Married by Monday (Weekday Brides) (33 page)

“
Please tell me you’re talking to the dog.”

“
I am. So when will you be home tomorrow?”

Carter stretched out on the hotel room sofa and kicked his feet up on the table. “I have that luncheon and then I’ll be outta here.”

“
By dinner then?”

Carter smiled into the phone. “You sound excited to see me.”

“
Need to feed your ego much?”

His grin grew wider. “I missed you, too.”

There was a pause on the phone and for a minute, he thought the line went dead.

“
Call me from the airport,” she said. “I’ll order our pasta and chill the wine.”

Our pasta from our place.

God, he loved this woman.

“
Oh, damn.”

“
What is it?”

“
The power went out.” Her phone made a clicking noise. “And my cell is nearly dead.”

Power outages in Southern California were rare. Outside of fallen trees and earthquakes, the power company didn’t have to deal with many weather related issues. “I’m sure it will kick on soon. Russell has a back up phone, and the alarm system will run for a few hours on battery backup. There’s a flashlight in the pantry on the wall and another in my nightstand by the bed.”

He heard Zod bark a couple of times.

“
Oh, you big baby. How you ever passed police training is beyond me,” he heard Eliza say. “Where do you keep the candles?”

“
I only have the long ones we use on the dinner table. You sure you’re okay?” The thought of her stumbling around in the dark made him itch. “I can call Blake, have you go there.”

“
It’s just a power outage. I’m fine. Hey, Russell.”

Carter listened to Eliza and Russell talking about candles, and reassured himself that she had protection in his absence. The phone beeped in his ear.

“
I better go before the call drops. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

He looked forward to it. “Sleep well.”

“
Dream of me.”

Oh, he would.

Chapter Twenty-Five

According to the battery-operated scanner on Russell’s desk, the power outage was due to a transformer blown a few blocks from the house. The battery backup ran low, and it appeared that they would be in the dark for a while. Pete, the second guard, said, “I’m not comfortable without another form of backup. If the batteries die, we’re blind, surveillance is down and we’re screwed. I’m going by the office to pick up another unit before this one goes down.”

Zod’s special doggie door automatically stopped working in the event of a power outage, which put Eliza on alert for the dog’s needs. She didn’t mind. The eerie wind and dry air made her itch. She considered attempting to weed through the stack of letters to find the most articulate people to lead others, but concentrating on her work was difficult in the silent house. Strange how she became used to the hum of the refrigerator or the sound of one of the guard’s radios upstairs.

The soft glow of the candle flickering off the walls of her bedroom blanketed the room with warmth.

She missed her husband. Power outages and candlelight would prove more romantic with her husband by her side instead of the dog. She made certain the door was open a crack so Zod could move about before she curled up on her side of the bed with the second book in a series she’d been awaiting for, for months. She hoped the author hadn’t been in the mood to write a passionate love scene within the first few pages. That would suck on this lonely, dark night.

****

Five minutes before the final bell tolled, signaling all inmates to return to their cells, Harry sat with his back against the wall pretending to read a book. One of the other inmates, Michael…or maybe it was Mitchell, hesitated as he walked by. He stopped long enough to make eye contact with Harry, dropped a piece of paper on the floor, and then walked away.

Harry bent down and retrieved the paper, hiding it between the pages of his book to open it. He glanced up several times, certain that someone watched him.

On the wrinkled paper was a note. HE CALLED A HIT. HOPE YOUR KID ISN’T CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE.

Everything inside Harry froze.

He’d waited too long.

****

The soothing sound of the heater turning on and off in the room finally filled Carter’s noisy brain. He must have drifted off to sleep only moments before the shattering ring of the hotel phone shot him out of bed like lightning through a turbulent sky. Still, it took until the third ring for his mind to fully engage.

“
Hello?”

“
Carter?” It was his dad.

“
Hey?” He sat up in bed and turned on the bedside light. “Is everything okay?”

“
Were you sleeping?”

Carter glanced at the glow of his cell phone clock. 11:23, yep, he was sleeping. “Not anymore. What’s up.”

Cash hesitated.

Warning bells went off inside Carter’s head.

“
Dad?”

“
I just heard from an old friend at San Quentin.”

Eliza!

“
What happened?”

“
There was a disturbance tonight. Some information leaked out.”

“
What information, Dad?” Carter was wide awake now and kicking the covers off.

“
My sources came across a note claiming Sanchez called out a hit. There weren’t any names on the paper, but I have to assume he meant Eliza.”

The air inside Carter’s lungs escaped and he grew dizzy. He knew the possibility of Sanchez making that call was there. Hearing it confirmed brought a sand paper blanket of prickly dread over him. “How long ago was this?”

“
An hour, maybe more.”

Carter stretched the limits of the phone cord and retrieved his pants, yanked them on. “Did you call Eliza?”

“
The line wasn’t working. The power’s out over half the city.”

“
Hold on.” Carter unplugged his cell and dialed Eliza’s cell. It went straight to voice mail.

“
I’ve got to go.”

“
I’m on the first flight out,” his father said.

“
Yeah…okay.”

No more words were necessary and Cash hung up.

Carter called Blake’s home number and met with a busy signal. The next call was to his pilot.

Thank God, he’d bought the damn plane.

****

The door to Eliza’s room slammed shut and jolted her out of her sleep.

Zod darted to his feet and whined.

The wind outside rattled the frame of the house—not a small feat considering the size of it.
Must be a window open somewhere.

Eliza pushed off the covers and patted barefoot into the bathroom. She attempted the light switch but nothing happened. Luckily, the glow off the nearly full moon illuminated the window, casting light inside.

Sure enough, the bathroom window was open by an inch. Just enough to make the bedroom door slam.

Eliza turned, nearly stumbling over Zod who followed silently behind her.

She walked to the east window, made sure it was shut, and then walked to the north window and checked that one, too.

Her eyes caught something moving in the backyard. One of the glass tables teetered on the edge of the swimming pool.

“
Oh, man,” she whispered. Shattered glass inside a body of water would be a nightmare to clean up.

With a flashlight in hand, Eliza donned her bathrobe and called Zod to her side. She passed her purse sitting on her dresser and quickly tucked her gun in the pocket of her bathrobe.

“
Might as well let you out to pee while we’re out here,” she murmured to the dog. She walked by the security room down the hall from hers and poked her head in. “I’m taking Zod outside.”

“
Want me to do it?”

“
No, I got it.”

Russell pushed out of his chair to go with her.

“
I can manage,” she told him.

“
The power’s out, the wind is blowing, and the battery backup died twenty minutes ago. Pete isn’t outside walking the yard. With all respect, Mrs. Billings, I’m going with you.”

“
Well, when you put it like that,” she said with a little laugh. “Bring some muscles with you. The yard furniture is making its way into the pool.”

Russell had to push against the back door to open it. The chimes that normally rang when the door opened didn’t sound. She hoped the power company could get the juice back on soon. She’d grown used to all the security measures of late. Not having them left her feeling naked in some strange way. It didn’t help that her husband was hundreds of miles away. Strange how quickly Carter had wiggled under her skin.

Zod braved the wind, and Eliza made sure the back door wasn’t locking behind them when she closed it.

The wind was a typical warm Santa Ana. Her hair flew in all directions as she cast her light on the patio furniture in the yard. Sure enough, one of the glass side tables tipped close to the water’s edge. She sat the flashlight on the ground and said, “Take the other side and let’s move it close to the house.” After moving it safely beside the house, she retrieved one of the chairs, and Russell followed her lead with the others.
No use fishing anything out in the morning.

Zod barked from behind them, his growl carried off by the wind. Then his bark changed and the hair on Eliza’s neck stood on end.

Oh, God.

Zod’s bark grew vicious.”

“
Get down!” Russell dropped the chair in his hand as he yelled.

Before Eliza could turn around and call a command, a flash of light and the sound of a gunshot filled the night.

****

“
I need you to go get Eliza. Take her back to your house. Anything.” Carter’s words were as frantic as his stomach. He barked orders at Blake as if he had the right to.

“
What’s going on?”

“
I heard from my dad. Sanchez called out a hit on Eliza.” Carter was already in the air before he managed to connect with Blake via cell phone. “The power is off at the house, and I can’t get a hold of anyone there. I called Dean, he’s on his way there now.”

“
Son of a bitch. We’re not there, Carter. Sam and I are headed toward you.”

“
You’re what?”

“
It’s Harris. There was a fight. They rushed him to San Francisco General for surgery.”

Carter clutched his fists as frustration filled his every cell.

“
What about Neil?”

“
He’s with Eddie. Gwen’s on her way to the house. I’ll ask Neil to go get Eliza.”

“
Please.” Carter would beg if he had to. “Jesus, Blake. It’s all going to shit.”

“
Deep breath. You don’t know if anything is wrong.”

Yes, he did. Deep in his bones, he knew something wasn’t right.

****

Zod tore into the shadows as Eliza grabbed her left arm and fell to the ground. Heat and searing pain followed warm, sticky blood oozing between her fingers.

A female scream lifted in the wind when Zod stopped barking and starting growling.

Russell rushed to her side with his gun drawn. One look at her and he shielded her with his body and shoved her into the safety of the house.

Outside the frantic screams of a woman yelled for Zod to stop.

Lightheaded from the wound in her arm, Eliza removed her gun and turned off the safety

“
Go,” Eliza told Russell. “Don’t let them get away.”

Russell swore under his breath, clearly torn with the decision to leave her side.

“
I’ll shoot anyone who walks through that door other than you.”

Russell nodded and slid into the dark.

She curled up behind the center island and waited for Russell to return.

Her heart pounded in her chest as the reality that she’d just been shot washed through her.

She started to tremble and couldn’t control the fear that followed. “Carter.”

****

The wind settled long enough for the plane to land.

He broke every speeding law en route to his home, and as he rounded the corner of their street, his worst nightmare unfolded before his eyes.

Red and white flashing lights illuminated the night. Emergency vehicles filled the street and his driveway. The only thing missing was the coroner’s van.
Eliza!

He jumped from his car, engine running and barreled through the uniformed policemen on scene. “Eliza!”

“
You can’t go in there.”

Carter shoved at the cop. “It’s my house. My wife.” Someone grabbed his arms and started to wrestle with him.

“
Let him in.”

The arms holding him let go, and Carter ran toward Dean. “Where is she?”

Dean glanced toward the gurney being wheeled from the house. “Oh, God.”

He stumbled toward the paramedics and heard his name.