HotTango (14 page)

“O’Neil.” Cole crossed to where his commander had his head
together with another officer. “I want to be in on the team that goes into the
second location. I know you have to say no, it’s not policy, but I want on that
team.”

The two officers glanced at each other and for a moment, it
seemed as if no one moved or breathed.

O’Neil slapped a stack of papers on the desk and placed his
fists on his hips. The corners of his mouth were twisted as if he’d tasted
something sour. “Westling, you’ve been on the front line for the last two
hours. You sit your ass down and wait for orders. We’ll let you know when the
team is going in.”

Cole clenched his fists. “Sir—”

O’Neil held his hand up. “You’re leading Alpha Team,
Westling. Don’t make me regret this.”

* * * * *

Tanya sank to the ground and leaned against the wall of the
shipping container. The adrenaline and stress were wearing on everyone. There
was no way she could close her eyes and sleep now, but when this was over, if
she survived, Tanya thought she might be able to sleep for days.

She put her hand over the cell phone at her hip. Touching
it, knowing Cole was on the other end, comforted her a little. Not a lot, but
it was her lifeline. It had vibrated a few moments ago, but she didn’t dare
pull it out again.

“Hey. Hey, lady,” a man on the other side of the shipping
container whispered. They’d all been trying to keep their voices down.

Tanya glanced up, despite the little voice in the back of
her head telling her to ignore him. Play dumb.

Shit.

“You still have my phone?” His voice was low, but everyone
in their makeshift prison turned toward her. She was the meat in the piranha
pool.

Tanya nodded and pressed the phone against her hip.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

The man leaned toward her. At least six people sat on the
floor between them, glancing back and forth as if watching a tennis tournament.
“You get hold of your husband? You said he was SWAT?”

“Sh!” She glanced behind her, but the door remained closed
and their captors unaccounted for. Tanya could feel Mallory and Goldie staring
at her.

“Are they coming to get us?” one woman asked, her voice
pitched higher.

“Keep your voices down,” she snapped. Her muscles protested,
but she pushed to her feet. “Everyone stay calm. We need to stay quiet.”

Tanya glanced over the people staring at her, a glimmer of
hope in their eyes. She’d always shied away from telling people Cole was part
of SWAT because she didn’t want to talk about the dangerous aspect of his job
with other people. Maybe it was the wrong choice, but it was the one she’d
made. That, and people treated her differently when they knew what he did. Now
she was going to have the opposite problem. People were pinning their rescue on
her, and Tanya didn’t know if she could carry that weight.

“Yes, my husband is SWAT. I’ve been texting him, so they
know where we are. I do not know their plans. They can’t take that risk that
telling me will tip them off.” She thumbed over her shoulder at the doors.

“Is there nothing we can do?” the owner of the phone asked.
He was Hispanic, with a belligerent tone she didn’t trust.

“I understand your frustration, but no. We—”

The doors behind Tanya squeaked, protesting the movement.
Dim light filtered into the container. People shielded their faces and scooted
farther into the prison.

“You. Come here,” Trigger Happy snapped.

Cold fear gripped Tanya by the spine, rooting her to the
spot.

They all knew which “you” he was referring to.

Had they been listening?

“Now,” he snapped.

Tanya slowly turned in place. Trigger Happy stood in a
rectangle of dim light. Night must have long since fallen and their new digs
didn’t exactly come equipped with electricity and a spa.

Trigger Happy grabbed her arm and jerked her out of the
container. She stumbled and nearly pitched forward into a stack of broken
shipping pallets, but Nicolas caught her.

“Easy,” he muttered.

She felt the cylinders and wires attached to his vest and
her skin crawled.

Tape. Trigger Happy had peeled tape off his detonator.

“What do you want?” she asked, backing away from Nicolas. He
was still a terrorist.

“Answer the phone next time it rings. They keep calling.”
Trigger Happy tossed the phone at her. She caught it, but barely.

She glanced from the smart phone to her captors and back.
“What should I tell them?”

“Tell them to back off or we start killing hostages,”
Silence said.

Tanya froze and all three gunmen seemed to pause as well. As
if they were resolving themselves to this action. Had they seriously gone into
this with the idea they’d threaten some people and get what they wanted? It was
unrealistic. Hadn’t they seen TV? It was fake, but it still made a point. The
cops didn’t bargain with criminals, even less with terrorists.

“Why are you doing this?” Tanya asked.

The three men glanced among each other. Had she stumbled on
to a sore topic?

“For the release of Ali Saed,” Silence said in an
unconvincing tone.

Nicolas snorted and rolled his eyes.

Silence crossed the distance to Nicolas in two strides and
thrust his finger in the other man’s face. “Don’t forget why we’re here.”

“I haven’t.” Nicolas shoved Silence back. “You think I want
them killing my grandparents?”

Tanya edged away from the contentious duo. Did she dare make
a run for it? The warehouse was pitch dark, save for where a few skylights
provided natural light. But she didn’t move.
Couldn’t. Grandparents? Someone
else was sitting on another trigger somewhere?

Silence grabbed the front of Nicolas’ vest and hauled him
closer, their faces intimate. “Don’t forget that. My brother and mother are
worth more to me than your life. Remember that.”

“Cut it out,” Trigger Happy said, taking over as the voice
of reason. He directed his gaze toward her and the other two swiveled in her
direction.

Tanya shifted her weight from foot to foot. She should have
run. The same decision was etched onto each face. She knew too much. They’d
given her some key, some vital information to unlock the truth behind what was
going on.

“She can’t go back in the container,” Silence said.

Tanya held her hands up, more than ready to play dumb. “I
don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Silence stepped toward her slowly, his gaze narrowed. “Yeah,
but you’re smart—”

The phone in her hand broke out into song, flashing and
vibrating. Tanya yelped and jumped, surprised by the sudden noise.

“Answer it,” Trigger Happy snapped.

“Okay, okay.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Hello?”

“Tanya?” Lily’s voice was a welcome sound.

“Yes, hi, Lily.” Tanya pressed her other hand against her
chest.

Trigger Happy lowered his gun, pointing the muzzle at her.

“Tanya, are you safe? Are the other hostages okay?”

“I can’t answer your questions. What I can say is that the
cops need to back off or-or th-they will begin killing hostages.” She sucked in
a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. “They still demand the release of Ali
Saed.”

“Would one of the men talk to me? I can’t help them if you
can’t talk to me.”

“Let me—”

“That’s enough.” Silence grabbed the phone and ended the
call. He glared at her, as if she’d said too much.

Tanya held her hands up, shielding herself behind her palms.
“I’m sorry, she just wanted to know if she could talk to you or ask you
questions through me. I’m sorry.”

“Go sit over there,” Silence ordered, pointing at a stack of
mostly unbroken pallets.

Tanya was going to die.

It was a fact of the circumstances, but maybe she could save
the others. She turned to face her captors. “I—I have to pee. I’m sorry. I
drank so much water before the game, I really have to go.”

“Fucking hell,” Nicolas muttered. “Come on.”

“No,” Silence snapped. “She goes nowhere.”

“What do you expect her to do, man? Piss herself?” Nicolas
grasped her upper arm. “The others are going to have to pee if we stay here
much longer.”

“Fuck,” Trigger Happy spat.

“There’s another shipping container over there. Stick a
bucket in there and we’re set,” Nicolas continued, reclaiming his title as Mr.
Reasonable.

“Hurry up,” Trigger Happy said.

Silence watched the unfolding decision, his brow drawn down
and his expression screaming disapproval.

“Come on,” Nicolas whispered, hauling her along the thin
path between pallets and discarded metal.

There was so much scrap, she briefly wondered if she could
grab some of it, use it as a shield or weapon, but that wouldn’t help. It would
just get her into trouble with the rest of them and put the other hostages in
danger.

“Are you really going to kill us?” she asked.

Nicolas didn’t meet her gaze, just kept leading her through
the scrap until the maw of another darkened shipping container loomed in front
of them.

Tanya grabbed the door when he tried to shove her in.
“Nicolas, please tell me the truth.”

He didn’t meet her gaze, but stared off into the junk.

“Nick?”

“I don’t want it to be like this, but we don’t have any
choice.” He met her gaze then, with his dark, soulful brown eyes. Light from
the overhead skylight glinted off unshed tears. “You have to understand, we
don’t want to do this. We have to.”

“Why?”

He shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

She spread her arms wide. “You’ve all but admitted that I’m
the first to go. Why not tell me why I’m dying?”

Tell her so she could pass it on. Maybe save another life.

Nicolas wiped his face with his hand and held it over his
mouth for a moment. “Maybe it will help ease my soul.” His gaze flicked to her
face and she felt the weight of his choice, the turmoil in his soul and the
steel of his personality. It stank to high heaven that she met him like this,
because Nicolas seemed to be made of the kind of mettle she liked in people.
“Ali Saed’s people have my grandparents. They have M— They have relatives to
all of us. If we don’t do this, they’ll die. What are we supposed to do? How
can I choose strangers over my family?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. It was
easier before you had faces, names. Before all this.” He gestured to his
fashion statement of a vest.

Tanya stared at her captor.

What would she do if someone had Cole? What lengths would
she go for him to live?

The truth was she didn’t know. In Nicolas’ place, maybe
she’d make the same decision.

“Go.” Nicolas jerked his head toward the dark space. “I’ll
get you a bucket.”

Tanya stepped into the container and Nicolas closed the
door, hinges squealing in protest.

She didn’t wait to hear his steps retreat or for the bucket
she didn’t actually need. She pulled the phone out of her shorts and tapped out
everything she could think of.

Tape on triggers.

Hostages being used to leverage terrorists.

Goodbye.

The container door opened so fast she couldn’t stash the
phone. Tanya jerked her head up and stared into Nicolas’ grim face.

“What are you doing?” he asked quietly. The lack of volume
sounded more dangerous than if he’d yelled at her.

Tanya licked her lips and glanced over his shoulder. Could
she get away? Did she dare?

“I’m sorry,” she blurted for lack of anything better to say.

Nicolas stepped into the container, his face disappearing
into shadow. Tanya took a step back and ran into something.

“Nick, please—”

“Give me the phone.” He held out his hand.

Tanya hunched forward and rushed Nicolas, but he caught her
and pushed her roughly against the wall. She didn’t stop struggling. She kicked
and tried to hit him in the face, doing her best to stay away from the vest.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he got out through clenched
teeth. He wrenched her arms up and over her head. The phone clattered to the
floor.

“No, you just want to kill me,” she spat in his face.

His arms relaxed and Nicolas stepped back and rubbed his
face. “No. I don’t. What were you doing?”

“Saying goodbye to my husband.” It was a partial truth.

“You’re smart, Tanya.” Nicolas stepped back, giving her
space. He put his hands on the rifle. “Hand me the phone.”

Did she die now, or in a minute when he read the texts? She
was a goner and whatever plans Cole had in place for rescuing the hostages or
outmaneuvering the terrorists would be ruined.

Nicolas leveled the gun at her. Somehow it didn’t inspire
the same amount of fear it had in those first few moments. Either she was going
to die by gun or bomb, but there was no way she was surviving this.

He knelt slowly and retrieved the phone. With one eye on
her, he flicked through the messages, reading her last correspondence with the
man she loved most.

“Is your husband a cop or something?” Nicolas asked, without
the anger she expected. He offered the phone to her.

Was this a trap?

She glanced from phone to Nicolas.

He sighed heavily. “I’m going to take your silence as a yes.
I want to help him. What can we do?”

“Wait. What? Are you serious?” Tanya snatched the phone. If
this wasn’t a trick, Cole needed to know as soon as possible.

“I never thought it would go this far and I’m not ready for
any more people to die. The others, they’re serious. I won’t have any more
blood on my hands. Let me help them.”

Did she trust him?

Cole tightened his grip on the rifle. The team moved with
near silence down the tunnel, crossing from warehouse to warehouse. Three other
teams were entering the building under the cover of darkness, moving through
the haphazard paths in search of the shipping containers Tanya’s texts and the
other survivors who’d fled this way had mentioned. It was a stroke of luck the
small group of escaped hostages also passed near where Tanya’s group was being
held. Their information coupled with Tanya’s was invaluable.

But the value of the intel didn’t matter to Cole. What
mattered was keeping her alive.

Her final text message was burned into his mind.

If I don’t survive, I love u with all my heart and soul.
You r my world. I regret nothing.

Tanya was not going to die. She wasn’t.

The team emerged into what appeared to be a scrapyard,
except for the layers of dust, cobwebs and obvious dilapidation of the
structure.

If a bomb went off in here no one would survive. The metal,
shattered wood—all of it would be turned into projectiles. If the blast didn’t
kill them all, the shrapnel would. But they weren’t going to lose anyone else.
Not today.

“No. No! He didn’t mean it,” Tanya’s high-pitched cry broke
the relative silence of the warehouse.

Cole’s gut reaction was to break into a run, go to her, but
that would only put her life and all the other hostages in danger. He held
position though every fiber of his body said to save her. Now.

He used hand signals to communicate to his team, move them
into better position for the narrowness of the path ahead.

Men’s voices rose, but not enough he could make out what
they were saying. Cole listened for Tanya’s voice, but couldn’t pick her out
from the rest.

Cole crept through the heaps with his team at his back. They
had to move without the aid of flashlights, but the support teams outside had
accommodated for this, moving floodlights into position to shine through the
skylights and give them that much more visibility. It wasn’t protocol for most
missions, but there was nothing about this situation that followed typical
process with suspects.

Between a haphazard pile of shipping pallets and metal oil
drums, Cole caught a glimpse of a man surveillance photographs had led them to
believe was named Nicolas Al Harbia. He was a Saudi Arabian immigrant, but
according to records he’d moved to America as a young boy and never returned to
his birth country. He seemed normal, no prior convictions, worked in the
medical field and had even married a white woman. He wasn’t someone Cole would
suspect of being a terrorist, which made it even scarier.

The other two were nameless bastards so far. Nicolas and a
suspect with tightly curled, short-cropped hair were in each other’s faces.
They weren’t yelling, but from their tense postures he doubted the conversation
was of an amicable nature.

“Alpha Team in position. What’s your twenty, Omega and Zed?”

The line beeped almost immediately. “Zed reaching position
now.”

Seconds ticked by, but the third team didn’t radio in.

“Omega, what’s your twenty?” Cole repeated.

“Omega here. Our designated position is compromised. Setting
up thirty yards back from agreed location.”

Cole ground his teeth together and glanced around the
pallets. The three men and Tanya were still engaged in what appeared to be a
heated debate. He had a bad feeling about this.

He ducked behind the pallets to use the radio. The rest of
his team was arrayed behind him, guns at the ready. “We need to go in now.
Something’s up.”

“Zed is ready.”

“Omega is ready.”

There was no guarantee that this was the right decision.
That if they waited the suspects out through the night they would give up. That
they weren’t walking into a trap and everyone would die. But this was the
choice their superiors had made. Every one of the men holding tactical
positions in the warehouse knew what Cole had to lose if this didn’t go down
well, and each had optioned into this mission, knowing it could be his last.

No matter what happened tonight, if Cole survived, he knew
he would never forget the sacrifice his team made for him. Or what he might be
giving up.

“This is Alpha. On my count we go in silent.” Cole sucked in
a deep breath. “Five—four—”

The officers behind him shuffled, bringing guns up into
position.

“Three—”

Those with night vision mounted on their helmets flipped the
viewfinders into place.

“Two—”

Cole’s world became the sliver of light falling on Tanya’s
distressed face. It was the first time he’d seen her since that morning, and
she was beautiful.

“One. Go! We are hot. I have suspects in my view.”

They descended like silent spiders, curling in on the
suspects’ position.

“Don’t forget why we’re doing this!” one suspect yelled.

Cole saw the muscles contract in the suspect named Nicolas’
neck. Watched him turn, eyes searching the darkness for whatever disturbance
he’d sensed.

No! No! No!

Cole’s stomach clenched. The darkness still swathed him as
they moved, but there was no denying the moment that Nicolas’ gaze met his and
recognized the threat.

Nicolas’ eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

“We have been made,” Cole said over the radio.

Instead of alerting the other two suspects, Nicolas grabbed
the bad guy who’d been yelling at him by the vest and delivered an uppercut to
the man’s jaw.

“Nick, what are you doing?” Tanya cried.

Cole and the leader of Omega were the first to break into
the circle, guns leveled at the suspects.

“Down on the ground,” Cole yelled.

The remaining suspect not engaged in the fight grabbed Tanya
around the shoulders and lifted a detonator switch high.

“I have bombs!” he cried.

Nicolas had the other suspect pinned to the ground. His
attention seemed more on his fellow bad guy than the officers, but that meant
neither could put up a fight against the police. Officers moved in around the
two men, yanking them apart. There was a risk of detonating the bomb vests they
wore, but only a little since according to Tanya the detonators were all taped.
The real danger was staring Cole in the face.

“Get back,” the suspect yelled.

Tanya’s gaze went straight to Cole, and what he wouldn’t
have given to take her in his arms then and there. But he couldn’t. Some
asshole had her back to a bunch of bombs.

Officers lined up to his left and right, guns aimed at their
suspect. Voices whispered over his earpiece that others were moving into
position to flank the remaining bad guy.

“Come on, man. Put the trigger down and let her go. We can
talk about this.” Cole’s voice didn’t reveal the adrenaline and anxiety
coursing through him.

“You shoot me, we’re all dead.” The terrorist had the purest
bass voice Cole had ever heard.

Tanya gave a slight shake of her head.

No, don’t shoot?

Or no, he hadn’t had time to remove the tape?

The man could be bluffing.

“We don’t want to hurt anyone. What’s your name?” Cole
asked.

“I want the release of Ali Saed.” He was a persistent
asshole. His finger began working furiously at the side of the detonator.

The tape was still on.

“My name’s Cole. What’s yours?”

“Back the fuck up.” He thrust the detonator forward, as if
it could ward the officers away.

Cole glanced at Tanya’s face, her gaze still on him.

She mouthed what looked like, “Do it.”

“Can’t get into position behind him. Path is blocked off,”
an officer whispered in Cole’s ear.

He shook his head slightly. He wasn’t about to shoot to
kill.

“Do it,” she mouthed again.

“I want the release of Ali Saed,” the suspect repeated.

“I heard you,” Cole managed to get out without snapping.

Tanya’s body went limp. Her legs buckled and she slid down,
almost out of the man’s grasp entirely, exposing his upper chest, shoulders and
head.

Cole didn’t think.

He squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

The single gunshot echoed throughout the space and for a
split second no one moved.

The suspect’s body fell to the floor with a thud.

Tanya pitched forward on her hands and knees, scrambling to
get away.

Officers rushed in, grabbing the body of the suspect, but
Cole had eyes only for his wife.

He rushed the few feet to Tanya and dropped to his knees.
She dove into his arms, pressing her face against his protective vest.

“Ohmygodohmygod,” she chanted through sobs.

“Come on, babe. We have to get out of here, now.” He hauled
them both to their feet and fell in line with the other hostages being escorted
along the fastest route out of the building.

The sense of relief washing over him was enough to take him
to his knees all over again, but there was work still to be done.

“I’ve got you, babe,” he muttered into her hair. She clung
to him so tightly they had to turn sideways to pass through the more narrow
sections.

Outside, EMTs were running between hostages, ushering them
to where the thousand-plus other civilians were being checked out and their
statements taken. Cole followed them, eager to get Tanya to safety. Instead of
continuing to the triage center the medics had set up, he steered them toward
the staging area and command trailer.

O’Neil was the first person Cole saw. Chances were the man
had been waiting for him. He handed his captain the rifle he’d been using and
turned to take his wife into his arms. She clung to him, pressing her face
against his neck, a torrent of words spilling from her lips so fast he didn’t
have a hope or a prayer of understanding her.

“Babe.” He cupped her face.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again.” Her voice was so small
and her eyes full of tears.

Cole hugged her tight, one last time before he was sequestered.
Unlike TV, after he shot someone an investigation started and he couldn’t speak
to anyone except for his lawyer, internal affairs and his commanding officer.
Tonight it was the worst part of his job.

“Oh babe, you knew I’d come for you.”

“I knew you would. Even though you probably weren’t supposed
to, I knew you’d be there.” Her laugh was watery, near hysterical, and he
couldn’t blame her.

“Westling…” O’Neil said.

“I know. Just one more moment, sir.” Cole stroked Tanya’s
hair and kissed her temple. “I have to go, babe.”

“But—why?” She leaned back and stared at him.

Cole squeezed her shoulders and gently pushed her back. It
was difficult considering all he wanted to do was pull her into his lap and
hold her for hours. “Officer-involved shooting. They have to separate me until
we can walk through the scene with my lawyer and internal affairs. It’s
procedure, I promise.”

“Right now?” Tanya glanced at O’Neil and back at him.

O’Neil stepped in and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I know tonight has been difficult. We’ll make this as fast
as possible once the scene is cleared.”

Cole did not envy O’Neil’s job at the moment. Confusion and
anger so powerful flashed across Tanya’s face he was actually grateful to the
other man for taking the heat like this. Tanya sucked in an unsteady breath and
squeezed her eyes shut.

“Okay. I don’t like this, but okay.” She turned her gaze on
him. “I’m not going home without you, so hurry up, okay?”

There was a Tanya to go home with. His wishes had come true.

* * * * *

Tanya walled into the foyer and stared at the closet. Her
bag and gear were still at The Warehouse. She wouldn’t be able to get it for
days while the scene was being processed. Usually she’d come home, roll her bag
into the closet and take a shower. But tonight was far from normal.

Cole’s footsteps thudded on the hardwood floor behind her.
She could hear him punching buttons on the alarm system.

It was those normal things that comforted her. She opened
the closet and glanced inside to preserve the routine, but the gesture was
empty. For some reason, now that the danger had passed she felt more
vulnerable. As if there were boogeymen around every corner, waiting just for
her.

“Come here.” Cole took her hand and led her down the hall,
through their room and into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and steam
began filling the room, fogging the mirrors and easing her lungs.

Cole returned to her. The way he looked at her said it all.
He’d held himself together at the scene for the sake of his job, but her being
in danger had shaken him deeply. Every look, each time he touched her was
gentle, with reverence. Her husband was a strong man, but even he had a
breaking point. She feared this was it.

He grabbed the hem of her tank top, pulled it over her head
and peeled her sports bra off, then slid her panties and shorts off in one
move, going to his knees and taking the garments with him. She pulled his head
against her stomach and held him there. He wrapped his arms around her thighs
and bottom, just holding her.

Tanya’s eyes pricked with tears she hadn’t yet shed.

There were so many things to say. She needed to tell him how
important he was to her. How much she loved him. Everything she’d never said or
taken for granted, she needed to express. Now. And yet she couldn’t find the
words. She only wanted to touch him. Hold him.

After several long minutes Cole stood, seemingly a little
more pulled together.

Tanya grabbed a clip and twisted her hair up on top of her
head. Cole held the glass door for her. A tremor went through her body and her
knees weakened. She hadn’t been in that shipping container long, but the idea
of another confined space didn’t appeal to her.