Green Light (Sam Archer 7) (45 page)

‘
Did you speak to him?’

‘
Not yet.’

Josh
grinned. ‘So where the hell is he? We need to talk.’

‘
We don’t know. We’ve been waiting here for him for twenty
minutes. He’s disappeared.’

‘
Again? Where the hell is he this time?’

On the
Upper West Side, people walking down Central Park West glanced at
the good-looking blond man sitting alone on the bench in the black
suit, looking slightly incongruous with the bandage on his neck and
the marks on his face. He should have worn his NYPD uniform for his
hearing, but much of his apartment had been trashed in the shootout
with the Latino gang and he’d bought the suit in a hurry on the way
to the court-house.

Archer
was looking across the street at a building as people flowed past
either side, the branches on the trees beside him waving in the
gentle breeze, leaves falling to the ground around him. He’d been
cleared of all charges, but he couldn’t remember much about it, the
hearing passing by in a blur; he’d left the moment it’d ended,
wanting to come up here and be alone.

Sitting
on the bench, he remembered the moment he saw a team of Marshals
exit that building across the street, a child with them, a group of
four gunmen stepping out of a car intending to mow them
down.

He
remembered rising to intervene, the following events changing his
life.

He
remembered the first time he’d seen her.

Marquez
was right; he still had those memories. No-one could ever take them
from him. And he’d have to make some new ones, Isabel counting on
him to do just that. The look on the girl’s face when he’d come
back from the docks this morning had been one he’d never forget,
the same as April’s when he’d cut her hands free after he’d taken
out Henderson and Tully. Sheer relief. That was why he did what he
did. For every bad guy, there were a thousand good ones out there.
There was a point to all this.

And he
was still here. He’d dust himself off and do it all again. He’d
never quit until his last breath. He’d never stop
fighting.

And he’d
never forget the time he’d spent with Alice.

Glancing
at his watch, he rose and started walking downtown towards the
train.

And
found Vargas standing ten feet away, looking straight at
him.

She’d
come up the path without him noticing. Dressed in jeans and a black
sweater, the white bandage around her neck gone, she looked at him
for a moment then smiled.

‘
No one knew where you’d gone; I figured you might be up
here.’

Completely speechless and rooted to the spot, Archer just
stared at her.

There
was a silence, filled by the noise of the neighbourhood and the
wind in the trees beside them.

‘
They were going to put me in that chemical shit but they ran
out of time,’ Vargas explained. ‘They decided to take me as
insurance in case they were stopped and were going to kill me when
they were out of the city. They were keeping all the other girls
for their next stop; they wanted you guys to not look for them and
believe all ten women were dead. Shepherd said it
worked.’

Unable
to speak, Archer’s brain was still trying to comprehend that it was
Alice, alive, standing in front of him and wasn’t really
registering what she was saying.

Then as
he stood there staring at her and she smiled at him again, the
final pieces fell into place. Karen’s greed; the high value of that
particular group of escorts. Running out of time to fill the bath
and soak Vargas at the hospital.

‘
Are they OK?’ he asked quietly. ‘The women?’

‘
They’re all fine. And Polaris is going to make sure it stays
that way. They’re off the street, for good.’

Pause.

‘
Does Isabel know?’ Archer said.

‘
She knows. They all do. You’re the last one.’

She
smiled, then stepped to one side, giving him room to
pass.

‘
Were you going somewhere?’ she asked.

He shook
his head, still unable to believe she was real.

‘
Not right now.’

They
looked at each other for a few more moments.

Then
stepping forward, Vargas threw her arms around his neck. Archer
pulled her close, ignoring the pain as her body pressed against
his. However, she heard him catch his breath; pulling back, she
opened his jacket and saw the bandage through his white-shirt, then
noticed the other on the side of his neck.

‘
Jesus, Archer,’ she said. ‘What the hell happened?’

‘
I got hurt.’

‘
No shit. How?’

‘
I took a shower.’

‘
Are you serious? Only you could manage to injure yourself
while washing.’ She continued to examine the shirt. ‘Let’s get you
home and cleaned up.’

Archer
suddenly thought back last night to the gunfight and grenade
explosion at their apartment, both of which had destroyed most of
their home. He then realised Vargas would have no idea about
everything that had happened to him since she’d been shot; his
suspension, getting locked up in Rikers and all that had happened
yesterday.

As
Vargas watched him, he motioned to the bench beside
them.

‘
You’d better sit down for this.’

THE END

###

About the author:

Born in
Sydney, Australia and raised in England and Brunei, Tom Barber has
always had a passion for writing and story-telling. It took him to
Nottingham University, England, where he graduated in 2009 with a
2:1 BA Hons in English Studies. Post-graduation, Tom followed this
by moving to New York City and completing the 2 Year Meisner Acting
training programme at The William Esper Studio, furthering his love
of acting and screen-writing.

Upon his return to the UK in late 2011, Tom set to work on his
debut novel,
Nine Lives
, which has since become a five-star rated Amazon UK Kindle
hit. The following books in the series,
The Getaway, Blackout,
Silent
Night
,
One
Way
and
Return
Fire
have been equally successful,
garnering five-star reviews in the US and the UK.

Green Light
is the seventh novel in
the Sam Archer series.

For updates on all new
releases

Follow
@TomBarberBooks
.