AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You want me to just ignore how you’ve ruined our lives?” Daar continued. His gaze narrowed. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? The Americans nipping at our heels.”
The hair on the back of Harper’s arms and neck stood up. Even Skilton had refused to speak of this. “Not sure what you’re talking about. Why don’t we chat? Over some coffee? We can let the girls go and—”
Daar’s eyes went wide with rage. “I’ll never let you have her. Never.”
Fuck.
“Jess? Jess, it’s okay,” Robin chanted.
“This is all your fault,” Daar insisted.
“Is it? Am I the one who killed my sister-in-law? Did I kill my brother? Did I try to kill my niece?” Harper asked.
“You might as well have.”
“What the hell are they saying?” Tucker asked again.
Daar glanced around, seeming to notice that there were men at Harper’s back. Daar was outnumbered, and the longer this chat went on, the more likely it was that the FBI were circling in the other direction.
“You’re smart, Daar. If you put the gun down and promise to talk, we can cut a deal.” Harper had no idea if his words were true, but he’d say whatever necessary to get him to put the gun down. “Think about it. The FBI has you surrounded. You’re alone. Can you really get out of this on your own? We’ve eliminated your moles. You have no one left in our ranks to help you or end you. How do you want this to go down? You’re in control here.”
Daar licked his lips and glanced around, but his gun never wavered from Harper.
“Wright, talk to us,” Tucker said through the earpiece.
Daar took a step back toward the mouth of the alley at the same moment four men in tactical FBI gear stepped into view.
“What will it be, Daar?” Harper asked. “You want to be in control, or—”
Robin’s wail cut “Jess? Jess!”
Harper instinctively turned his head toward the girls and Robin’s frantic pleas.
Daar took a step back.
Harper jerked his attention back to Daar as the other man raised his acquired weapon, aiming it at his jaw.
“No!” Harper yelled.
He did the only thing he could think of.
Harper fired maybe a millisecond before Daar, but it wasn’t enough. Harper’s shot hit Daar in the shoulder. His body jerked one way then the other as his own shot blasted into his skull. Blood arced through the air and he fell back, landing a few feet from Robin.
“Medics! We need medics!” Harper yelled and dove for Daar, kicking the weapon away.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” Robin wailed.
Harper didn’t know who to reach for. Jessica or Daar? Who could they save?
Friday. Office Building, New York City, NY.
Robin was frozen with terror. Jessica was literally dying in her arms and Uncle Daar’s body laid an arm’s reach away. What should she do? What could she do?
“Move your hands. Move,” a man barked at her.
Robin slowly turned her head to stare at a white man with the faint beginnings of a sandy brown beard on his chin. The ends of a red bandana stuck out from under his bulky, black helmet.
“We need two medical teams behind the building,” the man said with urgency. He glanced up, blue eyes locking with hers. “Robin? I need you to put your hands here and here.”
