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PART XVII

MARK

With darkness surrounding them they had hopes of getting onto the roof without it going on the nightly news.

Alex had put in a call to the local police. Together with Bart, they'd gotten the police to pull back and remove any lookie-loos who thought to stick around.

There was even an unused ladder in a back corridor that climbed up to the roof that had been used by cleaners decades before. As Cypher had found out, someone paid a king's ransom to keep these features hidden.

As they reached the roof and set up their ropes, Cypher chimed back in with a sound that was reminiscent of an eighties arcade game noise. Mark almost smiled when he heard it.

"I'll keep this short since you're on the roof ."

Mark looked over at Gunny who lifted a brow in response. Mark was quickly discovering that it was going to be easier to figure out what Cypher didn't know instead of what she did.

"I have a name for you, Ares. I don't think you're going to like it."

Mark felt his jaw clench.

"Tanner Barrett."

Tanner Barret.

The name sat like a rock in his stomach.

"I'll find out more later, but all you need to know at the moment is that the holding companies that paid for most of the renovations here are all connected to him. The money is... whoa... hella dirty. I'm guessing organized crime."

Mark felt that rock grow in size, threatening to kill him with dread.

"Uptown can confirm that I'm not sensing any sort of security measures around the glass, Ares."

He looked at Uptown who gave him a thumbs up.

"I know we don't know each other, Ares, but I'm getting a bad feeling from this."

Mark nodded thinking that Cypher could likely see him. She certainly seemed to have eyes everywhere.

"I knew Tanner back in the day, when I met Heather."

" Yeah. Everything for all three of you points to the same town right before Heather's whole life ended."

That's one way to put it, he mused.

"He's spent, forgive my language, a shit-load of money to get her alone, Ares."

He nodded. "And he's got to know that I'm here with her."

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Ares?"

He looked down at Badger who was on his belly extending a long range electronic eye over the glass.

"Two figures. Heather and a man."

Mark nodded. "Microphone?"

Badger spoke softly. "Starting now."

The comm units were flooded with sound from below.

"Imagine my surprise when I finally got a line where to find you and then I learn you've been whoring yourself on YouTube."

"Playing music, Tanner."

"Exposing yourself, you mean. Your father would be horrified."

"He... He's dead."

"As If I believe you."

"Believe what you want."

Mark nodded at her words. He knew that she was hurting but she wasn't getting emotional in front of Tanner.

Badger piped in again. "He's got his hand on her leg. No visible weapons."

Mark took a breath. "We can't believe he doesn't have a way to hurt her. If he wanted to get her out of here that would be one thing. The two of them sitting in that room? They have to know we have someone watching the door in case they try to leave. All that's left is-"

"A final stand." Cypher again. "He's not adverse to leaving bodies behind. There are files in a number of Federal databases that are linking him to bodies all over the world."

"What is your plan, Tanner? Why here? Why now?"

HEATHER

Tanner narrowed his eyes at her, looking at her face as if he was trying to decipher something in her expression.

"Why not?"

She moved her thigh, trying to dislodge his hand.

It didn't work. It just made him dig his fingers in harder.

She liked it.

The pain was something she could deal with. It was better than fear.

He leaned in and looked back at the door they'd come through. "Amazing, isn't it? Knowing that the three of us are back together again? The Three Musketeers."

She shook her head.

"I've been looking for you for years. I wanted to get even with you and your father." He lifted a brow. "The man you say is dead."

Heather nodded. "He died after his testimony. He got back to the house, went to sleep and didn't wake up again."

"Escaping retribution."

Tanner seemed to enjoy the news and be angry at it at the same time.

It was exhausting.

"Well, here I am, Tanner." She exhaled and stared directly into his eyes. "What are you waiting for?"

He grinned and she didn't know how to take that look. She couldn't seem to see much of the Tanner she knew, but then again, she mused, had she ever really known him?

"It would have been fun just you and me." He gestured with his free hand at the open doorway. "I'd always planned to use Evan for access to you, but then he told me that you had security. Expensive security." Tanner leaned closer to the table. "It played into my angle. He already thought you were paid too much by Bart. He didn't think you were worth it. And he certainly thought that some half-rate violin player on a streaming site wasn't good enough to breathe on the violin let alone play it."

"Evan really hated me that much?"

Tanner shrugged. "I think Evan hated a lot of things. His family didn't listen to him when he went to them with his concerns. They thought you were wonderful, but it was almost child's play to turn him into my man on the inside.

"I'd planned on making this entertaining for both of us." He gestured to the room. "The man who planned out this station and built it didn't trust a damn person. That's why he built this whole office above the main floor. So he could keep an eye on the workers at his leisure. Tonight it was so I could watch you from a distance and anticipate the fun ahead."

She looked at him, really looked at him beneath the smug surety of his plan and the hard hold he had on her leg.

"You left the door in my dressing room open because you want him to come in here. You want him to walk through that doorway so you can kill him, too."

"I believe military types might call it a bottleneck or something like that," he smiled at her, "to me, I just call this a killing floor. You see, I'm not as simple-minded as Evan who wanted to take the violin back. He wanted the money. And then when he thought I'd let him, he wanted to fuck you." Tanner shook his head. "Young. Pampered. And so very stupid."

"You just want revenge." Heather wasn't sure she wanted Mark to come after her. She would rather he just walked away and saved himself. To let her sit here with Tanner until they faded away like a bad memory. She wanted Mark to live. She didn't doubt his skill, but she knew that he might let emotion override his caution. Tanner was just going to-

She heard something rip under the table and with a hard slap, he put a gun on the tabletop.

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

She looked at the gun. It was large. Heavy. The caliber was likely big enough to take her head off.

"It's something."

Tanner smiled. "I can't wait to use it and blow a hole through Mark's chest, and he can watch me put a bullet in your head." He laughed and the sound echoed in the room. "I can't believe I thought I loved you. That I wanted to be with you. You cost me my father and the life he wanted for me!"

"Mark didn't do anything to you, Tanner."

MARK

"I was the one who testified against your father. I was the one who put him in jail."

"Where he was murdered."

Mark didn't stop what he was doing, but Tanner's words caught him by surprise.

That had to hurt Tanner. Mark could understand his anger, but what did that have to do with Heather. Sure, she’d testified against him, but it seemed like Tanner’s father had enemies who were more than capable of killing him.

Mark couldn’t see how someone could blame her for testifying. But Mark could hear it in her voice. She was torn about it. For what exactly? He didn’t know.

She'd been shot.

Made to testify in front of the man who'd shot her.

And she'd lost her father.

She'd become an orphan before she'd been able to drink.

Again, he struggled to ignore the thoughts that if he'd known what was going on he would have been there for her back then.

That maybe they wouldn't be here at this very moment.

"Ares?"

He looked up at the other men even though he knew that the voice in his ear wasn't any of them.

It was Alex.

"Yes?"

"The violin," Alex explained, "doesn't matter."

"I'll get her back, Alex."

"I know you will, Ares. You focus on getting her back and keeping yourself alive, too. I don't want Heather to be alone, again."

"You'll watch over her, Alex. I know you would."

"Ares-"

"And make sure she reconnects with my mom."

Badger looked up at him, a concerned cant to his head.

Alex's concerned voice was the last one in the comm. "Don't be an ass, Ares. Go get our girl."

He smiled and Mason and Gunny, both gave him a thumbs up. The three of them were going through the glass panels and into the room below. Gunny's job was to get to Heather and protect her while he and Mason neutralized Tanner.

The others were at the corner of each glass panel ready to punch the glass and shatter it so that they could drop through the opening left behind.

Mark looked through the glass and fixed his gaze on the gun that Tanner had placed on the table. "Three. Two."

He felt them all take a collective breath together.

"One."

The glass panels blew out, sending thousands of shards falling through the air.

Mark only spared a single glance for Heather before he focused back in on the gun and the man whose hand was just inches from it.

Heather reacted first.

He saw her move off of the chair she'd been sitting on.

A corner of his mouth quirked up as he saw Tanner's head drop back.

His eyes widened a split second before he reached out for his gun.

Mark could only hope that gravity gave him an advantage, but it seemed to take forever for him to drop.

He came down on top of the table, his foot pushed the gun off of the table, but his knee connected with the tabletop.

The pain was immediate, but it didn't stop him at all.

His weight drove himself and Tanner to the ground.

The body beneath him was bigger than he remembered. Not the height, but the weight.

And muscle.

As he struggled to subdue the man, Tanner fought back.

And he found back dirty.

"Knife!" "Knife!"

He heard the word of warning from two people in the room. Heather and...

Fuck.

The knife slipped under the bottom edge of his vest, sinking into his flesh.

The pain was dull, but deep. With the adrenaline flooding his veins, he doubted he would feel much of anything beyond a need to keep Heather safe.

"I.. I don't want to hurt you, Tanner."

He grabbed hold of Tanner's wrist and pulled it out from between them.

A light in the room caught on the blade, making a flare of light in his eyes.

As they fought for control of the hand and the blade that went with it, Tanner grit his teeth in a smile that looked too much like it had in the past.

"Go ahead and try, fucker. I want to kill you."

Something shifted and then Mark saw stars as something drove into his wound.

"No!"

Mark heard Heather's voice as he lost hold on Tanner's wrist. They flipped over, Tanner getting the upper hand for a second.

As the light flared off of the blade a second time, Mark heard a single shot ring out and a flare of red blossomed in the center of Tanner's chest.

Even though it rocked him back the shot didn't stop him.

His hand fisted tighter around the hilt of the knife, knuckles ghostly white.

Mark reached for the gun at his side, but as it cleared the holster, a second shot slammed into Tanner's neck.

He fell to the side and Mark moved to get his legs under himself.

"Got the knife!" Hanson kicked the weapon out of the way, his gun trained on Tanner's prone body.

Tanner's body arched up on the ground and a hand lifted to the side of his neck.

Blood bubbled and shot out between his fingers. "Y-you-"

Mark felt Heather drop to her knees beside him, her hands tugging at his clothes.

He wanted to move her to the side. "The glass," he groaned as her fingers touched skin a little too close to the wound.

"Y-you." Blood frothed at Tanner’s lips. "You de-deserve to suff..."

Mark turned toward Heather, his hands reaching out to hold her arms still.

"Heather-"

"Stop, Mark. Let me see."

"Heather-"

"You're bleeding!"

He heard the desperation in her voice and felt her hands shake as she tried to staunch the flow of blood from his side. "Heather-"

"Let me see!"

"Babe!"

Mark knew he couldn't stop her hands, but he could reach her face.

With a hand on each side of her face he held her still as he hoped to get her gaze to settle on his face.

"Look at me, Heather."

She dragged her gaze to his face, and he saw the tears in her eyes.

"He's gone, isn't he?"

He nodded. "He's not coming back."

She nodded. "How... How can you look at me and not see all of the death I have surrounding me? How can you stand to touch me knowing that I'm the reason he was going to kill you?"

Mark shook his head and looked into her eyes, hoping she could see the truth looking back at her.

"I love you, Heather. I love you, that's all that matters."

Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and he wiped them away.

"I'd take a hundred Tanners to have you back in my life."

He kissed her and felt her shudder for a moment before she leaned into his touch.

Heather broke it off first, holding him at arm's length. "I don't deserve you," she blinked back her tears and let out a breath, "but I'm keeping you nonetheless." She turned and he saw Gunny and Mason trying to ignore the tender moment. "Can you two help me bandage up this man so we can get him to a hospital?"

Mason pointed at the door. "I'm going to get your dressing room door open so we can end up walking out of here instead of lifting him out by a rope harness."

As Mason moved behind Heather, he lifted a thumbs up and Mark nodded.

Gunny unhooked a pack from a rope that the others had dropped down. "Let's get you wrapped up in a bow so we can get out of here before dawn."

The first thing he removed from the pack was a tarp and as he flicked it out to unfold it, Mark tried to keep Heather's mind off of the body Gunny was about to cover up.

"Help me up, honey?"

Heather tried to take too much of his weight onto her as she got him up, but he wasn't about to let her hurt herself. He just wanted to keep her busy so she wouldn't look at the floor. "What else can I do to help?"

She looked so worried, he hated that he'd gotten hurt for that reason alone.

"Just love me back."

Her smile wavered on her lips, but the look in her eyes was full of love. "Always. You're going to be stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"I'm going to love it," he smiled back at her. "I even have a ring, although it's been around for years."

"A ring? For years?"

He loved the shock on her face. "I had it that last night in the Hamptons. I've been taking it with me ever since."

Reaching into his pants pocket he pulled out a thin velvet bag with gold string tied in a bow. He untied the bow and as he tugged on the opening to make it bigger, Gunny cleared his throat and grumbled near his ear. "Lift up your arms."

Mark was about to tell the other man to take a walk when he realized what the other man was trying to do, take off his Kevlar vest.

Heather touched his face with her hand. "Let him bandage you up and we'll worry about the ring later. For now, you need to know that I love you and yes."

Mark laughed as Gunny would the bandage around his waist. "You're killing the mood, man."

"Better than you bleeding out while you're getting engaged."

Heather laughed and Mark joined in. It was good to hear joy in her voice.

She'd had far too little of it in the past, so he'd do just about anything to fill her life with more of it.

When Mason reentered the room, he was smiling. "The door is unlocked. Let's get Ares to the hospital."

He lowered his arms the moment Gunny said that he could, but when he reached for the pouch to open it again and take out the ring, she covered his hands with her own.

"Let's wait until we're alone, okay?"

He looked a little hesitant. "Should I worry?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'm going to want to celebrate, and I don't think I want the other guys to see."

Gunny lowered his chin and rubbed his hand across his face. "I'm all for the two of you waiting. I don't need a front row seat."

Heather shook her head at Gunny's words. "Just you wait."

Gunny held up his hands in surrender. "Not going to happen," he explained, "we can't all get our happily ever after."

Mark looked down into Heather's eyes and smiled.

"Never say never, Gunny. There's someone out there for everyone."

A muscle in Gunny's jaw flexed and he shook his head. "It would be a miracle, man."

Mark gestured toward Heather. "We'll I've found mine. What's to stop it from happening again."

Gunny finished cleaning up his first aid supplies before he looked up at Mark.

"Your lips to God's ears," the other man explained. "That's what it will take."