Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“ T his way.” Sawyer waved Hollis and Parker down the stairwell.
The power was still off, and phones still jammed. There was no way of knowing if they’d neutralized all of the attackers who were after Hollis.
They headed for the cargo elevator. Sawyer wanted Hollis out of the building.
“You’re sure the cargo elevator still had power?” Sawyer asked Park.
“Yep. Saw it myself when I was heading your way. It must be on a separate circuit.”
A quick ride in the cargo elevator was better than getting caught in this stairwell.
“Stop,” Park said suddenly.
Sawyer paused, and pulled Hollis close. He heard noises echo through the stairwell, but thankfully, they didn’t sound too close.
“Sounds like a team is moving up the stairwell,” Park murmured. After a second, he nodded.
Sawyer trusted the man’s instincts. They’d saved Sawyer’s life too many times to count.
Park opened the door to the next floor, and they moved into the hallway. They hurried past all the closed doors and finally reached the cargo elevator. It was tucked around the back of the floor, near the trash chutes.
The lights glowed on the panel.
Thank God . They deserved a break. Sawyer pressed the button. A minute later, the doors opened. It didn’t have the fancy mirrored walls of the main elevators they’d used when they’d first arrived at the building. This elevator had simple metal walls.
They got inside, and Sawyer pressed the button for the ground floor.
“So, these guys are Russian,” Park said.
Sawyer nodded. “Reuben’s goons.”
Hollis shivered, and Sawyer hugged her to his chest.
The elevator slowed, and he met Park’s gaze. His friend nodded. They both shifted in front of Hollis, weapons in hand.
The doors opened into a maintenance area. It was dark and empty.
“Let’s move.” Sawyer took her arm. “Hollis, stay behind me.”
Once again, they kept Hollis between them, and moved quietly. No attackers appeared.
They reached an exit door, and Sawyer cracked it open. It opened onto the sidewalk outside the building, and he checked in all directions. It was clear.
As they stepped outside, the night was cool, but not cold. There was no one on the street, but a car drove past, paying no attention to them.
“Let’s go,” he said.
They hustled down the sidewalk. They crossed over the street, and Sawyer pulled out his phone. Suddenly, the signal clicked back in.
“We’re outside the jammer’s range.” He stabbed at the screen.
Vander answered instantly. “Sawyer?”
“A team attacked the apartment. They cut off power to the building and jammed the phones. We just made it out.”
Vander cursed.
“We’re okay. They’re Russian, Vander. It has to be Reuben.”
“He’s still in the wind and the FBI is pissed.” Vander cursed again. “How the fuck did he find you?”
“No idea.”
“We’ll work that out later. Okay, I’m on my way. Stay where you are.”
Hollis tugged on Sawyer’s shirt. “Sawyer.”
Her tone made him look up.
At the end of the block, several men rounded the corner of the building. They spotted them and started in their direction. They were just dark shadows, but they were big and moved like they had military training.
“Fuck, Vander, we have company. Track the location of my phone. We’ll be on the move.”
“I’m coming.” There was a promise in his voice.
Vander had never once let Sawyer down.
He grabbed Hollis’s hand, and broke into a jog. “Park, ideas?”
“No good ones.”
Sawyer spotted an alley ahead. “There.”
They sprinted down the narrow alley, and into the darkness. They passed a dumpster that reeked of rotting food. Sawyer towed Hollis behind him.
“They’re coming.” Park’s voice was cool. He was in full battle mode.
“ Oh, God .” There was no missing the fear in her voice.
“It’s okay, gorgeous. I’m not letting anyone touch you.”
“Here?” Park asked.
A nearby security light on one of the buildings offered a little bit of illumination. “Yeah. Like we did in Kamdesh?”
Park nodded.
Sawyer turned.
Hollis grabbed his arm. “Sawyer, we need to run?—”
A gunshot rang out, and Hollis muffled a scream.
He put his body in front of hers. Four armed thugs were heading toward them. A shorter, rotund man stood in the center of them. They stopped, then the man stepped forward.
Sawyer recognized Michael Reuben.
Hollis sucked in a breath.
“Be brave,” Sawyer whispered. “Trust me.”
She swallowed and nodded.
“You have caused me a lot of problems, Ms. Stanton,” Reuben said.
Hollis took a half step forward, staring at Reuben’s face. He looked so…ordinary. Not like some criminal mastermind.
“This is all on you, Reuben,” she said, rage welling inside her. “You’re the criminal. Selling our tech and weapons to Russia.”
The man’s mouth tightened.
“Seriously, if you’d just left me alone, I never would have said anything.”
Sawyer gripped her wrist, a warning.
But Hollis was done.
Done being chased and shot at. Done seeing Sawyer in danger. And Park, a man she barely knew, risking his life for her.
All because of this man standing in front of them.
“I barely heard anything that night at your house. I certainly had no evidence.”
“I couldn’t take that risk,” Reuben said.
“I would have forgotten I heard anything if it wasn’t for all the things that started happening. People following me, the car accident, the camera.”
“My work is too important. I won’t let anything stop me.” Reuben glanced at Sawyer and Park. “Your guard dogs can’t save you this time.”
Sawyer made a sound. “You’re going to be very disappointed, Reuben. Or should I say Mikhail?”
“It ends here,” Reuben said. “Nothing will stop my work to support my home country. My real country.”
One of the men beside Reuben stepped forward and holding a knife. Hollis sucked in a breath. It was the bodyguard who’d spotted her in his house. Scarface. She saw the puckered scar on his cheek.
He flicked the knife open, then closed. Open, then closed. His gaze was on her like a snake, waiting to strike. She glared back at him.
“It’s already over,” Sawyer said. “The FBI raided your home and businesses today. I’m surprised you haven’t heard.”
Reuben’s eyes widened, and Hollis felt a spurt of satisfaction.
“ No ,” the older man breathed. “You’re lying.”
“Look it up,” Sawyer said. “They know about your shipments. You’re a wanted man.”
Reuben yanked out his cellphone. “Keep your guns on them.” He scrolled through the phone, then let out an enraged sound.
Hollis smiled. He was a man used to doing what he wanted, when he wanted. All that was coming to an end.
Reuben’s head snapped up. “You bitch. You stupid, airhead actress.”
“I’m not an airhead, asshole. And I’m an excellent actress.”
“You’re trash,” he spat. “I looked into your background. You’re one step from the trailer park. You’re nothing . I won’t let a nothing like you ruin everything.” His voice echoed in the alley.
“I am not nothing. I’m the woman I’ve made myself to be. Being born poor and disadvantaged wasn’t my choice or my fault. And it’s not some stain to carry around. Anyone can change their circumstances, and be what they want to be. It’s a shame that you chose to be a lying, scheming terrorist.”
There was enough light that she could see Reuben’s face turning red, and the look of hatred he aimed her way.
“For decades I’ve put plans in place, and in just a few seconds of eavesdropping, you destroyed it all.”
Sawyer tensed beside her, watching Reuben carefully.
He was like a bomb, ready to detonate.
“You deserved it,” Hollis said. “I’m glad I overheard you.” She didn’t love having people trying to kill her, but because of Reuben, she’d met Sawyer. And now, Reuben would be stopped. “You’re going down, and you’ll spend the rest of your life rotting in prison.”
Reuben let out an angry roar, then spat out a word in Russian.
It all happened so fast. Scarface took a step forward, his arm moving.
Sawyer leaped in front of her, and his body jerked.
What? What had happened?
Suddenly, Parker fired, gun swiveling. Bam. Bam. Bam .
Sawyer dragged her down to the ground, and she saw two guards fall. The other was turning, and Scarface was reaching for another weapon.
Even more gunfire echoed in the alley, and Hollis cried out.
Then silence.
She lifted her head. Reuben stood there, staring in horror. His men were all lying on the ground around him. None of them were moving.
Boots clicked on the concrete, and several shadows emerged from the mouth of the alley.
“You’ve made a lot of bad choices, Reuben. Your number one mistake was coming to my city and targeting my friends.”
Vander Norcross stood there, hands by his sides.
Flanking him were Saxon, Siv, Rhys, and a tall African American man Hollis recognized as Rome Nash. They all had weapons in their hands.
“Good timing,” Sawyer said.
“Thank God,” Hollis said shakily.
“Secure them,” Vander ordered. “The FBI are on their way.”
Rhys Norcross yanked Reuben’s arms behind his back and cuffed him.
It was finally over.
Hollis blinked, not quite believing it. “Sawyer, Reuben is done. It’s over.” She shifted on the ground, turning his way. Then her blood ran cold.
“Oh my God. Sawyer .” She stared at the blood on his shirt.
“I’m okay.”
She shook her head. “That is an incredibly man thing to say when you have a knife stuck in your chest.” Her voice rose to a high pitch. Panic and fear flooded her. The knife was buried in the top of his right pec, blood turning his shirt red.
She gripped his arm and saw that his face was pale. He was trying to hide the fact that he was in pain.
Vander knelt beside them. “Ouch.”
“It’ll be fine.” Sawyer scowled. “It didn’t hit anything vital.”
“Better leave it in,” Vander suggested. “Just in case.”
“How do you know it didn’t hit anything vital?” Hollis said. “Do you have a medical degree?”
“Hey.” Sawyer cupped her cheek. “Take a deep breath, gorgeous. I’ll be all right.”
She gripped his wrist. “Sawyer, I can’t lose you.”
“Not going to happen.” He pulled her closer and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m not going anywhere.”