Love Inspired Suspense April 2015 #2 (48 page)

“Have you tied up prisoners before?” she asked, only partially serious. “You seem to know what you're doing.”

He chuckled, tugged on an end of rope, and stepped back to survey his work. “You know how it is in this line of work. You don't even get a locker until you've passed Rope Tying 101.” He winked at her, then looked over her head toward the door. “Let's leave him here and go find Parsons. I don't want to be around without backup if the Wolf decides to check up on his ally, and maybe they've tracked down that passenger by now.”

Lexie shivered at the thought of being caught by surprise by the ringleader. “He had a gun, Shaun. Do you think that means his boss has one, too? Brought one on board?”

“I'd be a fool to rule it out,” he said, voice soft. He crossed the room and brushed back a lock of hair that had escaped from her hairclip during the scuffle. “So I won't. But there's no need for panic. We've got one of his allies subdued, and we've taken out one possible weapons threat. We need to call this a win.”

He squeezed her shoulder, and the muscles in Lexie's stomach tensed and relaxed. It
was
a win. They'd come through this alive, and now they had a direct line to the Wolf—someone who could provide them with information on Maria and her captor.

The realization brought with it a wave of relief, followed by exhaustion. After the events of the last twelve hours, she desperately needed a hug. Simple as that. Shaun just so happened to be the closest available candidate. He responded to her hug in kind, offering a secure but gentle embrace. And yet, when neither of them let go, the moment shifted to something more.

Shaun kissed the top Lexie's head and her body betrayed her, shivering in response.

It felt right, but in other ways, oh so wrong. She swallowed, knowing what she needed to say next. “Shaun, I can't. This can't be.” Lexie waved at the man tied to the chair. “Look at where we are, at what's happening. Plus, you've told me my sister lied to me about what happened between the two of you. I've spent so much time blaming you for sending her off the deep end that I can't just erase everything I believed in a matter of hours.”

Shaun nodded, but there was no mistaking the disappointment in his eyes. He pulled away and held her at arm's length, hands on her shoulders. Her body wanted to close the gap and feel the security of his embrace again, but her brain overruled her on this one. Solve the problem, decide if he'd told her the truth and go from there. Whatever that meant.

Shaun cleared his throat, breaking the stillness between them. “As nice as this is, we need to move. The Wolf is coming.”

TEN

S
haun's pulse raced, and it had nothing to with the gunshot wound, skull trauma or having caught one of the Wolf's lackeys. Lying on the floor, Shaun had praised God to realize that the bullet to his shoulder had only grazed it. He'd lost a lot of blood, but not enough to put his health or mobility at risk. Lexie's quick thinking had saved the day, enabling him to fight through the pain and execute her on-the-spot plan.

Being this close to Lexie...it did a number on him, that's for sure. The sensation of her arms around him was both wonderful and welcome, though at first, he'd held back from assuming what it meant. How many hugs had he received from grateful victims he'd helped save throughout the years? But then neither he nor she had pulled away, and he didn't want to be the first to let go.

She fit so well in his arms. Like two puzzle pieces, made for each other—but not only that, they understood each other better than anyone he'd ever met. He'd had plenty of partners in the field on missions before who wouldn't have thought to trick their captor the way she did, psychologically influencing the man who'd put her in mortal danger and using teamwork to take him down without further injury.

And as much as he wanted to relish the moment she'd given him, getting to safety before the Wolf found them took priority. They'd return with Parsons's team to get some answers from their captive, relying on safety in numbers.
Then
he could tell Lexie about the static charge that filled the air every time she came near.

“Let's take the maintenance elevator back up,” Lexie suggested as they left the engine room. “That way we can land on the correct floor without interference, right? And if we can get in touch with security, maybe those guys can meet us right at the top and we can come straight down again.”

“Solid planning,” Shaun said, impressed yet again by her forward thinking. No wonder she'd worked her way up to vice president at the missing-persons organization. She possessed the perfect blend of logic, fire and compassion required by such an emotionally demanding job. It was clear that the search for Maria was far more than just another job for Lexie. She cared about the young woman and her family, and Shaun didn't blame her one bit. Was that why she hadn't yet married? He knew all about the difficulties inherent in this kind of work. Leaving it at the office wasn't exactly an option.

They stepped into the elevator as Shaun tried to contact Parsons on the walkie-talkie, but the thick metal walls that lined the elevator shaft made it difficult for the signal to get through. “Hello? Hey, Parsons?” Shaun tried to adjust the reception, and a faint voice came through the static as the elevator reached the lounge deck. “I can't get him from inside here. Let's get to an open space and try to call again.”

After several additional tries, the radio's alert tone sounded for an incoming call. “Lane here.”

“Lane? Parsons. You looking for me?” The man's voice sounded strained, but Shaun figured he'd be feeling the strain, too, if he had to take care of an entire ferry's worth of irate passengers. For the sake of the entire
MV Providence
staff, he hoped the icebreaker ship arrived soon.

“We had a situation in the engine room,” Shaun explained. “Lexie and I took care of it, and we're safe. Mostly unharmed.” He decided not to bore the man with details on the continuing throb from the gunshot graze on his shoulder, the massive headache from having his skull bashed and the heavy sensation still in his lungs from the gas incident. And the cut on Lexie's neck. “We need your help, though. Can your team meet us at the south passenger elevators on the main deck in three? The maintenance elevator is probably too small for all of us, now that I think of it. I want to move as a group on this one. We were two against one and still had a close call. I'm not keen on taking another unnecessary risk. Bring a few bandages and some iodine if you can.”

The walkie-talkie grew silent, and Shaun wondered if Parsons's battery had died. The man's voice returned over the speaker just as Shaun had decided to head to one of the ship's little convenience stalls and commandeer some batteries.

“South passenger elevators, main deck, First Aid, three minutes. Roger.”

Shaun clipped the walkie-talkie back onto his belt, noting that Lexie had stopped near a window. She stared outside into the darkness, her expression guarded. He hadn't noticed until now, but her eyelids were heavy and dark circles had begun to form under her eyes. What had he been thinking, dragging her around on a search in the middle of the night? She hadn't said one word of protest though and had taken everything in stride. Despite the woman's immense strength and patience, he'd allowed her to be put in the line of fire one too many times.

“You should get some rest,” he commented. “You look exhausted.”

Her lips turned downward in a delicate frown, and he mentally kicked himself.
Wrong choice of words, genius.

“Thanks. I'm sure you've looked better, yourself.” She squinted and stepped closer. “You know you've got blood all over your shirt, right?”

“Just a flesh wound,” he quipped.

“Right.” Lexie rolled her eyes and flicked a finger at his walkie-talkie. “We take care of the situation downstairs and then you get to medical.”

“Only if you get some actual rest. In a real bed, with a guard posted.”

“Aren't the staff stretched thin enough as it is?”

Shaun pressed his lips together and exhaled. “I meant me.”

“And you'll sleep when?”

“When this is over and everyone is safe.” Before she could argue, he placed a hand on her shoulder and directed her down the hallway, back toward the passenger elevators. “Come on. We've got a minute to get back there to meet Parsons, and a guy tied up in the engine room.”

Never a dull moment,
he thought as they turned the corner to the elevator hallway. Standing alone in front of the doors was security team member Josh.

Josh held a weapon in his hands, and he had it aimed at Lexie.

Shaun grabbed Lexie's shoulder and pulled her behind him, blocking her body with his own. “Hold on,” Shaun said, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. “I thought we were on the same side.”

Confusion followed by relief played across Josh's face, and he lowered the weapon. He holstered it, allowing Shaun a glimpse of the object. A stun gun. Not a gun with bullets, but just as painful and potentially deadly. Did all the security staff have them?

Josh held up his empty hands. “Sorry. Getting a little jumpy is all. I got punched in the stomach by a passenger a half hour ago when I told him we're almost out of bacon in the restaurant.”

“Bacon?” Shaun came forward slowly, keeping Lexie behind him. “Is that in your job description, updating passengers on the availability of their buffet options?”

Josh chuckled and pressed the call button for the elevator. Creaking and grinding came from within the elevator shaft as the car made its way to their floor. “No, but you try telling a guest that they can't devour two pounds of bacon because there are other people aboard who need to eat, too, and no way to get more food until we hit shore. The guy seemed to think we could just call a helicopter to bring in another pig. Have it land on the ice or throw packages of bacon onto the top of the ship. Or send it in by parachute, I don't know.”

As weird as it sounded, Shaun believed him. People tended to act strange when afraid, even if the fear wasn't entirely rational. “Did you tell him you'd be happy to hire a door-to-door helicopter bacon delivery service if he paid for it?”

Josh lifted the corner of his shirt, where a massive red welt had swollen on his abdomen. “Naturally. And he showed me exactly what he thought of the suggestion. Huh. Maintenance really needs to spray some WD-40 on these passenger elevators, eh?”

“Compared to the maintenance elevators, this is a symphony.” The noisy elevator came to a stop, doors opening. To Shaun's surprise, Parsons and Reed were already inside. “Got a head start on the ride, did you?”

Parsons stepped back, making room for the three waiting persons to board. “We were still on the upper decks, figured it'd be faster to meet up this way. Reed thinks he's found our trespasser, too, for what it's worth. The guy entered room sixty-five about ten minutes ago. Won't be hard to check the manifest and page him to the office once we're done with this business. Or we can just haul him out of bed, whatever works. Coming?”

Shaun shot a glance at Lexie, who offered him a brief, encouraging smile. Finding the passenger was extremely good news—they just might have earned two solid leads in under an hour. Gaining any solid intel from either of the two men could blow three years of guesswork and baby steps wide open, and save Maria's life in the meantime.

They boarded the elevator and descended in silence to the engine deck. Shaun led the way to the engine room, Lexie close beside him. In any other circumstance, he'd be enjoying her nearness. Right now, seeing the exhaustion and paranoia plain on her face, he wondered if he shouldn't have left her upstairs in the medical center.

“We tied up the man who attacked us,” Shaun said, addressing the other men as they reached the door. “It's a little old-school, but it worked. He was unconscious when we left, but should be awake by now. I didn't put him out for long.” Shaun sensed, rather than saw, Lexie's eyes roll behind him.

Parsons nodded, a gesture of understanding between two professionals, despite their different positions and levels of service. Shaun had worked plenty of field and recon assignments where he and his team had gone head-to-head with local law enforcement, and it always made everyone's jobs that much harder. As much as he'd complained earlier to Jack about working with a couple of security guards on this highly sensitive case, Parsons had displayed nothing but professionalism the entire time. It'd certainly help to have Parsons backing him up in the inevitable police investigation once they reached Argentia. He'd have to buy the man dinner to say thanks, maybe ask why he'd gone into the security business over a law enforcement career.

“Is this our guy?” Parsons asked, crossing his arms. “The one you briefed us on?”

“One of them.” Shaun braced his shoulder against the door, half-turned with his attention on the rest of the group. “Not the Wolf, but our attacker mentioned having a boss. Once we get in here, it's my job to confirm that boss's identity. You three take point around the room and ensure we're not ambushed. Lexie sticks with me.” He nodded acknowledgment to each man in turn, ensuring they'd understood his instructions. “I doubt his boss will be willing to take on a group of five, or at least that's what I'm counting on. This shouldn't take long.”

Shaun pushed the door open, holding it in place with his shoulder as he turned around to face the room—and froze.

Lexie's small frame bumped into him from behind, followed by a grunt of annoyance from one of the other men.

“Don't move,” Shaun said, keeping his voice low and steady. “Parsons, come around. Don't let Lexie—”

“No way, buddy.” Lexie pushed past him to see into the room and immediately let out a cry of horror. Shaun grabbed her arm and pulled her tight into his chest, covering her face.

The man they'd left tied up still sat on the chair, about ten feet from the door. Blood covered the man's body and the floor around the chair, with a scarlet red trail leading to a clear message written on the engine room floor.
WHO'S NEXT?

* * *

Lexie shook, her whole body trembling as Shaun held her upright. Her legs felt weak and rubbery, and though she closed her eyes to block out the memory, all she saw behind her eyelids was the disturbing, horrifying image of their bloodied attacker tied to the chair.

And the message. Who would write such a thing? No one but a cold-blooded killer—someone who didn't care one whit for humanity, who saw people as commodities to be bought and sold—could craft such a disturbing scene. If this man, this Wolf, was willing to kill his own associates, what else would he do to protect his interests?

“My stomach,” Lexie mumbled, waves of nausea and heat washing over her from head to toe. “Shaun...”

Shaun held her at arm's length. “Should we get you a bucket? I know that sounds insensitive, but I don't want to send you to a washroom alone.”

She took a deep breath through her nose and swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat. This would make poor timing for a panic attack, but she felt sick to her stomach more than anything. “I'm not sure. Give me a minute.” The question she didn't want answered leaped unbidden from her lips. “Is he dead?”

Shaun sighed and glanced over her head. She knew what that meant.

Inside the engine room, the security men were arguing about protocol. She'd let them handle it. For once, she didn't need to be a part of this. “Should we call the Coast Guard? Or radio the police, or... I guess you are the police. Sort of. Right?” She clamped her lips together to stop rambling, but the motion did nothing to stop the rest of her body from trembling as guilt tumbled onto her conscience like a bag of bricks. “What if we hadn't left him here? What if we'd just taken him upstairs, or—”

Shaun took her chin in his hand, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Stop. There are no what-ifs, here. The man who did this is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect his interests, and no speculation on what we could have done will change that.”

“But I don't understand. Why kill someone who's helping you? Why not just untie him and help him hide or have him come after us again?”

Shaun sighed again, heavier this time and released her chin. Lexie wished he hadn't. The warmth of his touch had helped to steady her nerves, though guiltily she couldn't help but wonder if he'd led Nikki on with similar gentle embraces and caring gestures. Couldn't her sister ever stay out of her thoughts?