Crave (The MacKenzie Family #11) (15 page)

They made it out the sliding glass door in time to hear gunshots and the glass windows in the kitchen shatter.

“Shit. Let’s go.”

“Stay hunched over and low,” Jade commanded. “Make yourself a smaller target.”

The storm slapped at them angrily, soaking them to the skin in an instant. Evie tightened her grip around Jade’s waist when the woman stumbled, and she was worried about the amount of blood she’d lost. The wound was in the upper shoulder, but she needed to get pressure on it soon.

It was impossible to hear anything other than the rumble of the storm and her own heartbeat. And it seemed like an impossibly long way to the outcropping of rocks. But she followed Jade’s instructions and they stayed low, moving into the wind. When she checked to see if they were behind them she could barely see past the length of her own arm. She just had to pray there was no one there. And if they were that they couldn’t see her.

Jade stumbled again and went to her knees this time. “Keep going,” she said. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Evie knelt down next to her and stripped off her t-shirt, having nothing else to use on the wound. Wet fabric wasn’t easy to work with, but she was at least able to put pressure on the wound. They stopped long enough to tie it and then Evie was helping her to her feet again.

“We’re almost there. Keep moving,” she told Jade.

“Max is going to be so pissed. He doesn’t like it when I get hurt.”

“Better hurt than dead.”

“Good point.”

Thank God for bad weather.

When the panic alarm sounded they were only half way to the restaurant, despite the fact that well over ten minutes had passed.

The sound was loud and shrill and Cal didn’t hesitate. He spun the wheel and did a U-turn in the middle of an intersection. He pressed the pedal to the floor and prayed everyone got out of the way.

Max was already on his phone, trying to contact Jade. “No answer,” he said. “Shit.” He banged his fist on the dashboard.

“The alarm sounds to all the agents in the area. They’ll be setting up a perimeter to keep him from leaving the area.”

Cal couldn’t remember time stretching the way it did in the moments between when the alarm sounded and when he skidded to a stop outside the gates of the mansion.

“Jesus, look there,” Cal said, pointing.

Parked at the side of the long drive was a silver Audi. “That’s fucking balls right there. He was so sure he’d get in and out while we were out of the house.”

“That’s a good sign.” Cal took a breath of relief and tried to convince himself that everything was going to be all right. “It means Jade and Evie have detained him for one reason or another. Otherwise he’d be gone by now.”

“What’s that?” Max asked.

“What?” Cal asked, confused.

“That dark spot. Turn on your brights and point toward the front door.”

“Son of a bitch.” Relief fill him at the sight of a man dead instead of a woman with reddish blonde hair. “I’ll check the body. You disable the car.”

They both got out of the Jeep, weapons at the ready, and Cal moved toward the prone figure crumpled on the front steps. He lay on his back, staring straight up, and there was a bullet hole in his throat and another in the chest.

“Jade’s work,” Max said, coming up to stand beside him. “That’s not Taber. Who is it?”

Cal recognized the man’s face from the files he’d been pouring over the last three days. “That’s Jenson Walker. Former CEO of Boulder Corp. I guess we know who was behind the hit in the first place. Let’s go. Taber is still unaccounted for.”

They got back in the Jeep and headed around to the back of the house.”

“Look there,” Cal said, pointing to the broken windows in the kitchen. “That’s how he gained entry.”

His pulse was pounding and fear lodged deep in his belly. Max’s mouth was pinched tight and the weapon lay ready in his lap. The fear of knowing the woman you loved was in danger—might possibly be dead—was a feeling he never wanted to experience again.

The wind rocked the car back and forth, and the wipers were fighting a losing battle.

They made it to the back of the house and pulled up as close as they could to the back of the house before the deck and ramp that led down to the beach got in the way.

“The sliding doors are open. We have to check inside. Just to make sure.”

Max nodded and they approached the house, each taking a spot flanking the French doors. Cal went in low, sweeping the area and clearing before moving to the next room. They did it quickly and efficiently, their training ingrained by countless hours of practice. Even Cal had had to go through field training when he’d been an operative, despite the fact he’d only wanted to work with computers. And Declan had been even more adamant about it once he’d signed on with MacKenzie Security.

“We’re clear,” Max said. “Let’s keep going.”

They got back in the Jeep, driving down the gentle slope that led toward the ocean.

“Why was Jenson Walker here with Taber?” Max asked. “Of all the intel we have, Taber has never taken on a partner before.”

“He’s never had a target guarded by trained operatives inside a compound. He had to make adjustments.”

“Jesus, I can’t see shit. He could be right on top of us. We need to move faster. I don’t have a good feeling in my gut. Something is wrong.”

“Leave me here,” Jade said a little while later. “I can wedge myself on the other side of that larger rock there. He’ll never see me.”

“You’ll be in the water. Some of those waves will go over your head.” Evangeline was worried. Really worried. Her color wasn’t good and she was nodding in and out of consciousness. “The rocks are smooth the farther away they are from the water. There’s nothing to hide behind. Our only option is up. Get on my back.”

Jade tried to laugh but she didn’t have the energy. “I’m a good six or seven inches taller than you. That’s not going to work.”

“Let’s go, Debbie Downer.” Evie kept watch on the horizon, looking for Taber to appear out of nothing right in front of them. “You’re not going to quit on my watch. If we can make up to that ledge right there then I think we’ll be hidden well enough without having to go down into the cove.”

“Just give me a boost.” She pulled herself to her feet and placed her hands on the rocks.

Evie laced her fingers and braced herself for Jade’s weight. She didn’t think the other woman would have the upper body strength to pull herself up on the rocks, but she dug in and gathered resolve from somewhere because her fingers bit into the rocks and the muscles in her arms flexed as she pulled herself up.

Salt spray stung her eyes and wet ropes of hair felt like whips against her face as she climbed up behind Jade. The other woman half crawled, half dragged herself the rest of the way to the rougher rocks toward the top that hadn’t been worn smooth from crashing waves.

Evie had to give it to her, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to keep going if she’d been in a similar situation. She leaned down to help her get adjusted and scoot in so there was room for her as well.

“I shot one of them, so you only have to worry about the one. I think I’m pretty close to passing out.”

The blood was flowing freely from her shoulder again and she tightened the bandage as best she could. The bullet was still inside her. There was no exit wound as far as she could see.

“Take this,” Jade said, handing her the extra Glock. “Call in and let them know where we are. Max is going to be frantic.” And with that Jade slowly faded out of consciousness, until her head slumped to the side and rested against the rocks.

“Christ, get it together, Evangeline. Everything is going to be fine.” She stood up and fumbled for the phone in her pocket to check in with Cal, and that’s when the bullet ricocheted off the rock next to her.

She lost her footing and tumbled back down to the sand, scraping her knee along the way. The gun fell from her grasp and landed in the sand a few feet away and the phone went in the other direction. She scrambled for the gun just as another bullet hit the rocks.

He must have gotten a glimpse of her when she’d stood up, but she didn’t think he could see her at clearly at the moment. His shots were wild, and she figured he was probably trying to get her to run. But the only place to run was toward him.

Her hand grasped the gun and the weight felt good in her hand, and she kept low, squatting at the bottom of the rocks and waiting. Just waiting. In her mind she knew this wasn’t personal. It was a job. Plain and simple. Victor Taber didn’t know her other than what he’d done to study her habits, just like he did for any job. But it sure as hell felt personal when she was dodging his bullets.

A steady stream of fire came from somewhere in front of her, and she hoped to God Jade was well hidden so she didn’t get caught in the crossfire. Evie knew her options and time were up. She could either sit there and wait for him to kill her with a lucky shot, or she could fire back in the general direction she thought the bullets were coming from, maybe giving herself enough cover to move close enough to see him. She’d never been one to wait and let the action happen to her.

Another bullet hit the rocks about ten feet over her head and she took a last deep breath and started firing. She immediately started moving at a fast pace, and she said every prayer she knew along the way, waiting for the moment when she ran straight into him.

She didn’t know if it was an act of God or good luck, she wasn’t one to question, but the rain slowed and the fog cleared just enough—a split second of time—for Taber’s silhouette to be visible. She didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. There was no second-guessing in a life or death situation. She just pulled the trigger until the magazine was empty. And then she released it and popped in another just to be safe.

As fast as it stopped, the rain started again with a fierce gust of wind, the fog rolling off the ocean and onto the shore. Her heart pounded and the rain and salt stung her eyes. She wore only her sports bra since she’d given her shirt to Jade, and a thin pair of shorts. She wasn’t exactly at her best. But she was alive. And that counted for something.

A Jeep slammed to a stop only feet from her, and she stared at it in wide-eyed shock, trying to process who was there and why. Cal and Max both jumped from the vehicle and she let the gun drop to her side.

“Jesus, Evie,” Cal said, grabbing her in a bear hug and burying his face in her neck. She was shaking. Or maybe that was him.

“Jade,” Max said. “Where is she?”

“She needs help,” she said, pulling back from Cal and leading the way toward the rocks where Jade was hidden. “She took one in the shoulder and lost some blood.”

“Christ.” Max climbed the rocks with ease until he found Jade. “She’s unconscious but she’s got a pulse.”

“Do you need help getting her down?”

“I’m going to hand her off to you at the bottom and then I’ll get her to the hospital. The bleeding has turned sluggish and her pulse is strong, but she’s going to need a couple pints. And the bullet is still in there from what I can tell. I didn’t find an exit wound.”

Max lifted Jade and climbed down as best he could with her tucked under one arm, and when he reached the lowest ledge he handed her gently down to Cal. They got her loaded in the Jeep, Max saluted goodbye, and then they sped away.

“She’ll be okay?” Evie asked as they made their way back toward the house. She couldn’t wait to get out of the rain. In fact, she would be okay if she never saw rain again.

“She’ll be fine. Jade’s tough. She’s been through worse than that.”

Her legs were shaking uncontrollably by the time she walked back up the ramp to the house, and she sat down hard on the deck as soon as she got under the covered area. Cal sat next to her and pulled her into his lap.

“You scared the hell out of me. The closer we got all I could hear was gunfire. It sounded like a war zone.”

“It felt like one.” She laid her head against his shoulder and he held her while her body processed the adrenaline and her shaking subsided.

“I love you,” he said. “You know that, right? I’ve loved you for a long time. We were meant to be together. Work together. Love together. Do you trust me to keep loving you?”