The dead guy on the floor had certainly tried. And failed, thank God. Russ had wanted to find out who he was, and better yet, who had sent him. But those questions would obviously have to wait.
Round two had begun.
There was another shot in the hall. It also came from a gun rigged with a silencer.
Apparently, someone didn’t want to be detected. Too bad Russ couldn’t just start firing shots at the ceiling, so that it would alert someone to call the police, but he couldn’t waste the ammunition. He didn’t have any extra magazines with him, or a backup weapon. Since he was using a smaller, more compact handgun, suited for undercover work, he’d only started with fifteen rounds—two of which he’d spent on the dead guy.
Thirteen better turn out to be a lucky number, because that wouldn’t be enough firepower if he got into a long gunfight.
Russ caught onto Julia’s arm and positioned her behind the bar. It wasn’t an ideal location, since it wasn’t that far from the now gaping window where the gunman had entered. But the bathroom was out, since it was on the same side of the wall as the hall. In fact, that could have been where the last shot went. Anyone with any experience in attacks would have known that Russ would have sent Julia into the bathroom.
And he’d nearly succeeded in getting her there. But blind luck again had kept her remaining safe. Later, he’d kick himself for not getting her out of town. She should be at the safe house with Emily. But instead she’d stayed behind, and was now in danger because of it.
Russ stayed in front of her and tried to keep watch on all sides. If someone tried to break down the door, he’d have time to fire, but he couldn’t cover both the door and the window. If the assault came from both sides, they were in trouble.
There was another shot. And it confirmed what Russ had already suspected. Someone had fired into the bathroom. This wasn’t just an ordinary attack. It was a mission of murder.
Now the question was why?
He checked his phone again: still blocked. He picked up the house phone, but it was dead as well. Though maybe, just maybe, help was on the way.
Just in case this turned ugly, Russ took the folded piece of paper from his front pocket and stuffed it in between the foil-bagged nuts on the bar. Leaving it there was a gamble, but it would be an even bigger gamble to keep it on him.
There was a thump at the door. Not exactly the sound of a kick, but close. Russ aimed his gun in that direction and braced himself for another attack.
He didn’t have to wait long.
The second attempt was a hard kick to the door. The locks held. Until the person fired a shot into the lock. Not one, but three. Each rough gust was followed by the sound of metal slashing through metal.
Russ’s heart was in his throat, and he had no doubt that Julia was about to lose it. She didn’t have his training. But she damn sure had the experience with violent situations. This was no doubt causing an avalanche of flashbacks.
“Stay down,” Russ warned her, in a whisper.
Another bullet went into the lock, and it was followed by a hard kick. Russ got ready. His finger tightened on the trigger, and he tried to get the best aim he could. He had no idea who or what was coming through the door, but he might have only one shot to save Julia.
The door burst open, and Russ was within a split-second of firing when he saw the man’s face. Silas.
But he wasn’t armed, and he didn’t look as if he had the strength to kick down a door. There was blood on his forehead and on the sleeve of his shirt. He was holding on to his left arm.
“I’m sorry,” Silas said. He hadn’t said it clearly, either. He slurred the two words.
Russ wanted to ask “sorry for what?” But he soon realized Silas wasn’t alone.
Someone was standing directly behind him.
Russ couldn’t see the person’s other face, but he had no trouble seeing that a gun was aimed at Silas’s head.
That put a knot in Russ’s stomach. He hadn’t trusted Silas when he’d called out earlier, and maybe because of that lack of trust, Silas was now in danger. Still, Russ hadn’t had a choice. The agent’s behavior had been too erratic for Russ to believe him and let him anywhere near Julia.
“I depended on the wrong person,” Silas mumbled, and that remark caused the individual behind him to jam the gun harder against his head.
Russ pushed aside Silas’s comment. Later, there’d be time to question his partner as to what he meant by that. Right now, Russ had to deal with what was essentially a hostage situation. And Julia was right in the middle of all this.
“Who are you?” Russ demanded of the gunman. He kept his gun aimed, but he knew he couldn’t fire. Silas was literally a human shield.
The person didn’t answer for several seconds. “It’s me.”
Russ had no trouble recognizing that voice. It was Milo.
Apparently, Julia recognized his voice, too, because she made a soft groan.
This latest incident shouldn’t have surprised Russ— he knew the man was a criminal—but what he couldn’t figure out was why this was happening. The meeting had been scheduled. He had the number for the offshore account. Within a matter of hours, the baby deal would have been closed, and in theory, Milo would have a lot of money for his part in the illegal transaction.
So what had happened to make Milo resort to this?
Maybe Milo had objected to Russ’s insistence that Julia not be at the meeting. Or maybe he had just gotten suspicious. Something had certainly set him off, if he was holding a hostage at gunpoint.
“What do you want?” Russ demanded.
Again, Milo took his time answering. Russ shifted a little so he could see him, and Milo was glancing all around the hall, as if he expected someone to jump out and attack him.
Good. That probably meant Milo didn’t have backup, either. Maybe because his backup was supposed to have been the dead guy now lying on the floor.
“I want Julia,” Milo finally answered.
Everything inside Russ went still. Hell. He didn’t hear any reaction from Julia. He didn’t have to. Russ knew she had to be terrified at the thought of being held captive by this monster.
“Why do you want Julia?” Russ asked the man.
“Because if I have her, then I can make sure you cooperate.”
That didn’t make sense. “You already had my cooperation before you decided to pull this stunt.”
“No. I had the façade of your cooperation. I know who you are, Special Agent Russ Gentry. And I know this is a sting operation to bring me down.”
Russ tried not to react to that. He had to stay calm. And he prayed Silas did the same. The agent was sweating like crazy, and he was grimacing in pain.
“If you believe I’m an agent out to get you, then why do you want Julia?” Russ wanted to know.
“Because I still need the money, and I can be sure that you’ll give it to me if I have her.”
Russ chose his words carefully. “The deal can still happen. You give me the baby, and I’ll give you the number for the offshore account.”
Milo laughed. “Not without some insurance. Julia is that insurance.”
Milo was obviously lying. Just a few minutes ago, the dead gunman had tried to kill her. And then someone, probably Milo, had fired shots into the bathroom, the most likely place for her to be. This was more than just Milo wanting some kind of insurance. He wanted Julia dead. Why?
The reason didn’t matter; Russ wasn’t going to let Milo get the chance.
“You don’t want Julia,” Russ tried again. “Make a call. Get the baby here, and I’ll give you the number of the offshore account so you can get that money. Everybody will be happy, and no one else gets killed.”
“No,” Milo answered.
“No to which part?” Russ asked, holding his breath. This couldn’t fall apart now.
“To all of it,” Milo calmly said. “If Julia doesn’t come with me, there’ll be no exchange. And you won’t get your hands on the baby.
In fact, if I don’t make a call within fifteen minutes, the baby will be taken out of the country, and neither his parents nor you will ever see him again.”
Russ took a deep breath and got ready to go another round with Milo. He had to make this deal happen. But before he could say anything else, he heard movement behind him. He also saw Silas shaking his head. It didn’t last long, because Silas’s eyelids fluttered down, and the man appeared to lose consciousness. At least Russ hoped that was all it was. It was possible that he was close to death, because Russ had no idea how serious his injuries were.
Despite Silas going limp, Milo hung on to him and continued to use him like a shield.
“I’ll go with you, Milo,” Russ heard Julia say.
Despite the fact that he wouldn’t take his eyes off Milo and Silas, her words caused Russ to look at Julia. She had her hands lifted in the air. Surrendering.
Russ cursed. “Get back,” he ordered.
“No,” she answered. Her voice wasn’t nearly as calm and assured as Milo’s, but that didn’t stop her from moving away from the bar, and closer to Milo.
She looked at Russ, and he saw the determination in her eyes. “I’m not going to lose the baby,” she insisted.
“Smart woman,” Milo proclaimed.
Russ wanted to shoot Milo for encouraging her and putting her in this position. “This isn’t smart,” Russ told her. “He wants to kill you.”
But that didn’t stop Julia.
Russ tried to latch onto her and pull her back, but she walked straight toward Milo.
Chapter Sixteen
Julia forced herself not to think beyond the moment. She didn’t want to put herself in harm’s way, but she also didn’t want the Richardson baby to be taken out of the country.
She thought of her own precious Emily—of how horrible it would be to have her stolen from her, never to be seen again.
Julia also thought of Russ. He definitely didn’t approve of what she was doing. He was the protector, and he wanted her safe.
But sometimes being safe wasn’t the right thing to do.
Russ reached out to grab her again, but that caused Milo to dig the barrel of his gun into Silas’s head. “You want him dead?” Milo taunted. “Because that’s what will happen if you don’t stop.”
Julia glanced at Russ and tried to reassure him that this was the only option they had, but he only shook his head and demanded that she back up.
She didn’t. When she was within just a foot or so of Milo, he shoved Silas forward, nearly pushing him straight into Julia. When she stepped to the side to avoid the impact, Milo latched onto her and pulled her in front of him. Now she was Milo’s hostage.
“Let her go,” Russ demanded. He glanced at Silas, probably to make sure the man was okay, but then he nailed his attention on Milo and Julia.
“See?” Milo said in a sappy sweet, mocking tone. “You’re already in a more cooperative mood. No more demands from you. No more lies.”
Russ’s eyes narrowed, and the muscles in his jaw went stiff. “What do you want?”
“The number of the offshore account.”
Julia had expected him to say that, and she also expected Russ to start bargaining. She didn’t have to wait long.
“I only have half the numbers,” Russ told him. Julia knew that was a lie. “The other half is with the buyer.”
“Then you’d better get those numbers now or I’ll kill Julia,” Milo insisted.
Russ lifted his shoulder. “Julia’s my ex-lover. Nothing more. She doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Julia knew this was a ploy, but she couldn’t believe how convincing Russ was. Or how much it hurt to hear him say that. He certainly meant a lot to her. Too much, maybe.
She was in love with him.
It wasn’t the best time for her heart to announce that to her head, so she pushed it aside. Later—if there was a later—she would deal with her feelings. Right now, she had to stay alive and stop Milo from hurting anyone else, especially Russ and the baby.
“Just your ex-lover, huh?” Milo asked. “You don’t expect me to believe that.”
“It’s true,” Russ fired back.
Because Milo’s chest was against her back, Julia felt Milo go stiff. His tone might be all calm and cool, but he was getting agitated. He had counted on Russ being willing to do anything to protect her. Maybe that’s what the shots had been about. If one of those bullets had seriously injured her, Russ would have handed over the account numbers to save her life. And in doing so, Milo would have likely killed them both.
From the corners of her eyes, Julia looked down the hall, in case she needed an escape route. It was dark because the electricity was still off, but there was a window at the opposite end of the suite entrance, and some light trickled in. Enough for her to see that there was no one else around.
But the door immediately next to her suite was ajar.
Mercy. Russ had already told her that there weren’t any other guests staying on the third floor, that the all-suites floor didn’t get much use at the Wainwright, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t have sneaked up there. She hoped Milo didn’t have one of his hired guns in there, waiting to step in and help.
“Here’s what happens now,” Milo said. The calmness faded. “You give me all the numbers of the offshore account number, and once I’ve verified that the money’s there, I’ll take Julia out to the parking lot, where I’ll give her the baby.”
Julia wanted that to be true, but she knew she couldn’t trust him. Once Milo had the full account number, there was no reason to keep any of them alive.
Russ didn’t look at her. He kept his attention trained on Milo. “The buyer won’t give me the other half of the account until I have proof that we have the baby.”
“Then we’re at a stalemate,” Milo said, his voice a threat now. “You’d better hope my finger doesn’t tense, or the bullet will go right into Julia. And despite what you said about her being your ex-lover, I’m betting you still feel enough for her that you can’t let her die this way.”
Russ didn’t flinch. Didn’t react. But Julia had to bite her lip to keep from making a sound.
“A stalemate’s not going to do either of us any good,” Russ said.
“You got a better idea?” Milo asked.
“I think I do. You and I can go to the parking lot together. Just the two of us. And after we both put down our guns, I can call the buyer for the second half of the account at the exact moment that you put the baby in my arms.”
She braced herself for Milo to laugh or say an outright no, but he didn’t.
“All right,” Milo agreed. “But we keep the guns. For now. And Julia goes with us.”
“No,” Russ barked, angrily disagreeing. “She’d only be in the way.”
“Maybe she’ll be in your way, but not mine. I’d prefer not to be shot by a sniper when I walk out of this hotel.”
Julia waited, holding her breath. She held it for so long that her lungs began to ache.
Russ finally nodded. “Let’s finish this.”
Julia didn’t feel any relief. They still had a long way to go, and too many things could go wrong. But maybe this was a start. Still, she had to be ready to escape, because all of this could be a trick.
Milo moved slightly, so he could turn her to face the hall. “You first,” he told Russ.
Russ hesitated. “We go side-by-side,” he insisted.
Probably because he was concerned that Milo would shoot him in the back. And he just might try to do that. But Julia figured Russ was safe, at least until Milo got those account numbers he wanted.
With his gun still aimed and ready, Russ mumbled something to Silas, and he stepped out into the hall with Milo and Julia. She was ahead of them, but glanced over her shoulder at Russ.
Julia tried to read what was going on in his mind, but then Milo pushed her forward to get her into position. She adjusted her stance, and Milo curved his left arm around her throat so that she wou
ldn’t be able to get too far ahead of him. And so he could keep his gun pressed to her head.
Russ stayed on Milo’s right, and together the three of them started up the hall.
They’d only made it a few steps when Julia saw the movement. It’d come from the room next to her suite.
The room with the open door.
Julia started to call out to Russ, to warn him, but it was already too late.
RUSS SAW THE FLASH of movement to his right.
He automatically pulled back and turned his weapon in that direction, but he found himself gun-to-gun with the person just inside the dark doorway.
“Shoot and Julia dies,” Milo reminded Russ.
Russ held back on pulling the trigger, and he tried to focus on the person across from him. Unfortunately, the light wasn’t cooperating. He could see some things in the hall, thanks to a small window and the street lights outside it, but the rays didn’t extend to the open suite.
This was obviously Milo’s backup. Or maybe it was his boss, Z.
That got Russ’s heart pumping, but not just because he might finally come face-to-face with the baby seller, but because he didn’t like two guns aimed anywhere near Julia.
Somehow, he had to get her out of this situation. Unfortunately, now that he was outgunned, he might need a miracle for that to happen.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Milo said. Minutes earlier, his nerves had started to show, but, he seemed back in control now.
Russ couldn’t say the same for Julia. Her eyes were wide, and her breath was gusting.
“Just hang on,” he whispered to her. She was stronger than she thought and could get through this, but he hated that she’d been put in this position again.
“What change of plans?” Russ asked Milo. Though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. Milo only wanted one thing—the money.
“You give us the complete account number, and I’ll let Julia live.”
Russ looked him straight in the eye and knew that Milo was lying. Once he had the money, that would be it.
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