Vendetta (16 page)

“I have great focus. I diffuse bombs for a living, remember.” He laughed.

“Yeah, and you talk the entire time. I’m surprised you haven’t set one off yet. Keep quiet and focus on the mission, not the woman on the side of you.”

“Spoiling all the fun.”

“Leo so help me I’m going to—”

“Love me because I’m your big brother.”

“Kick your butt,” she said. “Look, I’m going to go find Thomas. Do you think you can handle getting Geneva back to her husband,” she stressed the word husband.

“Yeah…yeah. Hey, do you have any friends as beautiful as you,” he asked Geneva and she laughed.

“Maybe we should just focus on getting out of here first.” Geneva reminded him. She had no idea how two siblings from that family could be as different as night and day. Valencia was all business, while Leo seemed as if he looked at this as some game, something that posed no threat of ending his life. Maybe it was his profession; maybe diffusing bombs every day made men with machine guns seem harmless.

“Drake,” she said as she spotted him rounding a corner. She tore away from Leo’s grip and ran to him. She threw her arms around him the minute he was within reach. “They told me you were dead. They told me they had killed you. I’m so glad you’re alive,” she felt tears flowing freely as he gently pushed her away from his body. She understood. He was on high alert, watching, making sure there wasn’t another threat lurking in the shadows. “Valencia came to save me, and Leo helped.”

“Lucky Leo,” Drake nodded. “Thanks, both of you. If you ever need anything from me you both know I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Have you seen Thomas?”

“With his last position check he was headed toward the central command room. He’s going after Sabian.”

“Thanks;” Valencia left them there.

“Guess we know where her focus is,” Leo chuckled. “All right, why don’t you take the damsel in distress out of here and I’m going to go make sure my baby sister doesn’t get herself killed,” Leo grinned.

“You take her out of here. I can’t leave my men behind. Your sister can handle her own.”

“You take her,” he said. “I know my sister can handle her own, but I also know you all are messing with some crazy domestic terrorists and I’m not taking any chances on her catching a bullet. Would sure as hell be nice if she’d use a gun every now and then. She shoots better than a sharp shooter yet she prefers those knives,” he growled. “You take the damsel. I’m going after my sister.”

“Seriously—” Drake started to say until Geneva hissed in frustration.

“Time out,” she snapped. “I’m not a damsel. And I’ll just go with both of you until one of you go your own way.” She pushed past both of them and started walking.

Leo shrugged. “That’s some woman you’ve got there.”

“Don’t I know it,” Drake took a few long legged strides to catch up with her and when he did he took her arm in his hand and slowed her down.

“How do you manage her?”

“I’m not a checkbook,” Geneva kept her voice low enough not to be heard by any bad guys passing by, but loud enough for both men to hear her. “He doesn’t have to manage me,” she said.

“You’re single aren’t you?” Drake asked of the tall muscular man making waves.

“How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess,” Drake retorted baldly. “All right soldier—”

“No,” Leo held up his free hand. “None of that military stuff for me. I work the bomb squad. You military men are crazy.”

“Excuse me?” Drake asked incredulously. “You’re playing with bombs all day and we’re crazy?”

“You go over into scorching hot countries dodging enemy bullets. What sane man does that?”

“Seriously?” Drake’s tone was indicative of extreme disbelief.

“My job’s a walk in the park compared to what you guys go into. No way in hell could you pay me to do that.”

“The man diffuses bombs and he thinks my job is tough.” Drake shook his head. “You’re nothing like your sister,” he said. Geneva was thinking the same thing. Leo was all humor while Valencia was serious as stone. Leo seemed to look at danger as one big game, while Valencia looked at the situation as a possible end game.

One attack came out of nowhere, or more like out of the shadows behind a closed door. Leo kicked the gun out of the man’s hand, grabbed his arm and with one solid chop to the back of his elbow he broke the bone through his flesh before grabbing his head and twisting until his neck snapped. He picked his own gun up off the floor from where it had fallen and looked at them seriously. She was sure her mouth was agape because she was in shock. “So,” he said smoothly. “We were going that way, right?” He continued onward.

“I take that back,” Drake said. “You’re a lot like your sister.”

They weren’t in the clear yet, but with these two men beside her, Geneva had no doubt that they were going to make it out alive.

“You came,” Sabian said as he took the clip out of his gun and tossed it to the side. Thomas knew this was his way of saying he wanted to go hand to hand. As angry as he was, he was willing to do it because he wanted to pound his face in and then snap his chicken neck. “I figured it would be you and not one of the others.”

“You killed a lot of good men, Sabian. And for what? Money? You’re a traitor to the military, to this country, to humanity. You knew what we were carrying. You knew what it could be used for yet you had my team killed so you could make a fast buck.”

“A million of them actually,” he said. “And I did not betray my country. I’m helping it.”

“By selling our technology to the enemy?”

“Who says the chip didn’t make it back to this country?”

Thomas hesitated. Was he saying somebody here had it? All of this, all of these years and the ultimate unknown enemy was on their own soil.

“I did what I had to do. This government can’t win a war for bickering amongst themselves. We’re going to change that. We’re going to change the world—control it. Never again will our citizens fear an attack on home soil because if it happens we’ll have the power to wipe out our enemy; we’ll have it all. Control the earth, Thomas and you can control the world.” He pulled a knife out of his belt, ready to fight. “I would ask you to join me, but I know you’d never do it. Even if you weren’t some ex Marine with a hero complex you’d never forgive me for that hit on that cute little number you call your woman. And you sure as hell wouldn’t forgive me for Adam.”

Thomas growled harshly. “You killed Adam?”

“Tinkered with his shoot myself,” he said. “It wasn’t difficult. Rather rewarding actually. I’ve spent so much time letting everybody else do my work that that one victory…well, you know what they say. When you want something done right, you do it yourself.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Thomas said as he separated his weapon from the clip as well and tossed both aside.

“Not if I kill you first.” Sabian lunged at him, slicing his arm in one swift move. The wound was superficial and it didn’t slow Thomas down at all. He used every technique he learned while in the Corp. He used the moves he had learned from Gavin growing up, from the boys in school who showed him how to do a street fight without mercy; he used it all.

He delivered one blow after the other. Breaking bones, drawing blood and reveling in the fact that he was administering a world of hurt to this bastard—wishing he could give him more, but it was time to end this. It was time to deliver the final justice. He pushed Sabian down onto the ground. His battered body struggled to slither across the floor as Thomas put his weapon back together.

Thomas put one bullet in Sabian’s knee cap and then another in his thigh. “That was for Adam,” he said. It wasn’t enough pain, but it would have to suffice.

“You think this is over? You think it ends with me? You’re wrong if you do. Nothing ends here.”

“You’re wrong,” Thomas grumbled. “You end here.” And with those words he put a bullet through his chest and then one through his head. When the door swung open he was ready to fire again until he saw Valencia standing there, poised and ready to take her own revenge had the scene on the other side of the door been anything different.

“You’re alive,” he said. “Thank God in heaven for that.”

She smiled. “I had help. You called my father.”

“I hope you’re not angry, but I wasn’t going to lose you.”

“I’m not angry. And I’m glad you finally have closure.” She pointed to Sabian. “So it’s over. You can go back and sit with Thena now.”

“There’s something else; something more. He said as much. We have to stop whatever they’re doing.”

“But not today,” she concurred. “Today, you need to go home.”

He watched Sully, Gavin, Drake and Leo enter along with Geneva. “I think we got them all,” Sully said smoothly. “Most importantly; you got him.” He pointed to Sabian. “That’s what we came for. Mission accomplished.”

They all agreed.

“Are you sure that was all of them?” Geneva asked softly. “What if there’s somebody left.”

“There’s nobody,” three of Valencia’s men walked inside the room. “All gone. Now, we must go.”

She nodded. “Right,” Thomas said. “You should get out of here. We’ll take care of this.”

Valencia laughed. “No, you all are getting out of here. I’ve got this.”

“Valencia, you’re not in the game anymore. You can’t get taken down with this.”

She laughed again. “Once you’re in, Thomas, you’re never really out. Besides, I’ve spent the greater part of my life working for the government. You don’t do that and come away without people owing you something. I already have a cleanup crew taking care of the other mess, and we’ll get this one taken care of too. Go home; all of you. Go back to your wives and children and soon-to-be wives,” she looked at Thomas. “It’s time for you to let go now.”

Her voice was sweet, soft, smooth like an angel, because she was an angel. She wasn’t just the Angel of Death, assassin, warrior, Japanese mafia heir; she was his angel. She had saved him in more ways than he could count, and he loved her for that.

“Geneva, Harrison is at the airport with my father. You all can fly back to Hawaii with us on the jet.”

“Um…I thought we were going home.” Geneva looked to Drake and he shrugged.

“Trust me; Harrison is not going to want to let either of us out of his sight today. He had a bit of a shock,” she patted Geneva’s arm. “He really doesn’t have the stomach for this stuff.”

Geneva smiled and chuckled. “I’m not sure I do either.”

“Oh you do,” Valencia said. “You wouldn’t have survived this long with Drake if you didn’t. Anyway, it’s either you come to Hawaii or Harrison’s going to pitch a fit and the Mishoto family will end up boarding in your house in D.C. because my father is on a rampage right now and he is not going to let me skirt off to another location by myself.”

“Amen to that,” Leo added.

“And I do not want to go to D.C.”

“I second that,” Gavin said. Everybody knew Gavin hated D.C., or more like the politics in D.C. He wasn’t even the one talking about going there and already the look of distaste was on his face.

“Hawaii it is,” Geneva agreed. “At least it will be warm there,” she said as she shivered with the memory of what she had just gone through. “That water was so cold.”

Thomas took one last look at Sabian’s dead body.

“Coming, Thomas?”

“Yeah, Gavin. I’m coming.” He had to get back to Boston. He had to get back to Thena. The only thing he could do now was pray that her heart was still beating.

Chapter Thirteen

T
homas felt as if he was running with a heavy weight on his chest. He had gone straight to the hospital, ran past the admissions area and straight back to the elevator. It was taking too long to come so he opted for the stairs. He jogged up to the floor where Thena’s room was. They had moved her for security purposes, at Shawn’s request. They hadn’t received the memo that he was off the force or they probably wouldn’t have submitted to his request. He was thankful for the precaution his friend had taken because it helped him know she was a little safer. What he really needed to know now was that she was still alive. He hadn’t received any calls. If she had died, Eve would have called him. He was sure of that.

He ran down the hall until he came to room three thirty three and he swung open the door. His heart was beating so fast as he jogged past the private bathroom and into the area where her gurney sat.

She turned her head and smiled at him. “You’re back,” she said and the sound of her voice was like heaven to his ears. He slowly walked to her side, tears in his eyes as he leaned down and kissed her softly; afraid to caress her too hard for fear he might break her fragile form.

He looked over and saw Eve with tears in her eyes and her hand to her heart. She was happy for him, and he knew that. “I’ll give you two a little time alone,” she said.

“Wait,” he touched her hand. “Thank you. Thank you for staying here.”

She squeezed his hand and nodded. He heard the door close behind her and he returned his attention to the beautiful woman in front of him; the love of his life who he had been blessed with more time with.