Page 72 of Sasha’s Secret

“Watching our six but not about to get themselves caught. They’ll warn us when the cops are about to arrive.”

Hollywood pulled his cell from his pocket to check a message. “Consider us warned. We’ve got about thirty seconds.”

“Think you can take care of these guys for that long, trooper?”

His handgun aimed unwaveringly at the Schofields, Rocco took the question the way it was intended. “Watch and learn, my friend… watch and learn. But I suggest you do it from a distance.”

At the sound of running footsteps in the tunnels behind him, Rocco tightened his grip on his weapon, but then realized almost immediately that the sound wasn’t being made by heavy, booted feet. The lack of reaction from Ghost confirmed there was no threat bearing down on them. A presence halted at his side, and a familiar scent of wildflowers instantly calmed him.

As did the sound of the slide being racked on the handgun that appeared in his peripheral vision.

“We can take care of them,” Sasha confirmed with quiet confidence. “Ram’s dead and a lot of people are hurt because of them. I don’t need much of an excuse to take care of them permanently. Now get out of here.”

“On our way, ma’am,” Ghost responded. “We’ll be in touch.”

Rocco had one more thing to say to the Deltas before they left. “Thanks for everything. I’d say I owe you one, but I think it’s more like several. Any time I can help…”

“Understood. It was our pleasure.” Ghost offered a chin lift. “Sunday nights are always too damn quiet.”

The two operators disappeared in the direction of the service yard. Sasha circled around the back of Rocco and went to Linzi, who was showing more signs of regaining consciousness. She crouched beside the young woman and took hold of her hand to comfort her. “It’s okay, Linzi, it’s all over now. The EMTs are on their way.”

Rocco moved, putting himself squarely in front of the Schofields, with the women behind him. “We know Sandra’s involved in this now—you needed her technical expertise to plant the cyber threats. Why? Were you intending to demand a ransom?”

An evil smile appeared on Brian’s face before an equally evil laugh rang out. “Ransom? You think we planned all this just for a few million bucks? That would have been the icing on the cake, smart ass.”

“Shut the fuck up, son,” his father snarled.

Rocco’s face remained expressionless, but his mind was busy processing what had just been revealed. If cash was an added extra, then what had been the real motive for the attempted kidnapping? If their purpose wasn’t financial gain and they’d let Linzi see their faces, that could only mean one thing—their main objective must have ultimately been to kill her, but why?

Before he could ask more questions, though, Rocco heard the sound of running behind him once more. Heavier footsteps this time, which meant only one thing—the police were about to find them. He took up a position behind the father and son, and motioned to them to move over to the side, away from Sasha and Linzi.

Between him and the police, there was nowhere for the Schofields to go, so Rocco made his gun safe, set it on the ground—well away from the two men in front of him—and raised his hands. Sasha followed suit, nudging her weapon well to one side with her foot as she rose, hands in the air. After everything they’d been through, the last thing they needed was for the police to assume they were on the wrong side…

* * *

Sasha returned to Casa Millefiori with the rest of Linzi’s entourage. They’d been allowed to leave on the understanding they’d make themselves available for interview over the following days, so they’d all taken refuge in the stretch Hummer, and Sasha had driven them home. All of them were now occupying guest accommodation, and trying to come to terms with what had happened.

That was, all of them except Rocco and Scott. She could still feel Rocco’s arms around her as he’d explained that he was going to the nearest ER with Scott, to make sure the other man was taken care of. Sasha had been torn between wanting to stay with him and making sure everyone made it home safely, but when he’d held her, the emotional connection between them gave her the strength to do what he needed her to do.

He’d been right, of course. Apart from anything else, no one else had been capable of driving, or even in a legal position to do it. Linzi was in no state to be left alone, so Sasha had remained with the sobbing young woman until her parents had arrived at the compound—thankfully, a major traffic holdup had delayed their arrival at the venue, so they hadn’t been caught up in the carnage. They’d relieved Sasha of the necessity to stay with Linzi, which meant Sasha was now at a loose end and free to worry about Rocco.

However, before she went to his suite—the best place to wait for him—she made a quick stop at her office. There was something she needed to check, and she had to do it before she saw Rocco. The task took only a few minutes to complete, and the results, thankfully, were what she’d hoped for. She hadn’t realized how much she was hoping until she nearly dropped to her knees in relief.

Time dragged by. Sasha suspected her frequent checks for any new messages on her cell were contributing to the perception. The last one she’d received had been from Rocco, to let her know the doctor was still with Scott. The initial signs were that his injuries were relatively superficial, with no lasting damage, for which Sasha was extremely grateful.

Unable to rest, she brought a blanket from the bedroom and made a nest on the couch. With the lights low, it was all too easy brood about what had happened that evening, events replaying over and over in her mind in a series of images that brought back other memories, too. What she remembered most clearly of all were Rocco’s last words to her before she’d left him behind.

We have to talk. Go home and wait for me there. Promise you’ll wait.

She’d promised, and now her mood swung from hope to dread and back again. She had no doubt it was connected with the declaration she’d blurted out before he’d left her to look for Linzi—and the words he’d returned. Did he intend to tell her he hadn’t meant it, after all?

Sasha picked up her tablet from the low table in front of her. Reading the latest novel by her favorite author might help. She swiped and tapped her way to the book and stared at it, but the words on the screen refused to make sense. They were fighting a losing battle for her attention against a formidable enemy—her worries about Rocco and Scott. So absorbed in those concerns was she, that she barely registered the door opening behind her.

“Rocco!” Sasha flung the blanket away and ran at him full tilt, flying into his arms. Playing it cool with him wasn’t even on her radar, not any more. “How did you get here? You should have called me—I’d have come for you.”

With one arm wrapped around her, Rocco stroked her hair away from the side of her face. “Ghost showed up at the hospital and gave me a ride back. I thought you’d be asleep, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

The way his worried gaze roamed over her face almost broke her heart. “How could I sleep without you? Is Scott all right?” She needed to know.