by Joni Hahn
Straightening, Kate sat up in her chair. “That’s my daughter in there. How can you expect me to sit here and do nothing when you and I both know I hold the best hope of getting through to him?”
Aidan stared a hole through his mother. “How do you know that, Mom? How?”
When Kate hesitated, Tristan knew. Oh shit…
“No.” Aidan shook his head with vigor as he stared down at his mother. “Do not tell me you and Naylor…”
Kate lifted her chin, reminding Tristan of Rachel. “Ok, I won’t tell you.”
Cursing to himself, Aidan paced like a caged animal. “You have got to be freaking kidding me? You slept with a world-renowned criminal, Mom?”
Kate gasped as she glared at her son. “No. He was a Navy SEAL at the time.”
“Naylor used to be a SEAL?” Tristan said, his mind whirling.
Mitchell nodded. “Robert Naylor and I were BUD/S teammates.”
Tristan leaned back his head against his shoulders and squeezed his eyes shut. This was not good. Naylor had a personal beef with Mitchell, and Tristan had thwarted more than his share of Naylor’s deals.
Rachel was in real trouble.
He ran his hands through his hair. “I need to teleport in there...” He glared at Aidan. “…but I can’t because some dickweed shorted out my high frequency generator.”
Mitchell said, “I’m not going to risk you going in there unless I have no other choice. Aidan, I wouldn’t risk Kate’s life if I had any doubts about Bobby Naylor. He has always loved your mother. He would never hurt her.”
Anger emanated from Aidan, leaving the air charged and sizzling. Today was not a good day to drop this on Aidan. Whatever power they’d given him appeared raw and unpredictable.
“Kate, we’ll give you a wire so we can hear everything that goes down. Naylor will expect it. If something goes wrong before the team is in place, Tristan, Aidan and I will storm the room.”
She nodded. “Anything to get Rachel out of there.”
A female agent pulled Kate behind a curtain to fix a wire into place. Mitchell gave earpieces to Tristan and Aidan.
Watching Aidan pace past a view box on the wall, an idea suddenly hit Tristan. “What if I used an x-ray machine to generate the high frequency I need to activate my system?”
Glancing up from loading his gun, Mitchell looked at Aidan before he nodded. “That could work.”
One of the agents brought a laptop computer to the table. A layout of the hospital appeared on the screen. “There are two radiology rooms. Both are on the first floor, near the emergency room.”
Tristan headed for the door. If the x-ray machine didn’t work, he had one other option.
“Monroe, come with me.”
“Me? Why?”
“You’re my backup plan.”
#####
“You’ll never win.”
Rachel sat bound hand and foot on a bare operating table. Robert Naylor stood a foot in front of her and just… stared at her. His gaze didn’t appear lecherous or threatening, but curious and full of wonder. His eyes took in every one of her features.
He reached out and touched the ends of her hair. She flinched.
“I’ve already won, Rachel. I have you.”
Frowning, she cursed the lingering effects of the chloroform.
If Tristan were here, he’d tell you to stay alert Monroe. Clear your head.
“What will I get you, Naylor – other than arrested?”
Dar stood against the far wall and barked out a feigned laugh. “Wow, funny.”
Robert glanced back at his son before turning to her again. “You’ll get me Tristan Jacobs.”
Rachel swallowed hard. She’d hoped he’d give her a different answer. “He’ll never come here.”
Smiling, Naylor caught one of her tied hands in his and squeezed. She tried to snatch it away but he held on tight. “He’s already here, sweetheart.”
She shut her eyes in defeat. Tristan, no. Please don’t come in here, guns blazing.
“Why him?”
The smile vanished from Naylor’s face, a ferocious scowl in its place.
He released her hand. “Jacobs and his father have cost me a lot over the years. Tristan is a thorn in my side that just won’t go away. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to dispose of him and guess what?” He gave her a menacing smile. “You’re it.”
Mitchell was right. By loving Tris, she’d made him vulnerable. She hated herself for it.
“Bobby?”
Naylor stilled, his eyes growing wide when a voice carried over the intercom on the wall.
Rachel cocked her head. It sounded a lot like her mother…
“I’m coming in, Bobby.”
Sweat popped out on Naylor’s forehead and his hands shook. Snapping his fingers, he signaled the two agents in the room to open the door.
There stood her mother. What was she doing here? Head held high, she walked into the room like she faced harden criminals every day. Her eyes took in Rachel and the two agents now standing on either side of her.
Rachel’s heart pounded in her chest. “Mom? What are you doing here?”
Kate gave her a slight shake of her head.
Naylor’s voice held a note of reverence. “Kate, good God, you’re as beautiful as ever.”
“Ever?” What was going on here?
“Bobby…” Her mother stepped further into the room. “…what are you doing?”
He sauntered toward Kate, giving her a slow perusal as he approached. “I’m getting to know your daughter. She has your spirit.”
A knot of dread twisted inside Rachel’s stomach. “Mom, do you know him?”
Naylor’s eyes never left Kate. “Yes, she does. Your mother and I were in love a long time ago. Or, at least, I was in love. She had me fooled for a while.”
Dar straightened away from the wall. His eyes rounded with shock.
Oh, my gosh. Her mother and Robert Naylor?
“Bobby…” Frowning, her mother shook her head. “Don’t do this.”
Pain weighed in Naylor’s voice. “Want to know how I found out she wasn’t in love with me, Rachel?”
Dar cleared his throat. “Father, I don’t think-“
Naylor sliced a hand through the air. “d-Artagnan, enough.” Looking at Rachel, he continued. “I’d been in El Salvador with The Teams for a couple of months. When I came home, I found…” He paused, his voice shaking. “I found your father sleeping in her bed. They’d been married a week.”
Rachel gasped, her gaze shooting to Kate. Her mother had broken Robert Naylor’s heart. The raw pain still showed in his big aqua eyes, the lines of his lightly tanned face.
If he wasn’t trying to kill Tristan, she may have felt sorry for him. Rachel knew firsthand what it felt like to have her heart broken.
Tears filled Kate’s eyes as she shook her head. “You say I didn’t love you, Bobby, but that’s a lie.”
Naylor turned on her. “A lie? Really? If you had loved me, you would’ve told me you’d gotten married instead of allowing me to make a fool of myself by showing up at your door with flowers and a ring in my pocket.”
Okay, maybe she did feel sorry for him.
What was she saying? He held her captive.
“Look at her, Bobby…” Kate said.
Frowning, Naylor gazed at Rachel, the hurt in his eyes making Rachel wince.
Kate whispered, “She looks just like you.”
Paralyzed with shock, Rachel caught her breath. What?
Dar turned away and shook his head. “Oh… hell…”
The color drained from Naylor’s tanned face. He stumbled back a step, his gaze never leaving Rachel. “You told me she wasn’t mine, Kate.”
Kate held her hands clenched at her sides. “I didn’t think she was, until she was born.”
Naylor’s voice exploded in the barren room. Rachel jumped where she sat. “And you didn’t think it important to call me?”
Liftin
g her chin, Kate stared at him dead on. “Jim agreed to raise her as his own. I didn’t see the point.”
Rachel’s heart pounded so hard she thought she might faint. “Wait, wait, wait. Mom, are you saying this monster is my father? How can that be? I’ve seen pictures of Dad holding me in the hospital.”
“No, honey.” Her mother looked directly at her. “Your father was Jim Monroe.”
Naylor’s face grew flush with anger. “I didn’t get a chance to be her father.”
“What was I supposed to do, Bobby? It wasn’t like you lived across town and could take her on weekends and holidays.”
“Why not?”
“You know why! No mother in her right mind would allow her daughter to spend time with a man that’s involved in your type of… business.”
“That’s such a cop-out, Kate. I stayed in the SEALS for five years after you got married. The kids would have enjoyed having a big sister in the house. She may have changed the entire course of events.”
Kate pointed at Dar. “You had two children around and they didn’t change you.”
Dar straightened to his full height, his voice laced with anger. “I think we’ve established that she’s your daughter, Father. Can we get on with this? We’re here to get Jacobs.”
Rachel could see the similarities now. She and Robert Naylor had the same eyes, the same skin tone, and the same hair color.
She glared at Dar across the room. So did he.
This had to be a nightmare. Please God, let this be a nightmare.
“Bobby...” Kate laid a hand against Naylor’s chest. “Let her go. She’s innocent in all of this.”
Nodding, he covered her hand with his. “She is, Kate, but she’s the only way I can get to Mitchell’s boy.”
Kate said, “He’s here and willing to give himself up if you let her go.”
Fear squeezed Rachel’s chest. “No.”
She lashed out at the wire cables binding her wrists and ankles. Naylor’s two stooges grabbed her arms to still her.
Dar gave Rachel an evil, superior grin.
“Mom, no. I won’t let him do this.”
Kate ignored Rachel. “Bobby, I know you don’t want to hurt her.”
Naylor brushed the hair back from her mother’s cheek. “You’re still the prettiest woman this side of the Atlantic.”
Her mother gave him a genuine smile that reached her eyes. Rachel couldn’t believe she would betray her father like that, so soon after his death.
Make that Aidan’s father.
Dar whipped out two guns from his jacket, one in each hand. He pointed one at Kate, the other at Rachel. “Okay, that’s it. We’re done with the soap operas for today. We want Jacobs. And, until we see him, they both stay.”
Chapter 14
Aidan and Tristan exchanged an incredulous glance as they ducked inside an empty x-ray room.
“Jacobs, tell me I didn’t just hear that Naylor is Rachel’s biological father.”
Tristan heard the shock and anguish in Rachel’s voice. He hated that she had to hear that alone.
Baby, I’m sorry I let you down.
“You did.”
“Why didn’t our fathers tell us they served together? Why-“ He stilled. “Us being BUD/S teammates wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”
Tristan shook his head as he sauntered to the x-ray machine. “I don’t see how. Mitchell pretty much had his way while he was inside.”
An out-of-order sign graced the side of the machine.
Aidan cursed under his breath. “Now what? The other one is in use.”
Tristan took a deep breath. “I want you to activate me.”
Aidan shook his head with force. “I’ll kill you.”
“You can control it.” I hope.
Aidan gave a cynical laugh. “No, I can’t.”
Tristan gave him a hard stare. “Even if it means the lives of your mother and your sister? Mitchell hasn’t experienced Dar Naylor first hand. The guy had the balls to snatch Rachel from a crowd of people last night. What’s to keep him from killing her if it served a purpose? She means nothing to him. Neither does Kate. If you were Naylor, wouldn’t you resent it?”
Aidan cursed at the ceiling.
Popping open a compartment on his armband, Tristan exposed the Tesla-derived coil within. “Let’s do this.”
“What if I freaking kill you?”
Tristan shrugged. “If I have to die, your sister is the only reason that makes sense.”
Frowning, Aidan pulled back his head. “You’re really in love with her, aren’t you? You’re not just sleeping with her?”
Tristan gave him a rueful smile. “If I have to live without her, what’s the point?”
“Dammit man, I’m sorry-“
“If this goes south, I want you to know that I had Max pay off all of your father’s medical bills.”
Aidan’s eyes grew wide over raised brows. “What the hell, Jacobs? Why?”
“I don’t want Rachel to worry about the money anymore. I want her to be happy.” He lowered his voice. “If anything happens to me, Monroe, she gets it all. Everything I own.”
His mouth dropped open.
“All I ask is that you don’t let her marry that cheating sonovabitch, Frederickson. I’ll haunt you from the grave.”
Aidan gazed at him with solemn eyes. “Damn Jacobs, don’t do this to me. If I kill you, I kill her.”
Tristan looked away, his heart heavy. “You don’t want her involved with a D.I.R.E. agent, anyway. She deserves a better life, with someone that can be there for her every day.”
“What she deserves is someone that will love and protect her.” With a firm nod, Aidan locked a forearm with Tristan. “Let’s do this.”
Finding the open compartment on Tristan’s band, Aidan touched the diodes of his other hand to the exposed coil. Sparks flew between them like a welder’s arc, flashing and popping in the dark room. Streaks of electricity arced and flared like a vicious storm.
Tristan felt the current sizzle through his blood before his veins exploded with volcanic heat. He cried out in excruciating pain. His body convulsed violently.
Aidan released his arm.
Tristan slumped to the floor.
“Jacobs. Jacobs!”
He heard Aidan calling him through the haze in his brain. He felt like someone had drugged him, his limbs limp and lifeless. A fine hum of electrical current simmered in his blood, his nerve endings sharp and prickly. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t find the strength to move them.
“Shit, Jacobs, don’t do this.” Aidan pressed the heel of his hand to Tristan’s chest and pumped.
“If you try to kiss me, Monroe, I’ll deck you.” Blinking several times, Tristan came awake and stared up at Aidan.
Sonovabitch, he hurt.
“Dammit, you scared the shit out of me.”
Bracing a hand on the floor, Tristan tried to rise. His arm buckled beneath him.
Aidan helped him to a sitting position. “How do you feel?”
“Buzzed.”
Grinning, Aidan grabbed him under the arm. “You’re making jokes at a time like this?”
“I’m not joking.” Clumsily, Tristan climbed to his feet. He clutched the x-ray machine for support.
“Think you can cloak?”
Covering the coil compartment, Tristan scanned his shaky forefinger over the screen.
He felt the copper and gold sizzle in his blood. With a flash, he went invisible.
“I’m revving really high, but it works.” He just didn’t know how long his body could take the amount of electricity in his system.
Suck it up, Jacobs. Rachel needs you.
Aidan nodded. “Okay, let’s get back.”
“No.” Tristan pulled his gun out of his waistband. “Let Mitchell know I’m going in.”
“You’d be playing right into Naylor’s hands.”
Tristan remained cloaked to keep his Aidan from getting his hands on him again. “I do
n’t give a shit. I’m not going to risk her life because Mitchell doesn’t want to lose his investment.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Green plasma filled the room. “No, Monroe. I need you on the outside. Be ready, ‘cause I’m bringing it.”
#####
A flash of light and a cloud of green plasma suddenly appeared in the operating room. Wide eyed, the four men backed away, their steps apprehensive. Naylor pulled Kate along with him.
Tears flooded Rachel’s eyes. Her worst fears had come to light. “Tristan, no.”
Standing a few feet away from her now, he had both hands around a gun. He pointed it at Naylor and Kate who stared at him, mouths agape. Matt Leopold and the other agent went still with shock. Dar appeared to be the only one with his wits about him.
“What did I tell you, Father?”
“One at a time,” Tristan said, his voice deep and unsteady, “you’re each going to empty the chambers of your guns and kick them to the door, starting with you, Dar.”
Dar glared at him, brows furrowed. “Screw you.”
Tristan cocked the gun. His fingers shook where they grasped the trigger.
Naylor put Kate behind him. Rachel couldn’t believe he protected her mother after all she’d done to him. She couldn’t say she’d be as protective, considering her mother had lied to her all of these years.
“Dar, empty the guns,” Naylor said.
He whipped around to glare at his father. “What? No way.”
“Do it.”
Nostrils flaring, Dar scowled at Tristan before he emptied the guns and dropped the ammunition to the floor. The brass pinged against the tile.
“Kick the guns to the door.” Tristan squeezed his eyes shut before blinking them open.
Glancing at Robert, Dar growled when his father nodded. Setting the guns on the speckled surface, he kicked them across the floor. They slid a few feet and bounced against the metal door.
“Okay, you two-“
Matt and the other agent rushed him. Tristan shoved the heel of his hand into the throat of the agent. The man dropped to his knees. He clutched his throat, gagging and spitting up blood. Tristan gave him an upper cut under the chin, knocking him out.
Spinning around, Tristan held up his arms in a boxing stance. With a confident grin, Matt Leopold mimicked Tristan and held his fists in front of his face. Tristan kicked Matt’s exposed abdomen. Matt clutched his stomach. Tristan delivered two quick kicks to his face. The man fell to the floor unconscious.