Big Easy Temptation (37 page)

“That is none of your business,” Beau spat. “Now turn over Dax Spencer.”

“If you want to talk to Captain Spencer, you can do it at NCIS headquarters.” Maybe
she could get him to back off. In her office, she could control the situation. She
might even do some questioning of her own.

“Don’t pull jurisdiction with me. I’m sick of the way the Navy thinks they’re better
than the rest of us,” Chad snarled.

Most PDs were more than happy to hand off to NCIS. This had nothing to do with protecting
turf and everything to do with Chad’s wounded ego. She could do without it. She needed
to focus on getting information out of her uncle.

And keeping him from getting his hands on Dax.

She knew it was killing Dax to not face them, but she was the only one who could confront
them. She would do this for Dax and right the wrong she’d done him three years ago.

“I am going to need to know where you were on the day of the admiral’s death.” She
couldn’t back down from that.

“I believe I was working that day. I’m sure I was. Holland, you don’t want to do this.
Don’t push me to do something I’ve tried to avoid.” Her uncle stared at her, stony
eyed. “Let me see if I can break this down. You’re lying about Peter Morgan. He’s
in there and you’ve talked to him. He told you that I was the one he dealt with at
the beginning of the investigation.”

“Was there really an investigation?”

“Gotta make these things look good, sweetheart,” he admitted.

Outside, in the distance, she saw a hint of movement. Connor. He must have dashed
around the swamp and was now settling into position in case this blew up.

“Why would you do this? Why? You knew I was friends with that family.” The betrayal
was an actual ache in her body.

If her uncle was worried, he didn’t show it. He put a hand on the wall and leaned
in. “That family means nothing to me. Do you know what I get paid to put my ass on
the line every day? Next to nothing. So when the big boys offer me money to take down
some rich asshole, I take it. This is the way the world works. We can’t fight organized
crime. All we can do is take a little piece of the pie. That’s what a smart man does.”

“Holland, you’re going to get us all killed. They won’t stop. They’ve been careful,
but they won’t let you uncover the hows and whys of their plans,” Chad argued.

“Why did they want the admiral dead?” Gemma asked. Holland could feel how tense her
partner was, but her voice was calm.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Uncle Beau said. “Way I heard it, he was putting his nose
where it didn’t belong. Morgan got twitchy and turned snitch. The admiral wouldn’t
bend to their demands and the big boys decided to pull the plug on him.” Her uncle
tried to look inside the house. “You hear that, Spencer? You want to know who killed
your daddy? You come out here and I’ll tell you.”

“Or are you going to let your girlfriend do all the dirty work?” Chad taunted.

“He’s not here,” Holland explained. “I left him behind because he can’t stay calm
and let me do my job. It’s just me and Gemma. Are you really going to take us on?
Are you ready to kill a fellow officer?”

“I don’t want to, but I’m certainly not going to jail,” her uncle vowed. “Of course,
I’m also ready to turn this all around. You see, you’ve been acting oddly lately.
Hasn’t she, Chad?”

“Very odd. She used to be so sweet. I’m pretty sure those were drugs I found at her
apartment the other day.” Chad sighed. “We put them in evidence. Oh, I was almost
certain they belonged to the captain, but I can always change that theory. You might
have been trying to harm yourself. After all, you’ve been spiraling.”

How obvious. “So you’re going to put me on a seventy-two-hour psych hold? Really?
How will you deal with everyone else?”

“That’s simple,” her uncle said with a smile. “I’ll kill ’em. Starting with your partner.”

He had his gun out before Holland could think. Gemma shoved her out of the way and
slammed the door shut as the first bullet went flying.

She felt something heavy hit her. Dax had thrown himself over her body.

The door exploded inward and she heard another volley of shots.

“I’m giving you one last chance, Holland,” Chad shouted. “Come out and we’ll talk,
but you have to give the rest of them up. That’s the only way this ends.”

She heard a shout and another shot.

“Or Connor can handle them,” Dax growled, jumping to his feet.

“There’s still three of them and they’re armed to the teeth,” Holland whispered. “But
I think I’ve documented enough. He fired first. The tape will show that.”

“Sweetheart, I got an audio of the conversation in case Morgan’s video doesn’t capture
voices. I’ve got his confession on my phone,” Dax replied. “Gemma, are they coming
in?”

Gemma had taken up a position behind the couch. “Not yet. But I can’t really see much.”

“He’ll try to wait us out or smoke us out,” Holland said a moment before her uncle
proved her right by shoving the door open and rolling in a canister of tear gas.

“Damn it.” Dax pulled his shirt over his mouth and held a hand out to her. “I’m going
out first.”

Her eyes were already starting to burn. Lara and Morgan would have some time, but
if she didn’t finish this, those two would be trapped and unprotected.

She looked back through the smoke at Gemma, gesturing to the back door. Gemma nodded
and silently started moving toward the rear of the house to retrieve Lara and Morgan.

In the distance, she heard gunfire again.

“Let’s go. That’s Connor giving us some chaos to escape in. Sweetheart, I know you
don’t want to, but please let me go first,” he practically begged as he coughed.

But he didn’t understand. “They’ll be reluctant to kill me. I’m going out with my
hands up. You come behind me. Then you can save me.”

If he walked through that door alone, they would immediately kill him. She could distract
Beau, Chad, and the others. She could give him a chance. Between Connor, who was firing
enough to start his own war, and Gemma, who would return after setting Lara and Morgan
on the path around the swamp to provide another distraction, Dax had a shot at survival.
Lara would make a clean getaway and meet up with Connor in front of the house, probably
when the rain of gunfire ended.

Honestly, she didn’t give a shit if Morgan died. He was an ass.

“Sweetheart, I can’t lose you.” Dax squeezed her hand.

Despite the gas that was making her eyes tear, she kissed him. “Then don’t.”

There was no more time then to figure out their relationship or decide what she should
do. There was only the here and now and she loved him. She couldn’t let him walk out
there first because he would die and her life would be over.

Even if she never touched the man again, she couldn’t live in a world that didn’t
have Dax Spencer in it.

She dropped her gun and darted out the door, holding her hands up high. Holland hoped
her leap of faith, that her uncle and Chad wouldn’t simply shoot her, paid off. She
had to take the chance so Dax could live.

As soon as she emerged, fresh air hit her eyes. Tears flowed freely down her face,
but she could sort of breathe again. She dragged air into her burning lungs as she
took in the scene in front of her. A body lay strewn on the ground about ten feet
away. Another was laid out to her left. Chad and her uncle were back to back, looking
for the sniper.

Her uncle stopped, training his gun on her. “Stay right where you are. Where’s Spencer?”

“I told you. He’s not here.” She needed him to believe that now . . . but Dax couldn’t
linger in the noxious house too long. “I told you, I left him behind. He’s too reckless.”

“Who’s out there shooting?” Chad demanded.

“Gemma’s fast.” She wasn’t revealing Connor’s presence. “But I’ll play along with
your plan. Take me in. Just don’t shoot me.”

She only needed them to believe her surrender for a minute or two, just until Connor
could get a clean shot at Chad, then the others could back her up to take her uncle
in.

But she feared Dax wouldn’t stay in the background.

In fact, she knew he would come for her. Always. He could be angry with her, feel
betrayed by her. It wouldn’t matter. He would come for her.

She wasn’t a woman who needed saving, but Dax would still be there, supporting her.

“Go and get in the car, Holland,” her uncle insisted.

“Do it!” Chad yelled.

She nodded, stepping off the porch and into the yard. “I will.”

Smoke poured out behind her and she moved slowly, not really having to pretend distress
and disorientation.

“In the
back
of the car,” her uncle yelled, his finger on the trigger.

He followed directly behind her. Holland’s heart pounded furiously. She hoped like
hell her calculated risk hadn’t been a mistake. She’d had to leave her gun behind
and had zero way to defend herself. She was trusting that blood meant something to
this man who’d already ruined her life and Dax’s.

So many things could go wrong. But she prayed that Dax would be all right.

She pretended to hobble down the porch steps, hands still raised. When she looked
back, she saw Dax emerge from the house. Instantly, she hit the ground.

“Twelve o’clock,” she yelled. He wouldn’t be able to see well. She needed to give
him some point of reference.

Gunfire cracked all around her. She tried to see what was happening, hoping Dax wouldn’t
be mowed down in a hail fire of bullets. She couldn’t lose him. She’d been so scared
of what would happen between them, but she knew that losing Dax would ruin her life.
She would never love another man.

The mist of gas began to clear. Tears still poured from her eyes, the burning painful,
but she had to be Dax’s eyes now.

Then the world exploded with gunfire again. Nearby, she heard a thud. Her uncle tensed
and grunted. She dragged a hand across her eyes, trying to focus.

When she stared at Beau, he clutched his chest and coughed, spitting blood from his
mouth as his weapon fell from his hands. He’d been shot—and it looked bad.

“You chose the wrong side, girl.”

She wasn’t listening. Despite all the terrible things he’d done, she couldn’t simply
let the man who had half raised her die. She knelt and held his jacket over his open
wound to stem the bleeding. “Don’t talk.”

He pushed her hand away. “Listen to me. If you ever loved me, let me die. I can’t
go to prison.” He sputtered and gasped. “Hear what I’m saying while I can still talk.
Stop looking for answers or they’ll take you all down. They won’t stop. This game
has been going on for decades.”

Dax darted to her side, kicking Beau’s gun away. Vaguely she noted that Gemma had
a weapon trained on Chad, who had fallen to his knees, hands in the air.

“What game?” She leaned over to try to hear her uncle’s words.

“Sergei’s game. That’s what the old man told me. He said Sergei will
burn everything down. He’ll burn you, too.” He coughed again just before a terrible
blankness entered his eyes.

Holland couldn’t spare a moment for grief now. Maybe later, but at the moment she
was simply glad to be alive and have Dax beside her.

He wrapped his arms around her. “You’re safe now. Gemma is arresting Chad. Connor
and I took out everyone else and he’s taking Lara and Morgan to safety now. Sweetheart,
I’m so sorry.”

She looked down at her uncle and her tears weren’t just about chemicals now. He’d
been such a big part of her childhood. He’d been the reason she’d gone into law enforcement.
He’d been a lie, but she’d loved and idolized him as a girl.

“I’m sorry for all he did to you.”

“You had nothing to do with that. It’s going to be all right.” Dax held her tight.

They’d done their job. The scandal surrounding the admiral’s death had been exposed
as a hoax and the investigation was over. But not only was someone still after the
president, her whole world had changed. Nothing could ever be the same again.

Washington, D.C.

Twenty-four hours later

D
ax wanted to reach for Holland, but she seemed so damn far away. From the moment they’d
boarded the private jet to the White House with Lara, Connor, and Gemma, she’d been
distant. She’d sat with Gemma, writing up a joint report to satisfy the White House,
NCIS, and the New Orleans Police Department.

The night before she’d slept on a couch at NCIS, napping in between interview sessions.

He’d sat and stared at her and wondered if she would ever let him touch her again.

Now he walked into the residential wing of the White House, wishing he could hold
her hand.

“Oh my god!” a familiar voice said. Gus was standing in the hallway, dressed to the
nines in a cocktail gown and sky-high heels. They clacked along the marble as she
ran toward him.

He braced himself for an armful of sister. “Hey, Gus.”

She slammed into him and that was when he noticed Roman behind her. He wore a tux,
his hair slicked back. How long had Roman been shadowing his sister? Now that he thought
about it, Roman had been lingering around Gus for a really long time.

“I was so worried. When Gemma called and said you were all out in the bayou about
to be horribly murdered, I freaked out,” Gus said, stepping back and looking him over.
“You look all right. Better than you did after New York.”

“Yeah, well, I only got gassed this time. I avoided a bullet,” he admitted. Actually,
the last few months of leave had been way more dangerous to his well-being than being
on his boat.

“I’m glad to hear it.” Roman held out a hand. “Sorry, we were at a party for some
diplomats. Zack is on his way. You guys got here quick. I’m glad to see you’re all
right. Holland, I’m so sorry about the last few years.”

Holland was dealing with Gus, who wasn’t taking no for an answer on the hugs. She’d
wrapped herself around her friend. “Holland sucks. Stupid girl. You should have called
me when you found out the Russian mob was after you.”

Holland smiled and squeezed her back. “They weren’t after me, silly. They were after
you and Dax.”

“I still would have taken them down,” Gus promised. “I missed you, sister.”

Holland’s eyes suddenly had a sheen to them. “You have no idea how I’ve missed you,
Gus. The world is not as bright without you.”

Gus kissed her cheek and then reached out to shake Gemma White’s hand. “Special Agent,
thank you. Any assignment you want. You tell me and I’ll force Roman to make it happen.”

Roman’s head shook. “You’re going to kill me one of these days, Gus.” He turned to
Dax. “Your sister is a menace. I have absolutely zero idea why I don’t fire her ten
goddamn times a day.”

Connor looked at Dax and smiled. “I’m sure you’re just lazy, Roman. That’s the only
explanation.”

How had he not seen it? There was a crackling energy between Roman and Gus. He probably
hadn’t acknowledged it because he hadn’t wanted to know one of his best friends had
fallen for his sister. Did Roman know she’d slept with Mad a few years back?

Probably. Gus didn’t hide her past. She didn’t apologize and she had no reason to.
She was a force of nature. If Roman couldn’t see how amazing his sister was, then
Roman didn’t deserve her.

And that was his great loss.

Roman put a hand on his arm. “Come on, buddy. I’ve got some ridiculously good Scotch
waiting for us. I think we all could use it. Zack brought a date to the ball tonight.
A very pretty lawyer.”

Shit. When they’d realized how dangerous his situation could be, Zack had decided
to pull away from Liz. The White House Press Secretary had been the woman in his life
for years, but he’d never made a move. Liz had been his wife in every way except the
bedroom. Dax was fairly certain Zack was in love with the woman, and dating someone
else was a sacrifice.

“A total bimbo law whore,” Gus hissed. “You tell Zack he can bite my ass and he’s
lucky, and I mean lucky, that he got Liz to sign that contract or he would be looking
at a complete turnover in the press office because he sucks. He’s the president of
sucking.” Gus grabbed Holland’s hand. “Come on, girls. We’re not drinking with the
boys this evening. Liz is really excited to see you again, Holland.”

Holland gave Dax a glance before she followed after his sister.

“Well, we know which side Gus is on,” Connor said acerbically as he waved good-bye
to his wife.

Roman frowned as he watched the women move down the hall. “The wives won’t tell Gus
about why Zack is suddenly dating someone he doesn’t love, right? Because Gus can’t
keep a secret to save her life.”

Gus could keep a secret. She’d done it for years but he plainly saw that she was still
in love with Roman. But Dax knew Roman was right in one way. She wouldn’t keep any
secret about Zack’s feelings for Liz. Under her shark exterior, she was a romantic.
“Holland won’t tell.”

“Neither will Lara,” Connor said. “They both know what this game is. If Zack wants
it quiet, they’ll stay quiet.”

Roman was watching the women as they moved down the hall. “Good, because she is a
pain in my ass. If she understood what was really going on, I wouldn’t be able to
stop her.”

Dax couldn’t help but note that Roman watched Gus until she turned and disappeared.
Then his friend shook it off.

“Come on. Zack will join us when he can. I want to know everything you found out,”
Roman said. “I’m going to London in a few weeks. Zack has a summit with the prime
minister. I’ll contact the hospital and start looking into Constance’s death. I also
have some contacts there with Interpol who can brief me on the Krylov syndicate.”

“Good,” Dax said. “I think I might back you up.”

Roman slid him a long look as they started down the hall. “Really? Because I thought
you would be busy with your new girlfriend. I snuck a peek at Gemma White’s reports
once I realized what Gus had done. Have I mentioned what trouble your sister can cause?
Gemma was one of our best agents. I thought we lost her over pay.”

His sister was a schemer. She’d also watched over Holland when he’d been too stupid
to. “I don’t think she’s my girlfriend. She told me she would walk away at the end
of this.”

They headed past uniformed guards and into the president’s personal apartments.

“You should really make sure she doesn’t do that,” Zack said as they entered. He had
a crystal decanter in his hand and he poured out what looked like a couple of fingers
of Scotch.

Gabe Bond, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood and crossed the space between them.
“Dax, I’m so glad you’re alive. I thought you were going to get eaten by a reptile.”

Such a city boy. “Yeah, the gators aren’t so bad.”

Gabe shook his head. “I was talking about the cops in New Orleans.”

Funny, some of them had turned out pretty good. They’d taken
Chad into custody and promised a full investigation. He believed them. They would
get to the bottom of what had gone wrong with their department. Unfortunately, even
the good guys sometimes went bad. “We survived. I wish we’d taken Beau Kirk alive,
though.”

Zack passed him a glass. “All that matters is you’re safe, Dax. Let Roman and me take
it from here.”

Connor snorted. “Hell, no. I promised Lara a London honeymoon.”

“Already bought my tickets,” Gabe agreed. “Everly is very interested in seeing the
local sights.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” It wasn’t like he would have anything better to
do. “After all, who’s going to chauffeur all you taken men around?”

“Don’t mind him,” Connor said, going for the Scotch. “He’s being a horrible pessimist.
I thought that was my job. Twenty years’ worth of being the dude who can’t see a silver
lining and I end up as the Suzy Sunshine of our duo.”

Dax flipped his best friend off. “Screw you, Sparks. I can handle my own love life.”

Zack slipped his tuxedo jacket off. “It sounds like you can’t. Dax, you’ve been crazy
about that girl since Joy introduced you to her. You can’t let her go.”

“I don’t know that I have a choice.” He’d thought about this the whole way from Louisiana
to D.C. “Do I even have the right to bring her into our collective nightmare? You’re
not bringing Liz in. I heard you had a date tonight.”

Zack’s jaw tightened. “Yes. I’ll have another in a few days. I have an entire ‘romantic’
calendar planned. All anyone will be able to talk about is the playboy president,
and they’ll forget the rumors that I was ever in love with my press secretary. Holland
is a trained agent. Liz has no idea how to handle this. She would get hurt. She would
do what she always does, throw herself into solving the problem. And she would end
up dead. Holland knows what she’s doing. So do Everly and Lara. We’re keeping the
truth from Liz and Augustine.”

Roman started to pace. “I don’t even like to think about what would happen with Gus.
She plots behind all our backs. She would try to take over.”

Dax didn’t miss the way Zack bit back a smile.

“We all know Gus would immediately inform Liz and then unionize the women against
us,” Zack said with a shake of his head. “We’ll keep this quiet. As far as Liz and
Gus know, Roman and I are going to London for meetings and they don’t need to attend.
Connor, if you wouldn’t mind being pressed into security duty, I would appreciate
you looking out for Roman.”

“I don’t need anyone to look out for me,” Roman complained. “I’m perfectly good at
protecting myself.”

Gabe laughed. “Yeah, buddy. You don’t even know which way to point the gun. Let’s
be democratic. All for Connor being in charge of security say aye. Aye.”

They’d instituted democratic voting over crazy shit at Creighton, often when they
ganged up on one another—especially when it was in the best interests of the ganged-up-on
party.

Roman rolled his eyes as the rest of the group issued their ayes. “You know I miss
the shit out of Mad because at least I could count on him to dissent.”

Mad often dissented just for kicks. Dax missed him, too. “We’ve got your back, one
way or another. I spent too much time today with a man who didn’t understand the meaning
of friendship.”

Peter Morgan was alive and talking. So was Chad, though it appeared he didn’t know
as much as Beau Kirk had. He’d simply done what his superior demanded.

One thing was certain. They had a whole name—Boris Kuilikov. And a bit of direction
about who he was and what might be his game.

Zack walked up and put a hand on his arm. “I do understand. You have no idea what
it means to have you four around me. I know Mad would be here if he could. The five
of you . . . well, you made my life
bearable then. You do the same now. My brothers. So understand when I tell you, don’t
let that woman go.”

Gabe joined them. “You’ve been in love with her forever. You made a mistake. Don’t
make another one.”

“But we get invited to this wedding, damn it,” Roman insisted.

Connor stepped in. “She loves you, too. There’s no doubt in my mind. But you fucked
up when you pulled that shit in Vegas. Have you apologized?”

Did Connor think he was a moron? “Of course. I said it was a mistake.”

“It was more than a mistake,” Connor said. “Look, I get this shit from my wife, but
Lara is actually very good at figuring emotional stuff out. You’ve been circling this
woman for what? Ten years?”

“Just about,” he allowed.

“And she’s been circling you. You took something from her. While she was sacrificing
for you, you married someone who didn’t matter to you,” Connor pointed out. “Holland
will always be a second wife. That’s meaningful for women. A lot of them believe that
the first wife is the true love. You need to make her believe she’s not second.”

“How do I do that?” She’d never been second for him.

Connor sighed. “No idea, man. But I do know you can’t do it if you’re on separate
continents. Fix this or go back to New Orleans and you don’t leave until she agrees
that you’re an idiot and she was always the one for you.”

“Women like to think they’re the one.” Gabe tipped his glass up and took a swallow
of Scotch. “In my case, it was true.”

“Me, too,” Connor agreed.

“First wives aren’t always the only woman you ever love,” Zack murmured.

“Yeah, well sometimes a man wants to believe he’s the only one, too.” Roman held out
his glass.

Did Holland think that marriage didn’t matter to him because he’d
done it stupidly once? Had he made her believe it didn’t have to be forever because
he’d once treated the institution with so little respect?

He’d apologized, but had he explained why he wanted to marry her? Or had he left it
as an abstract concept—an idea that simply made sense because she was female and he
enjoyed having sex with her? Because they were so familiar?

He could clear up all of those misconceptions very quickly.

“What bedroom did you put her in?” Dax asked.

Zack looked up from pouring Roman’s drink and smiled.