Beneath the Surface (32 page)

CHAPTER

42

C
ome in . . .” Quinn called at the soft knock sounding on the door. It opened slowly and she was surprised to see the man standing there. “Jayce? What are you doing here?”

“I heard about what happened from Asher’s father. I stopped by to check on you. Are you all right?” He peeked his head inside and glanced around the room. “Asher here?”

Quinn glanced up at the clock. It was almost 11:30 p.m. Pretty late to be stopping by for a visit, but she also knew that men who served together in the military were close—Semper Fi and all that. He probably wouldn’t let something like the time of day stop him from being there to support a friend in need. Maybe it was the morphine fogging her mind and messing with her judgment, but something about this didn’t quite feel right.

“He ran to the cafeteria. I expect him back any minute.”

“Great. You won’t mind if I wait inside then?”

He didn’t give her a chance to say either way. Jayce stepped inside and the door closed behind him. He took another step and that was when she noticed his limp. Her heart raced as her mind made the connection. The staccato of her panic displayed on the monitor above her head. The
beep, beep, beep
of her spiked pulse drew Jayce’s gaze to the monitor.

The smile that he gave her held the warmth of a rattlesnake about to strike. “I see you’ve finally figured it out.” He tapped two fingers against his temple. “About fucking time . . . I saw you that night.”

“Excuse me?”

“In Haiti. You were there in the bushes, taking pictures of us. I wondered why you didn’t recognize me that day you showed up to Asher’s. But it makes sense now. Your pictures weren’t any good. Do you have any idea how many times you’ve slipped between my fingers? After a while, you just needed to die on principle alone. Fuck, you’re like a goddamn cat with nine lives.

“I managed to snag your laptop and camera at the airport before they loaded your luggage into the cargo hold. Imagine my dismay to find the SD card missing from your camera. It was helpful that you had your name and address on the luggage tag though. I knew right where to find you. Only you weren’t there.”

Emily . . . 
Tears pricked her eyes but she held them back, refusing to give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Jayce pulled a gun from the inside of his jacket and pointed it at her. There was no doubt in her mind she was going to die and this was his confession—right before he pulled that trigger.

“Just do it,” she told him, losing the battle with her tears. “Before Asher comes back. You can slip away and no one will know it was you.” She was desperate for him to leave before Asher returned. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t say or do to save his life, and any moment he was going to walk through that door and it would be too late.

“That might have been true at one time, Quinn, but it’s too late for that now. Believe it or not, it gives me no pleasure to kill him. But you, on the other hand . . . I’m going to enjoy this—just a little.”

The door flew open, slamming into the wall as Asher burst into her room. The feral rage on his face when his eyes locked on Jayce was murderous. In the weeks they’d spent together, Asher had told her several times he was a killer, but it wasn’t until this moment, seeing the bloodlust in his eyes, that she truly believed him.

His hand shot behind his back.

“Ah-ah-ah . . . slowly . . .” Jayce warned. “Set the gun on the floor and kick it over here.”

Asher’s gaze flickered from Jayce to her—and then back to Jayce, who kept the barrel pointed at his chest as Asher withdrew the gun from his waistband and did as instructed.

“I’m glad to see you made it. A little late to the party, but you’re here nonetheless. Shut that door and block it with a chair.”

When Asher didn’t comply right away, Jayce moved his aim, pointing the gun at Quinn’s chest. “How long do you think it’ll take for her to bleed out? Should we find out? It took Collin five minutes. You think you could save her in time? You couldn’t save Anderson.”

Asher snarled a nasty curse and grabbed a chair, jamming it beneath the door handle so it couldn’t turn.

“There. Now we won’t have to deal with interruptions.”

“Why are you pointing that gun at her?” Asher growled. “She’s no threat to you.”

“No, you’re right. She’s not, but I know you, and you don’t give a fuck if you live or die, so it’s rather pointless to aim it at you. But you care about her. I knew you were lying to me when you told me you didn’t—that you weren’t fucking her. Not that I blame you. I’ve had plans for her myself . . . You should have left to go testify on Peterson’s behalf when I called you and asked you to go the first time. You wouldn’t have been there when she showed up at your house, and we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“You know I’m going to fucking kill you, right?” Asher growled. “And when I do, I’m going to make sure you suffer.”

It was a promise that made the fine hairs on the nape of Quinn’s neck prickle. Did Asher really believe either of them stood a chance in hell of surviving this? They were being held at gunpoint by a madman.

“What happened to you?” Asher asked with a snarl of disgust. Quinn wasn’t sure if he was stalling, trying to buy himself some time to figure a way out of this, or if he genuinely wanted to know.

“The same thing that happened to you, so you can drop that self-righteous, sanctimonious bullshit. You forget, I fought beside you. I watched you kill, over and over and over again. Those bureaucratic bastards didn’t just steal my humanity—they got yours too. The government wanted to create a monster . . . Well, they sure as hell got one!”

“There was a time I would have agreed with you, but you’re wrong. I am
nothing
like you. At least now I know why you wanted me to testify on Peterson’s behalf. I couldn’t figure out why you spoke at his trial, why you cared so much when you clearly don’t give a fuck about anyone else. You lost your partner in your little side operation. And now you’re another player short after the hit on the safe house. How many more of you are there? You know the Feds are going to shut EO down, right? It’s over. They’re already tracing calls made from Quantico in the last twenty-four hours to find the leak. And when they do, I suspect it’s going to lead them straight to your boss.”

The door handle rattled, catching against the back of the chair. The momentary distraction was all Asher needed, and perhaps was what he was waiting for, to make a move. The second Jayce’s eyes flickered to the door, Asher dove for him. Jayce swung his gun toward Asher, but before he could fire off a shot, Asher forced his gun hand up. The weapon discharged into the ceiling with a deafening pop before they both hit the floor. Quinn’s ears rang, the high-pitched sound slowly fading to the riotous banging on the door and the dull thuds of fists hitting flesh combined with the occasional pained grunt amidst the chaos. She couldn’t see them from where she lay in the bed, but knew this was her only chance to act.

She tore the monitor cables from her chest, and pulled off her blood pressure cuff and the O2 monitor from her finger before disconnecting her IV. A rush of light-headedness hit her when she tried to sit up. She struggled through it, forcing her legs over the opposite side of the bed from Asher and Jayce. The pain in her shoulder made her nauseous, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins gave her the extra strength to get to her feet. Steadying herself against the bed, Quinn came around the end to search for the gun Asher had kicked across the floor. There it was, beneath a chair in the corner . . .

Dizziness made it hard to focus and she feared if she took her eyes off the weapon, she might pass out. It was maybe ten feet away, but with the effort it took to take each step, it might as well have been one hundred. Keeping her left arm tucked tight against her side, her other hand gripped the windowsill to steady her as she forced one foot in front of the other, slowly making her way toward Asher’s gun.

Air exploded from Jayce’s lungs when Asher linebackered him. The momentary distraction was a costly mistake and the misfire of his weapon sent ceiling debris raining down on them. He stumbled to catch his footing but the impact sent him and Asher to the ground. He turned in midair, forcing Asher to absorb the brunt of the impact, and slammed the butt of his gun against his temple. The hit momentarily rocked him and Jayce took the opportunity to finish what he’d started. Quinn had to die.

He shoved up past the side of the bed and pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession, expecting her to be in the bed. The bullets drilled into the empty mattress. He panned his gaze and his weapon a little to the left and found her staggering across the room. As he pulled the trigger, something slammed into his ribs, knocking his aim off. Glass shattered above her head and Quinn let out a frightened scream.

God, he loved that sound. He’d had so many plans for her . . . 
Fucking Tate . . .

Asher went for Jayce’s gun arm, grabbing his wrist with both hands and forcing it down. Jayce’s free hand locked on Asher’s throat and he squeezed. The thunder of Tate’s pulse beneath his fingertips was a rush. The blaze of hatred radiating in those eyes, glaring at him as he fought for his life . . . It was more thrilling, more satisfying than he’d ever imagined. His only regret was that Tate wouldn’t live to see Quinn’s brains splattered all over that white wall.

Rage licked through Asher’s veins, hot and ravenous as he fought for control of the gun. Jayce’s grip tightened, his fingers digging into his neck. The fucker smiled down at him, arrogant and triumphant. Asher knew the moment he let go of Jayce’s wrist to pry his hand from his throat, he was going to shoot Quinn.

From his back, he didn’t have the strength to control Jayce’s arm without using both hands, and the bastard knew it. He couldn’t speak to warn Quinn to get down. Fuck, he couldn’t breathe!

Asher couldn’t stay like this. In this position, he was fighting a losing battle. Jayce was strong and he had too much leverage over him. Strategy warred with his instinct for self-preservation. It was a conscious fucking effort not to let go of Jayce’s wrist. Tightening his grip, Asher slammed his knee into Jayce’s injured ribs and bucked his hips up as he rolled, using his momentum to put Jayce on his back and reverse their position.

He pinned Jayce’s gun hand to the floor, easily controlling it from this angle, and palm-struck Jayce’s elbow with his free hand, knocking Jayce’s grip from his throat. The bastard wasn’t smiling anymore—especially not after Asher drove his fist into Jayce’s nose. Bones crunched at the impact. Blood coated Jayce’s face, pouring down his throat. He coughed and sputtered, struggling to breathe.

In this, Jayce was right—Asher
was
a killer. And this son of a bitch was about to experience the death Asher had promised him minutes ago. Asher’s only regret was that Jayce had just one life to lose. For the suffering he’d caused so many others, he deserved a hundred deaths, but Asher found comfort in knowing he was sending this bastard to hell. His reign of terror in this world was about to come to an end.

But Jayce wasn’t going down easy. He was as ruthless a fighter as he was a human being. He bucked his hips and displaced Asher’s weight, driving his knee into Asher’s side. His ribs cracked with the force of the blow. Jayce reached down, and when he swung his arm up a glint of metal flashed in the air a moment before sharp searing pain slashed across Asher’s chest.

Asher dove for Jayce’s gun, his fingers curling around the grip as he rolled onto his back and took aim, firing two rounds into the fucker’s chest. Jayce Rivers was dead before he hit the ground—an end too merciful for this bastard, but an end all the same.

CHAPTER

43

A
re you just about done?”

The ER doc’s brow rose as he glanced up at Asher over his wire-rimmed glasses, then went back to stitching up the knife wound across the left side of his chest—thirty-eight stitches and counting. His brother stood in the corner, arms crossed over his chest, stonily watching him.

“Will you go check on Quinn?” Irritability made his tone sharp. He wanted to be with her himself, but instead he’d been stuck down here getting stitched up.

“You know I can’t do that. You turned room 2415 into a crime scene. The only reason you’re not under arrest right now is that you’re my brother and I told the chief I would stay with you.”

“It was self-defense.”

“You know that. And I know that. But until it’s officially been declared such and the charges have been dropped, you’re stuck with me.”

“Aw, fuck . . . Sorry,” he told the doc when the man gave him the bushy brow again. “It was an accident. The guy shouldn’t have come up behind me like that. Will you at least call and see how she is?”

He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Quinn since the shooting. Jax had busted his way inside seconds after Asher had shot Jayce, and the charge nurse for the floor was right behind him. She’d taken one look at the dead man on the floor and then at Asher’s chest and called a rapid response. Within a minute, a swarm of medical staff was trying to force him on the gurney. He hadn’t wanted to leave Quinn, and had been quite adamant about not doing so, which had prompted the Code 21 being called, and before he knew it a syringe full of ketamine was being shot into his leg and he was lights out.

He wasn’t sure how much time had gone by, but he woke to this doctor stitching up his chest and the disapproving scowl of his brother from the corner of the room.

“She’s fine. I checked on her right before you woke up. They’re getting her settled into another room, and I’ll take you up to her as soon as we’re done here. I’ve already given my statement to the Feds, and when you’re up to it, they’re going to want to talk to you. Rivers’s blood type matches the DNA sample I got from your place. Although it’s not conclusive yet, it looks like we’ve got our shooter. But just in case, I put an officer outside Quinn’s room. I should have done it right from the beginning. If I had—”

“If you had, a killer would still be on the loose. I’m just glad we figured it out when we did—before it was too late. All I want to do right now is hold her in my arms and never let her go again.”

“I’m sure you do. Just hold tight a little bit longer. I know she’s anxious to see you too.”

Several minutes later, the doc set down his needle and thread. “That’s it. Keep it covered, clean, and dry. Sutures come out in seven to ten days. You can shower after twenty-four hours. The nurse will be by shortly to get you bandaged up.”

The doc shoved his chair back and stood as he removed his gloves and tossed them in the trash. As he walked out, he pressed the button on a com device attached to his scrubs and spoke. “Room twenty is ready for a dressing and discharge.”

Asher tapped his foot with restless anticipation, anxious to get out of there and back to Quinn. All he could think about was that look of terror on her face. He wanted to take her in his arms and promise her no one would ever harm her again. If he had to spend every day for the rest of his life fulfilling that promise, he’d count it an honor.

“Does Quinn have any idea how much you’re in love with her?”

The incredulity in Jax’s voice told him he was having trouble believing it himself.

“If she doesn’t, she’s going to—if I could just get the hell out of here.”

As if on cue, the door opened and in walked a nurse. She came in backward, speaking to someone else in the hall about another patient that needed an EKG. As she turned around and got a look at him, her big doe eyes grew impossibly larger. He knew the cut was bad, but didn’t expect an ER nurse to be so squeamish.

She set the supplies on the table and rushed over to him. “Jax! What happened to you?”

Before Asher could correct her, the nurse’s hands were on him—one cupping the hard angle of his jaw as the other ran from his collarbone down the right side of his chest. She touched him like a woman who was well familiar with his body. And it shocked the shit out of him, rendering him momentarily speechless.

A month ago, this would have been on his list of top five erotic fantasies—cue the porn music—but it did zero for him now. In fact, he was really uncomfortable. The only woman he wanted touching him like this was Quinn.

Jax cleared his throat from the corner of the room. The busty brunette’s golden-amber eyes darted up and over his shoulder. She gasped and stumbled back like he’d scalded her.

“Glad to know you still care, Doe.”

“Jax?” She looked from him to his brother, and the confusion on her face quickly turned to anger. “You have a twin brother and you didn’t tell me?”

Jax shoved away from the wall and came toward her. “Calm down, Doe.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. I just felt up your brother! And don’t call me that. You lost that right six months ago.”

Then she turned her big golden eyes on Asher. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where she got that nickname. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were Jaxson.”

“It’s fine. It happens all the time, really.” He looked at his brother. “Seriously, dude, don’t you tell anyone I exist?” But his brother wasn’t paying any attention to him.

“I have to go. I’ll send someone else in to do your dressing.”

“Eve . . .”

Jax stepped forward and reached for her hand, but she pulled it away before he could touch her. And then she was gone—out the door and running down the hall. Asher was going to give his brother a hard time, but the razz died on his lips when he looked at his twin. The guy looked as gutted as Asher felt. Guess he wasn’t the only one to get shot by cupid’s arrow.

“You should go after her.”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Yes, she does. The only other woman that’s ever touched me with that kind of emotion is Quinn. She’s in love with you, man. Don’t be a dick. Go after her.”

Jax—the brother who was always cool, rational, and reserved. The guy who thought with his head and never his heart, for the first time in his life, looked completely shredded.

“Hey, I’m no love guru, but I know what it’s like to be alone. And I know what it’s like when you find that missing part of your heart. Some things are worth swallowing your pride for, brother, and the love of a good woman is one of them. Go.”

Jax hesitated another second, then, muttering a self-damning curse, he took off out the door. Asher really hoped his brother could find happiness, because if anyone deserved it, it was Jaxson.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” the nurse asked, pulling up the covers around Quinn.

They’d moved her to another wing and posted a guard outside her door. She was still shaken, but refused the nurse’s offer of medication to help calm her. She didn’t want to be drugged when Asher finally returned. She needed a clear head for what she had to say.

“No, thank you. I’m just going to rest.”

Her mind was still trying to process everything that had happened. The shock of discovering Jayce had been trying to kill her since the day she’d fled Haiti left her shell-shocked. She couldn’t imagine the betrayal Asher must be feeling right now. To have a brother-in-arms turn on you like that . . . It would be a blow that would no doubt leave a very raw and open wound for a long time to come.

She couldn’t help feeling responsible for bringing this nightmare to his doorstep, and she couldn’t conceive how he didn’t blame her, even just a little bit, for turning his life upside-down. She’d nearly gotten him and his brother killed—more than once. She stopped to consider the death toll and the guilt nearly consumed her. How could Asher possibly want her after this? Now that the threat was over, would he decide she just wasn’t worth the trouble and send her packing like he’d threatened to do the day she showed up on his doorstep?

Even now, he was down in the ER getting a knife wound stitched up. At the thought of all that blood, her nauseous stomach flipped and bile rose up her throat. Tears pricked her eyes. She knew she’d reached her limit of what she could endure when all she wanted to do was cry. And that’s exactly what she did. She cried for Emily, the first of many to lose their lives because of her. She cried for Aileen and all those other girls whose lives had been stripped away from them—their innocence stolen. She cried for the burden she’d been on Asher and the unfairness of it all . . .

A soft knock sounded on the door and Quinn grabbed a tissue from the table stand, quickly drying her eyes and blowing her nose before answering.

“Come in . . .”

The guard opened the door and let Asher inside. He could tell right away she’d been crying. Her bright violet eyes were luminous with unshed tears; the tip of her nose was rosy red. She looked so small lying in that bed. So fragile . . . How long had she been left in here by herself crying? Someone should have gotten him, dammit. After everything she’d been through, she shouldn’t be alone. Well, he was here now, and a pack of wild horses couldn’t drag him away from her again.

“Are you all right?” Her voice broke and it cut through him like glass.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” he assured her, coming over to the side of her bed. “It’s just a few stitches . . . I’ll heal.”

“I’m so sorry . . .”

He winced at the pain in her voice, feeling it as deeply as Jayce’s blade, only sharper. That bastard had cut through flesh and muscle, but Quinn held the power to carve out his soul. “What do you have to be sorry for? Quinn, none of this was your fault.”

“How many times are you going to have to save me?”

Tears slipped down her cheeks as he took her hand in his and he knelt on the floor at the side of her bed. He looked into those beautiful eyes that held the key to his heart and saw his redemption and his demise. She was the only woman in the world that could bring him to his knees. Didn’t she get it? He would die for her, kill for her . . .

“As many as it takes. Quinn, I’m so in love with you, it terrifies me. Before you came into my life, I had nothing to live for. Guilt and regret consumed me. I knew the moment I met you that you were going to turn my life upside-down. I just never thought you’d become my salvation.”

The smile she gave him was worth any fires of hell he’d have to walk through. He was hers to possess, and the rightness he felt every time she looked at him filled him with such a deep sense of peace, there was no doubt in his mind he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman.

“I thought about where I want you to take me when this is all over.”

Keeping his eyes on hers, he dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand held tightly in his. “Oh yeah? Where is that?”

“Home.”