Bodyguard Rescue

by Donna Young

  “Others are coming, Cerberus.” Jackson turned his head, facing Kate. “And they won’t fail. Threader wants her, badly.”

  Roman shifted, applying more pressure with his knee while he twisted the man’s arm up behind his shoulder blade. Jackson grunted in a pained response.

  “I want him now.”

  It took Kate a moment to realize Roman was talking about Threader. She thought the idea was to run from the man, not search him out.

  “A professional like yourself should learn from past mistakes.” Jackson’s laugh rasped against the floor. “But it seems another woman has made you vulnerable. Too bad I didn’t realize it sooner.”

  Kate was surprised that Roman didn’t correct him. She’d seen his face when he’d told Dempsey her death wouldn’t matter. It left no doubt Roman would’ve fol lowed through on his orders. After learning he was with the government, she’d expected as much, even agreed. Not out of nobility; she wasn’t that brave. It was simply the only solution, what her brother, Ian, would call a “no brainer.” If it came down to it, her life didn’t compare to the thousands that would be saved. She could only pray she would have the courage to follow through herself, if necessary.

  Even while she’d expected Roman’s answer, though, she hadn’t expected the cold indifference with which he gave it to Dempsey or the acute sense of loss that hit her right afterward. It was as if his answer permanently ended their old relationship and the existence of the old Roman. Her Roman.

  Jackson craned his head around in an effort to see his captor. “You think I might help you, knowing I’ll be dead soon?” He let his head fall forward onto the floor and snorted. “I’ll let Threader take care of you.”

  Roman showed no reaction to the words, but his eyes didn’t leave Jackson’s face.

  Kate glanced nervously at Jackson. “Shouldn’t we tie him up or something?”

  Jackson answered, his voice filled with ironic amusement. “Why tie someone when a bullet is more effective?”

  Kate gasped. Roman gave her a quick look before returning his gaze back to Jackson. The intent was there in that brief glance, and she saw it. “Why?”

  “Retribution,” Jackson stated calmly. “But the question is can he, with you standing there? Knowing every time you look at him, you’ll see him pulling the trigger.”

  “Yes— I can,” came Roman’s unyielding response. The rage was there, bridled somewhere underneath. It unnerved her.

  “You can’t kill a man in cold blood, Roman!” Kate cried and stood up, automatically tightening her hands into fists. She was ready to do something, she just didn’t know what.

  A percussion of shots exploded against the window. Kate jerked, expecting to feel bullets pierce her body, but for some reason the glass hadn’t shattered from the force of the assault.

  “Get down!”

  Sharp pain exploded in her kneecaps when she hit the hardwood floor on all fours. Almost immediately, another short burst of automatic gunfire followed, but the sound seemed far off, not directed at the cabin.

  “Someone just made their last mistake.” Jackson’s words chafed against the floor. “Whoever it was got off easy. If the bulletproof glass hadn’t saved you, they would’ve been taken back to Threader for his own personal kind of punishment.”

  Bulletproof glass? Kate had no time to decipher the man’s statement before Roman roared. Letting go of the arm, he jerked Jackson’s head back and shoved the gun into his Adam’s apple. “Tell me how to get to him or so help me God, I’ll leave you alive to face your own punishment for failing.”

  Jackson’s grin was belligerent even while his voice croaked from the increased pressure of Roman’s weapon. “I don’t think so. Not when both of us know that I participated in Amanda’s death. In fact, I was one of the chosen few who got to finish what Threader started.” He tugged once, uselessly against Roman’s hold. “The whole event was extremely enlightening.”

  Jackson’s words caused Kate’s stomach to churn. She stared at both men, trying to gather her thoughts. No matter what kind of monster Jackson was, she couldn’t let him be murdered. The man needed to be brought to justice. Not for his sake, but for Roman’s.

  With the mention of this Amanda, though, Roman’s face became uncompromising, while Jackson’s was accepting, welcoming the death that was sure to come. Amanda had been important to Roman. Important enough for him to willingly commit murder over the injustices done to her. How did someone logically combat revenge? Screams of frustration tickled the back of her throat. Nothing in her amateur psychology courses prepared her for this, damn it.

  Anxiety gnawed away at her control, and a familiar helplessness weighed her down. She couldn’t fight something she didn’t understand.

  “You can’t let me go, because we both know Amanda Salinas meant too much to you.” Jackson sighed, drawing Kate’s attention. “And you would never be certain that Threader had killed me.”

  Roman didn’t respond, his face set, but she saw the pain lurking in the depths of his pupils. A jealous ache swept through her body. Roman had obviously loved Amanda.

  Jackson went on, appearing not to have expected any response. “He’ll kill me, though—eventually— I’m certain.” He ran his tongue around his teeth before biting down hard. “Just as I’m certain that I’ll see you in hell one day.” He coughed, and Kate caught a faint chemical odor.

  “Poison.” She dived for Roman’s arm, trying to pull him away, desperate to stop the inevitable. “Roman—”

  “Too late,” came the harsh reply as Roman let Jackson’s body slide onto the floor. The agent’s eyes were open and staring sightlessly at Kate. She cringed and looked away, only to have her eyes fall on Dempsey, trading one horror for another.

  The scent of peppermint clung to her, laced with the smell of Dempsey’s blood. Kate remembered the feel of his arm around her rib cage, his pistol hard against her temple.

  She hugged herself in an attempt to stall the tremors that racked her body.

  “Doc, you can’t fall apart on me now.” Surprisingly, Roman’s tone showed no trace of his earlier anger as she found herself gathered into his arms. “It’s not over yet.”

  He smelled of soap—basic, simple. Reassuring. Kate leaned into Roman’s chest and closed her eyes, but the image of Jackson’s face floated before her in the darkness.

  “You would’ve killed him.” She hadn’t meant to say the words and certainly hadn’t meant them to come out as an accusation.

  He tilted her chin up, his eyes somber but steady. “Yes.”

  No other explanation, just a straightforward yes. Kate knew things weren’t that clear-cut. His muscles tensed underneath her palms as if he was expecting something, like a physical blow.

  Not knowing what to say, she lowered her head and nodded, her cheek rubbing against the soft cotton shirt. Wading through all the emotion and information was impossible now. It would have to wait until later, when she could think more clearly.

  He must’ve taken the nod for an agreement, because his muscles relaxed and he gave her another quick hug before easing her out of his arms.

  She felt as though her anchor had just slipped away. Trembling, she squared her shoulders, trying to keep a hold on her fragile control when what she really wanted was to be back in Roman’s arms.

  Outside, the resonance of automatic gunfire rent the air, followed by the sharp sound of shattering glass.

  Kate screamed more from being startled then from fright. Roman swore, shooting a concerned look at her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she answered, her voice far from steady. She didn’t have to be told that the situation wasn’t good. It was there in his face. The last thing Roman needed to worry about right now was the chance she’d fall apart while he was trying to save them.

  “What was it?” The possibility that another person was dying loomed in front of her.

  Roman crouched under the front window and took a quick look outside. “The SUV.” He slid down
onto the floor and checked his gun before looking back at her. “They shot the hell out of it.”

  “Cerberus!” The voice came from the trees, boosted by a portable amplifier. Roman didn’t answer, instead he studied the woods. How many were out there?

  “We know that Dempsey and Jackson are dead.”

  Roman looked from the bodies to the window. He ground an obscenity between his teeth, irritated for missing the obvious. “Doc, crawl over to me,” he ordered curtly. “They’ve got a high-powered telescope trained on you.” It was close to dusk, and the shadows were growing. With the curtains closed over the other window, soon the telescope’s visibility would be limited to the center of the room. They would be safe by the wall for now.

  Her face white, Kate followed his order, careful to stay below the window. It wasn’t until she was scrunched up against him that he noticed she was holding Dempsey’s Glock.

  “I don’t suppose we could hold down the fort until the cavalry arrives?”

  “Sorry, babe.” At that moment Roman wanted nothing more than for the cavalry to come, but even if they showed up, he couldn’t be sure they were the good guys. Jackson and Dempsey had known too much about his association with the government. The information they spewed to Kate could only be found in high-level security files. Their swift appearance at the cabin just confirmed his suspicions. Labyrinth worked strictly on a need-to-know basis. Not even the president had access to the field operatives’ personnel files. There was obviously a leak.

  “Listen to me, Cerberus!” the voice continued, its tone unusually nasal. “My name is Alcott. All I want is Dr. MacAlister.” There was a pause. “You aren’t part of the deal. If you come out now, you can walk away. There’s no reason this has to get messy. If you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, right.” Roman spoke the words under his breath, wanting to laugh at the ridiculousness of the statement. The next thing you know, the guy was going to tell him the place wasn’t surrounded. “Time to go, babe.”

  “They’re going to come in after us.”

  It was a statement not a question, but Roman decided to answer her anyway. “Yep.” No sense sugarcoating the truth. “Probably with C-4 through the front door. It’s reinforced with a metal alloy, but it won’t hold up against that type of explosive. It doesn’t give us much time. Not answering will stall them for a while. The last thing they want to do is harm you.” His face was grim as he surveyed the outside once more. “Since they can’t see us, right about now they’ll be wondering if I’m in a position to pick them off. That’s why they want me to answer.” He glanced at the fireplace before focusing on her. “The possibility of losing men might make them wait until dark before approaching the cabin, but I doubt it.”

  He saw it then, the fear glittering in her eyes, even though her expression remained calm.

  “There comes a time when you’re forced to choose retreat or fight,” Roman continued. “Threader’s probably sent a platoon of men to back up this Alcott character. I won’t be able to hold them off once they breach the cabin.”

  “So we retreat.” Another statement, but this time she gave him no chance to reply. She lifted the gun, holding it in both hands, her fingers white from gripping the handle so hard. “Show me how to use it.” The words were soft but determined, despite the fact her hands were shaking badly. “I took a gun safety course a year ago at Ian’s insistence, but the only gun I shot was Dad’s .38 revolver.”

  The woman defied all reasoning. Instead of the hysterics he was expecting, he got a calm request for a gun lesson. The urge to hug her to him, to gently rock her back and forth was so powerful it hurt. After promising himself at the first safe opportunity he’d give in to the urge, he settled for an earlier one and placed a light kiss on her forehead. Ignoring her startled reaction, he eased the semiautomatic pistol from her ice-cold fingers, automatically thumbing the safety before placing it in his waistband. “When there’s time I’ll teach you, because it might save your life. Right now, we need to move.”

  Chapter Six

  A barrage of bullets hit the side of the cabin above their heads, pelting the stones and bulletproof glass. Kate covered her ears, trying to muffle the deafening sound. Instead of easing the noise, the action emphasized the pounding of her heart.

  “I’m through talking to myself, Cerberus.” Alcott’s voice had lost all cordiality, blasting across the din of the gunfire. “You’re in a no-win situation, so don’t be stupid. She’s not worth your life.”

  Roman’s profile set at Alcott’s words and “a face carved from granite” took on a completely new meaning for Kate. When he’d gently kissed her forehead, she’d foolishly believed Roman had returned. One look at his hard features and she realized she’d been deceiving herself. Cerberus had never left.

  “Let’s go.” His command, clipped and low, gave no room for argument before he grabbed her cold, clammy hand and pulled her after him. His grip was reassuring, its strength drawing her like a lifeline while they hugged the wall, circling the perimeter of the room, careful to keep hidden from view. How many times had they held each other’s hands in the short few months they were together? Hundreds, thousands. It was an intimacy they had both craved, always palm-to-palm with their fingers locked.

  His hand had changed with the rest of him. Now it bore a smooth ridge just under her fingertips. Another scar, another secret.

  How could she trust a man with so many secrets? A man who walked out of her life without a backward glance. But she had no other choice—fate had taken the decision away from her the moment Dempsey and Jackson walked through the cabin door.

  A false-stone door, partly open, swung inward easily at Roman’s slight push, catching Kate’s attention. Cleverly designed to hide an entrance of approximately three feet wide and five feet high, the door revealed a small platform behind the fireplace. Beyond lay a dark hole, similar to a cellar. She peered into blackness seeing nothing. Tremors riffled down her legs.

  “We’re going to hide in the cellar?” It wasn’t much of a plan. “They’ll find us eventually, Cerberus.”

  He stiffened on the last word. She sensed it more than she saw it. Obviously, the man didn’t care much for his nickname. Too bad, because it was much easier—safer to think of him as her personal watchdog, rather than as a man she once loved.

  “It’s a tunnel not a cellar.” He tugged on something just inside the entrance then shoved her in front of him. “The collapsible ladder’s made of steel. Steps are about a foot apart.”

  In the waning light, she could see a small ledge directly behind the hearth, which dead-ended at the chimney a few feet away. The cramped space didn’t allow for much maneuvering room, but somehow she managed. Turning around, she started down the ladder, only to miss the sec ond rung. Roman caught her shoulders when a small cry escaped her lips.

  “Be careful.” His voice was stern, businesslike. He let go once she steadied herself. “The depth is ten feet. Take a few steps back once you reach the bottom. You won’t be able to see anything until I get down.”

  Kate descended without difficulty after her initial faltering, but still couldn’t stop herself from sighing with relief once her foot rested on the soft dirt floor. Small heights, even ten feet, sometimes gave her trouble. The darkness actually worked in her favor, stopping her from seeing the depth of her descent. It was a good thing she hadn’t thought to use the flashlight she’d kept in her purse.

  Kate’s hand tightened on the ladder.

  “Roman, I need my purse. I left it in the bedroom.”

  “Forget it.” The tone, precise and uncompromising, came from above like a command from a Greek god rather than a Greek canine. “Alcott has stopped talking. They’re making their plans to break in.”

  “What if we need money?”

  “Trust me, Doc, I’ve enough money for both of us. Besides, how far do you think thirteen dollars and odd change is going to get us?”

  Not very far considering, but it was all she had. What
did it matter to him? Thirteen dollars could mean the difference between eating wild berries and…

  “How did you know what I had in my purse?”

  He’d started his descent, closing the door before jumping to the floor. It wasn’t until he stood somewhere in front of her that he answered. “I searched it.”

  “You what?”

  “I searched it.”

  Damn it, she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, let alone him.

  “Don’t you have a light or something?”

  She heard a faint snap, and the chamber was flooded with an unnatural green glow. In his hand Roman held an iridescent stick.

  She looked around. The width of the tunnel was about seven feet with a height of ten. Roughly cut pine beams every few feet reinforced the dirt ceiling and sides. The light cast shadows onto the walls that fed into a dark passage. She shivered from the dampness that seemed to seep from the dirt surrounding them. God, how did she end up in this mess?

  “You searched my personal things?” Kate watched Roman rummage through a framed, black backpack beside the ladder. “Answer me, damn it. You went through my belongings?”

  Roman pulled a plastic-wrapped block out of the bag along with some wires, duct tape and a little black box. He shoved the duct tape into his pants pocket.

  “Doc, there wasn’t much to go through. A dead cell phone, a wallet, keys, a flashlight, some tissue and a condom.” He started back up the ladder but not before he shot her a hard look. “Remind me to ask you about that later.”

  Kate ignored him and watched, fascinated, while he removed what looked to be a couple of pounds of a claylike substance from its wrapper. Carefully, he placed it on the door and the walls on either side.

  “I know all your belongings are back at your apartment,” he said while he continued to work. “Except your car, which is at the bottom of the ravine.”

  Even without her background and her work with the government, Kate had seen enough espionage movies to recognize the substance as a plastic explosive. In the muted light she couldn’t be sure, but guessed it was C-4, a favorite of the military. He stuck the fuse into the volatile material.