Rafael pressed the panel in the wall, and it clicked open, revealing the dark tunnel beyond. Sierra followed him inside, with Esteban behind her. Lights would come on once they were about twenty feet in, by design. That way if it was dark in the house, no one would see the light shining around the panel.
The lights flipped on.
She jumped in surprise to see a man standing in front of them, blocking their way.
“Beau, I don’t—what are you doing here? How did you get here so fast?”
“Plan B,” he growled. “Helicopter. I commandeered the town’s medevac chopper hoping to get here in time to save your pretty neck. What the hell were you thinking?” He glared at Rafael. “What wereyouthinking, letting your sister put herself in danger this way?” He paused, then looked down at the stack of papers in Sierra’s hands. “You found it?”
“We did,” she said. “Right where I thought it would be. How do you feel? Are you okay? Dizzy?”
“I was. Thanks to you. Just how many allergy pills did you put in that drink to make me that sick?”
She winced. “I’m sorry. I really am. But I’d do it all over again to keep you safe. My brothers and I made the deal with my father. He agreed to leave us alone, to not send anyone after us as long as we never turn over the evidence to the FBI or any other agency. He was hurt and angry, but he agreed.”
Beau let out a deep breath, then pulled her close. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. Things could have gone completely wrong. It was a sketchy plan at best. I wanted to be the one to do the negotiating, to keep you out of danger.”
She hugged him tight. “I know. But it worked out. It’s over.”
He kissed her, a quick fierce kiss before stepping back. “This isn’t the way I wanted it, but what’s done is done. Let’s go.” He took her hand and they started down the hidden passageway.
“Wait,” Rafael called out from behind them. “Where’s Esteban?”
They stopped and turned around. “He was just here,” Sierra said. “Esteban,” she whispered toward the darkened section of the tunnel. “Esteban, come on.”
Rafael jogged into the dark. A moment later he called out. “He’s not in the passageway.”
Sierra took off running.
“Sierra, stop!” Beau yelled behind her.
She shoved Rafael out of her way and threw the secret panel open, slipping and sliding on the marble floor as she rounded the corner toward her father’s office.
“Stop!” Rafael and Beau both yelled, their footsteps pounding in the hallway.
She ran faster, adrenaline and panic giving her a burst of speed.
Bam! Bam!
Her heart sank at the sound of gunshots coming from behind the double doors in her father’s office. She yanked out the gunshe’d taken from Beau again and threw open the doors, then stopped in shock just inside.
“No!” she screamed, staring in horror at her father standing by his desk with a gun in his hand. And there, on the floor in front of the desk, Esteban lay in a bloody heap, eyes closed.
“You bastard,” Rafael yelled, running past her, firing his gun.
Her father jerked back, blood beginning to seep from his shoulder even as he fired at Rafael.
Rafael silently fell to the floor, dropping beside Esteban, bleeding.
Sierra screamed again.
Beau’s footsteps sounded right behind her.
She dodged away from him, escaping his outstretched hand as he tried to stop her, and turned her gun on her father.
As if in slow motion, she saw her father swinging around, sweeping his pistol toward her.
She tightened her finger on the trigger.
