Bullseye (19 page)

TWENTY-SIX

T
he bright lights of the hospital corridor blinded Mason when he and Karina stepped from the helicopter pad into the building. Blinking, he kept his hand on the stretcher rail and ran to keep up with the paramedic’s pace.

“You hold on, Caleb. Do you hear me? I don’t want your death on my hands, okay?”

He caught Karina’s gaze across the stretcher. Tears flowed unchecked down her face. With his free hand he brushed moisture from his own cheek. Caleb couldn’t die. He just couldn’t.

A couple of nurses and a white-coated doctor joined their sprint down the hallway. They reached a double door at the end, and one of the nurses dashed forward to slap a button on the wall. As the doors fanned open, the other said, “I’m afraid you can’t go any farther. You’ll find the waiting room back that way. The doctor will talk to you once he’s stable.”

Mason nodded, and stopped.

“Wait.” The command, though faint, was clearly audible. Amazingly, Caleb’s hand rose. “Mason.”

The paramedics hesitated, and Mason rushed forward. He bent over the stretcher and looked into his friend’s pale face. A hazy gaze met his.

“Do you have a prayer in you, Brother?”

Mason sent a frantic glance in Karina’s direction. “He wants you to pray.”

“No.” The words came in a whisper. “I want
you
to.”

It had been years since he’d prayed. Four, to be exact. But what could he do, say no to his dying friend? Irritation flashed through him. Leave it to Caleb to force a man to pray.

Mason grabbed the hand that lay at Caleb’s side, and bowed his head. “Dear Father, please watch over Caleb and keep him safe. Guide the doctors and give them the skill they need. Protect my friend’s life, even though I think he’s a dirty rat for tricking me into praying at the one time he knows I won’t refuse. Amen.”

A slight smile hovered about lips that were only a few shades darker than the sheet on which he lay. “Amen. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t so bad.” Mason found himself blinking back a fresh batch of tears. Actually it had felt kind of good. But he wasn’t about to admit that. He squeezed Caleb’s hand one last time. “Be safe, my friend.”

The stretcher was whisked away, and the doors closed behind it. Karina slipped both arms around his waist. He closed his eyes and pulled her close. Now the long wait began.

And since he’d broken the ice, he might as well try another prayer or two.

* * *

Over the next three hours Mason had the opportunity to use his prayer muscles, and found that they hadn’t atrophied as much as he’d feared. But as the wait stretched on, the more anxious he grew. What was taking so long?

When the blond doctor they’d seen earlier stepped into the waiting room, he and Karina were off their chairs like a shot.

“How’s my friend?” He winced at the demanding tone, but the woman didn’t seem to mind.

Her smile was weary. “It was touch and go there for a while, but he’s finally stable. The bullet nicked his right lung and lodged dangerously close to his spine, but we were able to get it before it caused any permanent damage.”

Mason’s muscles didn’t relax so much as wilt.

Karina threw her arms around him and hugged. “Thank God.”

“He’s going to be in recovery for several hours, so why don’t you go get some rest? You both look like you’ve had a long night.”

Which was the understatement of the year, but Mason was suddenly too weary to do more than nod. “Thank you, Doctor.”

When she left the waiting room, she passed a familiar figure in the doorway. Grierson. The skin sagged around his eyes, and his shirt looked like it had been wadded into a ball and shoved in a corner for a week. But one glance at the satisfaction in his grim smile told Mason all he needed to know.

“You got Maddox.”

“Oh, yeah. And a paddy wagon full of others, too, including the biggest cartel boss we’ve ever landed.”

“Cartel?” Karina tilted her head. “Maddox was dealing in guns
and
drugs?”

Grierson nodded. “The two go hand-in-hand lately.” His gaze slid to Mason’s. “You almost blew a twenty-four month operation, Sinclair. When I heard you were in town, I should have followed my first instinct to lock you up to keep you out of our way until this thing was over.”

“So you knew about Maddox all along?”

“Oh, yeah. Harding too.” His smile went hard. “Can I tell you how good it felt to nail him?” He turned to Karina. “Which reminds me, ma’am. Your brother will probably be released in another hour or so. The feds are prepared to drop all charges related to his activity with the sale of illegal weapons in return for his eyewitness testimony regarding Harding shooting that poor kid.”

Karina’s eyes closed, and she blew out breath. “Thank goodness.”

“Of course he’ll have a chance to talk to another attorney, a clean one this time.”

“I knew it.” Mason straightened, and cast a triumphant glance at Karina. “Navarro was on Maddox’s payroll.”

“And the D.A. has a feeling he’s going to sing, too.”

Karina looked surprised. “The D.A. isn’t crooked, then?”

“Oh no, ma’am. He’d been helping us build our evidence file from the very beginning. He suspected Navarro but couldn’t be sure until he presented his request to try your brother, a fourteen-year-old kid, as an adult. That had to be a move orchestrated by Maddox.”

Her jaw went slack. “I had no idea.”

Mason couldn’t let an I-told-you-so moment pass. “Next time listen to me. Which reminds me.” He gathered his brow into a scowl and turned it on his former boss. “You could have told me about Parker. I might have been able to help.”

“Graham wanted to, but I preferred to keep you out of it. You’re a civilian now.”

“So Graham was working with you?” Mason had a hard time speaking the man’s name without an accompanying wave of grief. He’d misjudged a good man.

“From early on. I assigned them as partners so he could gather evidence from the inside. Speaking of partners.” Grierson’s head ducked and he averted his eyes for a moment. When he looked back up, he held Mason’s gaze steadily. “I was wrong about you back when your wife died. I’m sorry.”

The sting of tears behind his eyes surprised Mason. Until he heard the words, he’d had no idea how much healing they would bring. He blinked hard, to keep them at bay while he stuck out his hand and shook Grierson’s.

“Thank you. I appreciate that
.
” The warmth of their grasped hands melted away the last of the four-year-old ice buried in Mason’s soul.

Then Grierson straightened. “I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got a mountain of paperwork before I can get any sleep.” He started to leave, and then turned back with a piercing gaze. “That reminds me. You got that report I asked for, Sinclair?”

Mason grinned. “Still working on it,
Detective.
”

The man smiled and left the room chuckling.

What had started out to be a day of death was turning into one of healing. And once the process of healing old wounds had begun, Mason wanted to keep going until there were none left. Until all the ghosts had been laid to rest.

He turned to Karina, but couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “You know, since he started the apology thing, I owe you one. Or maybe several.”

“Mason.” She laid a hand on his arm. “After everything you’ve done for Alex and me, you don’t owe me anything.”

“Yes, I do.” The touch of her fingers on his felt so good, so right. Moving almost instinctively, he slipped an arm around her waist. “I should never have hurt you the way I did. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “You were in love.”

Her lips trembled. He found himself unable to look away from them. How many times had he felt those silken lips moving against his?

“I was in love with Margie.” Speaking her name didn’t hurt like it would have a week ago. He
had
loved Margie, in a different way. But Margie was gone, and for the first time, he felt like he could look ahead to a future without her.

Without her. But not without Karina.

He ducked his head and sought her eyes so she could read the truth in his. “But now, I’m in love with you.”

The fluorescent light in the waiting room turned the sudden tears that flooded her eyes into diamonds. Her hand slid up his arm and around his neck.

“You are?”

Was that joy he heard in her voice?

“I am.” He tightened the arm around her waist and pulled her close. “And I was wondering if maybe, if you’ve forgiven me for breaking your heart, you might let me try to put the pieces back together.”

In answer, she rose up on her bare toes, pulled his head down toward hers and swept him into a kiss that left no doubt that she had, indeed, forgiven him.

EPILOGUE

K
arina slid a platter of steaming tortillas
onto the table. “Now you'll get to taste some real Mexican food, just the way my
abuela
used to fix it.”

Her new friend Lauren turned from the counter in Mason's small
kitchen with a bowl of rice and beans. “I hope you like it, baby,” she told her
husband, “because I've been trained by an authentic Mexican cook, and I'm eager
to try out my new skills solo.”

Brent, seated in a chair pushed against the wall, rubbed his
hands together. “It smells great.”

At one end of the table Caleb extended his neck toward the dish
piled high with
carne asada
and inhaled with obvious
pleasure. “Bring it on, Sister. I've been injured, you know. Got to keep up my
strength.”

Karina smiled. The big man had said that at every meal in the
two months since she and Alex arrived in Atlanta. Either she was a really good
cook, or he was one hungry man.

Brent rolled his eyes expansively. “It's been almost six months
since your surgery. Don't you think you're pretty much healed?”

Caleb shook his head. “As long as these two beautiful ladies
keep producing home-cooked meals like this one, I'll play that card as long as
it lasts.”

Karina lifted her head toward the connecting doorway to the
living room. “Mason and Alex, come and eat before it gets cold.”

“Coming!”

The sound of scuffing feet on carpet preceded them, and then
they appeared, jostling each other like two kids to see who could arrive first.
Karina's stomach fluttered at the sight of Alex, laughing with the man who had
reclaimed her heart. Alex slid into his chair with a victorious grin, but Mason
came to her. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close for a
kiss.

Oh, how she loved this man! Their shared secret made the kiss
even sweeter. They weren't quite ready for a public announcement, but soon
they'd share their news with their friends. How fun it would be to proclaim
their upcoming wedding. But for now it was a tender, private treasure between
the two of them.

“Don't you two ever get tired of kissing?” asked Alex in
teenager disgust.

Mason released her, but his gaze continued to caress hers.
“Never.”

“You know,” said Caleb as they took their places around the
table, “we ought to consider changing our name from F.A.S.T. to something else.
We seem to be just as good at matchmaking as we are at helping people falsely
accused of a crime.” He looked pointedly at Lauren and Brent, and then at Mason
and Karina, then assumed an injured air. “What I can't understand is how you two
ended up with the beautiful women. After all, I'm the best of the bunch.”

Everyone laughed, and Mason said, “Tell you what. The next
pretty girl who calls for help is all yours.”

“I'll take her. Now.” His gaze swept the laden table. “Who
wants to pray over our meal?”

Mason spoke up immediately. “I will.”

Karina exchanged a smile with Caleb. What a change God had made
in this man.

She bowed her head and closed her eyes. Beneath the table
Mason's hand sought hers. With a full heart she laced her fingers in his, and
whispered a prayer of her own.

Thank You, Lord. You've given me
everything I ever dreamed of
.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt of
Threat
of Darkness
by Valerie Hansen!

Dear Reader,

A few months before I began writing
Bullseye,
I saw a news article about a raid on a cache of illegal weapons stored in a secret room behind the mirrors in a home gym. Oh, the possibilities for a fiction writer! I couldn’t resist taking that idea and expanding it into a story. Of course, I moved the gym from Mexico to Albuquerque, and invented a whole cast of suspicious characters. That’s the way stories are born, at least in my mind.

Mason’s character was a challenge. He first appeared in
Dangerous Imposter,
and in that book his sharp sarcasm made him a terrific sidekick. But as a hero? I wanted you to like him, and sarcasm can so often make someone appear harsh. I needed to show his sensitive side, even though he would never reveal it himself. So I had to make him vulnerable, and to do that he had to experience some pain. Sorry, Mason! At least his story has a happy ending.

I hope you enjoyed reading
Bullseye,
the second book in the Falsely Accused miniseries from Love Inspired Suspense. As I pen this letter, I’m working out the plot for the third and final book in the series. I hope you’re looking forward to Caleb’s story as much as I am!

I’d love to hear what you thought of my book. Contact me through www.VirginiaSmith.org, or become my friend on Facebook at facebook.com/ginny.p.smith. Or you can write to me at Virginia Smith, P.O. Box 70271, West Valley City, Utah, 84170.

Virginia Smith

Questions for Discussion

1. Did you believe Alex when he adamantly denied involvement with a street gang? Why, or why not?
   
2. Karina feels responsible for her brother getting involved in José’s murder. Is she?
   
3. What impact does Karina and Mason’s failed romance play on their relationship as they try to clear Alex’s name?
   
4. Why does Karina staunchly refuse to let Mason sleep on her couch, even with a locked door between them?
   
5. Can you identify the role each of the three members of the Falsely Accused Support Team play in solving the crime in
   Bullseye?
   
6. Mason decides to take a head-on approach with Russell Maddox and confronts the man in his office building. Was this a wise decision or a rash one?
   
7. Whom did you suspect of killing José at various points in the story?
   
8. Mason bases a lot of his impressions on body language. Do you think it’s possible to understand people based on their body language? Can you give an example of when someone’s body language has communicated a different message than their words?
   
9. Both Karina and Mason receive healing during the story. Identify the source of pain for each of them, and how their healing came about.
   
10. What is the turning point in Karina’s feelings for Mason?
    
11. Mason does not trust Hector from the beginning. Why does he form such a negative opinion of him?
    
12. In fact, Mason distrusts just about everything—Hector, Maddox, Graham, Grierson. Why do you think he is so suspicious of everyone?
    
13. What was Caleb’s reason for requesting that Mason pray for him before he is wheeled into surgery?
    
14. With which character in
    Bullseye
    did you most identify? Why?