"She"s happy," Mei said as she leaned into Zack. The joy of the simple milestone in Song"s life meant so much more sharing it with him.
"Of course. All my girls smile."
"All your girls?"
"Yes," he said. "You. Song, and very soon, LiLi."
TWENTY-THREE.
"We"ve got trouble," Todd muttered. "Ember. Get the door. No one gets inside."
Zack raised himself up on one elbow to see what was going on. It was the second day he"d been at the safe house and up until now, things had been quiet and restful. He and Song were relaxed and snuggled on the front room couch, napping and enjoying the smells wafting from the kitchen. Mei had decided to bake banana bread, a nice touch on a cold autumn afternoon. Todd kept a low fire in the fireplace. The place almost felt like home.
Ember hit the door just as someone rang the doorbell and pounded on it at the same time. She cracked it, leaving the safety chain in place. "Can I help you?" she asked before the uninvited visitor could say a word.
"We"re here to interview Zack Lennox. Is he here?" a woman"s abrasive voice asked in no uncertain terms.
"There"s no one here by that name," Ember said evenly. "You must have the wrong information."
"You"re lying," the pushy woman declared. "See my station"s helicopter overhead? I couldn"t get past you at the hospital, but you can"t hide from Channel 16"s Eye in the Sky. Now let me in. I don"t have all day to play hide and seek."
"I"m sorry," Ember continued sweetly. "Like I said, there"s no one here by that name. I live with my boyfriend. Todd, honey? Can you come to the door for a sec?"
Todd jumped up from the computer where he"d been monitoring the Tattle Tale feeds. Ruffling a hand through his red hair to muss it up, he stepped to Ember"s side, his hand going immediately around her waist. Placing a noisy kiss on her cheek, he faced the reporter.
"Sure, hon. What"s up? Someone selling vacuum cleaners?"
He unlatched the security chain to get a good look. Between the two of them, the view was still blocked, but Zack angled his arm out from beneath sleeping Song"s sweaty little head. The baby snored softly. He"d draped a blanket over her to shelter her from view and to keep off the chill from the open door. Sitting with his hands on his knees, he waited, prepared to move.
"I wasn"t born yesterday," the reporter snapped. "Zack Lennox is here and I know it. I"m not leaving without an interview. The FBI has taken credit for everything, but I know better. The public has a right to know what really happened. I want a minute of his time."
"Listen, lady." Todd yawned and kissed Ember again. "Like my girl said, you got the wrong place. Sorry about that."
"You and your boss think you"re pretty clever, don"t you?" She tried a different attack. "You"re the same two who were at the hospital. Well, I"ve got news for you. You can"t hide him forever and two can play that game."
"Whatever." Todd shut the door slowly but deliberately. "See you around."
"What the h.e.l.l?" Zack growled when Todd and Ember shut the door and turned around.
"Do you believe the nerve of her?" Ember growled.
"d.a.m.ned nosy reporter," Todd muttered. "Name"s Victoria Levitt, ace reporter at the Independent Virginia Chronicle. She wants a story, and guess what? You"re it."
Zack shrugged. One newspaper was the same as the next to him. "She blew our cover," he muttered tiredly. "We"ve got to move."
"You up to it?" Ember asked.
"Sure as h.e.l.l not up to meeting the Tigers," he declared. "Let"s pack. Alex has another safe house across the river in Pennsylvania. We can be there in an hour."
"What"s going on?" Mei stood at the kitchen doorway, her cheeks flushed. Zack"s heart thudded to an abrupt halt at the sight of her. How did she do that to him, fill his senses from all the way across the room with just three words?
"We need to leave. The press knows we"re here. The minute this gets out-"
"It"s already out," Ember muttered from the window where she kept an eye on the reporter. "Ms. Levitt is standing on our front porch holding an interview without you. Her cameraman"s filming. We"re screwed. Oops. d.a.m.n. She saw me."
Zack stood, rolling the ache out of his back and a.s.sessing their exit strategy. "Then we go now. Mei, grab some things for the baby. Todd. Get the car running. Grab your gear, kids. We gotta roll."
"That won"t work," Ember advised. "Another Channel 16 news van just pulled into the driveway. They"ve got you blocked in."
"I"m calling Alex," Todd said, his cell phone already to his ear. "He needs to know."
The conversation was short and not so sweet. Zack could hear Alex bellowing from where he stood. Poor Todd grimaced and held the phone away from his ear.
"We"re on our way," Alex"s disembodied voice declared loudly and angrily. "Be ready to move when we get there."
"Ah, Boss. We"re not going anywhere. She"s got the driveway blocked."
"Who said you were taking your vehicle?"
"Right. What"s your ETA?"
"Should be there in twenty." The phone went dead "Man," Todd muttered. "I hate when he"s spun up. Can"t get a word in edgewise. Wonder how he knew."
"Probably because Mother monitors all the news channels," Ember said. "Channel 16 runs an Eye in the Sky breaking news bite. That"s their claim to fame. They"re first on the scene all the time."
"It also means anyone with a television is standing on our front porch right along with her," Zack said.
"Or anyone with an instant news update on their cell phone," Todd said.
"If that...woman," Zack bit his tongue at the word he wanted to say, "if she broadcast our address, the Tigers know where we are. s.h.i.t. We don"t have time to wait for the boss to show his ugly face. I need more ammo. Now!"
"On it." Ember doffed her casual sweater, revealing her double holster and the two weapons she carried, while opening the front closet. "Ruger 9mm. Double stack?"
"No. Single."
She tossed him a box of 9mm ammo, plus two loaded magazines. "Have at it."
Zack caught Mei"s frightened gaze when he caught the ammo. Setting it on the end table, he scooped still-sleeping Baby Song into his arms. "Grab some things for Song to eat and drink and come with me."
Mei"s eyes opened wider.
He waited at the kitchen doorway while she grabbed a box of crackers, a can of baby formula and two baby bottles. There hadn"t been a need before, but he needed to explain how the safe home really operated. When she came to his side, he proceeded down the hallway to what looked like another closet door. It wasn"t. Opening it revealed a metal door, with a keypad where a doork.n.o.b would normally be.
"This is the safe room. There"s food, water, a restroom, a bed, and a telephone inside. Once I lock the door, the only way out is when you open it from your side. Enter one-eight-one into the keypad."
Mei entered the code, her fingers shaking. "You should stay with us. Your hands are still healing. How can you use a gun?"
The door eased open automatically, releasing a whoosh of cooled air into the hall. He ushered her into the room, his hand to the small of her back. Handing the baby to her, he peeled the bandages off his fingers. Little Song fidgeted as she opened her sleepy eyes.
"I"m taking care of that right now. Turn the heat up in here. You"ve got a phone, television, and a computer. I"ll call you when it"s clear."
"Zack." Mei"s voice cracked. She took a step toward him. "Don"t. You"re not ready."
d.a.m.n it, he wanted more time with her. He brushed a quick kiss into her forehead. Duty called. "Marines don"t run, Mei. Stay in here. Whatever happens, do not open the door. I"ll be back as soon as I can. Understood?"
"Zack!" Todd"s bark from the other room gave her no time to answer. "Git your a.s.s out here."
He closed the door, listening for the soft sound of compression hydraulics sinking the master lock into place before he turned to answer. With Mei and Song safe, he grabbed his pistol out of his gear bag and hurried back to the center of the house. "How many?"
"Two cars just arrived. Twelve Tigers." Todd crouched at the bulletproof window beneath the couch where Zack had just lain. "Looks like Ms. Levitt might be caught in a crossfire. Should I let her in?"
"Yes," Zack hissed as he crouched at the opposite side of the room, facing the backyard. A civilian was a civilian whether he liked her or not. "Make it quick."
Todd opened the front door. "Get your dumb a.s.ses in here," he growled, motioning Ms. Levitt and her cameraman to speed it up.
No sooner said than done. Ms. Levitt ducked in as quick as a sacred rabbit, her cameraman on her heels. "Oh thank you," she said, her d.a.m.ned microphone in her hand and her cameraman still recording. "Looks like I"m going to get my interview after all."
"Shut up!" Ember roared from where she crouched in the kitchen. "This is all your fault, you dumb b.i.t.c.h!"
Zack slammed the loaded 9mm magazine into his weapon with a grin. Yeah, Ember. You go, girl.
"Another SUV just rolled up," Todd reported. "Seven more bad guys. .h.i.tching their pants up. Dumb a.s.ses."
"You call the police?" Zack asked, stretching his sore fingers to limber them up for what lay ahead.
"Soon as Todd got off the phone," Ember answered, her pistol aimed out the kitchen window, also bulletproof gla.s.s. "They"re in transit."
"So you"re the famous Zack Lennox," Ms. Levitt purred.
Zack shot her a cold glance, surprised at the heated look in her pale blue eyes and her low cleavage. She was turned on? Now? He turned away, mad enough to push her back outside.
"What they packing?" he asked Todd or Ember.
"Sawed offs. Uzis. Typical g.a.n.g.b.a.n.ger s.h.i.t," Todd answered.
"I got five creeps sneaking around back here," Ember muttered. "They"ve got ARs."
"We"ve got bulletproof gla.s.s and steel reinforcements. Let "em try shooting through that," Zack reminded his team.
"I got a world of hurt in front," Todd answered. "d.a.m.n. Someone brought a LAW to the party."
"You"re s.h.i.tting me?" Zack growled. "An M72? Are you freaking serious?"
Any other day, the stark fear staring back at him from the once c.o.c.ky reporter might have been enough to make him offer her an explanation. Not today. Let her figure out that the Tigers she"d summoned with her brash reporting had a light anti-tank weapon in their a.r.s.enal. Bulletproof gla.s.s didn"t stand a chance.
A spray of lead hit the outside of the home. Zack debated opening the safe room to these two geniuses from the press. His decision was made for him when a battering ram impacted the front door. There simply was no time for any more hospitality.
"These guys are serious," Ember muttered.
"You ready?" Zack asked. Protocol was simple. Sit tight. Alex and the police were on the way. Until the safe house was breached, they would not return fire. But the minute that happened, Zack was ready. He"d already planned which Tiger to hit first, second, third, and how high or how low. Another SUV rolled across the lawn, dropping Tigers out of open doors before it came to a stop.
"Looks like an even fight," Todd quipped. "Five more. That"s what? An even two dozen? Great! Eight for each of us." He turned to the folks from the press. "You folks wouldn"t happen to know how to shoot, would you?
Ms. Levitt shook her head quickly. Her cameraman, too. "No. That"s your job," she squeaked.
"Figures." Todd turned back to the army facing him from the street. "Might have made an interesting story seeing how you"re so brave and all."
"Not bad odds," Zack rasped. "I"ve been in tougher fights."
"Oh yeah? When?" Ember"s eyes were intent on whatever was taking place behind the house.
Zack would have obliged with the details of his escapades high in the Hindu Kush, but time had run out. The noise from the battering ram ceased because the idiot with the LAW loaded it, and unfortunately, he knew which way to aim.
"We got incoming," Zack yelled. "Front door!"
BLAM!.
The house shook on its foundation when the 66.mm sh.e.l.l blasted through the door and exploded into the interior wall. Ms. Levitt screamed like a loud-mouthed siren with no shut off switch. Ember turned to face the smoke from her location behind the kitchen table, now on its side and scant protection from any type of ammunition. She was the farthest away, but Zack and Todd had their hands full. No sooner was the door breached than another spray of bullets peppered the entryway, throwing plaster and woodchips into the home. The Tigers at the other side of the house let loose with a barrage of their own, automatic fire etching across the bulletproof gla.s.s until visibility was no longer possible. Ms. Levitt kept the siren turned on high and loud.
"Ember!" Zack yelled through the smoke and debris.
"I"m good," she answered. "You?"
"Good," Todd shouted. "Stay safe!"
Zack ran to the front door before any of the g.a.n.g.b.a.n.gers could enter, dropped to his side on the floor, and fired death into the yard. Shrieks and angry voices punctuated the two seconds of silence when he discarded the empty magazines and reloaded in one swift, smooth movement.
Todd took his turn returning fire, still crouched at the now-broken picture window. Angry shouts and screamed curses were the only indicator of his success. Too much smoke still filled the house to know for sure what was going on outside.
The moment Todd reloaded, Zack took over, meeting the barrage from outside with steady shots from side to side. These Tigers were c.o.c.ky and arrogant, not trained snipers by any means. As a result, they"d come in too close, thinking they could enter quickly once they blew the door. Guess again. Zack couldn"t see clearly through the smoke, but what he could see, he hit.
"Stop!" Todd yelled out.
Zack shot a quick look his way. Todd had his finger to his ear. Zack reloaded, but it seemed the war ended as quickly as it started. Eerie silence reigned, but Zack had had enough. He didn"t know who was alive out there, but he was ready to send them to their maker.
"Who"s next?" he called through the open door.
No one answered. Sirens shrieked the local PD"s approach. Good. Help was on its way, but it wasn"t there yet. Adrenaline magnified every noise and sight, pumping up Zack"s senses, pushing the sixth sniper sense out into the yard, feeling for the enemy. The universe seemed to be holding its breath and Mei was waiting for him. This needed to end because he did not trust her to be obedient and stay put.
"Step it up, kittens. I can"t wait all day," he ordered impatiently. "You"ve got to the count of three before I come out and finish the rest of you. One!"