Chapter 30
The phone in that Russian's pocket was still transmitting. Every word. Every sound. Every terrified breath Katherine took.
"Code." Jase's voice was quiet. Careful. "You with me?"
"I'm here."
"You sure? Because I need you tactical, not emotional."
I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but he was right. I forced myself to take a breath. Then another.
Through my phone, still connected to Katherine's, I heard Viktor's voice. "Russell, you have thirty seconds to tell me where your laptop is, or I start breaking your sister’s fingers. One at a time."
"It's on the balcony!" Russell's voice cracked. "In Sophie's tote bag on the balcony! I'll give you everything, just don't hurt her!"
"Smart boy," Viktor said. I heard him bark something in Russian.
I pulled into a spot with a clear view of the fourth floor. Room 1430 would be on the east side. I could see the balconies from here.
"Simon, what's your ETA?" I asked into my comms.
"Twelve minutes out," Simon responded. "Traffic's a bitch."
Twelve minutes too long.
"Jase and I are going in now."
"Copy that. We'll be there for cleanup."
I looked at Jase. He was already checking his weapon - his Glock 19, same one he always carried. I had my Sig Sauer. We had zip ties, our comms, and that was it. No tactical vests. No special gear. Just what we'd had on us when we left the cabin.
It would have to be enough.
"I'm going up to 1530, directly above them," I said. "I'll access their balcony from there. You take the main door to 1430."
"How are you getting down from 1530's balcony?"
"I'm jumping."
Jase's eyebrows rose. "It's one floor."
"Yeah."
"Your ribs—"
"Are fine. We breach simultaneously. I'll come through the balcony, you breach the main door. We hit them from two directions."
Jase nodded. "On your mark."
We moved fast through the lobby. The clerk looked up, and Jase flashed his driver's license like it was a badge, his hand positioned so she couldn't read it clearly. "Federal agents. Emergency situation. Fourth floor."
Her mouth opened, but we were already past her, hitting the stairs.
My phone was clipped to my belt, on mute, volume low but still transmitting. I could hear everything.
"Don't give him anything, Russell." Katherine's voice. Strong. Clear. "The moment you do, our lives are forfeited."
Jesus Christ, Katherine.
"The actress thinks she understands the game," Viktor said, his voice dropping into something cold and dangerous. "Perhaps I should show you what happens to people who give me advice."
I heard movement. Katherine's sharp intake of breath.
"No! No, I'll do it! Just leave her alone!" Russell's panicked voice.
"Code." Jase grabbed my arm as we hit the fourth-floor landing. "Stay with me."
I nodded, forcing my focus back to the mission.
"I'm going to 1430," Jase said. "You hit 1530. We breach on your mark."
"Roger."
Jase moved left down the hallway. I went right, continuing up another flight of stairs.
I carefully opened the door to the fifth floor, not wanting to draw attention.
The hallway was empty except for a housekeeping cart.
I ran to 1530. There was a sign on the door that said ‘Service Please’.
Could it be that easy? Were the occupants really gone?
I knocked on the door.
“Maintenance.” I waited. Nothing.
I knocked again. “Maintenance.” Nothing.
The door was locked, and I was in no condition to kick the door in with my ribs the way they were. I pulled out my wallet, slid a card into the gap, and worked the latch. It was useless.
Fuck!
I didn’t have my lock-picking tools with me.
I looked at the cart again, then I saw it, dangling from the cart handle, the master keycard.
I slipped down the hall and peeked inside the room.
I couldn’t see the housekeeper, thought she must be in the bathroom.
I unclipped the key from the cord, then sped back to 1530.
I swiped the card and pushed open the door.
I was in. I'd return the card to her cart on my way out—if she even noticed it was gone.
I cleared the room fast. Empty.
Through the phone, I heard Katherine's voice. "I need to help Sophie. She's hurt."
Was she positioning herself for something?
“Get up off the floor,” Viktor yelled.
“No, she needs my help. If you’re worried about me, have one of your gorillas stand over me to make sure I don’t do anything funny.”
Fuck yeah, she was positioning herself and getting her victim in place. Brilliant.
I moved to the balcony and looked over the railing. Directly below was 1430's balcony. Empty now—the goon had already grabbed the tote bag and gone back inside.
I looked down at the balcony below. One floor. Maybe ten feet. I'd jumped worse.
I swung my legs over the railing, gripped the bars, and let myself hang for a second to reduce the drop. Then I let go.
I landed on 1430's balcony in a crouch, the impact jarring through my ribs. I bit back a grunt and stayed low, moving immediately to the wall beside the sliding door.
Through the sliding glass door, I could see into the room.
Katherine was on the floor next to Sophie and the injured maid.
Viktor stood near Russell, who was sitting at the desk with his laptop open.
One Russian goon stood between Viktor and the main door, weapon drawn.
The other goon—the one who'd been on the balcony—was hovering over Katherine and Sophie.
"Jase," I breathed into my comms. "I've got visual through their balcony door. Two tangos inside plus Viktor. One by the main door, one by the bathroom."
"Copy. I'm at their main door. Ready on your mark."
I could see Russell typing, his hands shaking. Viktor was watching him work.
"That's it. Good. Keep going," Viktor said.
We were out of time.
I tested the sliding door—unlocked. The goon had left it open when he came back in.
"Jase. Breach in three. Two. One. Mark."
I yanked open the sliding door and moved.
The Russian near Katherine spun toward me, raising his weapon. Before he could fire, Katherine exploded upward from the floor and drove her fist straight up between the goon’s legs with every ounce of force she had.
The man's eyes went wide. His mouth opened in a soundless scream. He folded like a cheap lawn chair, weapon clattering to the floor.
That's my girl.
The main door crashed open. "Federal agents! Get down!" Jase's voice roared as he came through, weapon up.
The goon near the bathroom swung his weapon toward Jase. I fired twice. Both rounds hit center mass. He dropped.
Viktor moved faster than I expected. He spun, grabbed Katherine by her hair, and yanked her in front of him as a shield. His gun came up to her temple.
Everything went cold.
"Nobody moves," Viktor said pleasantly. "Or she dies."
Katherine's eyes locked on mine. Terrified. But steady.
I had my weapon trained on Viktor's head.
The angle was tight—he was using Katherine as cover, only part of his face visible over her shoulder.
I had the shot. I could make it. But Viktor's finger was on the trigger, pressed against Katherine's temple.
If his dying reflex clenched that trigger, she'd die with him.
"Viktor." My voice was flat. Calm. "You know how this ends."
"I know exactly how this ends." His accent was thicker now, stress bleeding through. "I leave with Russell and the laptop. You stay here with the women. Everyone lives."
"That's not happening."
Jase had moved left, his weapon trained on Viktor from a different angle. But he had the same problem—Viktor's trigger finger.
"Then she dies," Viktor said simply.
Katherine's breathing was rapid, her chest rising and falling against Viktor's arm. Her eyes were still on mine.
Trust me, I tried to tell her silently. Trust me.
"You shoot her, you lose your shield," I said. "Then you die. Those are facts."
"Then we have a stalemate."
"No," Katherine said suddenly. "We don't."
Before I could process what she meant, she drove her elbow backward into Viktor's ribs, twisted her body, and dropped straight down.
Viktor's gun tracked her movement, finger tightening, but she was already falling. His shot went high, punching into the wall.
I fired twice. Center mass. Both rounds hit Viktor in the chest as his head exploded. My cousin was as pissed as I was. Viktor’s corpse hit the wall and slid down, blood smearing against the silver wallpaper.
I was moving before Viktor's body hit the floor. Katherine was scrambling backward on the carpet, breathing hard. I dropped to my knees beside her and grabbed her face in my hands.
"Are you hit? Katherine, are you hit?"
"I'm okay." Her voice shook. "I'm okay. Code, I'm okay."
I pulled her into my arms, probably too hard, but I couldn't help it. She was alive. Breathing. Safe.
"That was the stupidest, bravest thing I've ever seen," I said against her hair.
"I learned from the best." She was shaking now, adrenaline crash hitting hard. "I knew you were listening. I knew you'd hear everything."
I pulled back enough to look at her. "You left that phone on speaker on purpose."
"Of course I did. I needed you to know what you were walking into." Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I trust you, Code. Completely."
"Clear!" Jase called out. The Russian Katherine had dropped was still curled in fetal position, groaning. The one I'd shot near the bathroom was dead. Viktor was dead. The room was secure.
"Somebody help her!" Sophie's voice cracked. She was now kneeling beside the maid, whose face was gray, breathing shallow. "Please!"
I moved to the maid while Jase secured the live Russian with zip ties. The tourniquet Sophie and Katherine had made from the pillowcase was still tight around the maid's thigh, but she'd lost a lot of blood. Her pulse was thready, skin clammy.
"Jase, call 911. Tell them we need ambulances. Gunshot wound to the thigh and multiple assault victims."
Jase was already on his phone.
I ripped open a pillow, packed the wound with stuffing, and applied pressure. The maid's eyes fluttered open, unfocused.
"You're going to be okay," I told her. "Help is coming."
Katherine was suddenly beside me, her hand on the maid's shoulder. "We've got you. Just hold on."
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer.
Five minutes later, local police swarmed the room. Then paramedics. I kept Katherine close while they worked, my arm around her shoulders, my body between her and the worst of the carnage.
Sophie was treated for her injuries—badly bruised ribs, possible internal bruising.
Russell had a concussion. The maid was rushed to surgery, but the tourniquet Sophie and Katherine had applied had kept her alive long enough.
The paramedics said she had a real chance because of their quick thinking.
Simon and Nolan arrived just minutes after the police, and Simon immediately started coordinating with local law enforcement. Apparently the man had real pull, because the cops listened to him, and weren’t hassling Jase and I all that much.
Viktor's body was photographed and documented. The surviving Russian was taken into custody. Russell was babbling to anyone who would listen about Viktor's entire operation, offering to cooperate fully.
An hour later, Katherine had been checked by paramedics—minor bruises, but nothing serious.
One of them saw me wince so they checked me out.
Not much they could do for cracked ribs besides telling me to take it easy at home.
Sophie and Russell were transported to the hospital for observation. The police took our statements.
Two hours after that, we were finally cleared to leave.
Katherine was wrapped in a blanket despite the Tennessee heat, still shaking with delayed shock. I guided her toward the Armada, one arm around her waist.
"Code?" She looked up at me as we walked.
"Yeah?"
"When I thought I might die up there, all I could think about was you." Her voice cracked. "I love you. I know I already told you that, but it bears repeating. I love you so much it terrifies me."
I stopped walking. Right there in the parking lot, with police cars and ambulances all around us, I stopped and turned to face her.
"Katherine." I took her face in my hands, gentle this time.
"I started falling for you the moment you walked into that conference room. Then that night at the Inn, when you started telling me stories of your past, and you let down your barriers, I started falling faster and deeper. You’ve been it for me for days, no matter how rushed this might seem.
I loved you every second I was listening to that phone, hearing you be strong and smart and so damn brave.
And I'm going to love you for the rest of my life. "
Her tears came again, but she was smiling through them. "That was a really good speech."
"I've been working on it for the last two hours."
She laughed—a real laugh—and I kissed her. Soft and gentle, tasting salt from her tears. When I pulled back, she was still smiling.
"Take me back," she whispered.
"Back where?"
"Jasper Creek." She leaned into me. "I want to go back with you."
I guided her to the Armada, helped her into the passenger seat, and closed the door. Jase was waiting by the driver's side.
"She okay?" he asked quietly.
"She will be." I looked back at Katherine through the windshield. She was watching me, wrapped in that blanket, looking exhausted and traumatized and absolutely beautiful. "She's the strongest person I've ever met."
"Yeah." Jase clapped me on the shoulder. "You did good, cousin."
I climbed into the driver's seat and reached over to take Katherine's hand. She laced her fingers through mine and held on tight.
"Let's go," I said.
And we did.