Chapter 14

"Hello, Miss Bradley," he said. The sound of his calm, measured voice chilled her

down to the bone. "My congratulations. You've turned out to be a very hard woman to

kill."

Oh God, she was going to die.

She made a little whimpering sound. Fear held her paralyzed. She tried to beg for her

life, but nothing came out. Not that it would have mattered. This man wasn't the kind

who could be swayed by words.

He held a big black gun in his hand, and it was pointed at her. Not at her chest this

time. Of course not. This time the gun was aimed straight at her head. He pressed the

button for the top floor, and the elevator started to rise.

"You understand that I have to make sure the job is done right this time. Nothing

personal."

Beth closed her eyes tight. In just a few seconds, her brains were going to paint the

wall behind her.

This stranger was going to kill her just because she had wandered into the wrong

place at the wrong time. Just when she had finally figured out what she wanted in life.

Just as she'd found love. It wasn't fair.

Beth opened her eyes. No, it wasn't fair. It was wrong. And she wasn't going to let it

happen. Not without a fight.

The man waited until they were between floors before leaning back and pulling the

emergency stop button. The old elevator lurched awkwardly. The man tilted off balance.

And Beth saw her opportunity.

She threw herself at the man. Her body hit him full force, and he stumbled backward.

His head hit hard against the wall, but he held fast to the gun.

He stumbled, lashing out with his fist. The punch landed hard against Beth's face,

and the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.

She was going to have to find something to fight with or this was going to be one

short battle. The man outweighed her by a good fifty pounds, and he had a gun. She went

for the only thing she could find in the confined space. The fire extinguisher.

She swung it against him just as he recovered enough to take aim at her. The gun

went off.

Searing pain tore through her left arm. The florescent bulb behind her exploded,

plunging the elevator into darkness for a fraction of a second before the emergency lights

came to life. A surreal red glow filled the elevator.

The man swore in pain and grasped his wrist with his free hand.

Beth didn't waste any time. She swung again. And again.

The gun fell to the floor. So did the man.

She swung again and heard a bone crack.

Once more, and his eyes rolled up into his head. A long groan came from his lips.

Beth dropped the fire extinguisher and picked up the gun. She positioned herself in

the corner, propping her back up against the wall and holding the gun in front of her with

both hands. Blood streamed down her arm and onto the barrel before dripping to the

floor.

She'd been shot. The pain was almost unbearable. She had to get to help or she was

going to collapse right alongside her attacker.

She managed to push the emergency stop button back in with her good hand, then

the lobby button. The elevator slowly made its way back down to the ground floor.

It only took twenty-three seconds for the elevator to reach the lobby and the doors to

open. Beth counted every single one of them.

Alex was standing there when they arrived. He stared down at the bloody and limp

body on the floor, and then up at her. Relief washed over his face.

His arms were around her in a heartbeat. Only then did she drop the gun. She

slumped in his arms as her legs gave out.

"That's him," she said, through the tears and blood that covered her face. "That's the

guy."

John entered the elevator as Alex carried her out. He gave her an appreciative nod as

she went by.

"You're wounded," Alex said. He called out for help before sitting her down just

outside of the elevator.

"You should see the other guy," she said.

Alex managed a shaky smile. He grasped her face between his hands and kissed her

just as the EMTs arrived. They tried to get Alex to move away as they treated her and got

her up on a gurney, but he refused to leave her side. Not even for a second. Not as they

wheeled her from the hotel. Not as they put her in the ambulance. It wasn't until she had

to go into surgery that he finally let go of her hand.

"You're going to be fine," he said, kissing her on the forehead before letting the

medical team push her through the double doors. "I'll be here waiting for you."

***

"You've got to tell these people to stop, Isobel. I don't think this room can take

another bouquet," Beth said, as Isobel tried to fit another vase of flowers on the crowded

bedside table.

Her hospital room was quite a bit smaller than the suite at the Kensington Hotel, but

it wasn't bad. There was a window that looked out over the six-story concrete parking

structure. And she could tell time by listening to the sounds of the buses and commuter

trains passing by.

Flowers had started flooding in the day after she'd been admitted, right around the

time the story hit the news. Well, not every detail made the news. It turned out that the

CIA wasn't too keen on sharing the bit about its treasonous agent. They mostly kept to the

part about the bringing down of Salvatore Munoz and stopping a future attack on the oil

reserves, and how a citizen who was critical to the whole mission was injured in the

attack.

It all played very nicely on the six o'clock news.

The flowers appeared after that. There hadn't been enough room in her cramped

hospital room for all of them. So Beth had shared the bouquets with the nurses and all the

other patients on the floor.

"You try stopping them," Isobel said. "These are from my Aunt Maritza."

Beth tried not to laugh, and not just because she had three badly bruised ribs, a

busted lip and a bullet hole that went clean through her left arm. She knew she couldn't

change people. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to anymore.

"Look, Isobel. I know words aren't going to be enough, but I'm so sorry that I ruined

your wedding."

Isobel picked up Beth's hand. "You didn't ruin anything. My uncle was the one who

did that. I should be the one apologizing to you for what my family did to you."

"It's not your fault. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't."

Isobel nodded. "I understand. And it's okay. Jordan and I picked a new date."

Beth's face lit up. "When?"

"Next Friday. We've settled on a nice civil ceremony down at the courthouse."

Beth's face fell. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Isobel said. A huge smile lit up her face. "Do you have any idea how

well armed courthouses are?"

Beth winced as she laughed again.

"You look tired, Beth. I'm thinking I better go and let you rest."

Isobel turned to leave, but before she did she turned and looked at Alex.

"So...Alex, right?"

"Right," he said.

"I guess that you're not a gigolo then?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I guess not."

"That means I owe you an apology," Isobel said.

"It's not necessary."

"I'm thinking that it is," Isobel said. "But what I said still stands. Don't you dare hurt

her."

"I have no plans to," he said, and tightened his grasp on Beth's hand.

"Good. Because you don't scare me, Mr. CIA Agent. I'll still come after you,

whoever you are."

"Yes, ma'am," Alex said with a laugh.

Beth turned to Alex once Isobel was gone.

"You don't have to sleep in that chair again tonight. The doctors say I'm doing much

better."

He shook his head. "I'm not here because I have to be, Beth. I want to be with you. I

love you."

Her heart swelled. Those simple words did more to heal her than any doctor's

medicine.

"Yeah, but you could get yourself a good night's sleep in a real bed."

"I don't need a bed," he said. "I need you. How many times do I have to tell you

before it gets through? I'm not leaving. Not now. Not ever."

Beth was thinking that a hundred might do. Maybe a thousand. Maybe a lifetime's

worth. That he always love this person.