Jason nodded, continuing to hold her, to infuse her with his strength and warmth. God, he regretted not sharing his feelings with her all those nights he’d held her in his arms. If they got out of this alive, he’d tell her how he felt and take his chances.
“This place is defendable,” Troy stated firmly, “and we have the element of surprise on our side. They don’t know we’ve been forewarned. We have weapons, ammunition, and a secure perimeter. Thanks to the devices we planted out there, we’ll have a heads up before they get too close. Everybody stays inside tonight. We won’t give The Butcher a chance to separate us and pick us off one at a time. If he doesn’t show up as anticipated, then we’ll get the hell out of Dodge as soon as it’s light outside. We’ll travel light and fast—no luggage. When it’s safe, someone can come back and get the gear.
“Jason, why don’t you and Nikki go down to the basement and see if you can find something made of metal we could use as a shield to move from the house to the SUV while I iron out the kinks with Nathan and Angie?”
So, Troy wanted Nikki out of the kitchen while he discussed worst case scenarios. Good call.
“Will do. It’s a good plan, Troy. Come on, let’s see what we can find in the basement. There’s all kinds of stuff down there.”
He held Nikki’s right hand and led her down the stairs to the storage area.
“Do you think his plan will work? Will they be able to protect us?”
“Troy’s an expert at this kind of thing. He and Angie have probably been in similar situations hundreds of times.” He opened his arms, and she walked into them. “Everything’s going to be fine.” He prayed he was telling the truth.
“I’m so afraid, Jason, not just for me and Mandy, but for the others, too. I feel responsible for those hospital workers in San Francisco, but if something happened to you, I couldn’t bear it. He pushed her away slightly and took her chin in his hand, tilting her head up so she’d look into his eyes.
“Nothing’s going to happen to any of us. I have plans for the future, and they don’t include letting The Butcher succeed. I’ll tell you all about them when this is over. By the way you and Mandy have leading roles.”
He bent his head and captured her lips. This first kiss wasn’t the gentle one he’d expected to give her; instead, it was a desperate one fueled by need and fear.
Her surprised response was tentative, and then as demanding as his own. She tasted of chocolate and coffee, and something uniquely her own. He pulled away softly, and she opened her eyes.
Her lips were swollen from his assault, her eyes filled with wonder, and she’d never looked more beautiful. He bent his head and captured her lips a second time, his tongue darting inside her mouth once more, teasing, sweeping, and feasting on her nectar.
The sound of a chair scraping overhead brought him back to his senses.
“Consider that a down payment on the future. Much as I would like to continue this,” and his body was begging him to do so, “we need to find something to serve as a shield. Are you okay?”
Eyes shining, she smiled and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
“I’m more than okay.”
The second fridge wasn’t being used, so it was a simple matter to remove the door. Jason picked up the heavy object and followed Nikki up the stairs.
Troy was standing by the table refilling his cup. He looked up when Jason placed the heavy refrigerator door against the wall.
“Will this do?”
“It’s perfect. We’ve talked it out, and the safest thing is to move the ladies upstairs tonight. You and Angie will be up there with them. Nathan and I will watch the front and side of the house. We’ll turn off all the lights and use the infrared night goggles. Heat signatures are easier to spot no matter what they’re wearing. They don’t know we have them, so we’ll have the advantage.”
The puppy woke and whined. Nathan scooped him up and offered to do the litter box honors. “Then I’ll take Danny upstairs to play with Mandy, but I’ll be right back,” he informed them.
“Thanks, Nathan. The pup should keep her occupied until we finish working out our strategy.”
“Don’t mention it. If a fight breaks out, we don’t want the puppy getting underfoot. I’ll carry his gear upstairs after supper.”
“Good.”
“Where were you keeping all these?” Nikki asked, staring at the cache of firepower on the kitchen table
There was no mistaking the awe and surprise tinged with fear in her voice. The pile of weapons and ammunition was an impressive one.
Jason laughed at her stunned expression and felt some of his tension melt away.
“Did I forget to mention the previous owner was a hunting enthusiast? There’s a gun safe in the back of the closet in the mud room. Troy brought a few toys he thought we might need if the plan failed. We didn’t take any chances. I just didn’t want to believe it would happen. If I had, I’d have found a fortress for you, not an isolated chalet.” He reached for her and pulled her into his arms again. “I know you’re scared, sweetheart, but you have to hide it. We don’t want Mandy to realize anything’s wrong. We need to eat and clean up as soon as possible. How soon can we have supper?”
“Twenty minutes? The roast is done. I’ll just put on the potatoes and vegetables. Will that be soon enough?”
He kissed her quickly. “It’ll be great. You’re amazing, do you know that?”
“I have some of the Benadryl we gave Mandy for the flight,” Nathan said. “If anything happens, she’ll sleep through it. It would be much less traumatic for her that way. I understand she’s a heavy sleeper, so once she’s out, we should be good for the night.”
“It’s your call.” Jason watched Nikki weigh the pros and cons and knew from the set of her shoulder and the tilt of her head she’d reached the decision.
“Do it. God forbid anything happens to her, but if it does, she’ll never know. I hope this plan works. I can’t bear the thought of losing another child.”
* * *
Cassie had been particularly quiet throughout dinner and had gone upstairs right after the meal. Nikki knew Nathan had explained everything to his terrified wife, but she worried it might be something else. A baby’s arrival was unpredictable at best. Just because the little one wasn’t due yet didn’t mean it couldn’t come early.
How would the loss of an experienced rifleman affect the safety plan? She couldn’t shoot a pistol, let alone a rifle, and what she knew about delivering babies would probably fit on the head of a pin. Hell, she didn’t even remember birthing them. Cassie was the nurse, Nathan the doctor. She just prayed Baby Palmer could wait until at least tomorrow before entering the world.
Nikki dried the last cup and looked down at the floor where Mandy had fallen asleep playing with her puppy. Jason walked into the kitchen. He wore his shoulder holster over a Kevlar vest similar to the one he’d given her.
“Almost finished?”
“Yes.”
Jason bent down and picked up Mandy, cradling her gently against his shoulders. “It’s time. If you’ll carry the pup, I can get you two settled upstairs. The sooner you’re out of the line of fire, the better I’ll feel.”
Nikki picked up her Kevlar vest and Danny and followed Jason up the stairs. Frightened as she was, it was a chore to put one foot in front of the other. He opened the door to the middle bedroom. The puppy’s litter box was on the floor of the open closet. Since this room had a skylight instead of a window, Troy said they could have a small lamp. It was a good thing because she couldn’t have handled the darkness tonight. The monsters who haunted the blackness were real, and they were after her. It was only a matter of time before they arrived.
Jason deposited Mandy on the cot they’d moved upstairs, and Nikki placed the puppy at her feet. The little dog made his mandatory three circles before settling down. Cassie was lying on her side on the bed on the far side of the room. Nikki couldn’t tell if she was sleeping or not. Somehow she doubted it.
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Jason indicated they should go back into the hall. The other two bedroom doors were closed, but she still shivered against the draft from the open windows.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. The touch of his lips thrilled her, and she opened herself to him, wishing the kiss could go on forever. Too soon, he pulled back. It was dark in the hall, and she couldn’t see his face, but she felt the steady thud of his heart despite the Kevlar shirt he wore.
“Try to get some sleep. I know the vest is uncomfortable, but I want you to wear it. I wish we had others for Cassie and Mandy. Brad thinks we’ll be okay tonight. I called her earlier, and she doesn’t think he could have found us so quickly. You’ll see. We’ll be on our way to San Francisco in the morning, and this will be an adventure you can tell your grandchildren. By the way, DNA results came in. Your husband was definitely not Sam Hart.”
“So who was he?”
“I don’t know, but Greg is searching the databases for missing doctors who’d be between fifty and sixty today. We’ll find him.”
He bent to kiss her again, and a loud moan from the bedroom startled them apart.
“I was afraid of this.” Nikki moved out of his arms and turned to the door.
“Afraid of what? That wasn’t Mandy.”
“Cassie has been too quiet this evening. All of this stress may have brought on premature labor.”
Jason looked at her as if she’d grown a second head.
“Damn! I’ll get Nathan.” He turned and ran down the steps. Nikki opened the door and went into the room. Cassie was sobbing loudly.
“It’s okay, Cassie. How bad are the contractions?”
Thank God she could hear heavy footsteps thundering up the stairs.
Nikki waited for the contraction to pass so that Cassie could answer.
“They’re really strong, about seven minutes apart. My water broke just after supper. Nikki, I’m so scared. I don’t want my baby to die.”
The door was swinging open and Nathan came in as Cassie uttered the last words.
“Our baby won’t die. I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”
Jason followed on Nathan’s heels with the electric heater from the master bedroom. He plugged it in. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to call out. I’m just downstairs.” He closed the door behind him.
Nathan bent down and kissed his wife. “Were you planning to do this on your own? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“I didn’t want to upset you. I thought they were just more Braxton Hicks contractions. I’ve been having them off and on all week. Nate, I’m scared.”
Nathan turned to Nikki. “Go and get the shower curtain in the bathroom. We’ll use it to cover the mattress. At least the bed doesn’t have a footboard. Come on, honey. Let’s get you undressed. I’ve delivered a few babies in my time. Delivering ours should be a snap.”
By the time Nikki returned with the shower curtain, Cassie was dressed in a nightgown and standing next to Nathan.
Nikki quickly stripped the bed and remade it the way Nathan instructed. She got additional blankets from the cupboard to cover Mandy and Cassie and large towels that would be used to swaddle the baby. She grabbed a few dishcloths to use as diapers, too.
Cassie groaned as a contraction took her, and Nathan lifted her back onto the bed.
“Breathe, baby. You know how. You’ve seen this done a thousand times.”
Nikki watched in fascination as Cassie panted her way through the contraction and fell back on the bed, exhausted.
She smiled weakly at her husband. “I hadn’t planned on a natural delivery.”
Had Sam stood by her bedside and supported her the way Nathan was helping Cassie? Somehow, she doubted it. He didn’t seem to be a man who would want to be by his wife’s side.
Nikki felt like a voyeur. This was a private time for a couple and here she was right smack-dab in the middle of things. Between contractions, Nathan rubbed his wife’s back and tried to take her mind off what was happening around them.
It reminded her of the way Jason had held her in his arms earlier. His kisses had been full of promise, a promise he’d made aloud to her. Could they make a future for themselves when this was over? Could they move on together as a family? The possibility of carrying another child, Jason’s child, warmed her.
Another moan from Cassie brought her back to the present. The contractions were stronger and closer together. Nikki straightened her spine and moved over to the bed. If she was going to move ahead, then she had to do so now.
“Tell me what to do.
Chapter Seventeen
Jason stared at the brush on the edge of the creek. He was cold and stiff. His shoulder ached. With Nathan occupied, Troy had chosen to give up the watch on the back of the house for eyes on the front and east side of the property. The one hundred-foot sheer drop from a minor hill near Flagstaff Mountain on the northwest side of the house structure itself would make an incursion from that direction less appealing, especially at this time of the year.
Not for the first time, Jason cursed himself for not realizing all the pitfalls of this place—he’d only seen the good side of having Nikki rehabilitate here.
Mother Nature had cut them a break tonight. Instead of the full moon they’d expected, the sky was cloudy. As long as it didn’t snow heavily, they would be okay. A blizzard like they’d had last week would blind them. True it would affect the enemy the same way, but The Butcher seemed capable of dealing with anything. How he’d gotten in and out of the FBI offices was still a mystery. He was a modern day Houdini.
Ivan had called and given the team a complete rundown on what Interpol knew about The Butcher. The man had military training, possibly from working as a mercenary where the more brutal the killing, the better. The problem was, he’d most likely made the kind of friends along the way that Jason wouldn’t want to meet. Ivan had warned them they could expect anything from a one-man ninja-style incursion to a full military assault. Jason swore the bastard wouldn’t succeed with either of them.
It was after one. They’d been keeping watch for six hours. He hated waiting, and he’d done a lot of it over the years—sitting and watching for an eternity, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. He’d forgotten how brain and body numbing it could be. Technically he still was on medical leave since his approval to work this case had come as a big favor from on high, but with a “special circumstances” stamp on it. Before he would be cleared to return to his old job, he would have to undergo a thorough physical examination and talk to the bureau shrinks once more. Would they see the secret hidden deep in his soul?
Bleary-eyed from staring into the darkness, he blinked several times in quick succession trying to ease his discomfort. He shifted his stance to relieve the stiffness in his back and his knees, and moved his trigger finger to clasp and unclasp his stiff hand.
Glancing at his watch, he wondered how Cassie was doing. He’d heard a few moans from upstairs, but none of the screaming in agony or cursing portrayed in the movies. The little nurse must be a hell of a lot tougher than anyone had thought. It couldn’t be easy giving birth under these circumstances.
He forced himself to focus on the tree line again. Large snowflakes drifted down now and then, and he almost shot a deer that had wandered into the yard. He inhaled deeply trying to slow his pounding heart. An itchy trigger finger was the last thing he needed.
An infant’s lusty cry split the air. The bedroom door opened, and Nikki called out. “Baby boy Palmer is officially here. Mother and son are fine. Nathan says he’ll finish here and be down as soon as he can. I’ll come down and make coffee. Jason, don’t you dare tell me to stay up here.”
Jason chuckled. “I wouldn’t dare,” he called back.
He heard Troy laugh, easing tension so thick it could’ve been cut with a knife.
The truth was, they could all use a jolt of caffeine, and none of them could leave their post to make it.
A son! It must really be something to see the woman you loved carrying your child and giving birth to your own flesh and blood. He doubted he would ever see it. Nikki might not want another child, let alone be capable of having one. Not that they were going to set up house and make babies in the next week. Hell, it might all be a moot point after tonight.
He recalled the way he’d found her after the attack, and the vision sobered him. The son of a bitch out there somewhere wanted to finish the job. There was no way he was going to let The Butcher anywhere near her.
He blinked his eyes and stared. Had something moved in the snow? He put on his infra-red glasses and scanned the tree line. Nothing. He was imagining things. When Nathan touched his shoulder, he jumped. He removed the glasses and allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim light.
“You scared the daylights out of me. I thought that would take longer.”
Nathan laughed and rubbed his forehead. “My wife’s an amazing woman. She did all the work. She needs to rest now. Nikki is a hell of a woman, too. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her. Mandy, bless her little heart, slept through the whole thing.”
Jason shook his head. “There are times I wish I could sleep like that. She didn’t hear anything the night it happened, too.”
But Nikki hadn’t screamed or cried out, either. He couldn’t imagine how she’d done it. The pain must’ve been excruciating. And he’d been picking up a six-pack.
“You must be exhausted,” he said, wanting to wipe that thought from his mind.
Nathan smiled. “Not as tired as she is. I worked longer shifts when I was an intern and then a resident. Babies like being born at night.” He chuckled. “That’s when most of them are probably made, and my gorgeous son is no exception. I’ve spelled Angie long enough to use the facilities. The woman’s a machine, like the female version of Robocop. To be honest, I don’t think I’m cut out for combat. I know how to use one of these things, but I’m not sure I could kill a man.”
“You’ll do what needs to be done. Just think of your wife and son upstairs. That’ll give you the incentive you need.”
On His Watch (Vengeance Is Mine Book 1) Page 22
