Chain Reaction

by Rebecca York

  She wasn’t about to tell the truth—that she and Gage had worked out the scenario with the transmitter. They’d wanted Edmonston to find it, so he’d assume he’d destroyed Gage’s ability to eavesdrop. Really, that transmitter had only been a decoy. She was wearing another, much smaller version that was hidden in the snap at the top of her slacks.

  So there had never been a time when Gage hadn’t been able to hear her conversation with Cranesbrook’s president. They had his confession on tape. Now she just had to live long enough for it to do her any good.

  She’d thought it was such a clever idea. She hadn’t been prepared to have Edmonston tie her in this chair, so she was stuck between him and Gage.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked Edmonston.

  His voice was cold as an ice storm. “Get out of here. With you as a shield.”

  She struggled to repress a hysterical laugh. Kidnapped again. Only this time it wasn’t a man she knew wouldn’t hurt her.

  Edmonston shot a quick glance toward the door. Gage was no longer visible.

  “Darnell,” Edmonston shouted.

  “Let her go.”

  “I will. After I get away.”

  Lily kept her lips pressed together because she knew that anything she said now would only be a distraction.

  “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

  “Shut up and give me some maneuvering room. How much did you hear?”

  “Enough.”

  “But it won’t do you any good. Now back up.”

  Gage clenched his teeth and did as he was told. For just a moment, his eyes met Lily’s. She knew he was trying to tell her something. But she didn’t know what it was.

  Edmonston divided his attention between her and the doorway. Quickly he untied the major knots that held her fast.

  “Take off the rest of the rope,” he ordered.

  She did.

  “Stand up.”

  Again, she complied. He came close to her, his voice low so that he thought she was the only one who could hear him. He didn’t know about the transmitter on her pants. “We’re going down the stairs, out the door and into my car. If you do anything to try and screw me up, you’re dead. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  Edmonston stood behind her, poking her in the back with the gun. “Move.”

  She struggled to stay steady on her feet. As they stepped into the doorway, she saw Gage standing in the corner, his face grim.

  Edmonston was behind her, but she could see his reflection in the glass door ahead of her.

  He turned his head toward Gage. “Sit down.”

  Gage lowered himself to one of the chairs across from the receptionist’s desk.

  Edmonston raised his gun and pointed it at Gage. And she knew in that terrible moment that the man who held her captive had one final trick up his sleeve. He was going to shoot her husband.

  “Get down,” Gage shouted.

  “No.” She reared back and yanked at the man’s arm. The gun discharged, but she’d thrown Edmonston’s aim off, and the shot went wild, hitting the desk.

  In the next moment, a bowl on the shelf across the room exploded in a shower of glass.

  Edmonston whirled and fired at the bookcase.

  Gage leaped forward, pulling Lily away from the executive.

  As she hit the floor, Lily saw another man emerge from the closet in the corner of the room—Rand McClellan. He was holding a gun, and he pulled the trigger, once, twice.

  Blood soaked the front of Edmonston’s white shirt, and he went down.

  McClellan rushed forward. Gun still drawn, he knelt over Edmonston.

  “He’s still alive,” he muttered.

  Speaking directly to the Cranesbrook executive, he said, “I’m Rand McClellan, and I vowed to bring down the man who killed my partner, Richard Francis. So, roast in hell.”

  Edmonston made a gurgling sound, then went still.

  Rand felt for a pulse in his neck, then looked up. “He’s dead,” the detective said. “And the last thing he heard was my voice.”

  “I’m glad,” Lily whispered.

  Gage was still focused on the practical. “What kind of gun does he have?” he asked.

  “A Sig P220 Sport.”

  “I think we can assume it was the murder weapon,” Gage said.

  “Even without the gun, we have enough to hang him,” Rand said. “If he were still alive.”

  “So Gage is cleared,” Lily said.

  “He will be.”

  “Thank God,” she breathed.

  Gage took her in his arms. “You did it,” he said, hugging her tightly.

  Lily let him usher her away from the body and into Edmonston’s office where she sagged onto the sofa. “Are you all right?” she gasped out.

  “Yes. Are you?”

  “Yes.”

  Gage kept his gaze squarely on her, his expression fierce. “Why the hell didn’t you get down when I told you to drop?”

  “He was going to shoot you.”

  “McClellan had him covered. But he couldn’t shoot with you in the way. So I was going to provide a distraction.”

  “The bowl?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry. All I could see was the gun pointed at you. And I couldn’t…” She tried to say more, then gave up.

  The detective came to the doorway and looked over at Gage. “I’m going to call the department.”

  Gage nodded, but Lily couldn’t let him go yet. “Tell me again. You know that Gage didn’t kill anyone. Not that man at the hospital and not your partner.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so sorry about your partner,” she said. “I wish it hadn’t happened.”

  He gave a tight nod. “Thanks.”

  “So we’re not under arrest,” she clarified.

  “Not for murder.”

  “For what?” she challenged.

  “There’s a little matter of some stolen cars.” When he saw the look of anguish on her face, he went on rapidly. “But under the circumstances, I think I can get the D. A. to make a deal—if you two agree to stick around and help us with the case.”

  “Of course,” Lily breathed.

  “For starters, how do you think that glass bowl broke?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered, keeping her gaze away from Gage so that she wouldn’t give anything away.

  GAGE GAVE his wife a long look. They had agreed in advance that they weren’t going to talk about his special talent. Of course, that did leave some questions—like how he’d escaped from the hospital. But he was going to handle that part of the interrogation. All Lily had to do was tell what had happened to her.

  The detective was speaking again. “It sounds like Dr. Morton wasn’t a major player. I guess he was called in to deal with you when you went berserk. But we’ll get a straight story out of him.”

  Rand looked at Gage speculatively. “What exactly did the chemical do to you?”

  “First it made me sick to my stomach. Then it knocked me out and confused me.” He shrugged. “And I guess it did make me a little aggressive. After that, I was woozy. But I don’t know if it was from the chemical or from the stuff Morton gave me.”

  Rand nodded, still keeping his focus on Gage, looking as though he was evaluating his story.

  Gage kept talking, “I gather Edmonston was counting on Morton keeping me in the hospital. Maybe he was going to visit me and slip me something fatal. But I escaped before he could do that.” He gave the detective a long look. “Edmonston did a lot of killing in the past few weeks. I can’t help wondering if there’s more to the story than the cover-up of a lab accident. Like maybe there’s something major going on at the lab that we still don’t know about.”

  Rand nodded. “I intend to find out.”

  A SIREN SOUNDED outside, and Gage was glad that the interrogation was over for the moment.

  When McClellan went to meet the team from the medical examiner’s office, Gage wrapped his arms
around Lily again and held on to her.

  “You did great,” he murmured.

  “So did you.”

  “We’ve been through the hard part. This is just the cleanup now.”

  “I’m ready,” she said. He knew she wished they could just leave. But he also knew she’d come through on this phase, too. Because that was the kind of woman he’d married. Strong and steady. And unwilling to give up on her man, even when he’d been acting like a jerk.

  Back at the State Police barracks, McClellan went pretty easy on them, mindful of what they’d been through. And since the detective didn’t know about it, Gage didn’t mention the money he’d taken from the ATMs. There was no way to tie those robberies to him, but he’d kept track of his illegal withdrawals, and he was going to pay the money back as soon as he could.

  At one in the morning, when the interview session ended, Gage was feeling wrung out. And also a bit dazed. He’d been on the run for so long that it was still hard to grasp that he wasn’t a murder suspect anymore.

  And although he and McClellan had been adversaries for the past few weeks, he had decided that the detective wasn’t such a bad guy, especially when he offered to give them a ride.

  “To the beach house we, uh, borrowed?” Lily asked as they stood in the lobby of the police barracks. “We can pay the weekly rent. Then we’ll be legal on that.”

  Gage cut in. “We’ll go there later and pick up our stuff. I’ve arranged something else.”

  “When?”

  “I made a phone call when you were being interviewed.” He glanced at McClellan.

  “I’ve already got the address,” the detective said.

  He drove them to a very upscale inn that Gage had passed many times on the way to St. Stephens from Baltimore. He knew it was expensive, but he wanted to take Lily somewhere they could celebrate. After that, he’d make it a priority to find out what had happened to his partner, Bray.

  When they got out, he and the detective shook hands. “I’m sorry about your partner,” he said.

  “He was a good guy. But we got the bastard who killed him.”

  “You thought I was that bastard,” Gage said.

  “I’m glad you’re not.”

  Lily also shook the man’s hand. “I think you’re letting us off easy,” she murmured.

  “It’s the least I can do after hunting you down like rabid dogs.”

  Gage laughed. “Yeah.”

  The cop climbed back into his unmarked, and Gage escorted Lily into the elegantly decorated lobby.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Smith?” the desk asked.

  “Right,” Gage answered. When Lily gave him a questioning look, he gave a small shake of his head.

  He signed them in and paid cash for the room, then took his wife up to their luxury room on the second floor.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” she said. “And no luggage. He probably assumes we’re cheating on our spouses.”

  “Better than thinking we’re murderers. Until the news hits tomorrow, we need to keep a low profile. And after that, too, if we don’t want every reporter who’s been covering the story descending on us.”

  She laughed nervously. “Right.”

  “But maybe we can sell our story to one of those supermarket tabloids.”

  “You mean the ones with stories about alien abductions and space cats?”

  “Yeah.”

  She squeezed Gage’s hand, marveling at how much his mood had changed since they’d left the State Police barracks.

  Still holding on to him, she turned to look at their surroundings. The bedroom was elegantly furnished in the colonial style, with a king-size bed, a spacious sitting area and a bathroom with a spa tub and separate shower.

  Gage had ordered a bottle of champagne, which sat in an ice bucket across from the bed. He eased out the cork, poured two flutes and handed one to Lily. “To us,” he murmured.

  They clinked glasses, and each took a sip.

  “I can’t believe it’s over,” she whispered. “I can’t believe we’re not on the run.”

  “Well, I agreed to get the undamaged vehicles back to their owners and pay for the one that got riddled with bullet holes.”

  “Uh, you didn’t mention a car that was riddled with bullet holes.”

  He made a face. “Damn. I must be too tired to think about what I’m saying.”

  “Tell me about the bullet holes,” she insisted.

  “That was when I tried to break into Cranesbrook. The security guys gave chase with guns blazing.”

  “I thought there was more to the story than you’d told me.”

  “A little. And by the way, I didn’t mention to McClellan the part about the money I stole. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. And I’ll pay it all back.”

  “I know you will.”

  He reached for her glass and set it down on the dresser along with his, then pulled her to him and hugged her tight.

  “What happens now?” she whispered.

  “What do you want to happen?”

  She made a small sound.

  “What?”

  “I was thinking that I don’t have a job. And Five Star can’t be in good financial shape. What are we going to live on, exactly?”

  “Before this incident, I had a company interested in buying my miniaturized transmitter when I perfected it. I’d say we conducted the definitive test tonight.”

  She nodded.

  “It’s worth a lot. I should be able to get a quick down payment and the rest later.”

  She nuzzled her lips against his cheek. “Your hard work paid off.”

  “Tomorrow I have to contact Peggy Olson and tell her I’m back.”

  “Yes.”

  “While we’re making plans…” He trailed off because they really hadn’t discussed the next part. At least not recently.

  “What?”

  “I was going to say you don’t have to look for another job if you want to stay home and have a baby.”

  Her eyes glowed. “You want to have a baby?”

  “There’s nothing like running for your life to make you think about what’s really important. Home and family,” he said with a hitch in his voice.

  “Oh, Gage.” She hugged him to her, then pulled back so she could meet his eyes. “What about your new talent? How does that fit in?”

  “It sure came in handy for escaping from the police.”

  “Yes.”

  “But I honestly don’t know what I do with it now. Or how long it’ll last.” He felt his expression turn serious. “Is it a problem for you? Having a husband who can do weird stuff?”

  “No. Nothing is a problem, as long as we make our marriage work. As long as we don’t turn away from each other ever again.”

  “Never again,” he said, meaning it from the bottom of his heart.

  She relaxed against him, and he smiled to himself as a very enticing idea took hold. He dipped his head, bringing his lips to Lily’s. The kiss was a declaration of his love, of his commitment. And he felt the same commitment from her. He angled her body, stroking her breast with one hand, combing his fingers through her hair with the other. And then he used a third hand—the one that existed only in his mind—to cup her bottom and bring her hips more tightly against his.

  It took a moment for her to realize what he was doing. When she did, she pulled back and looked at him in shock. “Gage?”

  He grinned. “That’s one good use for my talent, don’t you think?”

  Then he brought his lips back to hers, telling her wordlessly what he intended for the future.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-2244-1

  CHAIN REACTION

  Copyright © 2006 by Ruth Glick

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