Holden Read online

  “Uh, Holden?” Kara said. “We have a problem. All the monitors just went blank. All I’m getting is static.”

  It felt as if someone had grabbed hold of his throat. No. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Try to reboot the system,” Holden instructed.

  More seconds crawled by.

  “It’s not working,” Kara said. “Somebody’s jammed the whole system.”

  Yeah, definitely wasn’t what he wanted to hear. But then something else got Holden’s attention. He saw the passenger door of the SUV open.

  Then he saw the gun.

  Except it wasn’t a gun. It was some kind of launcher, and whoever was holding it had it aimed directly at the house.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Nicky kept watch at the door of the office as Kara tried once again to reboot the security system. She didn’t want to think the worst—that someone had tampered with it and was ready to attack—but it was hard not to think just that what with everything that’d gone on.

  “I believe someone’s using a jamming device,” Kara said. “I’m going to call the security company and see if they can access the cameras a different way.”

  Kara was taking out her phone when they heard the footsteps. Someone was running toward them.

  “Get down!” Holden shouted.

  Nicky didn’t have time to even move before she heard the sound of shattering glass. Then, an even louder sound.

  A blast.

  It seemed to shake the entire house, and it caused the fear to slam into her. Holden. God, had he been hurt?

  She leaned out into the hall and saw him running toward them. Not hurt, thank goodness, but Nicky wasn’t sure it would stay that way.

  Because there was a second explosion.

  “They’re using grenades,” Holden said when he reached them. “We’re going to have to move.”

  He didn’t wait for Nicky to do that. Holden hooked his arm around her waist, and with Kara right behind them, they hurried toward the back of the house. Not a second too soon, either.

  The third blast was even louder than the others, and Nicky heard the sound of walls and maybe even the roof collapsing. Their attackers were literally trying to bring down the house with them inside it.

  “Stay away from the windows,” Holden reminded them when they reached the kitchen.

  Hard to do that, though, since there were three large windows that faced the backyard. That’s probably why Holden led them into the massive pantry.

  The lights weren’t on, and Holden kept it that way. No doubt so that those thugs wouldn’t be able to pinpoint their exact location. However, whoever was shooting those grenades had to know that they would try to escape, and that they’d likely do that through the back so they could get as far away as possible from the explosions—and their attackers.

  The fourth blast was even louder than the others, and with this one, Nicky smelled something that caused her heart to slam against her ribs.

  Smoke.

  Holden cursed, and Nicky knew why. It would take more grenades to destroy the house, and it was such a big place that they could probably find a safe area to hide until backup arrived. But if there was smoke, there was also likely fire, and that meant they’d have to get out.

  “Stay here,” Holden instructed, and he hurried to the exact place he’d told them to avoid.

  The windows.

  He looked out the side of the one nearest to them, but he also kept watch behind him, too. That’s when Nicky knew she had to do something to help. She didn’t know if it was possible for their attackers to get to them through the front of the house, but it was too big of a chance to take. She stepped out just enough so she could better keep watch. Kara did the same.

  “I don’t see Minton,” Holden said after looking out the back.

  That didn’t mean he wasn’t there. Nicky doubted the senator would have kept running toward the front of the house once he heard the explosion. Of course, he could be anywhere now that the sensors were off. It was the same for their attackers. They could already be in the back, waiting for them.

  That gave her a new slam of adrenaline that she didn’t need.

  The smoke kept coming at them. Thick, dark and suffocating. They definitely wouldn’t be able to stay here much longer.

  Holden looked back, meeting Nicky’s gaze, and she could see the apology in his expression. He was silently saying he was sorry for letting things get to this point. Of course, he would put all of this on his shoulders and would see it as a failure on his part. It wasn’t. Whoever wanted her dead just wasn’t stopping, and now Kara and Holden had gotten caught in the cross fire.

  “This way,” Holden ordered.

  He didn’t lead them out the back door, though. Instead, he went to the side of the house, but the smoke was even thicker and they all started to cough. They definitely couldn’t stay here much longer or they’d die.

  They went to the one room that Nicky hadn’t expected them to go—the sunroom. It was literally all glass except for the roof and door frame. And maybe that’s why Holden had chosen it. Because their attacker probably wouldn’t think they would try to escape this way.

  “Once we’re outside stay low and move fast,” Holden added. “We’ll need to get to the barn.”

  That was all he said before they started running. Holden unlocked the door, threw it open and they hurried out into the night. It was terrifying to be out in the open, but at least the smoke wasn’t as bad here so she could breathe.

  Nicky tried to keep her gun ready as they ran toward the barn. If this had been normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been that far—only about twenty yards—but it felt as if it was miles.

  Other than some shrubs and a few scattered trees, there wasn’t much they could use for cover, but when they reached one of the large oaks, Holden pulled them behind it and glanced around. Probably trying to make sure someone wasn’t already waiting for them at the barn.

  Nicky cursed because she couldn’t see much of anything, but it tapped into one of her phobias. Mercy, she hated the darkness and, in this case, everything that it could conceal. She prayed their attackers hadn’t had time yet to make it to this part of the grounds.

  “Let’s go,” Holden said.

  They started running again, but instead of making a beeline toward the barn, Holden continued to use the trees for cover. They darted behind another oak. Then another. Until the barn was only about ten yards away.

  Now that they were closer, Nicky tried to pick through the darkness to see if Minton or the attackers were there. She didn’t see anything, but Holden must have thought their chances were better in the barn than behind the tree because he motioned for them to get moving again. They did. But they’d barely made it a step.

  When someone fired a shot at them.

  * * *

  FROM THE MOMENT he’d seen the SUV pull up in front of the house, Holden had figured it would come down to this.

  To an attack.

  Later he would curse himself for not being able to prevent it. But for now, he had to protect Nicky before these goons could kill her.

  Holden pulled her to the ground and hoped that he hadn’t hurt her arm in the process. It wasn’t a serious injury, but just bumping it could cause a lot of pain. Enough that she wouldn’t be able to think straight, and right now he needed all three of them thinking straight.

  Shooting straight as well.

  “Keep watch that way,” Holden told Kara when she landed on the ground next to them. He tipped his head toward the barn. He didn’t want anyone sneaking up on them from behind and ambushing them.

  “Nicky, you keep an eye on the right side of the house,” Holden added. “But stay down.”

  She gave a shaky nod. Actually, she was shaking all over, b
ut that didn’t stop her from lifting her gun and aiming it at the right side of the house.

  There was another shot.

  It smacked into the tree in the spot where Holden had just been standing. Whoever had fired was obviously in good position to see them.

  But where?

  He cursed the darkness and looked around but couldn’t pinpoint the location of the shooter.

  Holden’s phone dinged, and because he didn’t want to lose focus, he took it from his pocket and handed it to Nicky.

  “It’s from Grayson,” she said when she read the text message. “He’s still about fifteen minutes out.”

  Fifteen minutes was an eternity when they were under attack like this. “Text him back and tell him about the gunfire. And the fire in Kayla’s house. I want him to approach with sirens blaring.”

  That might not do much to deter their attackers, but at least the thugs would know that backup had arrived and that maybe they were outgunned.

  Holden still didn’t have a clue how many they were up against.

  There could be an entire army of hired guns out there now. With the commotion of the grenade blasts, the fire and their escape, a dozen more vehicles could have pulled in front of the house by now.

  There was another shot, and this time Holden got a glimpse of the shooter. He was at the left rear side of the house, but the moment he fired, he ducked back behind cover. Holden took aim, waiting for the idiot to lean out again so that he’d have a decent shot.

  “I just saw someone near the barn,” Kara whispered.

  “Minton?”

  “Hard to tell, but I think the person might have gone inside. Either that, or he’s on the ground just outside the barn.”

  Not good. Because Holden didn’t have many options here, and the barn was the nearest building.

  The tree wasn’t big enough to give them good cover, especially if someone launched another grenade at them. Of course, they could fire a grenade into there, too, but to do that, they’d have to come out into the open.

  Like the shooter on the left of the house.

  He finally leaned out again, and Holden didn’t waste a second. He took aim and fired. Two shots. They slammed into the guy’s chest, and he went down. Probably not dead, though. He was almost certainly wearing body armor, but the shots were enough to knock him off his feet.

  “Let’s move,” Holden told them.

  They hurried from the cover of the tree, staying as low as they could. With each step Holden prayed that there wouldn’t be any more shots fired at him, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the gunman’s partners realized he was down, and they would no doubt pick up where he left off.

  Holden didn’t see Minton or anyone else near the barn. It didn’t mean someone wasn’t there, though. That’s why he darted inside just ahead of Nicky and Kara. He and Kara both brought up their guns, their gazes slashing from one side of the barn to the other.

  “Stay close to me,” Holden whispered to Nicky.

  It was dark inside, too dark to see much of anything, and Holden didn’t like that the back doors were wide-open as well. That had probably been intentional since there was nothing stored in the barn, but with both doors open, their attackers could trap them.

  “Keep watch out back,” Holden told Kara, and he moved to the side of the front door so he could look for more gunmen.

  Nothing.

  Well, nothing except for the fact that Kayla’s house was now in flames. Kayla had done them a huge favor by letting them stay there, and now her house would be destroyed. Even if the fire department made it there in time, they wouldn’t be able to get onto the grounds until it was secure.

  It was far from being secure, and Holden got proof of that when he saw another gunman. This guy was on the opposite side of the house from his fallen comrade. He didn’t lean out but rather fired, still using the house for cover.

  But he didn’t fire into the barn.

  The shot went to the pasture area just on the side of it.

  It didn’t stay just a single shot, either. The guy fired another one. Then another. However, even over the thick gunfire, Holden heard something else he certainly hadn’t expected to hear.

  “Help me!” someone called out.

  Beatrice.

  What the hell was she doing here?

  “Help me!” Beatrice screamed again, and with that scream still echoing in Holden’s head, he heard the movement at the back of the barn. And a moment later, Beatrice came running.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nicky pivoted, taking aim at Beatrice. Kara did as well. But Holden stayed put, volleying glances over his shoulder while he kept watch at the front.

  “Put up your hands,” Kara immediately ordered the woman.

  Beatrice stopped in her tracks when she saw the two guns pointed at her, and she shook her head. “Someone’s trying to kill me,” Beatrice insisted.

  “Yeah, and it’ll be me who does that if you don’t put up your hands,” Holden assured her.

  “I’m the victim here,” Beatrice said through a heavy sob. “Someone kidnapped me and forced me to come to—” she glanced around “—wherever this place is.”

  Nicky wasn’t ready to believe that just yet. Maybe not ever. Because after all, Beatrice was one of their suspects, and she could have come running in there to ambush them.

  Except Beatrice wasn’t armed.

  And her hands were tied behind her back.

  Other than the plastic cuffs around her wrists, she was wearing one of her usual blue skirts and tops. Heels, too, even though one of them was broken. Her hair was a tangled mess, and there was either a bruise or some dirt on her face.

  Beatrice certainly looked as if she might have been kidnapped, but Nicky still wasn’t buying it. She could have had someone put those plastic cuffs on her to make it seem as if she’d been kidnapped. And the only reason she would have had for doing that was to get close enough to kill them.

  Apparently Kara wasn’t buying it, either. She went to the woman and frisked her. “Sit there,” Kara ordered.

  The deputy used the barrel of her gun to motion toward one of the handful of bales of hay that was in the barn. It was the nearest one to the door.

  Outside, some more shots came, and these slammed into the barn. Holden had to move to the side and he motioned for Nicky and Kara to do the same.

  “Quit treating me like a criminal,” Beatrice snarled despite the deafening gunfire. “I didn’t have anything to do with this.”

  “Yeah, right,” Holden mumbled. “Don’t let her out of your sight,” he added to Nicky and Kara.

  Nicky had no intention of doing that, but she also kept watch at the back doors. She wanted to shut them, but that would put her in the possible line of fire if there were indeed kidnappers or gunmen out there.

  More shots came, and Holden leaned out just long enough to fire some shots of his own. Maybe that would keep the gunmen at bay until Grayson and the others could arrive.

  “Who kidnapped you?” Nicky asked Beatrice, and she didn’t bother to sound as if she believed the woman.

  It took Beatrice a moment to finish the sob she was in the middle of so she could answer. “Some men wearing ski masks. They looked like the same ones who had the baby.”

  Oh, God. The baby. That tightened Nicky’s chest. “Is your son here, too?”

  Beatrice shook her head, kept on crying. “No. He was at the house with the nanny and his bodyguards. I was on my way to Lee’s office when the men ran me off the road and took me at gunpoint.”

  “What do they want with you?” Holden snapped. “And why would they just let you go so you could come running into the barn where we just happen to be?”

  Holden had Nicky beat in the skepticism department.

/>   “They didn’t let me go,” Beatrice insisted. “I escaped. I was in the SUV when they started shooting those grenade things at the house. When two of them got out, I managed to get the door opened. I got out and started running. I ended up here. Didn’t you see that man shooting at me?”

  Beatrice looked at Holden when she asked that question, and Nicky glanced at him, too. He nodded. A surprise. Nicky had heard the shots, but she’d thought the gunman was shooting at Holden.

  “The man could have been shooting into the ground or over your head,” Holden added. “That doesn’t prove you’re innocent.”

  No, but it did lead Nicky to her next question. “How many men brought you here?”

  “Three,” Beatrice answered without hesitation.

  If the woman was telling the truth, then that meant there were only two of them left since Holden had shot one of them. But maybe that wounded one was still capable of doing some damage.

  There were more shots, but Nicky also heard something else. A welcome sound this time.

  Sirens.

  Grayson was close now, and it wouldn’t be long before he was on the grounds. Nicky had no idea how close he could get to the house, but she hoped he and the deputies would be able to put a stop to this.

  A permanent stop.

  That meant capturing at least one of the gunmen alive so he could tell them who’d hired him. Nicky had to believe that could happen because there was no way Holden, she and the twins could continue to live like this.

  “Get down!” Holden called out to them. He charged toward Nicky, pulling her to the ground just as the explosion tore through the barn.

  Holden and she both fell, and even though she knew it wasn’t intentional, his arm hit hers, and the pain shot through her. Nicky had to fight for breath, and her eyes watered.

  But that was the least of their problems.

  Their attackers had obviously launched another grenade their way, and it had taken off a good portion of the front of the barn. They didn’t just have the open doors to worry about, there was a hole large enough to drive an SUV through. And maybe that’s what they had in mind because Nicky also heard the sound of an engine.