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“We have a surprise guest tonight, someone who worked in Syria with me, and he’d like to say a few words.”
Karam-Thomas’s feet seemed rooted to the floor, his face a white oval as he listened to Hailey’s introduction of Marten de Becker. Then he lurched forward, not even trying to mask his hurried pace.
Joe continued circling to the doctor’s right.
Karam-Thomas pulled his hand from his pocket, and Joe focused on the way the doctor’s fingers curled around the device in his hand, his thumb positioned on the top of the item.
Joe drew closer, and his heart slammed against his rib cage as he recognized a remote clutched in the doctor’s hand, his thumb pressing against the release.
Joe knew those triggers. Once the doctor released his thumb, it would set off an explosive device. But where was the device? Was this a suicide mission for the doc? Did he have something strapped to his body?
Hailey’s voice carried across the ballroom. “So, I’d like to turn over the microphone to my fellow aid worker in Syria, Marten de Becker.”
Applause rippled through the ballroom as de Becker approached the podium.
Licking his lips, Dr. Karam-Thomas glanced over his right shoulder. As Marten began his speech, the doctor lurched toward the exit, his hand wrapped around the remote.
A deadly calm descended on Joe as he made his decision. In four long steps he reached the doctor’s side before he got to the exit door.
With his left hand, Joe grabbed the doctor’s hand clutching the device and covered his thumb with his own, pressing down on the release with all his strength.
Karam-Thomas bucked under the assault. He dipped his left hand in his pocket, and a knife flashed before a searing pain ran up Joe’s thigh.
Gritting his teeth, Joe squeezed the doctor’s hand in a death grip, raised the gun to his temple and growled, “You’re not ruining this party.”
Then he pulled the trigger.
Chapter Fifteen
The gunfire echoed in the ballroom...and in Joe’s ears. People screamed and ducked.
De Becker shouted into the mic, “Get down, get down.”
Karam-Thomas jerked once and then his body slumped, heavy against Joe’s, his head falling to the side, blood running down his face and soaking Joe’s jacket. The doctor’s hand holding the remote began to slip from his, and Joe crushed the dead man’s fingers, repositioning his thumb over Karam-Thomas’s.
As a security guard rushed him, Joe dropped his gun and wrapped his arm around the doctor’s chest. He could either prop him up in a macabre dance or hit the ground with him. Then he had no choice. As Karam-Thomas slipped to the floor, Joe had to go with him, every ounce of his energy focused on covering the doctor’s thumb with his own.
He fell on top of the body. A gun clicked in his ear, and a boot kicked him in the back. “Get off him. Roll over.”
“Can’t do that.” A bead of sweat rolled down Joe’s face and hung off his chin. He raised his arm, his hand still engulfing Karam-Thomas’s and the remote, his thumb going numb with the pressure. “Once this trigger is released, something’s gonna blow—I don’t know where it is or what it is, but this death switch is the key. Get everyone out of here. Find FBI agent Porter and evacuate. Now.”
Another security agent joined the first one. “I know who Agent Porter is. I’ll get him, but keep your weapon trained on him. We don’t know what’s going on.”
People began streaming past Joe and the dead man beneath him, giving them a wide berth. Blood covered the front of his shirt, and the leg of his trouser sported a rip from the knife Karam-Thomas had swung at him. Tony would never forgive him.
He shouted to the security guard, “Direct these people to the other exits, for God’s sake. They don’t need to see this.”
Seconds later, Hailey crouched beside him, the hem of her sparkly dress brushing the pool of blood on the floor. “Oh my God, Joe. What happened? You’re not telling me Nabil planted a bomb in the ballroom. How did you know what he was planning?”
“His ring. Look at his ring, Hailey. It’s the same one Ayala had. They’re a couple. He probably recruited her. Hell, they might even be married, for all we know.”
