His watch beeped. “Here we go.”
She was at his side within seconds. “What?”
“Huh.” Holden tapped a few buttons. “That’s odd. It’s a text from Adam.”
“So?”
“It’s not our usual mode of communicating.”
“He said he had to make adjustments because of whatever jamming devices Trevor’s men used.”
“True.”
“What does he say?”
Holden reach for his coat. “They need us to come back.”
“Why?”
“The communication system isn’t holding as Adam had hoped. He isn’t getting a good feed and they’re not sure where the intruders are.” Holden slipped the jacket over the shirt and vest. “I need to play lookout from outside the house.”
More danger and he rushes in without thinking about it. If he didn’t care about his safety, she would. “No.”
“Mia.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“Then I still need to go.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
His teeth snapped together. “I’m not that guy.”
“Which?”
“The one who sits back and lets everyone else do the work.”
The truth of his comments hit her. This wasn’t just about taking unnecessary risks. This spoke to a bone-deep need to rescue. He played the hero even as he insisted he wasn’t one. It was natural to him.
It terrified her. But that was her issue. Her place of vulnerability. If she loved him, she had to accept who he was underneath.
“I’m not staying here alone,” she said.
The crisscrossing lines in his forehead disappeared. “No, you’re not.”
“ANYTHING?” LUKE TORE his attention away from the flat-screen monitor. They were deep underground, but picked up a satellite signal without trouble.
Adam shook his head. “All’s quiet. No movement by the outside gate. No one trying to break down the door.”
“Isn’t that good news?” Claire asked from her position at the head of the large conference table.
They hadn’t finished off the walls or floors, but they’d managed to drag furniture down there. The technology was in place. Computers, a server, file cabinets. The equipment lined the one cement wall by the stairs. The others consisted of mud and studs where walls would eventually be erected.
It was dank and musty. The lights cast some light but not enough. It was the perfect place to hide.
Caleb shifted in his chair. “It’s too quiet.”
Luke rubbed his face. “Okay, let’s not panic. Maybe we misinterpreted the chatter.”
Adam scrolled through the data. “There was a tactical assault planned.”
“This feels wrong.” Zach hit the remote and changed the image on the screen to different shots of the yard. “Like a setup.”
“What’s happening with Holden?” Luke asked.
“Nothing.”
Luke came away from the wall to stare at the computer monitor over Adam’s shoulder. “What does that mean?”
“His signal hasn’t wavered.” Adam pointed at the schematic. “He’s in his condo. They both are. Their signals are coming through clear.”
Luke took some satisfaction from that news. “At least something is working right.”
“Wait.” Adam leaned in closer.
“What?”
“The signal just bounced. I went from a clean screen to an empty one.”
Claire rushed over as the men crowded around Adam. “What does that mean?”
Adam shook his head. “Could mean nothing.”
“Or?” Luke asked.
“We’ve been getting a false signal. They aren’t in the condo at all. They’re moving.” Adam looked up. “And they’re not alone.”
HOLDEN DIDN’T NEED to be told about the potential danger. He sensed a trap. Instead of heading down the elevator to the underground garage, they used the stairs. No chance of the doors opening and an armed gunman being right there in front of him ready to shoot this way.
But no matter how much he rubbed the back of his neck, the feeling of danger wouldn’t go away. He could smell it all around him, felt it push down on him from above and close in from the sides.
He hid his anxiety from Mia. As she grabbed on to the back of his jacket, he tried to hold his body still. No shaking or panic. For her he’d be calm. He’d stay focused.
“Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” She whispered the question right into his ear.
So much for believing he was fooling her. “I think the scare back at the house was a diversion.”
“You mean that we’re the target.”
She didn’t miss much. He kind of wished she was a different type of woman at the moment, one who couldn’t see the disaster looming. “Yeah.”
“They’re after us.”
“Whoever ‘they’ are.”
She tugged on his shirt and shifted positions. “We should go back upstairs.”
They couldn’t slow down or go back. He guided her back to the step above him. “You keep moving. First rule of combat. If you hesitate or stop, you’re an easy target.”
“The garage won’t bother you?”
For once, the reference to his weakness didn’t tick him off. He didn’t have time. “It’s not closed in. The bigger problem is who might be in there waiting for us.”
“That’s not very comforting.”
He squeezed her hand and met with ice-cold fingers.
“I know.”
“Did you call the team?”
“Can’t get through. The signal changed about halfway down, which makes me think we’ve been working from a fake one.”
He looked at his cell. Still no signal there either. That one had nothing to do with Trevor’s men. It was an unfortunate side effect of the building.
She blew out a harsh breath. “Could the news get worse?”
“Things can always be worse.” He believed that. Lived by it. “My car is the second on the right as we enter the garage. I’m going to open the stairwell door and you’re going to run as fast as you can to it.”
She nodded but didn’t say a word.
“Head down and don’t look back.” He pressed the extra ignition key in her palm. “If I don’t get in right behind you, you drive away.”
“No.”
“This isn’t the time to argue. I need you out of here. Drive as fast as you can.” He put his cell in her hand and folded her fingers around it. “Forget about the phone blackout. The concerns about communication are gone. You call Luke as soon as you get a signal.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Get you in that car and then get you out of here.” He couldn’t look into her terrified eyes for one more second.
“On the count of three. I’ll stay high. You go low.”
He pushed the door open, letting it slam against the far wall before it knocked back against him. The smell of gasoline overwhelmed him. A wall of blackness loomed in front of him. Someone had cut the lights.
Mia crouched down and took off for the car. She grabbed the door handle and then fumbled for the key when it didn’t immediately open.
He kept watch. He swung the gun around, taking in every inch of the one-story garage. At least the spaces he could see. He took two steps and was surprised when the sound didn’t echo back to him. Footsteps didn’t sound in the distance.
Maybe they were alone, but it seemed too easy.
Still skeptical but not one to question luck when it sprang up in front of him, Holden headed for the car. His shoulders stayed tense and ready. With his finger rested on the trigger, he rounded the back end. A small burst of relief hit him when Mia slipped into the passenger seat. But he didn’t let up. He kept his gun trained and his knees bent.
The slight scrape of cloth against cement registered right before his foot hit something on the ground. Looking down, he saw Ned Zimmer’s face staring back up, gun raised and a triumphan
t smile on his face.
Something flashed. Blasts thundered, echoing through the cement-lined space. Burning heat raced down Holden’s arm as his body pushed back and his head shot forward. He could almost hear his spine snap.
Then he hit the hard ground, bouncing first on his lower back and then slamming his head. His vision blurred even as the sound of Mia’s screams registered behind him. He inhaled as deep as possible, trying to force oxygen into his body and wake up his dead limbs.
The sole of a foot passed in front of him. He didn’t feel anything, but his body jerked and Mia cried out. If only he could open his eyes, move his arm.
Suddenly a face hovered right above Holden’s. Not Mia’s face. This one belonged to Zimmer.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance,” he said.
Holden tried to open his mouth, to say something. Then a blinding pain seared through his skull and the world went dark.
Chapter Nineteen
Mia tried to move her arms. Her shoulders ached from being pulled behind her and her throat hurt from screaming. Seeing Holden get shot, watching him go down like that, left her feeling battered and bruised. Ned should have hit and kicked her because she felt every shot Holden suffered. She would have taken each hit if he could have been spared.
Stuffed in the trunk of a car, listening to the road bumps beneath her head, she had too much time to think. The image of Holden’s lifeless body kept playing in her head. His eyes rolled back. His body folded.
She’d heard about heartbreak but never experienced the actual sensation of having her chest physically ripped in two. Now she had. Every part of her thumped with pain. Her bones ached and stomach kept rolling. Even her hair hurt.
She knew she needed to focus if she had any hope of living through the next few minutes, but her mind kept flashing to Holden. He had sensed the danger and put his body in front of hers.
When the car rolled to a stop, she listened for familiar sounds. Mostly she tried to figure out how to kick the crap out of Ned when he opened the trunk. One good whack might give her a minute to run.
The door flew open and a flashlight shined in her eyes. She could smell the outdoors, the scent of pine and fresh earth. The brisk night air blew across her cheek as sun left its last streaks across the gray night sky.
Something else tickled her senses—the faint odor of burning wood.
“There’s someone who wants to talk to you,” Ned said as he grabbed her arms and yanked her to a sitting position.
That fast, she lost any advantage. “Don’t do this.”
“I was paid to bring you here. That’s what I’m doing.”
“No.” He reached for her but she shrank back, trying to make her body smaller, and struggled out of striking distance.
“That’s enough.” A dark coat moved into her line of vision. “Take her out of the car.”
Congressman Walters. She’d recognize the measly voice anywhere. What she once took for strength she now tagged as out-of-control ego. He thought he could do anything and get away with it.
When she went to yell, Ned stuffed a rag in her mouth. She kicked and thrashed, trying as hard as possible to inflict damage. But she was no match for his strength. He outweighed her by more than fifty pounds and his grip crushed her bones. He had her out of the car and on her feet within seconds.
The Congressman stared at her, hate showing on every line of his face. Gone was the elder statesman who won awards for constituent service. He could attend every breakfast at every elder home in the county for the rest of his life and he’d never wipe the stain off of him. He’d turned into a vicious madman.
“You have caused me a serious amount of trouble.”
She couldn’t answer. She wanted to spit on his perfectly shined shoes.
“Now you’re going to tell me what I need to know.” Bram glanced at Zimmer. “And your ex-boyfriend here is going to help me.”
HOLDEN GRABBED FOR the door and tried to pull his upper body off the ground. His hand smacked against the metal and slid back down. The jolt sent pain ricocheting inside him.
None of that mattered.
He had to get to Mia. He lost track of time. He thought only a few minutes had passed since Zimmer took her away, but he wasn’t sure.
Concentrating, he threw his arm up in the air again. This time his fingers snagged the handle. Ignoring the creaking of his bones and knocking inside his head, he lifted his body off the floor.
The throbbing started in his fingers and increased in intensity until it reached his lungs. With a groan of frustration, he gave a final shove up to his knees. From there he crawled up the car to his feet. Just as he lost balance, he pivoted and threw his weight until he sprawled on his stomach on the hood.
The sound of his heavy breathing drowned out everything but the screech of tires behind him. Thinking a second attack wave was on the way, he reached for his gun but couldn’t find it. He had a knife by his ankle but didn’t think he could get back up again if he bent over.
“Holden!”
The voice sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it. Footsteps pounded and then Caleb and Adam were on top of him, touching and talking to him. None of it penetrated Holden’s brain.
Adam rolled Holden over and ripped open his jacket. “There’s blood.” Adam’s harsh tone matched the look on his face.
“It’s okay. One of the shots got under the vest. It’s not serious.” Caleb dumped his medical bag on the car next to Holden’s head.
He heard the clink of metal and the conversation above him.
“Then what has him dazed?” Adam asked.
“Something else.”
Holden’s surroundings finally registered. He grabbed for Caleb’s shirt. “He has Mia.”
Caleb’s hands never stopped moving. “Who?”
“Zimmer.”
Caleb swore before he regained control. “Not to worry. Zach hid a transmitter on his car and we can follow it via satellite. We can find her.”
“Luke?” Holden asked.
“He’s back at the house making sure this wasn’t part of a two-pronged attack.” Adam nodded to Caleb. “We’ll get you there and get you some help.”
“First we have to fix you up enough to travel,” Caleb said as he pulled the thread and bandages out of his bag.
Holden didn’t feel any of the medical care. “No time. Have to go after Mia.”
With a light touch Caleb pushed Holden’s shoulder back against the car. “You can’t even stand up.”
“The shots hitting the vest knocked me out, took my breath.”
“Are you bleeding anywhere else?
“Cracked my head against the cement.”
“You’ve got a knot back there already.” Adam felt along Holden’s hairline.
The touch shot in his head like a sledgehammer. He bit back the bile rushing up his throat. If he threw up, Caleb would take him to a hospital. With his mind clearing, Holden knew they couldn’t waste hours, even minutes, on that.
“Doesn’t matter.” He struggled to sit up and the garage spun around him. “I brought Mia into this. I left the trail from her to me.”
Caleb helped Holden balance on the car. “Don’t do this now, Holden.”
“We’re going to find her. And I’m going to need your help.” As much as it killed him to say it, he knew it was true. “I can’t do it on my own.”
“How?” Adam asked.
Holden knew he only had one option. “You drive. Caleb, work on me in the car.”
MIA SAT ON THE SAME STACK of branches Holden had used to hide his car. She recognized the area around what used to be Holden’s cabin. With the extra light, the sights and sounds of the woods came back to her.
She used to think of trees as peaceful. Thanks to Bram Walters, they now reminded her of death. There had been so much in this area. All of it traceable to the man standing in front of her.
But there were benefits to being in a place she knew and they didn’t. Not far awa
y was the entrance to the underground cavern she’d used to escape once before. She wondered if it had collapsed in the explosion. The part she could see remained intact, which meant it might be usable.
“Why are we here?” she asked, pretending not to know.
Bram looked around, clearly pleased with this part of his plan. “Seemed poetic to bring you back here.”
“You mean that no one will think to look for me here.”
“Your only ties to this place are through Holden Price and I understand that he is no longer with us.” The Congressman looked over her shoulder to Zimmer for verification and received a head nod in return. “There you go.”
She couldn’t let her mind go there. She had to believe Holden survived, that somehow the thin vest blocked a gunshot. She prayed he was on his way now, guns blazing with the entire Recovery team riding behind him. More than that, she willed him to be alive.
“Tell me how much Holden Price knows.” The amusement had left Bram’s voice.
She didn’t even understand the question. None of them understood the larger scheme behind the Congressman’s actions. Admitting that would only hasten her death. She needed time.
“Everything,” she said.
He didn’t even flinch. “I think you’re bluffing.”
“Then we’re even because I think you’re dis gusting.”
Ned backhanded her across the face. “Show some respect.”
Bram held up his hand, looking every inch the proper statesman in his dark business suit. “That’s enough, Zimmer. We don’t hit women.”
“Right,” she scoffed. “You just kill them.”
Bram’s head fell to the side. “I’m not going to kill you, Mia. Why would I do that?”
“To save your own a—?”
“The language isn’t necessary.”
She stared from the Congressman to her ex. “Oh, I see. You’re going to have your hired dog do it for you.”
Ned shifted closer to her, but Bram called him back with a firm shake of his head. “Whatever Officer Zimmer—”
“Former officer,” she pointed out.
“Decides to do with you after I’m gone is not my business.”
The possibilities ran through her mind. Air clogged in her throat at the thought of Ned touching her again. “You can’t be serious.”
Guns and the Girl Next Door Page 14