She knew his rules for the elevator included that she stand behind him and be on guard for whatever might be waiting on the other side of the door. And she’d follow his rules, but that didn’t mean she had to shut out her feelings entirely. She never wanted to lose what the two of them had found last night.
Of course, from the moment he’d grabbed his gun off the nightstand this morning to now, she’d known he was back in protector mode. No more sexy winks. No more tender nibbles and kisses. No more lovemaking that had erased everything from their past.
He was only hers until he strapped on his gun. Then he was all agent. They were back to real life and needed to be vigilant. Especially now that Coercion Ten had issued an ultimatum.
The threat to Drake, Josh, and her had always been in play. But the organization had sent a message through Tessa, the woman down on D Street, which had been another step in the game. To declare that within twenty-four hours Josh would be the first to go down put a new spin on the situation. But Coercion Ten’s plan had failed. Josh had beat the odds at City Hall yesterday. Now, the clock was ticking until the organization tried again.
“Are you sorry?” Josh hadn’t turned around, he’d only asked a simple question. “Do you wish I’d never walked into your bath that night?”
With the ease and flatness of his tone, she knew he’d built a wall around himself with only the barest of cracks for her answer to penetrate. If she said it had all been a mistake, he’d close that crack on her words, barely letting himself feel the sting. If she said she’d do it all again, he’d feel the warmth. Question was…what would he do then?
Would he feel vulnerable and run? Or would he fold her love around him like a sheath that made him feel whole? Would he let her be the only comfort he ever felt in life? The only person he let close enough to feel his love…feel his pain. To know his Achilles’ heel.
She’d discovered Agent Josh Slater was a complex man. Very complex. But definitely the man she loved. The man she wanted to wake up next to each morning for the rest of her life. Reaching toward his back again, she hoped her touch would convey more than the few words about to come out. “Sorry? Never. Don’t you know how much I love you? How—”
The elevator doors slid open. Pitch-black darkness greeted them. Where were the lights? Josh reached for his gun, punching the close button. From the shadows, the clicking of a Taser gun ripped the air a split second before the probes shot into Josh’s body. He dropped to the floor with a groan, a grunt. Another set hit him from a different direction.
She heard herself scream. The combined sounds echoed through the open elevator doors into the concrete dungeon of her garage.
Someone reached around the elevator door and yanked her out as another man shoved door holders in the bottom of the opening to keep the doors apart. As if on cue, the bright lights of the garage popped on, blinding her.
The Tasers stopped their muffled clicking, and Josh’s body eased. The gun he’d been holding was feet away across the floor. With a look of defiance on his face, he reached for his other gun before his body fully recovered. Courage was no match for the two men holding the Tasers. One of them popped another jolt on Josh.
Macki fought at the man gripping her middle, kicked, clawed, scratched. Then she focused on Josh’s recovering body as the two men took his two guns and dragged him from the elevator. Cuffing him to the specially made metal grille of her SUV, one of the men withdrew his Taser’s prongs from Josh. The other left his in.
She heard the slam of a car door from behind her, then saw the look of recognition travel over Josh’s face.
“You son of a bitch.” He struggled to free himself, his fists tightening to fight mode as he jerked the cuffs against the shiny grille again and again.
She twisted, trying to see around the man who held her.
“Stop it, Mackenzie.”
The voice? Grey? Couldn’t be. Lieutenant Grey?
Again, she lashed out at the thug holding her.
“Stop it right now, unless you want to see Agent Slater continue to squirm.” Lieutenant Grey’s voice slithered loud and clear down her spine as he twisted a handful of her hair and yanked. Her head jerked backward with his grip.
Gasping to catch her breath, she stilled in her captor’s arms. None of this made sense. “Okay. Okay. Just leave him alone. Please leave him alone.”
“Good girl. You learn fast.” Grey loosened his hold and motioned to the captor to release his grip around her waist. But he kept a hold on her wrist as the other thug yanked his Taser prongs from Josh’s body.
“How did you get in here?” She needed to distract the lieutenant. Give Josh time to recover from the jolts.
“You might want to see about a new hotel security system. The one you’ve got is real easy to override. Especially if you know the code.” His sinister laugh shivered through her.
How could he possibly know the pass-code?
Pushing at the hand around her wrist, she fought to gain a footing on her next move. Josh had been right about her security, but there hadn’t been time to install the new one. “Why are you doing this? Josh is one of the good guys.”
“Good guy? Guess that depends which side you’re on.” Grey laughed again as he plowed his fist into Josh’s jaw. “Welcome to my world, OPAQUE!”
Blood trickled from the corner of Josh’s eyebrow and cheek. “Don’t you see, Macki? He’s the link to Coercion Ten. In fact, I’d say he was a prominent player in the group’s formation. Or at least in the death of your parents.”
Grey hit Josh with a one-two punch to his ribs.
She gasped then scratched her nails down the neck of the man holding her wrist. He dropped his hold and she charged across the room at Grey, knocking him away from Josh. Grey turned, grabbing the drive-stun Taser from the other man.
On emotional overload, she couldn’t stop herself from pelting Grey with her fists.
“All these years, you pretended to be my friend. To watch out for me. You-you”—she shoved his chest again and again—“were nothing but a power-grubbing bastard. A traitor to my dad. My family.”
Grey grabbed one of her wrists with his free hand and held tight. Kicking with all her strength, she felt the tightening of his grip. If he tightened too much, she might pass out, but she was determined to take him down. She took a step back, then lunged forward, aiming her knee at his groin, but he sidestepped and punched the Taser against her skin.
“No!” Josh yelled, jerking the handcuffs against the metal holding him.
Dragging Macki with him, Grey turned and took a few steps back to Josh. He jabbed the Taser against him and pulled the trigger. His face twisted in pain as he groaned, deep and loud, bracing himself against the hood to keep from going down.
“Josh!” She struggled to pull Grey’s aim away, but she didn’t have the strength.
The lieutenant released the trigger and held the Taser up for her to see. “I told you before, Macki. Stop fighting me. Or he’ll get it again.” He pointed the stun gun at Josh.
“No. I’ll be good.” Jerky breaths poured from her mouth as tears poured down her cheeks. She felt helpless to protect Josh, but she had to. Had to stop this before Grey killed him. What could she do?
Deep inside, she felt herself weaken. Was this what it felt like to be a target? How Drake would feel if the organization held her as leverage against him? How could anyone see the person they love in pain and not feel agony—not fight to save them?
Grey released his hold on her and she raced to Josh’s side.
“Are you okay?” She palmed the side of his face, his lips, his forehead. “Tell me you’re okay. Please.”
Jerking away from her touch, he shot her a look of caution. “Move away. Now.”
“No. I can’t. I’ll do anything to stop your pain. Anything—”
“Don’t say that.” Through gritted teeth and warning eyes, he pleaded with her. “Think what I told you about these people. Think what you’re doing.”
&nb
sp; “Think what I’m doing? I’m saving your life. I’m—” She flung her hand in front of her mouth. What had she done?
Realization hit hard and fast—Josh was her leverage.
Her words, her action had verified everything Coercion Ten needed to know about her weakness. The look in his eyes, the set of his jaw, the tension in his body told her all she needed to know. She’d screwed up.
Josh turned his stone-wall expression toward Grey. “Got what you wanted?”
The lieutenant simply grinned and nodded his head.
“Then let her go. You must have cared about her the same way you cared about your own daughter at one time. Otherwise, why would you have saved her from the plane crash?”
“Shut up.” Grey glanced at his watch.
“What do you mean he saved me?” She tried to clear her mind and focus. Each point would have a reason. She didn’t plan to mess up again.
Josh leaned back as if he had all the time in the world. “Follow the clues. Where did the baseball tickets come from that day? The ones that kept you from going on the plane with your mom and dad?”
“Lieutenant Grey said he got them from a pal who had to go out of town.”
“And when did Peggy tell you her dad said you could stay over that night?”
Grey pulled his revolver and pointed it at Josh. “Shut up about my daughter.”
The hate bubbling inside her numbed her to the core. Without flinching, she stepped in front of Grey, in front of the aimed pistol. “You set up the crash of the plane, yet fixed it so I would live? Why? Why would you save me?”
He lowered the gun an inch. “Yeah, I saved you. And what did it get me? Nothing!”
Last night seemed a lifetime away. The plane crash from ten years ago felt like yesterday.
“Nothing?” She pushed a sarcastic breath through her nose. “You seem to have done okay. In fact, I’m wondering about that house you’ve got. How did you say you met your current wife?”
He leaned into her space and grinned like the devil was peering from his soul. “I met her on a family trip to New York a few weeks before the crash. We hit it off real well.” He sneered with venom. “I was glad when Peggy’s mom got cancer. But don’t think for a minute I didn’t make sure she got only the best treatments available…in New York. Made it convenient to have a little companionship close by.”
“That’s sick. So sick.” She wasn’t sure how much more dirt she could stand to hear, but her cop instincts kicked in and said to keep digging. Except she didn’t know where to go from this point. She looked at Josh and raised her eyebrows, hoping he’d pick up that she was spent.
Josh nodded then laughed out loud. “So Coercion Ten gave you a new wife, a new house, and money by the boatload? Must have soothed your conscience for killing your so-called friend.”
“You forget. I didn’t fix the plane.” Grey pushed her aside and aimed the gun at Josh once again, glancing briefly at her. “Did he tell you it was his dad who took care of that for us? Or did he forget to mention that little part?”
“He told me.”
Grey seemed agitated by their honesty. He lowered his gun to his side and started pacing around the garage. Kept glancing at his watch again and again. The thugs he’d brought with him, his muscle, seemed perfectly content to stay where they were. Ready to let everything play out. Why not? They’d be paid no matter how long the job took.
Josh followed Grey’s movements as if mapping the new world, as if gauging his timing, planning his next words. Something inside her warned his play could be the turning point in this altercation. But without any backup, how could anything help them?
He inched himself into a sideways position against the SUV’s fender. What was he doing? He looked smaller now. Kind of like a cop positioning himself into a crouch to be a smaller target.
Target? He’d made himself a smaller target because of what he had planned.
“I admit I didn’t know Peggy well…” He motioned her to step away from him. “But I can’t believe she had a part in Macki’s parents’ death. Guess you never know what someone will do for money.”
Grey stopped. Turned. Charged back across the garage. “I told you to shut your mouth about my daughter. Otherwise I’ll shut it for you.”
She picked up the thread of confrontation. “I thought Peggy was my friend. Now I find out she helped kill my family.”
“You. All because of you. That’s why she’s dead.” Grey stalked toward Macki, a look of loathing on his face, hate in his voice. “I should have let you die along with your parents. In fact, I should finish you off right now.”
“Mr. Grey, that wouldn’t be wise.” The thug who’d previously held her called from across the garage, his tone more of an order than a reminder. The man had unholstered his own gun and held it loosely at his side. “Not wise at all.”
She and Josh exchanged glances. Something new had been added to the mix. What?
Grey turned to his challenger. “I’m not a fool. I’ve still got kids and grandkids out there. I was only putting the fear of the Almighty into her.”
Laughing again, Josh yanked the handcuffs against the fender. “Now that’s something I didn’t expect. The thugs have control over the so-called leader of the group.”
Tension simmered in Grey’s eyes. If Josh pushed too much, no one might be able to stop the result.
“Did Peggy know what happened?” Josh took his jab, quick, strong, and to the point. His tone sarcastic and mean and accusing. “Is that why she turned to drugs? Couldn’t live with the knowledge her old man had killed her best friend’s parents?”
Grey turned and fired. The bullet ricocheted off the concrete wall behind the SUV as he charged across the room, headed for Josh. Macki tried to pull Grey away, but he shoved her aside, and she stumbled, hitting the concrete floor with a thud. She stayed where she’d landed.
Standing over her, he glowered. “You want to know why Peggy died? Because I had remorse. I was the one who couldn’t live with what I’d done. I tried to get out. Coercion Ten said once you’re in, you’re in. I told them they could still count on me, just not in the hardcore objectives.” He trailed his palm tight down his face, and his voice cracked. “They said I should think about it overnight.”
Grey’s breathing pulsed with tension, even his head seemed to tremble from his anger.
“The college police called the next day. Said they found Peggy dead in her room. An OD. No signs of foul play. Case closed.” His voice cracked deeper this time. “She’d never done drugs. Coercion Ten had killed her. No warning. Just straight and to the point.”
Macki swayed back and forth. All these years she’d worried because she hadn’t seen the signs of her friend’s addiction. Instead, Peggy had been a mark to bring Grey into line. She felt sick. Sick and mad as hell.
The lieutenant knelt down beside her on the concrete floor. His hot breath blew against the side of her face. “Do you know what it feels like to bury your daughter, knowing you were responsible for her death?”
She shook her head because he actually wanted an answer. And for some reason, she felt she owed him at least that.
“Sir, don’t make me shoot you.” Her previous captor stood behind Grey, his gun at the ready. “You know your orders said alive.”
The click-clack of the garage door opening and the sudden influx of natural daylight flooded the cold of the garage. A black limo pulled inside, angled into a parking spot, then backed out of the space, turning to face the closing garage door.
Was this some type of OPAQUE backup? A way to get inside? But how would they know to come? “Josh?”
“Macki, come here.” Josh ordered. “Right now.”
She scrambled to her feet. Back-stepping away from Grey, she flattened her expression into one of fear, waving her hands in front of her, pretending to be scared to death, which wasn’t far from true. She turned and ran to Josh, knowing that there’d be only a few seconds for whatever he needed to tell her.
“I’m sorry.” Whispering, she brushed her cheek against his, hoping to catch his instructions easier. “I shouldn’t have shown my emotions. Shouldn’t have let them see what you mean to me.”
“That’s okay, Macki.” Josh tilted his head, laying his lips alongside her ear as if giving reassurance. “Extra key fob. My pocket. Get it. When I tell you, stomp it to hell.”
Remembering what he’d told her about the emergency way to call for backup—OPAQUE, FBI, local police—she paused only a moment before she inched her fingers to the edge of his jeans pocket. She dug inside, touched the plastic with her fingertips…almost had it…her fingers closed around their one chance at survival.
Grey yanked her back and shoved her toward her previous captor. “Keep her under control. And you”—he pointed at Josh—“you stay quiet if you know what’s good for you.”
She gave a quick nod to let Josh know she had the fob and was ready to move on his command.
He looked at the limo, and she followed his line of sight. This wasn’t backup. She wracked her brain trying to think of anyone else who might have the pass-code to the garage.
The front passenger door opened and a muscle-bound man dressed in black stepped out from the driver’s door. He scanned the perimeter of the garage before opening the rear door. Evidently, they were about to meet the man in charge of this specific Coercion Ten operation.
Slowly, a tall, lean, muscular man with broad shoulders and hair cropped so close he appeared bald emerged. He kept his back to the group, but there was something familiar about his stance. Something distant in her memories.
He turned. Removed his sunglasses. Stepped forward into the glow of light. “Hello, Macki. Long time no see.”
“Blake? Blake Ransom?” She took a step back. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Josh couldn’t believe how fast pieces had just fallen into place. Too fast.
Even in the shadows, he’d noticed the man was dressed in a black muscle shirt and black pants. Then he’d stepped forward into the light. Shiny-shiny black shoes and a gold-link bracelet. He’d been the man on D Street. He’d been there all along.
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