Targeted (Firebrand Book 1)

by Sandra Robbins

  As he stared down at her, he wondered who she was. Such a slight little thing to be working a job that required heavy lifting of patients and equipment. And pretty, too. And such a tragedy that she had the misfortune of crossing his path when he was on a mission.

  He walked to the door and glanced back at her once more. Then he turned off the light, stepped into the hall, and pushed the wheelchair toward the nurses’ station.

  As he approached the central command center for the third floor, he studied the activity at the station. Everyone seemed occupied with updating records or briefing the incoming staff on what had transpired on their shift. No one looked up or even noticed as he walked by.

  Just past the nurse’s station the hallway veered to the right. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw the police officer sitting in a chair outside the room he’d been told was Leo’s. The man held a magazine and appeared to be lost in some article as Victor approached.

  He stopped next to the man and smiled. “Hey, how’s it going tonight?”

  The officer looked up and shrugged. “Kind of quiet. But I like it that way.”

  Victor nodded. “Yeah, me, too. It’s slow right now in ER, but it changes in a hurry down there. I have a feeling things may get busier in a little while.”

  The officer glanced at his watch. “I’m about ready to go home. My replacement should be here any minute now.”

  “Is that right?” Victor said as he stepped over beside the man. “What’s that you’re reading?”

  “Some magazine. I found it in one of the waiting rooms. There’s an article in here about the stars in that new action movie that’s about to release.”

  Victor’s eyebrows arched. “Really? Let me see.”

  He bent over, and before the officer could blink, Victor pulled the hypodermic needle from his scrubs’ pocket and plunged it into the man’s neck. A gurgling sound rumbled in the officer’s throat, and he stiffened in surprise, his eyes wide, and gasped for breath before he slumped lifeless in his chair.

  Victor straightened the body into a sitting position and eased the door of Leo’s room open. Only one light burned in the room, and the machines attached to Leo’s body hummed as he entered.

  He moved across the room, came to a stop next to the bed, and stared down at the wires and IVs attached to Leo. His informant had said Leo hadn’t regained consciousness yet, and that was good. Better if he never did.

  Reaching into the other pocket of his scrubs, Victor pulled out another hypodermic needle and stuck it in Leo’s neck. The reaction was the same as the officer’s. The breath left his body in a last gasp.

  In the semi-darkened room, the heart monitor beeped once. Then the pulsing wave dissolved into a straight line, and a blaring warning signal from the machine filled the air. There was no time to spare. He had to get out of there.

  He ran to the door, peered into the hallway, and then hurried to the stairwell exit a few feet past where the dead officer sat. He had just pulled the door to the stairs open when he heard a commotion at the other end of the hall, and the sound of running feet could be heard for a few seconds before the door closed.

  Careful to make no noise, he ran down the steps as fast as he could. On the ground floor, he headed for the first outside exit he saw and burst into the dark night. Within minutes he was in his car in the parking lot and roaring away from the hospital.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror as the image of the hospital receded in view and smiled. He’d been right. Things should be getting busier in the ER about now. He sighed with relief as he drove along, careful not to exceed the speed limit.

  It had been a successful night. In fact it couldn’t have gone better. It felt good to have another job completed.

  <><><>

  Ash still couldn’t believe that one of Diaz’s hit men had been able to sneak into a hospital and kill three people. He’d been on edge ever since Sam had called two nights ago to tell him about it and hadn’t left Lainey and Max alone since. Reese had put the center on high alert, and he’d tried to downplay how seriously they were taking this latest threat. But the sight of his armed brothers patrolling the grounds constantly had everyone on edge.

  Now with Max and Casey watching a movie and Lainey talking with William Mason, the DeHan company attorney, it was the first time since the attempted kidnapping he’d had a minute to himself. The sun was just beginning to set as he Ash trudged from the administration building and stopped at the bottom of the steps, closed his eyes, and inhaled a deep breath. It was good to be outside.

  As much as he hated to admit it, he was becoming more unnerved with each passing hour. With the killing of the wounded kidnapper, a police office, and a hospital employee in addition to Joe and Lisa in Colorado, his guilt had grown larger. How many more deaths would there be laid at his door before this nightmare was over? They needed to find Eduardo Diaz before something else happened, but so far there had been no leads.

  John Steadman hadn’t called back with any updates on Diaz’s whereabouts, and Ash was worried he might still be in the states. But he knew enough about Diaz to know that he never did his own dirty work. He had hit men on his payroll for that, and whoever they were they were biding their time before they struck again. There hadn’t been any attempts to breach the security at the center, but he wasn’t naive enough to think that they had given up.

  What puzzled him, though, was how much they seemed to know about his life and his family. Somebody had to be feeding them information, but who. He’d made lots of enemies through the years, and many of them would probably be glad to put a bullet in him, and Eduardo Diaz had as much reason as any of them. And now Ash knew the reason he wanted to kill Lainey and Max, too. Diaz must know that Max is his son.

  Then there was the problem of how the future was going to play out with Max. Should he know the truth about his father, and if he did, would he accept it or be angry that he hadn’t been told years earlier. He and Lainey had a lot of decisions to make when this threat to their lives was resolved.

  He turned and walked around the building to the meditation garden and eased down on one of the benches there. In his heart he knew he and Lainey needed to work together to give their son the best life he could have. If he knew that, then why did every conversation they had dissolve into an argument?

  He leaned forward, propped his elbow on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. He didn’t know how long he’d sat that way until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Colt Hanson stood beside him, staring down.

  “Are you okay?”

  Ash straightened up and scooted over for Colt to sit down. “Yeah, just a bit tired. These last few days have been rough.”

  Colt took off the Australian bush hat that he always wore and laid it on the bench beside him. “Sorry I wasn’t here to help out sooner, but I needed to wrap up some loose ends with John in Washington, but he kept me informed on what was going on. He’s doing everything he can to find Eduardo Diaz.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s just hard. I feel like I’m in the calm center of a hurricane just waiting for next blast to come.”

  “Well, it’s plain to see that this whole thing has you tied up in knots. At first I thought it was the murders that had you so antsy. Then I realized it was something else, and it has to do with Lainey. It’s not hard to feel how the atmosphere takes on a sudden chill when the two of you are in the same room. I thought you were trying to be civil to each other. Has something happened to change that?”

  A snort of disgust rumbled in Ash’s throat. “I guess you could call it that. I read some letters my brother left me, and I got the surprise of my life.”

  Colt’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh?”

  Ash inhaled deeply. “I found out the reason Lainey married Richard. She was pregnant with my child, and I had disappeared into that jungle where we were training.”

  Colt’s mouth gaped open. “Then that means that Max. . .”

  “Is my son, not Richard’s,” Ash finished for him. “She
said they tried to find me, but Richard was told my whereabouts were classified.”

  Colt nodded. “That’s right. They told us before we left to let our families know there would be no contact with us for a year. Did you do that?”

  Ash’s face grew warm. “I think we might have mentioned it that last night when you and Reese had dinner with Lainey and me. But when I went to talk to my father, our conversation ended up like it always did. I stormed out of the house and went to Lainey’s. She didn’t want an explanation about why I’d decided to go, and she sure didn’t mention that she was pregnant.”

  Colt looked stunned. “But why not?”

  Ash’s stomach roiled at the memory of their last time together. “When I went to tell her I was leaving with you and Reese, I knew something was wrong. I should have insisted she tell me, but I didn’t. That argument with my father had left me angry, and I was determined to show him I could do whatever I wanted. I wouldn’t listen to anything Lainey had to say, and now look what it’s cost all of us. Maybe I don’t deserve to have a son like Max.”

  Colt didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he reached up and clamped a hand down on Ash’s shoulder. “It must have been hard to hear that you’d had a son you didn’t know about all these years.”

  “Yeah, it was. If I had known, I would have taken care of her and the baby.”

  Colt regarded him with a searching stare. “How would you have done that, Ash? Would you have given her money to live on, or would you have sacrificed your own plans to be the father in your unborn child’s life? Would you have been willing to take care of him and Lainey every day as Richard did? Would you have given up Firebrand?”

  Ash jumped to his feet and glared at Reese. “That’s not fair.”

  “And why not? Is it easier to blame Lainey and Richard than it is to take responsibility for the choices you made?”

  “But they deceived me,” Ash insisted..

  “Did they?” Colt asked.

  As soon as Colt had spoken, the words in Richard’s letter flashed in his mind. My actions were as much for you as for her.

  In a sudden flash of understanding he knew what his brother had meant. Richard had seen Lainey’s mental state and knew the safety of the baby she carried was in question. By helping Lainey, Richard had assured the survival of his brother’s son. And then when he could have chosen to take the secret to the grave with him, he’d given the boy he’d raised back to the brother he’d always loved.

  Ash’s pulse quickened at the guilt he suddenly felt for how he’d told Lainey he wasn’t joining Firebrand, that he was offering her the life she’d always wanted. Then he had broken his promises to her when he selfishly took the route he wanted without giving her a say so in it. In so doing, he had abandoned Lainey and his child when they’d needed him.

  He swallowed to clear his throat. “I made some mistakes, Colt, and Lainey hates me for it.” He sank back on the bench and faced Colt. “I want to be in Max’s life, but Lainey thinks I’ll hurt him like I did her. I want to show her I’m not going to do that, but instead all I do is argue with her. That convinces her more than ever that I’ll never measure up to Richard, that I’m a failure like my father always said I was.”

  Colt stared at him a moment before he shook his head. “You’re not a failure, Ash, except maybe in your own mind. I don’t know anything about your relationship with your father, but I know the kind of man you are. I’ve seen you in action, and because of you many people are alive today. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “But you’re talking about the missions we’ve completed successfully. That’s not the case here.”

  Colt’s unwavering stare made Ash blink. “Really? It seems to me you have a mission of a different sort right now. I’ve only been back a short time, and I’ve seen the way you look at Lainey when she’s not noticing. I suspect you still have some feelings for her. If you do, think about what will make her and Max happy, and then show her that’s what you want. That’s probably why your brother told you about Max. He wanted the two of you to take care of him.”

  Ash nodded his head. “He did ask me to take care of them.”

  “Then that’s what you need to do, no matter what it costs you. You and Lainey share a child, and you need to find a way to make that work whether or not you ever have a better relationship with her or not.”

  Ash pressed his hands to the sides of his head and groaned. “Tell me what to do, Colt.”

  “I can’t tell you that. The only thing I can tell you is that you have a son, and you need to begin thinking about how you’re going to be a father to him.”

  Ash took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right, and maybe I can convince Lainey that she doesn’t have to worry about me hurting Max.”

  Colt slapped him on the back and pushed to his feet. “You can do it, buddy. Now let’s go to supper.”

  Ash took a deep breath and stood to face Colt. “Sometimes I wonder if Firebrand has been worth it, Colt.”

  The muscle in Colt’s cheek flexed, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know what you mean. It hasn’t been good for the relationships in our lives.”

  Ash was hesitant to broach his next question, but the pain in his friend’s eyes made him speak. “Do you ever hear from Sloan?”

  Colt shook his head. “Not for a while now. I found her in San Antonio a few years ago and went to see her, but it didn’t work out. She told me she couldn’t take the pressure of loving someone who lived the life I did, and she wanted to get as far away from Firebrand as she could. She told me she didn’t want to ever see me again. I don’t have any idea where she is now.”

  Ash stared off into the distance before he spoke. “We’ve both paid a big price for serving our country, haven’t we?”

  Colt nodded. “We sure have. But like I said, it’s important to remember we’ve helped a lot of people in the process. I’m thankful that our work hasn’t been in vain.”

  “Me, too.”

  “So,” Colt said, “ready to eat?”

  “You go on. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Colt picked up his hat and glanced at his watch. “Okay, about fifteen minutes and Pete will be dishing out the food. Better not be late. You know how cantankerous he can be.”

  Ash laughed at the thought of the wiry, little cook Reese had hired. He didn’t take any lip from the guys and his expertise as a chef was unparalleled by any other Ash had ever known. His stomach growled in anticipation of what Pete had cooked for them tonight. “I’ll be on time.”

  He sat there for a few minutes after Colt left thinking about what he had said. It sounded easy when you were talking about it, but convincing Lainey he wouldn’t do anything to hurt Max wasn’t going to be simple. After a few minutes he sighed and pushed to his feet. There was no better time than the present to begin. He’d ask Lainey if they could talk after supper.

  With a new determination, he turned toward the administration building but had only taken a few steps when his cell phone chimed for an incoming text message. He pulled the phone from his pocket and clicked on the message from an unknown caller.

  A groan escaped his mouth as he read the message. I was sorry we didn’t have more time to talk at the school, but I’ll be seeing you soon. Maybe at the Firebrand Training Center. Tell Max hello for me. You must be very proud to have such a great son. Eve

  For a moment, he stood still, staring at the message. So Eve did know that Max was his son. A cold chill ran up Ash’s spine. If she knew, then Diaz did also. He’d wondered since the beginning why anyone would target them since Ash hadn’t had any contact with Lainey in ten years. But Diaz had wanted him to come home to find out he had a son, and then he wanted Ash to see him die.

  His happiness at the thought of being a father was replaced with terror. So far Diaz had been toying with him like a cat with a mouse. But he sensed things were about to get more dangerous for all of them.

  Ash took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He wasn�
��t about to find out he had a son only to lose him. He touched the gun in the holster at his waist, let his gaze travel across the grounds of the facility, and gritted his teeth.

  He needed to go inside. His family was there, and he intended to do whatever it took to keep them safe.

  <><><>

  Lainey placed the last paper in the stack that William had brought her and sighed in relief. “Have I signed them all?”

  William reached for the documents, shuffled them into a stack, and stuck them in his briefcase. “You have. I’m sorry I had to bother you with this, but there’s too much at stake with the release of our new product just weeks away for us to leave any loopholes at this point.”

  “I know, William, and I’m thankful to have you in charge of everything at the office while I’m gone.”

  His gaze drifted around the conference room, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’ve been telling you that you need to get away for a few days, but I didn’t have this in mind. I was thinking more of you relaxing on a beach somewhere. Not a place like this. From the way those guards at the main gate acted, I thought I must be entering Ft. Knox. Not only did they search me, but they went over every inch of my car.”

  Lainey chuckled and leaned back in her chair. “Don’t take it personally. They’re only doing their job by protecting everyone who’s here. Now that they know who you are they probably won’t do that again.”

  A frown puckered his forehead, and he shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on with you right now, Lainey, but I know it must not be good. Not if it was serious enough for Ash to bring you and Max out here. And not if the safety of the people here require trained guerrillas guarding the gates. I went to work for Richard and Ash’s father thirty years ago, and those boys are like sons to me. You and Max are family, too. I want to help you anyway I can. Can’t you tell me what’s going on?”

  Lainey stared at the man who had been at her side counseling and guiding her since Richard’s death, and for the first time she noticed that he was beginning to age. His hair was no longer the dark brown it had once been. Instead it was sprinkled with gray, and wrinkles had begun to plough their furrows down his face.