More shots sounded from inside. From the direction of the street, sirens wailed. Help was close. Would it arrive in time? Where were the agents who’d been stationed in the wooded area?
They were only feet from the car now. Footsteps pounded the ground behind them. Mr. Luque glanced over his shoulder.
But not in time to avoid the impact of Peter’s tackle. A gun went off. She wasn’t sure whose it was, but the report set her ears ringing. She, Mr. Luque, and Peter went down in a heap. She gasped as her body skidded on the pavement beneath the weight of both men.
Then they were rolling off her. She rolled the opposite direction and sat up, trying to get a grasp on the situation. The men wrestled for possession of one of their guns. Peter seemed to have a better hold on the weapon, but Mr. Luque was on top.
She heard a door pop open. She jerked her head in that direction. Saw the driver getting out. If he was armed, and she couldn’t imagine he wasn’t, this was about to turn even uglier. Glancing around for something she could use to help, she spotted the other gun a few feet away. Without stopping to think, she lunged forit. Her fingers closed around it just as the first of the FBI vehicles turned into the lot.
The driver hesitated, then jumped back inside and screeched away.
Hailey couldn’t worry about him. She turned back toward the men on the ground. Saw Mr. Luque had managed to turn the gun. Peter still fought, but Mr. Luque’s finger was on the trigger, and the trajectory of the barrel was inching toward Peter’s face.
She lifted the gun she’d retrieved. Took aim. Fired.
Mr. Luque grabbed his shoulder and screamed. Peter didn’t hesitate. He gained control of the weapon and pushed the man off him in one fluid movement. A second later, he’d flipped Mr. Luque to his stomach and placed a knee in his back.
Hailey lowered the gun.
FBI agents and local law enforcement surrounded them. She relinquished the weapon to an agent, but she stayed where she was.
As they took custody of Eukaria’s CFO, Peter crouched in front of her. He ran his eyes over her, checking for injuries or bullet holes.
“I’m okay,” she said.
He gently touched her forehead. When he retracted his hand, red smeared his fingertips. “You’re bleeding.”
She started to touch the spot but thought better of it. Instead, she shrugged. “My bruises were starting to fade. Figured I needed some fresh color.”
He shook his head, but she saw the admiration in his eyes. “I’ve never met a woman like you, Hailey Nieland.”
“That’s probably a good thing.” She wasn’t sure why she was resorting to sarcasm as a coping mechanism. Maybe that was the only thing keeping her from falling apart right now.
Peter chuckled but quickly sobered. “You saved my life. Thank you.”
“And you saved mine. I’d say call it even, but I think I still owe you a few.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay.”
The next moment, she was in his arms. For the first time in a very long time, her world felt right again.
38
“Good work,Mrs. Nieland,”Agent Sanchez said, entering the conference room that the Kincaid police had offered the FBI to use as a debriefing area. “You handled yourself well.”
It had been two hours since her near abduction. After the initial pandemonium died down, Hailey and Peter had been brought here. They’d given their official statements and were now waiting for clearance to go home. An agent had stopped in a bit ago with a coffee delivery from Allye—Eric must have told her they were here. Since then, they’d been on their own, and Hailey was dying for an update and reassurance that this was all over.
“Did you get everything you needed?” She thought they had, but she needed to hear the agent say it.
Sanchez spun a chair around and plopped into it. “With your help, we got more than enough to launch a full investigation into Eukaria Investments, plus ironclad proof that Luque was involved. We’re also going to be able to nail him for extortion, attempted abduction, and attempted murder.” He ticked off each charge on his fingers.
“What about the actual murders—Ms. Novak, Mr. Rickman, and my colleague?” Peter asked.
Hailey wanted to know too. Mr. Luque and his men hadattempted to kill Peter as they tried to escape today, but they couldn’t forget that the man had killed, or at least ordered killings, before. She didn’t know much about Peter’s former client, and Stefania obviously hadn’t been innocent, but their deaths still deserved justice.
The agent gave them a slow nod. “Luque didn’t flat out admit to any of that on camera—he only alluded to Ms. Novak’s death—so we’re going to have to work a bit harder on those. But I think we’ll eventually be able to prove his guilt in those cases as well.”
“Has anyone been able to determine why he killed Stefania?” Hailey still wasn’t buying the idea that Mr. Luque had been avenging the attempts on her life.
