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“What’s over? Tell me what the hell happened. Did Diya come after you?”
Sam stopped. She hadn’t wanted him to know it was Diya. He would blame himself, and she didn’t want him having any more guilt in his life to deal with. He was dealing with enough right now, but he’d figured it out. Of course he had.
“Yes,” she told him, “but, I took care of it. She’ll be too busy running now to come after either of us anymore. The FBI just received a ton of evidence documenting every illegal thing she’s done and everything her father did before her. And, there was also information her father collected—”
Logan cut her off and Sam heard Chad’s voice in the background as well. Apparently he’d heard enough of what she said to chime in, but Logan had enough to say for the two of them.
“Sam, she won’t stop. Diya isn’t stable and she’s hell-bent on vengeance. She thinks I’m responsible for killing her entire family. She won’t stop until she sees me hurting as badly as she is. Where are you, Sam? Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you and keep you safe. Then, we’ll take care of Diya together.”
She looked around the hotel room one last time and put her coat on before lifting her backpack again and slinging it back over one shoulder. She shut the door to her room and walked down the hall.
She glanced at the elevators but knew the phone connection would probably go out if she took one, so she opted for the stairs. She had only been on the third floor, so two flights down wouldn’t kill her.
“Sam! Tell me where you are!” came Logan’s voice more urgently.
She shook her head. “I’m fine, Logan. I’m just down the street from work, at the Benedicta Hotel. Are you at the office? I’ll be down there soon. I left my car—”
“Stay there!” He sounded more and more upset and she could hear him and Chad start to move.
Great, knowing them, they were running down here to come to her rescue. Sam rolled her eyes, but smiled. He loved her. And she loved him. She got it. He wanted to protect her, to do this for her, but it was important that he realize he didn’t need to come to her rescue all the time.
She might not be able to fend off armed gunmen on her own, but Diya had leveled the playing field when she’d come after Sam with a computer and fabricated threats. On that playing field, Sam could not only hold her own, she could kick some serious ass.
* * *
Logan hit the ground running hard as he yelled into the phone for Sam to stay put. To stay inside the hotel, with the door to her room locked. Chad was behind him, running flat out as well, Billy keeping up with the men with ease.
She was only a block away, but it was a long city block and they had no way of knowing if Diya was anywhere nearby or not. He hadn’t even taken the time to ask Sam if she had confronted Diya yet, but he wasn’t going to wait to find out. He wouldn’t feel calm again until he knew Sam was safely out of the line of Diya’s fire.
Diya might have been kept largely out of the family business and her father’s criminal empire, but the fact remained, a madman raised her. He taught her she was above the law. And that family mattered, more than anything. Diya would seek revenge at all cost. She would seek vengeance above all else. Above money. Above self-preservation. That was the one factor Sam couldn’t foresee with Diya.
The world slowed to a crawl as he pumped his legs to reach the hotel, to reach Sam and get her to safety. He saw her the moment she stepped from the revolving glass doors at the front of the hotel.
She looked out at the street as if looking for him, then turned his way and laughed as she saw him running toward her. She shook her head, and he felt like he was running through a fog, through molasses to try to reach her. He couldn’t get to her fast enough.
And then he saw Diya. She came from behind Sam and walked toward her, hatred etched into her face. Anger burning through every part of her being. Logan screamed at Sam to duck, but she only looked at him with confusion on her face. He could almost see her expression morph from confusion to understanding to fear and disbelief as it dawned on her that he was waving to her to duck.
Diya raised her arm, the weapon in her hand apparent. Logan had drawn his weapon several steps back, but Sam was between him and Diya. She ran toward Logan as though she might outrun what was about to happen, but she went no more than a step. Then her body pitched forward violently. He reached for her as she fell, hearing the report of the gun shots Diya had fired. Sam fell into his arms as he raised his gun and fired off three rounds. Diya fell.
Chad stood over them as Logan bent to Sam. He could hear her gasping for air and he ran his hands over her.Where was she hit? Where had Diya gotten her?
Then Logan realized, she was wearing the coat Kelly got her. If the bullets hit her in her torso, she was protected. His eyes scanned her. He felt her back, the backs of her legs. No blood. She was gulping for air.
“I know it hurts, Sam. Try to slow your breathing. Feels like you were hit with a sledgehammer, doesn’t it?” he asked as he used his tone to try to soothe her. He knew what it felt like to take a bullet through a vest and he figured she’d taken at least one, if not more. Diya had gotten four shots off, so Sam might have been hit multiple times. They wouldn’t know until they examined her coat for damage.
“Just keep breathing. It hurts like hell, and you’ll be sore and bruised, but you’re alive. You’re all right.”
She looked up at him with eyes rounded in fear and he wanted to make everything all right for her. He held her close, but made sure his arms didn’t pull too tightly. He didn’t want to hurt her any more.
But hell, his heart hurt, just ached at the thought that he might have lost her. He kept running his fingers over her face and telling her she was safe. He had her. He would protect her.
Chapter 36
Yoshi watched as the killer took the last of his family from him. Anguish filled him as he watched Diya’s body fall, but it quickly changed to anger. This man, this American mudak, had taken everything from him and Diya. Everything they loved. Everything that mattered.
Rage filled Yoshi just as the despair of what had happened hit him. He was alone now. There was no one left. No one to call his own. No one who would love him and stand by him as his family had always done.
He should have stopped her. He should have been the one to go. Diya had told him to wait for her. Had told him to stay in the car. He knew what she planned to do and he should have stopped her and gone himself.
