The Temptation

by Cheyenne McCray

  Nick had his gun aimed at Bachmann’s head.

  “So help me you pull that trigger and you’re a dead man,” Nick said in a near growl. “Or better yet, I know just how to shoot you so that you’ll still be alive but you’ll be a vegetable.

  Bachmann paled but didn’t move his gun from Lexi who was propped up against the forklift’s tire. Her face was bruised and bloody, her skin was white, her clothing soaked with blood. She looked like she was fading, and fading fast.

  The sound of sirens cut the air in the distance and Nick prayed it was the local RED agency on its way.

  “It’s over, Bachmann.” Nick had to resist the urge to tackle the man and take him down. The gun might go off and the bullet could hit Lexi.

  “What does it matter now?” Bachmann looked enraged yet there was almost acceptance in his words. “She has ruined everything. She’ll die soon enough of her wound or I will take care of her.”

  Behind Bachmann, Zane appeared. Nick made no sign that he’d seen Lexi’s brother. He hoped that Rori wouldn’t give Zane away by looking at him.

  “Your government will be down on its knees if you kill me,” Bachmann continued. “If I die photographs and recordings will be distributed to every media outlet.”

  “Let’s take our chances and accept the consequences,” Lexi said weakly from where she sat, propped up against the forklift tire. “We don’t need people like that in our government. Just kill the bastard.”

  Bachmann seemed to sense someone behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, distracted.

  Zane knocked Bachmann’s hand up and away from Lexi’s direction. A shot went off.

  Nick tackled Bachmann and slammed him to the concrete as Zane ripped the gun from the man’s grasp.

  With all the power he had, Nick punched Bachmann. And he didn’t stop.

  All the rage that had been inside of Nick came pouring out. For the hell Bachmann had caused Kristen. For the countless lives Bachmann had ruined. For Lexi.

  Nick dragged Bachmann to his feet and punched him so hard that the man went flying. He was nothing. But he was still alive and Nick wanted him dead.

  The sirens were practically on top of them.

  Nick jerked Bachmann to his feet, grabbed his head in his hands, and snapped his neck.

  Without another thought for Bachmann, Nick dropped the bastard’s body and went to Lexi. Rori was beside her, trying to stop the bleeding.

  RED agents came pouring into the warehouse after making sure it was clear. Nick and Lexi’s brothers had to put down their weapons and raise their hands. An agent pulled Nick’s, Zane’s, and Ryan’s wallets out of their pockets, checked their credentials, and verified they were RED agents, before allowing them to arm themselves again.

  The building was cleared and RED EMTs started attending to Lexi. Nick’s heart pounded in his throat as Lexi was loaded onto a gurney, an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose and an IV started. He raced with the EMTs to the door of the warehouse and then out to the waiting ambulance. Rori followed beside him.

  “I love you, Lexi,” he said, as they were about to load her into the emergency vehicle. “Don’t you dare die on me.”

  She raised her hand in a weak gesture. She’d heard him and she understood.

  As Nick stood there, Zane came up to his side and put a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Lexi is too damned tough to die,” Zane said.

  Nick gave a slow nod but the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him talk.

  The moment Lexi was loaded, Nick made certain that it was clear to everyone that he was riding with her to the hospital. No damned way was he letting her out of his sight.

  He squeezed her hand as the EMTs attended to her and she met his gaze. Her eyes told him everything he wanted to hear from her. They showed her love and her will to live.

  But then her eyelids fluttered and her heart stopped.

  Chapter 24

  Angels and devils

  I floated on lacy clouds in the bright sunshine. It warmed me and I relaxed. Had I ever felt this free, this alive?

  My thoughts hesitated.

  But was I alive?

  A sense of peace filled me and I smiled. It didn’t matter whether I was alive or dead. I was forgiven. Forgiven for all the horrible things I’d been forced to do in my life. Forgiven for the mistakes I’d made.

  The power of the forgiveness seeped into my pores along with a love so strong that it took my breath away.

  I’d been so cynical that despite my Catholic upbringing, I hadn’t been sure God existed. But I felt the warmth of his love.

  And his forgiveness.

  I could be at peace now.

  At peace.

  Something I hadn’t felt since I was a child.

  I felt as if warm, loving arms surrounded me and I wanted to stay in those arms.

  But something was calling to me. Someone. Begging me to come back.

  Come back?

  Where?

  Why would I want to leave this place of joy and peace?

  “I love you, Lexi. Don’t leave me. Come back.”

  Lexi? Was that my name? It seemed but a whisper on the wind that I could barely grasp onto.

  Come back. Come back. Come back.

  The words echoed in my mind.

  I thought I recognized the voice and then my heart squeezed.

  Nick.

  Nick was calling to me.

  I felt drawn to him.

  I looked up at the blue sky and the soft clouds around me and felt the warmth on my skin. It would be cold if I left this place.

  But Nick.

  And then other images started to come to me. My family. My mama and daddy. Rori, Sean, Evan, Zane, Ryan, and Troy.

  They needed me. I couldn’t leave them.

  And Nick.

  I couldn’t leave him.

  I felt a rush, as if I was falling. Falling. I suddenly felt cold and afraid.

  My eyelids popped open as I sucked in air and my chest hurt as if someone had been sitting on it or beating the crap out of me. Maybe both.

  Disoriented and confused, I blinked away the fog in my eyes.

  “Lexi, thank God.” Nick’s voice sounded harsh and gravelly.

  I turned toward his voice. Nick. It was Nick. His love had brought me back.

  The fear and cold vanished as I smiled at him from behind the oxygen mask.

  “Don’t do that to me again.” Nick stroked hair from my brow as the sirens were cut and a few moments later the ambulance came to a stop. “Don’t ever do that again,” he said as the EMTs opened the ambulance doors to take me into the ER.

  I studied him as he held my hand. His dark hair was a mess and tear tracks ran down his cheeks. I squeezed his hand in return but it wasn’t much. I was weaker than ever.

  “You’re going to live.” His voice was almost harsh. “You’re too strong to let something like a little bullet get you down.”

  Another smile curved my lips. He was right. I was stronger than that.

  I knew I’d died but I had come back and I wasn’t leaving again.

  Not for a long time.

  * * * * *

  The world as we knew it had changed.

  I sat up in my bed in RED’s infirmary in D.C. and watched the news that had been breaking over the past forty-eight hours.

  The President’s Chief of Staff was being taken away in handcuffs in one image. Congressmen and judges arrested in other newsfeeds. More and more lawmakers were being ferreted out as blackmail pictures and recordings continued to arrive at media outlets.

  The foundations of our government had been rocked.

  Our security as a nation had been compromised by people we had entrusted with our country.

  Bachmann had made good on his promise even after his death.

  Nick sat beside the bed and squeezed my hand but I couldn’t look away from the TV for a long time.

  “He did this to us.” I finally brought my gaze to Nick’s. “Bachmann did this to our country.”<
br />
  “If these men weren’t corruptible then it wouldn’t have happened to begin with.” Nick’s voice was low and hard. “Better we find out now than when it’s too late.”

  “The President’s own security was compromised.” I shook my head. “Who knows what blackmail can make a person do.”

  Nick gave a nod. “They did get SAC Carter, too, although he was credited with being an NSA agent. RED was left out of it.”

  “I’m glad the bastard didn’t get away with his part in it.” I set my jaw as fury burned in my body. Men like him had been responsible for Bachmann getting away with what he had done for a long time.

  I shifted on the bed and winced from the pain in my side. I’d been really fortunate—nothing major had been damaged and the bullet had gone straight through. I’d lost a lot of blood, but that had been the worst of it. I’d be healed up in no time. My face was bruised and my lip split, so I really looked like hell. All in a day’s work.

  Someone knocked on the doorframe. As I turned my gaze to the door, our ASAC, Karen Oxford walked in through the doorway. I blinked. She’d come all the way from Boston to the D.C. area to see me? Or maybe she’d been needed here with all the hell that was breaking loose.

  “Hello, Lexi.” Oxford walked up to the bed and sat in the chair on the side opposite from Nick. She nodded to him and he gave her a nod back.

  “I’m grateful you pulled through.” Oxford never showed emotion but I thought I saw a hint of concern but that vanished. “I am sorry you had to do this alone. However, I knew if anyone could do it, it would be you and Agent Donovan.”

  Surprise widened my eyes. “You knew what we’d do?”

  “Why do you think I authorized your leave?” Oxford sat back in her chair. “I wasn’t allowed to let you use RED’s resources but I know you have plenty of your own.” She looked at Nick and I wondered if she knew about his war room. Nick’s expression gave away nothing.

  She moved her gaze back to me. “It was obvious that something very wrong was going on in our own organization, and ultimately in our government.” Her lips thinned. “From within there was nothing I could do.”

  “I understand.” I thought about the time she had told us the operation was being killed. “If you had tried to do something, you would have been booted out and then there would have been nothing you could do.”

  Oxford looked from Nick to me again. “No one outside of RED and the small chain of command will ever know the part you played in rescuing our country. You realize this, of course.”

  “I don’t need credit for it.” I raised my hand without the IV and brushed hair away from my brow. “I just need to know that as a country we are safer and that Bachmann is no longer a threat.”

  “That you have done.” She got to her feet. “But now there are things I must attend to as your new SAC.”

  “You were given Carter’s job?” I pushed myself up higher in bed and winced again. “That’s terrific. You’ll make a great SAC.” I frowned. “I just hope we get a decent ASAC to take your place.”

  “I intend to make sure you do.” She looked to each of us. “Thank you, Agent Steele and Agent Donovan. We are indebted to you as a nation.”

  With a nod she turned and strode out the door.

  I looked at Nick and he brought his gaze to mine. The corner of his mouth turned up. “We should have known.”

  With a shake of my head, I said, “I don’t think I’ll ever completely get Oxford. She’s an amazing woman.”

  “Lexi?” Rori’s voice came from the door and I looked to see her, Zane, and Ryan standing in the doorway.

  Rori looked a little worse for the wear. She had some bruises and scrapes, and her ankles and wrists had been rubbed raw from the restraints. Fortunately, she hadn’t endured any real physical or sexual abuse. She had, however, suffered some emotional trauma from having been kidnapped and because she had killed a man, and I knew she’d been having nightmares. The rape prior to her abduction also weighed heavily on her mind. RED had provided a psychologist to work with Rori and she was holding up really well. She was stronger than I had ever given her credit for.

  The three of them stepped into the room. Zane looked concerned, and Ryan appeared to be resigned—to what, I didn’t know. I frowned, wondering what was going on.

  Rori sat beside the bed. “I know you’re injured, Lexi, but…” She took a deep breath. “You need to tell me everything. After this, no more secrets.”

  Oh. I looked at my brothers for help but they were no use. They just waited for me to explain.

  I licked my dry lips. “I, especially, do owe you an explanation,” I said. “I know you think we should come clean with the entire family but we can’t.” I reached out and she took my hand. “It’s for their safety.”

  Rori gripped my hand tight. “Tell me everything.”

  I sighed. “There’s a lot I can’t tell you, but I’ll tell you this…” I glanced at my brothers again and they each gave a nod. “Zane, Ryan, Nick, and I work for an organization known as RED. It’s the Recovery Enforcement Division, a highly secretive department of the NSA.”

  Rori studied me. “What does that mean?”

  “We take on operations that most organizations in our government are unable to. We do a lot of the dirty work.” I took a deep breath. “We work in various roles. Sometimes undercover, sometimes behind the scenes. But everything we do is highly secretive. We’re not even allowed to tell our families about what we do, so I’m breaking a vow by telling you this.”

  “We all are,” Zane said.

  Rori nodded slowly. “So you’re not going to tell Mama and Daddy or anyone else what happened?”

  “We can’t.” I looked at her wrists. “We need to come up with a story to explain why you have the marks and scrapes that you do.” I sighed. “That’s not going to be easy.”

  “I’ll just stay away from home for another week or so.” Rori gave me a little smile. “I have a flight to Hawaii coming up and work is the perfect excuse to be gone. I’ll just wear bracelets and slacks and that should do the trick.”

  “It’s coming in handy that you’re a flight attendant.” I studied her. “Are you okay? Really okay?”

  She nodded. “It was frightening, but we’re alive and that’s what counts.”

  “Promise to keep seeing the shrink for a while?” I gave her an intent look. “I want to know that you’re going to be all right.”

  “Yes.” Her expression turned somewhat sad. “I have to work through killing a man and I don’t think I can do that alone. I still can’t believe you took a bullet for me.”

  “You were really brave.” I squeezed her hand. “You saved my life twice. You thought fast on your feet and you did more than a lot of people could ever do.”

  Rori glanced at our brothers and then me again. “Maybe it’s because I had some pretty good examples to learn from over the years. To be honest, it’s not surprising you all ended up in some line of dangerous work. Even Troy is a fireman and Evan is a detective. I’m the only one who went for a safe career.”

  I laughed. “A flight attendant? No matter how safe they say flying is, I don’t know that I’d have the guts to go up and down in a plane every single time I went to work.” I’d done a lot of flying over the years, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

  “I suppose you need some rest.” She gestured toward my midsection that was bound tight with its dressings. She stood and hugged me. “Love you, Lexi.”

  “I love you, too, little sister.”

  When she drew back tears glistened in her eyes and I hugged her again.

  My brothers also gave me hugs and told me to rest. Zane looked at Nick and said, “Sit on her if you have to.”

  Nick gave a nod. “I intend to.”

  Chapter 25

  Richard

  Richard Travis pulled his travel bag behind him and whistled to himself as he walked through the covered airport parking lot to his car. He’d flown the redeye into Boston after a
layover in L.A. on his way from Hawaii. He was damned ready to get home.

  His cute little piece of ass, Rori Steele, was probably waiting for a repeat of what he’d given her before he left. The threesome with Madeline had been so damned hot. It had taken a little of an Ecstasy-type drug to get Rori to loosen up, but by the time they were finished for the night, he was sure she would be thinking differently the next go-around.

  The sensation that he was being watched caused hair to rise at his nape. He stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder.

  No one.

  He must be more tired than he thought. He turned to head toward his car again—

  A big man in black, wearing a ski mask, blocked his way.

  “Shit.” Richard took a step back, panic taking flight in his chest.

  He backed into something hard. His heart felt like it was going to explode when he glanced back and he saw that it was another man in black, equally as big, also wearing a ski mask.

  “Wh-what do you want.” Richard’s voice shook. “You can have my wallet. Anything you want.”

  Man One in front of Richard grabbed him by the collar. “Make another sound and you’ll regret it.”

  Richard felt something hard pressed against his side and he knew it had to be a gun. He almost pissed his pants.

  “Understand?” Man Two asked.

  Richard nodded, terror racing through him.

  The men shoved Richard inside a white van with no rear or side windows. Richard’s travel bag was tossed in after him, hitting him square in the chest, causing air to rush out of his lungs. Man One climbed into the driver’s seat while Man Two held a gun on Richard. The man in the driver’s seat took off his ski mask but Richard couldn’t see his face.

  Tires squealed, echoing in the parking garage, as the van backed up and then took off.

  Richard couldn’t stop shaking. He had no idea where they were going but it seemed like the men drove on for miles before finally parking in the dark night.

  The back door opened and Man One was wearing the ski mask again. It looked dark around him like they were somewhere isolated. He climbed into the van and shut the door.