“Ethan would never have used an untrained operative,” Secretary Lyle insisted. “Especially not one as young as she was.”
“Of course, he wouldn’t. I needed the case solved so I could prove to him I was worthy to stay on the project. So I acted on the Phoenix’s behalf.” She swerved, pointing the barrel of the gun back toward the secretary. “But you had to intercede, didn’t you?”
“You bet I did.”
Eugenie growled low in her throat. A boat’s engine roared to life beside them.
“And for that you will pay. I’m happy to sell out your husband’s assets on your behalf. And now I get to add our little sweetheart’s beloved, the Mariner, to the list. I’ll be rich with the bidding war he’ll bring in. But perhaps it’s best just to put you out of your misery right now.”
“Eugenie, no!” Sir Rodney cried.
And then everything seemed to happen in a nanosecond. Caracas leaped from his hiding place just as gunshots rang out. Ben covered Quinn with this body. Sir Rodney screamed. When the dust cleared. Eugenie was climbing aboard a cigarette boat built for speed. Ben snatched up his Glock.
“You okay?” he breathed.
Quinn nodded. She gripped his face with both palms. He was grateful for the enthusiastic kiss she gave him, but the moaning beside him kept him from returning it.
“Madam Secretary!” Ben crawled away from Quinn.
“I’m unhurt,” she replied. “But Agent Caracas needs medical attention. He’ll bleed out without a tourniquet.”
“The secretary,” Caracas wheezed. “Don’t leave her unprotected.”
Adam and Griff suddenly jumped on board like the cavalry. Griff gingerly hurled the umbrella into the drink while Ben pulled a first-aid kit from beneath the captain’s chair.
“Nice shot,” Griff said gesturing to Sir Rodney who was slumped back with a bullet hole to the head.
“Yeah, but the girl was too slippery,” Adam replied.
“Don’t worry,” Griff said. “The coast guard will get her before she leaves the Potomac.”
Ben heaved a breath of relief as he administered to the other agent’s leg. “You hear that, Quinn. It’s finally over.”
When she didn’t respond, he glanced up at his buddies. Griff darted down below. He reemerged ten seconds later, a stricken look on his face.
“Not there.”
“It will never be over as long as Eugenie is alive,” the secretary said ominously. “For you. Or for Quinn.”
“No!”
Ben shot from the boat. He frantically searched the dock for her.
“There!” Adam pointed toward the beach area. Someone was running along the sand. They tripped over the leg from The Awakening sculpture before jumping on one of the Jet Skis and firing it up.
“We have to stop her!” Ben began to untie the lines. “Help me out here.”
Adam released the starboard side as Ben fired up the engine. Luckily, he was in the end slip. It was less than a minute before he was out on the river. He could hear the roar of the cigarette boat ahead of them.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“About a hundred meters behind it,” Adam called from the bow. “But she’s gaining on them quickly.”
Ben gunned the engines but the big boat had too much mass to catch them. Griff barked into his cell phone.
“The coast guard is in place to intercept,” he told them.
The news didn’t provide the reassurance Ben needed. He urged the Seas the Day to move faster.
“Holy shit,” Adam called from the bow. “Quinn has nearly caught up to them.”
Gunfire echoed up ahead. Ben’s breath got caught in his throat. The coast guard cutter flew in from nowhere. His knuckles were white on the wheel. They heard the captain of the cutter ordering both vehicles to stop. Eugenie ignored the command. A moment later, her boat exploded in a ball of fire.
“Quinn!” Ben cried.
But it was no use. The Jet Ski was gone.
Chapter Nineteen
The sun was barely creeping over the horizon when Ben steered the Seas the Day into the slip at the Old Town Alexandria Marina. His head was throbbing and his muscles ached from trawling the water near the accident site. It had been five hours since the explosion. He, Adam, and Griffin had tirelessly searched for any sign of Quinn, until the coast guard captain overseeing the operation had unceremoniously thrown Ben’s ass out of the area.
Griffin tied off one side of the stern while Adam took the bow. After killing the engine, Ben grabbed the hose from the dock and aimed it at the blood Caracas and the Monopoly Man left behind. As long as he kept himself busy he wouldn’t have to think about the last few hours. His friends had other ideas, however.
“Dude, you’re gonna spray a hole into the hull if you keep that up. Why don’t I see if one of the guys who work here will detail it for you and we can head back home?”
Griffin’s tone was equal parts wary and patronizing with a touch of pity thrown in for good measure. Ben ignored him. Instead, he welcomed the numbness that had begun to seep into his limbs. Detachment was good. It kept the sharp tentacles of anger at bay.
There was more murmuring behind him. Apparently, Marin and Josslyn had been waiting at the dock. He didn’t bother acknowledging them when they climbed aboard.
“How is he doing?” Josslyn asked.
“About as bad as a guy can get when they lose the person they love,” he heard Adam reply.
“For the second time,” Griff added.
“It’s so heartbreaking,” Marin said.
Tossing down the nozzle, he swore violently.
“I’m right here, you know,” he shouted. “You don’t have to talk about me like I’m gonna freaking break or something!”
When he spun around to face his friends, all four of them wore identical expressions looking at him like he was going to do just that. Break. And it took every bit of fortitude he possessed not to. Not here. Not in front of them.
“No one thinks you’re going to break, Ben,” Griff began. “But you aren’t made of steel, either. You need to process everything that has happened. If I know you, that brain of yours is demanding answers when there just might not be any. Why don’t we head back to the townhouse? You can grab a shower and get some rest.”
“I’ll cook us breakfast,” Marin added. “Whatever you want.”
“What I want is to be left alone.”
“Oh, Ben,” Josslyn spoke softly. “We’re your friends. We hate to see you hurting like this. Let us help you.”
“She’s right,” Griff butted in. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
As if to punctuate their clinginess, Ben’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t bother checking the caller ID because he knew it was his sister. She’d already called eleven times in the past hour, likely leaving eleven anguished voice mails of consolation. He wasn’t ready to listen to that shit. Hell, he might never be able to listen to it. He turned the ringer off.
“Who told Rebecca?” he snapped.
Adam shot a warning glare from over his fiancée’s shoulder.