by A. V. Asher
Dread filled Alec’s gut. No way the bastard would let her choose Alec. The confirmation came when Jason pulled the gun and aimed it at Mercedes’s head. She tried to squirm away, but Jason’s grip tightened on her.
“Hey, hey, wait. I held up my end.” Alec put his hands up, fingers widespread.
“I don’t give a shit about what’s in that bag. Cooper can take a dick,” Jason hissed. “Mercedes is going to tell you right now what she told me earlier. That she loves me and wants to be with me. Then I’ll put a bullet in your head, and we’ll be on our way.”
Alec kept his hands up. “So, what if you’re wrong and she chooses me?”
“Then she’s no good to me, is she?”
Mercedes let out a whimper as the barrel pressed into her temple.
“Don’t worry, I’ll let you live,” Jason said. “After I kill her, I’m going to eat the next bullet myself. That way, you get to live with seeing what’s left of us.” He turned Mercedes’s face to him. “What’s it going to be, babe? Alec or you and me?”
Fucking lunatic.
Mercedes jerked her head away and looked at Alec, her eyes wild. He needed Jason to take his fucking gun off her for a second.
“Sadie, it’s okay. You can choose him.” Alec held her eyes, silently sending her a message to trust him. She frowned, giving a slight shake of her head in resistance.
He narrowed his eyes at her. Say it.
She blinked and took a trembling breath. “Okay, okay, Jason. Let’s just go.”
“Say it,” Jason growled. “Say you love me.”
Her eyes flashed to Alec. His nod was so slight, he wasn’t sure she saw it. “I do. I love you, Jason. Take me out of here.”
Jason’s eyes lit up. A smile broke out on his face.
The second the gun shifted away from Mercedes, Alec lifted his arm and closed his fist.
Two shots came from the night.
The impacts jerked through Jason’s chest. His grin twisted into confusion. The gun dropped from his hand. Alec closed the distance, taking him to the dirt, and pummeled him with a fist. Jason’s face broke open. The smell of blood hit the air.
Two bullet wounds in his body, and Jason wouldn’t relent. He twisted and bucked, trying to free himself of Alec’s weight. Alec grasped his throat and squeezed. Jason gagged and kicked, clawing at Alec’s face, nearly catching his eye.
Fucker.
Alec jabbed two fingers into an entry wound, digging into raw, open flesh. Jason spasmed in a choking cry, his face turning red. Alec dug in harder, the walls of the injury tearing. Jason fell limp under him, but he didn’t let up. Thick blood pumped from the wound.
“Alec. Alec!” A distant voice pulled him back. “You have to stop. We got him.”
The world snapped back. Jason wasn’t moving. Declan’s knee came down on Jason’s chest while Mason worked to secure him. The second they had him, Alec jumped up and ran to Mercedes. He nearly knocked her off her feet, clutching her to him.
“I thought it was you.” Her voice was shrill. “I heard the gunshots and thought he got you. I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Shhh,” he soothed. “I know, my love. I’ve got you.”
Alec held her close, relief washing over him. His gaze shot to where Declan and Mason were bent over Jason’s limp form. With any luck, the bastard was already dead.
Alec stepped back, taking stock of her injuries.
“Let me see you. Are you sure you’re okay?”
A cracking came through his earpiece. “—movement to the north of you.” Shake’s voice broke through. “Do you copy? Ren? Matrix? Do you copy? Shit.”
A beam of red light flashed from the scaffold above. Its endpoint was Mercedes’s heart.
“Sniper!” he shouted, throwing himself on Mercedes’s body.
It hit him like a sledgehammer. Pain screamed through his abdomen. Alec dragged Mercedes behind a piece of construction equipment and fell on top of her, her head tucked into his arms. Gunfire erupted, the sound of bullets pelting around them. It stopped as quickly as it started.
The sirens were close now, lights flashing on the skeletal walls.
New voices shouted commands.
The whooshing sounds in his ears grew louder, drowning out Mercedes’s screams for Mason to help. Strong arms pulled him off Mercedes. His head slumped, seeming to weigh fifty pounds. Mason tore his shirt open. Agony dulled to a bone-deep ache.
Mercedes’s tearstained face was nearby, talking to him in calm tones.
“I love you, Sadie,” he said before the world disappeared.
Chapter Fifty-Five
The damn beeping was back.
Mercedes lay in a bed, a curtain blocking her view of the world around her. Her mind and body were completely numb, listless with pain and grief. The nurses had given her a sedative. She welcomed its dullness. The pain she could feel was enough to bear.
If he wasn’t already gone, he would be soon.
We need to be ready, Declan had said.
Never. She’d never be ready.
The incessant beeping. If she could move, she’d throw the damn thing into the hall. But she couldn’t move. So she lay on her side, her eyes focused on the ugly curtain, waiting for the words she knew were coming. The words that would utterly destroy her.
When the curtain moved, Declan peeked around it. His eyes were red-rimmed, but he smiled at her. Pulling a chair to the side of her bed, he took her hand and swept a lock of hair off her cheek.
Tears pooled in her eyes. “He’s dead. Isn’t he?”
“Nah, lass. He’s still fighting.” Declan exhaled sharply, keeping his own emotions at bay.
She frowned at him, the words not making sense in the fog.
“They’ve finished up surgery now and moved him to the ICU. He’ll need time to heal.”
“He’s going to be okay?”
Declan nodded. “Aye. They feel pretty good about him pulling through.”
Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop. Declan gathered her up in his arms, her body wracked with sobs. His sniffs matched hers. They probably looked a mess.
“We can’t see him tonight. It’s well after midnight, and they’re getting him settled.” Declan pulled away. “They aren’t admitting you, so you’re free to go. C’mon, I’ll take you home.”
“I don’t have a home.”
“Well, you have one for now. You need a shower and proper sleep. We’ll be back first thing.”
Declan decided to take her to Alec’s apartment. Not only because it was closer to the hospital, but because she might rest better around Alec’s things.
Mercedes had never seen Alec’s home. At least not outside of a video screen.
This is his space. She could feel him here.
Alec’s bedroom was warm yet subdued in its decor. A double bed took up most of the room, with a small dresser in the corner. A fluffy dark blue duvet covered a goose down comforter with blue and white pillows. A single chest of drawers matched the simple bed frame.
A few pictures dotted the room. One caught her eye. It was a picture of the two of them at Charlotte and Luke’s wedding.
They made quite a couple. The best man and the maid of honor. They had danced together for the couple’s first dance, and she’d had just enough whisky to lower her inhibitions. His blue eyes were vivid, his smile mischievous.
“I used to have this picture,” she said. “I gave it to Charlie after Jason came along.”
Declan came up next to her. “He was pretty far gone on you before you even stepped on the plane home. He didn’t think it was possible to connect with someone the way he did with you.”
That makes two of us.
After her shower, she pulled back the covers and snuggled into the nest of downy fluff. The scent of Alec was everywhere, lulling her to sleep. She dreamed of the laughing photograph and wished beyond anything she could be there with him again.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Mercedes and D
eclan returned to the hospital as early as the nurses would allow. As much as she’d tried to prepare herself, it was a shock to see Alec. The black of his hair contrasted sharply with the pallor of his skin. Anxiety tore through Mercedes. She didn’t want false hope that he’d be okay.
She only left the room when the police or FBI agents wanted to talk to her. Declan stayed by her side through the interviews. Even after they assigned a security detail to her, she relied on Declan to make sure she was safe.
Alec’s family arrived the following morning. They were the sweetest of people, but Mercedes knew nothing about being in a real family.
“Hey Auntie, Katie,” Declan led Mercedes to where they waited outside the room. “You remember Sadie Elliott, Charlotte’s sister?”
It was clear they knew exactly who she was. Mercedes’s heart thundered in her chest as she tried to pull a smile on her lips.
They have to hate me. It was her fault Alec was in this condition.
“Oh, aye.” Moira McKinley studied Mercedes’s face, her green eyes skimming over the bruises on her cheek. “You poor thing. It’s so good to see you again, lass.” She pulled Mercedes into a warm hug. Tears pricked the back of Mercedes’s eyes. She’d never been with a man who had a loving mother.
Katie, Alec’s younger sister, watched Mercedes with interest. Katie was gorgeous, with long black hair and deep blue eyes like her brother’s. She was quite shy, her face drawn with the stress of her brother’s condition.
Alec was kept sedated to help him heal. Since space was limited in his room, Mercedes spent most of the day in the waiting room. She didn’t mind, as long as Alec wasn’t alone.
Mercedes used her time to plan her next steps. First, she’d get her money out of the investments she had made with Jason. It might take a little time, but she’d have a good deal of money to set up her new life in London.
That afternoon, while she and Declan sat in the waiting room, a slender Black man in a business suit made his way to them.
“I thought nothing could get you to come back to London.” Declan stood. “Sadie, this is Nick Kessler, with the FBI. We go way back.”
Mercedes shook his hand. “I’m sorry for the loss of your agent. He seemed like a good man.”
“Thank you. And I’m sorry for all that’s happened. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind sitting down with me so we can go over a few things.”
“Am I going to need my lawyer?” It wasn’t the first time she’d asked that.
“I don’t think so, but I’d like to talk in a more secure setting. The hospital’s letting us use their conference room if you wouldn’t mind coming this way.”
Mercedes traded a glance with Declan. There wasn’t much more to say. But she wanted to cooperate, so they followed him.
Nick sat across from her, his expression apologetic. “I’m not sure if anyone conveyed this to you, but Jason Hollis survived surgery and is currently recovering in the ICU.”
A shiver ran down Mercedes’s spine. “Thank you, yes. They’ve been updating me.” It turned her stomach to think of Jason recovering on the same floor as Alec.
“We want to thank you for delivering the documents to us. We’ve briefly gone through them, and I gotta say, they’re incredibly damning. Unfortunately, we have a problem.”
She shared a look with Declan. “What kind of problem? I gave you everything I had.”
“You did. But the more we look at this, the more we think you need to be in the WITSEC program.”
Her heart bottomed out. Oh god, no.
“The Witness Protection Program?” Panic welled in her chest. “That’s a massive overreaction, don’t you think?”
“This is a pretty fluid situation, Ms. Elliott. This case is . . . complex. But we don’t think this is an overreaction.”
She tapped on the table, trying to calm her nerves. “You have Jason in custody. Right? Can’t that be enough?”
“He is, and no doubt Jason was a major threat to you.” Nick leaned toward her, speaking quietly. “But we know it was never Jason Hollis in charge, but Marcus Cooper himself. And his reach is extensive. Just look at how he compromised our embassy. They knew our plans, killed our agent, and removed a witness without even breaking a sweat.”
“But I have nothing of actual value to offer about Cooper.”
Nick’s brow furrowed. “You’re not a criminal attorney, but you know that isn’t true.”
He was right. Mara Donovan was presumed alive but hadn’t been located. Without her, Mercedes became the key witness. Cooper hadn’t hidden his part in it all because he thought she’d be dead by now. That red laser had been aimed at her, not Alec.
Mercedes shook her head. “When the time comes, I’ll return to the US to testify. But I am not leaving Alec. I just got him back.” Mercedes stood and gathered her things. Declan joined her, silent in his support.
“Mercedes, please think this through. Alec can no longer protect you. Cooper has too much to lose here. It is only a matter of time before they come for you.” Nick stood as well, looking between Mercedes and Declan. “You have a few days to decide.”
“I already decided. I’ll make myself available for depositions and whatever else is needed. But I’m staying in London.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Space was limited next to Alec’s bed, so Mercedes waited in the hall, her fingers tapping on the armrest. The doctors were confident he’d make a full recovery, but it wouldn’t be real to her until she talked to him. The nurses warned them he’d be disoriented when they pulled him from the drugs. That was fine, as long as Alec was in there.
Declan sat next to her. He rarely left her side. He did it for Alec, and she loved him for it.
“Mercedes?” Katie’s soft voice came out of the room. Her eyes were rimmed with red, but she was smiling. “He’s awake. He wants to see you.”
The breath rushed from Mercedes’s lungs as she hurried into the room.
Although his eyes were closed, the frown on Alec’s face deepened. His hand raised up weakly, only to fall back to the bed with a soft thud. Mercedes took his hand in hers, squeezing it in reassurance.
“Shh, I’m right here, shh,” she soothed, brushing the backs of her fingers over his cheek. His chest eased, and his breathing slowed. He squeezed her hand weakly. Tears sprang to her eyes. It was his first real response to her voice in days.
“Okay?” he rasped, his voice barely loud enough for her to hear him.
“Yeah. Just a little banged up. Everyone else is okay too. You’re the one we’re worried about.” She stroked his forehead. A bead of sweat had formed on his brow.
“Jason?” he whispered.
“He’s alive. The Americans and Brits are fighting over who gets him first.”
“Damn, hoped we’d killed him.”
“Afraid not.”
A faint smile played over his lips. He nodded an acknowledgment.
Mercedes didn’t want to let him go, but one look at Moira McKinley made her relent.
“I want to spend every moment with you, but your mom needs to love on you for a while. I’ll be close by, I promise. And Dec’s with me. Okay?”
Alec smiled again. “I love you,” she whispered, giving him a lingering kiss on his forehead. Moira shot Mercedes a look of gratitude before she bent over her son, murmuring to him.
Mercedes rejoined Declan in the doorway, watching Alec’s family. The familiarity with which they touched him made her ache for a family like theirs.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Alec had moments when he felt like a truck had hit him. It was mostly in the evenings after his family had been to see him. Mercedes was so patient, but Alec could tell she was struggling. He loved his family, but he craved time with her. He didn’t want her to go through it on her own.
This evening, Mercedes had run to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. He lay back in bed, hoping to catch a little rest while she was out.
A knock at the door roused him. Nick Kessler peek
ed into the room. Alec waved him in, sitting up. He had a feeling he knew why Nick was there.
“How are you feeling, man?” Nick’s warm brown eyes were sympathetic.
“Getting better every day.” Alec smiled back at his friend, extending his hand to shake Nick’s.
“That’s good. We were sure worried about you for a time.” Nick cleared his throat. “I’m here about Mercedes.” When Alec didn’t comment, Nick continued, “She isn’t safe, Alec. At all. Every day that she’s out in public, she’s at risk.”
“And you want to put her in your Witness Protection Program?” Alec responded.
Nick didn’t seem surprised Alec already knew. “We don’t want to. We need to if she’s going to survive.”
“Why is she so valuable to Cooper?”
“I don’t know how much she’s shared with you about her time in their custody, but Cooper met with her directly. He asked for the stolen data and admitted it was damaging. He ordered his men to assault her and send the video to you.” Nick paused. “Her testimony and the evidence she gave us can literally take down a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical company. And we haven’t even started on the list of corrupt officials involved.”
Damn.
“Does she know this?”
“Of course, she does. She’s a damn good lawyer. It’s not a question of if, but rather when.”
“So, you’re talking to me about this because . . .”
“She’s refusing to go. My guess is you have something to do with that.”
Alec wasn’t going to pretend not to understand Nick. “You want me to convince her to go.”
“Yeah, and quickly.”
Alec’s heart rate picked up. “How quickly?”
“I have to be on a plane back to the States late tomorrow night. If she’s going to take the offer, she needs to be on the flight with me.”
Tomorrow? The pit in his stomach grew, and he closed his eyes.
Nick winced. “I know. It’s not an easy thing. But my boss is eager to get her hidden. She’s incredibly exposed here.”