She supposed it had only been moments since she’d made that run to go get Maria. Or maybe longer since Brandon had said that they were out of time.

  “Out!” Brandon had climbed the wall and dropped Maria to Nate on the other side. Then he was down again and carefully lifting Rachel. As she reached the top of the wall, she saw Kraus staggering out the door of the prison, blood running down his temple. His face convulsed with fury as he saw Rachel, and he began to run toward her. Brandon was dropping Rachel on the other side of the wall, and Kraus vanished from her view. “Get them on the helicopter, Nate. I’ve got to take care of Kraus and tell Dillard it’s okay to pull his men out and lock that gate.”

  Then he was gone.

  And Nate was rushing them toward a helicopter several yards away. He threw Maria into the copter, then reached out to Rachel.

  She pulled back. “Grab my wrists. Nothing else.”

  “What the hell,” he muttered. “Dammit, we’ve only got a couple minutes.” The next instant he’d pulled her on board and gone up to the pilot’s seat.

  Where was Brandon?

  The shooting was still heavy.

  Kraus … he had been going after Kraus.

  Kraus’s twisted, enraged, expression as he’d run toward them …

  And Rachel wouldn’t even know where to find Brandon if Kraus hurt or—

  “Off!” Brandon dove into the helicopter headfirst. “Now, Nate!”

  “Shit, yes,” Nate murmured. He lifted off and banked immediately and sharply to the left after gaining only thirty feet. “Too close, Brandon.”

  “Close as it had to be.” He was checking his watch. “Get us higher. It’s going to blow any minute.”

  But it was high enough for Rachel to see Kraus running, screaming, giving orders to the militia to ignore the locked gate and climb the wall and go after them.

  “Higher.” Brandon’s voice was tense. “We’re out of time. Get away from the blast. It will rock—”

  The compound blew, turning the entire area into one huge firebomb.

  The helicopter rocked, dipped, as the shockwave hit it.

  No more Kraus. No more compound. No Red Star. Just fire and destruction.

  It took her breath away. She could only ride out the shockwaves as Nate fought to put distance from the drone strike.

  “Dr. Rachel,” Maria’s eyes were wide with terror. “We’re going to die, aren’t we?”

  “No.” She lifted her head and gazed at the little girl. She realized that it was the first time that she could say that with any truth. A
fter all the danger and horror of the past hours, they were going to survive.

  And Red Star had gone down in that brilliant ball of flame.

  She smiled at Maria. “You’re not going to die. And I promise soon you’re going to go home and see your mama.” She leaned back against the wall of the helicopter. The words of comfort weren’t enough after what the child had gone through. Maria was smiling tentatively, but Rachel could see the fear was still there. She needed to be held and comforted.

  She turned to Brandon. “Would you go over to her and just hold her? I can’t do it for her right now. She’s been very brave, but she’s missing her mother, and this has all been too much for her.”

  His lips twisted. “So I’m to be Mama?”

  Considering the fact that he might be the most sexual and masculine man she’d ever met, it did sound a little ridiculous. Yet in another way it did not. She had found that Brandon managed to fill any number of niches when called upon. She smiled. “I believe you can handle it.”

  “And who’s going to hold and comfort you?” he asked tightly. “Between that stomping Huber gave you and what you went through later, Maria got off easy in comparison. I need to get you to a hospital.”

  “No, you don’t. I’m not a child. You need to get me back to Beach Haven so that I can take care of myself.” She stiffened, her gaze on his face. “You saw it all?”

  “Most of it,” he said curtly. “After I adjusted your watch, I was drifting around the area keeping an eye on you and trying to make certain that Dillard’s men would have access when they needed it. I only got the last part right. Keeping an eye on you was pure hell.”

  “It’s over now.” She hoped it was over. “Catherine managed to stop Van Deek?”

  “With considerable help from Cameron. She contacted us an hour ago. We just had to make certain there was no leak from the Katrina, that everything was not as Huber would exactly wish. Your situation was a bit dicey.”

  “More than a bit. And I don’t know what happened. Did Claire send those drones late? She told me right before Kraus took me that she’d only give me until four thirty.”

  “No, then she was right on time.”

  “But you weren’t scheduled to be able to come for us for another quarter of an hour.”

  “Schedules change. We didn’t know exactly what time Claire would act. We just wanted to get you away as soon as we could. But Monty was monitoring Claire’s communications with Langley, and when she started the countdowns with them, he notified me that we’d better get you the hell out of there.”

  “Monty.” She shook her head. “I told him he might save the day. He didn’t like the idea of your leaving him there.”

  “He’s not going to let me forget it.” He looked down at the blood on her nails. “Which poison did you use?”

  “Puffer combined with a rare Tibetan poison. Instant paralysis followed by painful death within one minute.”

  “I like painful.”

  “So did I.”

  “Why can’t you touch anything?”

  “The poison was contained until I released a special envelope that adhered underneath my nails in the polish. Any remainder of the poison will stay active and alive until I rinse it with a remover I created. I couldn’t bring the remover with me. I was able to make the poison undetectable, but I couldn’t take a chance with hiding another substance.”

  “I can see how that might be a problem.” He shook his head. “My, what an interesting manicure you’ve put together for yourself, Rachel.”

  “Not for myself,” she said soberly. “I killed a man with that poison. I created it intentionally. I have to admit it to myself and take the burden of any guilt.”

  “Self-defense.”

  “But how can I separate self-defense from choosing to kill because Huber and Kraus were so evil?” She looked down at her hands. “You once told me that you liked my hands because they looked capable, that they were capable because I’m a doctor. I didn’t act as a healer today, Brandon.”

  “No? There are all kinds of healing, Rachel. You healed that little girl for the second time today. And we might have healed a hell of a lot more when we blew up that compound.” He smiled. “And if I weren’t afraid that I’d curl up and be taken by the Grim Reaper, I’d run the risk of paying my deepest respect to that hand of yours.”

  He got to his feet. “But to avoid temptation, I’d better go over and sit with Maria and practice my maternal skills.” His eyes were suddenly twinkling. “Frankly, I think I’d almost prefer she was still mistaking me for Saint Gabriel.”

  “Wait.” She’d had a sudden thought. “I need you to do something else first.”

  He looked at her inquiringly.

  “Call Hu Chang. I can’t do it, and I promised him.”

  “It can’t wait?”

  “I promised him he’d be first. Would you want me to break a promise to Hu Chang?”

  “Point taken.” He took out his phone. “It might take a little while for explanations. I assume he’ll demand them?”

  “In detail. Maria won’t care if you don’t talk to her, just hold her and smile reassuringly.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  And it was going to be a very good best, she thought, as he reached Hu Chang and started talking.

  She watched Maria smile up at him as he settled beside her and drew her close. Brandon was giving her comfort and security and everything else she needed from him. As he had given it to Rachel during this nightmare they had gone through together.

  Had her father known on that last day that he was sending her someone who would somehow be able to meet her every need?

  She leaned back and closed her eyes.

  I don’t know if Brandon was right in what he said, Daddy. It sounded right. You said there was a time I’d have to go after the bad guys. Well, I did it. I hope you think I did okay …

  CHAPTER

  19

  BEACH HAVEN

  “Where is she?” Catherine threw open the front door and ran into the living room. “Brandon, where the hell is she? Why did you bring her here instead of taking her to a hospital? You said you thought Huber had broken her ribs.”

  “And he probably did,” Brandon said. “At least a couple. But Rachel said that she had a lot better chance of not dying if I brought her here. So stop giving me grief, Catherine.”

  “What? Where is she? I’ll talk sense into her.”

  “No, you won’t. Did I forget to tell you that she’s dripping some kind of weird death serum, and no one gets near her until she sterilizes herself? Rachel’s orders. She’ll come out of her room when she’s ready.”

  Catherine stopped short. “You might have neglected to mention that small fact. All you told me was that you were coming here, and no one was actually dead or dying.” She gazed at Rachel’s closed door. “Huber? What did she use?”

  “I forgot you were also so versed in poisons. Yes, it was Huber.”

  “Good. I hope it wasn’t over too soon.”

  “It lasted long enough to be very painful. And she said something about puffer. You might know more than I do about the effects.”

  “She must have combined it with something else. It has a few drawbacks that—”

  “Yes, I did.” Rachel stood in the open doorway of her room. “An herb from Tibet.”

  “Makes sense.” Catherine flew across the room to her. She stopped as she reached her. “You’re okay? You got rid of the aftereffects?”

  “I’m clean.” She reached out and carefully embraced her. “Just a little sore. How are you?”

  “Fine. Nobody was kicking me and blowing up everything around me. We were just stalling and keeping Huber from thinking he should lob a rocket at the Katrina to complete the job he started.” She tightly grasped Rachel’s two hands. “And Maria wasn’t hurt?”

  “Hurt, but not terribly. That doesn’t mean she won’t have nightmares. She’s in the kitchen with Nate, and he’s applying BLT therapy.”


  “You look like you could still use a little therapy yourself.” Her gaze was raking Rachel’s face. “Bruises and pale as a ghost.” She whirled on Brandon. “And I bet those damn ribs are killing her. Why are you letting her stand here? You don’t have that dripping poison excuse any longer. Get her to a hospital and have them make certain she doesn’t have anything worse than broken ribs.”

  “I was only waiting for you to check her out yourself,” Brandon said blandly. “It’s always easier to convince her to do something if you’ve chimed in.”

  “If it’s just ribs, they can’t do anything for me anyway,” Rachel said. “They’ll let them heal on their own.”

  “But Catherine demands that you go in for a checkup.” He nudged her toward the front door. “And you have to set a good example for Maria. Isn’t that right?” He glanced at Catherine. “Where’s Cameron?”

  She shrugged. “He’s dealing with the owners of the Katrina Notalo and trying to persuade them it was perfectly normal that we appropriated their vessel for a short while. It might actually take him longer to do that than the hijacking itself.”

  “He’s trying to leave Van Deek out of it?”

  “Van Deek was also a victim. He was looking for a way out. He caved immediately. Cameron wouldn’t be so generous if Van Deek hadn’t cooperated so readily.” She grimaced. “And he might be planning on using Van Deek at some point. He said he was clever and innovative. You can never tell with Cameron.”

  “And that’s fine with me,” Brandon said. “He can write his own ticket with me after Eagles Rest. I’ll be there for him.”

  “That’s a very dangerous thing to say,” Catherine said. “But I’ll try not to let him take advantage of it.” She gave Rachel a hug very gingerly. “I’ll meet you at the hospital. And I’ll have to call Hu Chang before I get there and tell him that we managed to do without him. Otherwise, he’ll be on your phone checking on you.”