Secret Love

by Tabatha Drake

“It’s all right,” he says with a soothing tone. “You don’t have to answer. It’s written all over your face. Everything about you is there. Your fear of me, your love of him.” He shrugs. “Even the gun you hold in your hand.”

  I twitch as a laugh escapes his throat.

  “Go ahead,” he says. “You can pull it out.”

  I slide it from beneath the pillow and point it at him. He stares at the barrel with steady, amused eyes.

  “You said you weren’t going to hurt me,” I whisper.

  He licks his lips. “I lied.”

  Chapter 24

  Fox

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” I pour the last few drops of beer down my throat. Boxcar stares at me from his chair, occasionally glancing at his laptop screen as I speak. “He had a parachute, though, so he survived… I think.”

  “I wish my life were as interesting as yours, man.”

  I chuckle. “No, you don’t.”

  “Well, you have to admit I shoved a mobster out of a cargo plane is vastly superior to I leaked a naughty politician’s emails.”

  “Depends on who you’re talking to,” I point out. “You’ve done some good in the world, Box. Don’t forget about that. Me, not so much.”

  “I’m sure the people who met your bullet had it coming,” he says. “You don’t find yourself in Snake Eyes’ crosshairs without having a good reason for it.”

  “Dani doesn’t have a good reason. No…” I pause, tilting the empty bottle in my hand, wishing for it to refill. “I have some atoning to do.”

  He falls silent and turns back to his laptop. His hands move across the keys. “Well…” He pulls the flash drive from the USB port and holds it out to me. “This should be a pretty good start.”

  I take it from him. It feels warm to the touch. “It’s all there?”

  “Everything and more,” he says. “Cracked wide open for your reading pleasure.”

  “Thanks.” I roll it in my palm before sliding it into my pocket.

  “Whatever you end up doing with it… think it through first, all right?”

  “I always do.”

  Boxcar’s phone buzzes with life. Rapid beeping blares through the small speakers and his eyes go wide as he jumps up to grab it. “Well, this isn’t good.”

  “What is it?”

  “My security system. It monitors all possible law enforcement or military activity within a few miles of me at all times.” He talks quickly as he rushes back to his computer. “Comes in handy more often than not.”

  My heart pulses with impatience. “And?”

  “And there’s a slight increase in our area—” He leans over his computer and his fingers fly across the keyboard. Windows pop open and close so fast on the screen I barely have a chance to read a word of it. “Oh… no no no.”

  “Box, what’s going on?”

  “Aw, fuck.” He stands up taller with his eyes still glued to the screen. “I missed it.”

  “Missed what?”

  “The file is chipped.”

  “Chipped?”

  “Yeah, like a puppy. Micro-chipped.”

  I grit my teeth and glance over his shoulder to see the hotel’s security footage. “What’s it mean, Box?!”

  “It means they started tracking our location the second I plugged the damn thing in.”

  I rush to the window and I hear the buzz of a helicopter above. “How far out are they?”

  “They’re already here,” he says, eying the security cameras. “If you’ve got an escape route, I suggest you take it thirty seconds ago.”

  “Dani—” I reach behind me and pull my revolver from my belt.

  Boxcar blinks. “Is that Caleb’s Smith and Wesson?” he asks, staring at it.

  “Yep.”

  “How the hell did you convince her to lend that out?”

  My fingers tingle with warmth as I inspect the loaded chamber and flick the safety off. “Get out of here, Box.”

  He reaches into his suitcase and pulls out his own pistol. “Fox, I can help you.”

  “No—” I shake my head. “If I get you killed, she’ll never let me hear the end of it.” He opens his mouth to argue. “Go. Now!”

  Boxcar slips his gun into his belt behind his back and leans over his laptop again. “They have a chopper on the roof — wouldn’t surprise me if they’re in the lobby, too—”

  “Box, what are you—”

  The fire alarm cries out and he slams his laptop closed. “That should buy you some time.”

  I grin. “A-plus, Boxcar.”

  He throws the laptop into this briefcase and shuts it tight. “And my father told me I’d never amount to anything.”

  I throw the door open and step out into the hallway. Others already linger in the halls, their faces full of confusion amid the flashing lights. We rush around them toward the stairwell and I shove the door open.

  “Sneak down with the others and get out of town,” I tell Boxcar.

  “You kidding?” he quips. “After tonight, I’m getting out of the country.”

  “Even better.” I shake his hand. “Take care of yourself, Box.”

  “Go get her.”

  I smirk. “You, too.”

  He scoffs. “You just had to get in one more—”

  “Go.”

  I lay a hand on his shoulder and push him away. He takes off down the stairs, following a line of scared people, as I move in the opposite direction. I have eleven flights to climb.

  Dani, don’t move.

  I push up the stairs, ignoring the thumping in my chest telling me to slow down and breathe as I ascend higher and higher. People press themselves against the wall to let me pass, some faster than others depending on whether they notice the gun in my hand. I bite down in frustration.

  Dani, I’m almost there.

  “Move!”

  They fire angry glances at me, but I don’t care. I push them out of the way until I reach the 26th floor.

  I throw open the door and I see her standing in the hallway.

  I freeze. “Dani…”

  Tears bleed from her eyes. Mercer presses the barrel of a gun against her head — the Glock I let her have. She cringes in his arms as he digs the barrel in a little deeper.

  “Hello, Fox,” he greets me from the center of the hall. “I suppose we have you to thank for this light and sound show. Pretty brilliant, I’ll say… it’ll take ages for what’s left of our squad to get up here now.”

  I let the door close behind me and I take a few more steps into the hall. “Dani, it’s going to be okay—”

  “I think all of us know that’s not true, Fox,” Mercer says. “No point in lying to her now.”

  I look into her frightened eyes. There’s a fresh bruise above her cheek that wasn’t there before. I take a deep, angry breath. “Let her go,” I say.

  “I have to hand it to her…” Mercer says. “She put up a good fight. Not as dainty as she appears.”

  “Let her go.”

  “I think she might be growing on me…” he continues, ignoring the demand. He takes a whiff of her hair. “Tell you what, Fox… You come back with me and I won’t kill her. We’ll bring her along and share her with the rest of the boys. I think that’s fair, don’t you?” I grit my teeth and he laughs. “Put the gun down, Fox. Let’s get this over with.”

  “Fox, don’t—”

  Mercer clamps his hand over her mouth, silencing her while he presses his gun into her throat.

  I hold back my rage. “If you were going to kill her, you’d have done it already. Just let her go.”

  “I will,” he says. “Once you’re on the chopper with me, she’s free to go back to Tinseltown.”

  Her eyes shake, silently urging me not to give in but there’s no other option. The stairwell opens behind me and a man in a black mask steps into the hall with us. I don’t recognize his eyes. Must be new.

  “If I go with you,” I say, “you let her go.”

  Mer
cer grins. “Of course.”

  Dani’s eyes grow wide and he holds her tighter to keep her from shaking her head again. I watch her expression as more tears fall down her face.

  He’s lying and she knows it.

  I raise my hands in surrender. The man behind me moves in closer, drawing his handgun from his holster. It sticks into my back, just below my left kidney.

  I stare into her eyes. My Dani. If I fight back now, Mercer won’t hesitate. I’m too far away from them to stop him before he pulls the trigger and her brains spray against the golden wallpaper. I have to get closer.

  “Lead the way,” I say.

  The man behind me snatches the revolver from my hand. He stuffs it inside his own holster before pushing me forward. We step slowly and Mercer reaches for the elevator call button.

  The doors open and Mercer shoves Dani inside, making my blood boil just a little bit more. He waits for me to step on before pointing his gun at her again.

  “Face the wall,” he tells her. He places a hand on her back and guides her into the corner. “Head and hands on the glass. Say anything and I’ll shoot you.”

  I would have told her to do the same.

  I don’t want her to see this.

  “You, too,” the masked one growls in my ear.

  I shift to face the other corner and the doors close. The golden box moves upward, rising high toward the roof.

  I scan the reflective walls, watching for an opportunity. Black mask here is no rookie. He’s got his eyes trained on me and his aim is solid. Mercer’s eyes are on the move as well, memorizing every detail of the cramped space. His gaze drifts to Dani and it flows down her back to her ass.

  The elevator lurches to a stop on the roof.

  Black mask lowers his gun an inch, meaning his muscles are loose…

  It’s now or never.

  I spin around and reach for his outstretched arm. He panics and pulls the trigger, shattering the glass next to Dani’s head. She screams and falls to her knees while I twist his wrist, cracking the bones of his hand. He drops the gun and I kick it closer to her.

  Mercer swings his arm in her direction, but I grab it and kick him hard, sending him against the opposite corner. I bend forward to steal my revolver from black mask’s holster and I point it at his lowered head.

  I pull the trigger and his body topples to the floor next to Dani. My ears ring in the small space but I can still hear her whimper in fear.

  Mercer grabs her by the hair and pulls her out of the corner before I can reach her. I point my gun at him, touching it to his temple while he settles his own against her head.

  “Dani, close your eyes,” I tell her.

  Mercer jerks her head up. “No, keep them open. You have a right to see this.” He smirks at me. “Go ahead. Show her how much of a killer you are.”

  “She’s already seen it,” I say.

  “Sure. But she’s never seen that twinkle you get in your eye when you do it.” He chuckles. “Go on. Shoot me, Fox. Show her how much you really enjoy it.”

  I catch it out of the corner of my eye, a faint glimmer of metal as Dani pulls the bowie knife free of my ankle holster.

  She stabs downward, piercing the top of Mercer’s shoe. He growls in pain, dropping his grip on Dani. I take her arm and pull her to her feet before pushing her outside onto the roof.

  Mercer pulls the knife from his shoe and spins around with his weapon drawn.

  He points it at Dani.

  “No—!”

  I leap toward her. The bullet strikes my shoulder and fresh pain spreads throughout my body.

  “Fox!” she screams as I fall to my knees.

  Mercer smirks on the elevator. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, black device. It fits snug in his palm and he lays his thumb against a smooth, round button at its tip.

  A detonator.

  The elevator doors close on his smiling face.

  “Fox!” Dani falls to her knees next to me. I look around her and catch sight of the helicopter.

  “We have to get off the roof.” I push myself up and stuff my revolver inside my belt.

  “Wait, you’re hurt—”

  “It can wait!” I ignore the blood rolling off my fingertips and rush to the helicopter windows.

  “Do you know how to fly it?”

  I ignore the question and slide the door open. “Shit…”

  There it is. A rectangular, black case with the Snake Eyes cobra etched in white on its surface.

  “What is it?” Dani asks, peeking over my shoulders.

  “A bomb.”

  “A what?!”

  I grab her hand and pull her with me to the far corner of the roof. Mercer won’t detonate it while he’s still in the elevator. He’ll wait until he gets to the lobby to do it, which gives me only a few more seconds to—

  I spot the lanterns hanging between the towers, connected by thick wires.

  “We have to zip-line across.”

  Dani’s jaw drops. “You can’t be serious!”

  I pull my jacket off, forcing myself to move through the pain radiating through my shoulder. “You’ve done it before, Dani.”

  “Umm… no, I haven’t!”

  “Yes, you have! Remember?” I sit down on the building’s edge next to the nearest wire and twist my jacket into a taut rope around it. “The big climactic chase scene in Night Trials, Part 2.”

  “That was a stunt girl!”

  “Dani—” I grab her hand and pull her down to me, forcing her to straddle my waist. “Just hold on to me and don’t let go.”

  “Oh, fuck…” she whispers, wrapping her arms and legs around me.

  “Dani, it’ll be okay—”

  She buries her face in my red shoulder. “Oh, fuck fuck—”

  “Don’t look down.” I say it to myself more than her before sliding off the building’s edge.

  As we hit the air, the helicopter explodes.

  Dani shrieks. Her nails pierce my skin and my entire body seethes with pain. The gunshot wound threatens to drop us both to the ground, but I hold on tighter, focusing on her life in my hands.

  The explosive force fires us across to the next building, knocking into the large lanterns as we go. I brace for impact against the glass and twist us around so my back hits it first instead of hers.

  We crash through the window and my hands give up. Glass shards dig into my back as we tumble onto the floor. A rush of pain and exhaustion overwhelms my senses. I settle against the carpet, barely able to breathe.

  “Fox!”

  Dani screams my name again, or… I think it’s her. Her head is silhouetted by a raging fire. Flame and smoke fill the sky above the other tower and innocent screams echo from the ground below us.

  “Dani…”

  She pulls at my jacket, urging me to get up. I see the red smear on her face. “You’re bleeding…” I say.

  “I think it’s yours,” she says, wiping it off her cheek.

  “Oh, okay…” I settle back against the floor.

  “Fox, come on!”

  I glance around the empty hotel suite. It’s almost an exact mirror image of Boxcar’s room. I guess that’s how these twin buildings were designed—

  “Fox!”

  I blink out of my trance. “I’m okay.” I sit up slowly, expecting to feel more pain, but I guess I’ve gone numb. “Are you hurt?”

  “A little,” she says, her eyes still locked on me.

  I turn over onto my knees and stand straight up. “Come on…”

  She follows me out into the hallway. “Fox…”

  My knees buckle and I lean on the wall with one hand. “We need to get moving…” I look at the ugly wallpaper and try to ignore the red trails my fingers leave behind.

  Dani takes my arm. “Fox, stop.”

  I put my back to the wall. “I’m all right—”

  “You took a bullet for me.”

  She stares back at me with those big, breathtaking eyes.

  “
You’re surprised?” I ask.

  Her hands rise to my cheeks and she leans in close. She presses her lips against mine, pursing ever so slightly into a soft kiss. I shake on my knees, overwhelmed by pain and adrenaline, but my heart doesn’t ache nearly as much anymore.

  “Come on,” I say, pushing off the wall.

  She settles herself beneath my arm, but I refuse to lean on her as much as I should.

  We board the elevator and she leads me through the panicked lobby of alarms and shouting voices. We make it outside, and she pulls me toward the car in the parking lot, far away from the screaming fire engines and flashing ambulances.

  “Where are the keys?” she asks me.

  “I’ll drive.”

  “Give me the damn keys, Fox.”

  She leans me against the passenger side as she roots through my pockets.

  There’s no arguing with her tone. Not that I have the strength to even try at this point. I can barely feel my toes. I’m beginning to wonder if they’re even there at all anymore.

  Dani pulls the door open and lowers me inside. I lay back and take several deep breaths. Pain increases on me now, vibrating every nerve with each stabbing breath I take.

  “Where do we go?” she asks. “A hospital?”

  I look over and she’s sitting in the driver’s seat with her hands on the wheel. “No.” I groan. “They’ll find us.”

  “Then, where?”

  My vision blurs. Nausea hits me. “Iowa City.”

  “Iowa City?”

  I point out the window. “Get on 80 and head east.”

  “Isn’t that really far?”

  “I’ll be all right, Dani.” I force my neck to bend so I can look at her. “Just start driving.”

  She keeps her eyes on me for several moments. “Please, don’t die on me, Fox.”

  My lips curl. “This?” I hold up a blood-covered hand. “This is nothing.”

  She doesn’t believe me, but she laughs anyway.

  Good.

  If her smile is the last thing I ever see, I’ll die a happy man.

  Chapter 25

  Dani

  Please, don’t die, Fox.

  Not again.

  It’s impossible for me to guess how many times those words have run through my head so far. Ten hours on the road, speeding through fucking Nebraska of all places, and he’s still with me, breathing so softly I have to put a finger beneath his nose to make sure he’s not dead.