The Big Guns

by HelenKay Dimon

  Sela doubted he would be able to stand much longer, not after all the knocks to his head. The lack of color on his face suggested he was about to drop.

  But the fight wasn’t dying down. Zach and Vince scrambled and guns skidded across the floor. She couldn’t tell who was armed but she knew she had to do something.

  Jumping to her feet, she rushed to Trevor’s side and grabbed his gun. He tried to say something but no sound came out. She couldn’t hear anything but the thundering of blood as it whooshed through her body.

  One minute she was standing with the weapon between her hands, the next Vince’s leg shot out and tripped her, bringing her slamming to the floor on her shoulder.

  Both Zach and Vince dove for the gun. Vince had the advantage, throwing out his long arm and twisting her fingers as he pulled. She screamed out in pain as Vince got it free. Looking down her body, she saw Vince’s bloodied face and the barrel of a gun pointed at her. When she blinked again, a crushing weight fell across her stomach. Trevor’s body lay over hers, his shoulders slamming back into her chest as his body took the force of the bullet meant for her.

  “No!” She screamed the word over and over.

  Zach rose up behind Vince, a gun in his hand and pure madness in his eyes. A second later Vince’s mouth flattened and he flipped over, firing as he went. Zach’s bullet caught Vince right in the forehead, sending him falling like dead weight over her ankles.

  “Sela.” Zach rushed to her, pulling her free from the pile on top of her.

  She tried to help him, to say something, but her brain wouldn’t work. A wash of blood stained everything around them. Instead of pain, she felt nothing. Empty. Stunned.

  “Are you hurt?” His hands moved all over her.

  She shook her head, but the words still wouldn’t come.

  Zach pulled her in his arms, cradling her frozen body against his warm one. Rocking her back and forth, he whispered to her. Nothing registered but the soothing purr of his voice. He brought her back to life.

  As he kissed her forehead, she glanced over at Trevor. “He jumped in front of me.”

  Until then Zach hadn’t focused on anyone but her. When she spoke, he glanced up. He shook his head as if trying to clear it, like he’d forgotten Trevor was even there. “Just a second.”

  Shuffling on his knees, Zach got to Trevor and turned him over. His eyes were open, his breath shallow.

  “He’s alive,” Zach called out, bringing her to his side. “We need to get him help and fast.”

  Her eyes filled with tears when she saw the dark stain on Trevor’s striped dress shirt. “Why’d you do it?” she asked him.

  “Penance,” he whispered.

  “We’ll get you out of here,” Zach promised.

  When he went to stand, Trevor grabbed his arm. Through harsh pants and a wheeze that rattled his bones, he spoke. “The explosives. Vince told me he was taking the house down.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.”

  Sela had hoped that was all talk. “Are you sure that was real?”

  When Zach lifted his head, a new determination filled his gaze. “Vince rigged the place to blow.”

  The roller coaster of emotions went racing through her again. One minute relief and the next terror. “We’re not free yet.”

  “No.”

  She squeezed Trevor’s hand, hoping he would hold on. “What are we going to do?”

  Zach grabbed the other weapon off the floor and did a quick check for Vince’s pulse. “This happens to be my area of expertise.”

  “And?” she asked.

  Zach searched Vince’s pockets. “Not sure yet.”

  She knew Zach did everything for a reason, but this wasn’t making any sense to her. They didn’t have time to check for evidence. Not now. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for a timer or something to set off the bomb. Something that will tell me what we’re dealing with.”

  “Find anything?”

  “No, but it can’t be too intricate. This isn’t Vince’s area.”

  “I guess that’s some good news.”

  Zach winked at her. “You keep thinking positive.”

  LUKE LOOKED OVER Adam’s shoulder. They were stationed outside of the mansion, just out of sight from the front door in case someone came through with guns firing. “What do you see?”

  Adam lowered the night-vision goggles. “No movement but we saw Trevor’s car come in.”

  “That explains why he’s not answering his phone. He’s too busy causing trouble.”

  “Vince is in the wind. Trevor is where he’s not supposed to be.” Adam slipped on his Kevlar vest. “What’s the plan here?”

  “Heat scan?”

  Adam glanced at his watch. “I can’t get a read on the basement. Something is blurring the information. Could be a few people in there.”

  “Then we go in large and loud.”

  “And if Vince has a small army in there?”

  Luke knew they didn’t have a choice. “We take them out.”

  “That’s positive thinking.”

  “The alternative isn’t worth discussing.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zach brushed his hand over the door separating the basement from the floor upstairs. He didn’t know where the explosives, bomb or whatever it was had been rigged or how, but he knew it was somewhere Vince could move around and get out fast. For his cover story to have any hope and for his desired effect of having the building come down, he had to have a lot of firepower well placed. That likely meant the top of the basement door.

  He pushed the door and felt it hit against something. The edge of a can peeked through. He recognized it. His own equipment. Blasting agents, the ammonium nitrate fuel mixture. It was a bomb and that meant Vince needed a detonator. Also meant it was likely he planned to arm the bomb as he stepped out of the basement.

  Footsteps sounded on the tile so soft that Zach would have missed them if he weren’t plastered against the door. Zach could see shadows moving around. Two of them, moving in tandem without making a sound. He recognized the moves; the two were experts. That either meant that reinforcements had arrived or Vince brought in his own set of guns to make sure this operation went as planned.

  Rather than shoot first and ask later, Zach tapped the button on his watch, hoping whatever blocked his communication earlier could get through now.

  Nothing happened. He took the watch off and slipped the very edge under the door. Someone looking could miss it. No one on his team would. They’d recognize it for the message it was.

  The figures stilled. “Zach?”

  Relief rolled over Zach at the sound of Luke’s voice. That fast, all the tension eased out of Zach’s shoulders. He leaned his head against the door. “Yes.”

  “Khost.” Luke whispered the code word and waited for Zach to say the safety word back.

  Use the wrong one and they would think he was a hostage. The right one meant all clear. It was a backup system they rarely needed thanks to the watches. Zach had thought it useless but now he privately thanked Luke for his duplicate systems.

  “Grenade.”

  “Good to hear your voice, man,” Adam said.

  Luke was all business. “We’ve got a mess out here.”

  Zach rushed to explain before anyone touched anything. “Vince set up a bomb. That was his plan to end this. Literally with a bang.”

  “Not all that original. Where is he?” Luke asked.

  Zach looked down the dark staircase to Sela below. She had Trevor’s head on her lap and was quietly talking to him. He thought she might even be singing.

  “Dead at the bottom of the stairs.”

  “Good,” Adam said. “Sela?”

  “Fine, but Trevor is hurt.”

  “Again, good.”

  Usually Zach would agree. This time he didn’t. For all the bad in the guy, at the end he did something good. “He saved Sela.”

  Luke cleared his throat. “Then let’s get you out.�
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  Exhaustion overtook Zach but he fought through it. Just a few more minutes and they’d all be free. “I’ll walk you through this.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Trevor looked dead.

  Sela stood at the end of his bed and stared at him as he lay still against the white hospital sheets. Machines tracked his vital signs and chimed with his steady heartbeat. He’d survived the surgery and would be fine. She wondered if she would be.

  Zach appeared at her shoulder with his steady hand on her lower back. “Are you ready to go?”

  She knew he hated it there, that he hated Trevor. But despite all the harsh words the men had exchanged, and the violence that had transpired, when everything fell apart Trevor stepped up and Zach returned the favor by getting him help. Luke pushed off questions from law enforcement, buying Trevor some time. Soon an invisible clock would chime and Trevor would have to face his future. The demons racing after him since his separation had pounced and caught him.

  “What will happen to him now?” she asked Zach.

  Trevor answered without opening his eyes. “He goes back to work.”

  He was still in denial and it made her sick. He’d done awful things for reasons he’d convinced himself were right. He’d put her in danger. He’d almost robbed his son of his mother. He’d put all of the Recovery agents and their loved ones in the line of fire. He’d sent men to their slaughter, all in the name of keeping secrets.

  The sins piled up until they smothered Sela. She had no idea how he could live with any of it, much less all of it. “You have to talk to the police,” she pointed out.

  Trevor hit the button on the remote next to his hand and his bed shifted. A whirring sound filled the room as his head lifted and his eyes opened. “We can handle that later.”

  “We?” Zach’s voice was deadly hollow as he asked the question.

  “Not you.” Trevor’s face paled when he nodded in her direction. “Sela.”

  No, not again. Never again. “I can’t work for you. You know that, right?”

  “The WitSec scam is over—”

  “No.” There was nothing confusing about Zach’s response that time.

  “Zach, stop.” She pulled out of his hold and stood at the left side of Trevor’s bed. “I appreciate everything you did for me, for the faith you showed in me, but it’s not enough. When I weigh it against all the bad, it still comes up short. I can’t keep working for you.”

  “We can put all of this behind us.” His words came out firm, but the stormy sadness behind Trevor’s eyes told a different story.

  She took a deep breath and dove in. She’d never find the write words so she went with the honest ones. “I’ll never know if you’re plotting or scheming. Never know if the files I’m compiling are for a new version of a WitSec scam. I can’t live like that. Won’t live like that.”

  “None of that is going to happen.” He held the remote in a death grip. “A smart man learns his lesson and moves on.”

  “I hope so.” Zach blew out a long breath as he shifted position to stand on the opposite side of Trevor’s bed. “Because this is over.”

  Trevor tried to nod, but the brace around his neck stopped the movement. “I agree.”

  “He’s talking about all of it.” Luke stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He held up a tape. “Every part of this ends now.”

  Trevor’s eyes narrowed. “You have it.”

  “It was in a safe at Vince’s house.” Luke threw it and it landed with a soft thud on Trevor’s chest. “Adam retrieved it.”

  Seeing Luke hand over the evidence sent a cold chill running through her. “Luke, what are you—”

  He held up a hand. “It’s a copy. Recovery will keep the original.”

  “Why?” Trevor asked, his voice sharp and his response swift.

  “As insurance. Maybe as a reminder.” Luke glanced at Zach and didn’t continue until he nodded. “You’re free, Trevor.”

  Trevor’s eyes narrowed. “Meaning?”

  “You go back to being an upstanding businessman who gives to charity, or as I like to call it, living the lie.” A muscle in Zach’s cheek twitched as he talked. “Just as you always hoped, you get away with it. You come out clean, your reputation intact.”

  Emotions warred inside of her. She cared about Trevor and still believed there was good in him. Throwing his body in front of hers, taking the bullet meant for her, proved that. But she now knew about the darkness. “What are you talking about?”

  “No one will ever know about Trevor’s role, except as our partner in jointly solving the WitSec murders and ferreting out the conspiracy,” Zach said.

  The anger and confusion fell away from Trevor’s voice, leaving only a blank slate. “Why?”

  “Because there’s enough accountability. Because WitSec needs to be restored. Because the devastation needs to end.” Luke rested his palms against the end of the bed and leaned in closer. “Because I had a talk with Congressman Brennan and he agreed the scandal would cause more damage, and WitSec is too tenuous to risk that right now.”

  Trevor’s expression didn’t change. “The congressman?”

  “Yeah, your days of working for our government are over.” Luke gave the other man a half smile of victory. “Good thing your company is diversified.”

  She couldn’t process what they were saying. The words went in, relief swelled, but a part of her wondered if this was the right outcome. She saw Zach’s drawn face and worried this would eat at him. Could a man who traveled in a black-and-white world tolerate this much gray? She doubted it.

  “But mostly, Trevor, and I need you to understand this—” Zach stood there in silence for a few beats “—because you saved Sela.”

  “Zach, Luke.” Her gaze traveled between them. “No.” She couldn’t live with that guilt. She didn’t want that kind of burden on her shoulders.

  Zach never broke eye contact with Trevor. “In his own deranged way he did assist Recovery. He gave us information even as he hid the pieces that would incriminate him.”

  “That all came after he tried to break into my house,” Luke said.

  Trevor sat up straighter. “Agreed.”

  “This isn’t a new deal, Trevor. It’s an end and an absolution for past sins, but anything from here and we hang you.” Luke glanced at the tape. “And don’t be dumb enough to think I only have one copy.”

  “Never forget people are watching,” Zach said.

  “Fair enough.” Trevor turned to her. His hand inched toward where hers rested on the bed then pulled back. “Never forget that they did this for you. You might not think you’re worth it, but they do. They know.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. She’d suppressed all the pain and confusion for the last few days. Now it flowed through her and stopping it took all her energy. “Trevor—”

  “One day you’ll understand.” He patted the mattress before clearing his voice. “Luke, we likely have a story to create.”

  “Yeah.”

  Sela wanted to stay, wanted to dissect everything that had happened and make it fit in her head. Then she looked at Zach, saw his broad shoulders and the softness hidden in his hard face, and her priorities shifted. Trevor was her past, all jumbled and twisted. Zach was her future, or she wanted him to be, dared to hope he would be. Convincing him was the key.

  “Let’s step outside.” Zach motioned for Sela to follow him out of the room.

  She glanced at Trevor one last time and in her heart and mind let go. “Goodbye, Trevor.”

  He smiled. “Good luck, Sela.”

  ZACH WANTED TO WRAP Sela up, bundle her against the disappointment, and run to anywhere that wasn’t here. She needed a guy who was good at this stuff, who understood emotions and could make it all better. He wasn’t that guy.

  He walked her toward the elevator with his hands against her elbow. Silence spun around them even as the hospital floor buzzed with activity and constant noise. He heard only the thumping of his h
eart and the shallow breathing in his chest.

  He hit the down button and stared at the closed doors in front of him. Searching for the right words to say, for the right way to comfort her, burned in his gut like acid.

  She broke the informal no-talking pact. “Now what?”

  “Luke and Trevor will—”

  She threw an arm in front of Zach when the doors opened and nodded for the man inside to go on without them. “Not that.”

  “What?”

  “Are you kidding?”

  He watched the doors close again. “I don’t understand the problem.”

  She breathed in deep enough for him to see her chest expand. “Us, Zach.”

  This was the wrong place and definitely the wrong time. “Let’s get home.”

  “And where is that exactly?”

  “I still don’t—”

  “Do I come home with you, go back to my apartment, go to the warehouse…give me a clue here, Zach. Where do you see me?”

  “You can come home with me, if you want.” When her cheeks flamed red he knew he’d given the wrong answer.

  “What do you want?”

  When a worker pushing a food cart nearly ran them over, Zach maneuvered them out of the hallway and into the small lounge at the end of the hall. No one sat in the dank space, but the television blared. He turned it off then faced Sela again. “Tell me what you want me to say.”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way.”

  “It does for me.”

  “Because you never see gray.”

  He had no idea how the conversation had veered into this territory. “I’m sorry?”

  She stepped up until she stood right in front of him, her shoes touching his. “I want you to take a chance on me.”

  The words cut right through him to the icy place he denied and ran from at every opportunity. “We’ll date.”

  “Really?”

  It sounded right to him. Normal. “Isn’t that what people do?”

  “What scares me is that you don’t even know the answer to that.”

  “Maybe we should take a deep breath, get something to eat—”