Sanctuary Lost WITSEC Town Series Book 1 (39 page)

Who was still here? They couldn’t have just
left.

Andra braced her foot on the straw-covered
floor and rolled her hips to the side, careful not to twist her
torso. The wood she’d hit the guard with was gone. She hadn’t
killed him. That counted for something, right? She could have
turned back in to the assassin she used to be and it would have
been self-defense. But she knew far too much about how to dispatch
a person for the argument to be accepted. It was way too easy to
kill someone—especially when emotions were ablaze.

Palmer kneeled, tapping away at the tablet.
Had he waited for the moment the guards left to get the money? And
why hadn’t they taken the device? Either it wasn’t worth it for him
to try and transfer the money to himself, because it wasn’t going
to work. Or the guards had been more concerned with getting out of
there. Had something gone wrong?

Why had they left her?

Hirelings, probably. Men who didn’t have a
stake in Andra’s well-being, so they split to save themselves…from
whatever was coming.

Andra got her feet under her, careful to move
silently. She lifted the wood to hip height because she couldn’t
get it higher. She should be able to at least incapacitate Palmer
for good this time. Then when he came around he would know what it
felt like to be arrested. John could find out who killed Betty and
she could keep her life. Such as it was, or would be, with the
stain of being a murder suspect.

She swung, but the pain in her ribs tugged
the wood down and Palmer caught the force of the blow on the back
of his shoulder. He fell to the side, rolled and came back up to
grab the wood swing it at her. Andra slammed into the SUV. Stars
exploded behind her eyes and she had to brace her hands on the car
to keep from falling.

Palmer tackled her and they went down, right
by where Thane had fallen dead.

She pushed against his torso but felt only
vest. He wouldn’t move and she was rapidly losing strength.

The familiar noise of helicopter rotors
brought Palmer’s head up. Andra looked around. Thane’s suit jacket
was open. Inside was the gold-plated pen. She grasped for it,
stretching her fingers until they felt like the joints would
separate. It wasn’t far enough. She stretched more, crying out.

Palmer’s head whipped back to her.

Finally, she pulled the pen free of the
pocket.

“No you don’t.” Palmer slammed his arm onto
hers.

Andra cried out, but didn’t let go of the
pen. He was going to kill her. Could she accept this, if it was
God’s will? Would He accept her need to fight until her last breath
to preserve her life?

John’s face flashed through her mind and
something in her surged to life, remembering the familiar comfort
of his presence. Eating together. Playing cards with Pat. They
would be a family, but he wasn’t here. He hadn’t come after her.
John had let her go to meet whatever fate God decreed she accept,
like that was fine with him.

Well, it wasn’t fine with her.

Now she knew the two of them, Andra didn’t
want to lose John or Pat. She wanted them in her life. She wanted
to know what could be between them all of them. Could they be happy
as a family?

Peace washed over her, but underneath the
familiar zing of adrenaline still fueled her muscles.

Andra rolled them both. Over and over they
tumbled across the room until Palmer’s head slammed into the rim on
the tire.

Without missing a beat, Andra clambered up
and raced for the door. She squeezed through the opening into the
blinding sunlight, searching around even as her eyes adjusted to
the brightness.

John was grappling with the boss. He’d come?
But not for her, for the men who were going to take her, the ones
who’d been working with Palmer and Thane. Doing his job.

His gaze hit her and he yelled, “Andra!”

Palmer slammed into her back. They tumbled to
the ground, and Andra twisted and came up with the pen in her hand.
He grabbed her. She screamed and slammed the pen into the side of
Palmer’s neck. He collapsed on her, choking for breath while Andra
lay under the crushing weight of him, forced to listen as he
died.

She’d done it.

She had killed someone again.

A fist hit flesh, the sound of John fighting
with his attacker. Andra pushed Palmer off, wincing at the sight of
his dead face. She should apologize. Beg God for forgiveness. But
there were no words in her brain.

She stood, fell to her knee, struggled and
finally managed to get up. Her chest was on fire. White spots
tingled in the edges of her vision. It wouldn’t be long before she
was out for good.

The noise of rotors got louder. A helicopter
circled low and dipped down as the chopper flew closer. Come to aid
John. To arrest her, now she really was guilty of murder—and of a
cop, no less. There was no way they were going to believe Palmer
was the one who set this whole thing up.

The door to the helicopter slid open and it
circled around again. Whoever was in the door lifted a bullhorn.
“This is the FBI. Stand down. Drop your weapons and put your hands
on your heads.”

There was nowhere to go.

She was hemmed in. John had come, but not
because he cared for her.

“Hands on your head.”

Andra lifted her arms. Pain tore through her
chest and she hit the ground.

**

John saw her fall. The helicopter landed and
booted men ran over and dragged the suit guy off him, pinning the
gunman’s arms behind his back as he raged and screamed.

John rolled, crawling to where she lay. Ben
was up, too. “What…?”

Ben hauled him to his feet. “He hit my
vest.”

They stumbled, even with Ben holding the bulk
of John’s weight. “So you just lie there. You don’t help me?”

“I wanted you to feel like you did it
yourself, like you won under your own steam.” Ben lowered him by
Andra’s side.

John touched her shoulder, but said to his
brother, “He winded you, didn’t he?”

“Of course he did. It hurts getting shot,
even if you do have a vest on.”

“I wouldn’t know.” His fingers searched Andra
for signs of injury. “I only got punched and hit.”

Ben squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll find out if
they brought a medic.”

John stroked the side of her face. “I’d like
to see you open your eyes, but you look like you’ve had a rough
day.”

His gaze drifted down, searching her for
signs of injury. Her shirt had pulled up to reveal an inch of skin
at her waist. Was that…John lifted it higher. Sure enough, there
was the imprint of a boot on her stomach.

He pulled her shirt back down. “When you do
wake up, I’m going to want to know who did that. Because I’m going
to arrest them.”

Hot tears burned his eyes. He wasn’t crying,
he was just exhausted and that guy had packed some serious weight
behind his punches.

“My brothers are here. I’d like you to meet
them, but don’t get too enamored. They’re nothing special.”

He touched his fingers to her hairline and
brushed back a few strands of jet-black hair. The sensation was
both familiar and new at the same time. “I’d like to do that more
too, if you’ll let me. And maybe kiss you.” He stroked her jaw with
his thumb. “I’d also like to—”

Her lips parted and breath pushed out. “You
talk a lot.”

Behind him, someone chuckled. John didn’t
take his focus from her until her eyes flickered open and she
smiled with the side of her mouth.

“Hi.”

She inhaled and winced. “Hi.”

“Don’t try to talk, okay?” He looked back at
Ben

His brother nodded. “Life Flight is on its
way. They said to keep her still. Her broken ribs might have
punctured a lung.”

John felt the tension evaporate from his body
and he slumped lower by her side.

“Is that her?” Nate hobbled up.

John watched Andra take in the two Mason
brothers standing by their huddle on the ground. She lifted her
hand and wiggled her fingers in a wave.

Nate grinned. “What’s up?” He looked at Ben
and then John. “Is it over now? Because I don’t think my contract
allows for gunfights.”

John looked back at Andra. Ben said, “It’s
done.” There was a chill in his words, as though if it weren’t over
he’d have ended it himself.

“Honey—” Her gaze moved back to him. “There’s
a helicopter coming. I’m going to go with you, okay?”

She blinked, enough of a nod for him. Her
breath was coming in pants now.

“I’ll be with you the whole time. I’m not
leaving.”

She breathed. “—kay.”

John took her hand. “Good.”

Palmer lay beyond her, a gold pen sticking
out of his neck. John looked back at the fingers he’d threaded his
through, fingers with blood on them. “You killed him?”

Her eyes darkened and she licked her lips
like she was parched…and nervous. “It’s not something you forget
how to do.”

Ben laughed. “I thought I recognized
her.”

John turned. Ben’s eyes widened like he
realized what he’d said. His eyes locked with John’s and Ben shook
his head. “Forget I said that.”

Right. John sighed. “Andra…”

This was going to be their future. John was
going to get familiar with the woman who had built a new life, then
she—or someone else— would do or say something and it would hit him
all over again who she’d been.
Assassin.
That word was going
to get thrown around unless he could make peace with it.

She’d shut her eyes again.

“Honey, will you look at me?”

Her lips compressed and her face screwed up.
She sucked in a breath and tears pricked in her eyes.

“Honey—”

“I wasn’t supposed to. It just happened and
now they’re going to kick me out of Sanctuary.” She sucked in air.
“I won’t be able to come back.”

“Listen—”

“I killed him, John. And now I’ll have to
leave. They won’t let me live there. I won’t be able to see
anyone.” Her whole body jerked with the sob. “I won’t be able
to…see you.”

“Andra.”

She hiccupped a breath.

John said, “I need you to know, I—”

Her face scrunched even more and she moaned
low in her throat like she was in serious pain.

“Honey, what is it?”

Andra pressed a hand against her side.

“Make some room.” Two medics dumped their
bags and John was pushed out of the way. Andra wasn’t moving. Or
breathing.

“Something’s wrong.” John gasped. “You have
to help her!”

The paramedic leaned down and listened to her
chest. His eyes lifted and met his partner’s. “Pneumothorax.”

Nate said, “What’s that?”

The EMT didn’t look up. “Lung collapsed.”

Ben helped John to his feet and he watched,
helpless as they stuck a needle in her chest. Nate grabbed his hand
and squeezed. Andra’s whole body jerked and she sucked in the first
full breath since he crouched beside her. John exhaled too. They
wasted no time loading her on a backboard and John walked alongside
her as they carried her to the helicopter.

He moved to climb on, but Grant put his hand
on John’s chest. He looked at his brother. “I’m going.”

“Let them work.”

“I said I’d go with her.” What was wrong with
Grant? “I told her I’d be there the whole time.”

Grant didn’t let him go. Nate and Ben closed
around him, and Ben took his other arm. John waited for one of his
brothers to explain why he couldn’t go with Andra. “What?”

The door on the helicopter slammed shut.

“What is going on, guys?”

“Walk with me.” Grant didn’t wait for an
answer because it wasn’t a question. Ben led John behind Grant,
while Nate hobbled after them all the way to the helicopter Grant
must have arrived in.

“I didn’t think you were coming. You didn’t
say you were on your way.”

Grant climbed aboard the helicopter. “The
president called me.”

John shook his head. “Why am I with you and
not Andra when…What does the president have to do with this?”

“Where is Pat?”

“Pat? He’s with…”

“The first lady.”

They climbed in and Ben pressed a hand
against John’s chest, holding him in the helicopter seat while Nate
buckled the safety harness. They sat either side of him and buckled
up while John stared at his brother until his eyes burned. “Grant.
Tell me what’s going on.”

“The first lady emailed the president and he
called me straight away. The school teacher—”

“Mrs. Pepper.”

“She came to the house, told them Pat needed
to catch up on some missed work. Mrs. Sheraton let him go, but that
was hours ago. Mrs. Pepper said it wouldn’t take long, and the
first lady was worried when he didn’t make it back in time for
dinner.” Grant took a breath. “Susan called around and no one has
seen either of them all day. Not anywhere in town. She called the
sheriff’s office and Dotty got Bolton on it.”

“Grant…”

“Elma Pepper took your son. Bolton searched
her house. He found bloody clothes he thinks she was wearing when
she killed Betty Collins.”

John tipped his head forward and tried to
breathe, suddenly acutely aware of all the bruises in his chest.
Someone squeezed the back of his neck.

“Bolton has no idea where she took Pat.”

The helicopter landed and John jumped out.
Bolton’s truck barreled toward them and pulled to a stop in front
of them. Ben flung the door open and Matthias looked back from the
front passenger seat. “Load up.”

John and Grant slid in, while Nate and Ben
climbed in the bed.

John saw the worry on Matthias’ face and
nodded. The man had spent a good amount of time with Pat; no doubt
he was feeling the loss too. John’s butt hit the seat and he didn’t
waste any time before he said, “Mrs. Pepper?”

Matthias’ face was dark, his hand gripping
the handle as Bolton sped into town. “I never would’ve guessed
it.”