by Kathy Harris
Despite Danni’s protests, Agent Wade had been assigned to provide support and backup. Ridge had made the decision yesterday to keep every option in place, so there was still the chance he would substitute the TBI agent for Danni at the last minute. From a distance, the two women looked remarkably alike now that Jamie had changed her hair color.
Caleb chose to lean against the kitchen sink for a while. He wanted to stay in the loop. They still had information coming in. An hour before, they had received confirmation that every member of Ramirez’s ground crew was under surveillance and would be neutralized as soon as the plane landed. The FBI, DEA, and highway patrol, as well as the Macon County Sheriff’s Department, had joined their offensive operation on the farm near Lafayette, Tennessee, where Ramirez had chosen to rendezvous. It was the Macon County boys who had been the most help. Those guys knew every hill, holler, and back road in the area. They had also pointed out a little-known way into the farm, which could be used for an exit if necessary.
Caleb knew there would be no time for that, however. Today was going to come down to a gun battle. Hopefully, if all of their plans had been executed properly, it would be a short one. And the good guys would win.
An ATF sniper team had been inserted around the landing strip on the property without Ramirez’s people’s knowledge. More than a dozen highly trained snipers were hiding in trees, behind rocks, and inside farm equipment parked in the nearby field. Drones were being used to maintain visual coordination.
Everything now hinged on God granting them wisdom and skill. If this ended well, Ramirez would be in custody by sunset, making a big dent in illegal drug operations across the South and Southwest. More importantly, Zach would be home with his mother, and the nightmare Danni Kemp had lived during the past several months would be over.
Although everything was weighted in their favor, it would be a tough, and costly, battle. There was no doubt Ramirez had an ambush planned. This wasn’t the pickup Robert Evans had been told to expect. Drug bosses didn’t sanction early retirement plans, not unless the retiree was carried away in a body bag.
The bus had been on the road for an hour when Ridge saw the sign to the right of the highway. “Our exit’s up ahead.” He glanced at his watch. “One o’clock. We’re on schedule.”
Thirty minutes later, they turned off the county blacktop onto a gravel road. The farther they traveled the fewer houses they saw. If Ramirez had wanted a remote site, he had certainly found it. And one with a landing strip. Convenient for him but not for a forty-five foot coach navigating narrow curves and never-ending hills.
“This place is in the middle of nowhere.” Evans complained.
“Yup, no fancy hotels or steakhouses in sight.” Ridge rolled his eyes.
Caleb smiled but decided to stay out of the conversation.
Wiley chuckled. “Before I moved from Jersey, I thought everyone in Tennessee lived in this kind of setting.”
Ridge guffawed. “I may be from New York, but I knew better than that. Haven’t you ever watched the television series Nashville?”
“Hey, boys.” The bus driver called to them over his shoulder. “I don’t think we’re going to make it across this bridge.”
Evans jumped from his seat, almost tripping over his leg irons. “You’d better not scratch this bus, Hank!”
“That’s the least of our worries.” The driver appeared to be unaffected by his former boss’s ire. “I don’t think it’ll hold our weight.”
Ten minutes later, while everyone stood alongside the road watching, the driver eased the massive coach between the two side rails of the tiny bridge. A phone call to the county road commissioner’s office had yielded little more than “good luck, hope you make it.” No one seemed to know for sure how much weight the ancient structure would withstand.
Caleb looked skyward. There wasn’t a cloud above. Hopefully his prayers were going straight up. Zach’s life depended on this bus making it to the other side of the bridge. They would worry about the return trip soon enough.
Seconds later, Robert Evans cringed at the sound of metal scarping metal. It was followed by a victory cry from Hank and his roadside passengers. The bridge had held the weight of the bus. Crisis averted.
About a mile up the road they saw the gated entrance to the four-hundred-acre spread. A TBI advance team had picked the lock, and with a bit of fancy maneuvering, Hank threaded the couch around a curve and through an opening not much wider than the bus.
A sullen Evans sat silently on the sofa, not lifting his chin or uttering a word. Perhaps he had realized at this point that he had more to worry about than the paint job on his coach.
Caleb pulled his cell phone from his pocket. No bars. Wiley’s satellite phone would be their only means of communication out here. That and the encrypted walkie-talkie they would use to choreograph their detailed plan. They had already scored one major win. Ramirez hadn’t called to change the location. Perhaps because this property had the only private landing strip within a hundred-mile radius.
As they crested a hill, they could see the tiny airstrip running parallel and to the left of the main driveway. Ridge instructed Hank to pull to a stop at the bottom of the hill, with the coach doors opening away from the landing strip.
They had twenty minutes to prepare.
Wiley keyed his walkie-talkie to broadcast into the ears of more than two-dozen men in the field. “Everybody, listen up. I won’t be repeating these instructions.
“Sniper team, remember we will have a CI on the ground and two hostages in the plane. Use extreme caution. Hold your fire until all three are out of danger or unless the other side shoots first.
“Perimeter team, stay alert. As the plane is landing, on my count of three, you’ll neutralize your ground targets. Don’t move too soon or one of the goons may alert the pilot, and our plane will be gone.”
Wiley stepped to the front of the bus to assess the on-site visual as he finalized his instructions, and a nervous looking Evans requested use of the bathroom. His guard removed his shackles first, and then accompanied him to the back hall.
Once they were alone, Ridge glanced toward Caleb. “We’ll take good care of her.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“You mean that you have feelings for Danielle Kemp?” His boss checked his .45 and returned it to his shoulder holster. “I’ve known that for a long time.”
“I would never let it interfere with my work.”
“I know that too, Samuels. You’re a good man. We all fall prey to love at one time or another.” He grinned. “Let’s get this done.”
With that, Ridge walked to the back to fetch the women. His final decision had been to let Danni take the risk.
At three o’clock sharp, Wiley pointed toward a speck above the rugged tree line to the north side of the landing strip. Sweat beaded on the FBI man’s forehead as he waited to set everything in motion with a final countdown. “Three . . . two . . . one.”
If all had gone well, Ramirez’s men guarding the perimeter of the field had just been neutralized and no one had sounded an alert. Now it was up to the ATF guys to keep a watchful eye.
Within seconds of the plane rolling to a stop, Caleb saw a member of the FBI Tactical Aviation team crawl out of his hiding place alongside the runway and disappear beneath the aircraft. His job was to disable it. Once that was done, they were locked into the final confrontation.
Now for the hard part—keeping everyone alive.
Danni brushed past Caleb on her way to the front of the bus. They hadn’t spoken since this morning when he’d driven her to their meeting place. He reached to take her hand and squeezed it. She looked up to find unspoken reassurance in his eyes. There was nothing left to say. If everything turned out well, there would be plenty of time to talk later.
“Are you ready?” Martin Ridge asked.
She nodded.
“In about thirty seconds, you will walk around the front of the bus with Mr. Evans. Stay together, and
walk slowly toward the airplane.”
Ridge turned to Rob. “Do exactly as you’ve been told, and we’ll do our best to get you out of this alive. Keep your hands in plain sight. Stop when you reach the halfway point between the bus and the plane.” He looked from Rob to Danni. “Do you both understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Rob whimpered. There was no resonance to his voice. His once powerful demeanor had disappeared. His self-imposed importance had gone away, leaving a shallow man who had nothing to cling to but the people he had tried to outsmart.
“Let’s do this,” Wiley said.
At the bottom of the bus steps, Rob tucked his arm around Danni’s waist and escorted her toward the open field. She could see the plane. It was maybe one-hundred-and-fifty yards ahead.
Once clear of the vehicle, Rob withdrew his arm, leaving her on her own. Just like he always had. But she knew the man behind her, Caleb Samuels, had her back.
CHAPTER 45
From inside the bus, Caleb and his partners watched the scene play out in front of them. Danni and Evans were almost midway between the bus and the airplane. Another step, and she would be closer to the danger than she was to him. But he had to let her go.
He’d been trained to follow protocol. To obey his superiors. This had been Ridge’s decision, and he had confidence in his boss. It was better that Ridge was in charge. He wasn’t as emotionally involved as Caleb was. He would see to it that they did the right thing.
The airplane door opened.
Caleb turned to his boss, who watched through field glasses. “It’s Ramirez. I’d bet on it. He’s surrounded by three bodyguards, all carrying high-powered rifles.” He hesitated. “I don’t see the hostages.”
Caleb’s heart took a dive. Where was Zach?
“Once they’ve cleared the plane by about thirty yards we’ll make our move.”
Caleb wanted to rush to Danni’s side, to get this behind them, but he waited.
“Let’s go,” Ridge said, handing Wiley the binoculars.
Caleb, Ridge, and Jamie Wade descended the bus steps in single file, leaving Evans’s guard to watch Hank and Wiley on lookout. He would be calling the shots quite literally.
As the three agents rounded the front of the Prevost en masse, Ridge raised a bullhorn to his mouth. “Halt. TBI. Put your weapons down. You’re surrounded.”
Caleb, Ridge, and Jamie Wade continued to walk. They were within twenty-five feet of Danni and Evans when Ramirez shouted back toward the plane.
Was he giving up or would he fight?
Someone from the plane handed Ramirez a bullhorn of his own.
“Which one of you is Samuels?”
“I am.” Caleb took a step in front of his partners, closer to Danni.
Within seconds, three silhouettes darkened the door of the plane. Two adult figures and a child.
“I was expecting you, Samuels.”
Caleb’s chest pounded. Zach was here. And the woman beside him must be FBI Agent Cassia Kennedy.
He turned to look at Ridge, who mouthed. “Is that the kid?”
Caleb nodded, and Ridge stepped to his side. Agent Wade joined them as the goon next to Zach escorted him to where Ramirez stood.
“That boy has nothing to do with this,” Ridge shouted.
Ramirez, now no more than thirty yards away, drew Zach in front of him. “I’m afraid he has everything to do with it. He’s my ticket out of here. He’s why I called this party.”
“But why Zach?” Caleb asked.
Ramirez chuckled. “You should know the answer to that, Mr. Samuels. You had become too personally involved in this case. Unfortunately for the boy, that left me with the need to get your attention.”
He clapped his hand on top of Zach’s shoulder. The boy tried to pull away. But Ramirez held on.
“Don’t you hurt him!” Caleb took another step forward, keeping his hands in the air. “Take me instead. I’m the one you have the grudge with.” He gestured toward Zach and the woman behind them. “Let the others go.”
Ramirez stood silent for a moment and then brought his hands together in mock applause. The sound echoed across the hollow. “Very well done, Mr. Samuels. I enjoyed that display of bravado.”
The drug boss glanced toward Danni who was standing to Caleb’s left, just beyond Jamie Wade and Robert Evans.
“I’m sure your lady was impressed. But I’m afraid I can’t oblige you. I really need to get on with the reason we’re here.”
Caleb ran through possible scenarios. There was little time to gain the upper hand. He had two civilian lives at stake. The ATF snipers were well placed, but would they react quickly enough to take a risk?
He could feel blood rushing through the artery in his neck, pounding with every beat of his heart. An invisible clock was ticking, and it was time to make a decision.
He glanced from Wiley to Ridge to Danni, locking eyes with her for a brief second. Would she understand what he was about to do? Would Zach? Please God.
“Well, since you don’t have anything more to say, we need to get started with our execution.” Ramirez laughed. “Did I really say that? I mean with the execution of our plans.”
Danni held her breath and said a silent prayer. Was Caleb about to do what she suspected? His fleeting glance took her back to Centennial Park when the three of them—Caleb, Zach, and she—had played cops and robbers on a spring day.
If she was right, she had to be ready to drop to the ground. But would Zach remember? He was a ten-year-old boy. He had to be scared out of his wits. Would he respond in time to Caleb’s signal? And if not?
She prayed. Dear Lord, help him to know.
The odious sound of Ramirez laughter brought her out of her meditation. Caleb took one step forward with an exaggerated swagger. And then he shouted, “Fold!”
Danni dropped to the ground only seconds before gunshots rang out in rapid fire. A body fell beside her, but she didn’t open her eyes. The blasts replayed over and over, ricocheting off the hills surrounding them.
Then came silence. Deathly silence. It was followed by men shouting, footsteps near her, running past.
Agent Wade reached her first, kneeling to ask if she was hurt. Where was Caleb?
Danni saw the body lying next to her. The one she heard hit the ground.
“It’s Robert Evans,” Jamie whispered. “But he’s alive.”
“What about . . . ?”
Caleb reached to lift her from the grass. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and grabbed him. He didn’t pull away until Zach called out to her.
“Ms. Danni, you did it!” A smile spread across the boy’s face. “I was so afraid you would forget!”
Danni laughed and gave him a hug.
“I’m not sure if she remembered or if she fainted,” Caleb teased.
“Did you faint, Ms. Danni?”
“I’m not telling,” she said, leaning forward to give Zach a kiss on the cheek. “But either way the good guys won.”
“Yes, they did!” He grinned. “Oh . . . I need to check on my friend Cassia. I’ll be right back.”
Caleb took Danni by the hand and pulled her close. “Do I get a kiss too?”
“Happy to oblige,” she said, leaning into him.
Mid-kiss, she pulled back to search his dark brown eyes. “Is this a real kiss, or are we just pretending again?”
“Which do you want it to be?” He asked.
“I’d like it to be real . . .” Her words faded into the warm afternoon air. Then she added. “And I’d like it to last forever.”
He drew her to him and kissed her again.
EPILOGUE
One year later
Danni and Caleb stood in front of a weathered oak tree in Centennial Park, not far from where they had first kissed,
“I can’t believe you agreed to marry me.” He looked into the eyes of his soon-to-be-wife.
“And I can’t believe you finally asked,” Danni teased.
“You two lovebir
ds need to keep your mind on the business at hand,” Thomas Edwards, a recently retired FBI photographer, interrupted. “Stop talking, look straight into the camera, and smile. We’re almost finished.
“Who found this guy?” Caleb whispered, his lips barely moving as he smiled directly into the camera.
“You did!” Danni laughed. “Remember?”
“Oh, yes. I remember now.” He squeezed her hand. “I guess you can’t trust me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Agent Samuels.” She turned to him. “I trust you with my life.”
Caleb’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Ridge. “Hold on, Tom.” He raised his hand to the photographer. “I need to take a look at this.”
A new case just came across my desk. I need you back at the office as soon as possible. P.S. Give my favorite CI a kiss on the cheek for me.
Caleb slid the phone back into his pocket and then swiveled toward his future wife. He planted a kiss on her cheek. “That was from Ridge.”
She smiled. “And . . . ?”
He hesitated, then leaned forward to give her a lingering kiss on the lips. “And that was from me”
“Hold on, Sophie!” Zach and the big Newfoundland almost knocked them down. “I’m sorry, Ms. Danni. She got away from me.”
Danni looked at the boy and smiled. “I’ll tell you what, Zach. Why don’t we put you both in our picture?”
“Sure!” Zach squeezed between Caleb and Danni.
“Sit, Sophie.” Danni tugged on the Newfie’s collar.
Sophie took a seat directly in front of the boy with her tongue hanging out of her mouth and an expression on her face that Caleb would have sworn looked exactly like a smile.
“Hold it . . . right there.” Edwards shouted.
“Everybody say, ‘Chicken!’” Caleb teased, and they all burst into laughter.
“Okay! That’s a wrap!” The photographer put down his camera. “That last one was a keeper.”