“I’m not saying let him die. I’m talking about taking him to the hospital. They have specialists they can tap to deal with this kind of thing. So why does it need to be you?”
“Colt used up valuable days to get to me, Luke. He’s here, and I’m not about to turn him away to waste even more time he doesn’t have. For better or worse, I’m the one he came to, and I will see it through. I suggest you think about that when you’re trying to keep your heart hardened against him.”
With that, Marena got up and left Lucas to his thoughts.
Coulter had not woken up by the time the aircraft had landed in Rhode Island.
“Let him rest,” Lucas said. “We’ll likely be back before he wakes up, anyway.”
Marena lingered. The worry was evident on her face. “We have to hurry.”
When they got off the plane at T.F. Green International Airport, there was a black Mercedes sedan waiting for them. After they settled inside and the driver pulled off, Lucas said, “I want you to know that I heard you earlier—every word.”
“Then you know that there’s no talking me out of this.”
“Yeah, I do.” He grimaced. “I just want you to protect your heart, Rena. You’ve always had blinders on when it came to Coulter. I just—I don’t want to see you hurt again, sis.”
“I’ll be hurt worse if he dies, Lucas. I can handle anything going on between Coulter and me. As long as he is alive and well.” Marena struggled with her composure when she said, “I’m just not ready to live in a world that doesn’t have him in it.”
Lucas stared out the window as they rode along the highway on Interstate 95. Marena had agreed to meet Dr. Cutty at Beavertail State Park. The New England coastline was majestic, but he did not have time to appreciate the rugged beauty. There was too much on his mind. The driver mentioned it would be just under forty minutes to their rendezvous. Letting out a long sigh, he turned to face his sister.
“I’m sorry for how I’ve been lately. But despite being angry with Colt, you know I’ll do whatever I can to help you save him—no matter the cost, Marena.”
Lucas grasped her hand and squeezed it before pulling her into his arms.
She leaned against him. “Thank you,” she croaked.
He held her tightly. After a few minutes, he said, “Are you sure about this plan? How do we know no one’s tailing Cutty?”
“We don’t,” she admitted, finally trusting her voice. “It’s a chance we’ll have to take.”
“Don’t get near him,” Lucas instructed. “If he has something to give you, have him drop it, and then I’ll pick it up. I don’t want you getting caught in a cross fire if something goes down.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
The driver dropped them off at a park and waited.
Lucas got out first. “Stay here while I have a look around.”
A few minutes later, he tapped on the window, and Marena got out and scanned her cell phone message.
“The instructions say to go down the path and head to the right. We’ll see a park bench. We’re to sit there and wait for him.”
“Roger that,” Lucas replied. “Stay behind me.”
It was late afternoon, and there were a few joggers and people walking dogs. When they arrived at the bench, Marena sat while Lucas stood guard.
Her gaze swept around the tree-lined area. “It’s lovely here. Did you know this park has the third-oldest lighthouse? There’s even a museum.”
“Yeah, I did. Came across that scoping out the mission.” He checked the time. “Cutty’s late.”
“He’ll be here,” Marena replied confidently.
Marena spotted Dr. Cutty coming toward them from another trail a few minutes later.
“He’s here.”
When Cutty saw Marena, he picked up his pace. He’d gotten halfway there when Lucas called out.
“Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.”
When Lucas got there, Cutty handed him a small, square container. He began speaking to Lucas, but Marena couldn’t hear their conversation.
“This is crazy,” she complained.
Getting up, Marena began walking toward them. She was almost there when shots rang out. She dropped to the ground. The impact took her breath away.
Marena watched in shocked horror as Cutty’s body lurched, and then he pitched toward the ground face-first. The metal briefcase he had been carrying flew out of his hand and landed in the grass.
“Frank!” Marena screamed as Lucas drew his weapon to return fire. He stopped after determining there was no clear shot.
When she tried to get up and run to them, Lucas yelled, “Marena, stay down.”
Not about to lie there and wait, she crawled on her belly, doing her best to keep low as she hurried to check on Cutty.
“Frank?” she exclaimed, checking him over. When she noticed that he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Marena let out a sigh of relief. “He had a vest on, Luke.”
“Can he move? If so, we need to get out of here. I swept the area and didn’t see anyone. There must be a sniper. We need to get to the tree line, Marena—now.”
She tried to revive Cutty.
“He must’ve fainted.”
“Or hit his head when he fell. Either way, we can’t wait.” Lucas handed Marena his rifle. “Let’s go,” he commanded. “Stay low.”
Bending down, Lucas picked Dr. Cutty up from under his arms. He half dragged, half pulled Cutty to the safety of the trees. Grabbing the briefcase, Marena quickly followed behind Lucas while crouched low. Her gaze was darting around as they went. Lucas placed Cutty in the back seat when they arrived at the car before hurrying Marena inside.
“Don’t spare any gas,” he told the driver.
When they reached the airplane, Coulter was down the steps instantly. The moment he saw Lucas pulling someone out of the car, he ran across the tarmac. He spotted Marena getting out of the car and slowed down, but he didn’t stop.
“What happened?” he asked when he reached their side.
“Frank was shot,” Marena told him.
His practiced eye raked her over. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. No one else got hurt. We need to get moving so I can examine his injuries.”
Once on the plane, Lucas informed the pilot they were ready to take off while Coulter laid Cutty down on one of the sofas at the back of the aircraft. He unbuttoned Frank’s jacket and gently eased off the bulletproof vest.
Coulter reviewed it. “Where’d he get this thing—online? It’s not very good quality.”
“Maybe not,” Marena said, pointing to where the bullet had lodged itself in the strong material, “but it stopped the bullet and saved his life, and that’s what counts.”
Tapping the side of Frank’s face, she shook him gently. “Frank? Can you hear me? If you can, open your eyes and blink a few times.”
Eventually, he awakened. When he saw Marena, Cutty asked, “What happened?”
“Someone tried to kill you,” she replied. “Thank goodness you were wearing this vest, or you’d be dead. Has anyone contacted you lately? Did you check to make sure that you weren’t being followed?”
Frank tried to sit up but stopped. His breathing was labored as he tried to handle the pain. “No, I didn’t see anybody. I took precautions, though.”
“Not enough,” Lucas said as he came in and sat down. Marena shot him a withering look, which he ignored.
“What am I going to do now?” Frank said suddenly. “If someone tried to kill me, they know who I am—where I live. I can’t go back there. I’m not safe.”
“He’s got a point,” Coulter pointed out. “He needs to disappear for a while.”
“How long is that?” Frank protested.
“Until nobody else wants to kill you,” Lucas said matter-of-factly.
“Luke, you’re not helping.”
“I’m telling him the truth, Rena. Someone knows who he is and has likely already been to his house and ransacked it. We can tell by the bullet hole in his vest that whoever it is doesn’t want to get a hold of him just to ask him questions. They wanted him dead.”
Lucas turned to Coulter. “Someone is going through a lot of trouble to make sure Dr. Cutty doesn’t help you, and that Silent Night runs its course.”
“I have no idea who,” Coulter said with frustration. “I don’t know who’d have an ax to grind against me that’s this sharp.”
Turning to Coulter, Marena said, “We have to do something. If he hadn’t been helping us, he would’ve been able to stay under the radar.”
“If he hadn’t helped create Silent Night in the first place, none of us would be in this predicament,” Coulter said testily. “And I wouldn’t be on a countdown to death.”
“I’m sorry,” Frank said quickly. “I didn’t know what they planned to do with it.”
Coulter glared at him. “What did you think someone would do with a bioweapon, Cutty—play with it? Brinkley is getting ready to auction it off to the highest bidder as we speak. And you had no clue this was one of the possibilities that could happen with such a dangerous weapon?”
“Coulter,” Marena whispered.
“What? Cutty needs to know the extent of the damage that he’s wrought. Thanks to you, there are global ramifications for Silent Night. And you, what, just decided for the heck of it to try to make a weapon that kills people without any accountability?” He glared at Frank. “The list of potential cowards you’re empowering with this thing is frightening. And you know what else, Frank? It’s mind-boggling that not once did you stop and think about what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands. You’re a scientist who wants to make a creation and soak up all the accolades and recognition, aren’t you?”
“No, of course not,” Cutty sputtered.
“Coulter—”
“Uh-uh, Marena. He doesn’t get a pass. This disaster is on him—all of it. Someone taking a potshot at him is the least of his worries today. And if that person is bold enough to come after him in a park in broad daylight, then I’d wager they know who he was coming to meet. That means that none of us are safe.”
Coulter turned and stomped off.
“He’s right,” Frank said quietly. “I deserve a lot worse than this. But, Marena, I swear to you that I’ll do whatever I can to make this right.”
“Kind of late for that, don’t you think?” Lucas reasoned.
“No, it’s not too late,” Marena said quickly. “Frank, think back on anyone new you may have come in contact with during the last few days. Did someone call you? Drop something by your house? Anything that can help us determine who’s after you—and, by extension, us?”
“Okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll try. There’s one more thing. I wasn’t able to get enough emylanoroc. We need more, but the only place that has it is in London.”
“What?”
“I can give you a contact there that you can meet for the exchange, but he’s going to want something in return.”
“Name it.”
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
Marena’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
Frank nodded. “And it’s on sale only for the next twenty-four hours. After that, the deal goes away.”
Lucas whistled. “How are we going to be in two places simultaneously? DC and London?”
“We’re not. We’ll have to split up. Coulter and I will take DC, and you’ll go to London.”