The wire was quiet for a long moment. Then Luke said, “What is the plan, Edgar? Are you going to the Grand Caymans? Switzerland? Some country without an extradition policy? Russia, maybe, like that Snowden fellow?”
There was another long silence. Then Luke, “Yeah, we know what you’re up to.”
I expected there to be a denial, some sort of argument. But there wasn’t. There was a long silence, longer than any of the others. Then Edgar’s voice, low and deep.
“You realize if you turn on me, I will finish what you started with that car accident. I will blow him so high that you won’t even be able to put enough pieces back together to have a proper funeral.”
Megan paled. But she didn’t seem confused by what she was hearing.
I was damn confused!
“Is he talking about Peter?”
Megan nodded.
I just stared at her. What the hell must be going through her mind.
“Here’s the thing, Edgar, I’m not here alone. And I’m not leaving without Peter. So you might as well just give up now.”
Edgar laughed, a full belly laugh. “Yeah? And how are you going to save him? What makes you think it’s even possible to save him?”
“You’re going to jail either way.” There was a pause. “Murder, treason…what difference does it make?”
“What about Dominic? He’s a friend of yours. Do you realize he could go to prison, too? He stole papers from the CIA to help Emily with her investigation. Some of them were still intact on that thumb drive you guys were so excited to have rescued.”
“Dominic’s already made a deal with the federal prosecutor. In exchange for testifying against you, he walks.”
More silence. The tension was almost too much for me to bear. I glanced at Megan again, but she was expressionless as she waited for the exchange to play itself out.
And then Dominic was talking in my ear.
“There’s a radio signal radiating out of the bar. I think it’s connected to some sort of detonator.”
“Are you saying the bar—?”
“No. But there’s a building not far from here where it’s resonating from. Maybe you should go check it out.”
I didn’t bother to respond. I jumped out of the car and slipped the gun into my waistband, making my way quickly down the street. Megan rushed after me.
“Where are you going? You can’t leave him uncovered.”
“Go back to the car, Megan.”
“No!” She grabbed my arm and made me turn toward her. “What is it?”
“I really wish you’d stay in the car.”
“What is it?”
I groaned. “Dominic thinks there might be something.”
“I’m going with you.”
She stowed her own weapon and started marching down the street like she knew where she was going. I wanted to handcuff her to the car, but since I didn’t have any handcuffs, I had no choice but to allow her to go. Dominic directed me and I directed her. After a little bit of a serpentine trail, we found ourselves standing outside an apartment door in a building less than a block from the bar. Megan didn’t wait for me. She ran her fingers along the doorjamb, looking for any wires that might cause an explosion when we opened the door. When she didn’t find any, she lifted her foot and slammed it against the cheap doorknob.
You’d think a guy who’d made nearly a billion dollars off of terrorism would invest in a stronger lock.
Sitting in an office chair across the room—a dog collar with some sort of clock-like device around his neck—was Peter Bradford.
Megan cried out and tried to run to him, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“He’s wired, Megan. We have to disarm him first.”
Even as I said it, there were the sounds of some sort of scuffle on the other end of the earpiece. Megan tore the piece out of her ear and rushed to her brother anyway. I followed, brushing her hands away as I took a look at the device. She held Peter’s hands, tears rolling down her cheeks as she waited for me to figure it out. And then a click sounded just as I tugged at one of the wires, pulling it free of the detonator.
Peter closed his eyes, sweat pouring from his forehead.
I unbuckled the dog collar and stepped back, watching as brother and sister reunited. It seemed like I was always watching Megan reunite with someone.
Chapter 27
Megan
I couldn’t let go of Peter’s hand. I knew the police wanted to talk to him and the doctors were trying to check him out, but I couldn’t let go. The idea just made my heart hurt like it never had before.
Peter was alive.
I’d wanted to believe it when I saw that symbol in Emily’s notes, but I couldn’t let myself hope knowing that those hopes might be dashed again. But he was here and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had to hold his hand so that I could make myself believe he was real.
“The baby?” he asked for the millionth time.
“He’s fine. Amber’s fine.”
“He wouldn’t tell me anything. He kept me in that damn room and he wouldn’t tell me anything.” He focused on me for a long moment. “He? It’s a boy?”
“He’s a boy. PJ.”
He smiled. “That’s good. And Amber’s okay?”
“She’s fine.”
I should’ve told him about Cole and their marriage and her pregnancy, but it seemed like there was only so much he could process.
“He’s, what, a year old now?”
“A little more than a year.”
He nodded. “But okay?”
“He’s fine, Peter. Really.”
“I’m sorry, I just…I feel like I’ve lost touch with the world.”
“I know.”
The doctor came and looked in Peter’s eyes, in his throat, and declared him perfectly healthy. He was thinner than he’d been before, but healthy. Alive.
“How did you stage the car accident?”
“It was Luke. He did the whole thing.”
“Why?”
Peter studied my face for a long second. “For you. Someone sent me pictures of you in my living room, along with a veiled threat that scared the crap out of me. Luke helped stage my death, saying that it was the only way to truly protect you. Then he brought me here and, at first, it was okay. This guy…he told me I was helping him track the terrorists so that the CIA could stop them. But then I realized that he wasn’t helping to track them. He was communicating with them. And he was using me to do it. If not for me…” He choked up a little. “He convinced Luke to fake my death because he needed me here to expand on my software so that he could use it in new and different ways. He’s a genius, but fucking insane.”
“I know.”
I hugged him and he held onto me so tightly I almost couldn’t breathe. We stayed there for a long time, just sitting on that narrow gurney, holding each other. Hayden was outside. I could see him whenever I looked toward the door. I knew he was there protecting us. I had a feeling Hayden would always be there, watching over me. It was almost like having my own personal guardian angel.
And then the crew arrived. Dominic bounced into the room and gave Peter a huge hug, laughing when he saw him.
“I can’t believe it, brother. But thank God.”
And then Cole. He was clearly thrilled to see Peter, but there was a little reservation. I knew what the problem was, and I was as worried as he was. What would Peter do when he found out that Cole had married Amber? But we needn’t have worried.
That night, I was sitting in a chair by his bed and he looked over at me.
“There’s something going on with Cole.”
“Yeah?”
“He’s different. Calmer.”
“He is.”
“Why?”
I climbed up onto the bed beside him and took his hand. “After you died, Amber was pregnant and alone. She was scared. She came to me like you told her to, and I had Cole look out for her. He delivered her baby.”
“No k
idding!”
“Yeah. She went into labor on the side of the road, and he delivered PJ. And then he insisted on moving her and the baby in with him, so that he could help her out and watch over her.”
“He loves her.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
“Yeah. They got married a couple of months ago. And they’re expecting another baby.”
Peter nodded. “When I first met her, I thought, this girl is the kind of girl who would find Cole really exciting.” He sighed. “I knew it wouldn’t last. I was more of the older brother figure to her. But I’m glad she found happiness.”
“They’re both deliriously happy. Will that be weird for you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, at first. But I’ll get used to it.”
***
We all flew home the next afternoon—all of us except Luke. They kept telling me that he was being interviewed by the CIA, but when I called, trying to find him, no one knew what I was talking about. He’d simply vanished. It scared me.
Momma and Daddy were at the airport, already in tears before we even walked down the steps to the tarmac. They held Peter so long, I was afraid they’d never let him go. It was decided that he would stay with Momma and Daddy for a few weeks, until he could decide what he wanted to do next. Cole didn’t want Amber to see him, but she was eager, and she was a girl with a mind of her own. She showed up at the house the next morning.
I wasn’t there. But I’ve been told it was a very touching reunion. And that all Cole’s fears were put to rest.
Chapter 28
Megan
Dragon was an absolute mess. The CIA invaded, and it looked like a bomb hit. It also didn’t do much for our reputation around town. Despite that, no charges were being brought against anyone at Dragon. Garner had decided that Dominic’s theft of CIA papers was more beneficial than harmful. It was those papers that had revealed to Emily that Edgar was the one who’d been playing everyone. It was his name that was prominent on her notes, but Edgar had had Peter change them. Peter, however, had managed to keep a copy of the original notes and they were being used to prosecute Edgar Olsen.
They weren’t charging Luke and me for the five agents we shot at my beach house, either. None of them had died and all would recover. Garner put it down to a misunderstanding.
I put Angela in charge of cleaning the office and explaining the situation to our clients. Then I got out of town. So much had happened, I just felt like I needed a few days to decompress. I needed to grieve for Sam, and I needed to grieve for the time I’d missed with Peter these last few years and all he’d missed with his son. And I needed a moment to panic over Luke’s latest disappearing act.
I was walking on the beach when I saw him.
He was standing on the back deck, his hands in his pockets. I hesitated a little before crossing the sand to join him.
“Decided to come back?”
He studied my face for a long moment.
“I’m sorry, Megan,” he said softly. “I ruined everything by trusting the wrong person.”
“What did you ruin?”
“Us. Peter. If I’d kept my damn nose out of it, we would be married, and Peter would be with Amber and—”
“And that crazy fool would still be planning terrorist attacks all over the world.”
He shrugged. “He might have been caught sooner if I hadn’t hidden the evidence against him.”
“You don’t know that.”
He groaned. “I do know. I fucked up. If I—”
“Stop.” I put my hand on the center of his chest. “We’ve wasted so much time regretting and grieving and hurting. I’m done with that.” I looked up at him. “There’s only one thing that matters to me right now.”
“What?”
“Do you want to be with me?”
He groaned. “More than anything.”
“It’s over, Luke. You did what you thought you needed to do. We all did. And that’s all you can ask of anyone. If I were in your shoes, I probably would have done the same thing.”
“Would you?”
“Yes. If someone threatened you and told me the only way I could protect you was to walk way, I would do it because I love you that much.”
He buried his fingers in my hair and pulled me roughly against him. “That’s how much I love you.”
“I know, babe. I know.”
We kissed roughly, our bodies seeking one another even with piles of clothes between us. He picked me up and set me on the edge of the rail, his hands sliding under my heavy sweater. It was so familiar. So comforting. But there was more to it than that. There was something simply right about the whole thing.
This was where I was meant to be. It’d been a rough road getting here, and it wouldn't be easy keeping things here. But it would be well worth the journey.
Epilogue
Hayden
I stood against the wall and watched everyone gather. Laughter and bad jokes were making the rounds. Cole was holding his new baby daughter, her little fingers wrapped around his little finger, both literally and figuratively. Amber was beside him, a smile on her lips that could not come from anywhere other than the love a mother has for her children. Peter was standing across from her, PJ on his shoulder, giggling as Peter gently tickled his sides.
Dominic and Amy were holding hands, stealing secret smiles as they watched Cole. I suspected from that, that they had a little secret they would be sharing with the rest of us very soon. Marcus and Cadence were there too, sitting toward the back of the room. Their own little one was bundled up in so many blankets that Mrs. Bradford was trying, quite constructively, to encourage them to loosen them up. Mr. Bradford simply rolled his eyes when Marcus looked to him for help.
Vincent was against the other wall, Quinn in his arms. No babies for them yet, but I’d heard that Olivia had been asking for a baby brother for Christmas. Maybe next Christmas.
A nurse walked by, and I found myself watching the way her thighs moved in her loose scrubs. When she was nearly gone, I caught Peter taking the same look. We were the two bachelors in a crowd of lovers. We had more in common than I’d ever imagined. It was kind of nice, having someone to drink with after a successful operation—or just because.
Dragon Security was up and running again. Luke had decided against looking for work elsewhere and had decided to continue the work he’d been doing as Dante Saladin. It was kind of sickening to watch he and Megan flirt in the office, but I was getting used to it. When two people loved each other that much…
It was kind of how I imagined it would have been for Sam and me. I still thought about her all the time. More than was probably healthy. But I was beginning to move on, too. A few steps at a time.
Edgar Olsen decided he’d rather go to jail than to try to fight the overwhelming evidence against him in court. He pleaded guilty to over a hundred counts, including treason. He is currently serving time at the federal prison in Leavenworth, but I’ve heard rumors he’ll soon be moved to a secret facility reserved for dangerous terrorists. Maybe, like the man who killed Sam, he'll meet a shiv before he’s locked away for long.
It was all over. Everyone was where they belonged, with the people they belonged with. A happy ending, I suppose you could say. Our lives were irreparably altered these last few years, but I think we’re all better for it.
Especially Megan.
“It’s a girl!”
Luke came out of the delivery room, a huge smile on his face.
“Seven pounds, nine ounces.”
“A big girl,” Peter said, with a laugh. “Leave it to Megan. She always does everything big!”
Everyone surrounded him and gave him hugs. I stood back, watching. Then, as I tried to slip away, Luke followed me.
“She wants to see you.”
She was sitting up in her hospital bed when I walked in.
“You’re exhausted. You should rest.”
She shook her head. “You’re always so worried about me
. But I’m fine.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You did good, Momma.”
She blushed a little. “Thanks.” She grabbed my hand before I could pull away again. “There’s something I wanted to tell you before we told everyone else.”
“What? She’s okay, right?”
“She’s perfect. She’s so beautiful, Hayden. I never imagined something that perfect could come out of me.”
I smiled, a brief thought rushing through my head.
Isn’t that something Sam would probably say?
She held my hand tight, her eyes falling to her legs under the white hospital sheet.
“I wanted you to be the first to hear her name.” She looked up at me. “We chose her name even before we knew it was a girl. I don't want you to say anything. Just…” She sighed. “We’ve decided to call her Samantha Hayden Murphy.”
I nodded, only vaguely aware of the tears on my cheeks.
“That’s perfect,” I said.
~ END ~
Thank you for reading DRAGON SECURITY.
HAYDEN will have his Happily Ever After.
That's a promise.
xoxo
DRAGON SECURITY: The Complete 6 Books Series Page 92