by Layla Reyne
The doorknob turned and Jamie shot out of his chair, desperation fueling the urge to attack. What were a few more charges at this point?
Nic came through the door, and Jamie throttled down, but only a little. He circled the table, frantic. “I gotta get out of here, Price.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Nic closed the door and leaned back against it. “I’ve got Boston texting me every ten minutes for an update.”
“You asking for updates back?”
“Of course.”
“And?” Jamie asked impatiently. “What’d Cam say?”
“Sit.” Nic flicked a look at his leg, then jutted his chin at the chairs on the other side of the table. Tight-lipped, glaring, he made it clear no more answers until Jamie did.
With a huff, Jamie returned to his chair, collapsing into it.
To his surprise, Nic slid into the one next to him. “They’re moving into position, but they need you for the trade.”
“Like I said, I gotta get out of here.”
“Bowers wants to question you. Play nice, and I’ll try to make this quick.”
Jamie shifted sideways and lowered his voice. “Do you think Renaud got to him?”
Nic shook his head. “I think he’s got a dead AD on his hands, plus a seemingly rogue agent and another who went off the rails trying to find his partner, in more ways than one. The way Bowers works, he starts with the problem he can tackle easiest, which is you, since you’re in custody.”
Frustrated, Jamie raked a hand through his hair, clutching at the strands. “What are you still doing here?”
“I’m your attorney.”
Shocked, Jamie’s arm flopped to his side, cufflink banging the metal chair leg. “Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”
Nic laughed, short and harsh. “This whole goddamn thing is a conflict of interest. Convince me later what an idiot I am.” The doorknob turned and Nic straightened, cool exterior dropping into place.
Jamie tried to do the same, adjusting his shirt and tie and sitting straighter, as Bowers entered. Late-fifties, the US Attorney looked like being at work past nine on a Thursday night was a personal affront. He dropped a file on the table and sat across from them. “We have an official complaint from Martin Westley that you assaulted him during an interrogation.”
“I did not assault him,” Jamie replied.
Bowers opened the file, reading. “‘Agent Walker shoved me up against the wall, put his arm across my neck and threatened me with bodily harm if I didn’t tell him what he wanted to know.’”
“Mr. Westley was a hostile witness,” Nic said.
Bowers’s dark gaze swung to him. “What’s your role here?”
“Facilitator. And Agent Walker’s attorney, if need be.”
Bowers’s jaw ticked. Boss man was supremely unhappy with his subordinate’s blatant insubordination. Nic didn’t give an inch, meeting his boss’s angry gaze head on. Jamie could see why Nic was one of the best AUSAs on the circuit; he’d be hell in a courtroom. Jamie didn’t want to admire him, but the guy was proving a valuable ally.
“Facilitate, then,” Bowers said.
“Agent Walker can lead you to Agent Talley.”
Fucking traitor. Betrayal seared like a branding iron. So much for admiration. “Goddammit, Dominic! What the fuck?”
Bowers leaned forward, instantly reengaged. “By your reaction, Agent Walker, I take it Price isn’t lying?”
Nic cut off Jamie’s retort. “We have a lead on Talley’s whereabouts. One that could also lead to the arrest of Pierre Renaud, who, as you know, is on Interpol’s most-wanted list.”
“And Talley’s working with him?”
Jamie would laugh if he wasn’t so damn furious. This asshole knew nothing about Aidan, or the hell Renaud had wrecked on his partner’s life. “Renaud killed his husband and his former partner. Aidan would never work for him.”
“So you say, but we won’t know for sure until he’s questioned.”
Before Jamie could snap an objection, Nic argued his case calmly, the opposite of Jamie on edge. “Which is why you need to let Agent Walker go.”
“I’m just supposed to let him walk out of here?” Bowers said.
“Release him into my custody.”
Bowers threaded his fingers together on the table, gaze split between them. “What’s your stake in this, Price?”
“Two police officers died at my feet. It could have just as easily been me who was shot that day. According to Agents Walker and Talley, Renaud was responsible for their deaths. Same for AD Weiss, Tom Crane and Gabe Cruz. And he tried to kill thousands of people aboard a cruise ship last fall. I want this terrorist behind bars before he kills anyone else.”
Bowers’s clenched hands tightened. “You’re my top attorney.”
“Then trust me to do my job and follow the evidence to the correct and just conclusion.”
“We want in on the rescue.”
Jamie started to object, and Nic beat him to it again. “I’ll be on the team, but the FBI will lead. Agent Cameron Byrne with their K&R unit is on point.”
“Byrne’s a good agent. Handed us multiple convictions.”
“Then let him do his job, too.”
“Heard he’s also Agent Walker’s best friend.”
“I trust Cam, completely.”
Well, at least that was one battle Jamie didn’t have to fight.
“Fine,” Bowers said. “Twenty-four hours, and then I want you—” he pointed at Jamie “—your partner and Renaud in here for questioning.”
Jamie stood. “Done.”
Bowers grabbed the file off the table and beckoned Nic into the hallway.
Jamie bounced off the walls until Nic returned. “You couldn’t have told me that was your plan?”
Nic scoffed, impatience finally cracking that too-calm veneer. “No, because you would have argued and I didn’t have time for that.” Nic slapped a phone in his hand, Cam’s contact info displayed. “Call Boston. Tell him we’re a go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Nic swung his Dodge Ram into a parking lot adjacent to Moffett and Jamie surveyed the dark area. He spotted a surveillance van and familiar collection of cars in the shadows at the far end. “Over there,” he said. “And kill the lights.”
Nic switched off his headlights and crept across the lot, rumbling into the space next to Danny’s Mas.
Jamie wrestled out of his seatbelt. “You coming in?”
If looks could kill...and if that icy blue glare didn’t, the K-Bar and Beretta Nic pulled out of the console between the truck’s seats would. He handled both with military precision. Better, even.
“You weren’t just JAG Corps, were you?”
“This won’t be the first terrorist I’ve taken down.” He reached into the console again and extracted Jamie’s Glock and badge. He tossed them into his lap. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Jamie double-checked the brace on his leg, then hopped out of the truck. As they approached the van, the back doors swung open.
“‘Bout time,” Cam said.
Jamie took his offered hand, climbed inside, and walked, hunched over, to Lauren, who sat in front of a monitor bank.
The van jolted once more as Nic entered, then Cam shut the door, closing them in.
“What’ve we got?” Jamie said, taking the chair beside Lauren.
Mel stood at the other end of the monitors. “Six heat signatures.” She tapped a nail at the monitor showing an infrared readout of Hangar Two.
“How are we even getting that?”
“Friend of a friend,” Danny said from his spot in the corner.
“Where are they?” Nic asked, standing with Cam behind Jamie.
Lauren pointed
at two heat signatures toward the back of the hangar. “Given the confined area, we think these two are Aidan and Kevin.” One of the figures was motionless, lower than the other, probably seated on the floor. The other moved back and forth across a ten or so foot area.
Jamie tapped the pacer. “That’s Aidan.” The knot in his stomach eased a bit. His partner was alive and moving, only a couple football fields away. Adrenaline tickled his feet, urging him to run to his partner. He clutched the armrests to keep himself seated.
Cam put a hand on his shoulder, likewise reading his instinct. “Two in the middle are Torres and Renaud. Inside the plane.”
“The other two are muscle?” Jamie asked.
“Most likely.” Cam squeezed Jamie’s shoulder before releasing it.
“Backup teams?”
“Three.” Mel motioned east. “Every other office parking lot. Multiple entry points.”
“First objective,” Cam said, “Rescue Aidan and Kevin. Second objective, take Renaud and Torres into custody, preferably alive.”
“All right,” Jamie said. “How are we going to do this?”
Cam and Mel quickly sketched out the attack. Lauren would stay in the van, running comms, while under cover of darkness and the rumble of the inbound cargo plane, Mel, Cam and Nic would get into position on either side of the hangar entrance. The backup teams would huddle in the adjacent Hangar Three, on standby, if needed. As it stood, with him, Nic, Cam and Mel, they had equal numbers. Hell, maybe Nic and Mel counted double. In any event, they didn’t want to alert Renaud and Oscar to the ambush.
Jamie, per Oscar’s instructions, would drive in, park at the hangar entrance and “trade himself.” Mel, on his six, would take out the guard. They’d continue on to take out the second guard and secure Aidan and Kevin, while Cam and Nic cornered Renaud and Oscar.
When they finished laying out their plan, Danny cleared his throat. “And, what? I’m supposed to sit here and do nothing?”
“You’ll stay here,” Mel said, “and help Lauren coordinate point.”
Danny rocketed out of his seat, ducking his head at the last minute to avoid hitting his head against the van roof. “That’s my brother in there.”
“You’re a civilian,” Cam said. “Technically, you shouldn’t even be here.”
Danny nodded at Jamie and Mel. “Ask those two how well that argument works on me.”
Not at all. Danny had run into a burning house for Mel and faced down a bomb with her and Aidan, but in those cases, they were short manpower or needed his skills. That wasn’t the case here, and there were too many variables at play.
“Danny,” Jamie said, gentle but firm. “If anything happened to you, Aidan would never forgive us.”
“I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t do everything I can to save him.”
“I know that,” Mel replied in that soft voice she reserved for Danny. “But I can’t do my job, and neither can Jamie, Aidan, Cam or Nic, if we’re worried about protecting you too.”
“You managed last time,” he said, voice cracking.
“Barely.” Approaching, she lifted a hand and cupped his cheek. “I won’t risk you again.”
Jamie looked away, not wanting to intrude and also hiding his own remembered agony, the situation too reminiscent of when Aidan had left him behind in Galveston. Aidan had wanted him out of the line of fire, or rather the potential blast radius, same as Mel wanted Danny out of the crosshairs tonight. The logic, the emotion behind it, still didn’t make being left behind any easier. Didn’t make letting the one you love go off into danger alone any more palatable. The best you could do was send them off, knowing they were loved and you’d be waiting for their return.
That realization hit Danny, same as it had Jamie, just as they were suited up and moving out. “Melissa!” He leaped out of the van, ran across the lot and drew her into a short, hard, no-bones-about-it kiss. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” she said, again in that soft, very un-Mel-like voice.
Their foreheads rested together another couple seconds, in their own world, before Danny stepped back, into reality. “All of you come back in one piece, Ai and Kevin with you.”
Nic nodded, Cam gave him a fist bump, and Jamie drew him into a hug, whispering, “I’ve got their back.”
Danny squeezed him tighter. “I know you do. Thank you.”
* * *
Cam’s “in position” text came a half minute after the cargo plane touched down and cleared the runway. Jamie cranked Nic’s truck and drove onto the tarmac, heading for Hangar Two. He parked at the entrance and eased out, all under the watchful eye of the front guard.
“Tell Oscar I’m here.” Jamie evaded the guard’s attempt to grab him by the arm. “I’m not going in there until I’ve got proof my partner and Kevin are here and alive.”
The guard puffed out his chest, trying to intimidate. Nice try. Jamie spread his legs shoulder-width apart, crossed his arms over this own puffed-out chest, and straightened his spine, towering a half foot over the guard. The hired gun came to his senses. Turning, he got out a “Hey, Boss!” before Mel sprang. A five-second chokehold later, she dropped his unconscious body to the ground.
One hostile down.
She raised a hand, fingers counting down to their advance, but before she lowered the last digit, shots rang out from inside the hangar.
Toward the back.
Where Aidan and Kevin were.
Adrenaline propelled Jamie forward. No more waiting. “Move!” he shouted, and they flooded in—Mel on his flank, Cam and Nic behind.
Ten steps in, a body barreled into Jamie, running so fast the momentum almost took him down. Jamie knew instantly who the runner was. He grabbed Kevin by the biceps. “Where’s Aidan?”
The younger man flung out a lanky arm toward the direction of the shots. “He picked the lock and got us out. He told me to run.”
“Good,” Jamie said. “Keep running. There’s a surveillance van in the office lot outside the main entrance. Go!”
Kevin didn’t need to be told twice. He took off, and Jamie raced the other direction, toward Aidan and the second guard.
He rounded the plane and saw them. The bigger guard lifted his gun arm and aimed a pistol directly at Aidan. Panic and fear slammed into Jamie. So did the instinct to do everything possible to save his partner.
“FBI!” he shouted, hoping it would be enough to distract the guard.
He didn’t wait to find out. Curling his shoulder, Jamie charged into the guard, grabbed his wrist and surged up, flipping the guard over his back. The wrist in Jamie’s hand turned an unnatural angle, the guard let out a strangled scream, and he dropped the gun.
“Talley!” Cam shouted.
A pair of cuffs flew past Jamie’s face, a second before the recovered guard’s fist hurtled at him from the other direction.
Jamie dodged, and Aidan’s punch landed, his fingers curled inside the cuffs, using them like brass knuckles. The guard rolled the opposite direction, covering his face as he attempted to scurry up. Jamie grasped his trailing wrist, flipped him fully onto his stomach, and wrenched his arm back, drawing another scream. Jamie put a knee to his back, pinning him good, and Aidan cuffed one wrist, then the other.
“Aidan, Jamie, down!” Mel shouted, the commanding tone ensuring their automatic compliance.
They hit the deck, just in time to avoid a bullet whizzing past.
“Shit,” Oscar gritted out from where he stood halfway between the plane and them. Gun arm dangling at his side, a red spot bloomed on Oscar’s shirtsleeve.
It’d been aimed at Aidan.
Jamie flew at Oscar before he could transfer the gun to his other hand. “That’s enough of you.” He nailed him in the face with a fierce right hook.
Oscar wobbled, dazed,
and Jamie, not giving him time to recover, landed another round. An uppercut followed by a jab to his side. Oscar’s gun slipped from his fingertips, clattering to the ground, and Aidan kicked it aside.
The private jet roared to life, engines revving, and the sudden noise startled Jamie enough that Oscar tried to fight back. Jamie disabused him of the notion, blind fury driving his fists home. Oscar’s jaw, Oscar’s side, any part of the insufferable traitor he could reach.
Until Aidan pulled him off. “That’s enough. He’s down. You got him.”
Sagging into his partner’s arms, he lifted a hand, laying it over Aidan’s, over his heart. “Shit, I don’t—”
“It’s fine.” Aidan tangled their fingers together. “Thought about attacking him a half dozen times myself.”
Jamie couldn’t resist calling bullshit. “Only half?”
“There he is.” Aidan dropped a kiss on his temple, and Jamie rotated his face in, seeking his mouth.
Their lips had barely brushed when Nic’s shout of “Cruz, no!” echoed from inside the plane.
Aidan tore out of his arms, on the move again.
“You got them?” Jamie said to Cam, eyes sweeping the cuffed suspects.
“Got ’em, go.”
Jamie nearly ran into his partner’s back at the top of the turboprop’s stairs. With a glance over Aidan’s shoulder, he understood Nic’s shout and Aidan’s sudden brakes.
Renaud, suit wrinkled, nose bloodied, was slumped in a leather chair, while Mel stood over him, gun trained on his head. “You corrupted my family and friends. Killed my brother and Tom. Tried to kill my best friend, Jamie and Danny.”
Shit.
First he’d lost it and now Mel, leaving a beat-up Aidan struggling to hold them together. Thank God for Cam outside, and now Nic, who stood to her side, pleading calmly, “Cruz, you don’t want to do this. Think. We need him to prove Aidan’s and Jamie’s innocence.”
Aidan shifted to Nic’s side, standing in Mel’s line of sight. “Mel, don’t take yourself away from us too. Away from your family and mine. From Katie. From Danny.”
Jamie didn’t want to lose her either. As a mentor, ally and friend, she’d become family to him too over the past months. He’d feel another loss the same as Aidan and his family. “We can’t lose you too,” he said.
