At the sound of Alex’s voice Joanne closed her eyes for a second and sent up a silent prayer of thanks. She had no idea how he’d survived all that gunfire, or how she’d remained unscathed with all those bullets flying around. Pushing to her feet, she threw out a hand to steady herself when her legs wobbled. The inside of her chest burned from the smoke and her coughing had done little to clear her lungs. Her left hand gripped the railing, her right holding fast to the pistol. It felt strange against her palm but she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger if she had to, lack of training or not.
A few unsteady steps down and she craned her head around to see Alex and the two men lying crumpled on the floor. Bile rose in her throat. Her gaze swung from the bodies to Alex, taking in the rifles and—Alex was bleeding.“You were shot!” She rushed down the remaining steps, ignoring his muttered dismissal, her attention on the blood spilling down his
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Risen To The Top Chapter 74
Alex started down with a pronounced limp, his fingers curled around her wrist, but she shook him loose. If there were more threats he’d need both hands and she could walk down these last stairs on her own.The scent of gunpowder and blood mixed with the acrid tang of smoke, the reek of it all burning her nostrils. Alex swept past the dead gunmen. Bodies of their innocent victims lay sprawled in a tangle of limbs on the stairs, so heartbreakingly close to the exit and escape. Another wave of nausea twisted her stomach. She swallowed a gag and kept her eyes on Alex’s wide shoulders to block out the hideous sights. Putting one unsteady foot in front of the other, she curled both hands around the cold metal railing for support, her focus on that heavy steel door below them.Stepping between the bodies, Alex stopped at the side of the door and glanced back at her. “I’m going out first. Stay here until I tell you to come out. There’re gonna be fi
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 75
Over an hour after being wheeled into the emergency room on a fucking gurney, Alex was done with people poking and prodding at him. The wounds in his upper arm and calf hurt the worst, but the doc had already confirmed there were no bullets in him, just bits of concrete and splinters of metal. Two nurses were currently pulling some of them out of his back with tweezers while the doc sewed up the hole in his arm in preparation for a precautionary round of x-rays.Biting back a snarl when one of the nurses dug deep into the middle of his back to extract a splinter of shrapnel, he gritted his teeth and fought for patience. Joanne was safe; she was being looked over somewhere in this same ER, he just couldn’t go to her. And he needed to. Wanted to see for himself that she was truly okay.The doctor, a young Cuban woman, tied off the last stitch and set down her needle driver on the metal tray beside his bed. “I stopped all the bleeding so that should do for now. Once we verify via x-ray t
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 76
Alex reached down to take Joanne’s hand, aware of the color in her cheeks and that he’d just said the L word to Marshall instead of her. Hell. There was plenty he wanted to say to her, just not in front of anyone. He held her hand as they walked out of the hospital and into the hot afternoon sunshine. The moment they exited the building, Alex spotted Sean and Duke leaning against their parked SUV at the entrance. They headed straight over, their posture and expressions telling him something else was going on.“What’s up?” he asked them, bracing for more bad news. He felt Joanne’s hand tense in his, squeezed gently in reassurance.Sean shot a look at Duke before turning his attention back to Alex. “Think we’ve got something.”Oh, hell yes. Not wanting her to overhear in case it made her more upset, he released Joanne’s hand and limped over to them, Marshall right beside him. “What?”“Had someone in Hernandez’s off
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 77
“Joanne.” A hand waved in front of her face. “Hello?”She looked away from the Emirates 767 parked at the gate waiting to take them to London and turned to blink up at Pam. “Sorry?”She didn’t comment on her spacing out, just gestured across the gate lounge toward the snack shops where a few vendors were open to cater to the tourists who weren’t observing the Ramadan fasting. “I asked if you want something to eat before they start boarding us.”“No thanks.” Ick, the last thing she felt like doing right now was eating. She glanced at her watch. They were due to board in another few minutes. Pam as well, since she was coming with her and Michelle all the way back to Chicago. she’d told her she meant to see her home safely, and she wasn’t going to argue because the truth was she felt better with her there. God knew she needed the mental support Pam’s protection gave her.She covered another dry cough with one hand, wince
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 78
Eleven days laterThe last smudge of purple was fading on the horizon where the sky tumbled into the inky black ocean. A thin swath of light sliced over the dark surface from the crescent moon in the west. Stars winked to life overhead, a million sparkling diamonds appearing through the haze of high clouds. Another beautiful, peaceful night on St. Simons.Alex stood on the back deck watching the waves roll in, forearms braced on the wood railing he and Sarah had installed, ignoring the twinge in his healing triceps. His stitches were out and only some muscle soreness remained in his upper arm and calf. He took a sip of beer, set the bottle on the railing and let the breeze wash over him, pulling in a deep breath of salt-tinged air. Damn it felt good to be home. But there was an even more important reason for his relaxed mood.Behind him the sliding glass door that led out to the deck opened and shut quietly. The sweet scent of vani
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 79
2 weeks later Rushing to a last minute meeting early on a Monday morning didn’t exactly bode well for the rest of her week. Walking as fast as she could in her four inch heels, Claire was halfway from her car to the front door of the imposing black Fort Meade CIA headquarters building when her cell rang. It wasn’t even seven a.m., so whoever was calling probably didn’t have good news. With a mental curse she slowed enough to dig through her purse then continued hurrying to the entrance as she checked the screen.She bit back a groan when she saw her father’s number on display and answered anyway. “Hi, Dad. I’m just on my way into an important meeting and I’m in a rush, so I can’t talk right now.” Her boss’s call had woken her from a dead sleep at five thirty and she had less than ten minutes to get up to his office for the impromptu seven o’clock meeting. Whatever it was about, it had to be big. The nervous flutter in her belly intensified.
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 80
The door opened. A dark-haired man probably in his mid thirties stood there dressed in a navy blue dress suit. He nodded at Luke as he entered. “Morning.”“Morning. Evers, this is Claire Oliver. Claire, Jake Evers, FBI.”Claire half rose to shake the hand he offered. “Hi.”“Hello.” Evers released her hand and glanced at Luke. “You tell her?”“Just did. She’s doing fine.”She didn’t feel fine, Claire thought as she sank back into her chair and Evers moved past her to another. Her hands were clammy and her insides were in knots.Luke turned his head and smiled at someone else in the doorway. “Hey.”Claire looked over in time to see a familiar face appear. Pam Webster, part owner and head of L.J Corp Security. Delighted, she smiled too and started to rise then spotted a second man behind her. For a second her heart stuttered but then he came into the light and she recognized Alexaner Kane
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 81
Stepping out of his apartment building into the late September sunshine, Paulo walked down to his favorite neighborhood coffee shop on the corner. The sunlight felt good on his face as it filtered through the scarlet and gold leaves of the trees he passed, transforming them into blazing pieces of jewel-toned stained glass. Though it was warm out now, the temperature overnight had been chilly and a lingering dampness hung in the air.The heady scent of freshly roasted coffee beans hit him when he opened the door to the shop and held it for a woman carrying a to-go cup in one hand and leading a toddler with the other. She smiled her thanks and he carried on to wait in line.At the counter, the barista smiled at him. “Morning, Paulo. Usual today?”“Two of them, please. To go.”“You bet.” She took his money and he walked around to wait by the side counter for his drinks. He filled the first one with a good amount of cream and laced