“So it was just a trap...” He should have known. These guys had been one—if not more—steps ahead of them this whole time. But that was going to change, and soon.
“Someone knew that email would get Ashley out here. We’ve been playing their game.”
The car ahead of him weaved in and out of traffic. Christopher stayed a safe distance behind them. His heartbeat fast but steady. He wasn’t going to let someone else down. He’d had to carry the body of his best friend from the battlefield. He refused to do the same for the woman he loved.
Finally, the sedan pulled off the interstate. It merged into highway traffic and through side streets, remaining in a heavily populated area. Best Christopher could tell, Wally didn’t suspect he was being followed.
The sedan finally pulled to a stop in front of a business park. Christopher looked at the sign atop the building...Koury Pharmaceuticals?
The company Ashley had worked for, designing their website? This must be their U.S. production facility.
A car door opened and, a moment later, Wally began dragging Ashley toward the building. The man looked around, as if searching for any onlookers. He never looked Christopher’s way, though. Christopher stayed where he was, hidden behind some cars in an adjacent parking lot.
Christopher wanted to jump out and stop him, but he knew the distance between them was too great. He’d have to wait until they got inside, and then pray that he could get inside also. He had to plan his moves carefully. Darkness had fallen, and the blackness would work to his advantage.
He called Denton and let him know where he was. Then he approached the building, searching for security cameras that might clue someone in that he was here. He spotted one at the corner of the building. He had to be fast.
He darted toward the front door. A quick tug told him it was locked. Of course. That didn’t surprise him. He pressed himself against the side of the building, hoping that the cameras wouldn’t pick up on him there.
He crept around the perimeter of the facility, looking for a crack—a place where he might gain entry. All of the windows were locked, as was a service door in the back. He leaned against the rough bricks, desperate to think of a plan B.
Voices drifted outside. They were muted and impossible to understand. But they were close—on the other side of the window, he guessed.
Slowly, he raised himself up. Blinds covered the glass, but in between the slats he could see inside. Ashley. His heart raced at the sight of her.
She sat at a computer with a gun to her head. Wally stood on one side of her and Gil Travis on the other. Another man—this one with white, thinning hair and a designer business suit on, stood behind them. The man’s hands were on his hips as he watched everything unfold, almost appearing like a king looking over his domain.
Everything began to click in his mind.
The unseen head honcho and financial backer behind His People was the president of Koury Pharmaceuticals, wasn’t he? He would have the money to fund all of their crazy schemes. And he was influential enough that he’d want to keep his affiliation quiet. If word leaked to the public, his stocks would drop. His company—and the money he was funneling into the terrorist organization—would be destroyed. If Christopher remembered correctly, the pharmaceutical company’s headquarters was over in France. And based on the man’s olive complexion, he was probably from the Middle East.
Christopher glanced to the other side of the room.
His heart lurched when he spotted a little boy beside Josh in the corner. That had to be David. Now that he knew who David really was, he couldn’t miss how much the boy looked just like a perfect mix of him and Ashley.
And that boy didn’t look like he was scared. He looked ticked, for that matter. Josh had a hand on his arm, as if he had to hold the boy back from running over to help Ashley. Christopher smiled. The boy had a fighting spirit. Just like he did.
Yes, that night so many years ago was a mistake. But this little boy wasn’t, and Christopher couldn’t wait to get to know him.
But first he had to get inside and save him. And Ashley. More than anything, he wanted to finish their earlier conversation. He wanted to find out if they ever had another chance together.
Good memories.
That’s what he’d make with Ashley and David. That’s what he needed to drive away all of the bad memories that wanted to haunt him. They’d be better than any therapy.
For the first time in a long time, he felt his first touch of hope.
An emergency exit door was only a few windows down.
An idea grew in his mind.
He went to the woods and found a rock. He threw it at the window, then pressed himself into the building on the other side of the exit door.
Shouts sounded from inside. He drew his gun. He’d fought for his country for long enough. Now it was time to fight for his family.
As soon as the door opened, he brought the butt of his gun down on the man’s head. He sank to the ground. Christopher grabbed the man’s gun, stuck it in his waistband and crept inside.
The hallway was clear.
He darted into an empty room. He looked around. A supply closet. At least this would give him a chance to gather his bearings. He couldn’t exactly walk into the other room and shoot Wally and Erol Koury in front of David.
No, he needed a plan. And fast.
* * *
“Give us the information!” Wally growled.
Ashley’s fingers were unsteady on the keyboard. All she could feel was the gun at her temple. All she could think about was how one slip of the finger could end her life—right in front of her son. Sweat sprinkled her forehead, yet her throat remained amazingly dry and sore. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
His other hand pinched her neck. “There are codes embedded into your websites. I need them.”
“I didn’t put any codes there.” Her voice rose in pitch with each word.
Gil Travis—she recognized him from the picture—sneered from the other side. “No, but your brother did.”
She craned her neck around. “Josh?”
He shrugged on the floor across the room. He looked pale and tired. But he was alive. So was David. “I had to hide them somewhere. I set up the firewall for you so hackers couldn’t get into your sites, but you set up the passcodes.”
Yes, she had. They involved several layers of security. Her clients trusted her with their companies’ reputations. She tried to be as careful as possible. Wally pinched at her neck again until she cried out.
“Don’t hurt her!” David tried to leap to his feet, but Josh pulled him back down.
She held up a hand. “I’m fine, honey. Don’t worry about me.”
The boy’s eyes held pure determination—just like his father’s did. Her heart was comforted, but only for a moment, when she realized he wasn’t scared. He was ready to fight.
She looked back over at Erol Koury, the president of Koury Pharmaceuticals. She had no idea he was involved with all of this. But now she understood why he’d hired her—not just for her web expertise but as another way of having a connection with her brother. Nothing was a coincidence when it came to these men.
Wally squeezed her neck again until she gasped with pain. “I don’t have any of those codes with me,” she insisted.
Erol stormed toward her. “What do you mean you don’t have them with you? You don’t have them online anywhere?”
She looked up and shook her head. “That wouldn’t be very secure, and I promised my clients only the best.”
Erol’s eyes looked empty as he stared at her, his nostrils flaring. “Where are they, then?”
“They’re in my condo, at the bottom of a vase, where hackers can’t get to them.” After the words tumbled out, she licked her lips, wondering how the men would r
eact.
“At the bottom of a vase?” Erol screamed.
She shrugged. “I figured no one could find them there. I was right. You didn’t find them, did you? Even my brilliant brother didn’t think to look there.”
Erol sighed and ran a hand down his face. “We’ve worked too hard to get to this point to let everything fall apart now. None of this was supposed to happen.” He swiveled toward Josh. “All you had to do was come work for me, Josh. But no, you had to stand on your principles.”
“I love my country more than I love a big paycheck, Erol. Unlike some people.” Josh glared at Wally.
Wally narrowed his eyes. “If you had just cooperated, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”
“If you had just had integrity, then so many people wouldn’t be dead!” Josh snarled back.
“Quiet! All of you!” Erol paced the room. “Leave the boy here with his dad. Take her and go back to her apartment. Get those passcodes. Now.”
As Wally jerked her to her feet, she looked back at Josh. “What kind of codes are embedded on my sites?”
He frowned. “Codes that can destroy the entire infrastructure of the United States—on all levels. Economic, national security...nuclear.”
Erol chuckled. “Wouldn’t that teach this haughty country not to be so arrogant?”
Wally tried to push her forward, but she dug her heels in and turned back toward her brother again. “Josh, why would you have those kind of codes? I don’t understand.”
“I had to develop them as a part of my work. Wally worked on the project with me, but my gut told me he wasn’t who he claimed.” Josh scowled at his former coworker. “I knew I had to hide the technology I’d developed before the wrong person got their hands on it.”
“Why my website?”
“Because I knew they’d be unreachable. You know what I always say. Have layers of security to get through. You were one of my layers. I’m sorry.”
Wally jerked her toward the door again. “Come on. We’ve got another trip to make. We’ve got to hurry before you little boyfriend finds us. He’s been a real pain.”
She glanced back at David. She didn’t want to leave him again. But would this buy her more time? More time so that people—that Christopher—could find them? She could only pray that would be the case.
* * *
Gun still in hand, Christopher cracked the door open. Two guards stood outside of the office where Ashley was. He’d have to take them down. He could only guess how many other people might be around. When would Denton and his men be here?
He needed backup.
But he might not have time for backup.
He heard the door open, and his back muscles went rigid.
Ashley tumbled out, Wally right behind her. A gun dug into her back. Tears rushed down her cheeks, and her lip bled as if she’d been punched. Anger surged through him.
There was no time to lose, he realized. If he was going to act, it had to be now.
In the shadows of the supply closet, he raised his gun.
Images of his last night in Afghanistan tried to flash back, but he refused to let the memories come. Not now. He couldn’t afford to relive the past, not when the future was on the line. He’d saved a country from a terrorist. Certainly he could save the woman he loved.
With the precision of the sharpshooter he’d been, he aimed at Wally. He waited, making sure no one else stepped out behind them. The door closed, and Wally shoved Ashley again.
That’s when Christopher pulled the trigger.
Wally went down, moaning in pain. The guards flanking him scrambled in a panic. In the mad flurry of activity, he didn’t have a clean shot.
“Right there!” One of the guards spotted him and raised his gun.
Christopher shot the man’s shoulder. Quickly, he got the other guard in his crosshairs and fired. He went down with a cry. He hadn’t shot to kill, only to maim.
Ashley’s eyes widened as she looked down the hallway. Was there someone else? Someone he couldn’t see because of the door beside him?
Ashley reached behind her and pulled out her own gun. She’d brought her gun, just like he encouraged her to do. Good girl.
With trembling hands, she pressed the trigger. Christopher heard a grunt outside his door and the crash of someone hitting the floor. Ashley may have just saved his life.
Ashley waved him over, her head swerving from side to side as she checked to see if the coast was clear. He pushed open the door and ran toward her, knowing that they didn’t have much time before more men came running. He grabbed the guards’ guns and dropped them in a trash can out of their reach.
His eyes quickly soaked Ashley in when he reached her. She appeared shaken but otherwise fine. “You okay?”
She nodded, gratitude filling her gaze. “Better now that you’re here.”
Christopher reached for the door. They had to get David and Josh. Now.
Just as they stepped in, Erol had David in a chokehold. “Not so fast,” he muttered. “You’re not as smart as you think you are. Put down your guns or the boy gets hurt.”
“No one needs to get hurt,” Christopher muttered. His eyes were on David. His son. His sweet son. The boy’s perceptive gaze flickered from Ashley to Christopher, keen intelligence flashing in his eyes.
“Put your guns down,” Erol ordered.
Christopher began lowering his gun to the floor when David suddenly bit Erol’s arm. The man howled with pain.
It was just the break they needed. Christopher swooped up his gun again. In three quick strokes, he’d pulled David away from Erol, kicked the gun out of his hand, and snapped the man’s arms behind him.
Lights flashed outside. Feet trampled close by. Shouts ensued.
Help was here.
They were safe.
Finally, they were safe.
* * *
After everyone had been successfully taken into custody and as the feds scurried about the building collecting evidence, Christopher squatted down next to David. His son. His heart stuttered at the mere thought of it. As he glanced in the boy’s eyes for the first time, an indescribable love filled him.
Take it easy, Jordan, he reminded himself. That boy has no idea who you are.
He smiled, trying to look more relaxed than he felt. “That was an awfully brave thing you did there.”
The boy raised his chin—just like Ashley always did. He had Ashley’s oval face and chin, but his hair and eye color. Pure determination filled his gaze. “I don’t like to see people bullied. It’s not right.”
Christopher grinned. He already liked David, and he couldn’t wait to get to know him better. He still had so much to learn, so much he’d like to teach him—if Ashley and Josh would let him be a part of the boy’s life. They hadn’t gotten that far in their conversations. But he hoped to be a part of Ashley’s life also. He glanced over at her, saw how much she loved the boy, and he suddenly understood why she wanted to protect him so much. It didn’t justify what she’d done, but he knew forgiveness was a powerful tool and one that he was more than willing to employ right now.
For the sake of his family. Hope like he hadn’t felt in a long time filled him.
Ashley hadn’t stopped hugging David since Erol had been apprehended. Josh had been led away to be debriefed. But he paused for long enough to mutter a “thank you” and “sorry.”
Ashley pulled away from David and looked at the boy, her eyes full of warmth. She looked beautiful, even with blood trickling down her forehead and the start of a bruise at the side of her eye.
She glanced at Christopher and sucked in a deep breath. “David, this is my friend, Christopher. He’s been looking forward to meeting you.”
Christopher continued to soak in the boy in front of him. He looked like he
’d been well taken care of, even in his captivity. Even if he hadn’t been, Christopher had a feeling that the boy wasn’t the type to be a victim. He was the type to stay strong and resilient. “You’re a little trouper, just like your aunt said.”
Their eyes met, and Ashley smiled before muttering, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
David’s voice cut into their moment, the time when unspoken promises were made, but no one knew except the two of them. “What does that mean? Who has apples?”
“I’ll explain later.” She studied his face. “Are you okay? Are you really okay? I was worried about you.”
He shrugged and pushed out his lips as if bored. “I guess. I missed you, Ashley.”
Ashley’s arms seemed to squeeze him tighter. “I missed you, too. More than you can ever know.”
“I want to build a snowman with you. Those men wouldn’t let me go outside and play. They weren’t very nice, but they did feed me cheese puffs. Lots and lots of cheese puffs.”
Christopher smiled this time. “I’m sure we can arrange something, as soon as we’re cleared to leave here.”
“You know what tomorrow is?” David’s eyes lit with excitement. He didn’t let them answer. “It’s Christmas Eve!”
Christopher and Ashley shared another glance. He’d all but forgotten just how close the holiday was. With everything else that had been going on, they’d all been a little distracted.
David frowned. “My dad said he probably wasn’t going to be able to spend it with me. He said he might have to go away for a while, but that I could stay with you, Ashley.”
Ashley squeezed his arm. “You’re always welcome to stay with me.”
“He told me your secret.” David’s eyes glowed as he stared up at her.
Ashley’s face went white. “What secret?”
“He told me that you’re my mom.”
Ashley blinked, as if uncertain whether or not to believe him. “He...he told you that?”
“It’s okay, Ashley. You’ve always been like my mom. I think Dad was afraid something would happen to him. He said I’d never be alone, that my family was bigger than I realized.”
High-Stakes Holiday Reunion Page 18