With his gun lost, James knew he had to bring him down. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nick had knocked Rao out.
Hull took advantage of the small distraction and hit him with a strong right hook. James’s head snapped back, and his vision turned red at the edges, but the split second it took to recover, Hull had sprinted out of the room, yelling at him over his shoulder. “The only way I’ll give up my daughter is if she’s dead.”
James’s body reacted before his brain could process the panic the man’s words caused. His hand found his gun without looking as he went after Hull. Every fiber of his being, every muscle, pushed as fast as possible, trying to close the distance between them, but Hull was already at the top of the stairs.
He’d almost reached the top of the stairs when the sound of two shots brought him to a halt.
Was he too late? Was Hull cold-blooded enough to kill his own daughter? Had he failed Abbie yet again, and what about Mercy? Was she safe, or had one of those bullets been for her?
A scream strangling his throat, James ran into the room, gun out, ready to kill the man, consequences be damned, but stopped in his tracks.
Abbie was screaming like a banshee in Mercy’s arms, who shielded the infant with her body in a far corner of the room. Hull’s body was sprawled in the middle of the floor, his weapon beside him, his head lying in a pool of blood.
Nick rushed up behind him and cursing, bumped into James.
At first, James thought Mercy had fired until he saw a small woman sobbing by Mercy, a small caliber gun by her side. From the way her face had been beaten it was easy to guess why the girl had pulled the trigger.
“This is Nina. She said Hull kidnapped her to take care of Abbie. I know we have a lot of questions, but we need to go, now. It’s too dangerous to stay.”
Mercy’s voice finally made James move. Leaving Hull where he lay, Nick went downstairs to secure the still unconscious Rao, and both men carried him outside to the car as Mercy took care of Abbie and Nina.
James was desperate to take Abbie in his arms, but instead, put Rao in the trunk and jumped behind the wheel once everyone was in.
Nick pulled out his phone to report the situation to Shane and request emergency backup. On high alert, James looked everywhere, making sure they were not followed.
Not trusting Rao’s car wasn’t tracked by someone other than themselves, they switched cars twice, stealing vehicles before heading to an address Shane gave them.
Mercy kept his niece calm and Abbie slept for the remainder of the drive. An hour later, they arrived at the highway and headed south.
A high hedge surrounded the safe house and Kingsley waited at the curb for them. Mason appeared behind him and ushered their little group inside. Kingsley disappeared with the vehicle, obviously getting rid of it.
Mason took over Nina’s care and led her away. The moment the door closed behind them, and he was with his team inside the safehouse, James felt on the verge of collapse and without a word, went to Mercy. After kissing her brow, he did what he’d dreamed of doing for the last two days, and cradled his sleeping niece in his arms.
Tears immediately welled in his eyes and fell down his cheeks, but he didn’t care. Abbie was safe. It was challenging to breathe as all the fear and guilt inside him burst and finally dissipated.
With Mercy by his side, rubbing his back in a show of support, James lowered his head to kiss Abbie’s tiny one, silently promising her that he’d never fail her again, and that he’d be the most perfect uncle in the world.
With his angel niece in his arms and the love of his life by his side, James felt steady again. He couldn’t wait to reunite Bethany with her daughter and be surrounded by his precious family once more.
Chapter Twenty-Six
James hadn’t slept since finally getting Abbie in his arms. Mercy had offered to take care of the baby while he rested, but there was no way he’d keep mother and daughter separated any longer than necessary.
The reunion, later that night, had put James’s remaining anxiousness to rest. When Bethany arrived with Miles, she had launched herself at Abbie and at that moment, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Cuddling and cooing at her baby, Bethany looked at James with such deep gratitude it surprised him.
Only much later, when dawn was slowly bringing on a new day did he allow Mercy to drag him to bed.
A day later, they were back in Miami, sitting around the conference table with the entire team, James knew that he had to face the music. Shane and Emme had been informed of everything that happened. It was clear that several of his decisions had bypassed asking for help, which, unless there was a reasonable explanation attached to it, wasn’t encouraged. James had called a private meeting with Shane and Emme. He’d needed to explain his motivations and prevent Mercy and Nick taking flack for his decisions. Surprisingly, both of them had been understanding. They agreed with most of his choices. Family was a weak spot for any agent.
Emme smiled at the assembly, maybe to counteract Shane’s frown. “Thanks for being here for the debrief on James’s sister’s case.”
Mercy, who was sitting by him, discreetly touched his knee with hers as a show of support. It was clear she was prepared for explanations, so was Nick, who’d been by his side for most of this.
“Let’s start by saying that Abbie and Bethany are alive, well, and safe. She agreed to remain in a safehouse for now, at least until we settle this problem with the FBI.”
A groan spread around the table and Shane lifted a hand. “I know, but it’s an annoyance we need to deal with. On that note, I’ve relayed all the information we gathered about Agent Rao and his relationship to the Havoc Henchmen. I’ve presented the case to my contact, and let’s say they were dumbstruck by it and never saw it coming. It took a few hours, but the news traveled up the chain, and they’ve requested we hand over Rao. They weren’t expecting we’d negotiate on Bethany’s behalf to make sure she’s left out of any games they want to play. I’d say they’ll see reason in a couple of days because I won’t let that go. None of us will.”
The determination in Shane’s voice settled James. Bethany needed to be protected, and the Agency was doing precisely that.
“Now, about Hull. We have the police report on his death. This is where we need to tread carefully. As per what we could read, his death has been classified as a gang war casualty. With Rao unconscious, there’s no way he could testify to what happened, or accuse any of us of killing Hull. Unless new evidence comes up, I suggest we ride this and let it go. With Hull gone, the organ trafficking falls. None of his lieutenants will survive the power struggle brewing in and out of the gang. However, we’ll keep an eye on it just to be safe.”
“What about Nina?” Mercy’s voice was full of concern for the traumatized girl.
Emme sighed. “Poor soul. After the first evaluation, it was clear Hull and his men had abused her in awful ways I won’t explain here. I’ve contacted a therapy center that specializes in that type of victim to take care of her. Again, this will be kept under wraps to protect her. I doubt any sort of accusations would help her heal. Once she’s better, we’ll see how we can help her more.”
Mercy immediately relaxed, nodding in approval. James noticed the soft spot she had for the broken and vulnerable. No wonder that, even without knowing Nina, Mercy had taken her under her wings, even if her hands were already full.