Heavy Artillery Husband (17 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Saturday, April 23, 7:00 a.m.

“I don't like it.”

Frank looked out over the water as they waited in line to board the ferry. His wife would be bait. He could practically see the blood staining his hands. His daughter and her fiancé were supposedly close, though he hadn't spotted her. “Three hours on a boat with Halloran and his men.” He wanted to cover Sophia in body armor and send her far from here. This was a bad idea. “Too much can go wrong.”

Sophia linked her arm through his as their boarding group time was called. “We need the confession to wrap this up,” she reminded him gently.

His wife wore a wire a tech from Leo Solutions had dropped off at the hotel last night. She had a script memorized so she could chat up the monster trying to flee the country. It wasn't right. To his eternal frustration, Frank knew he'd only lose the argument again if he advocated for tossing Halloran overboard.

“You're entitled to reclaim your life,” she added. “More than that.”

What did that mean? He focused on the current crisis rather than the questions about their future. “It will be at least three against two with all these civilians caught in between.”

“You're right,” she said. “He doesn't stand a chance.” She tipped up her face and gave him a razor-sharp smile.

That look, that sheer determination and faith in what they were about to do, anchored him, reestablishing his focus. Thankfully, he didn't have more time to question the plan. All around them people boarded the ferry, several families chattering with excitement about the trip ahead and the whales they might see along the way. It was painfully normal.

Frank bent his lips to her ear. “I won't let him hurt you.” Never again.

“Same goes,” she whispered, her smile softening. “Let's finish this.”

His stomach twisted a little tighter. Failure wasn't an option. His daughter needed her mother. If only one of them could get back to Seattle, Frank was determined it would be Sophia. His daughter had learned to live without her father once. He wouldn't let Halloran rob Frankie of her mother, too.

Frank and Sophia walked together along the ferry, pausing periodically at the rails as though they were tourists heading off for a weekend getaway. Neither of them had spotted Halloran yet, though Frank recognized one man from yesterday's attack on the warehouse and assumed the grim-looking man with him was also a Hellfire spy. The men were sticking a little too close to the stairs to the upper deck.

“They've made us.”

“Naturally.” Sophia was so cool it unnerved him. “Relax. I doubt he'll even approach me until we're under way.”

“You can't go to him,” Frank insisted. “I won't let you be alone with him.”

“Frank.” Her voice was stone-cold, in direct contrast to the soft smile on her face. How did she do that? “I'm a general's wife—your wife. He'll come to me.”

Frank glanced around the deck. It was a beautiful day with soft morning sunlight filling a blue sky and glazing the water. If they got the confession, he might just enjoy the trip back. “Something's not right.”

“That's enough,” Sophia scolded. “I'll toss
you
overboard and handle this myself if you don't pull yourself together.”

The image of his wife doing just that made him laugh. “God, you're incredible.”

“I know it.” Her smile was sincere and warm this time. “He'll come to me, Frank, because we have what he needs to get away cleanly.”

He knew she was right. Taking a deep breath, he draped his arm across her shoulder and resigned himself to letting the operation play out. “Remember our first time on this ferry?” They'd come to Seattle to check out the quarters in anticipation of their move to his last duty station. It had been a whirlwind trip of sightseeing, exploring the area and talking about what they might do with retirement.

Her cheeks turned rosy. “I was recalling our second water excursion.”

“If I spend any time thinking about that, I might not care if Halloran gets away.” That had been a private, guided cruise around the nearby islands. After a stunning sunset, they'd retreated to the cabin and made love the whole way back to Seattle.

As the ferry eased away from the Seattle terminal, she leaned back into the rail, pulling her sunglasses down so he could see her eyes. “Want to know a secret?”

“Always.” No matter how much time together or apart, he loved discovering and rediscovering every nuance and detail about his wife.

“I'm hoping one day soon you and I will resume our exploration of the many islands and waterways around here.”

His heart hammered at the hot, blatant invitation in her eyes. There was no mistaking her intent. She wanted him to stay if they managed to succeed. He had opened his mouth to say the words, to leave no room for her to doubt how much he wanted to spend every remaining day of his life with her, when he spotted their target.

“Halloran.”

She reached up and laid her warm palm on his cheek. “Here we go.”

He inhaled her words, willed them to be true. At least three against two and she obviously
believed
they held the advantage.

What did he know? She'd been right about everything else and planned for every contingency. Thanks to Leo Solutions, they had the best recording device available. They knew what Halloran could and couldn't do to disable it. With a bit of luck, this long nightmare would be over soon. Frank had spent enough of his life apart from the people who mattered most. It was high time the right man faced justice.

Sophia squeezed his fingers and moved toward the stern, the place Halloran had designated for the exchange in his confirmation email. When the bastard accepted that flash drive, it would be over.

Provided his men didn't kill Frank and Sophia in the process. As Sophia walked toward the meet with Halloran, Frank strolled aft to intercept the man he'd recognized earlier. With a cluster of tourists between them, Frank knelt to tie his shoe. When he stood, his ball cap was a different color and he'd pulled off his dark windbreaker, tying it around his waist.

It gave him room to work and he used those few seconds to his advantage. Getting behind Halloran's man, Frank heard him admit he'd lost visual. Almost immediately his counterpart changed direction and hurried to the upper level.

He waited until a family with excited children hurried down the stairs, using them as a distraction. Cautiously, he moved along the upper deck, searching for Halloran's other spy. He caught sight of him near the crates of checked baggage. Knowing Halloran was planning to escape the country, what had he brought along that warranted two guards?

Ducking out of sight, he slipped his jacket back on, one more layer of defense if this turned into a fight. He assessed his potential opponent. Young and tall, the spy would surely have been warned about Frank's skills.

Frank boldly approached. “Nice view up here. Too bad your boss is missing it.”

“He probably prefers sharing the scenery with your wife.” The spy stood loose and light on his feet, clearly eager for a physical conflict. It was a good thing Sophia had refused to let Frank carry any weapons today, he thought. He'd happily kneecap this guy and consider it a public service.

Frank raised his chin to the locked baggage crates. “What does he think you can successfully protect?”

“Everything.” It had to be drugs or cash for a bribe at the border.

“Let's test that theory.” Frank stepped in close and stomped his boot hard on the spy's foot. The man groaned and Frank drove his knee up into his belly. Amid gasps and curses, Frank swiftly struck and retreated until the younger man crumpled. No weapon required.

As he patted down the stunned spy, he found a belt wallet with a bit of heft and a small revolver in an ankle holster. Frank pocketed both for later analysis and took the spy's earpiece, as well.

One down, one to go.

As the ferry churned along, Frank found a vacated seat in the center section, waiting for the second spy to come up the stairs any minute. It was a struggle not to break the plan and go check on his wife. He forced himself to stay put. His task was to keep Halloran's thugs busy and the playing field even. He drummed his fingers on the belt wallet, listening and waiting.

The second spy didn't come upstairs and he didn't check in. The lack of communication alarmed Frank. Taking a minute, he unzipped the wallet and found a small fortune in uncut rubies. He felt like an idiot for not anticipating another wrinkle. Halloran had his hands deep into every possible pie.

Untraceable, gemstones were easier to hide and to liquidate than laundering vast amounts of US currency. For a man on the run, rubies could very well get Halloran out of the country. “Not today,” Frank murmured to himself.

Plan or not, with no concern from the second spy, Frank couldn't waste another minute. Even with Leo Solutions' support and technology, Sophia needed him watching her back personally.

* * *

N
EAR
THE
STERN
with the wake of the high-speed ferry streaming white behind them, Sophia watched Seattle drift farther into the distance. She'd lost sight of Frank, which didn't worry her, because Halloran and one of his men were with her. Frank could hold his own one-on-one with anyone.

She had yet to get Halloran to admit or agree to anything. She worried it wouldn't happen at all. The retired general would rightly assume she was wired and would be trying to jam that signal. He couldn't know about the video feed Aidan and Frankie had managed to get installed on the ferry last night—unless he'd bribed someone else to keep watch. As confident as she'd been for her husband, she was starting to have doubts about success.

“Just tell me why,” she suggested, not for the first time. “We were friends once. You owe me that much at least.”

“It was business,” Halloran said, his voice cold. “You and Frank were merely casualties of an operational success.”

“Cut the crap.” Throwing him overboard was sounding better. “You railroaded my husband for what? A few thousand dollars.”

He laughed. “I know you've looked into the accounts.”

She shrugged. “I didn't find anything that would stick. I'll hand over everything, Kelly. Just tell me why you chose Frank as the patsy.”

“Hellfire had a stiff admission price,” Halloran said. “You'll notice the price for betrayal was higher still.” He held out his hand. “Give me the drive.”

She didn't take her eyes off his weathered face. It made her sick to think how he was touted as a hero, yet he'd sacrificed innocent lives for the sake of lining his pockets with gold. “You haven't given me any assurance that my family will be safe.”

Another humorless laugh made her cringe. “You were one of the rare gems,” he said. “Frank was lucky to have you.”

Her eyes darted around the deck at the use of the past tense. “He
is
lucky to have me,” she corrected. “Give me some sign of good faith that if I hand this over you'll leave us alone,” she repeated.

“What's better than my word?” he asked. “You can't expect me to put it in writing.”

She affected a sigh, as if he'd outmaneuvered her. “You know I'm wired.”

“Of course I know,” he said with a slimy smile. “You're no fool. How else would you prove you haven't been cooperating with me all along?”

Halloran's smug expression made her queasy. She supposed, if she let that sick feeling show on her face, he'd think he had her. “Lawyers and investigators picked through my life when Frank was on trial. They know I wasn't complicit.”

She had to get Halloran to admit to something, preferably the treason or the murder. She pulled the mic and wire from beneath the collar of her sweater, showing him it was disconnected, and dropped it into his open palm. “Why, Kelly? Between you and me and the disabled wire, tell me why.”

“Calling a stalemate, huh?”

She nodded. “You'll disappear, Frank will be haunted by false charges and I'll forever be waiting for you to strike again.” She held up her hands in surrender, though she was doing nothing of the kind. “You win.”

“Give me the drive.” For the first time, his voice resembled the man who'd been her friend.

She handed it over, praying the closed-circuit system and the secondary mic running on a different frequency were working properly.

He signaled his spy to come closer. The man inserted the flash drive into a tablet. After a moment he gave his boss a nod that the contents were genuine and moved out of earshot again. “Thank you.” Halloran's face twisted into a sneer; evidently he believed he had the only remaining evidence she'd gathered against him, along with the new passwords giving him access to his system again. “It was business,” he repeated. “With a little personal,” he said slowly. “I couldn't believe he turned on me. He saw the numbers, the potential. Through Hellfire, he could've given you a limitless future.”

“With blood money.”

“The whole world runs on blood money,” Halloran said, flinging out a hand. “We made this bed we're stuck in, manipulating this leader for that resource. I did terrible things in the name of your freedom. My pet project wasn't anything different than what the government has done. What made me a criminal was doing it for personal gain.”

“You actually believe that.” She kept an eye out for Frank, eager to give him the takedown signal.

“I've lived it,” Halloran was saying. “Frank's lived it. That's what made him such a great fit.”

“Kelly, you can't really believe that.”

“Don't take that tone with me.” He snatched her elbow in a hard grip and forced her to look out to sea, away from any passengers. “A report doesn't convey with any accuracy the things we've seen and done in the field. I did plenty of good out there and then I took control. Made things even better. Only God will tell me if I went too far.”