Dare You to Run (35 page)

“My father would have drawn the line at having me admitted to a hospital and pumped full of drugs, and he certainly would have baulked at having his granddaughter kidnapped.” Her mother was facing Jeb, steady and confident.

“She was being put in her place,” her sire snapped. “That's the job of any parent. Your father was man enough to not pull his punches. I witnessed him getting his hands dirty plenty of times. Why do you think he agreed to our marriage?” Jeb snickered. “You've played the innocent well, but we both know you're not as innocent as you make out.”

Her mother only raised an eyebrow. “What I have to hide is nothing anymore. It certainly isn't murder or kidnapping.”

Her sire was shaking his head and offering her mother a smirk. “Exactly Miranda. You were smart enough to know that you couldn't follow your heart, are you going to stand by while our daughter does?” He cast a look at Damascus. “I expect your full support in getting her under control. By any means necessary.”

Tyler Martin was there. Damascus felt his hand grip her nape, turned and found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. She steeled herself and reached for her own, forcing herself not to think about having to shoot her own blood. She'd do what had to be done to protect Vitus.

She touched the top of her pistol, pulling it free of its holster.

She wouldn't have done anything differently. She drew in a deep breath and straightened, accepting her fate while staring straight at her enemies. She tightened her grip on the gun, settling her finger over the trigger.

Her mother reached out and stroked her cheek. “My sweet baby girl.”

Her mother finished stroking her cheek, all the way to her jaw line. A second later, she'd wrenched the gun from Tyler's grip, turned around, and fired at Jeb.

The discharge was deafening, echoing through the office. Her sire flopped back like a fish, floundering on the expensive carpet as blood bubbled up onto his lips. Tyler grabbed the gun and than cussed when he realized he'd put his prints on top of her mother's. He dropped it before moving toward her father's desk. There was a click as a portion of the wall opened. Tyler Martin was gone in a blink of an eye.

“Good riddance,” Miranda said.

Damascus's mother was calmly shrugging out of her clothing, dropping it all into the fireplace. The flames caught the cotton garments easily, reducing them to ashes in moments. She walked to the closet, pulled out one of her husband's coats, and slipped it on, all the while ignoring the lasts struggles for life that Jeb made. Bright red blood had been pushed out and over his chin, dripping down into the perfectly pressed collar of his shirt. His body stiffened, his hands contorting into claws as he fought to hold onto life. But there was no fending off death. It stole him away with his eyes open as if he refused to surrender.

Her mother knelt down and closed them for him. Damascus stood there, the little gun in her hand, shocked to her core. There was an explosion, and the door to the office flew open. A cloud of hot air rushed at them as Damascus coughed and covered her eyes. When the dust settled, Vitus was there with a gun leveled at her mother. Saxon and Dunn were right on his heels. Miranda surprised them all by maintaining her composure. She waited until everyone had time to see her before she stood up and moved away from the body of her husband.

“Are you injured?” Vitus was in mission mode. He reached out and grasped Damascus's wrist, pulling her behind him as he scanned the rest of the office.

“No,” she replied. “My mom—”

“Was a witness to it all,” Miranda interrupted. “Truly terrible, but I do suggest you get after that Tyler Martin. He's escaped down the hatch under my husband's desk, but you will find his prints on the murder weapon.”

“Ah … Mom,” Damascus said softly, “I was wearing a camera.”

Her mother looked at her for a long moment and then surprised her again by offering a little sound of approval. “Of course you didn't come in here unprepared. You are a Delacroix.”

It was the sort of compliment she'd never expected to get from her mother.

Miranda cast a look toward the body of her husband. “Do put that gun away, Damascus. If any member of this family was going to shoot Jeb, it was going to be me.” Her mother's attention was on the gun in her hand. Mother and daughter looked at each other as if for the first time.

“We couldn't get through that damn door without a bomb.” Vitus sent her a glare. “You could have been killed.”

“As if you have never risked your neck.” Damascus replaced the gun, once again feeling like it didn't matter who was in the room, she only had eyes for Vitus.

“Not without damn good reason.”

“Fighting my own battles is a very good reason. So is making sure my wacked family doesn't kill you,” Damascus fired back. “I am not your princess.”

“The hell you aren't.”

He pulled her to him, intending to kiss her, but all Damascus ended up doing was getting crushed against his chest. Her head was filled with the sound of his heart and there was no way to miss the tremor in his arms. She sighed, the scent of his skin filling her senses, triggering all of the emotional responses that she always had for him.

Why was it impossible to have a future with him?

Because you signed a contract with Colonel Magnus …

She dug her fingers into his shirt, intent on holding on to him just as long as possible.

But it had to end. She heard more people arriving, their footsteps sounding like the pounding of a gavel. The sharp sound one designed to separate her from the man she loved. Tears stung her eyes and she forbid herself to let them escape.

She couldn't.

Mustn't.

Vitus had been strong for her and now she needed to repay him in kind. She drew in a last, deep breath, trying to savor the moment, before she pushed against him. He let her go, reluctantly allowing her to place distance between them. She blinked away the tears, determined to face their parting with the same courage that he would if he was doing the same for her. That idea gave her the strength to take a step away from him and look him in the eye.

For the last time.

*   *   *

“Welcome back Ms. Ryland.”

Damascus turned to discover Colonel Magnus watching her. He seemed perfectly at ease with a body laying a few feet behind him, not even sparing it a glance. She was having a hard time grasping the situation herself. She looked at her sire, needing confirmation that he really was dead.

“Nice work, Hale.”

Vitus actually clicked his heels together and snapped the colonel a salute. “Thank you sir.”

The Colonel's attention moved to Dunn. “Well done, for a civilian.”

Dunn cracked a grin in response and offered Magnus a double-finger obscene gesture. The colonel's eyebrow rose, but so did Dunn's lips. The colonel decided to shift his attention back to her.

“You have precisely one hour left, Ms. Ryland.”

Vitus looked between them, a frown on his face that quickly turned deadly. “I don't follow.”

Damascus got a glimpse of a rare sight—surprise flickering across Bryan Magnus's face—before he offered her a pleased expression. “I am pleasantly impressed; didn't think you had it in you, Ms. Ryland.”

There was a note in the colonel's voice that made her want to preen, because Damascus knew without a doubt he wasn't a man to say something he didn't absolutely mean.

“Have what, in her, sir?” Vitus demanded as he moved in front of her. He wasn't happy, and Saxon moved back toward them as he heard the tone of his brother's voice.

“The resolve to keep her involvement with me from you,” Colonel Magnus replied.

“You said it was classified,” Damascus defended herself. “And I might add, you outlined some rather nasty reprisals I should expect if I didn't keep my mouth shut.”

“All of it true,” Magnus confirmed. “But I was just doing my job.”

“Are you telling me.”—Vitus was piecing it together quickly—“that you contracted—”

“With my team.” The colonel interrupted. Dr. Ryland is going to be working in my classified germ lab,” he said firmly. “And she has one hour before I have her remanded into custody for missing her report-in time.”

“I was in protective custody,” Damascus defended herself again. “Hiding from the bad guys, and your men didn't exactly ask me if I wanted to go.”

“Yes. Considering the circumstances, we'll skip the trial this time.” Colonel Magnus lifted his wrist to reveal an actual wristwatch. “Fifty-nine minutes.”

Damascus drew in a deep breath and locked gazes with Vitus. “I didn't see any other way out of my father's plans for me.”

“You mean any other way of protecting me,” Vitus answered back.

“Yes, and I don't regret it.” She began to work the engagement ring off her finger. Vitus clamped his fingers over hers.

“We have fifty-eight minutes to get married, Princess.”

“Didn't you hear me?” she asked. “I have to report or be arrested. You know what a classified lab is.”

“Sure do,” Vitus replied with a grin on his face that confused her completely.

Dunn was choking on his amusement and Saxon was rolling his eyes, but Vitus was simply aiming that bright, happier-than-she'd-ever-seen-on-him smile at her. It made her believe anything was possible, the way his eyes sparkled, driving a bolt of hope straight into her heart. It didn't make any sense, but it was Vitus, so there wasn't really a point in trying to understand.

“So, we just get married and it's no problem?” It sounded lame because it was just too simple and she was some genius for having never asked about spouses.

Vitus nodded. “Because I also hold a classified clearance level.”

“That's the way it works,” the colonel confirmed.

“He can come with me?”

“Yes, I can,” Vitus double assured her. “We just have to get hitched.”

It was surreal moment, one in which it felt like water suddenly started flowing uphill, because what had been impossible was now somehow achievable, so amazingly within reach. Damascus realized she was trembling, petrified by the idea of making a grab for the thing she'd spent so much time trying to convince herself was impossible to have.

“Fifty-six minutes.” The Colonel cleared his throat and held a folded paper out to Vitus. There was a crinkle as Vitus opened it.

“Knew you'd be on a tight time schedule,” Bryan Magnus explained as they both read through the marriage license, “so I came prepared.” He checked his watch again. “Fifty-four minutes remaining.”

But she stopped and looked past Dunn to where her mother was watching. There was a bright smile on her lips, only this time it seemed more sincere.

“Mom…”

Damascus had gone past the colonel but her mother caught her hands and clasped them. “I am so happy for you, baby. You are so clever, slipping out from beneath your father's nose.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Why do you think you are an only child, Damascus?” Her mother surprised her yet again. “One year into my marriage and I knew your father was a monster. I was so happy you were a little girl, who wouldn't feel the need to be Jeb Ryland's son. I only stayed in this marriage to make sure I could be your mother. If I'd divorced him, he would have made it difficult to see you, and I needed to be under the same roof to truly know what was going on. In case I had to make sure he couldn't hurt you.”

“I never suspected.”

Miranda nodded, satisfaction glowing in her eyes. “Good. It was my mistake, being duped into marrying Jeb.” She looked past Damascus. “I realize I have committed murder, but I wonder … is it possible for me to see my daughter's wedding before you have me arrested?”

The men in the room were frozen. Damascus wished she could have appreciated the moment more because it was for certain they weren't the type to get shocked often. It was Kagan who reached over and took the iPhone Saxon held. There was a crunch and a snap as he folded the thing in half. “The thing about sending away all your personal security is you never know who just might be waiting for an opportunity to get you alone.”

“You'd think a congressman would know better,” Colonial Magnus added.

“Well, he was knee deep in some sort of shady business with Pratt,” Dunn added. “I came all the way over here to confront him, but he was already dead. Seems Tyler Martin has a few things to answer for.”

“He slipped out sure enough,” Saxon said.

“Really,” Miranda interrupted. “I am fully aware of my actions.”

“Now Mrs. Ryland.” Kagan cupped her shoulder. “Seems to me that you were given a very heavy dose of medication by a certified nurse tonight. No one will expect you to have any information to add to the investigation in the morning.”

Her mother sighed. “Tyler Martin knows the truth.”

“We'll make sure the Secret Service questions the nurse first,” Kagan confirmed. “Which gives you time to witness a wedding before getting back to your room while that nurse is sleeping. As for Martin, I have a murder weapon with his prints on it. If he comes forward, my evidence will blow his testimony out of the water.”

Miranda brightened. “Thank you, and a Delacroix never forgets a favor done for them.”

Damascus was shocked all over again because her mother was someone to be reckoned with.

Colonial Magnus cleared his throat. At some point, he'd pulled a sash out and had it draped over his shoulders.

“You're a justice of the peace?” Damascus asked incredulously.

He nodded. “Back when I made captain, I wanted to be able to perform weddings. Looks like it's coming in handy tonight.”

*   *   *

Dunn considered the private nurse. The guy was hugging a bottle of tequila as he snored. Men like him turned his stomach. Any medical professional who would dope a woman for a paycheck wasn't a real man in Dunn's book. The nurse would wake up with a hell of a headache, but Dunn really wished he could kick his ass instead.