The Big Guns Read online

  “You sound like Adam.”

  He stared at her in mock horror. “Are you trying to kill the mood?”

  “Sorry. Just an observation. You guys are alike.” All strong and decent. All protective and tough. She admired their bond to one another and their fierce dedication to the women they loved. Any woman would be lucky to be enveloped in their embrace.

  “It’s freezing down here. Let’s move around before our bones go stiff and refuse to move.”

  Giving Zach her best dramatic sigh, she stared up at the ceiling. “All that beautiful house up there and we’re stuck underground.”

  He froze. “I could—”

  When she saw the bowed eyebrows, she knew he’d taken her seriously. She laid a hand against his bare leg. “I was kidding.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded and actually meant it. “We err on the side of safety.”

  “You’d make a good Recovery team member.” He jumped up and held a hand down to help her to her feet.

  She was too busy staring at his lean body to function. Her gaze wandered up his muscular legs to the very heat of him and then to his flat stomach. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, and he sure wasn’t shy about being naked.

  She smiled, ready to praise his exercise regimen when she got a closer look at his chest. A ragged scar stretched along the top of his rib cage. Another marked his shoulder. Even now he wore the bandage from their run-and-shoot at the safe house.

  His gaze followed hers. “What?”

  “You’re a survivor.”

  “I guess.”

  “It’s ingrained.”

  “It’s all I know.”

  She noticed his return to clipped sentences and knew the cause. When he felt emotionally cornered, he fell back on the false barrier that grew out of limited conversation. “In your mind people are bad, so you put them down.”

  “Something like that.”

  “What about the gray areas?”

  He didn’t hesitate with his response. “Don’t believe in them.”

  For her, life was all about the gray. It was where real people lived. People were bits and pieces, some good and some bad. Believing anything else made her relationship with Trevor a sham, and she wasn’t ready to go there yet. Being loyal to Zach didn’t mean forgetting all the good things about Trevor. Not in her mind.

  Since Zach shifted into shutdown mode, she made a swift change of subject. “Where is this wine cellar I keep hearing about?”

  A smile broke across his lips. “You understand there’s not actually any wine in it, right?”

  “Speaking of that…” She glanced around, hoping to at least see a candy bar wrapper. Anything that pointed to food. “What about the essentials? I am talking, of course, about chips and soda.”

  “You don’t look like you eat anything fun.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  He nodded. “It was.”

  “Good genes.”

  His gaze slipped to her breasts. “I’d say.”

  She snapped her fingers. “Food?”

  “We’re not exactly trapped down here. We can venture upstairs for a few muintes at a time so long as we’re careful.” He stretched, wincing as he pressed a hand to his lower back. “I’m thinking trying out a bedroom is a mistake. Too dangerous.”

  “You know how to treat a lady.”

  “I’m all about making you happy when I can, just without a bedroom at the moment.” He pulled up his jeans but left them unbuttoned. “Let me show you the wine cellar.”

  When he held out a hand, she grabbed it. Slipping her fingers through his in an act so normal, so commonplace and real, convinced her that taking a chance on him was the right thing to do.

  He stopped and tapped a finger against her nose. “Now, look impressed when you see this.”

  “What woman doesn’t like a dirt room?”

  “That’s my motto.” He chuckled as he flicked the switch.

  A yellow light sputtered to life in the middle of the room. The dim glow lit the immediate area, but there wasn’t much to see. An empty safe and a wrench in front of a hollowed-out wall. She tried to envision an impressive space with temperature-controlled compartments and bottles of expensive wine, but she didn’t see it.

  “I bet there’s somewhere upstairs…” The words died as she focused on the stark, hollowed-cheeked look of fear on his face. “What?”

  “Damn.”

  “Zach?”

  “This can’t be.” He dropped her hand and stood motionless in front of the open safe door.

  “What is it?”

  “The explosives, the plans, my tools. Everything is gone.” He turned around in the middle of the room, his arms outstretched and his mouth twisted in anger.

  “Stolen?”

  “Not by thieves. This is deliberate.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We have to get out of here.” He grabbed her elbow and started dragging her back across the cold floor.

  She dug in her heels and forced him to turn back around to face her. Seeing the dark bleakness in his eyes, she almost regretted the move. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “A trap.”

  “You have to focus here.” She put her hands on his forearms, willing him to listen. “Be clearer.”

  “I lock up everything. Always. Now it’s all gone.”

  “I’m sure there’s an explanation.”

  “Someone has it. Someone who knew how to get in and out of here without trouble.”

  She could almost see his instincts kick to life. He’d come up with a theory and his mind immediately went there. He was no longer listening to reason. Whatever conspiracy he saw in his head was his only focus.

  She laid her palms against his cheeks, hoping her cool skin would snap him back to reality. “Listen to me.”

  “It was all a setup.”

  “What?”

  “This job. The Hamptons’ mansion.”

  She tried to follow the huge jumps he kept making. “But you said—”

  “It was all meant to lure me here.” He took her hands in his and stared deep into her eyes. “I know I’m right.”

  For some reason that was good enough for her. His senses hadn’t been wrong yet. The logic didn’t make sense to her, but she’d cheated death more than once in his arms and wasn’t about to question whatever inner voice screamed trouble to him.

  They rushed back into the outer room. Without talking and with only the sounds of her desperate pants filling the silence, they threw on their clothes. Unimportant things like socks and shoes got left behind.

  Before she had her pants zipped he stalked into the main space at the base of the stairs. “Zach, wait.”

  She fumbled her way, tripping and limping on her sore knee after him. She crossed the threshold and caught up to him just as the door at the top of the stairs crashed open.

  In a swift move refined by practice, Zach reached for his gun as a dark blur came flying down the stairs, tumbling and thumping as it hit each loud step. A man who failed to make any attempt to stop the freefall. Like a rag doll, arms flailed and shoes thudded against the rock walls. The figure fell into a boneless pile at Zach’s feet before the door above slammed shut again.

  “Who is it?” She really wanted to know how a person survived that type of abuse. Then she took in the dark suit and familiar shoes. “Oh, no.”

  “What?”

  “It can’t be.” She tried to touch the man but Zach kept her on her feet and away from the body.

  His aim at the door never wavered while he bent down to feel for a pulse. “He’s alive.”

  Stunned relief crashed over her. “I don’t know how.”

  Zach handed her the weapon. “Shoot if you have to.”

  She could barely breathe. Squeezing a trigger, even thinking, was beyond her. Still, she said, “Okay.”

  He slipped his hands under the man’s shoulders and gently flipped him over. “Damn.”
/>   This was her worst nightmare, the one situation she hadn’t predicted and secretly feared would happen once she saw him face down Luke and Zach at the warehouse.

  She gazed into the face she saw every day, the one man who’d believed in her when no one else did. “Trevor.”

  LUKE PACED THE WAREHOUSE’S small space between the kitchen counter and the conference table. He smelled trouble. The building was quiet, the streets abandoned. At Zach’s last check-in a few hours ago, all was fine. It was dark now and nothing felt right.

  It was a bit too perfect for his taste.

  Adam stomped down the stairs, leaving Maddie walking around in the dim light above. “You’re still here.”

  “Caleb and Holden can handle my house.”

  “And Claire?”

  The mere mention of his wife’s name made Luke smile. Even the ten minutes of nagging she’d delivered during their phone conversation made him miss her. “She’s not thrilled I’m staying here for a while, but she’s worried about Zach, so I get a pass.”

  “Then you feel it, too.”

  They had been together long enough that Adam didn’t need to define the restless churning that started whenever the mood changed. Someone or something big was on the horizon and they both knew it. “Yeah.”

  “Trevor.”

  “That’s the most obvious venue of attack, but why? He knows we’ll trace this back to him after his little visit. It’s like he’s asking to be killed.” Luke wished he would because taking the other man down would be pure pleasure.

  “Maybe he thinks Sela is here and figures he can take us all out at one time.”

  “No, this is something else.”

  Adam nodded. “Someone looking to frame Trevor.”

  Zach hated the idea. It meant the team would actually have to step in and save Trevor. Letting the man go down for his illegal activities was one thing. Allowing him to swing over someone else’s mess was not okay, not if Sela ended up in the middle as roadkill.

  “This is coming from someone who knows we’re here and getting closer to uncovering his role in the conspiracy.” As far as Luke could tell, that left two suspects. One was too unbearable to think about, the violation so huge.

  Adam reached over and tapped on the keyboard, bringing up a set of cameras. “Where is Vince?”

  “Car hasn’t moved and sensors say he’s still inside his house.” Luke knew because he’d been glued to the monitors for more than an hour.

  Adam held up his hands as if waiting for permission. “I’m happy to go check.”

  “I’ll call Holden.”

  “Why?”

  This was the one thing Luke was sure of. If everything had reached the boiling point and the end was near, he would not have a balcony seat. He would be there, no matter the consequences. “To come here because I’m going with you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Zach tried to get his mind clicking into action by counting to five. Seeing Trevor tumble headfirst down those stairs swept every other plan out of Zach’s head. He hadn’t counted on more bodies, more people to save. He hadn’t thought the leader of this thing would take out Trevor when he came after Sela.

  He sure hadn’t counted on anyone finding them this fast. He now worried that the Hamptons’ trip was nothing but a way to get Zach alone in the house.

  Trevor groaned and Sela fell to her knees beside him. “Can you hear me?”

  Zach wrestled down a lump of jealousy. She said Trevor meant nothing to her outside of work and Zach refused to doubt her. She’d shown him loyalty, given him an incredible few hours. He would not let his mind wander to the dark place where he dissected every conversation, looking for lies.

  “No humming,” he said.

  “I’m not.” When he raised an eyebrow she bit her lower lip. “Sorry.”

  He did a mental count of his weapons. With limited firepower and three people to cover, it was going to be tight. He knew who he wanted to sacrifice when the bullets started flying, but he’d somehow manage to save Trevor, too. Anything else would upset Sela, and Zach couldn’t tolerate that.

  Besides surviving the next few minutes, Zach had to get word to the team to take cover in case this was just a start to Vince’s rampage.

  Sela’s focus hadn’t strayed from Trevor. She ran a hand over his forehead and she tried to blot some of the blood from his face with the edge of her shirt. “Is he going to die?”

  The “he” in question moved. A groan later Trevor lifted his hand and touched his forehead. “No.”

  Zach knew he should feel something for Trevor’s seemingly miraculous recovery, but nothing came to him. “There, he said no. We can move on.”

  “I never thought I’d be happy to see you.” Trevor blinked, his words slurring less the longer he talked.

  “What happened?” Sela asked.

  That was the last thing Zach wanted to talk about. “Never mind that. Who else is up there?”

  With Sela’s help, Trevor struggled to a sitting position. He leaned hard into her side. “Vince.”

  Zach ground his teeth together to keep from grabbing the guy and flinging him to the other side of the room. “Rod?”

  “No.” Trevor shook his head. A second later he put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes. “Nobody else that I could see. Just Vince.”

  Zach knew Trevor was trying to keep from passing out or throwing up. Probably had a concussion, maybe something worse. “Trevor?”

  “It’s all been Vince.” Trevor peeked at Sela. “All of it.”

  “What has?” she asked.

  “Tell her, Trevor.” Zach unstacked the two boxes beside him and moved stuff around inside, looking for anything that might help. “Let her see the real you.”

  “Zach, this isn’t the time for a grudge.” The fury in her voice matched the mass weighing him down.

  He went right to the truth, didn’t sugarcoat. “It could be the only time we have left.”

  She stood and walked to the bottom of the steps. Straining her neck, she looked up. “We should concentrate on getting out of here.”

  Zach wasn’t ready to let Trevor’s admission go. “How deep are you in this? Tell her.”

  When Zach just stood there and Sela joined him, Trevor shook his head. “Don’t do this.”

  “Say it.”

  The silence drew out until Zach thought the other man would refuse to fill it. He was about to turn back to his fruitless box search when Trevor’s gaze skipped over Sela and landed on the wall behind her.

  “They had some information on me, about me. I had to get in the WitSec mess to keep it quiet.”

  “What is the information?” Zach barked out the question.

  Something cold flashed in Trevor’s eyes. “We need to get out of here.”

  “Is the door locked?” Sela asked.

  Zach fought back the urge to shake the truth out of Trevor. “I’m guessing, but I’ll check.”

  Trevor moved slowly and deliberately but at least he was in motion. “Any other exits?”

  Zach had spent some time checking the place out when he’d started his work here. He had to know about the structure and feasibility of rocking the ground below a big house. The lack of a second exit always worried him. That meant one way out if he messed up. “Not from down here.”

  Sela sighed. “There has to be something here that can help us.”

  Zach was about to start up the stairs, facing bullets and whatever disaster loomed on the other side of the door, when he caught a flash out of the corner of his eye. Sela had taken over his job at the boxes. “Sela, don’t.”

  “I am not going to sit here and die.”

  When faced with the impossible, she fought on. Zach respected her for that. If he were a different guy who hadn’t seen what he’d seen, he might even love her. She was worth the battle and daily worry of losing her again.

  And she deserved the truth, needed to hear it about Trevor so she’d understand that people really were black-and-whi
te. Both sides warred in everyone, but a person had to choose. Trevor chose dark. Zach fought every day to keep out of the abyss, but it took all his strength and left nothing for anything else.

  “Tell her, Trevor,” Zach said.

  Sela held up her hand. “I said stop.”

  If she had asked him in that pleading tone of hers, he would have caved, but her anger Zach could take. He continued to question Trevor. “What did they have on you? What made you sacrifice those women?”

  Trevor sat on the floor, his legs unmoving, and shook his head. “I provided information only.”

  “And firepower.”

  Trevor exhaled, wincing as he did. “At times.”

  Zach refused to let it drop. Not now. Not when they were this close. “The blackmail was what?”

  Sela turned away. She climbed into the pile, shoving boxes aside and digging in with such relish that the sound of ripping cardboard blocked out the conversation. “Zach, help me.”

  “With what?”

  “There’s a box back here.” Her body went up and over the box she just tore apart. “About twenty of them actually.” Her shoulders shook and the muscles in her neck strained as she tried to open something.

  He gave in. “Let me help.”

  She stood over it, staring down as if a rabid scowl could open the box. “This one looks different. It’s wood.”

  Zach didn’t remember anything like that in the room. He’d glanced at the boxes when he stacked them out of the way at the start of the job. “Let me see.”

  “It’s bolted shut.” He tried to lift the lid but it didn’t budge.

  “Wait.” She waved a finger in the air, then vaulted over the boxes and into the other room. “I saw a wrench.”

  “Convenient.” The team accused him of finding conspiracies where they didn’t exist, but having the only tool they needed be the one magically left behind struck him as part of a plan.

  “What?” She shouted the question from the other room.

  Zach nodded in Trevor’s direction. “Any chance you can help here?”

  “Get me up.”

  With an arm around Trevor’s waist, Zach lifted from his knees, taking on the man’s near-dead weight, but he didn’t stop pushing his cause. “Tell her.”