Books by Maggie Shayne (20 page)

She'd emerged into what must he the other, gargantuan section of the building. The same ckering, insufficient light came from above, and she saw men, three of them, standing in a huddle about a yard in front of D. C. Wayhe'S black car. A big slab of a door hung from rollers just he-hind the car. None of the men looked her way, but they would. She stood in the open, the door to the small office at her back, and the wide room in front of her. I. ess than fifty feet of space stood between her and those thugs. She swung her gaze to the left and spotted a stack of boxes. Moving slowly, praying for invisibility, she went to it, ducked down behind it. No one shouted at her. No one seemed to notice.

She ducked there for some time. Behind her, a ladder was mounted to the cement wall, and she wondered briefly why. Then she forgot all about it, when she heard Scorpionls voice. She peered out, saw him rejoining the others. "Well?"

"He's on his way, Scorpion. And he's said a voice she didn't recognize.

' "You're sure?"

"Yes. Positive. Asbahd is with him.

following. As you said, Palamaro had no ing his own people. "

 
"It's going to be a shame to kill him," Scorpion mused. "It's been a challenge, dealing with him."

"They will arrive at any moment," the first man said.

"Good. Get into your positions, just in case. But remember, the kill is mine."

Alex almost cried out. She had to bite her lip.

"Now? Scorpion, I thought you would Use him as a hostage... to insure our escape."

"You question my judgment." The man fell silent, and Alex saw the flash of fear in his black eyes. Scorpion drew a breath and went on.

"I will not keep him alive.

He's too dangerous. Better to kill him now. The others will have no way of knowing he's already dead. We'll negotiate as if he were alive.

"

"Very wise, Scorpion," one man said, and the others muttered in agreement.

"Go now," he ordered.

"Into position."

Alex crept out of her boxes and peered around a corner. There was a catwalk, lined with erates, and she saw two men scramble up there, one on each side. She looked around her, at the ladder on the wall just to her left. That's where it went. Up there, to the catwalk.

Torch was walking into a trap. She'd be damned if she'd sit here and watch as they killed the man she loved.

Moving silently, she gripped the ladder and made her way up.

A car rolled to a stop outside. The engine died. Alex bit her lip and moved faster. She got to the top, pulled herself onto the catwalk. It stretched just above the I beams that held the light fixtures, so it was dark here. She could see the shape of the man who'd taken position farther along the narrow platform. He crouched, staring down toward the doorway, a rifle cradled in his arms. If he turned around, he'd see her. She held her breath and began crawling forward.

 
Closer. Closer. She lay on her belly, sliding along inch by inch.

The man was within reach now. She held her breath. Someone below pushed the noisy door open. The man tensed, lifting his gun. And Alex pushed him.

He emitted a soft, surprised cry as he fell, and when he hit the floor, she barely heard the sound of his impact. The door continued creaking and groaning for a few more seconds. No one turned to look her way. No one saw the broken body lying below, in the shadows near the right wall.

She looked at the open doorway.

Torch stood there, dripping wet, his hands raised above his head.

Alex receded into the shadows, back the way she'd come. And then she turned at a fight angle and crept over the narrow section of metal that spanned the room from side to side. There was another assassin stationed on the opposite catwalk, and she had to try to remove him from the equation, as well.

Torch caught a glimpse of the catwalks on either side of h;ma. Dark up there. Probably snipers waiting.

"Hello, Palamaro," Scorpion said.

Two down here, besides Scorpion. The one who'd driven him was outside, probably standing sentry in the pouring rain. He wouldn't hear much out there. The one who'd opened the door stood behind Torch, with a gun pointed at his back And Scorpion stood in front of him. How many up above? he wondered.

Aloud, he said, "Where is she?"

"Within 'reach," Scorpion said, grinning.

"But if you shoot me and search the premises, you won't find her."

Torch was bleeding inside, damned distracted by the incredible need to see her, to hear her voice, to know she was still alive. And Scorpion knew it, the bastard. He'd drag this out all night. Unless he'd already. No. He couldn't think that way. They'd found the three when "d searched He was un derarmed. Down to the knife in his boot, and that little whiskey flask, which he'd modified the contents of a bit.

Emptied the whiskey. Filled it with gasoline syphoned from Stern's car.

"There's not much time, Scorpion," he said, aiming a pointed glance behind him for good measure.

"The team will be all over this place any minute. You need to move fast. I~t Alexandra walk out of here and make your ef~al~. Use me as a shield. It will work."

Scorpion's white eyebrows rose. Fortunately for Torch, the chopper,-or a chopp~. --chose that moment to pass over the warehouse, reinforcing Torch's words. A good thing. He was half convinced Scorpion had planned to just shoot him on sight and try to bluff his way out of the U. S. Now, it seemed, he was thinking twice.

"No time to kill me and hide my body, is there Scorpion? And if they find it ... or my blood ... they'll know I'm dead and your escape plan ends. Come on. Let Alexandra go and let's get on with this."

Scorpion's pale tongue darted out to moisten flesh-toned lips.

"I'll keep you both with me." He lifted an automatic.

There was a guttural cry from h'w,~h above and to the right, then a crash. Scorpion jerked his head in that direction, eyes widening.

Torch jumped in surprise, too. Had one of his snipers fallen?

The man behind Torch moved off in that direction at a nod from Scorpion, to investigate. Great. Only one gun on him now. Scorpion's gaze was back on him, too. He wasn't even looking off to the fight.

Torch was though, and what he saw made his blood freeze.

Alex's unmistakable form slipping silently down the ladder from the catwalk. The thug who'd gone to investigate had his rifle at the ready, but he was looking down, at the fallen man. All he had to do was tip his head up, see her, and she'd be dead. One shot. All over.

All Scorpion had to do now was shift his gaze, and he'd see her, as well. In plain sight now, as she moved lower, into the full glow of the overhead lights.

And then it happened. The man on the floor looked up. A split second was all she had left. Torch knew damned well the second he moved, Scorpion would shoot him. He knew it, but he moved anyway. In an instant he'd crouched, snatched the knife from his boot and whipped it end over end even as Scorpion's gunshot deafened him.

It felt as if a truck had hit him squarely in the chest. He flew backward at the impact, landing on his back, hard. But he had the pleasure of seeing the blade hit home and the man who'd lifted his rifle drop it with a shuddering cry. So fast. It had happened so fast. Where was Alex? Scorpion stepped toward him slowly, holding the gun steady and smiling. But Torch didn't' give a damn. He searched the ladder.

She wasn't there. Oh. She was on the floor, ripping the rifle from the dead man's grasp, pulling the butt to her shoulder, pointing it at Scorpion. But she' sobbed Torch's name, and Scorpion whirled, his handgun trained on her now.

"You bastard!" she shrieked.

"You shot hi/n, you son of " Put the gun down, Alexandra. " Scorpion's voice was like butter.

Smooth. Coaxing.

"I don't want to have to shoot you, too."

He was going to shoot her anyway. Torch could see the blood lust in his eyes. He was furious at her for screwing up his well-laid plans, and he was going to kill her. He was only playing with her now. The way a cat toys with a mouse before killing it. The damned rifle's safety was on.

She couldn't kill Scorpion if she wanted to.

She shook her head fast, tears flowing from her eyes now, her breaths coming faster and faster.

Torch was having trouble breathing, himself. He reached into his pocket for the flask, and the little lighter he'd copped. He waited until her wheezing gasps were good and loud, and flicked the lighter, still inside his pocket. His fingers were in the damned flame, but he managed to touch the cloth he'd left sticking out of the top of the flask.

"Calm down now, Alexandra," Scorpion said, moving closer to her. Not too close, though. Not yet.

Torch pulled the flask from the pocket and used all his strength to hurl it. If exploded right at Scorpion's feet, and flames shot up his pant legs. He screamed, a high-pitched, keening wail, as the fire licked at his long coat, leapt to the sleeves, heated the metallic weapon in his hands. He dropped the gun and began running, beating at himself with his hands. His howl was unearthly.

"Torch!"

Alexandra. She was on her knees beside Torch, even before Scorpion fell into a writhing, and then twitching, and then utterly still mound of charred flesh and flames on the floor. She was ripping Torch's shirt open, sobbing her heart out, and her tears were warm and wet on his face.

"Not now, not after all this," she sobbed.

"Dammit, Torch, be all right .... " He tore his gaze from what was left of Scorpion and stared into Alex's eyes.

"Alex... baby..."

"Help is coming, Torch. Just relax. Don't try to talk." She opened the straps of the vest he'd been wearing. Damn thing had done little good against a large caliber bullet at such close range. She peeled the vest away, sobbing. He was bleeding heavily. He could feel the warm stickiness coating his chest and his sides and his belly. Her hands worked feverishly, but he didn't know what she was doing. It didn't matter what she was doing, really. Not anymore. Scorpion had shot him in the chest at point-blank range. He was dying.

And it wouldn't be so bad, really. Hell, maybe, if what the faithful of the world believed was true, he'd get to see the boys again. Josh.

Jason. God, it would be so good to hold those two angels in his arms again. To hear them call him Daddy.

But not yet. Soon, but not yet. He had to tell Alex. he couldn't leave her believing the erap he'd spouted in the hotel.

"Alex," he began again.

"I said not to talk," she snapped, but she was still crying. Had she told him that? He didn't remember.

"Save your strength."

"I want to talk," he told her with surprising force. Then he sucked air through his teeth, because the words had caused him pain. When he spoke again, he kept it quieter, softer.

"I want to tell you... that I love you, Alex."

Her hands stilled on his chest. She shook herself and began working on him again.

"Oh, sure. Now that you're all 'shot to hell, now you love me."

He tried to smile but wasn't sure of the results, Alex shrugged her coat off and covered him with it. She dragged a metal box over and propped his feet on it. He heard sirens.

"I loved you all along. All that crap... in the hotel... I didn't mean it."

"Just trying to get rid of me, huh?"

"I thought... killing him was more... important," he managed to say, and his words were beginning to sound the way they did when he'd had too much to drink.

"But I was wrong. I changed my mind, Alex. I was coming to tell you..."

She'went still again, staring down into his eyes.

"You were?"

He tried to nod but felt oddly paralyzed. His entire body numb.

"Yeah," he whispered.

He liked it when she ran her hands over his face. And he liked it better when she bent to kiss his lips. Hers were parted and wet and salty with her tears.

The sirens got louder. Men came running, guns drawn.

 
When her lips rose away from his, he made himself go on. "I love you, Alex. But don't ... ah ... don't be too sad. You deserve more.

You deserve... you deserve a whole man."

 
"You are a whole man, Torch."

"No. You know I'm not." He drew a breath. Shaky, shallow. He didn't think he was going to draw too many more.

"Don't you dare give up on me," she screamed.

"Dam-reit, Torch, don't you dare!"

"Maybe," he whispered, "it's better... this way." "No!"

His q~es closed. He was fading fast. He couldn't even feel the pain now. He could still hear, though. He could herff Alex's smoky voiee s~reaming for the paramedics, shouting orders And he could he~r them s~unbling to obey. And then there was sore cone ~ erouching beside him, and she said, "Who are you? What are you do' rag "Name's $ttwn," he said. And then Torch felt the ba~k of Stern's hand connect with the side of his face, and he realized he could feel pain again.

"Stop!" Alex yelled.

But Torch managed to open his eyes.

"I told you to leave me the hell alone, Stem."

"And I told you there was something you needed to know, Palamaro.

Listen and listen good. , There was nothing this man had to say that Torch wan led to hear. Not now. Nothing mattered now. He let his eyes fall closed again. Stern hit him once more, and this time he felt his skin split.

Torch's eyes popped open again, but it was an effort. He saw Alex gripping Stern's hand to keep him from doing it again.

Then he saw Stern staring down at him, moving his lips. "Your sons are alive, Palamaro."

Torch's eyes opened wider. Alex uttered a soft gasp.

 
"You hear me?" Stern told him.

"They're not dead. They were not killed in that explosion. They weren't even in the house when it happened. So if you're thinking of going off to la-la-land just to be with them, you'd better think again."

"I don't know what you're doing," Alex said, "but" -- "Relax, lady. I know what I'm doing." He loomed over Torch.

"I started to tell you before, Palamaro. You were a suspect. So was D.C." but I didn, t have enough proof to fire him or charge him. I knew about Marcy's call to you that day. I knew she and the boys had seen something they shouldn't have. I knew that if it leaked the boys were still alive, whoever had tried to kill them would try again, and I was half convinced it was you. So I put them into protective custody. "