Takedown

CHAPTER 42

Images. Fleeting images.

And voices, too.

That’s what Alex remembered.

Voices she recognized. Shouts. Deuce and Cooper, both frantically calling her name as the images flickered through her mind…some real, some imagined, some dreamed.

Then hands on her body. Rough hands. Men’s hands.

And she began to float through the air, taking a magic carpet ride into the darkness, and back into the light.

Then the rough hands were gone, replaced by something smooth, like plastic or latex, and the lights were blinding, making her squint as the burning sensation in her torso sank deeper, seeping its way into her bones…and then the lights again began to fade.

She felt a pressure on her chest and someone shouted, “Clean!” or “Clear!” or maybe it was “Claire!” but she didn’t know what that meant or who that might be.

Were they talking to her?

Then the darkness came again. A black, empty darkness that seemed to wipe away her pain. Not just the pain in her chest and side, but the pain in her head as well. In her mind. Her heart.

It enveloped her like a mother’s loving arms—

— and she felt herself falling into nowhere…

She woke in a bed to find Deuce fast asleep in a nearby chair, and Cooper standing next to a meal tray, pouring himself a glass of water.

Feeling pain in her chest and side, she groaned. Cooper put the glass down and came to her, taking her hand.

He looked as if he hadn’t slept since Christmas.

“Welcome back,” he said. “We thought we’d lost you a couple times there.”

She blinked and glanced around the room. “A hospital?”

Cooper nodded.

“How did I get here?”

He raised a brow. “Did you really believe Deuce and I would let you go back to that hotel alone? We left Warlock to escort Valac to Key West and had McElroy meet him there with a team.”

“I guess it’s a good thing you’re as stubborn as I am,” she said. “When I saw these wounds, I was pretty sure it was over for me.” She eyed the room again. “What hospital is this?”

“St. Cajetan General, believe it or not.”

She tried to sit up. “What?”

“It’s okay,” he said, and gently urged her back down. “You’re here courtesy of Pappy Leo himself. All expenses paid.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“The police are saying you were attacked in your hotel by a stalker. Some guy you’d met in a Key Largo bar who became obsessed with you and followed you to St. Cajetan. They couldn’t find any identification on him, so they’re still trying to work that out, but you’ve been cleared for shooting him. They figure it was well deserved.”

“At least they got that part right. But why would Leonard Latham care about me?”

“After we left his estate, Hopcroft gathered the rest of Valac’s troops and fled. Latham played it all off as a band of thugs looking to rob his guests. There were a few people wounded, but fortunately none of the partygoers were killed.”

“Unbelievable.”

Cooper shrugged. “Works out for everyone, the way I see it. When he was briefed by Stonewell, Latham told them that Valac had barged into his life seven months ago and was slowly draining his funds. He was a virtual prisoner in that house, while everyone chalked it up to his eccentricity. The way he sees it, you’re one of the people who helped give him back his freedom.”

“Well, good for me.”

Cooper smiled. “McElroy and his bosses are very happy about the Valac acquisition. We told them your theory about Favreau’s head for numbers, and everyone agrees that the codes must have died with him. At least that’s what they want to believe.”

Suddenly remembering, Alex sat up again. “Shit. Where are my jeans?”

“What?”

“My jeans? Where are my jeans?”

“In a bag under your bed, I think. Why?”

“Get them for me.”

Her gave her a funny look, then bent down and retrieved the bag. She pulled it open and reached inside, squeezing the pockets of her bloodstained jeans until she felt the stiff plastic of Favreau’s key card. Then she fell back against the pillows and let out a long breath.

He looked at her. “Is that what I think it is?”

She nodded, deciding it was about time she was honest with him. “I know it was the main focus of the op, but I don’t want to give it McElroy. And I don’t want you telling him about it, either.” She gestured. “Or Warlock, or even Deuce.”

He didn’t even think about it. “Your secret’s safe with me,” he said. “All of them are, if you ever decide you want to share.”

“Thank you, Shane. It’s just that Hopcroft told me what’s on this thing, and I don’t think McElroy or anyone else at Stonewell can be trusted with the information. I’m not sure if I should destroy it, or hang on to it for a rainy day. Use it for leverage.”

“It rains a lot in our world.”

She offered him a wan smile. “I don’t deserve you.”

Then she squeezed his hand.