Shadow of Doubt (An SBG Novel Book 2) (30 page)

Cappy grabbed Michelle’s arm and yanked her forward.

“Jeremy! What—”

“Wraith, sniper in range,” Cappy barked into his throat mic. “He just tried to kill me. Take him out.”

Michelle stumbled, her eyes wide and face draining of color. Her wig fell off, but he couldn’t stop to retrieve part of her disguise. They were compromised anyway.

“Leave it,” he commanded, tightening his hold. “We gotta get away from the windows.”

Romeo and Magician raced out of Jim Fields’s ICU bay and drew their guns. Shrieks and clatter from items dropping out of nurses’ hands filled the air.

Romeo whispered,
“We gotta make this look good for the replay later. Keep running.”

At the same time, Magician yelled in a full voice, “Stop. FBI.”

As if someone hit the Panic button, everyone in the area stampeded in every possible direction, clogging their path.

“I don’t have a shot,”
Wraith called in Cappy’s ear as he pulled Michelle around a huddled mother clutching her crying son.
“Sniper already left position. I’m sorry, Cappy. I had a bead on him after he moved but not enough time to take it. There were just too many windows and crevices to spot him first.”

“I knew it was a long shot,” Cappy responded, running down a long corridor filled with a cacophony of commotion. “Ted, I need those schematics. Talon, where are you?”

“I’m headed up South A stairwell toward you,”
Talon answered.
“All clear here.”

“Check. We’re on our way.”

“Marshals, I need you to guard the room,”
Magician demanded.
“We’re leaving for pursuit.”

“Cappy.”
Wraith cut in.
“You’re looking for a man in a lightweight black nylon jacket, tan cargo pants, and a backpack. Couldn’t see anything more than that.”

“Watch the streets. Try and track him in the open.”

“Check.”

How in the hell had the sniper recognized Michelle? The image of the black hole filled his mind. Inches from
his
head. Animosity shot down his spine. Had to be the same bastard who left the pictures beside April’s body and in Michelle’s apartment. The guy hadn’t gone for Michelle. The asshole had targeted
him
.

Fucking hat wasn’t much of a disguise. He flipped the cap off and shoved it in a janitor’s trashcan as they raced by.

Two men in dark-gray security uniforms charged down the other end of the corridor. “I’ve got them. South wing,” one shouted into his walkie-talkie while both brandished their guns.

Michelle jerked and pulled against his grip.

“Keep going,” he ordered softly, praying her PTSD wouldn’t be triggered by all the intensity. “There’s an opening to the right.”

Footsteps pounded behind him and he risked a peek over his shoulder. A pair of teenagers and a Hispanic guy ran behind them, and just behind
them
were Romeo and Magician. His operatives postured with the best of them, looking for all the world in pursuit of the woman wanted for questioning. A small swell of pride warmed his chest. Damn, they were good.

He didn’t allow Michelle to slow their pace as he turned the corner into the opening he had spotted.

“FBI,” Romeo shouted while Magician followed up with, “Guards, stand down. Holster your weapons.”

“We have lead in this pursuit,” Romeo tagged on. “We’re boxing them in. We could use your help keeping the staff and visitors on this floor.”

Cappy prayed Romeo’s words were only more bluster instead of actual plans. He had enough on his plate without adding additional people preventing him from getting Michelle to safety.

“Talon, we had to change course,” Cappy directed. “Now headed for South B. Ted, talk to me about exfiltration.”

“Check,”
Talon said, then Ted cut him off.

“Cappy? Can you hear me? I broke my comm. I’m so sorry. It was the stupidest thing, I—”

“He doesn’t care,”
Grady rumbled.
“Cappy, he’s sharing mine. Ted, tell him.”

“Ted, South B. Where does it lead?” Cappy barked, spotting the
EXIT
sign above a white steel door.

“South parking garage, if you can run down two flights and cross over the skywalk.”

Score. He slammed the door open and pushed Michelle in front of him. She fiddled with her earpiece, showing her obvious discomfort at wearing the device, but he had refused to entertain her coming here without it. If something happened to her, he wanted her to have a way to communicate. She scampered down the steps and he chomped at her heels, wishing she could move faster.
No, asshole, be proud of how well she’s handled everything so far. She doesn’t live in this world like you do daily.

Properly chastised, he vaguely noted the door now above them opening again, then closing almost immediately. One person, he instantly calculated.

Enemy or not?

“Keep going. One more,” he said, noticing her slowing at the landing near an exit door.

She nodded but her pace didn’t exactly inspire world records. The poor woman wasn’t used to running for her life . . . literally. Adrenaline probably helped her at first but she had burned that off.

Finally, the door marked
SKY
WALK THIS FLOOR
loomed into view. She flung it open, paused, then headed left. He, too, saw the big arrow on the opposite wall directing them to the crosswalk.

“Everyone, report,” he commanded, studying the road outside through the long stretch of windows lining the hallway.

“I’m entering the lower parking garage,”
Talon said.
“Headed for the open stairwell to meet you.”

“Sorry, Cap,”
Magician said.
“Agent Stiles and I got caught up in a pissing match with those guards. We’re heading for the South B stairwell now.”

“Thought I caught sight of the shooter.”
Wraith checked in. “
But it happened too quickly. I’m on the hunt for him now.”

“Uh, do I say I’m sitting in the truck with Grady?”
Ted asked with confused enthusiasm lacing his voice.

“Thank you, Ted.” They finally made it to the long crosswalk. Once they entered, there’d be no changing paths if they got trapped. Cappy grabbed Michelle’s arm and made her stop. She peered at him with wide, terror-filled eyes. Sweat poured down her face, smearing the makeup Magician had hastily applied and revealing the prosthetics altering her face.

Intoxicating and beautiful. Those two words flashed in his head. She had such inner strength and perseverance. No crying or hysterics or arguing with his every command either. His heart lurched, then pumped as if saying,
You are lifetime partners
.
You love her.

He ripped his gaze away and peered through the little window on the door leading to the skywalk. Clear. Now or never. “Michelle, once I open that door, you can’t hesitate. I know your leg hurts but you have to run as fast as you can. Can you do that?”

“I got it,” she answered, and he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her.

Instead of following through with the completely inappropriate response, he yanked open the door and snapped, “Go.”

Halfway through the glass crosswalk, his comm crackled with the dreaded words from Romeo:
“Cappy, we did the best we could but we just heard the Marshals, FBI, and police are all converging on this place.”

“Fuck. I need exfil,
now
. Everyone, work the problem. Get us the hell out of here.”

Nacio waited a moment before he entered the parking garage from the skywalk. So far, God had paved the way for his vengeance. He couldn’t screw it up by alerting Michelle too soon.

Once the pair reached the first car in the row, he exited the crosswalk. Who the hell was the man? Another victim the
puta
ensnared to help her get away with murder? Did she gain his cooperation by sleeping with him?

Nacio’s blood pressure spiked.
He
should have been able to fuck her at least once, especially after all the trouble she caused. Not only had he been ostracized for six years, her deliciously curved body haunted his dreams. Fantasies plagued him and in them he spread her thighs and mounted her every way possible.

He curled his hands into fists, glad for the tiny shards of pain from his nails to clear his head. He didn’t have time to dwell on that. Worry bit into his anger. The hulking man could potentially be a problem. The guy moved like he had training. What kind, Nacio had no clue, but a hell of a lot more than him. He didn’t come this far to fail now.

Pressing the Down button on the elevator, he scrambled for a plan to separate the bitch from the brute as quickly as possible.

***

“Crouch down and wait here,” Jeremy commanded, pointing to a spot between an SUV and minivan. “I’m only going to the edge there and scoping which route to take.”

Michelle complied, though she longed to grasp his arm and not let him leave. Her heart pounded at stroke levels, making it a miracle she could hear anything above the thumping organ.

Cappy ran to the other end of the level and peered over the edge.

She peeled the special effect enhancements from her face, balled them together, and shoved them in her pocket. The glue itched and she swiped at the spots to lessen the sensitivity. The wig cap came off next and she almost purred, combing her fingers through her hair until her fingertip snagged on the wire leading up from the throat mic, forcing her to readjust the earpiece for the thousandth time. The receiver didn’t exactly fit right, so it always felt awkward, but at least the thing no longer stood out with her own hair down.

“And God smiles on me again,” an accented male voice crooned behind her. Before she could turn, a pair of hands grabbed her biceps and jerked her up.

She twisted to see him but his arms were too quick and clamped around her chest.

“No, no, no,” he scolded. “I’ve waited six years for this. You’re not going anywhere.”

She froze.
Six years? Dear God, NO!
She couldn’t go back.

Sounds of Colombia invaded her mind and black spots dotted her vision.
No! You have to fight,
her conscious mind protested weakly as a memory took hold.

The cartel member dragged her from between the vehicles and she tried to dig her feet in. He tripped, knocking them both against the SUV’s hood, causing the alarm to blare to life. The high pitched sound momentarily deafened her since her ear had landed against the metal, and helped clear her head a little.

“Bitch!” the cartel member yelled, punching her so hard her head flipped off the truck.

She instantly forgot why she had been struggling and blinked against the muted lights swimming before her eyes, but it was no use. The memories took hold and she no longer saw anything but the dank room in Colombia. She braced, waiting for Captor Two’s fist to follow his compatriot’s. The sadistic bastards loved to hit as hard as they could, making a game out of who could make her pass out first.

One of the captors wrenched her against his chest and forced her to move forward. Knowing it was futile to fight, she allowed the man to direct her path.

“Michelle!”
Jeremy’s voice echoed in her head.

“Cappy! Don’t let them hurt me anymore,”
she cried, unable to tell if she had imagined his voice or not
.

“Silencio!”
Captor One snarled, pushing her into a closet.

This was new. What kind of hell had they dreamt up in this small space?

“Romeo and Magician, continue up to the sixth and fifth levels,”
Cappy barked in her head, though his words made no sense.
“Talon, take the fourth. I’m headed down.”

“No, don’t leave me!” she choked, unable to see a thing.

Crack!
Her head slammed against the wall.

“I said shut up,” the familiar accented-voice ordered.

She sank to the floor.

“See this knife?
I’m
in charge.” The menace in his nasally voice made her cringe and huddle against the cold corner, her eyesight virtually gone in a haze.

“What. No tearful reunion for your old lab partner?”

Michelle’s whimper in his earpiece almost did Cappy in.
Son of a bitch
. Pure rage blinded him, causing him to stumble on the steps. He clutched the railing, clinging to the cold metal to help him channel his emotions into something useful.

“Cappy,”
Wraith interrupted,
“Sniper on the move. I’ve caught another glimpse.”

Before he could respond, the whiny voice of the asshole who captured Michelle rang through their comms.
“No hug for the man who fell for your act?”

Please, God. Don’t let this be Raul. Cappy hauled ass down the second tier of steps. By the lack of reaction from Michelle, she had to be experiencing a full-blown episode but instead of fighting she must have gone catatonic. His emotions blitzed again, wanting to tear the bastard apart with his bare hands and at the same time cradle Michelle until she worked through it and at the same time put a new window in the cement wall beside him. Fuck.

A sickening thud echoed, then the voice yelled,
“Get up!”
Thunk.
“I said get up!”
Thud.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know me. I’m the stooge who allowed you to talk him into taking you onto his family’s land to pass our final exam, remember?”
The laugh he emitted made the hairs on Cappy’s arms raise.
“Only you were a spy using that as an excuse.”

“Cappy,”
Ted broke in.
“That’s got to be Ignacio Ramirez. The cartel banished him from their fold and placed a bounty on his head.”

Cappy wanted to both hug and beat the genius for making him miss a word of the asshole’s rant, but he needed to know this.

Ted continued.
“They believe he allowed an American spy to dupe him into taking her onto their land so she could report back to the military, who they had heard were about to raid their compound.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” He missed a step and fell against the wall. “Not only did I fail to rescue her in time, I’m the reason for her torture in the first place.”

“No, you weren’t, Cappy. Focus.”
Romeo’s voice whipped through his comm, as if the operative could see him about to lose his shit.

“Work the current problem. Don’t get sucked into that vortex,”
Wraith chimed in, a slight wobble in her tone. Cappy straightened. His sniper had firsthand knowledge of living in the past and allowing the memories to rule her life. She was living proof someone could overcome them. God, let Michelle be able to do the same.

“I’ve waited a long time for this reunion,”
the little bastard oozed with promised pain.

“Nacio?”
Michelle’s faint voice brought tears to Cappy’s eyes.

“That’s it, Michelle,” Cappy whispered, hoping his voice sounded soothing instead of scared shitless in her earpiece.

“Cappy?”

“Keep fighting against the memories pulling you in,” Cappy continued. “You can do this.”

“Cappy?”
Nacio erupted.

Thunk.

“Oomph.”

“Is that the name of that guy you were draped all over?”
Nacio raged.
“You think what I did to your father is bad? I’ll carve this Cappy—”

Crash.
“NO!”
Michelle screamed. Sounds of banging and fighting filled Cappy with terror.

“Michelle!” He rounded the corner housing the stairwell and ran toward the elevator fifty feet to his right. “Talk to me. Are you okay?
Michelle.
”

The light within the Up arrow flared orange and the elevator dinged.

He swallowed past the heart lodged in his throat. “Everyone, first level.
Now
.”

Cappy thought he’d lose his mind waiting the two
long
seconds for the doors to slide open.

***

Michelle dug her knees into the metal floor and gripped the bastard between her thighs. “No one,” she snarled, hauling her fist back, “touches Cappy but me.” She nailed Nacio in the face again.

A faint ding got drowned out by Nacio’s yelping. He threw an arm up to protect his head.

Her mind continued to conjure images of Captors One and Two strapping Jeremy to a chair, then working their sadistic magic on him.
Never!

“You tell the cartel”—she pulled back—“he’s off limits.” And she threw another punch, this time glancing off his forearm. “I’m done with you all.” Jab. Jab. “YOU HEAR ME! Done!” Right hook. “You get no more of my time and you especially don’t get Jeremy.” Left hook.

“Stop!
Para!
” Nacio wheezed, trying to curl into a ball.

The serrated knife lying in the corner kicked off another vision of it nearing Cappy’s face. Terrified rage consumed her and she leaned forward, growling, “You can never have him. He’s mine.” She sat up, then hammered the side of her fist straight down onto Nacio’s chest and rode his hacking and bucking.

“Damn, Cappy,” a smooth baritone voice said behind her, full of awe. “That’s seriously hot. What the hell did you do?”

“You broke her,” a familiar sarcastic man quipped.

Michelle whirled. Agents Stiles and White, Talon, and Cappy huddled within the opened elevator doors, gawking. The red haze overlapping her vision slowly receded and her lungs strained for air. She stared down at her red knuckles and gulped in as much air as possible, pushing past the feral fog, and slowing the rapid rising and falling of her chest.

Dear God. She blinked back a set of mortified tears. She had acted like a crazed animal.

You can never have him. He’s mine
. She closed her eyes. He had already stated that would never come true.

The blood in her swelling hands pulsed in time with her racing heart. Bruises were already forming on her fingers and knuckles as if to boast her psycho moment. Son of a duck.

No one moved. Great. Now they were sizing her up for a straitjacket.

Hated, weak tears fell against the backs of her hands.

She risked a peek at Cappy out of the corner of her eye and jolted. Part of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin and his eyes burned with . . .
pride
?

Pride? Not revulsion or grim determination to see her carted to a padded room or out of his life as fast as possible? A spark of hope flared in her chest and she lifted her chin to meet his gaze.

Talon jostled Cappy, but the man continued to stare at her with the dopiest expression on his face.

“I didn’t break her,” Jeremy finally said, his voice filled with admiration. “She healed herself.”

Michelle ducked her head, the heat already encompassing her face ratcheted into an inferno. Cappy swooped in and lifted her up, carrying her into the parking garage. He twirled her once, shouting, “Hot damn! You did it. You broke out of the memory and fought back!”

Michelle wrapped her arms around his neck. She had, hadn’t she? She laughed.

He set her down, then stole her breath when he sealed his mouth to hers.