Mission: Irresistible (31 page)

It hit the djed with a force so strong that it dropped Harrison to his knees, but he did not let go. Would not let go. Nothing could make him let go.

The lightning sparked, jumping the gap from Harrison’s homemade djed to the ankh around Grayfield’s neck. It shot veiny branches of voltage straight into his chest.

Grayfield’s body quivered as the electricity passed through him, welding him to the water.

But the lightning did not stop there. The energy frequency snapped and crackled as it leaped both right and left. It struck the two copper rings that Anthony and Demitri held in their hands.

It also fingered down from Grayfield’s legs, illuminating him in a ghostly blue glow that shimmered and danced over the water.

The water that Adam was trudging through trying to get to Cassie.

Horrified, Harrison watched as the electricity jolted up through his brother’s body.

* * *

The heat around her was intense, as was the eerie blue-white light. Cassie blinked, not understanding what was happening. Tom Grayfield stood above her, his body shaking, his eyes rolled back inside his bull’s head, the knife fused to his palm.

And then the blue electrical light was gone and Grayfield’s heavy frame slowly toppled forward.

Cassie raised her bound hands in a defensive reflex to block the blade that descended as Grayfield fell. She rolled her head to one side to keep from getting smacked by his bullish brow.

The duct tape stopped the knife. Grayfield’s head thumped against the sarcophagus and his body slowly slid into the water.

Lightning lit the sky again. Thunder cracked.

Frantically, Cassie began sawing her wrists back and forth against the knife blade, desperate to get free before Grayfield’s hand slipped down into the water with him.

To the left of her came another thump as Anthony Korba collapsed onto the sarcophagus as well, his cheek coming to rest against her knee. She almost kicked him off her, but then she saw that Solen’s half of the amulet was still clutched in his outstretched fingers.

The duct tape broke free, and she shook it off. She pried the knife from Grayfield’s hand and then ripped the gag off her mouth. Plucking the amulet from Anthony’s fingers, she tucked the ring into the pocket of her blouse. She was leaning down to cut the duct tape from her ankles when she felt an iron grip clamp around her wrist.

“Not so fast, sister.”

It was Demitri, Mr. Nike himself. He looked a little dazed, but his eyes were deadly. In his other hand he held Kiya’s half of the amulet.

“Cassie!”

She turned her head to the right, saw Harrison and Clyde splashing toward her in the swift running water, and spied the mummy floating facedown in the water several feet from the sarcophagus.

“Harry!”

She tried to twist away from Demitri, tried with everything inside her to get to Harry, but Demitri applied so much pressure to her wrist, she feared the bone would snap. Helpless, she dropped the knife. It splashed into the river.

Demitri yanked her from the sarcophagus and through the water. He dragged her toward the opposite bank, scraping her knees against the cement spillway in the process.

She gasped against the coldness, against the pain, confused and frightened.

“Cassie, hang on. I’m coming!”

“Harry!” she called over her shoulder.

Demitri jerked her hard. “Shut up. Keep quiet.”

They’d made it across the spillway. She tried to look back, to see how far away Harry was, but Demitri kept tugging at her so hard, pulling her so fast, she could not see what was happening behind her.

Demitri’s got Kiya’s half of the amulet. I have to get it from him.

He was hauling her up an embankment, through a cluster of trees. Somewhere in all the madness she had lost her sandals. Thorns and twigs pierced her bare feet. Her knees stung from the cement burns. She kept stumbling and falling down. Demitri was relentless, never stopping, never even slowing.

What she needed was a plan. Unfortunately, she had nothing. If she could just slow him down long enough for Harry to catch up.

“Hey, Demitri, wanna blow job?”

“Huh?” Demitri paused.

Just as she’d hoped, natural male instinct momentarily outweighed the urgent need to escape his pursuers. But a moment was all Cassie needed. As soon as Demitri turned to see if he’d heard correctly, Cassie plowed her knee into his crotch with as much force as she could muster.

Demitri screamed and clutched himself with both hands, letting go of her and dropping Kiya’s half of the amulet as he sank to the ground, writhing in pain. The amulet made a faint clinking sound as it bounced off a rock.

“A blow to your man parts. Blow job, get it?” Cassie stepped over him and pulled back her hair with one hand so it wouldn’t fall in her face as she searched in the predawn haze for the amulet.

She spotted the ring and leaned down to pick it up. Just as she reached for it, a man’s hand appeared from the shadows.

Breathing hard, clothes soaking wet, Harrison scaled the embankment.

Cassie. I have to save Cassie.

The ground felt like wet cement, dragging him down, slowing him. He pumped his arms and pushed himself harder. The river was directly below him. If he slipped and fell, he would plunge into the deep pool of turbulent water tumbling off the spillway.

Got to get to Cassie.

He crested the hill, heard someone moan ahead of him in the copse of trees. Spurred on, he zigzagged around stumps and boulders, broke through into a small clearing. He found Demitri on the ground, holding himself and rolling from side to side. Cassie was kneeling a few feet away, clutching something tightly to her chest in her knotted hand.

Her face was lifted upward, and she was gazing into the barrel of a gun.

Harrison blinked, unable to believe his eyes, but he understood at once what had happened. She’d racked Demitri, he’d dropped the amulet, and when she’d gone to retrieve it, Ahmose Akvar had pulled the gun on her.

The question was, Where had Ahmose come from, and what did he have to do with Tom Grayfield and the Minoan Order?

“Give me the amulet,” the Egyptian demanded, extending his palm.

“Cassie, sweetheart,” Harrison called out. “Are you all right?”

“Could be better,” she said ruefully. “I’m not a huge fan of having firearms pointed in my face.”

“What are you doing, Ahmose?” Harrison stepped around Demitri, who whistled in a low, keening wail. Cassie must have gotten him good. He moved purposely toward Ahmose, acting as if he was unarmed, acting as if this were all perfectly normal. He didn’t want to escalate the situation by injecting unnecessary emotion into it. But he wanted to rush Ahmose and pound the shit out of him for scaring Cassie.

“Stay back, Harrison.” Ahmose waved the gun at him.

“What’s going on? Let’s talk about this.”

“Nothing to talk about,” Ahmose said. “Give me the amulet.”

“No.” Cassie shook her head. “I won’t.”

Ahmose cocked the gun. “Please, do not make me shoot you.”

Harrison could tell from the determined set to his jaw that Ahmose would pull the trigger if forced. Harrison had no idea why, but he was certain Ahmose was deadly serious. Sweat popped out on his forehead despite the fact he was drenched and shivering cold down to his very marrow.

“Give him the amulet, Cassie.”

In the distance, sirens wailed.

“Give me the amulet.”

The sirens goaded the urgency in Ahmose’s voice. The Egyptian stepped forward and pressed the nose of the gun flush against Cassie’s temple.

Her eyes widened and she looked over at Harrison, the fear on her face ripping a hole through him more vicious than any bullet.

“Give it to him,” Harrison whispered. “It isn’t worth your life.”

“But Kiya and Solen,” she whimpered.

“To hell with Kiya and Solen. You’re the one I care about.”

“Do as Dr. Standish says.”

Reluctantly, Cassie unknotted her fist and allowed Ahmose to pluck the ring from her hand.

Without another word, the Egyptian stalked to the top of the embankment and stared down at the churning river below. He cocked back his arm and flung the amulet into the Trinity.

They all watched it hit the water and quickly disappear into the thrashing foam. Ahmose stuck the gun in his waistband and turned to go.

Harrison stared in disbelief. His entire life’s work had just been thrown away. Impossible, unbelievable. He couldn’t let it go. He had to know. He moved in front of the Egyptian, blocking his way.

Their eyes met.

“Why, Ahmose? Why?”

“Ask your mother,” Ahmose said and then shouldered past him and disappeared into the wet, stormy night.

The sirens screamed nearer.

Stunned over what had just happened, Cassie stared at Harrison.

“Ahmose threw the amulet away. Why would he throw it in the river? And what did he mean when he said to ask your mother?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Harrison said, moving to close the gap between them.

Her bottom lip trembled as emotion swept through her. “Kiya and Solen.” She choked back the tears. “They’ll never be reunited now.”

“Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Harry reached out to cup the back of her head in his palm, threading his fingers through her hair. “Are you all right?”

“Fine.” She forced a shaky smile. “I’m fine.”

He lowered his head and tenderly kissed her lips. She’d never tasted anything sweeter than the flavor of his mouth. Fifteen minutes earlier she’d thought her life was over, that she would never see him again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he scooped her, against him. She never wanted to let him go.

“We better break this up,” he murmured softly against her lips. “Demitri’s getting away.”

She sighed and stepped back. Harrison went after Demitri, who was trying to crawl off through the trees.

“Not so fast, dirtbag.” Harrison grabbed Demitri by the collar and started dragging him, kicking and clawing, back into the clearing. Then Demitri tripped Harrison, knocking him to the ground. They rolled around, punching each other.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Cassie cried.

“Don’t anybody move,” came a voice from the mist. “FBI.”

“How did you find us?” Cassie asked her brother-in-law, David Marshall, several minutes later.

She, David, Harrison, and Clyde were standing on the banks of the Trinity. They’d quickly filled David in on what had happened, each telling their part of the story.

Paramedics loaded Tom Grayfield, Anthony Korba, and Adam into ambulances. All three were unconscious from the refracted electrical discharge of Harrison’s djed transformer. Demitri, who hadn’t been as severely affected by the voltage because he’d been wearing sneakers, was shackled and had been led off to a waiting police cruiser. None of the uniformed officers with David had been able to find Ahmose Akvar, although they were still scouring the nearby woods and the perimeter of Forest Park.

“The burning bush.” David indicated the tree still smoldering from the lightning strike. “Someone saw it flaming and called the fire department. When they got here, firemen spied Tom Grayfield’s limo and radioed the police. I had them put an APB out on you the minute you told me you were with Tom Grayfield. Do you have any idea how frantic I’ve been, Cassie?”

Cassie crinkled her nose. “I’m so sorry, David. I didn’t mean to involve you in all this.”

“Hey.” David smiled and shrugged. “What are brothers-in-law for?”

“You didn’t tell Maddie, did you?”

“I had to. Maddie’s my wife. We don’t keep secrets from each other. She’s catching the next flight out from D.C.”

“Maddie worries too much.” Cassie sighed. Although she might complain about her sister’s fierce protectiveness, she would secretly be overjoyed to hug her twin close after tonight’s ordeal.

“Your sister just cares about you,” David said.

“I know.” Cassie nodded and turned to Harrison. Their eyes met and her stomach clutched. Here was someone else who cared about her too. And she cared about him in return. Cared more than she ever thought possible. “I owe you an apology, Harrison.”

“What for?”

“For believing Ahmose’s lie. For doubting you even for a moment.”

“Why did you doubt me?” he asked.

“Because of the photograph with Clyde in the background. Why did you lie about knowing him?”

“Harrison didn’t know that I knew him,” Clyde interjected. “He never realized it was me in the picture.”

Cassie’s eyes never left Harrison’s face, and he was studying her just as intently. She couldn’t wait to get him alone so she could show him exactly how sorry she was for misjudging him.

“What’s going to happen to Tom Grayfield?” Clyde asked. “And his henchmen?”

“Both the CIA and the Greek government are waiting to talk with him about myriad offenses and violations. He’ll be going to prison for a very long time,” David said. “Anthony Korba and Demitri Lorenzo will face kidnapping and attempted murder charges along with Grayfield.”

Harrison gazed after the ambulance that whisked Adam away. “Do you think my brother will be all right?”

“Come on.” David clapped a sympathetic hand on Harrison’s shoulder. “I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

CHAPTER 23

I
t was eight o’clock on Friday morning when they got back to Harrison’s apartment. David had raised an eyebrow when Cassie told him there wasn’t any need for him to take her over to her place, because she was staying with Harry.

Adam still hadn’t regained consciousness. The doctor had advised them to go home and get some rest. He said Adam’s prognosis was good, and he expected him to make a full recovery.

But once the front door had closed and she was totally alone with Harrison, Cassie was surprised to discover she felt shy and a little awkward.

He smiled at her, stretched out a hand, and her uncertainty vanished. In spite of his black eye and bruises, or maybe even because of them. No one had ever taken her breath the way that he did. How was it she’d never really realized exactly how handsome he was?

“Let’s get you tended to.”

“Huh?” She felt dazed from staring into those rich brown eyes.