Out of the Shadows (Falcon) (29 page)

“My pleasure,” Vince said
and immediately took out his cell phone.

“What about this Sutherland woman?”
Colin asked Frank.

“I have her in a holding cell at the airport. One of my agents caught up with her just before she
tried to board a plane for Mexico.”

“Good, we’ll need a witness.”

A knock sounded at the door. Doug checked out the computer screen through the camera Tony had installed. “It’s Scott.”

Frank shut off the TV and sa
t in the chair next to the bed. “Let him in.”

Doug opened the door
, and Scott’s eyes grew wide. His hand automatically went for his gun. Doug stopped the agent with the barrel of his weapon against the man’s temple. Scott put his hands up. “What’s going on?”

Ron rushed to talk. “Hamilton is trying
to convince the president we want to murder him.”

“That’s nonsense. Pure and simple. I’ve protected your life for three years, sir.”

“Look at the monitor, Scott,” Colin said. “Is that you stuffing a metal prong in the lock of Frank’s hotel room? And is this conversation between you and Ron a lie as well? It seems you men have been very busy planning my demise.”

“
I have nothing to say, Mr. President, except I’ve been a loyal employee of the Secret Service for fifteen years. But if you want to take the word of some security guy, well, that’s your problem.”

“No, it’s your problem, Scott. And I want all of it.
Right down to the very last detail.”

Scott looked away, his jaws tight.

“You have one of my men and Kate Stone.” Frank said. “Where are they?”

Scott’s
eyes narrowed, and he glared at Frank. “Go to hell.”

Tony
slapped Scott against the face with the barrel of his gun. Scott landed on his back, and Tony straddled him. With his Glock against Scott’s forehead, Tony said, “Talk now or they’ll take you out in a body bag.”

“I don’t know.”

Tony clipped the bullet into the chamber.

“I don’t know.
I swear.” Scott said, his hands shaking.

“Who has A.J.?” Tony shouted.

“That fucking Mexican.”

“Chavez?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is he
?” Tony demanded.

“I
don’t know. He’s on his own. He took the fucking Falcon agent to pin the murder on. I don’t even know if your man is still alive.”

Tony straightened and
kicked Scott in the right side. “You better hope and pray he’s still breathing or you won’t be.”

***

Ben Reed didn’t bother to go into work. He’d decided to wait it all out in the comfort of his home. His older daughter had flown in from Houston for his birthday and he enjoyed her company.

The fact that his favorite fuck was only four years older than his own chi
ld didn’t bother him. Young women loved power, and he would have a lot more in the coming days.

His wife
, Janet, came in his study and announced lunch was ready. Mother and daughter were going shopping this afternoon, and Ben decided he’d meet with Monique for a little slice of heaven.

He chuckled as he thought about him and Monique fucking while the
president of the United States and the president of Mexico were being mowed down. Made him hard as a fucking rock. And that little spitfire Monique knew how to handle a stiff dick.

But things had gone wrong. The whole while he thought he was just fucking a ditzy broad wh
o yearned to be first lady. According to Angel Diaz that was a lie. She was actually a fucking Al-Queda bitch. In all truthfulness, Ben didn’t think she had enough balls to pull that off. Surprising how some people can fool even a smart man.

From r
eaching inside his desk drawer, he took out a coil of piano wire, wrapped it around his palm, and then shoved it in his pocket. After he screwed her senseless, he’d do his country a favor and kill the whore.

He didn’t honestly know what excited him more, sex or murder.

Adjusting his pants, he left his study and walked toward the kitchen. The doorbell rang, and he stopped to answer it. Hopefully it would be a courier from Scott Wheeler informing him that everything was right on schedule.

He opened the do
or to three men dressed in green FBI jackets, their faces a mask of determination. “Can I help you?” Ben asked.

“Assistant
Director, Ben Reed, you are under arrest for an attempt to assassinate the President of the United States.”

Before Ben could reply, they spun him around and clasped his hands in cuffs. With one
man on each side, they stepped down the first step of his porch. His wife, Janet, ran out. “Ben, what’s going on?”

His daughter joined in. “Daddy, what ar
e these men doing?”

“It’s okay. I
t’s going to be okay,” Ben offered quickly. “It’s just a mistake. I’ll be home for dinner.”

The agent in front o
f him said, “Don’t count on it, Reed. My guess is you’re going away for a very long time.”

“I don’t believe you. I in
sist you release me this minute. I’m the Assistant Director of the CIA.”

“Not anymore, you’re not.”

“But, you’re making a terrible mistake.”

A
hand was placed on top of Ben’s head to fold him into the car. The FBI agent buckled the seatbelt around his waist and said, “Monique Sutherland is in custody also.”

Ben knew he was screwed, but not in the way he’d hoped.

***

Jake shot
past the vehicle, got twenty yards ahead of it, and pulled a 180-degree turn in front of the SUV. The driver instinctively slammed on the brakes. Brody hit the ground running, his automatic rifle leading the way. Through the lightly shaded windshield, he shot the man in the back seat with Kate. She immediately leaned away and ducked.

With a gun pointed on each side of his head, the driver held up his hand
s.

“Get out of the vehicle now,
” Jake shouted.

Brody unlocked the door, reached in
, took Kate by the hand, and pulled her to safety.

Blood splatte
red her clothes, but he had her now. He pulled her against his chest and inhaled her clean scent. He’d missed her more than imaginable. Knowing she was safely in his arms, snuggled against his body brought a sense of indescribable relief.

Jake came up and tapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go.
The driver is tied up, and I called the locals.” Jake smiled at Kate before continuing, “Frank and Tony have Rafferty, and Wheeler contained.”

Brody and Kate ran to the
vehicle. Brody handed her a .32 Magnum. “A.J.’s signal says he’s close by,” Brody said. “You stay in the car. We’re getting A.J., and then Chavez is going down.”

“Do we have confirmation A.J. is still alive?”
Kate asked.

Brody shook his head.

Jake pulled over two doors down from the residence where they knew A.J. was being held. “From what I’m reading, A.J. may not be in the house,” Jake said. “What if he’s in the trunk of one of those three cars?”

“Makes sense
. Let’s get closer.”

Approaching from the left side of the building, they were closest to the driveway where an SUV, a BM
W, and a Cadillac sat parked. “My guess is he’s in the Cadillac,” Brody said. “In an SUV, A.J. could kick out a window, and who wants to mess up a Beemer?”

“I agree,
” Jake said. “When’s the last time you picked a trunk lock?”

“It’s been awhile.
” Brody turned to Jake and smiled. “But a master never loses his touch.”

Reaching in his pocket for h
is lock picking tools, Brody pulled out a piece of wire. In three seconds the trunk popped. Brody and Jake exchanged grins.

Slowly, Brody peeked inside the trunk and saw A.J. curled in
to a ball. Panic dashed through his heart, and he reached to find a pulse.

A slow but steady thump, thump, thump pressed against his fingers. “He’s alive.”

Together Brody and Jake pulled A.J. from the trunk and sat down behind the car. Brody slapped him several times, until A.J. mumbled something. “A.J., it’s me Brody. Wake up.”

“
About damn time,” A.J. mumbled. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot.

“Let’s get you the
hell out of here,” Jake said, taking A.J.’s right arm. With Brody on his left, they started toward the car. Kate stood outside and ran to help them.

As they reached the car, two
armed men ran toward them, bullets flying. Chavez’s men had caught them. Brody spun and returned fire, taking out the two shooters.

As the
y tried to get A.J. to safety, three more men ran out of the house with Chavez.

“Stop where you are or you are all dead,” Chavez shouted.

Brody and Jake held their guns pointed toward Chavez and his advancing men. When they were within twenty feet, Brody and Jake opened fire. Chavez managed to duck behind the rear end of the SUV for cover. They continued to pellet the SUV, so Chavez wouldn’t have a chance to strike.

Kate helped A.J. into the vehicle
, shut the door and then joined Brody and Jake at keeping Chavez at bay.

As they
continued to shoot at the rear of the car, Chavez suddenly ducked around near the garage door. Brody swung his weapon, but Chavez got off two rounds.

Both
bullets struck Kate.

CHAPTER TWENTY
SEVEN

Brody turned as Kate grabbed her chest. She glanced at him, and then slowly fell backwards. In slow motion, she crumpled to the ground. He roared as he reached for her. In the distance another bullet cut through the air.

Brody slid to the ground as he
grabbed Kate. Gently he raised her shoulders off the driveway and cradled her face. Jake called 911 and A.J. crawled out of the vehicle, sat beside him, and stroked Kate’s damp hair.

“Brody,” A.J. said. “I don’t think she’s going to ...”

“Shut up. Shut the fuck up. She’ll be alright.” Brody patted Kate’s cheek. “Come on, sweetheart. Wake up.” Tears clouded his vision as sorrow cut a gash across his heart.

So much blood. It covered his lap,
coursed down the concrete driveway and ran into the street. Kate’s face was white as a summer cloud. She looked small, fragile, and lifeless.

He
put his fingers to her carotid artery and felt around until he found a soft pulse. It was slow and erratic. But she was still alive.

In the distance the sound of sire
ns screamed, and people cautiously trickled out of their homes to check the disturbance. Brody held up his hand and Kate’s blood dripped from his palm. He’d been hoping to stop the bleeding, but she had already lost too much.

Within seconds, A.J. pulled him away as the paramedics crowded around Kate. A gurney appeared,
IV lines were shoved into her veins, and an oxygen mask covered her face. Brody staggered to stand. “I want to go with her,” he shouted as they put her in the back of the ambulance.

“No
, Brody,” A.J. said, holding onto his arm. “Let them do their jobs. You can’t do anything. Let’s meet them at the hospital.”

Brody
’s throat closed, and he nearly choked, before managing to drag in a shallow breath.

Kate
.

All this damn violence had cost Kate dearly. Brody loved her, but he wasn’t a fool. She didn’t stand a chance in hell. How could he go on without her? How could he live with what he’d done?

He turned to see Jake holding Chavez. From the looks of things, Jake had put a slug in the drug lord’s right shoulder, but other than that Chavez looked pretty good. He even had a smile on his face.

Brody charged him. “You son of a bitch, I’m going to kill you.”

It took all Jake and A.J. could do to stop Brody from killing Chavez with his bare hands. Brody broke loose from A.J.’s grip. “Put him in the car.”

Jake nodded as he took
in Brody’s silent message.

“Y
ou cannot harm me,” Chavez said, nervously. “I have diplomatic immunity. I made sure of that before I ever stepped over the border. You can’t touch me.”

Jake backed the car out of the driveway and away from watching eyes. Brody sat in the passenger side
. A.J. sat in the back seat next to Chavez whose hands were cuffed behind his back with zip ties.

They drove for ten minutes while Chavez ranted and screamed about the
ir injustice to him.

Jake pulled over
in a secluded area and turned off the engine. A.J. stepped out of the vehicle while Jake grabbed Chavez and took him around to Brody’s side of the car.