On His Watch

by Susanne Matthews

  Jason wished he carried a .600 Nitro Express Magnum. With a pistol like that, he could take them out, body armor and all. He’d consider getting one if they got out of this alive. He looked at the face of the man he hated more than anything in the world. The three men moved across the hall and stopped in front of the door next to the bathroom, the door behind which Nikki, Mandy, Cassie, and the baby waited. From his position, Jason couldn’t see them, and he’d never get a killing shot off from this angle. He needed to get out of the tub and out into the hall. Unfortunately, there was no way he could do it silently. The least little sound, and he’d be dead before he could even fire his weapon. He’d never felt so useless in his life.

  The cocky bastard rapped on the door. “I hope your father wasn’t paying those security guards much, Mrs. Hart. They were useless. Oh, they picked off a few of my men, but when they saw they couldn’t stop us, they ran off like the cowards they are. You weren’t behind door number one or door number two, so you must be behind door number three.” He laughed. “I’m looking forward to seeing you again. I hear you have a new face. Sorry about that. Temper, you know. Madam, you and I have unfinished business.”

  Jason listened impatiently as the man tried to open the door.

  “Locked it, did you? Now is that how you treat an old friend?” Gunfire erupted downstairs. “Demos, go back down there and see what’s going on.”

  The short man walked past the bathroom door and headed down the stairs. The odds were improving.

  “Ross, if you don’t mind?” The Butcher’s voice grated on Jason’s overwrought nerves.

  Please be ready, Nikki. He moved slowly away from behind the door.

  The bedroom door splintered. The sound of a gunshot rent the air, and Ross screamed and fell to the ground. Nikki’s shot had hit its mark, although because of the body armor, she must have gotten him in the leg or lower abdomen. He heard the sound of The Butcher’s boots as he moved out of firing range, further away from Jason as well. If he left the bathroom now, the man would see him. From this angle, Jason couldn’t get a clear shot at him, and he couldn’t afford to miss. With the weapon The Butcher carried, he’d be dead in seconds.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nikki stared at the smashed door and the man writhing on the floor. The echo of the gunshot thundered in her ears and her chest hurt where the gun’s recoil had hit the Kevlar vest, forcing it into her. She panted and her heart beat wildly. The hand holding the gun shook so badly she had to use her left one to steady it. Her mouth was dry, and she struggled to swallow.

  Please God, Jason where are you?

  She’d flipped the first bed on its side and used it as a shield for the second bed under which she’d moved the others, instructing a terrified Cassie to keep them all as close to the wall as possible. Nikki stood behind the dresser and the cot similarly moved onto its edge to serve as a barricade.

  Where are the others?

  There were no gunshots now. The house was quiet, too quiet.

  Are they dead? Wounded? Captured?

  She swallowed the sharp pain at the thought. There was no way that monster was going to get anyone else. She’d shot one man, she could shoot another. The man on the floor moaned. Blood poured from the wound in his upper thigh. Had she hit an artery?

  “Bloody hell. Why did you do that?” The New Zealand accent coming from the hallway was annoyed. “I’d planned to let Ross live. I liked the bloke. Oh well.”

  The New Zealand accent identified the man. The Butcher! She didn’t recognize the voice, but the sound of it filled her with rage and hatred. He was the monster who’d killed her son and baby, the man who’d almost killed her.

  She saw the muzzle of his gun lift, and he fired twice, administering the coup de grâce to the man writhing on the floor. Bile rose in Nikki’s throat, but she forced it back.

  “You cold-hearted bastard,” she cried.

  “Not so, chick. You’re the one who shot him. Now, where were we?” The man spoke as if nothing of consequence had happened. “I could shoot you right through this wall if I wanted to, but what fun would that be? Besides, my instructions have changed. Last time we met, I was supposed to see to it that you suffered. That’s why I didn’t slit your throat. My instructions were specific, and I always do as I’m told. Stabbing you, letting you watch your children die, beating you and cutting off your finger, and leaving you to bleed out alone suited my employer, but you didn’t die, so now we get to play the game all over again. This time, I’m to bring you and the brat back alive, but we can have some fun first.”

  Nikki forced herself to ignore his words and remain calm. Baby Palmer began to cry as only a newborn could, and the puppy whimpered. Was Mandy awake? Was she crying too?

  Nikki compelled her mind back to the man standing next to the doorway. She continued to hold the gun with both hands, trying to steady the weapon. She couldn’t let the man’s posturing upset her. She needed to stay focused.

  “Go away and leave us alone.” Her voice trembled, but there was enough strength in it to show she was still in control. She swallowed her fear and let her anger rule her. “Sam, or whoever the hell he was, my son, and my infant daughter are dead. That should be enough bloodshed for your employer.”

  She didn’t really think a seasoned killer would listen to reason. She stalled, hoping someone would come up from downstairs and save her. If there was ever a time she needed her guardian angel, it was now.

  “You know, if it were up to me, I’d let you go. I’ve got nothing against you or your daughter. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way. A contract is a contract, and since there’s a performance clause tacked on . . . it’s bad for business if I don’t follow through. It’s unfortunate so many others got involved. I hate giving freebies as you Americans say. Listen carefully. Do you hear the silence downstairs? All of your defenders are dead. Three to one are lousy odds unless you’re on the winning side. Put the gun down, and I’ll let the new mother and baby live. How’s that for a fair offer?”

  Cassie gasped, but made no other sound.

  The image of Jason lying in a pool of blood like the man in the doorway pierced Nikki. She didn’t believe for a second this snake would keep his word. She wouldn’t give up. The sobs from under the bed helped her stiffen her backbone. There was no way Cassie’s baby would die as hers had. The man edged into the doorway, and she fired again.

  Unmoved, the man continued to approach. She saw his shadow on the floor. “I said go away.” She punctuated her words with another shot.

  “God damn it! Now you’re just making me angry. You won’t like me when I’m mad.”

  The Butcher moved swiftly from beside the door and sprayed the room with gunfire before pulling out of sight once more.

  “I can’t kill you, bitch, but I can bloody well hurt you.”

  Nikki held the gun steady and fired at the edge of the doorway where she thought he might be standing. “Leave us the hell alone,” she ground out through clenched teeth. How many shots had she fired? Jason had said she had six bullets. Had that last one been four or five?

  The Butcher laughed. “Blimey, you’re a stubborn bitch. You just won’t give up will you? Most of the time, I’d admire that.” The muzzle of the gun came around the door and he fired several rounds blindly. Nikki heard the bullets splintering the wood on the top of the dresser. She fired two quick shots and tried to fire another, but the gun clicked. It was empty.

  The Butcher laughed, and the sound chilled her.

  “I’ve heard that sound before. You’re out of bullets, chick. Well, I’m not.” Another spray of gunfire echoed in the room. Nikki scrunched down behind the dresser and closed her eyes.

  Please God, don’t let him win.

  She thought of Cassie, the baby, and Mandy. Despair swamped her.

  I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.

  “Come on, Mrs. Hart. Game’s over. It’s time to leave. Get your daughter, and let’s go. I’ve had enough of this.” She hear
d his footsteps as he entered the room. The rasp of a knife being pulled from its sheath was unmistakable. He intended to slit Cassie’s throat. What would he do to the baby?

  “I don’t think so.” Jason’s voice, loud and strong, filled with fury, made her gasp, and she jumped up in time to see him fire his weapon into the man’s head. The Butcher fell forward and hit the dresser. Nikki screamed.

  “It’s okay, Nikki,” Jason called. “He’s dead. You can come out now. Speak to me, honey.”

  “Jason?” Her voice was choked with emotion. She moved the dresser over, stumbled over the body, threw herself into his arms, and burst into tears. Jason pulled her tightly to him.

  “You’re safe now.”

  He bent his head and kissed her hair. “He’ll never hurt anyone ever again. It almost killed me not being able to get a shot at him. You were so brave. Where are the others?”

  “Under the bed,” She managed to answer as her sobs subsided. She could hear Cassie and Mandy crying. The sound of heavy boots on the stairs made Jason shove her behind him. He grabbed an automatic weapon from the floor.

  “Jason?” Troy’s voice was loud and clear. “It’s us. We have everything under control downstairs. I’ve got an anxious father here who needs to see his wife and son. It’s all over.”

  She felt like she was watching someone else watch the action unfold as he and Nathan moved the furniture out of the way and lifted the bed off Cassie and the children.

  “Let’s get them downstairs and away from here. The police are on their way.”

  Nathan picked up his wife who held the baby, and Troy carried Mandy. Her daughter, her puppy clasped in her arms, had stopped crying and now had her head buried in the man’s shoulder, hiding her eyes as she’d been told. Jason lifted Nikki into his arms as he’d done so many times before.

  “I can walk,” she whispered.

  “I know, but I need to hold you right now.” His voice was husky. “You can walk later.” He kissed her forehead. Nikki stared down at what was left of her nemesis’s face. She was strangely disappointed. He wasn’t the bald, diamond stud-wearing monster from her dreams.

  • • •

  It was over. Nikki could almost believe everything had been another one of her nightmares. The bedroom was just as she’d left it earlier in the day, but sounds from other parts of the house testified to how real the terror had been.

  She sat in the recliner beside the bed in the master bedroom. Mandy lay in her arms, finally asleep. The puppy was out cold on the floor next to the chair, while Cassie dozed on the bed, holding her son in her arms.

  Hell of a birthday party.

  Hammering told her the damaged front door and the living room window were being boarded up. Footsteps overhead and on the stairs belonged to the forensic technicians crawling all over the place. Jason had turned up the gas fireplace and the furnace to heat up the rooms. Open windows had allowed the smoke to dissipate quickly, leaving behind only a slight odor as if someone had set off fireworks indoors.

  Despite being tired, Nikki couldn’t sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, the vision of The Butcher’s partially destroyed face flashed through her mind. She thought briefly of the monster who haunted her sleep and wondered how her imagination had ever created such a face. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was The Butcher was the shadowy figure in her dreams. One mystery solved.

  Jason had checked on her twice. According to what he’d told her, Troy had called for back-up as soon as the perimeter had been breached, and they’d known an assault was imminent. The local sheriff had sent a couple of men who’d captured The Butcher’s driver. Ivan and others had made the twenty-mile trip from Denver in record time, but by then, everything was over. Troy blamed himself for not evacuating them earlier, but he’d believed his team up to the task and, in the end, he’d been right.

  A knock at the door startled Nikki. She took a deep breath, trying to control her breathing.

  “Come in,” she called, after Cassie nodded, panting still. The new mother seemed fine, but every unexpected sound made her jump.

  Ivan entered the room with two cups, one filled with coffee for her, and another with hot milk for Cassie.

  “I brought you both something warm to drink. I thought you’d like to know where things stand. Nine bodies have been recovered in the snow. They’ve captured five others. Counting The Butcher, the assault team consisted of fifteen men. I still can’t believe Troy’s men managed to fend them off.”

  Nikki shivered. “The Butcher said the odds were three to one. How did he know how many we were? Did you recognize any of the men?”

  “His team was the standard size for this kind of incursion.” Ivan shook his head. “He managed to get more information than Brad suspected. He infiltrated the office as the mail clerk, and was there at least two days prior to the assault at the hospital. The Butcher was a chameleon, something we should have suspected given the way he was able to come and go as he pleased. The real mail clerk’s girlfriend found his body in his apartment late last night. The young man had failed to show up for their date, and she went over to his place to confront him.”

  “Poor girl. I can’t imagine what that would be like,” Nikki said, for once grateful she didn’t remember walking into the kitchen that night.

  “I didn’t recognize any of the men or the bodies,” Ivan continued, “but I suspect most of them will be American. They’ll question the survivors extensively in the hopes of finding The Butcher’s headquarters in the United States. I doubt those men realize how lucky they are to be alive.”

  “He’d have killed them, wouldn’t he?”

  “Yes, he would have. The Butcher left no one behind to tell the tale. Once they find his base of operation, the FBI will search for clues pointing to his employer. We’re almost positive it’s Carlotta Scarletti. She left the convent for the first time in years shortly before the contract was issued. She travelled to a clinic in Mexico and then returned to Sicily a few weeks later. When her father died last week, she didn’t show up for the funeral, and that is the most damning evidence of all.”

  “If she is the employer, what will they do when they find her?”

  “If she’s in Europe, they’ll extradite her to the United States where she’ll be charged with five ‘conspiracy to commit murder’ charges in California, each one carrying a sentence of twenty-five years. If the prosecutor does it right, she’ll never leave prison alive, but they have to find her first.”

  “Do you think it’s over, Ivan? Are Mandy and I safe now?”

  “I don’t know, but I hope so. We will catch Carlotta. Interpol had frozen her assets and those of her father. Without funds, it’ll be hard for her to move around, and she won’t be able to hire another assassin. Melvici, the new capo, has made it clear Carlotta is persona non grata in Sicily. No one will give her sanctuary. The last thing the new head of the Scarletti family wants is trouble with Interpol because of a crazed woman. I believe Melvici is just looking out for himself, solidifying his position.” Ivan pursed his lips. “Did you remember anything when you heard The Butcher speak?”

  “No. Knowing who he was and what he’d done infuriated me, but neither his voice nor his appearance was familiar. If a traumatic event like tonight didn’t bring the memories back, I doubt anything will.”

  Ivan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. His face filled with sympathy. “You must be patient. I’ll leave you now. I’m sure others will be in to check on you soon.” He closed the door behind him.

  The hammering had stopped, but the house was full of voices, both strange and familiar. She shifted her position and looked down at her sleeping child. It had taken some time for Mandy to stop sobbing. Nikki was certain they’d both need extensive counseling when they got back to Larosa. She still found it hard to believe everything had happened in less than an hour. It felt like an eternity to her. She looked at her watch. It was almost four. Would this night ever be over?

  Cassie
moved in the bed, straightening one leg and bending the other. She yawned. Nathan had been reluctant to give her anything to relax her because she’d be nursing. All the moving around had caused additional bleeding, and he’d insisted she go to the hospital. They were waiting for the ambulance. As if she knew Nikki was thinking about her, Cassie turned and smiled before focusing her attention on the baby once more.

  “You were incredible tonight. I owe you my son’s life and mine. I admired you when they brought you into the hospital, and I heard what you’d done to save your daughter. Moving the beds, creating the barricade. I’d have never thought of that. I’d probably have stayed in bed and pulled the covers over my head. Without you, we’d both be dead.”

  “No, you wouldn’t be. If you’d been the one with the gun, you’d have done the same thing. You fight to the death to protect your children and those who need you. That man took my son away from me. I wasn’t going to let him have yours.”

  A quick tap came from the door making them both jerk. Nikki sighed deeply. “Who is it?” she asked.

  “Jason. Can I come in?”

  “Of course.”

  The door opened, and her hero stepped into the room. He’d changed his clothes, discarding those covered in blood. The navy wool sweater made his eyes appear bluer than normal. He looked tired, but absolutely wonderful. She wanted to jump up and run to him, a task made impossible by the child in her lap. She longed for his arms around her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to sleep without reliving this nightmare. She shivered. How many times could a person cheat death?

  Jason walked over to her and kissed her quickly. The brief touch of his lips on hers energized her as nothing else could have. He smiled at Cassie and turned back to her.

  “How are you holding up?”

  Nikki shivered. “I can’t get The Butcher’s comments about the new deal out of my head. If Carlotta is the employer, why did she change her mind about killing Mandy and me? That thought frightens me more than the idea of dying. What can she possibly want from us?”