Alex's Atonement (Midnight Sons Book 2)

by Carmen DeSousa

  She slowly moved the knife to her pocket, then removed her hand. She stared down at her fingers and exhaled softly. No blood.

  She returned her hand back to her pocket, curling her fingers around the handle. She could stab Cal in the neck right now, which would probably cause them to crash. She wouldn’t be able to get to Jeff, though. The moment she attacked Cal; Jeff would react.

  Or … is it possible that Jeff would be happy if she killed Cal? Could she even kill Cal? Sure, he was a murderer. But technically, she wouldn’t be killing him in self-defense. He hadn’t threatened to kill her. Just the opposite. Cal had made it sound as if he planned to keep her indefinitely. As what? A slave?

  She could argue with herself all she wanted. She didn’t have it in her to kill in cold blood. She would build up her courage to defend Alex, though.

  She stared out the windows as the plane paralleled the Alaska Range. Beautiful. Majestic. For the millionth time in her life, she wondered: What could I have done differently? In my life … in the past few days? No way to know. She sighed and stared out the front window as the bay came into view. They were landing at the same port. Cal must keep a car there. He probably had vehicles everywhere.

  Once again, she checked her surroundings, even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Other than a police officer, who would come to her aid if she screamed? It wouldn’t be fair for her to endanger another person’s life anyway. No, the only thing she could do is follow along, waiting for her chance.

  Alex wasn’t stupid. He and his brothers were accustomed to getting people out of sticky situations. She’d originally wondered if Alex would have washed his hands of her, but based on Cal’s comment, he obviously hadn’t. Again, where did that leave them? Maybe she needed to scream at Alex to run the moment she saw him. After all, she might be a dead woman walking anyway.

  She sighed, then latched her hand around the grip when the plane lurched. “What was that?”

  Jeff looked back at her, offering her a soft smile. “Just a change in the wind. Nothing to worry about.”

  The wheels touched, and Irene released the breath she’d been holding. Yeah … she was ready to die. Not! She could say that she’d willingly sacrifice herself, but no matter what, she knew she’d fight until her last breath. Maybe that was what Alex was saying. He’d wanted to do what he thought was right for his family, but in the end, he’d fought to live when he was drowning. He hadn’t gone down without a fight. She’d watched him fighting for every breath. And now … he was risking his life again … for her.

  Jeff and Cal jumped out and were at her door in seconds.

  Cal wrapped one arm around her waist. His other hand was in his pocket, pressing a hard object against her side. A gun? “Smile, darling. We’re a happy couple. Hell, we own a plane … can go anywhere in the world. That would make any woman happy, right?”

  Irene glared up at Cal, then turned to see a group standing by a plane. Most of the bystanders were paying attention to a man with a clipboard, listening intently as he went over rules and regulations. But a couple of them were watching her and Cal.

  She forced a smile, then waved to the onlookers. “Have a good trip!”

  Cal rushed her toward a van. “No one said you had to be friendly.”

  She sneered up at him. “I am friendly.” Truly, she hoped that a few of the travelers might recognize her. At least if she disappeared, they could say they’d seen her and hopefully describe her kidnapper.

  “Well, save it!” Cal growled, obviously aware of what she was doing.

  Jeff tugged open a sliding door on a stretch van with blacked-out windows. Of course Cal would have a private van. He owned a charter service, so this looked completely normal.

  Cal escorted her inside, sitting beside her. He patted her leg, and she resisted cringing.

  Jeff opened the driver’s door and climbed in. The digital clock on the dash read 4:55.

  Five minutes. Her heart rate quickened. She’d stuffed the knife in her right pocket. Now Cal was on her left side. Not what she had hoped. Of course, she didn’t know what she’d hoped. How could she?

  She stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her left hand found nothing but lint; her right gripped the cold metal. She’d do it. To save Alex, she’d hurt Cal. Just enough for Alex to get away, though, she decided. Her fate didn’t matter.

  They were meeting at the airport, which had to have been Alex’s idea. No way would Cal fire a gun on airport property. So, what was Cal’s plan? Was he really going to let her go? No, he couldn’t. She’d witnessed him commit an unprovoked, cold-blooded murder. No way would he just let her go.

  Within minutes of leaving the seaplane base, Jeff was pulling into Ted Stevens. Not much time to plan an attack.

  Irene sucked in a breath as she inspected the area. Arrivals, Cal had said. Alex said he’d meet Cal at the end of the Arrivals. Then what? She wished she knew the plan, then she could do her part.

  Her heart raced as Jeff entered the long line of cars. She eyed each person on the sidewalk, looking for a man with two duffle bags, as if she could somehow help Alex if she spotted him before Cal or Jeff did.

  “Pull over, Jeff,” Cal ordered.

  Jeff followed Cal’s direction without question.

  Irene craned her head, looking for Alex. Maybe he’d gotten smart and hadn’t showed. Good — no, not good. She saw him at the end of the lane. He stood with the two bags beside him, as if he were waiting on a ride.

  “Up ahead,” Cal announced, leaning forward. “That’s Alex standing at the end. Wait until a spot opens, then pull directly in front of him. You know what to do, Jeff … Grab the bags and take off.”

  “That wasn’t the deal!” Irene shouted.

  Cal fastened his hand over her mouth and squeezed. “Keep your trap shut, or I’ll kill Alex — and you — and then disappear. Trust me, darling. I can be in the air and in international airspace before your blood stains the concrete.”

  Irene gripped the knife tighter, focused on the handle, imagined the moves. She could slam the knife into Cal’s leg right through her coat, then remove it and shove down the door handle before he knew what happened. If she aimed for his femoral artery, he’d have to take action to save his life, giving her and Alex time to escape.

  The van lurched forward. Irene shot her gaze to Alex. Jeff pulled next to the curb, and before Irene could blink, Cal lurched over her and hopped through the opening doors, knocking Alex backward with what looked like a bear hug. “Alex!” Cal crooned as if Alex were his long-lost brother. Jeff had already exited the front passenger door and was lunging for the bags.

  Irene darted for the open door, but Jeff was shoving the bags against her. They’d planned what they were going to do! Jeff had activated the power door as soon as they stopped, and Cal had known to occupy Alex while Jeff retrieved the bags.

  A tall blond-haired man knocked Jeff away from the door and reached for her. “Come with me, Irene!”

  Irene lurched back in shock, but then realized she’d seen the fair-haired man. At the wedding. Alex’s Russian brother.

  Jeff bounded upright and knocked the man down before she could take his hand, but she was free of the van.

  She tried to move around the two men, but Jeff slammed the man into her, pinning her against the van.

  The sliding-glass doors of the airport opened and, all at once, the sidewalk came alive with shouting onlookers screaming her name, asking questions she couldn’t make out.

  Cal released Alex and raced toward Jeff. “Let’s go!” He grabbed Jeff’s arm and the two of them hopped into the van. Irene stumbled backward as the van screeched away.

  A second before her head smacked the concrete, a set of hands grabbed her. She blinked, trying to clear her mind as she took in the face of the man who’d caught her. “Andrew?”

  “Oh, my darling. Are you okay? I’m so sorry about what’s happened to you. I never should have let you —” Her ex-fiancé shook his head as he righted her.


  On solid footing, Irene stared at the hundreds of flashing cameras, and then Alex’s face.

  “Irene Rose!” shouted a tall man. “We’re told the Midnight Sons rescued you after your plane crashed in the Gulf of Alaska.”

  Irene stared up at Andrew and then at Alex again, who was backing away from the crowd.

  “Sir!” The same reporter shoved a microphone in front of Andrew’s face, since obviously she wasn’t answering any questions. “You said you were waiting for your fiancée. What was your reaction when you heard her chartered plane had crashed?”

  Andrew, always public-ready, wrapped his arms around her, turning her toward the camera. “I was devastated. Irene and I have been through so much over the last year, what with her cancer and all. The thought of losing Irene —” He wiped away a non-existent tear.

  Irene closed her eyes, wishing everything would go away … except Alex. The only person she wanted to see … but she could no longer find him among the crowd. Dozens of reporters circled her and, before she knew what was happening, she felt her body being moved inside the terminal.

  “Alex?” she croaked out. She tried to see over the heads, but everyone was taller than her. “Alex!” she cried again.

  She caught a quick glance of Alex shaking his head in between a break in the bodies surrounding her. That one look told her everything she needed to know … He was angry. Angry because she hadn’t told him that she might die. Alex had obviously called the reporters here, knowing that if they showed up, Cal wouldn’t try anything. But he’d also heard her ex tell the reporter she had cancer, and he’d heard the reporter call Andrew her fiancé. She’d told him that she wasn’t in a relationship, and Alex had proven repeatedly that he could read her like a book, so he knew the reporters had gotten their stories crossed. But she hadn’t told him that her days were numbered, that she had a fifty percent chance of dying in the next five years. How could she explain that she only had his best interest in mind?

  Any trust she’d built up with Alex over the previous days was gone — shattered. She’d had her chance, and she hadn’t told him the truth. And now that the press knew, the world would know that she was a woman on borrowed time.

  She’d never see Alex again. But she would also have to worry for his and her safety. No way would Cal let either of them live. Not when their testimony could put him away for life.

  “Alex …” she pleaded again, hoping he’d break through the crowd and usher her away from the nightmare that would soon be her life.

  Chapter 21

  ~ Alex ~

  Fiancé? Cancer? Alex backed away from the crowd — and the stranger he thought that he’d fallen in love with.

  How could he have fallen in love with someone he didn’t even know? How could he have fallen for a woman who not only hadn’t told him the truth, but had also cheated on her fiancé? The answer was simple: he couldn’t have; it was all a mind game. A mind game she had played with him. And a game he’d played with himself. He was far, far from innocent. He’d wanted to believe that someone could love him … even after all he’d done wrong. He’d wanted to believe that he was worthy … Of what? To go on living?

  Vince wrapped an arm around his shoulders, cutting off the ridiculous thoughts bombarding his brain. “Well, it worked, Alex. Not the outcome we wanted, but at least you and Irene are both safe. We’ll catch up with your woman after the vultures stop circling —”

  Alex turned to his brother, cutting off his words with a frown. Irene wasn’t his woman, nor would she ever be. Even if it somehow worked out for them; Irene would never be any man’s woman — and that was one of the things he had loved about her. Had … was the opportune word. He couldn’t think about Irene or what could have been. He had to track down Cal, but not with his brothers. No way would he be responsible for another fallen family member. Cal’s thug could have killed Vince right there outside the terminal.

  Instead of trying to explain the Irene situation to Vince, he turned the subject to something far more important. “Did you hear from Erik? Does he have Cal in his sights?” He had to make sure that Erik wasn’t doing anything stupid.

  “Yeah …” Vince said with a shrug. “Erik just texted me. But, no, he lost the van. He’s circling back to the airstrip now. But I doubt Cal will head back there. What should we do next? Maybe Erik’s right. Maybe we need to call the authorities.”

  Alex shook his head. “If we call the cops here in Anchorage, they won’t find anything in his plane, and I doubt they’d issue an all-out manhunt for the van based on our word alone. No, we need proof. The only thing we can do is watch and wait for Cal to screw up.”

  “So, you’re just going to let him get away?”

  Alex threw up his hands. No way would Vince back down from a fight; he had to convince him. “We rescue those in peril, Vince. We’re not crimefighters. Look what happened last time we ran up against a criminal? Sam almost died.”

  “No, we’re not,” Vince said, “but … we have to do something —”

  “We’re going to do something,” Alex said, cutting him off. “We’re going to make sure mom and Daire are okay. Then we’ll play it by ear.”

  Vince nodded a tightened jaw in the direction of the terminal. “What about Irene?”

  Alex closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know who Irene is. A woman lost in the wilderness will obviously say anything to get home safely. I was just the right man for her at the time, it seems. We did our job. We rescued her from peril. That’s what we do. Nothing more.”

  “Oh, Alex … I thought a few days in the wilderness had changed you, but you’re as jaded as ever. How do you know what’s really going on? She looked as shocked as you did.”

  Alex shook his head again. “Of course she looked shocked. Her fiancé is sure to have a million questions for her. She was caught dead to rights. Irene isn’t stupid. She knew what she was doing.”

  Alex sighed internally at his words. So why did she give me such a hard time? Why did it matter why I was on the island if she didn’t care? The answer was obvious… Because if I didn’t live, I couldn’t save her.

  He pulled Vince from the doors and walked to the end of the drive. “Tell Erik to come get us. We need to get home. Make sure Mom and Daire are okay.”

  Vince did as he requested while Alex just stared at the terminal doors. As always, I got what I deserved. What did I expect? For Irene to come running for me when she has a supermodel fiancé holding her? Idiot!

  Not wanting to wait, Alex walked past Vince, tromping down the side of the road. Erik would be here in minutes. All his troubles came rushing back, as if a few days in the wilderness — as Vince had so eloquently put it — could make things go away. He still had money trouble, and now Cal was probably planning to off him, his entire family, and Irene.

  He snapped his head up, as if Cal would be standing right there, ready to offer him a job again. If he were working for Cal —

  Vince caught up to him, smacked him on the back. “Sorry, Alex. Women suck. Hell, I know that more than anyone. But you can’t —”

  Alex huffed out a breath, cutting off his brother’s words. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Yeah, he knew how some women were, what Vince had gone through. First with his high school sweetheart who’d upped and left him right after prom, and then his ex-wife who’d emptied his house and bank account while Vince was out to sea for three months … But Irene had seemed different than all the women Alex had dated or that his brothers had dated. Plus, she was from Alaska. Even if he visited the lower forty-eight and found a bride, it’d be damn near impossible to convince a woman to move to Alaska. All most people thought when they heard Alaska was a barren snowy land, but it was so much more. A land he never wanted to leave really. He could whine and cry all he wanted, but the fact of the matter was … he loved his homeland.

  And he didn’t intend to leave it for a woman — or Cal. No, he couldn’t think about Irene right now. He needed to concentr
ate on the real threat to his life and his family’s lives. He’d been prepared to sacrifice his life before, so he would do this.

  Two soft horn taps sounded behind them, then Erik pulled up alongside the curb. Alex and Vince hopped into the passenger front and rear. Erik pulled away before they shut their doors, so as not to get stuck in airport traffic.

  “What happened?” Erik asked. “I saw you, made one loop, came back around, and all hell had broken loose. I saw Cal and his partner hop into a van, so I followed, but lost them at a busy intersection.”

  Alex rested his head against the cool leather seat. “I don’t want to talk about it. Just drive home, okay?” He had to plan. He had to figure out how to track down Cal Landrum.

  ~ Irene ~

  Irene blinked, then blinked again. She shook her head, but nothing worked.

  Nothing cleared her head of the millions of stars shooting at her eyes. She’d lost her hearing too. Minutes ago, Andrew had been pressing her for answers, reporters had been shouting questions, and the overhead speakers had been blaring out orders of what passengers should and shouldn’t do.

  Now, her head felt heavy and fuzzy. Blood rushed inside her skull, throbbing in her ears and behind her eyes.

  She tried to grip onto something, anything, but felt nothing. Her hands and feet tingled, as if her entire body were asleep.

  A loud muffled voice sounded in her ear. “She’s going into shock. Call 9-1-1!”

  Irene blinked again. A fuzzy outline of a man stared down at her. She moved her lips, trying to form the name she wanted, but unsure whether anything came out.

  Then the world went black.

  Beeping. Cold. Footsteps. Chattering. A T.V. commercial. Laughter. A groan. Soft whimpering.

  Irene’s eyes felt soldered shut, but she heard the mixture of sounds clear as a bell. She wasn’t on the island anymore. Had she really been on an island? Or had she played out some soap opera drama from months of watching nothing but T.V.?