Maya Banks - No Place to Run

WHILE Sam and his men entered the final planning stages, Sophie slept and Sam watched over her. He wasn’t entirely focused on the conversation and the intense strategy session because his gaze kept drifting to the small woman who held such a big part of him in her hands.

He hated that he couldn’t keep her here, safely tucked away from anything that could hurt her. He despised it. Before, KGI would have planned a ruthless extraction, gone in with precision, rescued the hostage, been in and out in an hour. Wiped their hands, moved on to the next job.

That had all gone to hell because this was his mother, and if Sophie was to be believed—and he did believe her—her uncle was a wild card. No one really knew how he’d react, because he’d never been tested. He’d never assumed any leadership in Alex Mouton’s organization.

That made him unpredictable, and they couldn’t afford to risk his mom’s life by assuming anything.

Goddamn but he hated this.

“P.J. and Cole will be on sniper duty,” Steele said in a low voice next to Sam.

Sam turned to his team leader and knew he’d been caught napping. He’d been staring down at Sophie, who was curled on the small couch in the family room, her face tense and drawn even in sleep.

It was all he could do not to run his fingers over her lips to ease the worry stress, but he didn’t want to disturb her. The next hours would be tense and she needed her rest.

“You and Sophie can make nice and meet Tomas for the trade, if the bastard will even show himself. The rest of us will stage around the house and go in. If Marlene is inside, we’ll get her out. If she’s with Tomas, P.J. or Cole will take Tomas out at the first opportunity.”

“He knows I won’t be coming in with Sophie alone. He can’t be that stupid. He’ll be expecting something. We have to give him something else entirely,” Sam said. “I won’t risk her. I want Garrett and Donovan with me. Protection for Sophie. If I front enough men with me and Sophie, the rest of you might come as a surprise.”

“And Ethan?”

Sam blew out his breath. He needed Ethan, but he didn’t want to involve him either. Hell of a note.

“Ethan comes with me. You and Rio will take your teams and take down everyone in your path. It needs to be clean and quiet. The longer it takes for Tomas to figure out you’re there, the better.”

The door to the room burst open and Ethan strode in, his hand curled tight around his wife’s hand. Baker and Renshaw flanked the couple and were armed to the teeth.

Sam went to meet his brother just as Donovan and Garrett broke away from the others as well.

“How is he?” Ethan asked hoarsely.

“He’s resting. He’ll be okay. I spoke to the doctor earlier.”

Sam’s gaze dropped to Rachel and he extended a hand. “Rachel, honey, how are you?”

To his surprise she walked into his arms and hugged him fiercely. He responded by enveloping her in a hug. She’d gotten better about expressing affection with him and the other family members, but this spontaneous outburst caught him off guard.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “You must be so worried.”

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and relinquished her to Garrett, who stood impatiently to the side. Garrett and Rachel had always had a special bond, and next to Ethan, Rachel was the most open with Garrett.

“Tell me what the hell’s going on, Sam,” Ethan demanded. “The report I got was sketchy at best, and I still don’t understand what’s happening here.”

Sam caught Garrett’s eyes and nodded for him to take Rachel away. Garrett responded by wrapping an arm around her slender form and guiding her past Sophie and over to where Rusty sat.

As succinctly as possible, Sam gave Ethan the story from the top. The parts about him and Sophie were abbreviated, but his warning was crystal clear. His brother wasn’t to place blame on Sophie’s shoulders.

Ethan stared dumbly at the couch where Sophie lay sleeping. Then he dragged a hand over his short-cropped hair and shook his head in disbelief.

“I’m going with you,” he said firmly.

His stare was challenging, as if he expected Sam to shoot him down. But Sam nodded.

“I need you on this, Ethan. I’ve made arrangements for Rachel and Rusty to be cared for. Sean’s going to stay with them, and we have a veritable army around the hospital so they and Dad will be safe.”

Ethan lowered his voice. “I need to explain to Rachel. She doesn’t know what’s going on, just that Dad’s had a heart attack and there’s trouble.”

“Then go explain,” Sam said. “We leave in an hour.”

“SOPHIE, Sophie, honey, time to wake up.”

She heard the words, but they seemed so far away. Drowsily, she opened her eyes to see Sam sitting on the edge of the couch, his eyes full of misgivings.

“Are we leaving?”

She was proud of the way she kept the fear from her voice, how steady the words came out.

“Yeah, we need to go.”

She pushed herself to a sitting position and took quick stock of the room around her. There were faces she hadn’t seen before. A man who looked a lot like Garrett stood against the far wall, his arms sheltering a slender woman with brown hair. Two other men, heavily armed, stood with Steele. The man and woman must be Sam’s brother and sister-in-law.

“The key,” she said and stopped to clear the cracking from her voice. “Did they get the key?”

Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a long cylindrical piece of metal.

“Is this it?” he asked as he turned it over in his palm.

It was an odd piece. It didn’t at all look like a traditional key. She could understand his skepticism.

She took it from him and ran a finger over the series of etchings on the outside.

“Yes. It’s specially engineered. It’s quite a piece of technology. On the outside, the etchings are the key part. Each groove fits into a corresponding groove in the keyhole. But it’s hollow, as you can see, and on the inside is an encrypted code that is scanned once the key fits the lock.

“It’s all computerized, and on the end, where you hold it, is a sensor. If the person’s pulse is too elevated or the skin temperature is off the normal body heat by more than a degree, access is denied.”

Sam shook his head. “Your father was a paranoid bastard.”

“He liked to think he was careful and thought of every eventuality. He didn’t trust anyone. But he was also arrogant. He had such a tight security net around him at all times that he thought himself invincible. He didn’t think anyone could touch him.”

“Motherfucking God complex,” Donovan muttered.

Sophie looked up to see that Donovan and Garrett had gathered, as had the man she assumed was their brother Ethan.

She nodded. “In some ways he did consider himself a god. Not a deity. He wasn’t a religious man. He had no tolerance for what couldn’t be touched or seen. He considered religion a weakness, and he was all about strength or what he perceived as strength.”

“How the hell did you ever have the nerve to go up against him?” Garrett asked. “You said you shot him, but how?”

She looked down at her hands. “It’s nothing to brag about. I’m not proud of what I did. I did it for selfish reasons. I’m not a noble person.”

Sam’s hand slid under her chin and tilted it upward until she met his gaze.

“I disagree,” he said in a quiet voice that almost shook. “You’re risking your life for a woman you don’t know. That makes you pretty goddamn noble in my book.”

His hand tightened as if just saying the words were unbearable.

“You’ll find a way to keep me safe,” she said.

Those weren’t just words meant to reassure. She believed them. And she wanted him to know that.

Ethan stepped forward and put his hand down to Sophie. “I’m Ethan, Sam’s younger brother. I’ll be going with you to Rock Springs.”

She gingerly slid her hand into his. “I’m Sophie.”

He smiled, and it was startling to see someone who so closely resembled Garrett smiling.

“I know who you are. My brother’s told me a lot about you.”

Steele walked up and touched Sam on the arm. “We’re ready to move. Trucks are here, helicopters are waiting, and the jet is fueled.”

Her stomach balled into a knot, and she lowered her hands to her lap so no one would see how bad they shook. The key pressed into her palm, and the leather strip that had secured it to her father’s neck lay limply across her leg. Deep red splotches stained one side. Her father’s blood.

The key had been her insurance policy, but now it was the only thing that stood between Marlene Kelly and certain death. When she gave it up, unless Sam and his men were able to completely bring down her uncle’s network, she’d wear a target on her back for the rest of her life. However long it lasted.

Sam reached for her hand and pulled her up to stand beside him. His eyes found hers and he touched her cheek in a tender gesture.

Then he let his hand fall away and tugged her into the protective circle of his men as they walked out of the hospital.

THEY were climbing into the SUVs when a black sedan roared toward them. The clatter of guns was deafening as every single one of Sam’s men took cover and aimed at the approaching vehicle. It screeched to a halt a few feet from where Sam stood and Sam shoved Sophie into the backseat.

“Stay down,” he barked.

He drew his Glock as the door to the car opened and Resnick popped out, hands in the air. Without waiting for a summons, he strode determinedly toward Sam, his mouth set in a grim line.