by AJ Quinn
Annie looked up and smiled as Dana entered the office before her expression slowly gave way to one of concern. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
Dana shook her head. “I don’t know. Nothing…everything.” She shrugged and pressed forward. “Have you seen Kellen?”
Annie’s eyes narrowed and she studied her more closely. “I believe she’s still combing the woods with Grant and his team, finalizing placements for all those FBI sharpshooters he’s brought in. At least that’s where she was when I sent Cody out with coffee for them about twenty minutes ago. Why? What’s the girl done?”
Dana let out a long breath. “She told me she loved me.”
Clearly confused, Annie leaned back in her chair. “That’s wonderful, sweetie. I happen to know you feel the same way, so forgive me if I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”
“Loving her is easy, Annie. Losing her terrifies me.” Her throat had tightened and she found it hard to swallow. “I woke up alone this morning, after the most amazing night of my life. It scared me more than I thought possible. It made me wonder if it had all been a dream. Or worse, that Kellen panicked when she realized what she said and took off.”
“No dream. And definitely no panic.”
The husky voice had her whirling around. Kellen stood at the door, and Dana saw a kind of elemental wariness in the depths of her eyes. “No?”
Kellen shook her head. “No. Just an obligation that slipped my mind.” She approached Dana slowly. “I forgot I’d promised Grant I’d help him with a couple of things this morning. Or maybe I got so preoccupied with other more important matters that I forgot, until he showed up at the cabin. But the things he needed my help with, they’re all done now.”
Dana swayed slightly, lulled by the low voice. “Finished? Really?”
“Really. Except for this.” Kellen reached for Dana, threaded her fingers through her hair, and brought her face closer. They stared at each other and long seconds passed without a single sound. “I love you, Dana Kingston,” she whispered just as their lips touched.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Hundreds of tiny white lights glittered like stars on the tall dark pines, casting a soft glow on the footpath and marking the way to the clinic, while soft music filled the evening air.
As Kellen made her way from room to room, people greeted her with smiles. Ignoring the rapid pounding in her chest, she licked her lips, politely paused to exchange a few words, and was happy to defer any acclaim for the success of the clinic to Dana and Annie.
She knew they had worked tirelessly, not only to pull this evening together, but to make the clinic something far more than it would have been had she been left to her own devices. Something truly special for the whole community. And if it meant forcing herself out of her comfort zone and mingling for one evening, then that’s what she would do.
The turnout had been tremendous. The silent auction was a huge success and would go a long way toward funding some much-needed equipment. And everyone seemed happy to join in the celebration. Standing off to one side talking with her parents and Leslie, Annie waved and beamed in her direction. With the speeches over, Annie could now relax, and it was clear she was thrilled.
Rightfully so.
Gabe walked by and put a plate of hors d’oeuvre in her hand, but Kellen’s appetite had vanished long before people had started arriving. She held the plate long enough to keep others at bay, then at the earliest opportunity, handed it off to one of the servers Michelle had provided, choosing to hold an untouched glass of champagne instead.
It still didn’t come easy to her, this being surrounded by so many people, no matter how many she actually knew or how motivated she was. She tugged at the collar of the black turtleneck Dana had asked her to wear—because I like how you look in it—and tried to recollect a time when being in a crowd had energized her. But if it ever existed, that moment was buried deep in the past, as irretrievable as her childhood.
It was futile to mourn what could not be changed. She could, however, change the present, and as the clock ticked off another hour of being surrounded by too many people, swallowing became more difficult, her heart beat much too fast, and she needed to take a moment for herself. She needed to step outside and find a place where she could breathe once again.
“Are you looking to make your escape?” a delicious soft voice whispered in her ear.
Kellen turned and felt a flood of warmth fill her as her eyes connected with Dana’s. In spite of the lighthearted comment, she saw Dana’s eyes were dark, saw concern in them, and it bothered her. She saw the lines of tension around Dana’s mouth, knew it was because of her, and felt even worse. But there was nothing she could do.
“Have I become so transparent?”
Dana laughed softly. It was a sweet sound, and with it, some of the tension in her face faded. But not the concern. “Ordinarily, I would say no. But tonight you do have a certain deer-caught-in-headlights look about you.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t,” Dana said, pressing her fingers against Kellen’s lips. “I know how much this is costing you, and don’t ever feel you have to apologize for being who you are.”
Kellen kissed the tips of her fingers. “Thank you.”
“Any time, love. But try to remember if Broussard is going to make his move, tonight’s the perfect time for it. All the FBI agents I keep tripping over say so, which means if you’re going to go outside, you need to let Grant know and take a couple of his guys with you.”
Unwilling to give Broussard more control of her life than he’d already wrested from her, Kellen shook her head. “How about I take you instead?”
“How about we do both,” Dana said, suggesting compromise as she reached for Kellen’s hand.
Kellen marveled at the ease with which Dana slipped through the crowd and captured a glass of champagne from a passing server, while at the same time signaling their intent to Grant across the room. Grant responded with a quick nod of understanding, and an instant later one of his agents slipped through the doors just ahead of them.
Kellen no longer cared, because while night had descended and there were still too many people standing near the entrance, the air was crisp and clean as she stepped outside. And as she gazed up at the moon, a thin silver sickle, the din slowly receded, the tension deep inside her loosened, and she began to decompress.
“Thank you,” she murmured as she began to breathe more easily. “This is exactly what I needed.”
“You’re welcome.” Dana smiled. “Have I told you how hot you look tonight?”
Kellen felt herself blush. “All that matters is that you’re happy.”
“Very, although it’s difficult to keep my hands to myself. Do you think you can survive another couple of hours or do you need to sneak away?”
Slowly, Kellen shook her head. “No, I’ll stick it out. But I was thinking—maybe on Sunday we could take a drive into Denver.”
“Sure, if that’s what you want. What’s in Denver?”
“Susan, Bogart’s vet, has an eight- or ten-week-old rescue pup. A border collie. Only thing wrong is she’s underweight, and I was thinking the girls—”
Dana smiled and lightly brushed her lips against Kellen’s. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. In the meantime, will you at least let me get you something to help with that headache?”
Kellen was aware yet another person was coming up the path toward them, and sighed. “I will if it gets any worse.”
And then her heart began to beat faster.
The person approaching was a big man, dressed to fit in with the occasion in a tuxedo and a dark cashmere coat. Clean shaven, his dark hair clipped short and touched by gray at the temples. Surrounded by numerous men dressed similarly, he was unremarkable and would have aroused no suspicion, had anyone thought to compare him to any of the photos the FBI had distributed.
But his resemblance to Tommy Lee Broussard was unmistakable.
*
&
nbsp; Dana watched the stranger as he slowly reached the bottom of the front steps to the clinic, hands in his coat pockets. He didn’t say anything. He simply remained silent as he looked up and watched Kellen. Calm and patient and quiet.
She couldn’t say she recognized him. But as she felt Kellen stiffen beside her, Dana released a muffled sound of shock and she suddenly knew who he was.
Douglas Broussard. The man who had sworn to kill Kellen.
Dana was too surprised to say or do anything. And then it was too late.
“Hello, Kellen Ryan.” His voice was flat. “I’ve wanted to meet you face-to-face for some time now.”
Kellen didn’t respond, but Dana saw her flex her fingers, watched her burying all her emotions in that one gesture. Turning back, she saw Broussard’s stance. Saw the dead, empty look in his eyes. It was the look of someone who had nothing left to lose. Somebody who didn’t have to think anymore.
Too frightened to even blink her eyes, Dana wondered where Grant and his sharpshooters were. She wondered how Broussard had gotten this close and why he was still standing, mere feet away from Kellen. She wondered if this was really happening.
An instant later, she stopped wondering. Stopped thinking. Stopped breathing.
In that moment, Broussard pulled his coat open and everything else going on slid into the background as she saw he’d strapped a dozen or more cylinders to his chest.
Dear God, she thought, as her fingernails pressed into her palms and she swallowed reflexively. Pipe bombs?
“This is a compression switch in my left hand. A dead man’s switch,” he said, clearly addressing Kellen. Once again, he sounded calm. Like ice water ran through his veins. Like he wasn’t wearing death.
“Show me how bright you are, Ryan, and tell those FBI sharpshooters protecting you to back off. If one of them thinks he wants to take me out, I suggest they think again. If I release this, at a minimum, you and I go. Your girlfriend beside you goes with us. But that won’t be all. I’m certain I’ve got enough explosives packed in here that quite a bit of this clinic and a lot of people inside will go as well.”
Dana stared at him. Well past frightened now, she moved into a surreal stage, where nothing really registered anymore. Nothing mattered except—
“Please,” she said, hands out, palms up. “Mr. Broussard, you don’t want to do this.” She’d witnessed enough working in emergency departments to know what harm people could do to people. But those other times and other situations hadn’t threatened the only woman she would ever love all the way to her soul.
The silence stretched. Thinned. Snapped.
*
Kellen didn’t think she had enough energy left to feel frightened.
She had a past so dark that at times it could still make her flinch, but her mind struggled to make sense of what her eyes were seeing—a man in a tuxedo, wearing a suicide vest, was threatening to destroy everything that meant something to her.
The only time she could remember feeling this disassociated was the day her father had come home in an out-of-control rage and began beating her. It happened shortly after he’d knocked her to the floor. Even as she’d tasted blood in her mouth, he’d pulled out a knife and sliced open her bright yellow T-shirt—
Kellen shuddered and forced herself to think of the present, not the corrosive past.
One thing she knew for certain. This situation, rightly or wrongly, had started with her when she’d trained Tommy Lee. And now she needed to finish it. She owed that much to the people who had unknowingly already played a part in this drama and paid for it with their lives, all because she had failed to die when Broussard first tried to exact his revenge.
She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Not here. Not now. Not when everyone and everything she cared for was at risk, starting with the woman beside her whom she loved more than she’d ever thought possible. Cody and Ren were also nearby. As were Annie and Leslie. Senator Parker and his wife. Liz and Michelle. Gabe, and the other members of her team. This was her family Broussard was threatening and he had to be stopped. She needed to stop him.
She drew in a breath and turned her full attention to the man standing at the bottom of the steps. As her eyes locked with his, her breathing hard, emotions roiling, chills rippled over her skin in primal recognition of the truth, and Kellen accepted that whatever was going to happen would happen.
But if she was going down, she would go down fighting. In spite of all the curves she’d been thrown, life had only scarred her. It had never managed to break her will to live. Not Kellen Ryan. And that was who she was.
She slowly eased forward until she was positioned between Broussard and Dana.
“Stop right there.” Broussard raised his right hand and Kellen found herself staring at a gun.
“All right.” She did as she was told, knowing she didn’t have any other option, and her world in that instant narrowed to one goal—not getting killed. She shivered from the cold, felt a flicker of energy surge back into her system, and recognized it for what it was. Adrenaline. She didn’t think it would hurt, and it might just help her get through the next few minutes.
“Do you know I’ve thought about this moment a thousand times in the past year? I’ve thought about killing you a thousand different ways.”
The pleasure in his voice stripped all the moisture from her throat, leaving behind a desert. “I imagine you have.” She bit her lip. “So what are you waiting for? Why don’t you go ahead and shoot me and be done with it, if that’s what you want?”
She heard Dana’s shocked hiss, knew she couldn’t afford to be distracted. She reached, grabbed Dana’s arm, and squeezed. But she kept her gaze fixed on Broussard, watched as his features tightened.
“Are you saying you want to die?”
She saw something in his changing expression and realized she’d surprised him. “No, not at all. But you might as well shoot me, because I’m not about to let you walk into this building filled with people I care about and set off your bombs, no matter what.”
He laughed then. A harsh, rasping sound. “You know you can’t stop me.”
She considered that for a minute. “Maybe, maybe not. But maybe you can help me understand. Is it because you want to die? Like your son? That you can’t survive knowing he died even though he was doing something he believed in and loved?”
For a second or two, Broussard seemed to waver, to lose focus. Then he squared his shoulders once again. “It doesn’t matter. The only question is how many others I am going to take with me. That is the one choice—the only choice—I’m leaving to you.”
Kellen knew the agents protecting Senator Parker would have weapons trained on Broussard. But she also knew he was too close to the clinic and everyone in it, and they couldn’t risk shooting him. Not as long as his finger was on the detonator. The resulting explosion would take him out. And her. That much was certain. But he had said it would likely take part of the clinic and a large number of innocent people as well. None of them could afford to hope he might be wrong.
“In that case, I guess it’s just the two of us. Why don’t you and I go for a walk and—”
“Kellen, no.” Dana grasped her hand, stopping her forward motion. “Are you crazy? Tell me you’re not planning on going anywhere with him.”
Kellen turned toward Dana. In spite of the darkness pressing in all around her, there was just enough light. She could see the fear on her face. But she could also see the love in her eyes.
She wished there could be another way.
Broussard might yet kill her. If he was quick enough. The odds were against it, but the chance still existed.
It was a chance she had to take.
“Dana, believe me when I tell you I don’t want to die. But I won’t let him hurt the people that matter to me. All I’m asking is that you trust me.”
“I trust you,” Dana whispered, closing her eyes and momentarily tightening her hold on Kellen’s hand. “But I feel like I’ve been waiti
ng my whole life for you and I want a hell of a lot longer with you than what we’ve had. So please, just remember how much I love you and come back to me in one piece.”
“I will,” she said, and walked down the steps.
*
Dana’s throat felt completely blocked by the scream that had been rising from her chest since Broussard first appeared. For an instant, she remained motionless. Watching Broussard push Kellen in front of him, while maintaining his hold on the deadly switch in his hand. Watching him lead Kellen away from the clinic and along the path that led into the looming forest.
And then the fear that had her held in its grasp released her, and she took a first step to follow. Almost immediately she felt hands grasp her, abruptly stopping her. She heard Cody, Ren, and Annie calling out to her.
Through it all, she heard Calvin Grant’s harsh whisper. Telling her not to do anything foolish. Telling her to let Kellen go and have faith that she knew what she was doing. By then, Kellen and Broussard had been swallowed by the darkness.
She turned to stare at Grant, trying to decipher the message in his eyes. Aware he was listening to someone on the wireless in-ear receiver he wore, but unable to hear what was being said. And then there was no more time to wonder, as the explosion shot high into the sky above the trees, orange flames chasing smoke.
Dana closed her eyes, while around her, no one spoke. Images flashed through her mind helter-skelter.
Kellen leaning down to her car window on a stormy mountain road, her smile dazzling.
The first time they danced.
The moment their lips first touched.
“Oh God, Kellen, what have you done?” Her throat tight, eyes burning, she stared in disbelief, as a wave of fear washed over her, threatening to drown her. “What have you done?”
She didn’t remember moving. Not really. One minute she was standing on the steps, the next she was rushing down them and onto the path, mindless of the cold and ice and snow. Conscious only of the smell of smoke and the deathly silence that had followed the explosion.
