“What’s going on?” Janey asked. Her voice was shaking.
“We’re under attack,” Drew said, hurrying to the door. “We need to get you out.”
Ace knew that no matter how many there were, he and Drew would have no problem evading the enemy. With two civilians in the mix however, everything suddenly became complicated.
Ace walked to the window and peeped. He could see five figures in black walking towards the house. They were not even in a hurry, which meant there were lots of them.
“Up the stairs,” he said shortly.
Drew pulled out an extra pistol and handed it to Janey as they hurried towards the stairs.
“You want me to kill a human being?” She sounded shocked.
“Either that or be killed.” Drew went on ahead, leaving Ace to lead the women.
“I don’t know how to use a gun,” he heard Sierra say to Ace. He did not wait to hear the reply. He hurried to the roof, where he had set up as soon as they arrived.
As he got to the roof, he heard a muffled explosion from downstairs. A grenade had been set off. Most likely to get the door open, since it was built with reinforced steel.
He got to the weapon he had set up earlier. It was an MK 11, Sniper Weapon System, top of the line and similar to the one he’d used during his time as a SEAL. Drew settled down to business. He could see the men, all wearing black. Thanks to the suppressor on the gun, he took out three of them before they realized what was happening.
One of them aimed in Drew’s direction and fired off a shot. It was off the mark and he’d barely pulled the trigger when he went down. One of Drew’s bullets between his eyes.
Ace heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. He knew they did not have much time left, but he needed an opening. He rushed to the bedroom he’d shared with Sierra and pulled out his backpack.
His phone vibrated. It was Rusty. There was an opening in the West Wing, but they needed to move quickly. There were eight men headed up the stairs.
He knew that the lights could be controlled from a central location, but he did not have the time to do that. Quickly, he asked Rusty if they could turn off the lights from HQ. They were immediately pitched into darkness.
He pulled out two night-vision goggles from his backpack and passed them to the women.
“Remember where the office is located?” he asked Sierra.
“Yes,” she said.
“I’m going to draw them away. Head there with Janey through the service stairs.”
“Ace—”
He cut her off. “There’s an underground exit right beneath the office table. Depress the knob on the third drawer and it will open. You’ll come out a few miles along the road. Head straight for the police station.”
“Ace…”
Ace heard the heartbreak in that one word.
They reached for each other and he gave her a short but intense kiss before gently putting her away from him. He could feel his heart pounding.
“I love you, Sierra,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. He cleared his throat and turned to Janey. “Do not hesitate to pull the trigger.”
“Take care of yourself, Ace,” Janey said.
He nodded and, before they knew what was happening, was gone.
They heard a rapid burst of gunshots. Heart beating rapidly, both women crept towards the door, but did not step out.
“We’ll need to make a run for it,” Janey said.
“Okay.” Sierra could not believe Ace had gone, just like that. What if he didn’t make it? She did not want to think about that, so she took a deep breath and forced her racing thoughts to be calm.
He loved her. He had to be okay.
They darted out of the room and ran the short distance to the service stairs. A shot whistled by Sierra and hit the wall behind her. Her heart missed a beat. Without hesitating, Janey turned around and fired at the man. There was an agonizing moan as he went down.
They did not stop, but quickly hurried down the steps. The sound of gunshots was all around the house. Sierra offered a quick prayer for Ace and Drew as she practically flew down the steps.
At the foot of the steps, she held up her hands to signal Janey. Both women paused, holding their breath as two men ran past them. If they had looked to their left, they would have seen the women standing there.
Sierra had never felt so terrified in her life. She took several calming breaths after the men had left, then peered around the corner to be sure it was safe to move.
They crept along, keeping their back to the wall until they got to another corner. Around the corner, Sierra bumped into a hard body. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clamped down on her mouth.
Heart thudding in fear, she bit down hard on the hand before it registered that Janey, who was behind her had not reacted to the presence of the person. She looked up to see Ace. She wanted to weep in relief.
Someone fired a gun in the next room.
With a finger to his lips telling them to remain silent, he led them to the door that had the home office.
“Okay, get in, hurry up!”
Janey hurried inside the door, but Sierra hesitated.
“Come with us,” she pleaded, but he shook his head.
Knowing that time was essential, she pushed down the bad feeling in her stomach and took a step backward through the door that Janey was holding open for them.
Just then Sierra heard a gunshot and almost immediately, saw Ace’s body jerk. He had been hit.
She made a move towards him but he hissed, “Get the hell out of here!”
Another shot hit him and he went down to his knees.
Torn between doing as he said and rushing to his aid, Sierra stood frozen. Janey grabbed her and yanked her through the door.
Just before the door shut, she saw Ace raising his gun and firing.
Janey locked the door behind them and hurried to the desk. Sierra moved back slowly, tears streaming down her face. She felt like she had just watched the total destruction of the very fabric of her life. She was crying, but she felt numb. Everything seemed surreal.
“Where is that knob?” Janey whispered fiercely. Her hands were shaking as she knelt down and searched for the knobs. She located them and counted. When she got to the third, she pushed. Nothing happened.
“Shit!”
After two more attempts, the knob sank in and they heard a whirring sound as the floor beneath the desk opened up to reveal a set of steps leading downward.
“Come on, Sierra.” Janey straightened up and beckoned at the woman.
Sierra turned and looked at her blankly. Janey swallowed a swear word and got up, hurrying to Sierra.
“Come on, sweetheart. We need to go get help now.”
Gently but firmly, she led the other woman to the opening. Janey stepped in then waited for the other woman to follow. They noticed a similar knob on one of the steps. She pressed it down with her feet and the opening above closed. They were pitched into darkness.
Somehow they made their way out.
They pulled off the night vision goggles. There was no longer any need for it. The lights from the street lamps illuminated their way.
Sierra looked back in the direction they’d come.
Janey pulled her into a tight hug. “He will be okay, Sierra. You need to believe that.”
Sierra nodded.
A car sped by and then stopped ahead. The road was deserted and there was no one else around.
Janey’s heart began to pound in fear. She had no idea if they were back-up for the men in the safe house.
They hurriedly stepped back into the shadows and watched nervously.
Janey reached for Sierra’s hand as the door to the car doors were flung open. Suddenly, Janey’s breath whooshed out in relief as she recognized two of the guys from Silver Shield, Emily and Rusty.
They hurried towards the women.
“Are you alright?” Emily asked.
“Yes, we’re fine,” Janey replied for
them.
Sierra looked shell-shocked.
“Sierra?” Rusty moved closer to her in concern.
“Ace was shot,” Janey said in grave tones.
“Damn.” Rusty looked pale.
“Kinsella is on his way with the local police.”
They heard a police siren sound in the distance closely followed by an ambulance wail.
Sierra wrapped her arms around her body, suddenly feeling so cold. She began to shiver, her teeth clattering as shock began to set in.
Rusty picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the vehicle.
“He’s going to be okay, Sierra. You have to have faith,” he said to her.
She wanted to believe him, she really did. But she knew deep down inside that Ace was not okay. She felt chilled to the bone.
Only when they were in the vehicle did they discover that Sierra was bleeding. Inspecting her, they found that a bullet had grazed her arm.
“Quick, let’s get her to the Emergency Room,” Emily said.
“No, I need to get to Ace.”
“You are losing blood, Sierra. We’re taking you to the hospital.”
They did not understand. She needed to know if Ace was okay. She could not bear it if anything happened to him.
“Sierra, there’s blood all over your arm,” Janey said quietly.
Sierra stared blindly at her arm. It felt heavy and was beginning to ache. But it was nothing like the ache in her heart.
Her eyes were hot. She wanted to cry, but the tears would not come. Her head began to spin as everything turned blurry. She struggled with the darkness that was encroaching, but lost the battle as everything went black.
Chapter Forty-Five
3 months later
It was the last night in her house. Sierra had put it on the market and closed the sale a week ago. She went through Christmas and New Year in a daze. All alone despite pleas from Alicia and the Silver Shield folks.
Janey received a call from home. Her dad had a heart attack, so she went back to Oklahoma. Ryan and Tamika found Lara, Ryan’s sister, and brought her back, but there was still no trace of Janey’s sister. The last time they spoke on the phone, Janey told Sierra that she was not giving up the search for her sister. Sierra was proud of her.
Drew had sustained a minor injury, but he was fine. The intruders had suffered a heavier loss.
As for Sierra, Valentine’s Day was around the corner and she had no intention of spending it around places that reminded her of all she’d lost.
The phone rang and she picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Sie, how are you?”
Sierra smiled. “I’m getting there, Alicia.”
“You’re really leaving Chicago?” She sounded so sad.
There were too many memories. Each day she remained in Chicago without Ace felt like she was slowly dying.
“I need to leave.”
“Are you going to see—?”
“No, Alicia. I’m not going to see anyone.”
Alicia sighed. “I wish you would reconsider, but I understand. Come by the house before you leave, I have something for you.”
Sierra nodded. “Fine. Thanks, Al.”
Hanging up the phone, Sierra glanced at the boxes all around her, most of which were going into storage. She could not believe how much her life had changed in less than a year.
Senator Coleman was dead. Thankfully, his wife had survived the crash. What had shocked her, though, had been Slim Natale’s arrest for murder and attempted homicide, among other things.
A couple of weeks back, Emily paid a visit to Sierra and gave her the news. Apparently, the Chicago police department had been investigating the Abrantes Dukes and their undercover agents had secured the evidence needed for arrest.
They had chatted for a while, carefully avoiding the subject of Ace. On her way out, Emily gave her a hug and said, “Give it some time, Sierra.”
Sierra had nodded. Not willing to touch that subject with a ten-foot pole. How much time was necessary?
Just thinking about it, she felt her eyes begin to sting. The tears that had refused to fall the night they had escaped the safe house would not stop falling now. She’d thought she was all cried out, but the tears still continued to flow, thick and heavy.
She brushed the tears impatiently.
“I really need to stop crying.” Just because she was heartbroken did not mean that her life was over, forget that it felt that way.
Sierra walked into the kitchen. The time on the microwave was half past seven. She should eat, she hadn’t eaten all day. But she really did not feel like eating anything.
With a sigh she went back to the living room. She picked up the afghan blanket she had draped on the arm of the sofa, wrapped it around her shoulders and curled up on the sofa.
She must have dozed off because she was woken up a while later by the incessant ringing of the doorbell. It was almost as though someone placed his hand on the ringer and refused to take it off again.
“What the hell?”
Cursing beneath her breath, Sierra got to her feet, drew the afghan blanket tighter around her shoulders and walked to the door. She looked into the peephole and froze.
Heart beating wildly, she placed one hand on the door knob, but did not open it. She was leaving town tomorrow. She had to leave town tomorrow.
“Open up, Sierra, I know you can hear me.”
Sierra shut her eyes, letting the sound of his voice soak into her very being. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in three months.
“Sierra? Baby, please open up.”
The tears began to fall down her face. Damn. She needed to stop crying already! She opened her eyes and looked down at her feet. She was not wearing any shoes.
She remembered the nights she spent in the waiting room outside the ER. From the ER he was wheeled into the trauma unit and she waited. Waited for him to regain consciousness. He had taken multiple shots to the chest and one on his shoulder.
Then he was rushed into trauma surgery and she waited, not sure if he would survive. He made it through surgery, and she waited again, this time for him to get past the danger zone. She had waited and waited, only to be told that he did not want to see her.
She remembered standing there with the bandages on her arm, struggling to stand upright. She had broken down then and wept, crying her heart out. Pleading, begging to see him just once.
She turned away from the door. She could not do this.
“Please, baby.” His voice broke.
Sierra felt her heart break all over again. She could hear the hurt in his voice and it pained her. She wiped her face and took several deep breaths. When she felt she had better control of her emotions, she turned back and unlocked the door.
She took one look at the familiar face and had to take several deep breaths again to contain her emotions.
“Hi, Ace.” She kept her voice cool, a far cry from how she really felt inside.
He had lost weight and his face was ravaged by pain.
“May I come in?” he asked.
She stepped aside and he walked past, picking his steps carefully as though each step hurt, which she supposed it did.
She shut the door and walked after him into the living room. “Why are you here?”
He looked around, taking in the boxes and the bare room.
“I heard you’re leaving town tomorrow.”
She shrugged. She noticed that he was not quite steady on his feet, so she moved to the nearest seat and sat down knowing he would do the same.
“Why are you here, Ace?”
Ace noted the dark circles beneath her eyes. With a single glance he could tell that she had lost a lot of weight. Her eyes were red from crying. His heart twisted.
“I can’t let you go,” he said simply.
“We have nothing to say to each other.”
He looked like she’d slapped him hard. He bit his lower lip and sighed. “I guess you have a right to
say that.”
Finally, Sierra could not take it anymore. She loved this man and he had said that he loved her. So how could things have gone so horribly wrong?
“Why, Ace? Why did you turn me away? I deserve to know that much!”
She did not mean to raise her voice, but the agony in her heart had become unbearable.
“I…” He paused and swallowed. “I didn’t want you to see me like that, Sierra.”
“Why?” She could not understand it. “I loved you. I wanted to be there for you. I needed to be there for you, yet you sent me away. Why Ace?”
Her voice was thick with unshed tears. She was determined not to cry.
“I was a fool,” he said at last. “Can you forgive me? The past three months have been hell. The pain, rehab, not having you…” he shook his head. “I realized a while ago that I was a fool for sending you away, but I thought I would get better before coming to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
He swore and stood up then. “Sierra, you are…” He paused to search for words. “You are so damn dedicated to everything you do. I didn’t want you giving up your life to come look after me.”
She heard the frustration in his voice.
“I needed you,” she said quietly, getting to her feet. “I can’t go through that again.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. She had dropped the blanket somewhere.
He walked slowly to where she was, his face drawn taut in pain. “I love you so much, Sierra. I made a huge mistake, but please don’t shut me out. My life is meaningless without you.”
She looked into his eyes and the ice around hers melted. She really loved this man, unconditionally and irrevocably.
“How would you feel if I’d been mortally wounded?”
“I’d want to be there for you,” he replied without hesitation. Then sighed, “I really messed up.”
“Yeah, big time.”
“Will you forgive me?”
“I’m still really annoyed with you.”
He saw a ray of hope and reached out to gently caress her face. “You have every right to be, but I really need to hold you now, Sierra.”
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 25
