“Who are you?” Cade asked the woman. “What happened here? Where’s Andie?”
He grabbed Ronaldo’s wrist to check his pulse. Good, he was still alive. If Ronaldo was hurt, Andie could be in worse shape. Where was she?
The woman moaned and wriggled, so he loosened the gag over the woman’s mouth.
She let out a gasp and sucked in air. “Thank God you’re here. I’m agent Natasha Henry and my partner Fernando Silver.”
“Fernando Silver?” Cade squeezed the man’s cheeks together. He looked just like Ronaldo. “You guys better explain what you’re doing here. Where’s Andie?”
“Can you untie us? Fernando was hit hard and bleeding. I need to call in and get help.”
“Tell me where Andie is,” Cade demanded. He wasn’t about to untie someone who might be harmful, but at the same time, he needed information. “How do I know you guys are real agents?”
“We have badges,” she said. “But you need to untie us. I heard Andie by the door and some guy took her away. He’s the one we’re after. I swear.”
“I’ll call an ambulance. Tell me where they took Andie,” Cade said. “I’m not untying you in case you’re not who you say you are.”
“Room four hundred forty-four. Let me call my backup. Don’t go up there by yourself.”
Cade bolted out of the room. He dialed nine-one-one and ran for the elevators. He’d no time to stick around and get held up by the police. Andie was running out of time, and she was in the hands of some dangerous criminals.
He punched the button over and over again and swore under his breath as a middle-aged couple took their time getting out. When the nine-one-one operator answered, he reported the two injured people in room twenty-nine, then hung up before they could ask more questions. They’d send the police to investigate. Meanwhile, he needed to rescue Andie.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Cade raced out and ran down the hall, slamming into a caterer delivering room service. The man’s trays tottered and splattered, spilling food all over the carpet.
“Sorry, bud.” Cade bent over and pulled the guy to his feet. “May I borrow this?”
He hastily assembled the covered platter and put it on the tray while the stunned man stood there. “Wait, you have to pay for this.”
“Charge it to room four hundred forty-four,” he yelled over his shoulder, then slowed down as he approached the room.
He took a deep breath to calm himself before knocking. “Room service.”
“Room service? Who called room service?” someone said from behind the door.
Cade couldn’t hear the reply, but the door knob turned and he was staring into the face of his half-brother, Devon.
Devon reached for a gun, but Cade smashed the tray over his head and kicked him in the gut, knocking him back.
Behind him a woman screamed. It was his mother. She was tied to a chair, and Andie was out, stone cold on the bed.
He charged toward Andie, but Devon slammed a chair over Cade’s head with a loud crack. The pain radiated from his head down his neck to his shoulder. He swung and right hooked Devon in the jaw, then tackled him, slamming him into the mirrored closet door.
Pain sliced at him as the glass shattered and sprayed over them. Devon was stronger than Cade had expected. They rolled over the broken glass, punching and wrestling.
“Stop it, you two. Stop fighting,” his mother yelled, but Cade wasn’t about to let Devon off the hook. Andie was hurt and every second counted, especially since she lay as still as the dead.
A shot rang out and then another one. Cade whipped his head back, straight into the muzzle of a nine millimeter silencer.
“Hands up.” Dick Davis ordered. “Both of you.”
“No way.” Devon threw his weight at his father’s arm and turned the gun. It went off, and blood spread over his father’s chest.
“No, what have you done?” Cade’s mother screamed, while Cade shuffled back over the broken glass and got to his feet.
Devon was wildly swinging the gun from Cade to his mother and back.
“Devon, put the gun down,” Cade said stretching his hand out.
“No, never.”
“You shot your father already. We need to call nine-one-one.”
“Not unless you tell me what you did with the money.” Devon pointed the gun at Cade’s mother.
“Cade, Andie needs help,” his mother said. “He injected her with heroin. She’s overdosing right now. You see how she’s turning blue? We need to call nine-one-one.”
“Tell him where the money is,” Cade said. “For God’s sake, tell him.”
“Yeah, that’s right, bitch. Where’s the money?”
“Put the gun down and let Cade help Andie,” Barb argued. “You don’t need her.”
“Yes, I do.” He crossed over to the bed and placed the muzzle on Andie’s forehead. “Tell me where the money is, or she dies.”
“Mom, just tell him.” Cade couldn’t believe he had to plead with her. What was wrong with her? Wasn’t Andie’s life worth more than money?
“I will, but how do I know he’ll like the answer?” his mother replied.
“Tell me, bitch. Or I kill Cade.” The gun swung toward Cade. “He was always Dad’s favorite. Always, and you controlled Dad. You ripped my mother off. All of you. Then you ruined Dad. You owe me.”
“Seems like you’re the one who shot him.” Cade’s mother sneered. “We only ripped him off. You’ll kill him if you don’t call the ambulance.”
“Run, Devon,” Cade added. “It’s only a matter of time. You know those FBI agents? I freed them. They’re on their way.”
“Liar. You’re lying.”
“I just wonder what’s taking them so long.”
“Then I’ll kill you. All my life I had to live under your shadow. Dad paid for your operations. Dad sent money for your summer camps. Dad picked you first round draft. You were the quarterback, you were the role model, you, you, you. I hate you.” He pointed the muzzle at Cade then at Andie. “Even better. I’ll take her away from you.”
“Shoot me, Devon. Shoot me now.” Cade said held up his hands. “Go ahead. I dare you.”
“So you can be the hero? No way.”
Behind him, Cade’s mother had wiggled out of the chair. Cade kept his eyes steadily on Devon to not give away any hint of what was going on.
“Your bitch dies.” Devon steadied the gun.
“No!” Cade jumped to protect Andie as the bullet whined from the silencer.
Another shot was fired and Devon fell back. Police charged the room.
“Mom, Mom!” Cade pulled his mother off Andie as her blood spread on her back.
Below her, Andie was cold and turning blue. Overdosed. Cade slapped his pocket and reached for the Narcan.
“Hands up!” a policeman said, pointing his revolver at Cade.
“Sir, this woman OD’ed. I’m reaching for the Narcan kit.”
The policeman’s gun wobbled but he held it at Cade. “I said hand’s up.”
“Sir, please reach into my pocket and take out the kit. Then administer it to her before she dies.” Cade was surprised at how calm his voice was.
“Hands all the way up.” The policeman nodded at his partner. “Secure the suspects.”
The officers marched in and swarmed around Dick and Devon while another one called for ambulances. Behind him, Owen and an unbloodied Ronaldo appeared.
“He’s okay,” Ronaldo said, flashing a badge. “We need to call for medical assistance.”
The officer kept his gun on Cade. “Move nice and slow.”
Cade turned his back on the policeman and slowly extracted the Narcan syringes—two intramuscular and one nasal spray.
“Andie, darling, can you hear me?” He pinched her cheeks. She lay there with her mouth gaped open, not responding.
He shoved the nasal spray up her nose and administered the dose. Leaning over her, he locked his mouth to hers and breathed into her lungs. No
thing else mattered but pumping air into the woman he loved. He compressed her chest, then took a syringe and pushed it into her buttocks.
“Andie, sweetheart, come back to me. Please don’t leave me. I’m waiting for that bun you’re going to bake for me, and I’m going to take you to all the food trucks of LA. We’ll have lobster rolls and kim chee quesadillas.” He kissed her and his tears dripped over her face.
She was still cool to the touch. Was she already dead? He slid the second syringe from the packet. He should try to find a vein, get it into her bloodstream, but how? He didn’t know how to shoot drugs. God help him.
Lifting Andie’s hand, he threaded the needle into the large vein on the wrist.
Chapter Eighteen
Owee kazowee! That hurt. Andie winced at the pain in her wrist. Snow fell all around her, but the air was sharp and sweet. She sucked in the wintry air greedily and fluttered her eyelids. Why were they so heavy?
Her ears pounded with the sound of an avalanche and she was surrounded by voices. All were strangers, except one.
“C-Cade?” Her throat creaked.
“Andie. Oh, baby. Can you hear me? Can you sit up for me?”
“I re-remember.” She felt his strong arms around him, and he held her tight. “Cade, I saw everything.”
He showered her with kisses, and picked her up. “We have to take you to the hospital to get checked. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“What happened?” The light was too bright and her head was still fuzzy.
“My mother and father were shot. They’re still alive. I have to check in on them, too.”
“Shot? By who?” Andie lifted her arm and looked at her chest, panic electrifying her veins. “I have blood all over me.”
“My mother took the shot for you.”
“She did? She was the one who took the chips from me.”
Cade’s face whitened and his features froze, clearly both shocked and disappointed at his mother. Andie’s gut twisted. Had Barbara been in on the sting or was she trying to steal the chips for herself?
“Sir, sir. You’re going to have to let us take her,” a paramedic interrupted and got between them.
“I’ve got her, really,” Cade said.
“She might need oxygen and we need to put in an IV. The Narcan wears out faster than the heroin. She’ll need a drip,” the woman explained.
“Okay.” Cade laid Andie gently onto the gurney and dotted a kiss on her lips. “I love you more than the entire universe. Marry me, as soon as you can.”
Before Andie could answer, the paramedics slipped an oxygen mask over her mouth. Another one threaded an IV into her arm. She winked at Cade and shook her head. No way was she going to answer him. She was going to hold out for the grand proposal, something big and memorable, not while she was being carted away by the paramedics.
Sheesh. Men were so unromantic.
* * *
“Did you see that? She just turned me down.” Cade’s jaw dropped as Ronaldo clapped his hand on his shoulder. The guy he’d found tied up was Fernando with the bloodied face. This hotshot was Ronaldo, no blood, no bruises.
“Dude, of course she did,” Ronaldo said. “You’ve got no flair, no imagination. Women love a big production. Something huge and never done before. Why don’t we look at Youtube videos of proposals to get some ideas? Besides, you have to have a ring. That’s Marriage Proposal 101.”
“And how would you know?” He shoved his friend playfully.
“I’m in show business. Trust me. You got to go long and go deep.”
“I don’t know about that, but I can’t wait to take Andie home.” Cade picked pieces of broken glass off his clothes and skin.
“No way, you can’t come to Vegas and not see a show, or do something different. It’s like going to Central Park and not taking her on the carriage ride. Total dud.” Ronaldo gave Cade a fist bump.
“Okay, but I’ve seen enough casinos for a while.” Cade rolled his stiff neck and shoulders. “So, tell me, how did you know about this sting?”
“Fernando has me as backup. That way I cover his ass in case he’s compromised. Things were getting dicey since he suspected a leak. That’s why I clued you in, but I didn’t want you to blow Andie’s cover. After you yanked the hidden mic from Andie’s hair, I set her up with the four-leaf clover mic. Since Fernando was a double agent, they didn’t suspect him or me.”
“Wait, so it was you who stole Andie away from the roulette table?”
“The one and only.” Ronaldo puffed his chest. “Being his look alike allowed us to be in two places at the same time. I sent Andie back to the room because Natasha was supposed to deliver the chips, but evidently Devon got to them and set a trap for Andie.”
A buzzing chill seized Cade’s scalp. “You think Owen was the one who tipped off Devon? How’d he get the keycard to get in the room?”
“You two talking about me?” Owen waddled up to them and put an arm around each of their shoulders. “Actually, Natasha admitted Devon’s her boyfriend. He hacked into her laptop and was listening in on the device. I’d say it was a stroke of luck that Cade ripped the listening device from Andie’s hair.”
“So what the hell happened next?” Cade shot a glare at Ronaldo. “Your brother was bad?”
“No, no, no. He infiltrated the gang, but Devon caught him and beat him up, then tied up Natasha. Since I’m his twin, I got to go ahead and complete his mission, which was to outfit her with the four-leaf clover listening device.”
Cade turned to Owen. “What about you? Did you know any of this?”
“Nothing. I didn’t even know Ronaldo was involved,” Owen said, shrugging and looking innocent. “The cops showed up and Natasha sent them to rescue all of you. She spilled everything, how Devon started dating her a few weeks ago and how stupid she had been to show him some of her gizmos.”
“Devon. I should have known, and Dick too.” Cade blew out a breath. “What was my mother’s role in all this?”
“Your mother was a wild card, and so was Dick, although he might have been working with Devon,” Ronaldo said. “Man, your family’s really fucked up.”
“Tell me about it.” Cade’s heart twinged for his mother who’d been shot protecting Andie. “I need to go to the hospital and check on my mother and Dick. And of course, Andie, who’s probably in the best shape of the three.”
“Yeah, you take care, buddy.” Ronaldo winked. “And next time you try proposing, run it by me first.”
“Alright, dude.” Cade waved him off. He jogged and caught up with the paramedics. “Hey, let me get a ride with her.”
“Only if you sign autographs,” the female paramedic said. “Looks like you have some cuts we need to tend to.”
Cade hopped in and took a seat next to Andie. He threaded his fingers through hers and held on tight. Her gem green eyes held his gaze, full of warmth and love.
“You know what I’m thinking? That pass interception at the Super Bowl was the best thing that ever happened to me, because you, Antoinette Marie Wales, intercepted my heart and ran it all the way back for a touchdown.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Yes, Mom, I’m fine,” Andie said on the phone the next morning while Owen sat at her side in the hospital room. “Yes, Cade found me. I went to Vegas with a friend.”
It was always better to stick to the semblance of the truth.
“Again? What kind of friend? The last time you were in Vegas, you ended up married.”
“Don’t worry,” Andie reassured. “That’s not in the cards this time.”
“Not unless you want to go to jail for bigamy,” her mother said.
“Actually, I remember now. I filed the divorce before my accident. Then we filed again, so I’ll be doubly divorced in six months and free and clear by the beginning of February.”
Andie waited for her mother to finish ranting, said she loved her and her father, and hung up.
“Did I hear that right?” Owen said from the visi
tor’s chair. “You’ll be free by the next Super Bowl?”
“First week of February. Yep. So, what’s next? Are we going home? Where’s Cade?”
Owen set a small Coach bag and a carry-on on the bed. “Gift from Cade. He’s taking over for the rest of your time here in Vegas. He’s with his mom right now, but you should get dressed so you’ll be ready when he comes to help you check out. How’s your head?”
“Still hurts, but luckily, I didn’t lose a piece of my scalp. The fake hair and fake skin Natasha attached to the transmitter tore off. I can’t believe she screwed up so badly. At least she taught me to relax. It’s not just breathing, you know.”
“Okay, you relax. I gotta get going.” Owen bent over and kissed her on the cheek.
“One last thing, did they catch Rob?”
Owen’s mouth elongated into a satisfied grin. “Oh, yeah, they did. The lucky four-leaf clover mic and the earpiece recorded everything. He’s as done as a roast with a four-inch fork.”
* * *
Cade walked into his mother’s hospital room. She sat at her bedside dressed and ready to check out. Her arm was in a sling and it was wrapped up in bandages. Fortunately for her, she was only grazed by the bullet.
“How’s Andie?” she asked Cade first thing.
“She’s doing great. They had her on a Narcan drip and fortunately, all the effects of the heroin were reversed.” He hugged her. “Thanks for jumping over her when Devon shot.”
“Yeah, well, it was the least I could do.” She blinked but avoided Cade’s gaze.
“You going to tell me why you and Dick were there?”
“I didn’t want Andie to go through with the drop. It would have been too dangerous, so I took the chips instead. I had no clue Devon would find her.”
Was she lying again?
Cade crossed his arms and tightened his jaw. From what he’d heard from Ronaldo and the police, the bag of chips had not been turned in.
Intercepted by Love: Part Five: A Football Romance (The Quarterback's Heart Book 5) Page 11