Shane Read online

  At that, Shane pulled Aleah to her feet and said, “Come on. Let’s go see if this is the one we’re looking for.”

  She hobbled with him closer to the gunman. She shook her head. “This is his assistant. He’s not the one we need.”

  “Fine,” he said, “but we’ll take this one anyway.” Just then the blast behind them in the building rippled out into the night. Shane was flung down. The gunman rolled to shoot Diesel, who popped him.

  Two down. At that, Shane was immediately back on his feet. He looked to see Aleah on her knees, holding her belly. He bent down, scooped her up into his arms and ran.

  “I think the baby’s coming,” she said.

  “Well, you better tell Baby to hold up a bit,” he said, “because that would be really shitty timing.”

  “I don’t think babies care,” she said and moaned.

  Diesel was ahead of them, heading for the vehicle. It had been prearranged, but that didn’t mean it was still lined up. As soon as Shane saw Diesel get into it and drive toward him, Shane swore and said, “Thank God for that.” Shane scooted inside the back seat, gently setting Aleah down, staying with her.

  Diesel looked up in the rearview mirror and asked, “Hospital?”

  He shook his head. “No, that’ll just get more people killed. Head to the docks.”

  “And what about Shelly?”

  “I’ll send her a message.” He quickly texted her. We’re out. We have the woman. She’s heavily pregnant. Heading to Dock 41 to load up. Stay safe.

  She wrote back immediately. I don’t know about the stay safe part, but I have to tell you. Things just changed.

  Chapter 9

  Shelly stared at the MI6 agent, now holding a gun on her. “What did I do to you?”

  He shrugged. “You’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “You know what? I’m getting really damn tired of people telling me that,” she cried out. “You said that, when the bombs went off, you would know what had happened. So tell me. What has happened?”

  “It means he failed,” he said. “And that means I need to take you as a hostage.”

  “Why?” she asked, staring at him. Then it hit her. “Of course. You’re not working for MI6. You’re working for the other guys.”

  “I’ve been working for both for a long time,” he said. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, just to stay alive.”

  “So you’re a double agent,” she said. “Jesus. Only me. Only in my world could things get so messed up.”

  He smiled and said, “It is what it is. Now let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the docks,” he said. “We’ll meet at the rendezvous area.”

  “What’s the point of that?” she asked.

  “I have to make sure that they didn’t get out somehow,” he said. “If they did, and she’s there, I have to recapture her.”

  She stared at him. “So that was all part of the plan? Wait for Shane to see if he succeeded? If he did, grab her again, squeeze her father down a little bit more, take out everybody involved, and then walk away?”

  “I’ve been trying to walk away from this nightmare for a long time,” he said. “This is the perfect opportunity.”

  “Unbelievable,” she said.

  “Now,” he said, “grab your bag and let’s go.” She picked up her bag, still swearing, when her phone vibrated slightly. She looked at him and asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?”

  “Yes, but don’t close the door.” She rolled her eyes at that, then walked in quickly, used the bathroom, then trying to send a quick message. But even as she typed it, the phone was ripped out of her hand.

  “That’ll be your last freebie,” he said calmly.

  She glared at him. “And what? You’ll just kill me?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “I should have popped you before, just to make sure that you wouldn’t be a problem, but I know he wants leverage, so this is my answer.”

  “Great,” she said, swearing. But now that she didn’t have a phone, she couldn’t send the needed intel to Shane. “Let’s go see who won the battle, your guy or my guy,” she said. “Hands down, I’m saying my guy.”

  “Good,” he said. “Then I can take everybody I need and get out of this.”

  “You’ll never get out of it,” she said. “You’re in too deep.”

  “Which is why I’m working so hard to get out,” he said. “Sometimes things just snowball.” He led her away, the gun in his pocket, smiling at the early morning staff, as he took her down to the basement of the hotel.

  “What if I cry out?” she asked, in a conversational voice. “I mean, just out of curiosity.”

  “Well, whatever attention you attract,” he said, “that’s fine. I’ll just have to kill them too.” At that, she fell silent because she knew instinctively that he would. “Were you involved in the shooting in New York?”

  “No, of course not,” he said. “I wouldn’t dirty my hands with that. That was another team entirely.”

  “Oh, I see. So there’s honor among thieves. You only kill when you need to?”

  “Something like that,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry about it though. This won’t be your day.”

  “Hasn’t been my week yet,” she said.

  “Too bad lover boy didn’t leave you back in New York,” he said.

  “We didn’t think it was safe,” she murmured.

  “You know something? It probably wasn’t, but it’s not very safe for you here either.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think he thought it would be this bad.”

  “Well then, he didn’t look at every contingency, did he?”

  “No, I think he was trying to get along with MI6,” she muttered, “but they just stabbed him in the back.”

  “I’ll have to come up with a really good way to make sure my ass is covered.”

  “Sure. Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll convince them that you were a part of all this from the beginning.” He gave her a smile that made her blood run cold, as she stared into his dead flat eyes.

  The trip was hard, fast, furious, and completely in darkness. Nobody inside made a sound. Even outside, driving with the lights off during a full moon, they slipped through the city and headed for the docks. Only as they arrived, the engine idling, staring around from the back seat, did Aleah ask, “Is it safe?”

  He twisted to look at her, the pain evident in her face. “Yes,” he said, “at the moment anyway. How are you doing?”

  “It’ll be hours yet,” she said, her hands on her belly.

  “You mean, you hope so.”

  She gave a broken laugh. “This is not how I intended to give birth,” she said. “On the other hand, I’m not a captive all alone in that nasty-ass apartment,” she said. “So, for that, I thank you very much.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, “but we’re far from done yet.”

  “I get it.” She took a long slow deep breath, and he watched as the movement shifted up and down her body.

  Shane looked at Diesel. “We need to get moving.”

  Diesel nodded. “I’ll go ahead and scout things out,” he said. “We should have a boat waiting. I’ll give you the signal.”

  “Okay,” Shane replied.

  Diesel slipped out of the truck, closed the door with a nearly silent click, and disappeared from sight. With their bags ready, Shane opened up his side and carefully helped Aleah out of the back seat.

  “How long until the next one?” he asked.

  “Hopefully a long time,” she said. “They’re getting worse.”

  “I hear you,” he said, “but hang on, until we can get you on the ship.”

  She laughed. “You make it sound so easy.”

  “It’s not easy at all,” he said. “I get that. I’ve never been in this position, and I understand it’s not easy on you.” He smiled. “I’m just asking you to do what you can to help us get you there.�
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  “I’ll do anything I can to save my child,” she said.

  He hesitated, looked at her, and said, “I didn’t ask, and nobody said, but who is the father?”

  She smiled a gentle smile. “Renault. A good man,” she said. “Hopefully he’s waiting for me, but I have no idea.”

  “Does he know anything about this?”

  “I don’t know. He was in the military but was deployed before I was taken. I have no way of knowing what he knows and couldn’t trust anything my captors would tell me anyway.”

  “Would your father have told him?”

  “Never. He didn’t approve.”

  “Got it,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean that Renault’s still not the best man for you.”

  “I would take him in a heartbeat, if I could,” she said. “He’s one of the most honorable men I know, which puts him in a completely different class from all the men my father associates with.”

  “And your father himself.”

  “As bad as any of them, worse perhaps,” she admitted softly. “It’s not an easy time right now.”

  “No, it isn’t,” he said. “I do believe he’s been trying to get somebody to get you out of here though.”

  “I’m sure he has,” she said.

  In the distance he heard one long whistle followed by two short ones. He motioned to her and asked, “Can you walk?”

  “Yes, I can walk,” she said. “Just show me to where.” Together, they moved slowly but steadily toward Diesel.

  They were almost there at the dock, when Shane caught sight of a flash. He immediately threw himself down to the ground, taking her with him—Shane hitting the dock, her landing on him, protecting her. He felt a pull on his shoulder, then rolled, jumped to his feet, snatched her up into his arms, carrying her, and raced down the dock.

  Diesel was already at the edge of the dock, firing into the darkness. But, with every shot he fired, his position was revealed as well. Shane handed Aleah off to Diesel, snatched his handgun from his holster, and gave covering fire to make sure that the two of them got as far as they could down the dock. He heard the idling of a motor. Good.

  In the distance he heard a man call out, “Stop. I have your girlfriend.”

  Shane froze. He crouched down deep at a piling.

  The man called out again, “Equal trade.”

  Shane closed his eyes because no way he could do that. Two lives were being put into a Zodiac right now, three, counting Baby, yet no way he could let Shelly be forsaken.

  Sure enough, she called out, “I’m fine. Just go.”

  He shook his head, feeling the weight of the world on his heart. But he already heard the Zodiac idling gently in the water. “You’re too late,” he called out. “I can’t stop it now.”

  “Well, I can,” the gunman said, and gunfire sounded in Shane’s direction, hard and heavy, more of a spray tactic for Shane’s benefit than actually directed at him. But it was effective at keeping him in place. As soon as it stopped, Shane slipped behind a storage bin a good twenty feet to his right. More shots were fired, but he had gained a bigger barrier for the ongoing gunfire. He didn’t know if Diesel had taken off with Aleah or not, but Shane hoped so for her sake.

  When he heard a footstep behind him, he turned, his gun ready, to see Diesel with his finger to his lips, whispering at him, “I’m going right,” he said. “Cover me.”

  Instantly Diesel raced around the corner, heading toward the far side, as Shane stepped up with as much gunfire as he could and pummeled it in the direction where the earlier shots had come from. He knew he was in danger of hitting Shelly, and that was something he hoped to God that he would never have to live with. He aimed above five feet, still hoping to God she was down on the ground and safe somewhere. He heard a cackle of laughter in the distance.

  “Missed me,” he said. “You’ll hear from me soon.” And, with that, an engine fired up and took off.

  Both Shane and Diesel raced into the darkness after the vehicle, shooting at it, its lights on as it headed off. Shane had his phone out, already calling Gavin, setting up tracking. At the same time, he contacted the military, looking to close off all land exits from the docks. They kept running behind the vehicle, hoping they could get at least a roadblock set up right away. The vehicle suddenly swerved to one side and then the other, wildly shifting as they watched, as if the driver were fighting with somebody.

  Diesel said, “Uh …”

  “Shit,” Shane said, picking up speed and racing toward the vehicle, which still slipped from the right to the left and then back over again.

  “She’s doing it again, isn’t she?” Diesel asked, as they ran.

  “Yes,” he said in frustration.

  “Well, I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but, damn it, she’s likely to get herself shot.”

  Just then a shot rang out, and the vehicle slowly rolled to a stop. They raced up behind it, immediately opened the doors, and shoved their guns into the front seat, calling out, “Hands up!”

  And there was Shelly, her face white, yet still wired, her eyes red and bloodshot. She stared at Shane, her breathing raspy. “I didn’t mean to kill him,” she cried out.

  He looked at her in shock, reached down, and placed a finger against the gunman’s neck. Sure enough, he was dead. Shane looked at the position of his body and realized, when the guy tried to fire at her, she’d jumped on him, twisting his wrist around. Because of the small confines of the truck, he had pulled the trigger, shooting himself. He shook his head. “Come on out,” he said.

  She immediately scrambled out the passenger side, and Shane snatched her up into his arms and just held her tight.

  “Where’s the woman?” she asked, pulling back and looking up at him.

  “She’s headed out to the destroyer.” He noted the blood all over her. He just hoped it wasn’t hers.

  “Good. It’s been a pretty rough day. Can I join her?” she asked, shivering.

  “That’s actually not a bad idea.” He looked at Diesel, studying her too, nodding. “Maybe we can get the Zodiac back.” Shane stepped away and made a quick call. Instead a helicopter lifted off the destroyer a few minutes later and soon landed in front of them, and Shelly, bag in hand, was quickly loaded up to be taken out to the destroyer.

  “I have to stay here, honey. Explain to the locals.”

  As she looked at him, she lifted a hand in goodbye. He stood there for a long moment, staring, until the chopper took off.

  “You should have told her that you love her, man,” Diesel said, shaking his head, offering his romantic advice once more.

  “She knows,” Shane replied, focused on the helicopter as it carried her away.

  “Sure, but she doesn’t know in a way that counts,” he said. “She knows that you love her, but not love her-love her.”

  Shane glared at his friend in irritation and got a cheeky grin back. Shane just groaned, then shook his head. “Not to change the subject, but what the hell is going on here?”

  “Well,” Diesel said, “I would guess that this guy she shot is a double agent—in this case, one who had managed to operate within MI6.”

  Very quickly they were surrounded by police, as the pier suddenly filled with vehicles. MI6 was here as well. They quickly walked over, and it took Shane only moments to explain the gunfire, sharing what they had seen and done and the little bit that Shelly had told him. The evidence in the vehicle supported her account. MI6 had grim expressions on their faces and remained quiet as they dealt with the scenario, including the traitorous member of their force who lay dead in the vehicle.

  They looked at Shane and said, “Go on out to the destroyer. We’ll handle this.”

  “Love to,” he said. He and Diesel eased out of the fray, just as the media appeared, which served to spur them on to race down to the end of the pier. Hoping to find a ride for themselves, they found a Zodiac but no attendant. They hopped in, turned on the engine, and quietly slipped away toward the destroye
r. They sent a message ahead, so they would be expected.

  Shortly thereafter, they climbed up the ship and, for the first time in a long while, stood safely on board.

  Chapter 10

  The helicopter landed in the darkness, its lights shining, eerie glows all around. Then more noise, more men, and more lights—red and white, some flashing—together, it all overwhelmed her senses. Shelly had gone from being a kidnap victim, for the second time, to fighting for and gaining her freedom, then being rushed onto a helicopter and brought on board this huge naval ship.

  Even now she was escorted quickly to a completely different area of the ship. As she entered the double doors, she realized she’d been taken to the medical center. A woman immediately greeted her and took her into another small room, where she was stripped down, given a hospital gown, and asked to sit on a bed.

  None of her protests had worked. “I’m fine, you know?” she said. “I just have a bit of a headache is all.”

  The woman nodded and said, “A doctor will check you over in a few minutes.”

  Shelly realized there was no point in arguing. She would be checked over, whether she agreed to be or not. And maybe that was for the best, considering her headache just got worse and worse. She lay here quietly, dozing and then jerking awake, and she realized maybe things could start to return to normal now. Whatever that meant.

  She could only hope that Shane was okay. And Diesel. She knew better than to actually shake her head, so she just mentally shook it at the thought. Of course Shane and Diesel were okay because everything was already over, right? She shivered, pulling the sheet tight up around her neck.

  When a man in a white lab coat walked in, he took one look and made a startled exclamation, then disappeared and quickly returned with a warm blanket that he wrapped around her. It was so warm and cozy, she moaned in relief. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been delayed by another new patient.”

  “That’s fine,” she whispered. “Are you the doctor? Is the pregnant woman okay?”

  “She’s in labor, and we’re likely to have a child within a couple hours,” he said with a smile.