Chapter Fourteen
Victor hadn’t checked in.
Saxon frowned down at his phone. His brother should have called by now, but he hadn’t. Victor never missed a check-in. Never.
Victor had sworn he would call Saxon. The plan had been for Saxon to never call him, probably because his uber-suspicious brother wanted to only use a burner phone when he contacted Saxon but…Something was obviously wrong with the plan.
Saxon called his brother. Not some number to a burner phone, but Saxon’s real number. The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.
Pick up, Vic. Just pick up.
On the fourth ring, the phone was answered.
“Victor,” Saxon said his name in a relieved rush. “What the hell, man? You missed your check-in with me—”
Then he heard laughter. Laughter that sure as shit didn’t belong to Victor.
“I’m afraid Victor will be missing more than just a check-in,” a grating voice told him.
“Who is this?” Saxon demanded as every muscle in his body locked down.
“I’m the man who just shot the FBI agent.”
“Then you’re the man I’m coming to kill,” Saxon said flatly. Victor isn’t dead. Vic isn’t dead!
“Get in line,” the guy told him and he hung up the phone.
No, no!
Saxon dialed back immediately, but the phone just rang and rang.
***
“I thought you were here to rescue me,” Zoe Peters said as she turned her head to stare at Victor. “Not die with me.”
He wasn’t dead, not yet. The bastard had shot him in the right shoulder—trying to take out my firing arm—then he’d cuffed Victor and left him on the floor of that damn basement.
Now he was in that room with Zoe, and she still had a bomb strapped to her chest. Not the best odds he’d ever faced, but not the worst ones either.
Victor’s phone was ringing again. A phone that Hugh had in his hand.
“Who is that asshole calling?” Hugh demanded. “Why won’t he just stop?”
Victor sucked in a deep breath and ignored the pain that pulsed through him. “That asshole is my brother…” Think, think, think. There had to be a way out of this. A way that didn’t involve Victor and Zoe getting blown into a million pieces.
“Family,” Hugh muttered, disgust thick in his voice. “Family is why I’m here. Why you’ll die. Why she…” Fury darkened his face. “Why she will die. I’m going to make Bates pay for what he’s done. I will make him—”
“You’re trying to get at Luther Bates?” Like he didn’t already know that. “Then answer that phone. My brother has something that Bates wants very, very badly.”
Hugh’s eyes turned to slits.
“Bates took out a hit on the Ward family years ago. Maryann Ward is the lawyer who gave the DA all the evidence on Bates. She’s the one who sent him to prison.”
“Maryann Ward.” Hugh smiled. “Oh, I do remember her name.”
“Then maybe you remember that the hitman took out Maryann and her husband, but he missed the daughter, Elizabeth Ward.”
Hugh’s smile stretched even more. “Elizabeth.”
He didn’t like the way the guy said Elizabeth’s name. With such smug satisfaction. Victor started backpedaling with his plan because…something is off here. Some shit is really off.
Other than the bomb and the woman who’d been held hostage and—
Hugh answered the ringing phone. “Do you have Elizabeth Ward?”
“No!” Victor shouted because maybe Saxon would hear him. “Don’t give her up! Send the FBI here—I’m in South Carolina, with Zoe—”
Hugh sighed and lifted the bomb trigger.
“Don’t say another word,” Zoe whispered. “I don’t want to die like this.”
Victor stopped talking.
Hugh held his stare. “I ask again…” he said into the phone. “Do you have Elizabeth Ward? Because your brother just brought her to my attention…and I have to think that he wouldn’t have said her name unless you really did have her with you.” And the guy looked as if he’d just been given some amazing-ass Christmas present.
***
Do you have Elizabeth Ward?
Saxon had to loosen his hold on the phone because he was close to splintering the thing. “Who is this?”
“We covered this already,” he was told, “I’m the man who shot your brother, and I can be the man who kills him, too.”
Not Victor. “What do you want?”
“I want Elizabeth Ward, if you have her.”
His jaw locked. “I don’t.” Lying was easy.
“Oh, that’s too bad.” The voice was mocking. “Because now I’m going to put a bullet right between your brother’s eyes.”
“No!” Saxon shouted.
The guy demanded once more, “Do you have Elizabeth Ward?”
“Yes,” he growled. Elizabeth’s image flashed in his mind. Beautiful, sensual Elizabeth. The woman who could make him feel so much, who could make him need so much.
“I want her.”
Too fucking bad. She’s mine.
“I’ll let your brother go, if you bring Elizabeth Ward to me.”
That wasn’t going to happen. “Tell me where you are.”
“Your brother already told you…South Carolina.” Now the guy’s voice was annoyed.
“I’m nowhere near South Carolina.”
“Then you’d better get here, fast, and when you do, we’ll talk again.”
“Don’t you hurt him, do you understand me?” Before he could fly to South Carolina, the guy might decide to sink a bullet into Victor’s brain.
“If you don’t bring Elizabeth to me, I’ll do more than hurt him.”
Shit, shit, shit! “Why do you want her? What are you going to do?” Because you won’t—
“Elizabeth Ward and I share an enemy. I need her. You bring her to me, and you and the FBI agent can just walk away.” There was a pause. “He says he’s your brother. Surely your brother is worth more to you than she is?” Then he laughed again. “Maybe you think you know the woman, but you don’t. I know her secrets. I know all about Elizabeth…now bring her to South Carolina.”
The guy knew her secrets? That didn’t make a bit of sense to Saxon. Elizabeth didn’t have any secrets. She was good and kind and the best thing that had come into his life in so long.
The best thing…since I met Victor and Jasmine. They’d been my only family until I found her.
“Call again when you’re in South Carolina. If I don’t hear from you in four hours, the FBI agent is—”
“I’m on the West Coast,” Saxon rushed to say. “I need more time.”
“What you need…is to get on a freaking plane. Get on a plane and head to Charleston.” The line went dead.
Saxon stood there a moment, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do.
Trade one life, for another?
He looked down at his phone. Victor had always been there for him. His brother needed him right now. If Victor was already shot, if that bastard on the line hadn’t been lying…
I can’t let Vic die.
He dialed the FBI. Used the contact number that Victor had given him. Within minutes, he had Tracy Adams on the line. Before he’d left Miami, Victor had told him that Tracy had been cleared through the FBI channels. The suits in power had put her back in the field.
“Saxon?” Tracy asked, voice confused. “What’s going on? I-I thought you were gone…”
He had been gone from the game, but his brother’s life was on the line now. “I need you to help me find Victor.”
“What?”
“Victor’s in trouble. I know he’s somewhere in South Carolina, but I need a specific location. He’s…his life is on the line here.”
“But he’s not on any sanctioned FBI case.” Her voice lowered, became hushed as if she didn’t want anyone to overhear her as she said, “The Brass is pretty pissed at him because he went off radar. He was supposed to come in for an interrogation, but he didn’t. Said he was working something on his own.”
My fault. “He’s working for me. He’s trying to get Luther Bates to take the hit off Elizabeth Ward.”
“What?” Now her voice sharpened. “But—but she’s gone. The last I heard, the US Marshalls were supposed to be putting her into protective custody.”
“She’s with me.” And I won’t risk her, but I will save Vic. “I’ll be flying in to the Charleston airport, and Tracy I’m going to need help.”
“You have it.” Now her voice was soft again. “I’ll get there before you do.”
“You can track his phone, right? Find him that way?”
“I’ll find him,” she promised. “You just look for me when you land.”
He ended the call. Exhaled. For a minute, he stared down at the scars on his hands and he remembered the past. Once, he’d fought Victor. Now, he’d fight for him.
Just as Victor had fought for him.
***
Elizabeth glanced around the tasting room once more. She had plans for a kick-off gala to be held in that room. She’d already started making arrangements with a local caterer so that they could be ready—
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She whirled at Saxon’s voice, a wide smile on her face.
But he wasn’t smiling back at her. His face was hard, so very tense. Just as it had been the first time I saw him.
He stalked toward her, an air of menace hanging around him. “Do you know what I would do…” Saxon asked quietly. “To someone who threatened your life?”
Goosebumps rose on her arms. “Saxon?”
“I’d destroy him. I’d destroy anyone who wanted to hurt you.”
There was a hard, flat tone of utter certainty in his voice. She shivered.
His head cocked to the right. “Does that scare you?”
“Nothing about you scares me.” That was the truth. She wanted all of him, good and bad and everything in between.
His hand lifted and his knuckles slid over her cheek. “I can be here, wearing the suit, pretending to be someone else, but deep inside…we both know what I am.”
“Saxon—”
“A killer, a—”
“No.” She caught his hand and held tight to it. “You’re a fighter. A protector. You’re the man I-I want.” She’d almost said he was the man she loved. But Elizabeth had held back. Why? Because she was scared. Not of him, never of him. Her eyes searched his as worry slid into her heart. “Something’s happened.’
He gave a faint nod. “I have to leave town for a bit. One of the winery’s security guards will be seeing you home today.”
Her hold tightened on him. “Where are you going?”
His gaze became shuttered. “To see Victor.”
He was holding back on her. “What’s going on?” When he was silent, she stepped closer to him. “Please, Saxon, tell me.”
He glanced away from her. “I’m going to see my brother. A short trip. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“Liar,” she whispered.
His lips curled the faintest bit. “I’ll be back before you know it.” He pulled away from her and headed toward the door.
She stood there a moment, her mind whirling, then she blurted, “I want to come with you.”
He stilled. “That’s not an option.”
“Why not? If you’re just going to visit Victor…”
Saxon looked back at her.
She could see the terrible truth in his eyes. “Victor is in trouble, isn’t he?” Her voice was hushed.
The lines near his mouth deepened. “I’ll take care of him. It’s what we do. We take care of each other. Me, Victor, and Jasmine…” He turned away again.
She raced across the room and blocked his path before he could reach the door. “I want to help. Whatever is going on here, let me help you.”
He stared down at her. There was longing on his face, in his eyes, but he gave a determined shake of his head. “There’s one thing I won’t risk for him.”
“What? Saxon, I don’t understand what’s happening.”
His hands curled around her shoulders. He pulled her up against him. Crushed his mouth to hers. Kissed her with a wild fury that made her heart race and her body ache.
“You,” he rasped against her mouth. “I won’t risk you.”
Then he left her, striding quickly from the room.
And Elizabeth knew that whatever was happening—whatever dangers Victor faced—they were very, very bad. The last time she’d seen Victor, he’d been determined to get the hit on her canceled.
Whatever has happened to him…it’s because of me.
***
The airport was busy when Saxon strode inside. There were families around, laughing, talking. Businessmen rushing to collect their luggage.
He barely spared any of them a glance. Everything happening around him—it was all just noise. Getting to Victor, saving his brother, that was his priority.
He hadn’t called Jasmine. He didn’t know what he’d find waiting for him in South Carolina, and he didn’t want to risk Jazz, too. Tracy had promised to provide support for him—and he would trust her. Victor had said the woman was a good agent, the best on his team.
He would—
The noise around him dimmed because she was there. Standing just a few feet away and nervously biting her lip.
“Elizabeth?”
She swallowed and nodded.
He was at her side in an instant. “What the hell are you doing here?” He’d left her all safe and sound back at the winery. She shouldn’t be in that busy California airport with him.
“Something has happened to Victor, right?”
His back teeth clenched. “Yes.”
“Because of me?”
He looked away.
“You do that…you look away when you don’t want to lie to me.”
Saxon caught her arms and walked her over toward the wall, blocking her view of everyone else with his body. “Whatever is going on—”
“It’s because of me. Victor was trying to help me. And now you’re flying off, and I’m coming with you.”
The hell she was.
But Elizabeth reached into her bag and she pulled out a ticket. “After you rushed out on me, I talked with Vanessa. She’d booked your flight, so I got her to book mine, too.”
No, this wasn’t happening. “You can’t come with me.”
On the intercom, he heard them announce the boarding for his flight. He backed away from Elizabeth, but she caught his hand.
“Why not?”
And he wouldn’t lie. “Because the bastard who has Vic—that bastard wants you! He wants to trade Vic’s life for yours, and that isn’t happening.”
She paled as she stared up at him.
“I can’t lose you, and I won’t lose Vic.” That meant he went on the plane by himself. “You mean too much to me.” And because he didn’t know what the hell was going to happen when he got to South Carolina, he leaned forward and kissed her once more. This kiss was different from the one he’d given her in the winery. Not wild, but soft and sensual. He poured his emotions into that kiss. He wanted her to know how he felt even if he didn’t have the words that he should be able to give her.
Do I love her?
Yes, he thought he did. But he’d never told a woman that he loved her. Never had those words come out. He wasn’t sure they could. He was so screwed up on the inside. Far more damaged than his sweet Elizabeth probably realized.
I knew she was too good for me, but I couldn’t stay away. And once he’d had her, there had been no going back for him.
“Good-bye,” Saxon breathed the words against her lips, then he kissed her once more. This time, when he kissed her, he could taste the salt of her tears on his tongue.
He turned away and headed for the plane.
***
Saxon buckled his seatbelt and leaned his head back against the seat. He’d need to get a weapon when he arrived in South Carolina. And he’d check in with Tracy to see what kind of reinforcements would be available from the FBI.
His eyes closed as he planned.
Getting Victor out alive was priority one. Making sure that—
He smelled honey. Sweet, sweet honey. Something soft brushed against his knee.
Saxon shook his head even as his eyes opened. Elizabeth was there and currently sliding into the seat right behind his. He caught her arm. “What are you doing?”
She glanced down at his hand. “I think I told you before, I won’t have you risking your life for me again. I won’t let you or your brother be in danger because of me.”
“You don’t understand—”
“No, Saxon, you don’t understand.” The tears were gone from her eyes. She stared up at him and said, “I love you, and I won’t let you just fly away from me. If there is something I can to do help you, I will.”
I love you.
He hadn’t heard anything past that. Tell her that you love her, too. Tell her. But he couldn’t speak a word.
The flight attendant’s voice drifted through the plane as she began her safety spiel.
“It’s okay,” Elizabeth told him with a soft smile. “I know you don’t love me yet. It’s too fast, I get it. But do I love you, Saxon, and I’m coming with you. I’m going to be by your side. I’m going to—”
“Why?”
Her smile widened. “Because that’s what family does.”
No, no…why do you love me? And why was it suddenly so hard for him to actually speak?
She caught his hand and brought his scarred knuckles to her lips. “Whatever is waiting for us, we’ll face it, together.”
The hell they would. “He wants you.” He’d told her that already. “The bastard is trying to trade your life for Victor’s.” That’s a trade that will never happen. I’ll protect her. Always. Victor was his brother, and he’d do just about anything for the man. Take a bullet, give up his life.
But there was one thing he wouldn’t do.
I’ll never trade her. Because she just meant too much to him.
***
Hours later, they were in South Carolina. Finally. Elizabeth had felt as if they were racing some invisible clock during the entire journey.
As soon as they left the Charleston airport, Saxon pulled out his phone. His face was tense when he made the call, and Elizabeth stood beside him, hardly daring to breathe.
“I’m here,” Saxon said into the phone.
She inched closer, trying to hear the other man’s voice. It was garbled but it sounded like he asked…Did you bring her?
Saxon’s gaze slanted toward Elizabeth. “Yes.”
A car horn honked, drowning out any hope she had of hearing the other man’s words.
“Where are you?” Saxon demanded.
“No cops…” She caught those words clearly.
A family came out of the airport, talking excitedly and laughing. She glanced over at them for an instant. When she looked back at Saxon, he looked even more grim and intense.
“I’ll be there,” Saxon promised.
“An hour.” She heard that part very clearly. “Or he’s dead.”
She shivered. Night had fallen, and there was darkness all around them. So much darkness.
Saxon ended the call and put the phone in his pocket.
“What happens now?” She asked him.
“Now…” Saxon said. “I go and get my brother.” He took her elbow and led her toward a black SUV. The driver side door opened just when they reached the vehicle and a woman with long, red hair stepped out.
“Hello, Tracy,” Saxon said.
Elizabeth’s focus shifted to the woman. There was a gun holster at the woman’s hip. She really hoped the chick was FBI and not—
“I’m Agent Tracy Adams,” she said, giving a quick nod toward Elizabeth before she motioned them toward the vehicle. “And I know where Victor is.”
Saxon and Elizabeth climbed into the back seat. Tracy slid back into the front and she cranked the engine.
“I know, too,” Saxon muttered. “The guy is expecting me to come to him…with Elizabeth…within the next two hours. He told me no cops, no other agents…or Victor would be dead.”
“Figured as much,” Tracy said. “ I broke the rules by running the trace on his phone so I could get his location. And considering that I don’t know what I could be walking into here…I figured it would be a case of a two-man team up. You and I against whatever hell is waiting.”
“But if he sees you,” Elizabeth pointed out, worry making her voice thicken, “then he’ll know you’re an agent. He could kill Victor.”
Tracy drove them away from the airport. “Saxon, tell me this…does he know what Elizabeth looks like?”
“If he’s been online, then, yeah, the guy probably knows what she looks like. He’ll have seen her hair, her—”
“Yeah, but now that she’s gone darker, she probably doesn’t look too much like her old pictures, anyway. She’s my size, my age…” Tracy braked at a red light. “I’m hoping we can fool him, just long enough for me to get inside and help you get Victor out. I’m thinking that when I go in with you, he won’t see an agent. He’ll just see…her.”
Elizabeth’s breath whooshed out. That plan might actually work. Only there was one more thing. “What can I do?”
Tracy’s gaze met hers in the rear-view mirror. “Stay down and out of sight in the car. If we come out fast, we’ll need you to be ready to drive us away in an instant.”
So she was the getaway driver?
“Do you have a team standing by?” Elizabeth said. She must have a team. But…if Tracy did…then why does she need me to be her getaway driver?
“No team,” Tracy said as the light turned green. “We’re solo on this because Victor went off the grid. I don’t know what the hell he did for you, Ms. Ward, and the last thing I want is for the FBI to wind up tossing my mentor in jail because he broke the law for you.”
“We’re doing this on our own,” Saxon said. “Not like it will be the first time.”
And Elizabeth prayed it wouldn’t be their last.