Page 42 of Breached

“You set that off—you kill all of us,” Mark called.

“Let her go.” Frank held up his phone and hovered his thumb over the screen. “This needs to happen,” he repeated.

No! No! No! Everything was so loud in my head, and then suddenly a strange calm came over me, and I knew I needed to say something.

“Okay,” I slowly pulled an arm free and raised a hand, “Frank, it’s me you want to sacrifice for the greater good of the country. That’s what you said, right?” He nodded. “Well, Bruno is nowhere near me, so how will this help?” I looked up at Paul. “You need to let me go.”

“No.” He didn’t miss a beat. “Frank, she’s right. How does killing Nicole accomplish your objective? Are you really going to take out Mia’s husband like that? Your son-in-law? The father of your three grandchildren? You’re not this person—you don’t kill your own.”

Frank’s hand wavered and he seemed to consider, but then he held up the receiver a little higher and the hand with his weapon lowered a little.

“She’s a distraction for you, Paul. It’s because of her you lost your focus after all the years we put into you being Eric Noah. You made that sacrifice for nothing.”

“Hardly for nothing, Frank. Think of all the times I helped the team as Eric. This is not that.”

“Stop!” Frank yelled, and I shut my eyes as his hand wavered again. “I can’t have Logan giving up the safehouse! I spent my life protecting that place, and for what? For you guys to give it up? Hand it over to those parasites?”

“That’s not what we’re doing.” Paul’s voice was calm. “We have a plan.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” he snapped.

Mark glanced at Paul then dropped his arms and slowly stepped forward. “General—sir, please give me a minute.” Mark’s voice was low and respectful. “We didn’t fill you in because you can’t step back and let go of control.” He held his hands out palms up. “We’re still here deep in the fight, training the next generation to step in when we can’t anymore. It’s what you and Daniel wanted, and we’d never let that go. But we can’t do that if you’re constantly butting heads with General Bruce and sending our brother off on his own, risking his life at every turn, without us. And now look!” He pointed at me. “You’ve got an innocent, one of our own, wrapped in enough explosives to take out a city block? With all due respect, sir, what the hell is happening to you?”

Frank blinked a few times, and his face fell. I felt something change. Did Mark get through to him?

“I-I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry.” Frank looked at me then slowly let his shotgun drop. Mark moved in swiftly, closing the distance between them, retrieved the shotgun, and pulled the phone that acted as the detonator from his hand.

Paul immediately moved in front of me and pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the zip ties from my wrists. “Arms up,” he ordered, and he carefully removed my sweater and tossed it on the ground. I watched as Mark zip-tied Frank’s hands behind his back and walked him back to their vehicle, putting him in the front seat. “How did he put this on you?”

“He-ah-um…” I couldn’t find the words as the aftershock hit. My whole body vibrated as if my bones were trying to shake free from the inside out.

“Hey,” Paul held my face in his hands, so I’d look at him, “everything is fine now. I just need to get this off you.”

I nodded. “He drugged me to get me out of the building, then again on the road. When I woke up, it was already on me.”

His jaw flexed, and I could see he was pissed.

“Red wire, on the right side,” Mark yelled as he ran up beside us. “Frank said that’ll disarm it.”

I grabbed Paul’s hands and stopped him. “What if he lied?” I pleaded. “Go. I’ll do it. Just tell Chase I love him.”

“That’s cute, darlin’.” He pulled his hands from mine, but I could tell my words about Chase hit home. “But even if I were that kind of man, we wouldn’t be able to outrun the size of the blast. So, you blow, I blow.” Before I could react, he took the wire between his fingers and lifted it then quickly cut it. “We’re clear.”

“Good,” Mark said over his shoulder, “because we’ve got company.”

We looked back and saw vehicles barreling our way. It had to be Bruno’s men. I didn’t think it was possible, but a whole new kind of fear found its way into my chest.

“Mark, get Nicole’s stuff out of the Jeep and take her to our truck,” Paul ordered as he carefully laid the vest he was holding on the ground and knelt over it. Mark took my arm, and we headed over to the Jeep. He made quick work of gathering my things and pressed them into my arms.

“I know you’ve been through the wringer in the last forty-eight hours,” Mark muttered as we walked together, “but just hang in there with us for a little longer.”

I nodded at him but felt numb. How was it my body and mind acted as a zombie, but my heart felt like it was doing laps on a hamster wheel?

Paul appeared at the driver’s side door then popped open the front hood. I watched as he placed the vest inside and gently closed it.

He came around to where I stood with Mark. “Let’s go.” He took my things from me then grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the truck he and Mark had driven in. Mark hopped in the driver’s seat and started the engine while Frank sat in the front seat with his head lowered. Paul opened the back door and waited for me to get in. Frank, who was diagonally across from me, looked up and shot me a glance. I hesitated to be so close to the man who just threatened to blow me up, and I froze.

Paul leaned down and brushed his lips over my ear. “I got you.” His hand doubled-tapped my hip to urge me in, and I flinched at the sudden memory of Eric Noah doing that same move. It seemed to come naturally for him. When I still didn’t react, he swooped down and carefully lifted me and placed me on the seat. “Sorry. We have to get out of here.” I slid across the seat directly behind Frank so he couldn’t look at me. Paul got in quickly, and Mark tore off in the direction we came.