Defenseless (34 page)

“I’m going to walk her out,” I explain to Mark. Honestly, I need to let all of this information settle away from him.

He seems to think everything is great now, but this affects everything in my life. Every part of my being is tied to my job. I know things are different. I have him, and we have a baby coming, but I always thought I would still be an operative. Now, though, I don’t know that I want to live this life. What kind of job am I doing, and for what?

“Why don’t I feel like it’s over?” I ask once we’re out the door.

She leans back against the wall. “I think it’s a mix of everything. You were so sure Mazir was obtainable and close, you couldn’t take a breath without thinking someone was after you. And then the last few weeks were insane.”

“But how did we not see all this?”

“Let’s face it—he’s been doing this a lot longer than any of us have. Your father was on to him, but never got far enough to make the connection. But remember that Christopher is really good at his job. He was using an asset in Afghanistan to move things around, but he
is
Mazir. It’s why you couldn’t find him when you were there, because he was here. Plus, he was orchestrating a terrorist ring for God knows how long, Charlie.”

She makes sense. The whole story does. Christopher Asher isn’t an unknown. He has copious amounts of information to use as ammunition. He had many players and was making money selling arms. I remember the agents we lost from his antics. Any of us could’ve ended up taking the final bullet. I don’t know that I’ll ever feel completely at ease, but there’s a small sense of relief knowing my father can rest in peace. His death wasn’t in vain, and his killer will be dealt with.

“It just feels unfinished.”

“I don’t know, Charlie. I watched them take him away, and I’m not really settled. God only knows what will actually happen to him. I think you need to take a few days and let this sink in. Then come back to work. I miss my favorite pain in the ass.”

I snort. “Maybe. I still haven’t decided if I’ll come back to the agency.” I don’t need to tell anyone where my head is, and right now, I’m emotional. Mark and I need to talk. I laugh a little at the fact he’s already become a part of my decision making process.

“What?”

“That dumb man in there that I love. I need to talk to him.”

“Never thought I’d see the day.” She smiles.

“Me either.” We both nod. “I still wish I could’ve interrogated Christopher. I wish I could’ve seen his face.”

“Well, you have two things that are far more important to focus on now.”

“Yeah.” My hand automatically presses against my stomach. “He wants to marry me.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“I can’t imagine being without him, but I enjoy making him think otherwise.”

We both laugh. “I’m going to take care of some stuff at work. I have a lot of reports to fix, and I’m sure they’ll require statements.”

“Thank you for, well, everything.”

“You never have to thank me. I care about you more than you know. You’re my best friend.”

I pull her into my arms. “I’m lucky to have you. Call me in a few days.”

“You got it.”

I watch her walk away as I rest my back against the wall to give myself a minute. It’s over. At least the question part is anyway. There will still be whatever action is taken against him, which most likely will never be made public. There’s so much to be happy for. Mark is okay, we’re having a baby, I’m fine, and we have closure for my father. I can live again. I don’t have to psychoanalyze every detail; I can just be present.

I’ve finished cases before, but this feels different.

I turn to open the door when something presses against my back.

“Hello, Charlie,” a sinister voice gravels against my ear. “How about we have a little chat?”

I turn and lock gazes with a familiar pair of mud brown eyes.

I
knew
this wasn’t over.

Mark

W
here is she? I know girls like to talk and all, but Jesus Christ, they’ve been out there a long time.

I decide after another five minutes it’s been enough time to have their girly time. I’ve gone long enough without seeing her face.

When I open the door, I stop breathing. Every fear I’ve ever known slams into me.

“Erik? What are you doing?” I demand. He’s holding a Glock to Charlie’s head. “Dude, put the gun down. What the hell are you thinking?” I step into the hallway, looking for any reason he would be holding a gun to my girl’s head.

My mind runs through a million possibilities, but none of them makes sense.

Erik has been a member of our company for over three years. He’s worked by my side. Something isn’t adding up.

“Listen to him, Erik,” Charlie says confidently as she catches my eye.

I’m not in any physical condition to fight, but there’s not a chance this motherfucker is walking out of here. I step closer, but he grabs her and pulls her back. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but he’s not taking her anywhere.

“You’re both so arrogant. So self-righteous. Do you know what I’ve gone through?” he yells, pushing the gun against her temple. “What I’ve had to live through the last few years? How I’ve watched you all live your lives—fall in love—while I suffer?”

“Lower the gun,” I warn. A part of me wants to plow forward, but not while she’s in danger. “Why don’t you put the damn gun down and come inside?”

“Fuck you.” His eyes shift back and forth between us. This isn’t the Erik Long I’ve had in my life. This isn’t the same Navy SEAL who fought with us. No, this guy looks strung out. “This all ends today. You both are dead.”

His attention shifts back to Charlie. All I can think about is getting her away from him. There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell this will end the way he wants. No one is dead here but him.

I need to keep this conversation moving and get her the hell away from this madman who I thought was my friend. “Why are you doing this?” I ask.

“Did you really think all the problems you and your stupid friends have dealt with were just from my dad?” And the final puzzle piece snaps into place. He’s the fucker’s son.
Well played, you dumb prick
. “Who do you think fed him all the intel about where you were?”

“Erik,” Charlie says, and I glare at her. She needs to keep her mouth shut so I can handle this, not draw his attention. “Why would you involve yourself in this?”

My eyes don’t move from her. I hope she understands my message to lie low. He’s got a gun pointed at her head. The least she can do is be quiet and let me deal with this.

He laughs as his hand shakes.

“Easy!” I say. She winces.

Erik then turns the gun to me. “Shut up, Dixon. I’m calling the shots now. Not you, so if you want your precious girlfriend to be spared, then shut up.”

He has lost his ever-loving mind. “Fine,” I agree with my hands in the air. I manage to shuffle a little closer. “You’re in charge here, but if you hurt her, all bets are off.”

“Don’t threaten me. I’ll shoot you both before you can move.”

“Why?” Charlie asks again.

Of course, she doesn’t shut up. God forbid. I give her another look that tells her to stop.

“Why are you doing this?” she continues.

For fuck’s sake. We’re going to have a serious conversation about my facial expressions.

“Because he and his idiot friends don’t know the first thing about being a team. They left those guys behind. They stood there while their friends died. Just so you know what you’re dating—a fucking coward.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask as I move a little to the right. My leg is screaming out in pain, but I keep my focus on Charlie.

“I stood by for years trying to get over it. I got out of the Navy, thought maybe if I was around you three I would see the leadership he saw. But all I see are three assholes who are living while he isn’t.” Erik pushes the gun forward. It propels Charlie in front of me. The coward stands behind her, forcing me to observe her face.

I’m going to break his hand and every bone in his body. My jaw clenches and my fist balls. I’m one second away from losing it. “I swear if you hurt—” I start to say but she stops me with her eyes.

“Mark,” she whispers. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay.” I see the tears forming in her eyes as she stares back at me. I have to fix this.

“If you had only done what you were trained to do! If you’d saved your entire team, none of this would be happening!” Erik yells.

“Are you talking about the mission with Brian, Devon, and Fernando?” I’m trying to draw a correlation.

He laughs and pushes her even closer to me. “The mission where Fernando was killed. The mission where you took everything that ever mattered in my life and destroyed it.”

I must be high from the pain medication because I swear he makes no sense. Fernando was married with a kid. “Erik, I’ve had a really shitty few weeks. Now you’ve got a gun to my girlfriend’s head, so spare me the fucking dramatics. Be a man and tell me what has you so fucked up that you’d go to this length.”

“Just like you guys . . .” He glances away, and I scoot closer to Charlie. I could grab her, but before I can, he grips her shoulder. Her face contorts with pain, but she remains completely quiet. I see red. He hurt her, and I don’t give a fuck what his reason is . . . he’s dead. “You only see what you want to see. Everyone saw past the truth. No one saw how much I loved him. How much
he
loved
me
. No, you were too self-absorbed to witness the truth.”

“Truth? You mean you and Fernando? Were
together
?” His grip tightens and a tear falls from her blue eyes. “Let her go. This is between us.”

Erik releases Charlie and points the gun at my head. I yank her good arm and throw her behind me. “You’re right. This is all your fault. Jackson, Aaron, and you are all the reason my life ended.”

“So, you decided to go on some revenge mission? You need to put the fucking gun down before you can’t get out of this situation. You’re not this guy.”

His eyes narrow. “I’m exactly this guy. I’m doing this for Fernando. I’m going to make his killers pay.”

Jesus Christ, this is insane. “You weren’t the only one who lost Fernando that day. He was my brother too. I carried his body. I wore his blood and fought to save him. No one let him die.”

“You did!” he yells out, wearing rage across his face. “You all did!”

I know how it feels to think you lost someone you love. Not even two days ago, I thought Charlie was gone. I felt there was nothing left that mattered. I was willing to lose my own life because a world without her held nothing. My life went dull, lifeless, and empty.

I also understand revenge, because if someone killed her, I’d be counting bodies too. This is going to come down to him or me.

“You have a choice here, Erik.” I back up and push Charlie farther behind me. “You can turn around, walk out of here, and go get help. I understand you’re hurting. I didn’t know you loved Fernando like that. None of us knew. Hurting Jackson, Aaron, and me won’t bring him back. It won’t make this right.” I try to push her closer to the door so she can get inside. If he shoots anyone, it won’t be my pregnant girlfriend. “Or you can be prepared for what could happen if you choose wrong, because I can’t let you kill me or Charlie.”

He lets out a maniacal laugh. “I started this and I’ll finish it. Each of you cowards were supposed to die. But I failed each time, until now.”

Charlie taps on my back. Erik moves forward, and I realize she’s telling me something in Morse code. I have to focus since it’s been forever since I’ve used it:
Gun on table.

Well, that’s great, but we’re not close to the table. However, if we can get her inside, it could work.

I reach behind me and tap on her leg:
Go on three
.

That’s all I can do. That, and keep him off-kilter. “I can assure you that this won’t happen the way you think. I didn’t survive the fucking hell your father put me through to let you kill me.” I let him think I’m at the end of my rope. I have to play with his mind a little.

Erik points his gun right at my forehead. His anger is defined in his eyes. “You deserve to die the same way he did.”

“How does that make it right?” I ask. I must try to keep him talking. We circle a little, and I maneuver Charlie so she can reach the doorknob. The gun sits right there. If she can open the door, we might have a chance.

Erik closes his eyes, and I use this moment to push Charlie back. She has one shot to get the door open and grab the gun. Or I die.

His demeanor shifts as he starts talking. “I did this because I couldn’t take the pain. Then I saw how you struggled when one of you were hurt. It wasn’t even close to what I was feeling.”

“Do you really think I’ll stand by and let you do this? Do you think you’ll be able to kill us and no one will know?” I’m grasping at straws, but I only need another minute.

Charlie taps my back:
Ready
.

She’s in position, but this could go so wrong so fast. No matter what, I’ll shield her. If anyone is going to pay for this, it’ll be me. I love her more than my own life, more than anything in this world. She won’t pay for my sins.