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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

NOAH WATCHED HELPLESSLY as Jeff Hanson dragged Violet deeper into the woods and disappeared from view.

Grant sprinted to Rayne and dropped to his knees beside her. “Let me see, baby.” He eased the woman to her back, then used his Ka-Bar to rip her pant leg and give him a better view of the injury. He glanced back at Noah. “Look at the bomb on the kid. We need to know what we’re up against.”

“I have to go after Violet.”

“I know, man. I get it. But that kid is the priority. The second is finding the other bomb in the hotel. Violet can take care of herself. These innocents can’t.”

A figure in black ran toward them. “Noah!”

Relief flooded him. “Brent.”

“Where’s Violet?” Brent Maddox asked as he dropped beside Rayne, grabbed the mike bag, and opened it.

“Gone. Jeff Hanson took her at gunpoint.”

Maddox stared at him for a beat. “You let him take her?”

Furious and sick at heart, Noah’s hands fisted. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“Sit rep,” Maddox snapped.

He updated his boss in clipped, terse words, then said, “I have to go after Hanson. He’s going to kill Violet.”

“Bombs first.” He held up a hand as Noah protested. “I get it. I’ll release you as soon as I can. Where’s the closest bomb?”

Noah motioned to the little girl on the ground with her mother weeping at her side.

Maddox glanced at Grant. “Can you handle Rayne on your own?”

“Yeah. Go.”

“Let’s see what we have, Noah, and we’ll go from there.”

They crouched beside the girl and studied the vest she wore. Noah’s heart sank. The timer was down to 20 minutes and still ticking. He glanced at his boss. Maddox’s grim expression told him this wouldn’t be an easy bomb to defuse. “Can you defuse this?” he asked softly.

The Fortress CEO gave a slight nod. “We’ll need every minute we have.”

Noah blew out a breath. “We must find the second bomb.”

Rayne hissed and growled at Grant. “Ouch! That hurts.”

“I know, baby,” Grant murmured. “I’m sorry, but this will slow the bleeding until we get you to a hospital.”

“Go after Violet. We can’t leave her in that creep’s hands. She’s counting on us.”

“We’ll take care of both of you,” Maddox said softly, his attention fixed on the wires and ticking timer. “Grant, stabilize her as best you can and take over here. Noah and I have to find the other bomb.”

“Copy that, sir.”

“This is good enough,” Rayne insisted. “You’re EOD, Grant. You save that little girl.”

Grant stood, pulled a few tools from his cargo pocket, and handed them to Maddox. “You’ll need these.”

“What about you?”

“I always carry extras.” He shrugged. “You never know when they’ll come in handy.”

The mission clock ticked in Noah’s head. He had to help find this bomb so he could go after the woman he loved. “We should go, sir.”

“Did Hanson give you any hint about where he planted the second bomb?”

“No, sir.”

“All right. Let’s find someone from hotel security. We need to look at the security cam footage. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

They jogged toward the hotel only to be stopped by a man in a jacket identifying him as hotel security.

“Wait with the others,” the young man said.

Maddox held up his identification. “I’m with Fortress Security. You have a bomb inside your hotel.”

Blood drained from the man’s face. “Are you sure?”

“Do you know how to pull up security footage?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Take me to the office right now.”

Two police officers jogged toward the security guard. “What do we have?”

“The fire alarm went off, and now these two men say there’s a bomb in the hotel.”

Both officers rested their hands on their weapons. “How do you know that?” the older officer asked.

Maddox and Noah held out their identification. “I’m Brent Maddox, CEO of Fortress Security. One of my EOD men is disarming a bomb strapped to a child across the street. The perp admitted to planting a second bomb in this hotel. Unfortunately, he didn’t tell my operatives where he planted it. We need to view the security footage now. We have little time.”

The older officer nodded toward the security guard. “Do everything he says.”

“You know this man, sir?” the security guard asked.

“By reputation.”

“Does your department have a bomb squad?” Maddox asked.

“No, sir. We have to call Billings for help in these cases.”

Maddox shook his head. “We don’t have time to wait.”

“Go,” snapped the officer, motioning for the security guard to get moving.

Noah and his boss followed on the guard’s heels as he ran into the hotel. A minute later, he unlocked the security room.

“How far back do you need to go?”

“Let’s start with an hour.”

Maddox’s grim expression caused the knot in Noah’s stomach to tighten even more. They didn’t have time to go back much farther. The clock was ticking away the seconds until the detonation of that bomb. “Noah, you’ll recognize Hanson faster than I will. Watch the video feed.”

Noah shifted to stand behind the security guard as he started the playback of the video feed. “Speed it up.” After the guard did as requested, Noah scanned the feed at the front entrance of the hotel. A minute into the feed, Jeff Hanson walked into the hotel with a backpack on one shoulder. “There. That’s Hanson. Follow that man.”

The guard did as instructed. They watched Jeff Hanson walk into the hotel gym. He slid the backpack from his shoulder as the door closed. He walked out again five minutes later with the backpack on his shoulder. The lawyer strode down the hall and through the lobby and exited the hotel.

“Let’s go,” Maddox said.

The three men raced through the lobby and down the hallway to the hotel gym.

“Spread out.” Maddox scanned the gym. “If you find the bomb, sing out, but don’t touch it.”

Conscious of time slipping away, Noah walked to the treadmills and searched the first one, then the second and third. Nothing.

Since Maddox and the guard were checking the weight machine and weight racks, Noah turned his attention to the rowing machines. The first one was clear. The second one, however, wasn’t. He found the bomb secured to the back of the screen. “Maddox.”

His boss hurried to Noah’s side and examined the bomb attached to the machine. “The timer is at fifteen minutes. Help me move the rowing machine away from the wall. I need room to work.”

Between them, they eased the machine to the workout mat. “Noah, check on Grant. If he doesn’t need an extra hand, go after Violet. I’ll back you up as soon as I can, but the local cops will probably keep me here.”

“I’ve got this, sir.”

“Contact Zane and have him send the cops to your location. If Grant has defused the other bomb, take him with you. You don’t know what you’re walking into.”

“Does it matter? Hanson has the woman I love. I’ll do what has to be done to free her.”

“Understood. Watch your back.”

“Yes, sir.” Noah sprinted from the gym and through the lobby. Once outside the hotel, he raced across the street to the tree line, where Grant still knelt beside the little girl and her mother. He crouched beside his teammate. “How’s it going?”

“Almost finished. Did you find the other bomb?”

“It’s in the gym.”

“Can the boss handle it?”

“He seems to know what he’s doing. Maddox wants you to go with me to free Violet.”

Grant glanced up. “I’m going to the hospital with Rayne.”

“No, you’re not,” Rayne said. “I can take care of myself, but Violet and Noah need you. Besides, you and Noah won’t take long to wipe the floor with Hanson. You’ll be on hand when I need you the most, Grant.”

He turned back to the task at hand without replying, although he gritted his teeth.

Noah didn’t blame him. He was desperate to get to Violet. Something told him that his friend was emotionally involved with Rayne, whether or not Grant admitted the truth to himself. “Stay with it. I’ll talk to the cops about what we found in the gym.”

He jogged toward the two police officers who first responded to the scene. The older man, Hughes, turned toward Noah. “Did you find it?”

“Yeah. Maddox is working on it, and Grant is nearly finished with the one on the girl. Listen, the perp shot my teammate, Rayne, in the leg. She needs to go to the hospital.”

“We have ambulances on the way. They should be here in a couple of minutes,” Hughes said.

“Good. We also need one of your officers to go with Rayne to the hospital.”

“You think she’s still in danger?”

“We believe the killer has a partner who might target Rayne for interfering in their plans.” Grant wouldn’t be able to focus unless someone protected Rayne until he arrived at the hospital.

Hughes nodded. “Let me see what I can do.” He turned away, lifting his cell phone to his ear. Following a quick conversation, the cop faced Noah. “Officer Wilkens will accompany your teammate to the hospital and stand outside her door until one of you relieves him.”

“That works. Thanks, Hughes.” Noah retraced his steps. “Ambulances should be here in a minute. Officer Wilkens will protect Rayne until you’re at the hospital.”

The tension on Grant’s face eased. “Thanks.” A moment later, he said, “We’re clear.” The operative lifted the vest from the child’s body and handed it to a waiting officer. “All right, ma’am. You can hug your daughter.”

Grant smiled as he watched the tearful reunion, then hurried to Rayne’s side. “How are you?”

“Ready to go on vacation. How’s the kid?”

“Better now that she’s in her mother’s arms.” Grant glanced at Noah. “Where am I needed the most?”

“Maddox says he can handle the bomb. Do you want to tell him otherwise?”

Grant flinched. “Not on your life.” He turned back to Rayne. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

“Go, Grant. You and Noah bring Violet back to me.”

He bent and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Stay safe, beautiful.”

“Back at you, handsome.”

Grant grabbed the mike bag and stood. “We need our Go bags.”

“We’ll swing by and check on the boss on our way up to the room. Let’s go.”

A minute later, the two operatives stepped into the hotel gym. “How’s it going?” Grant asked.

Maddox scowled. “I told Noah that I’ve got this. Get out of here and save my medic.”

Grant flashed a grin. “Yes, sir.”

The operatives jogged from the gym and headed for the stairs. A minute later, they entered the suite. “Gear up,” Noah said as he hurried to their shared room. “We leave in two minutes.”

“Copy that.”

While he and Grant strapped on their gear, Noah called Zane. He hated to wake his friend, but he wanted Z as his tech support. Too much was at stake to leave this in the hands of a less experienced tech.

“Yeah, Murphy.”

“It’s Noah. I need help.”

“Talk to me.”

He summarized the events of the past hour, ending with, “Brent is defusing the second bomb as we speak. Grant and I are going after Violet.”

“What about Rayne?”

“Should go to the hospital under police escort any minute.”

“What do you need?”

“Activate Violet’s tracking tag.”

“Hold.”

Noah strapped on his vest, checked his weapon one more time, and added two more magazines. He focused on the familiar routine of gearing up for a mission instead of the paralyzing fear lurking at the edge of his mind.

“Noah, Violet pressed the emergency button on her watch. Tech support activated her tag and has been tracking her.”

“Has she communicated with them?”

“Negative. Coop says Hanson knocked her out. He’s been monitoring her and attempting to make contact. So far, no luck. I’ve taken over as your tech support. Coop will assist me. I’ll keep trying to connect with Violet. In the meantime, how can I help?”

“Send me the link to her tracking tag.”

A few clicks of the keys later, Zane said, “Done. Sent the link to you and Grant. Next?”

“Jeff Hanson has Violet.” Something the lawyer would pay for. “Find out where his father is.” Noah frowned. “And Rosalie Trevelyan.”

A pause. “You think Violet’s aunt may be involved in the deaths of these women?”

“I’m covering all my bases.”

“We’ll find them. Let me know when you’re ready to loop me into your comm systems.”

“Hold.” Noah reached into an inner pocket of his Go bag, grabbed the Fortress comm device and slipped it into his ear. Grant did the same. “We’re ready, Z.”

Both men tapped the devices. Seconds later, Zane's voice sounded through their earpieces. “Looped in,” he murmured.

Noah and his teammate slipped their Go bags over their shoulders and set off for the stairs. Minutes later, they drove from the hotel’s underground garage. “Where is she?” he asked Grant.

“Sixty miles from our present location.” Grant frowned. “Zane, send me a map of the area.”

“Copy that.”

Grant studied the map a moment, then said, “Violet’s in a forest.”

Noah scowled. Was she outside in the cold? He pressed the accelerator to the floor. “Hanson better not have left her outside in the elements.”

“Doubt it. If we’re right about him killing all those women, he won’t want to miss an opportunity to kill again.”

“Not helping me here.”

Grant shrugged. “Want me to lie?”

What Noah wanted was for Violet to be where she belonged, in his arms. Guilt sat heavy in his gut. He shouldn’t have left her side for an instant. If he’d stayed with Violet, Hanson would have had a more difficult time getting his hands on Violet. “Zane, anything yet from Violet?”

“Sorry, buddy. I’ll keep trying. The boss has ordered me to contact the state police.”

Noah’s grip tightened around the steering wheel. “As long as they know not to make a move until we arrive. They also have to stay out of sight. My gut says Chief Hanson is involved as well. He’s not stupid. If the state boys aren’t careful, the police chief will spot them and bolt.” He was under no illusions about James Hanson’s priorities. He’d look out for himself first. If that meant leaving his lawyer son holding the bag for all the murders, so be it.

What role did Rosalie Trevelyan play in all of this? Did she know that her long-time love was a serial killer?

“I’ll pass the information along to Captain Chambers, my contact in the Montana State Police.”

“Z, make sure they know they’re not in charge of this op. They’re only the backup.”

“Copy that.”

Yeah, but would they cooperate? His lips curved. Noah wouldn’t have been so willing to let a private security team take the lead when he was in law enforcement. There was a big difference this time. The life of the woman he loved was at stake. Noah didn’t care who he had to bulldoze over. No one would keep him from rescuing Violet if she hadn’t already rescued herself by the time he and Grant arrived.

Noah pushed past the speed limit, praying no police officers attempted to pull them over. Grateful he didn’t have to contend with heavy morning traffic, he remained silent as he drove along the back roads toward Violet.

A few minutes from the designated meeting place, Grant said, “Zane, any word on Rayne’s condition?”

“She’s in surgery as we speak. The officer on guard duty will call me when he hears something from the surgeon.”

“Thanks.”

Minutes later, Grant said, “Take the next left, Noah. The next turn is half a mile on your right.”

“Copy that.” Noah followed Grant’s directions and slowed near the location chosen for the operatives to meet the state police. He carefully backed into the forest and turned off the engine. He and his teammate exited the SUV and slid their Go bags over their shoulders.

Seconds later, two figures in black emerged from behind a thick stand of trees. They each held up a credentials wallet with a badge inside. “Noah Mann?” the taller of the men asked.

“I’m Noah. This is my teammate, Grant.”

The officers shook hands with the operatives. “I’m Oaks. This is Hale. We’re your backup. We have other officers on standby half a mile out.”

Through his earpiece, Zane said, “Hanson just walked into the room where he’s keeping Violet.”

Noah held up his hand to stop Oaks and Hale from talking. “Loop me in.”

“Copy. Hold.”

Noah heard the lawyer say, “Time for a preview of things to come.”

Seconds later, Violet screamed.

Noah ran.