Authors: Kimberley Woodhouse
It was their only chance.
Maybe Anesia knew something that could help. Sometimes people didn't even realize what they knew. And what about the dogs? Maybe they could help as well.
If he knew Viper at all, he knew that his former team would be desperate to secure AMI. The only thing working in their favor at this point was the media's interest in the story. But would that keep Viper from finishing what he tried to do on the mountain?
If he was right and it was Shadow who'd come after Andie and Zoya, then Viper's team had already come to the hospital once. They wouldn't hesitate to do it again. But he wasn't convinced it was safe to take them back to North Pole.
There was no way out. Except to find AMI first.
Anesia ran into the room, her breathing labored. She stopped, leaned over, and put her hands on her knees, catching her breath.
"What's wrong?" Jenna leaned forward. "What happened?"
Anesia stood up, grabbing her side. "I just heard from Joe. Someone broke into my house while he was in town getting supplies. The dogs were all in an uproar, the kennel is a mess. Joe has no idea if anything is missing." She sucked in air, straining to get the words out. "The worst part is that Peter had gone to your place while he was in town."
"Oh, no. Is everything okay?"
"We don't know. He can't get hold of Peter."
Jenna's eyes closed and two tears trickled down her cheeks. "It's all my fault. If only I had cooperated when they asked!"
Cole moved to her side. "What do you mean?"
"All those times. The men who said they were with the government. Looking for Marc's research." She hiccupped a sob. "Will more people get hurt because of me?"
"Jenna, listen to me. It's not your fault. And we don't know if anything has happened to Peter." He glanced at Anesia. Their eyes locked. She understood. "We need to get AMI into the right hands, and that will save thousands, hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions of lives."
Jenna grabbed his arm.
He looked back to her beautiful, dark eyes.
With a deep breath, she wiped her face with her other hand. "I'm so sorry. Deep down"— she choked on the words—"deep down, I think I knew. I should've found what Marc was working on and handed it over to the government. It would've kept all this from happening." Her shoulders shook with silent sobs as she buried her face in her hands.
"No. It wouldn't." Cole tugged her hands away from her face so he could look into her eyes. "The guys who claimed they were with the government weren't. If you had done anything differently, you wouldn't be here now, and AMI would be in terrorists' hands. Those men need to be stopped." He sat on the edge of the bed. "Which means we've got to get out of here. Soon."
LEAPER
Providence Hospital
Anchorage, Alaska
9:12 p.m.
Quiet ruled the hospital hallway. The white doctor's coat, too tight in the shoulders and arms, made him sweat like crazy.
Viper planned to get rid of him. He'd made too many mistakes. But maybe . . . he could accomplish this one last thing before that happened.
The timing was perfect. He had to move now.
Maddox and the hulk of a bodyguard were deep in conversation in the waiting room.
His shoe squeaked on the tile floor. The cane and cast thumped and tapped out an accompanying rhythm. Monitors beeped and echoed through the halls. A few whispered conversations drifted over him from rooms with open doors. The stale air smelled like disinfectant.
Pulling at his collar, he made a vain attempt to breathe deep, to steady his pulse. Entirely too warm in this hospital. Especially beneath all his layers. He just wanted it over. Maybe then he could have peace. Something different. Away from all the horrors of the life he'd chosen.
But no.
It would end tonight. There was no escape.
As he walked down the corridor, he noticed a temperature drop. This section of the hallway was definitely colder. That—and the fact that the other bodyguard stood outside a nearby door—confirmed he was where he needed to be.
He reached into his pocket, gripping the Taser C2.
The guard turned at his approaching footsteps. He kept the smile on his face as he pulled the Taser out and pressed the trigger. The two small probes shot into the guard and he collapsed to the floor.
Only thirty seconds to hide him.
Stepping over the huge man, he tied the limp guard's ankles, then his hands, and gagged his mouth. He gripped under the hulk's arms and dragged him into the men's restroom across the hall. Pressing the trigger again, he sent another charge through the man and threw it on top of him.
Sweat poured from his brow now. His leg ached with pain so fierce he thought he might pass out. He shouldn't be walking, but he couldn't very well sneak into the room in a wheelchair.
Slipping from the restroom, he glanced down the hall. His breaths came in huffs. It'd taken all his energy to haul the huge man away from that door. He realized the Taser he'd lifted off the little lady in the parking lot would have his fingerprints on it, but it was all about to be over anyway.
Another glance down the hall. Still quiet.
Once again, he approached the hospital room.
With a clench of his jaw, he reached for the handle and pushed the door open.
ANDIE
Providence Hospital
Anchorage, Alaska
9:12 p.m.
The darkness outside scared me more than I wanted to admit. It was darker out there than my heart had been when I got mad at Cole.
No, I didn't want to think about that . . .
It was cloudy and foggy and I couldn't see the moon or its light or any stars.
Totally
freaky.
Auntie Anesia and Zoya had gone back to the hotel to take care of Dasha and Sasha. I didn't think Auntie wanted to be alone anyway, what with the break-in at home, and the turmoil going on here. But it made it harder to sleep without the comfort of my best friend. I knew God was with me, but that didn't mean I wasn't scared.
Mom slept soundly. I didn't hear anything except her deep breathing and the machines beeping in that annoying
bleep, beep, bleep, beep, bleep, beep.
Why did they have to make the machines so loud? Hadn't they ever heard of the word
sleep?
Uh, oh.
Grumpiness was taking over. Again.
God, You know I'm confuzzled. You know what's going on, but couldn't You give us some answers? I'm still baffled about all of this.
Dad was a Christian, of that I was sure. But then why did he do all of those bad things? Why did he make bad choices? Cole wasn't a Christian, but
he
did the right thing and made the right choices.
What had gone wrong that Dad would go down the dark path?
I didn't watch
Star Wars
very often—it was too much of a boy movie—but my dad was like Darth Vader. Switching to the dark side, but in the end turning back to good. And dying for it.
How could I show Cole that Christians weren't perfect, but that he needed Jesus? How could I show him that someone cared enough to
die
for him? I could understand where Cole came from. Something bad happened to him. He'd never really said what . . . but I knew all the same. Whatever it was, it was bad.
And he blamed God for it.
So how was I supposed to get it through his hard noggin that God cared enough for him to send His Son to die for his life and his eternity? How could I convince him that God loves everybody, no matter what they've done?
I couldn't. Even though I didn't like that answer, I knew it was true. If God wanted to get it through Cole's head that He is always there for us, He'd have to be the One to do it.
A thud sounded outside the door. My heart thumped in my chest as I heard a grunt and then another thud.
I held my breath.
And waited.
Was that the bodyguard?
The door handle moved. Everything blurred into slow motion. My eyes widened and my breaths came in huffs. Was it one of the bad guys? Or worse, was it the Grinch from the stitches room?
Mom didn't seem to be awake. Would we die without a fight? Would he just appear and kill us in no time flat? Then vanish again?
What would Cole do when he found us dead?
The door creaked open. A dark figure stepped from behind the half-opened door and turned around—
"Hank!"
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
JENNA
Providence Hospital
Anchorage, Alaska
9:15 p.m.
Andie's voice broke through the barrier of sleep. What had her daughter just said?
Jenna's eyes flew open and she confirmed for herself. The man standing in front of Andie was indeed Hank.
Alive.
Jenna ripped the IV tubes from her arms and leapt from the bed, grabbing the IV pole as a weapon. Where were the guards? Where was Cole?
"I'm not here to hurt you." Hank held his hands up in front of him. "I promise."
Jenna searched the man's eyes. No way she would trust this man again.
"Mom, I think he's telling the truth."
"I don't trust him." All the anger she'd quenched boiled up again. If only she could reach her phone, but she'd placed it under her pillow before she fell asleep. Taking a step back, she leaned against the bed, fumbled with the pillow, and tried to hit the speed dial for Cole.
Hank moved forward and she jerked, dropping the phone. She could only hope that it connected. She moved between Hank and Andie, her leg screaming in protest.
"What did you do to the bodyguard?" Andie squeaked.
"He's fine. But this was the only way to talk to you." The man she'd known all these years looked . . . ashamed? "Look, we don't have much time. I just wanted to tell you what they're planning. You know they want you dead. Viper will do anything to get the prototype for AMI and sell it off. They sent me here to kill you, but they know I won't do it."
Jenna squinted her eyes at him. "How do
we
know that?"
"Because I covered for you on the mountain." His voice was barely above a whisper. "When they came in the helicopter to the site, they pulled me out of the wreckage and I told them I'd taken care of your bodies."
"Why would you do that?" She aimed the pole at him; she wasn't taking any chances. "Especially after you tried to
kill
us in the plane?"
"Because of your daughter."
"What?" Jenna looked down at Andie.
A small smile brightened her twelve-year-old's face. "You
were
listening."
"I still don't see how God could forgive me for all I've done, but seeing the faith of that little girl even in the midst of fear . . ." He stopped. Cleared his throat. "It made me think. Hard. And I've had a lot of time to think the past few days."
Jenna shifted the pole. None of this made sense.
"They'll send someone else." He wiped a hand down his face. "I'm here to help you. And I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven." Andie piped up from her place in bed.
Jenna just shook her head. This man had intended to kill them! How could she trust him, let alone forgive? What if this was all a ruse?
Hank held a hand out to Jenna. "I'm so sorry. They killed Marc. And when you wouldn't give up the information they wanted, they decided to get rid of you as well. Yes, I sabotaged your plane. I'd planned to fly the plane into the Alaska Range and jump out before it crashed. There was a tracking beacon in my parachute so they could locate me. They were hoping your crash would go unnoticed in the wilderness for a long time, which would give them the time they needed to acquire AMI."
Jenna wanted to believe him, she really did. But . . .
Lord, help me! Show me the truth, and help me forgive.
"What did you do to Cole on the plane?" Andie leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
"I gave him a packet of creamer laced with drugs."
"So you knew he was going to be on the plane? That he would try to save us?" The pieces were coming together. She should've trusted Cole from the beginning.
"Yes. Viper had tracked his movements for a while. What better way to get rid of him than with all of you together?" Hank turned an ear toward the door. "Speaking of Cole, we need him. And we need to get you out of here tonight."
With a small step, Jenna moved closer to Hank. She searched his eyes—and nodded. "What about you?"
"Don't worry about me. About time I made things right."
Andie reached to grab his hand. "God loves you, Hank. Don't doubt that."
"I just can't help but think it's too late for—"
A large figure burst through the door, gun raised. Jenna gasped and moved to shield Andie. The room spun.
Andie screamed, gripping Jenna's waist.
Hank stepped in front of Jenna just as the assailant pulled the trigger.
Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!
Hank grunted, his arms out, shielding them, taking each of the three muffled shots. A silencer. Marc had taught her enough about guns to understand. This guy would kill them all. And just walk away.
Thwap! Hank grunted again, staggering back.
Two more figures flew into the room, tackling the shooter. Bill and Cole. Where was Charles?
As the three men scuffled at the foot of Andie's bed, Hank groaned and fell back onto Jenna. The warmth of his blood soaked into her thin hospital gown as she lowered him to the floor.
Andie slid off the bed beside her, cradling Hank's head.
His weight crushed Jenna into the hard floor.
Gasping for air, Hank gripped Andie's hand. "I'm so . . . sorry . . . so . . . sorry."
Jenna cried. For this man who stepped in front of a bullet for her, for Marc, for all the loss that greed had inspired. "I forgive you, Hank." She sobbed.
Andie put her hands on either side of Hank's face. "You believe in Jesus, don't you, Hank?"
His body trembled. Blood trickled out of his mouth, but he focused on Andie and nodded.
"That's all you have to do. It's a free gift for everyone. I know you've heard us talk about it before, He loves you, He died for you. All you have to do is believe."
"I'm . . . not good . . ." His voice came thin, weak.