Chapter Nineteen
“Mine,” she said firmly.
He didn’t argue. In her condition, she wasn’t capable of aiming, but he could use all the firepower he could get. Spence couldn’t tell where Julio’s shooters were hidden. The fierce blaze from the cabin explosions made it difficult to pick out the brief flash of a pistol or rifle.
“You’re going to be fine,” he said.
“Not so. Too much blood.” She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Ruined my favorite jacket.”
“We’ll get you a new one.”
“But I want this one. Damn Julio.”
Another shot rang out. Spence heard a shout from Quintana. She’d been hit but not incapacitated. Aggressively, she returned fire.
He figured that the sniper from the airport was part of this assault. Someone among them was carefully taking aim and bringing down members of the CLF Security team. Though Spence hated to call a retreat, there was no honor in being mowed down.
Jamison and the other law enforcement officers ought to arrive at any moment. Spence had managed to reach Jamison by phone and alert him. The goal was to hold out until backup arrived. Or to get the hell away from here. He had arranged a secondary escape route from the nearby meadow.
“Plan B,” he shouted. That meant head for the meadow. “Plan B.”
“Queen bee,” Mollie chimed in.
For someone who was shot and losing blood, she was plenty cheerful.
Probably in shock. Feeling no pain. He half carried her through the forest, dodging behind tree trunks and rocks.
He hoped they were putting distance between themselves and the attackers.
The farther they went, the fewer gunshots landed.
The super-accurate sniper wouldn’t waste ammo on impossible targets.
At the edge of the meadow, Spence signaled a halt.
Almost as soon as they got into position, he heard the thwap-thwap-thwap of a helicopter’s rotors.
Spence’s instructors had been in the army and understood military rescue, making him the perfect person to contact in case of a surprise attack.
Further proof of his proficiency came in the positioning of his copilot, armed with a long-distance repeating rifle.
When the helo touched down, the copilot stepped into the open door and commenced firing into the trees behind the security team, who dodged, crouched and ran toward their rescuer.
Spence counted heads. Since Rossi had taken the unconscious man to the hospital, there should be four plus him and Mollie.
They approached the aircraft and leaped inside.
Before liftoff, another person ran toward the helo. A woman. Madison. She shouted and waved her arms. Had she been responsible for the explosion? Spence refused to believe it.
“Hold your fire,” he ordered.
He helped Mollie’s twin climb aboard.
They swooped into the cloudy sky above the meadow, where a plume of black smoke marked the location of the burning cabin. Even louder than the rotors, the scream of police sirens came closer. Red and blue lights flashed. Law enforcement took over the scene.
Spence put through a call to Jamison to update him on what was happening, but he couldn’t sound an all clear. Not yet. Not while Madison knelt beside her sister and held her hand.
The copilot sat beside him. “We have a problem, sir.”
* * *
Mollie gazed into the cool, blue eyes of her twin. A mirror image. For five years, Mollie had imagined the moment when they were finally reunited. She hadn’t expected to be riding in a helicopter and bleeding from a shoulder wound, but life wasn’t always lollipops and roses.
“How could you do this?” Mollie asked. “How could you explode the safe house?”
“I didn’t,” Madison protested. “All along, I’ve been trying to protect you. Not to hurt you. Never to hurt you.”
Whether or not it made sense, Mollie believed her. Blinking away tears, her gaze drank in the sight of her twin, quenching an unassuageable thirst. “I knew you weren’t dead.”
“You were right.” Madison echoed her quiet sobs.
“Are you pregnant?”
“No way,” Madison said. “Why would you think that?”
“Julio said you were. You were carrying his heir, and he wanted to marry you.”
“He must have gotten me confused with that Raquel Diaz,” Madison said with a sneer. “That little witch is so fired. As soon as I get back to my office—”
“Wait.” Mollie maneuvered her body so she was sitting up. Her head was on a level with her sister’s. Face-to-identical-face. Her shoulder continued to bleed, and she became aware of dizziness and throbbing pain. “You’re not going back to your office.”
“Excuse you, Mollie girl. You don’t get to tell me what I’m going to do.” She swabbed her cheeks and gave a signature toss of her head, sending ripples through her shoulder-length hair. “I’m a very, very successful businesswoman.”
“No doubt.” Mollie truly believed her. She knew that Madison was capable of intense focus and brilliant goal setting. “I’m sure you realize that partnering with Julio Flores wasn’t an ace move. Even if you haven’t broken any laws, you need to be accountable.”
“Yeah, sure.”
The smug, self-satisfied tone was unmistakable. Mollie figured that her twin was—as usual—thinking several steps ahead and plotting a way to get out of trouble. Madison had probably set up offshore accounts and investments to protect her finances. Mollie nodded. “You’ve got it covered.”
“I want you to know,” Madison said, “I never arranged to be kidnapped by Julio. He did that on his own because he was obsessed with me. And I didn’t plan the explosion on the yacht and faking our deaths. I mean, really, why would I want to blow up a gorgeous boat?”
“Were you in love with him?”
“Yes. At first. He gave me expensive gifts. Diamonds, Mollie. Gold chains. Precious gems. I had designer gowns and handmade shoes.”
“You were Princesa.”
And Julio was her handsome man—a bad boy she planned to turn into a shining star. Mollie wondered how long it took for her sister to realize that Julio was too seriously flawed to become what she wanted.
“One more thing,” Madison said, “I never broke the law. I’m not a criminal. I didn’t take part in his drug dealing and the horrendous human trafficking projects. I never knowingly harmed anyone.”
“Hard to believe.” Mollie winced as she looked down at her still-bleeding shoulder. “Are you sure you didn’t set the explosives to destroy the cabin?”
“As soon as I figured out what Julio was doing, I came here to stop him. He used some kind of remote device to get past the security. I tried to leave you a warning so you could all get out and make a run for it.”
“As soon as we were out the door, we were fired upon.”
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” Madison said. “The bomb was Julio’s doing. He was furious about the pepper spray. His problem. Not mine.”
Spence joined them. He seemed to be careful not to get too close to Madison, and Mollie remembered that he didn’t think she was a good kisser. Take that, sis. You’re second best.
“We have a little problem,” he said. “The pilot took a bullet and needs to lie down.”
“The copilot?”
“Doesn’t know how to fly a helo. He came along as a shooter.”
With an edge of panic, Madison said, “Who’s at the controls?”
“The pilot. For the moment.”
Proudly, Mollie said, “Spence can fly this bird.”
He squeezed Mollie’s hand. “Can you hold out for a little while longer? I’d rather not try a landing on the helipad at the hospital.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Grandpa’s house.”
“Let’s do it.” She couldn’t resist giving him a brief kiss and hoped Madison noticed their easy intimacy.
“Nice,” Madison said when Spence had returned to the cockpit. “I’m happy for you, Mollie. Looks like you and Spence are a good fit.”
“We’ll find a way to be together. It’ll be easier when Julio is in custody and not hiring snipers to shoot me. Is there anybody else from the Peligro Cartel who wants revenge on me or our father?”
“You’re in the clear,” she said. “The old guys who Dad testified against are going to be in prison for a long time, and they’ve given up on praying to La Santa Muerte, an underworld saint who deals in vengeance.”
“When did you plan to let us know about this? I’m sure you remember WITSEC. Not a fun program.”
“That was how I got started talking to Tim Youngblood. He promised to help you and report any problems to me. Somehow, our arrangement stretched out longer and longer. I was paying him more and more money.”
“And he double-crossed you,” Mollie said. “Turned to Julio.”
“They make a good match. Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dumber.”
Mollie leaned against her sister’s shoulder. Her warmth fulfilled a special need in Mollie. The twins were back together. What could possibly go wrong?
* * *
Spence made a nearly perfect landing at the rose garden on the relatively flat north lawn at his grandpa Oliver’s house where an ambulance was on the way.
He wished Mollie had been awake to see him being heroic and daring, but she’d passed out.
When he tried to lift her from the floor of the helo, she roused and brushed him back.
“I can walk,” she said.
He knew better than to argue. She was determined to get off the chopper by herself.
Spence couldn’t dismiss a creeping, itchy feeling that something was wrong. There was a detail he’d overlooked, some minor problem that was going to rise up and bite him on the tail.
He shut down the motor.
His grandpa strode toward the helo. Beside him was a handsome gent with white hair and a mustache. Hiram Harper, the father of the twins. He’d been staying with Mrs. Hernandez in her cottage behind the barn. Spence feared that Mollie’s dad was the problem.
If Julio knew the old man was here, he’d try to approach. To get even with the twins by harming their father. But how the hell was Julio going to get inside the grounds? The security here was top-notch.
Spence helped the pilot climb down and guided him to a stone bench in the rose garden. Madison climbed down next. She and Spence helped Mollie move across the lawn to the bench.
As soon as they were closer, the twins went to their father.
Madison flung her arms around his neck. Mollie needed her sister’s assistance to stand beside her father.
With one arm around each daughter, Hiram held them close and wept.
His girls. His family. After all these trials and tribulations, the three of them were finally together.
The pilot—bleeding from wounds on both arms—sat up and winced. “Family reunion?”
“Long story,” Spence said.
“Mollie’s sister is really pretty. Is she dating anyone?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Spence warned. “Madison is trouble with a capital T.”
The ambulance drove through the front gates and turned onto the asphalt path leading to the rose garden. Spence recognized another vehicle waiting at the gate to be admitted. That was Agent Jamison’s car.
Madison chattered to her dad about her wonderful business near Mexico City and how she was proficient in Spanish and the muscular beauty of Diego Rivera’s murals. She paused for breath, and he asked which was her favorite mural.
“It’s always about art with you,” she said. “You and Mollie have so much in common.”
Too exhausted to respond, Mollie rested her head on her dad’s shoulder.
“I love both my girls,” he said. “I never want us to be apart again.”
The ambulance parked and the rear door opened. Pushing a gurney, Julio stepped out. Gun in hand, aimed at the Harper twins and their father.
“Princesa,” he said with a scowl. The irritation from the pepper spray had not faded, and his dark eyes were red-rimmed. “Get in the ambulance. Sit in front.”
“I’m not going with you. I refuse.”
“Don’t make me shoot you, Madison. You know I will.”
“Why did you lie to my sister? Why tell her I was pregnant?”
“Simple,” he said. “You and I will marry. I will own your company. When Raquel has her baby, we’ll tell everyone it’s ours—yours and mine. I will have an heir.”
“And what will I have?”
“Exactly what you came into this partnership with.” He gave an evil laugh. “Menos que nada. Less than nothing.”
He raised his pistol and pointed it at her.
Madison took a step to the left, putting space between herself and her father.
Her movement caused enough of a distraction that Mollie—who had been silent, barely able to stand—lifted her gun and fired at Julio.
Her aim was perfect. She hit his weapon. Shot the gun right out of his hand.
Spence dashed forward and tackled Julio to the ground.
Mollie took aim again. Her shirt and jacket were drenched in blood as she sighted down the barrel of her G43 at the guy who had been driving the ambulance as he climbed down from the front seat. “Settle down, Marshal Youngblood. Drop your weapon.”
The car that had been waiting at the gate pulled up behind the ambulance.
Special Agent Jamison emerged and strode into the scene brandishing handcuffs.
He took Julio and Youngblood into custody.
Spence loaded the injured pilot into the ambulance and set out for the hospital with Mollie in the passenger seat beside him.
As he drove through the grounds outside his grandpa’s house, he glanced over at her. “Nice aim, Annie Oakley.”
“I told you I was a good shot.”
“And you didn’t lie.”
On the road, he turned on the siren and floored it. His doubts faded. Mollie, her dad and her twin were all safe.