by Lexi Blake
“Grace, I’m dead anyway. You run.” Adam’s eyes pleaded with her.
Grace didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t watch Parnell kill him, not when there was the slightest chance that he could live. Jake would realize something was wrong. He could get here in time, but only if she walked away with Parnell.
“Okay, I have the drive and I’ll go with you.” She held her hand out and let Parnell pull her to him.
He chuckled against her ear, the sound jagged and disturbing. “You’re a dumb bitch, Hawthorne. I could still kill him. I won’t. He’ll provide a very nice distraction.” He started to walk her toward the stairs, pressing her forward. “You see, a regular agent would walk right by his body on the way to get to me. I have the feeling this group will get all huggy-huggy, save my buddy. It will make it so much easier to pick them off one by one. Or to make a deal. You’re my one-way ticket out of here, red.”
He pushed her up and up. When Grace reached the roof, she wondered if it was the last place she would ever see.
* * * *
Sean slammed into the room. Alex McKay had called him to come down here, and Sean knew he had to obey. He comforted himself with the fact that Adam and Jake were on Grace babysitting duty. Sean had made it clear to his teammates that Grace’s protection was more important than anything else. It wasn’t a conversation they had included Ian in. In some ways, Sean would always be Jake and Adam’s CO. After everything they had gone through together in Afghanistan, they had bonded in a way that was hard to break. He and Adam had had it out and reached a sort of common ground. Adam was going to keep his hands off Grace, and Sean promised not to use him for target practice.
“What’s up?”
Black stood in the back of the suite watching the bank of black and white televisions feeding the images from the tiny surveillance cameras they had set up across the hotel.
“Mr. Black believes he’s identified at least one of Patrick Wright’s accomplices. A woman named Melissa Lowe. She’s a known member of the Earth League. She’s at the party. She’s attempted to make contact with Matt Wright.” Alex handed him a printed photo of a thin young woman. Alex was dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. He looked more like a linebacker in the off-season than a former FBI agent.
“All right, you track her.” He pulled out his SIG SAUER and checked the clip. “Any idea who the foreign agent is?”
“Ian took him out ten minutes ago. He was Chinese.” Alex said it matter-of-factly. He pointed back to the bathroom. “We used facial recognition software. I think he was quite surprised by it. He’s trussed up and waiting transport to the nearest facility. All we have to do is watch for the drop, pick up the package, and hope Wright shows his face. If not…”
Black’s face looked ghostly in the light from the monitors. He never looked up. “If not, then the Chinese will assume he’s a double agent, and he’ll have two governments trying to kill him. But I want that package.”
“Do we have any idea what it is?” Sean was curious.
“There is a small aerodynamics firm in the Bryson Building,” Black said. “One of the engineers there is working on certain instrumentation upgrades that would greatly benefit our current drone programs.”
Drones were changing aerial warfare. Drones flew at ultrahigh altitudes and could bomb targets and gain intelligence without risking human lives. If the US was making a leap technologically, the Chinese would pay big to keep up. “All right, I’ll buy that.” He took the picture Alex handed him. “I’ll make sure everyone knows about Melissa Lowe.”
He heard Black sigh. “No need. I think everyone knows now.”
“What?” The hair on the back of Sean’s neck stood up. Something bad was happening. He could feel it. The little voice that always spoke to him right before the bad shit went down was whispering. He strode past Alex and stared at the monitors. The one in the center was the only one that mattered.
“Shit, is that your Grace?” Alex leaned in behind him.
Sean watched as Parnell’s accomplice herded Grace toward the back of the ballroom. Horror built in his system, churning his gut. They disappeared from one monitor only to show up on the next. The dark-haired woman had something pressed into Grace’s side, a gun no doubt. Grace’s face was tight as she looked around.
God, she was probably looking for him. She was in danger, and he was downstairs.
Sean watched as Adam Miles took notice of Grace and signaled to Jake. Seconds later, Adam raced out of the room, and Jake followed at a more leisurely pace. Sean approved of the plan. One to watch the front, another to go up the back way but from below. Adam would either meet them on their way down or follow them up. If they turned back, Jake would be there.
“I’m going back.” He would follow the same path Grace took. He understood why Adam had done what he did, but Sean would just go through with guns blazing. He wasn’t going to let Parnell get away with her.
“I’m going with you.” Alex was following him out.
Sean shook his head. He leaned in. “No. You have to stay and coordinate. I don’t trust him.” He gestured back toward the CIA agent.
Black turned to him. “I need Patrick Wright alive. He has information that this country needs. He has contacts. If you kill him, we lose everything.”
“I’ll try.” Sean looked to Alex.
Alex nodded, but his face was bunched with worry. “You just be safe. And…”
“I’ll watch out for Eve.” He was out the door before Alex could thank him.
Sean wasn’t an idiot. Alex and Eve could spit at each other all they liked. They might be divorced, but he knew neither one of them dated. He put thoughts of them out of his mind and concentrated on Grace. He bypassed the elevator and went straight for the stairs. The minute the door closed behind him, he heard the sound of shots being fired. He checked his first instinct—to scream Grace’s name and run into whatever was waiting for him. He called on every bit of training ever given to him and let his blood run cold. The gun in his hand became a mere extension of himself. He moved silently up the stairs and prayed the gunfire had been Adam taking out Parnell’s accomplice.
If it wasn’t, then he would spend the rest of his life hunting the man who killed his mate. It would be the only thing that kept Sean alive.
Sean stopped as he entered the stairwell and opened all of his senses. Every nerve he had was on high alert. When he heard Grace’s voice, a piece of his soul relaxed.
“What are you talking about?” Her shaky voice was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. It meant she was still alive, and he had a shot at saving her.
Parnell said something about a thumb drive. He must mean the package. Parnell knew that the deal was off, and he seemed to think he could use Grace as a ticket out. He heard Grace offer to go with him, and Adam tell her he was already a dead man. Shit. He might be pissed at Adam Miles, but he wasn’t about to let some asshole rogue agent kill him. When he heard the door close above him, Sean moved quickly. He took the stairs two at a time, adrenaline flooding his system. He stopped in his tracks when he reached the ballroom landing.
“Fuck.”
Adam lay on the cold concrete floor, his guts half torn out. There was another body slumped to the side, but only Adam mattered.
“You’re telling me, Sarge.” Adam looked up at him with weak eyes. “You go. He’s got Grace. He’s going to kill her. No question about it. You can’t just go after him. You have to find a way to sneak up on him. There are plenty of vents that access the roof. Alex has the plans.”
Sean pulled out his phone. It was set to contact Alex. “We have a man down. Adam’s down with a GS to the abdomen. He’s in the stairwell. Wright has Grace on the roof. I’m going in. I need you to guide me to one of the vents on the roof. I need to come in very quietly.”
He couldn’t stay. He cared about Adam, but he was responsible for Grace. In the short time he’d known her, Grace had become his whole world. He looked down at the man who had fought beside him for years,
practically begging him for forgiveness.
“What the fuck are you waiting for?” Adam tried to sit up but fell back to the floor.
Sean moved toward the roof and prayed they all came out of this alive.
Chapter Twenty
The night had a crispness to it that signaled autumn was close. All Grace felt was the chill. Parnell pushed her out onto the roof. Grace shivered slightly in her sleeveless cocktail dress, thinking about how Sean had zipped her up and laid a possessive kiss on her shoulder. She’d felt happy and loved.
“You look beautiful,” he had said. Grace had felt beautiful.
She was going to die here. She wouldn’t feel Sean’s arms around her again. There was no way Parnell would let her live.
“Move over there.” Parnell pointed toward the side of the building. At this height, she could feel the slight sway of the building. Maybe it was just her imagination. She could hear the chatter from the terrace below. The wind was blowing the sound toward her, which meant anything she said would probably go the wrong way. Maybe if she screamed really loud…
“Don’t think about it.” Parnell pointed the gun at her. “You’ll be dead before you can scream.”
Her hand tightened around the small thumb drive. He hadn’t forced her to give it up yet. He seemed to want something more, but she was afraid to think what. He herded her to the side of the building. The roof was dotted with vents and air-conditioning units. The wind whipped around this high up. Her stomach churned as she looked down.
“You cost me a lot, lady.”
“I didn’t mean to.” Her back hit the concrete wall that separated her from the twenty-five story fall to the ground below.
“I don’t care.” He grunted as he pointed the gun her way. “You fucking the CIA agent they sent after me?”
She shook her head. “He’s a contractor.” She remembered the word Adam had used. “He works for a private security firm. His brother runs it.”
“Which firm is that?” His right eyebrow rose as though daring her to challenge him.
He was severely underestimating her will to keep him talking. Every minute he talked was another minute she lived. It was another minute for Sean to come find her. And he would. She knew it. He would move heaven and earth to get to her. She had to be ready when he made his move.
“McKay-Taggart. They have an office in Dallas.” She hadn’t seen it yet, but she intended to help her fiancé move out of it. He was going back to school, and she was going to help him. He was getting out of this world. They were going to have a family.
Tears pricked at her eyes. They could have it all, if she lived.
“Never heard…fuck. Ian Taggart?” He spat out the name like a curse.
Grace nodded her head.
“Goddamn it.” Parnell, Wright, whatever his name was took a long breath and slammed his foot into the ground. “That fucker sent Taggart after me. Do you know who Ian Taggart is?”
“He’s Sean’s brother.” That was really all she knew about the man. Well, she knew some of his sexual proclivities, but she didn’t see how those fit into her current predicament.
Even in the moonlight, she could see that Parnell had gone a little green. “He’s a legend in the business. He’s the one you go to when the wet work gets too wet, if you know what I mean.”
She didn’t. She didn’t know anything. She didn’t understand a thing. She just wanted Sean. She wanted his arms around her.
“Ian Taggart is a fucking assassin. He kills people.” Parnell shook his head. “That is just like Nelson to send a fucking assassin after me. After everything I did for him. Taggart is a piece of work. If he says he’s running a security company, it’s almost surely a cover for his real work.”
Grace tried not to think about that because she could see Sean moving very quietly on top of the roof behind Parnell. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw him in a vent on top of the roof, moving as the air conditioner came on to cover the noise. He moved far more fluidly than a man that big should move. For the first time, Grace had to acknowledge that her man was a trained killer, and she was very thankful for it. Hope soared in her. Sean was here. He would take care of it.
“You’re wrong about Ian.” She had to keep him talking. She had to give Sean time. She took careful inventory of her surroundings. There was a large air conditioning unit just a couple of feet to her left. She would need cover when Sean made his move. He wouldn’t be able to do anything until he knew she was safe.
Parnell sneered at her. “I’m not wrong. He’s the worst of the worst, and he’s using all of you. I bet he’s working with Nelson. Damn it. They’re probably all working with Nelson. What’s he calling himself this week? Mr. Black? Mr. Gray? It’s all the same. You’re all the same. That means you’re just a pawn, and no one will come for you.”
He was wrong. She knew it because her man was edging his way toward her. He just needed a little more time. She was the only one who could give it to him. “I’m marrying Sean Taggart. He’ll come for me. He’ll a make a deal with you.”
“Not if his brother doesn’t allow it. A man like Ian Taggart will just kill him if he gets in his way.”
“No. Sean is his brother. Ian loves his brother.”
Sean moved toward her, his boots making no sound on the surface beneath him. He had taken off his jacket and tie. He was an elegant panther making his way toward his mate.
In the moonlight, Parnell’s eyes looked black as night. “Ian Taggart doesn’t love anything. Trust me, sweetheart, when you’ve seen as much as Taggart and I have seen, it doesn’t matter anymore. I poisoned my brother not twenty minutes ago. He should be keeling over right about now. It was easy.”
“Matt?” Her throat practically closed up at the thought. He’d been awful the last few days, but he’d been a good man once. The thought that he was dead pained her. How many of the people in her life were going to die before this was over?
Patrick Wright’s face became a mask of disdain. “Yes. I never intended to share my score with him. He made it damn near impossible to get this job done, and now you’ve managed to fuck it up. I have to find my contact and try to convince him I didn’t double cross him.”
“That’s going to be difficult, Wright.” Sean was on his feet and had the enemy firmly in his sights. “Move it, Grace.”
As Parnell turned, Grace obeyed. She dove for cover. She settled behind the metal case of the air conditioner as Parnell snarled at Sean.
“What is that supposed to mean? And why did your brother send in the scrubs? Is he not man enough to meet me himself? Or maybe he wants me to do his dirty work for him?”
“My brother is busy handling your contact. Ian’s already taken him out. I have no doubt he’ll be riding into the rescue as soon as he can.” Sean sounded very sure of himself.
Grace was terrified. He was out there with a known killer. Grace got to her knees and tried peeking from behind her cover. The two men seemed to be in some sort of standoff.
“Your brother is making a deal.”
Sean’s head shook. “I don’t buy it, Wright. I know my brother. He doesn’t like the CIA any more than I do.”
“Your brother was an agent for ten years, idiot. I’m not sure he isn’t still an agent. He’s using his little company as a cover.”
Sean stopped. He didn’t drop his gun, but Grace could see Parnell was getting to him. “That’s not true.” He firmed his stance again. “I’m taking you in.”
“Never going to happen,” Parnell swore, and he pulled the trigger.
Grace screamed as she saw Sean’s shoulder fly back. He didn’t miss a beat. He rolled and took his shot. Parnell looked down at his chest. His gun dropped, and he hit his knees.
Grace was upright in an instant. She chucked her shoes and ran to Sean, who was already back on his feet. Grace was careful, but she inspected the wound. There was a neat little hole in his dress shirt, and his shoulder was bloody. It was his left arm that had taken the bullet, and he held
it close to his side. His right kept a gun trained on Parnell.
“Go back down, Grace.” Sean’s face was set in fierce lines as he approached his fallen opponent.
Grace merely followed behind him. It wouldn’t do to argue, and she wasn’t about to leave him.
Sean held the gun at Parnell’s head and turned him over. It was a repeat of what had happened with Adam, though Parnell was shot through the chest. Blood bubbled up through the small but deadly wound. Grace knew she should feel something, but he’d killed Kayla and Matt and probably Adam. Satisfaction that he’d gotten what he deserved was the only emotion she had.
“Son of a bitch, I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance.” Parnell choked on the words.
Sean’s face was devoid of sympathy. “Who are you working for?”
Parnell laughed, a terrible sound that rattled his chest. “The only person I can trust, asshole, me. You’ll learn. Maybe not. If you’re working for Nelson, you’re as dead as I am.”
That seemed to disconcert Sean. “Was Nelson your handler?”
Parnell’s voice got farther away. “He taught me everything I know. Now he’ll teach you. You deserve everything he gives you, you son of a bitch.”
Parnell’s head fell back, and he was gone.
“What does that mean?” Grace looked up at Sean. She needed to believe this was over. The look on Sean’s face didn’t give her much hope.
“Are you okay, brother?”
Sean seemed to deflate a little as his brother stalked onto the roof. He had a gun in his hand, and his eyes darted around the area, looking for new threats. He was still dressed in his waiter uniform. It didn’t look like the man had even wrinkled his clothes when he apparently took down a foreign agent.
“Is he down?” Ian nodded at Parnell’s body. His face showed absolutely no emotion.
