Running Strong Page 15

  He knew she had to be experiencing all sorts of emotions. She hadn’t seen Reddington since the day they carted him off his private island in chains and handcuffs. Coming face-to-face with a man who was the epitome of evil was one thing, but Stanford Reddington was her biological father. Did she still feel any degree of affection for the bastard? She’d said she hated him, but what would she feel when she faced him?

  She looked lovely, and Raphael would imagine Reddington would take pride in that, if nothing else. Her hair gleamed blue-black under the bright sunshine, and her face glowed. Loretta had done wonders making her appear much healthier than she likely was. The dark crimson dress she wore was both sleek and sophisticated, and though designed for fashion, he noted with approval that the bulletproof vest she wore underneath made her slender frame look fuller but not bulky.

  He glanced over at the other women masquerading as Reddington’s family. Their expressions were operation-ready, fierce resolve stamped on their faces. When the time came, each of them would become her character. Raphael had complete faith that each woman would play her part perfectly.

  Reddington wouldn’t know until the last minute that it was all an elaborate lie. By then, Samara, Micah, and Evie would be safely with Noah. With twenty operatives and a battalion of reinforcements on standby, there was no way this meet would go in Reddington’s favor. This time tomorrow, the bastard would be back in a prison cell, rotting like the diseased vermin he was.

  And if this really was all a ruse to get Giselle out in the open, they had a contingency plan for that, too. The plan was for no one to die today. But if anyone did, it would damn well not be anyone he cared about, including Giselle.

  “I appreciate the concession Noah made to allow me to have a weapon.”

  It wasn’t the norm. If disaster struck, an armed civilian could make things worse. Even a trained civilian could get in the way of a successful op. But having Giselle be the only person here unarmed hadn’t sat right with him. This morning, he’d planned to give her a cursory review of how to handle a small handgun. He didn’t plan for her to have to use it, but he refused to allow her to go into this without added protection.

  Instead of looking shocked or uneasy, she had surprised the hell out of him when she’d shown she was way ahead of him. Her Glock 43 was easy to conceal and a good size for Giselle’s small hand. He was both pleased and surprised to learn she not only had no fear of handguns, but could handle one quite competently. They’d performed a brief shooting exercise, and she had hit the target every single time.

  “I’m glad you’re trained.”

  “Mama insisted that I learn.” Her eyes searched his, and though he knew she was looking for a softening, an understanding, he couldn’t give it to her. He wasn’t sure he ever could.

  “Mic check.” Noah’s voice came through loud and clear in Raphael’s ear. As each operative sounded off with an affirmative, his adrenaline increased.

  “I’m good.”

  The last person to speak was Cole Mathison. It was good to hear his friend’s voice. He hadn’t seen the man in over a year.

  Cole had moved his family to Knoxville, Tennessee, not long after he married Keeley. They had four kids now, and Raphael had yet to meet the youngest member of the Mathison family.

  Cole worked out of the East Tennessee branch of LCR, along with Ethan Bishop; Ethan’s wife and partner, Shea Monroe; and Gabe Maddox.

  Skylar James, Gabe’s wife, and Kacie Dane, Brennan Sinclair’s wife, were heavily involved in the prevention of child trafficking and worked closely with LCR.

  The operatives were often on the other side of the world from him. When word came that Noah’s family had been taken, nothing would have stopped them from being involved.

  “Heads up, everyone. We’ve got activity heading your way.”

  Cole was two miles up the road. He, along with five other operatives, was on standby. Not knowing how many men Reddington would bring, Noah wanted to be prepared for as few or as many as needed. If he brought an army, then that’s what he’d be met with.

  “Five…make that six vehicles. I see…” Excitement filled Cole’s voice. “Noah, I see Samara in the back of one of the vehicles. It’s a white Ford Taurus.”

  “Thank God,” Noah whispered. “What about my kids?”

  “Just a sec. Yeah. They’re in another car…a light blue Toyota Camry. It’s right behind the Taurus… but yeah, it’s definitely them.”

  More than a dozen sighs came through Raphael’s earbud as every operative expressed that moment of relief. No one had been sure this would actually happen.

  A cellphone rang, and Noah’s voice said, “Yes?”

  “My family is here, McCall?”

  “They are.”

  “This is how we’ll play this. Once we park, I want my family to walk toward the black SUV. When I am assured it’s them, your family will be released.”

  “There’s a small brick building on the right side of the roadway. They’ll be waiting for you there.”

  “No. I want to meet them outside. All of them together.”

  “That’s not the way this works, Reddington,” Noah growled. “We—”

  “You want your family back, we play by my rules, McCall.”

  There was a long pause. Giving in too easily would alert Reddington that things would not go as the bastard expected.

  Finally, Noah said, “Very well, Reddington.”

  A tense moment later, Noah growled, “Okay, it’s a go. Bring the trucks in. Once they’re in position, everyone step out as we practiced. Take it slow and easy. As soon as we have my family safe, I’ll give the signal.”

  Reddington’s insistence of meeting out in the open was telling. While the man could just be paranoid about being inside an enclosure, Raphael’s gut told him there was more to his demands. If he had indeed set up his daughter for execution, having her exposed was a good way that someone could take a shot at her.

  Damned if that would happen.

  Hearing the powerful engines of the semi trucks coming toward them, Raphael peeked out the window. Once their shield was in place, they’d continue their plan.

  “McCall,” Reddington shouted. “What’s the meaning of this? I never approved this kind of setup.”

  Showing his confidence that things were going exactly as planned and the rescue of his wife and children was already in progress, Noah responded calmly, “Just a little extra insurance, Reddington. Your family will come out as soon as we’re assured this isn’t a trap.”

  There was silence as Reddington was apparently trying to reconfigure his own plans. Seconds later, he replied, bitterness in his tone, “Very well. We shall play it your way for now, McCall.”

  “All right,” Noah said. “Everything’s in place. Let’s do this.”

  Adrenaline surging, Raphael opened the door and walked out. Two semi trucks were parked on either side of the small roadway. There was plenty of room for Reddington’s vehicles to come through, but the protection of the giant trucks gave them the cover they needed.

  Four cars and three SUVs were stopped along the roadway. No one exited the vehicles, and Raphael figured they were waiting to see if this was an ambush.

  Spotting the black SUV in the middle, the one holding Reddington, Raphael and Angela walked out together with Giselle right behind them. Both Riley and Mia came behind them, ensuring that Giselle was safely covered on all sides.

  This was it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Trying to keep a calm demeanor as she followed Raphael and Angela, Giselle told herself that a panic attack right now would be a really bad idea. Now if she could only get her breathing and heart rate to get that message. She had been so focused on what needed to be done that she hadn’t given herself a chance to prepare herself for the actual event. How many eyes were on them? How did they see this going down? How could LCR anticipate what might happen? The questions whirled dizzily through her mind.

  They were about twenty yards
from the black SUV, moving at a slow pace, when the front passenger door opened, and a smallish, older-looking man stepped out. Her feet stuttered as she got her first glimpse of Stanford Reddington. He looked nothing like the man Giselle remembered. He had never been tall—average height at best—but his sheer presence and personality had always made him seem much larger. That man was no more. Now he was shrunken, hollow-eyed, and the skin stretched over his thin face had a sallow cast. But his eyes were familiar, as was his thick silver hair.

  “Hello, my loves.”

  Reddington’s voice boomed out as if he had a microphone. That was another thing that hadn’t changed. She remembered that big voice, which sounded as if he’d been trained for the theater.

  About ten yards from Reddington’s SUV, Raphael came to a halt. She and the rest of her “family” stopped behind him. No one spoke for several seconds. Finally, Angela said, “Hello, Stanford.”

  Reddington smiled and opened his arms in welcome. “You’re still lovely as ever, Sarah. Come closer.”

  “That’s not the deal, Reddington,” Raphael said.

  Reddington tore his eyes from his faux wife and focused on Raphael. “I must admit, I’m surprised to see you again. Does this mean you and Giselle have continued your relationship?”

  Negating Raphael’s need to answer the question, Angela moved aside, allowing him to see his children. “Have you nothing to say to your children, Stanford?”

  Distracted, his gaze moved from Giselle to Amelia and then targeted Eric. “Come here, boy. Let me see you.”

  Doing what most eleven-year-old boys would do when confronted with such a commanding voice, Mia took a tentative step forward, but Giselle reached out a hand to stop her.

  “Have you nothing to say to me, Papa?”

  Yes, she was calling attention to herself, but since she was the only real member of Reddington’s screwed-up family in attendance, she wanted to keep him so distracted he wouldn’t be able to detect the deception. Having him see through the ruse too soon would ruin everything.

  “Giselle…yes.” Disappointment dripped from his voice. “You’ve made quite the mess of things, haven’t you?”

  Her heart almost stopped at Reddington’s words. Had the man unknowingly revealed he had a secret partner in this setup?

  Raphael kept his gaze on the man in front of him, but in his peripheral vision, he watched the rescue of Noah’s family take place. As the arrogant Reddington focused on his pseudo-family, ten operatives stealthily surrounded the other vehicles in the caravan. In less than a minute, Reddington’s men quietly stepped out, hands above their heads. Not a whisper of sound was issued.

  Samara emerged from the white Taurus and was immediately engulfed in Noah’s arms. With admirable silence, they raced to their children, who were being plucked from their vehicle by Fox and Thorne. One arm around his wife and the other around his children, Noah hurried them out of sight.

  Now the real fun could begin.

  LCR came from all over, swarming the campground like an army of ants. At least fifty men and women covered the area, inside and outside the enclosure.

  Several seconds passed before Reddington, still distracted, realized what was happening.

  “What the hell!” His voice boomed, bouncing off the trucks that surrounded them.

  Angela pulled her weapon from a hidden pocket of her dress, pointed it at the man. “Time for you to go back to the sewer, asshole.”

  “Sarah!” he snapped. “You will not speak to me in that manner.” His face stamped with a cruel glower, he pointed at the gun Angela held on him. “And what are you doing with that gun? Put it down before you hurt someone.”

  “Not a chance in hell,” Angela snarled.

  Shock and fury glimmering in his eyes, he roared, “Sarah! Kneel!”

  Not only had the bastard not figured out that the woman before him was not Sarah, he was expecting her to submit to him as he obviously used to make her.

  Raphael felt Giselle’s body jerk in response to her father’s demand. Even though she knew much of what Reddington had done to her mother, the words had been a reminder of the hell Sarah had gone through.

  He gave her hand a quick glance, glad to see she had pulled out her own weapon. In the grand scheme of things, this meant nothing, as there were more than enough weapons trained on Reddington to fill him with numerous holes. But there was enormous satisfaction in having Reddington’s entire family hold a gun on the man who had tortured and abused their mother.

  Aiming his own weapon at the bastard’s cold heart, Raphael snarled, “Hands up, Reddington.”

  Apparently slower on the mark than he used to be, Reddington turned, likely to issue an order to his men. A rasping gasp left his lungs. All his men were on the ground, handcuffed. Several LCR operatives stood guard over them. His eyes zeroed in on the vehicles that had held McCall’s family, which were now empty.

  Whirling around, his eyes wild, he shouted, “McCall! This was not our agreement!”

  Noah emerged from the tree line and strode toward Reddington. Raphael had seen the LCR leader angry on various occasions. The dark look in his eyes was unlike anything he’d ever seen. His big body was tense, vibrating with violence.

  Standing before the man responsible for taking his family, Noah felt the fury beat at him as though an electrical charge zipped through his body. He had hated before, and he had killed. Not once had he ever been pleased that he had ended a life. This time, though. Yeah, this time he knew if he took down Stanford Reddington, he would not regret the killing.

  “You’re not a man of your word, McCall. You—”

  His fist, fast and fierce, slammed into Reddington’s jaw. Blood exploded, and Noah felt a brutal satisfaction as the bastard went airborne and landed several feet away.

  Striding toward the prone, semiconscious man, he thought about how easy it would be. One shot to the head, and the son of a bitch would stop breathing. For all the agony he’d put Mara, Micah, and Evie through, he deserved nothing less than death.

  That could not happen, at least not by his hand. In an agreement with the Virginia State Police and the FBI, he had agreed that Reddington would be surrendered to them. They would see to it that the few months or years he had left were spent behind bars.

  With that thought, Noah turned his back on the man and walked away. He listened as Reddington was handcuffed and hauled to his feet. The man was likely addled and didn’t even know what was going on anymore. He hoped he woke up soon, though. Hoped he realized just how dire his situation was.

  Surprising him, Reddington let loose an ugly, slightly mad laugh. “You think you know what this was about, McCall, but you don’t know anything.”

  Without looking at Reddington, Noah jerked his head toward Thorne. “Get him out of here before I change my mind and decide killing him would be worth the trouble.”

  Cursing and shouting, Reddington was shuttled away, and for the first time in days, Noah felt the weight lift from him. His family, though slightly bruised and very exhausted, was alive and back with him. As rescue missions went, this one had gone off without the slightest hitch. Almost too easy.

  He turned to see Raphael leading Giselle away just as the sound of a high-powered rifle shot blasted through the air.

  “Everybody down!”

  Chapter Twenty

  Giselle opened her eyes, blinking up at the clear blue sky. Shouting and gunfire blasted around her. Vehicles zoomed and then screeched to a halt. Her mind scrambled to come up with an explanation for all the chaos. One moment, she’d been walking with Raphael back to the building, and the next, her world had upended.

  Something big and heavy covered her. Shifting her head, she recognized Raphael’s ink-black hair. It hit her then. Raphael had tackled her, shielding her. Had he been shot?

  She pushed on his shoulders, panicking when she realized he was motionless. “Raphael?”

  Hands pulled on Raphael’s shoulders, lifting him away from her. She stared up
at Noah’s worried face.

  “Stay down, Giselle. The bastard’s still out there.”

  “But Raphael. Is he—”

  Noah slapped Raphael’s face, shook him hard. “Raphael?”

  Releasing a gasping breath, Raphael opened his eyes and then twisted his head to see her. “You’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. Are you okay? Did you get shot?”

  “Not sure.” He grimaced. “Something slammed into my back. Hurts like the devil.”

  “Oh no.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Let me—”

  “Stay down,” Noah snapped. Twisting his head around, he looked up at an area in the distance. “Son of a bitch. We’ve got snipers.”

  “As in more than one? The fuckers weren’t shooting randomly. They were aiming for Giselle.” Surprising her, Raphael’s eyes skittered over to hers. “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “Sorry? For what?”

  “Bad language.”

  The fact that he could apologize about cursing in front of her when he was injured and chaos surrounded them was suddenly the funniest thing she’d heard in a long time. Pressing her forehead against his cheek, she laughed softly. “I think I’ll survive.”

  Raphael winced again. “Damn, that hurts. Take a look at my back, McCall. Tell me what you see.”

  Still on his knees, Noah gently rolled Raphael over. “Half a rearview mirror is sticking out of your jacket. Don’t move.” He turned and shouted, “Thorne! Get over here!”

  When Raphael had introduced her to Aidan Thorne, he told her that Aidan was not only an Elite operative but also a doctor. Barely able to breathe, she watched as Aidan examined Raphael’s back.

  “Good thing you were wearing a vest and jacket. The mirror only penetrated the Kevlar. If your back hadn’t been protected, it would’ve sliced right through you.”

  “Still hurts like hell.”

  “Yeah,” Aidan said cheerfully. “You’re gonna have a good-sized bruise. Gonna need a new jacket, too.”