He kept his balance, immediately squaring off to fight. He wasn’t thrilled to find two men dressed in black materializing from the woods to join the man who’d taken the first blow.
“Three against one aren’t great odds,” the large man who’d swung at him said with a grin. Which deepened when the two men who’d joined him trained their high-powered automatic rifles on Reece’s chest.
“I guess that depends,” Reece replied, calculating his moves. He had a gun, but he’d have to unholster it, raise it and shoot before they pulled their triggers. And that wasn’t just unlikely—it was impossible. Especially considering their rifles were much more powerful than his pistol.
Three here. He used his peripheral vision to try to get a line of sight on Lianna. Were there more inside? Or had Dr. Winston underestimated Lianna enough to take her one-on-one?
God, he hoped so.
Lianna’s cameras wouldn’t pick up anything this far away from the house, so North Star wouldn’t know he’d been compromised. They’d be able to at least hear something fishy in the living room with Lianna and the doctor, but it was very possible Dr. Winston knew that.
Everything was a little too possible.
“Well?” Reece asked of the three men just standing around, trying to look threatening. “Are you going to shoot me or what?”
The two with guns exchanged a look, and it was then Reece noticed they had earpieces in. Which spoke of more men. An organized team.
Though he swore internally, he leaned back casually on the car. He flashed a careless grin. “Waiting for orders, boys? That’s not going to end well for you.” The big one who’d tried to knock him out didn’t appear to be armed, so Reece focused his attention on the two men with guns.
They held themselves alert, and the guns were pointed at him, but he noted they did not have their fingers curled around the trigger.
They weren’t supposed to kill him. At least not without orders from their earpieces.
Reece didn’t plan to wait for them to get any such directive.
Without warning or preamble or any more waiting, he lunged. A shot went off, but he didn’t feel any bolt of pain as he’d expected. Which gave him all the opportunity he needed. He grabbed on to the gun he’d been lunging for, sweeping out his legs as he slid across the ground, tripping the other man with a gun.
His only goal was the two guns. Not inflicting damage. Not causing pain. Just get the guns. He could survive everything else these three men could dish out. He jerked the gun he’d lunged for out of the man’s hands with a simple elbow to the throat and a tug timed perfectly.
They weren’t well-trained muscle, that much was for sure. At best, Reece figured they were probably really good at shooting people and looking intimidating, but they didn’t hold a candle to him when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
Lucky for him.
The man he’d tripped had fallen to the ground, but he still had the gun in his grasp and was fumbling to get back to his feet.
Reece swung out and used the butt of the gun he now held to land a nasty blow to the gun-wielding man’s temple. He crumpled to the ground.
But Reece didn’t have a chance to grab the other gun as the large man tackled him from behind, sending him and the gun sprawling.
The big guy made up for lack of technique with sheer size. He was all bulky muscle, a heavyweight who easily pinned Reece to the ground. He used one meaty hand to shove Reece’s head into the dirt below, using his other hand and huge body to keep Reece’s hands squeezed to his sides.
Which wasn’t smart. He should have tried to cut off Reece’s breathing, or rolled him over and started doling out some punches. God knew those ham fists could do some damage.
Reece struggled to breathe as his face was pressed into the soft earth, but all he needed was one perfect blow. One the man clearly wasn’t expecting. He couldn’t get his hands free, but his legs were mostly unencumbered. His aim had to be perfect, though, or no doubt Reece would be up a creek without a paddle.
He struggled against the dirt enough to keep the man’s attention on him, but not enough to lose his breath. He focused, waited and then lifted the heel of his boot to hit the man in his most vulnerable place.
The man howled, and was surprised enough to let up on Reece’s head, giving Reece a chance to wriggle and kick himself free.
Reece got to his feet, breathing too hard. His eyesight was slightly blurry from the pieces of mud stuck to his eyebrows and eyelashes. He tried to blink the obstructions away and assess the situation.
The big man was on his feet, though still huffing and puffing and holding on to his crotch. The guns were equally distant from the both of them.
A loud crash had both of them looking at the house. Lianna stumbled out and onto the porch. She had her gun in her hand, but Reece didn’t get the impression she knew how to use it. Or at least not well enough to pick off the man he was fighting, from that distance.
Then Dr. Winston stumbled out after her. He looked injured, but not injured enough.
“Run,” Reece yelled at her, ducking a fist and taking a few shuffle steps back to balance on one leg and sweep out with the other.
He didn’t have the opportunity to watch and make sure she’d listened, because the big man was about to pick up one of the discarded guns, and that could not happen.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Reece had told her to run, so Lianna ran. Into the woods. Woods she’d played in as a child and still knew like the back of her hand.
Sabrina and Holden were placed somewhere in these woods, but in her hurry to escape Dr. Winston, she couldn’t think about getting to them. She could only think about getting away.
Because he didn’t want her. He wanted Henry.
How could he want Henry? Why would he be after her son? It didn’t make sense, but she knew she couldn’t allow him to get to her. He could use her as leverage—against Reece, against her grandparents. He could use her in a million ways she couldn’t let happen. Not with Henry at stake.
So she ran. Zigzagging through the trees, jumping over fallen logs, skidding and sliding through the wet earth. Her heart thundered in her ears and her breath came in gasping pants that made her chest feel on fire.
She hadn’t been able to shoot Dr. Winston, and she considered that a failing. He’d demanded information on Henry’s whereabouts, but he hadn’t actually grabbed her or tried to hurt her. Just intimidate her. So she hadn’t been able to bring herself to get off a shot. She’d simply jumped up from the table and punched him. Giving her enough time to run away.
Then Reece had told her to run and she didn’t know what else to do. He’d been fighting more men. Men with guns. She didn’t think those men were here just to intimidate her.
Her pace slowed for a second as she thought of Reece. How would he fight off men with guns?
He can take care of himself. He told you to run.
She repeated those words to herself as she upped her pace again. She couldn’t slow or look behind her, not when Dr. Winston had been so close. Maybe he wouldn’t hurt her.
But maybe he would. It sure sounded like whoever he was involved with would. Because he said someone was demanding answers. Answers about Henry she wouldn’t give. Ever.
“That’ll be enough.”
Lianna let out a short scream and slid to an inelegant stop as a man appeared in front of her, a large gun pointed right at her.
She didn’t recognize him. Had no idea who he was or who he belonged to. But he had a much bigger gun than she did.
He gestured at her gun with his own. “Drop it.”
She considered it. She also considered shooting him just to see if she could pull the trigger first. Whoever he was.
But she heard pounding footsteps and looked over her shoulder to see Dr. Winston huffing and puffing behind her.
She
was trapped. A gun pointed at her. A man behind her.
Keep calm. You can find a way out of this. Keep your head. Reece is out there. Sabrina and Holden are out here. Be calm. Be smart.
She only had to worry about staying alive.
“This is what you thought deserved protecting?” the man said, raising an eyebrow at Dr. Winston behind her.
“She’s an innocent bystander,” Dr. Winston bit out.
“Then I blame myself for thinking you understood that innocence doesn’t matter here. Not with this.”
Lianna stood very still. She did not drop her gun. Maybe this new man and Dr. Winston would get into some sort of argument and she’d be able to...do something.
But a shot rang out, so loud it drowned out the sound of her own scream. She dropped to her knees, thinking it must have hit her.
But she didn’t hurt. She looked up. The man with the gun wasn’t hurt, either. Sickly dread curdled in her stomach as she looked over her shoulder.
Dr. Winston lay crumpled on the ground. Completely and utterly still. Lianna closed her eyes against a wave of grief. Perhaps Dr. Winston hadn’t been a good man, but he hadn’t shot at her, either. He’d called her an innocent bystander, and now...
“I’m going to suggest that when you get back up to your feet, you leave the gun on the ground. If you don’t...well...”
Lianna swallowed down the grief and the fear and brought her gaze to the man standing in front of her. “You need me,” Lianna managed to say. “You can’t kill me.”
The man snorted. “This isn’t a movie. I can kill you whenever I feel like it and get the information I want elsewhere. But it’ll be far more fun to torture the information out of you. To watch you give me everything I want to know, and then realize you’ll die anyway. And so will your son.”
Though fear drummed through her, she sneered at the man threatening her. “You’ll never touch my son.”
The man moved toward her. He was tall and very broad. He looked like an athlete of some kind. Not menacing or evil like bad guys in a movie. He looked more like the dopey football star she’d gone to high school with.
But his words were cold and cruel, and so were his blue eyes as he crouched in front of her, still with the gun pointed at her chest. “Maybe your dead husband shouldn’t have been so loose-lipped around a kid.”
“Henry doesn’t know anything.” Her voice shook. Everything shook. At least she was sitting, so her legs couldn’t give out. What the armed man had forgotten about or didn’t seem to care about was the fact she still had her hand on her gun.
Not as big or high-powered as his, and she certainly was no great shot, but he was right there. In front of her.
The man smiled. “Doesn’t he?”
Lianna’s throat was dry, and swallowing didn’t help. Still, she tried to hold on to her last sliver of calm and authority. Because she was Henry’s mother, and she’d save him from this. No matter what it took. “Tell me what you think he knows.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll tell you my whole plan. I’ll talk and talk and talk until your friends show up and take me away. Saving you. Are you kidding?”
Todd had taken that tone with her on occasion. It had always felt as much like a physical slap as anything else. She’d cowered when he’d make her feel like he knew so much more than her.
She wasn’t that Lianna anymore. “Are you?” she returned, and lifted the gun and shot.
* * *
THE BIG MAN Reece was grappling with simply wouldn’t go down. Reece had managed to wrestle him to the ground before he’d reached the gun, but all they’d managed to do was roll and roll and exchange painful punches.
At least Reece had been able to roll him away from the guns. Hand to hand... Well, maybe he wouldn’t win, but at least he wouldn’t die.
The man made a tactical error, giving Reece the upper hand. It took time, and all of his strength, but Reece managed to choke him until the man blacked out, going still.
Tentatively, Reece backed away. Inch by inch, until he was up on his feet and the man was still on the ground, immobile.
He heard footsteps again, inwardly swore, then whirled around, ready to fight. But it was Holden. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to meet up with Sabrina, but we lost communication. Guess you handled this,” Holden said, gesturing at the three motionless men on the ground.
Reece didn’t even bother to respond to that. There was no time. He took off in the direction Lianna had gone.
He heard Holden running behind him, hissing his name in an attempt to be somewhat tactical, but screw tactics. Reece had to get to Lianna.
“Reece. Wait. That doctor? He wasn’t after Lianna.” Holden ran after Reece. Reece didn’t slow down, but he did listen.
“What do you mean?”
“Elsie was listening in on the conversation. He wanted Henry. Demanded Henry. But he didn’t hurt Lianna. Didn’t even really threaten her. Just demanded the information for the people he was working for.”
Reece nearly ran into a tree as he turned to look at Holden in surprise, sure he’d misheard. “What?”
“Henry. It was all he would talk about. He wanted Henry. Reece, is there any chance Henry knows...something?”
Reece wanted to deny it, but hadn’t he had a feeling...an inkling when Henry had asked him to keep Lianna safe, that the boy understood more than they thought? Lianna had waved it off, and Reece had, too. Perhaps because they both didn’t want to believe...
“We need to find out what Henry knows.”
“Shay and Betty are on it.”
“They have to be gentle with him,” Reece said, sick with the idea the kid was doing this alone. Without Lianna. Without him. “He’s just a kid. I think he’s scared...”
“I’m sure they get it, Reece. He’s a good kid. No one’s going to intimidate him. Not in our group. Besides, Lianna’s grandpa is there.”
Reece nodded mechanically. Logically he understood that, but his chest still ached at the fact Henry would have to sit there and answer questions without him or Lianna there to...to protect him. Help him.
“Find Sabrina. Three men after me. One man after Lianna. We don’t know who else is out there. I know someone was feeding orders to the goons I took on. If Henry knows who’s behind all this, we need to make sure our next target is the leader...not just the muscle after us.”
“On it. I’ll go back to Sabrina’s initial point, fan out from there till I find her. You’re going after the doctor?”
“I’m going after Lianna. She’s priority number one.”
Holden didn’t say anything to that. He simply peeled off to the west, where Sabrina had initially been planted. Reece tracked Lianna’s route. The wet earth made her footprints and sliding slips in the mud easy to track at a decent pace.
The sound of a gunshot echoing through the trees had Reece’s heart jumping to his throat.
Lianna.
* * *
HENRY COULDN’T CONCENTRATE on the arcade game. His head was fuzzy and he missed Mom. His stomach felt like a big fat rock. He chewed on his lip and looked back at Great-Grandpa.
Gramps was sitting on a big comfy chair in the corner, reading one of his big, boring books. He didn’t like the arcade games, but he always stopped reading to play with him if Henry asked.
Henry didn’t feel much like playing with anybody today. Not with Mom and Reece gone. No one would tell him everything. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew it wasn’t good.
It made him think about his dad. It made him think about secrets. He tried to never think about either.
He heard voices in the hall, and his stomach hurt even more. Shay and Betty walked in, and their eyes were on him. Henry backed away from both of them.
“Henry.” Betty’s voice was kind and soft, but both she and Shay moved
toward him. Henry scrambled back to Gramps.
“Did something happen?” Gramps demanded, putting his book down and getting up out of his chair.
“No, Mr. Young. Not exactly. We’ve received some information, though. We think if we get some answers, we might be able to figure some other things out before...”
Shay trailed off, and her gaze was on him again. Henry wanted to hide behind Gramps, but he couldn’t seem to look away from Shay.
“Henry, do you know something about your dad that you haven’t told us?”
Gramps slid his arm around Henry’s shoulders. Henry wished it made him feel brave. But the rock in his stomach was getting bigger, making him feel sick.
“He’s a boy,” Gramps said, pulling Henry behind him. “Why would you question a little boy?” he demanded, his voice as angry as Henry had ever heard it.
Henry closed his eyes.
“Mr. Young, we think Henry knows something. Something important. Something that could help us keep Lianna safe. We don’t want to scare Henry. We just want to ask a few questions.”
But Henry was scared. Scared of everything. He kept his eyes closed and his head pushed into Gramps’s back. He’d just stay here until they went away. Until it all went away.
“Henry.” It was Betty’s voice, and Henry felt her soft hand on his elbow. “Sweetie. I know everything is pretty scary right now, but we only want to help. Is there something you need to tell us?”
Henry blinked his eyes open. Betty was looking at him earnestly. Her hand was soft and reassuring on his elbow. Gramps still held him. He was safe here. Mom had brought them here to be safe.
Maybe that meant... “I’m not supposed to tell,” Henry whispered. There were tears in his eyes, but he was strong. Like Reece. He’d be strong for Mom and he wouldn’t cry.
“Why not, honey?” Betty asked. He liked Betty. She was...soft, but really good at stuff. Like Mom.
Harlequin Intrigue May 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Page 35