Damn. Vance.
“Thanks.” Quinn hurried out of the office and jogged back to the truck. His cell phone rang before he had a chance to fill Malik in.“Yeah.”
“Her phones on,” Wiz announced. “I’m tracking her on a map and she’s moving pretty fast up Lee Highway heading west toward Shenandoah National Park.”
“Where the hell are they going?”
“They?” Wiz asked.
“The motel manager said she left with someone who fits Vance’s description. Hold on a sec, Wiz. Let’s take the truck. I’ll drive,” Quinn said to Malik and grabbed his gear, including his tactical bag carrying his rifle, out of Malik’s car. “Wiz, did you find anything on Vance?”
“Yeah, he just returned from Chicago earlier this morning, and there’s a Chicago telephone number he’s been blowing up for the last couple of days. It looks like there wasn’t much conversation based on the minutes used. I haven’t figured out who he’s been calling, but I will. So, getting back to Alandra, do you have any idea where she could be going?”
“If I remember right Harry has a cabin or house near Sperryville, just east of Shenandoah National Park, but I’m not sure why they would be going there.”
“I don’t know, but she has you by at least forty minutes and now that it’s raining, maybe even more. I’m closer, do—”
“No. I need you by the computer. If she’s heading to Harry’s place, which my gut tells me she is, I’m going to need reconnaissance of the area near his place. I remember you were able to do something on your computer for one of our ops years ago. Any chance you can give me some info about the property as well as put a trace on Harry’s phone? I tried calling him, but haven’t been able to reach him.”
“You got it.”
Quinn headed west on Interstate 66 knowing it would get him to Lee Highway. Not only did he have to find Alandra, but he had to beg her forgiveness. With all the new information, it was clear that he was the reason she’d been gunned down in Tzbekystan.
****
Vance glanced back at Alandra to find her sound asleep. Considering the amount of sleeping pills and muscle relaxers added to his cookie batter, she’d stayed alert longer than he had anticipated.
He changed lanes to go around a slow moving vehicle, and then sped up. He wanted to be in Sperryville, Virginia and at Harry’s cabin by nightfall. It would soon be over. He looked at Alandra through his rearview mirror. If he hadn’t heard her voice or seen her with his own eyes, he never would have believed she was alive. He first found out when she called well over a week ago, but the other day when Congressman Ramos insisted that he and Vance meet, Vance knew he wasn’t the only one who knew Alandra was alive. Ramos told him that if he didn’t fix the mess he’d made of getting rid of her, he would publically humiliate Vance, airing all of his dirty little secrets.
Thirty more miles. Anxiousness settled over Vance. He’d done many things over the past few years that he wasn’t proud of, one of those things was working for Congressman Ramos. It all started with him trying to make extra money to cover his wife’s medical expenses. All he had to do was make a couple of drops for Los Hermanos. It wasn’t until Vance started using the product that things got complicated. With the stress of his wife’s illness and the demands of his job, he was weak and had succumbed to the numbing pleasure of cocaine.
It didn’t help that Alandra got in the way. If she hadn’t have been in Guerrero to gather Intel about Los Hermanos drug cartel none of this would have happened. When Orlando Medina started accusing Vance of using the product, of course he denied it. He told Medina that he should be more worried about his organization than accusing him of using. That’s when he told Orlando about Alandra and the reason for her being in Guerrero. Vance had no idea Quinn Hamilton would come to her rescue and tear the organization apart.
“Alandra, Alandra, Alandra,” Vance said aloud, knowing she couldn’t hear him. “If only you hadn’t gotten Hamilton involved.” Congressman Ramos was livid when he found out Quinn had destroyed everything they had built and he promised to get even. Vance didn’t know that he would be the one contracted for the hit on Alandra. Ramos wanted Quinn Hamilton to suffer for interfering in his family’s business, and he thought killing him would be too easy. Instead, Alandra became the target.
Vance had refused to accept the contract, knowing he couldn’t kill Alandra, but he needed the money and the amount that was being offered, was way too good to pass up. Besides, Ramos had too much dirt on him. When Ramos threatened to release information about Vance that would not only ruin him, but would destroy his family, he had no choice. He would do anything for his children, even if they still didn’t agree with the way he had handled their mother’s last days.
Vance stepped on the gas and gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was time he finished what he’d started so that he could move on with his life, but there was one thing nagging at him – Quinn Hamilton. Vance didn’t believe Alandra when she said she’d come to D.C alone. If she was here, it was safe to assume Quinn Hamilton was too.
****
Quinn found the cabin just south of Sperryville, Virginia. It sat off the main highway in the middle of a wooded area. His mind flashed back to that night in Tzbekystan and his stomach muscles tightened. He’d never felt fear the way he felt that night, but now it was as if he was reliving it. He couldn’t lose Alandra again.
“Park over there. It’s getting dark, and if someone passes by they won’t notice the truck near those trees,” Malik said.
Quinn hid the truck under a large oak tree. He’d never been to Harry’s place, but with the information Wiz had gathered he knew there was a little trek to the cabin. The rain had picked up, but it was one of those flash rains where it rained hard for a few minutes and would probably lighten up just as quick, or at least that’s what Quinn hoped.
He pulled his hat down lower over his forehead and exited the truck. Just as he opened the back door to grab his rifle bag, his phone vibrated.
Alandra.
“Dear, God, Lan?” His heart pounded against his chest when he answered the call.
“Quinn,” she whispered, her breathing labored. “Help. In…car. Sick.”
“Baby, where—”
“Vance…”
“Lan,” he called her name several times with no response, but she hadn’t disconnected. “Let’s go. She’s in a car,” he said to Malik. “And she mentioned Vance.” They grabbed the rest of their gear. According to Wiz, Vance and Alandra were no longer moving and were on the property. “You take the east side, and I’ll take the west,” Quinn instructed. They took off through the dark overgrown grass, sloshing through mud and dodging trees but staying close to the driveway.
Quinn had avoided love prior to meeting Alandra, and again after he thought he’d lost her. He had failed her once in Tzbekystan, but now given another chance, he would get it right or die trying.
****
Vance held the shovel handle firmly in his hand and stepped on the top of it, helping it through the heavy soil. He lifted a chunk of mud, tossed it to the side, and dug up more. This was more work than he’d planned. The thick guck forced him to move slower than expected, but he refused to stop. This was the only way to bring closure to a job he had failed. He hated he couldn’t let Alandra live, but she knew too much. Besides, her mission was to kill the person who had tried killing her and he couldn’t let that happen.
Just a little deeper he thought. The back of Harry’s cabin was the ideal place for what Vance had planned. Not only would he bury Alandra, getting rid of her for once and for all, but also when they found her body, Harry would be the main suspect. Since Harry was responsible for keeping Alandra alive, he automatically became the fall guy as far as Vance was concerned.
Vance knew he’d be long gone by then. Since someone had helped him out by killing the Congressman earlier in the day that was one person he no longer had to worry about. No more threats, blackmailing or calls in the middle of the night
to do a job. He was finally free.
Vance looked back near the tree, fifty yards away to see Alandra moving. He had originally left her in the car until he finished her new home, but it was too far away for him to keep an eye on her. She was definitely a fighter. The amount of muscle relaxers he’d put into those cookies should have knocked her out for several hours, but instead she was coming out of her haze.
He really did like Alandra, but she should have stayed dead. When he shot her in the chest and she fell to her knees, he didn’t think he would have to shoot her again. Even with Quinn running to her rescue, no one should have survived that type of wound, but she had. After shooting her, Tangos came out of nowhere and started shooting at Quinn and his team. Everything exploded around Vance and he didn’t stick around to make sure Alandra was dead, which turned out to be a big mistake. But tonight would be different. He would make sure she took her last breath before he walked away.
****
Quinn arrived at Vance’s vehicle. There was no sign of him or Alandra, and the back door of the car stood open. Anger and fear roared inside of him. Was he too late? He checked the back seat and found Alandra’s bags, and her cell phone was wedged between the seats. But his blood ran cold when he saw blood. Only drops, but enough to let him know Alandra could be injured.
Dammit!
“I have a visual. East side of the house,” Malik said through the earpiece Quinn was wearing. “Thirty yards, slight slope.”
Quinn set his gun bag behind a four-foot high concrete wall separating the deck area from the yard and pulled out his binoculars, thankful the rain had turned into a light drizzle. He searched the area, a large portion inundated with trees. “Got it,” he finally said to Malik. Vance was dragging Alandra.
“Oh, shit,” Malik said. “There’s a three by five hole and I have a feeling he didn’t dig it for himself.”
A burning fear twisted around Quinn’s heart when he saw the hole from his vantage point. The thought of Alandra being buried alive, assuming she was still alive, made him sick to his stomach. Anger boiled inside him and emotion strangled his vocal cords. When it was all said and done, he would make sure Vance died a slow death and bury him in the grave he dug.
Quinn dropped the binoculars back into his bag, and he set up his rifle on the concrete wall. Looking through the scope he zoned in on Vance. Alandra was too close.
“Damn, that sick son-of-a-bitch.” Rage pulsed through Quinn’s body at the way Vance dragged Alandra across the wet ground.
“Need a distraction. Lan’s too close.” After the way she reacted the other night with the gunfire, Quinn would prefer that she not be anywhere near Vance when he shot him, but this couldn’t wait. And with Vance’s military training, Quinn knew he had only one shot to get this right. He spotted Malik five yards southeast of the hole, hidden behind tall grass and brush. A few more long strides and Vance would be at the front edge of the grave’s opening.
“Let her go, Vance. It’s over,” Malik called out.
Vance swung around and Alandra slipped from his grasp, his gun arm straight out in front of him ready to shoot. Vance moved his arm back and forth, searching in every direction as if trying to determine where the voice came from.
“Show yourself,” Vance yelled out.
“I’ll show you alright.” Quinn pulled the trigger, shooting Vance in the wrist first and then in his leg. The gun flew out of Vance’s hand and he collapsed to the ground. Even from hundreds of yards away, Quinn could hear him howling in pain.
Quinn ran down the hill, his gun in hand. By the time he got to the bottom Malik was standing over Vance, his weapon hovering near Vance’s head.
“Leave him. He’s mine,” Quinn barked. He hurried over to Alandra who was lying face down on the ground.
A frigid wave of fear crashed over Quinn and he dropped to his knees. “Lan, baby…” God please let her be okay. He eased her onto her back, her body limp and her breathing ragged. His heart pounded loudly against his chest as he used the bottom of his shirt to wipe mud and grass off her face. He couldn’t lose her. It would kill him if he had to go through that type of pain again.
“Lan?” He noted the gash on the side of her head and then he ran his hands up and down her body to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere else. He lifted her head and patted her cheek, her face cold and damp against his touch. “Come on, baby. I need you to open your eyes,” he said repeatedly, his emotions making him choke on each word.
Her eyes fluttered partially open and she glanced around in a haze until she zoned in on him. “Quinn.”
Relief flooded Quinn’s body and it was taking everything he had not to break down. To see those beautiful eyes staring back at him almost did him in.
“My God, baby, what did he do to you?” He held her close, placing kisses on her forehead, on her cheek and then on her lips. Relief flooded his body and unfamiliar tears pooled in his eyes, but he swiped them away before they had a chance to fall.
“Muscle…relaxer.” She started crying. “I’m…sorry.”
“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m going to get you out of here.” He swept her into his arms, not wanting to let her go, but he had to tend to some unfinished business. He handed her to Malik.
“Nooo,” she cried.
Quinn’s gut twisted tighter at her frantic cry. “Baby, I’m right here,” he assured her, kissing her lips. “I just have to take care of something.”
When Malik had Alandra out of earshot, Quinn took a few deep breaths and pulled out his Glock. He stood over Vance, curled up on the ground, blood streaming from his body but he was still alive. This was the man who had ruined his and Alandra’s life. Shooting him would be too easy. Quinn wanted him to suffer the way he and Alandra had suffered for the last three years.
He holstered his gun and dropped down to the ground. Pent up anger coursed through his veins from days of stress and he took it out on Vance’s body. Sending blow after blow to his face, to his neck and to his gut, making sure he added extra pressure to his gun wounds. Backing every punch with as much power as he could muster, Quinn didn’t let up until his knuckles burned.
Vance stopped moving but he was still alive and struggling to breath. Quinn staggered to a standing position and pulled out his gun.
“Your ass had a death wish the day you tried to kill her in Tzbekystan, but to try it twice? You don’t deserve to live.”
“Just ki…kill me,” Vance spat out.
“If you insist.”
Two weeks later
“What are you thinking about?” Quinn asked Alandra. She leaned against him, her back against his chest. She had physically recovered from the drama of the last few weeks, but it would take time for her to heal emotionally and mentally. They stood on the balcony of their overwater bungalow in Bora Bora, gazing out over the turquoise lagoon, shallow waves splashing against the stilts that were holding their bungalow upright. Breathtaking was the only word to describe the tropical paradise with its majestic views.
“I’m thinking that I will never tire of our new surroundings. Who gets to wake up to this?” Alandra spread her arms out, palms up to the sky. “It’s like we’re all alone in a heavenly paradise, surrounded by the bluest water I have ever seen in my life and Mount Otemanu is right in front of us, piercing the sky above. This is unbelievable,” she said breathlessly.
Quinn chuckled.
She turned and wrapped her arms around his waist. He held her close and she melded against his hard body, as they swayed to the soft jazz sifting through the outdoor speakers.
“Are you still okay with us disappearing and starting a new life here?”
“I’m more than okay with it as long as I’m with you.” She leaned back and looked into his eyes. “What about you?”
He pushed her windblown curls away from her face. “I feel the same. When I found you at Harry’s place, I vowed then that I was never living another day without you.” The emotional turmoil that embraced him when he found her didn’t rele
ase him until they landed in Bora, Bora. It was like a thousand pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Alandra grasped his hands. “I’m glad we agreed not to turn Harry in regarding the insurance fraud or the money in Switzerland.”
“Yeah, it was best to just walk away.”
“I know I said it before, but I never meant to hurt you,” Alandra said. “I will never lie to you again.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I tried like hell to keep my operative life separate from my personal life, but I failed you. Baby, I swear I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, and I will always keep you safe.”
“And I plan to do the same for you. My only concern - I’ve pulled you away from your family and friends. Natasha is the only one besides your friends who knew I was alive, but you…”
He placed his large hands on either side of her face. “This will be my last time saying this. You are my family. My life was nothing without you. As for everyone else in our life, I’ll miss them, but we’ll see them again.”
Alandra rested her head against his chest.
“You understand why we couldn’t stay in the States right?” He lifted her chin to look into her eyes. He wanted to make sure she understood and that there were no regrets. “I don’t want us to have to always be looking over our shoulders.”
“I know, and for the first time in a long time I feel free. There’s a peace within me that I haven’t felt in years.”
Quinn reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips. “I know what you mean.” Still holding her hand, he stared into her eyes and brought her forefinger into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip, and paid the same homage to the next one.
“Quinn,” Alandra moan breathlessly when he released her hand and pulled her closer, placing a trail of kisses from behind her ear, down along her neck and onto her bare shoulder.
“Why don’t we go back inside,” Quinn said against her warm skin. “There are a few other places on your body that I’d like to explore.”
“Mmm, I love it when you talk dirty, Papi.”
Rendezvous with Danger (Reunited Series) Page 20
