Javier secured his bulletproof jacket and grabbed a rifle from one of his men.
“Has Falconi checked in?”
“Yes, Señor Palacios. It’s just Colonel McKendrick, the woman, and Brinkley.”
“Good, let’s move in. I don’t want Brinkley making it out with Silent Night, am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Javier’s men proceeded up the path to the house.
“Dad, are you sure Marena and Coulter are okay?” Lucas asked.
“Right now, they’re the safest of all of us. Brinkley won’t do anything to harm either one until he gets those activation codes. So, they’re fine, but we don’t know for how long, so we need to take out as many targets as we can.”
“Roger that.”
Lucas got into position and set up his semiautomatic sniper rifle. When he was ready, he said, “On target.”
Terry was spotting for him, so he used his spotter’s scope and established his position. Then, when he had his wind calls ready, he said, “Spotter ready.”
Lucas made a final adjustment based on his father’s last wind call. “Shooter ready.”
They worked as a team to take out Palacios’s men. Terry adjusted where necessary. The suppressor on Lucas’s rifle reduced the sound and muzzle flash of the shots, making Lucas less visible to his targets. The night-vision scope on his rifle allowed him to see his marks and take them out in succession before Palacios’s men knew what hit them and from which direction.
“Where is that shooter?” Palacios yelled over the noise of his men returning fire. “I want him found.”
“We need to fall back,” one of his men replied. “We’re taking too many casualties.”
“No, set up a flanking maneuver. They can’t get all of you.”
Palacios and his men set out, approaching the house on both sides.
“They’re flanking,” Terry warned.
“I see it,” Lucas called back. “Gonna need you.”
Terry grabbed his rifle and positioned himself a short distance from Lucas. They worked together to take out the rest of Palacios’s team.
Inside, Marena prepped Coulter and was ready to administer the medication.
“Why do you need two serums?” Brinkley asked.
“Both are needed to bring him out of the coma,” she explained.
But in truth, only one of the vials was the antidote.
Shots sounded outside. Surprised, Brinkley turned to Marena.
“Hurry up.”
“We can’t rush this process,” she snapped. “We don’t know what it will do to Coulter.”
“I don’t care. I want McKendrick awake right now. So, either you do it, or I will. And I guarantee my way will be bloody.”
Brinkley released the safety and dropped a bullet into the chamber.
“Okay,” Marena said quickly. She set both vials on the table and set up an IV drip of epinephrine for Coulter.
“How long will this take?”
“This delivery method allows the medication to go directly into his bloodstream. If all goes well, it should take about five minutes.”
“Lucky for you.”
Just then, Falconi came in. He anxiously scanned the room before coming to Brinkley’s side. “Shots have been fired outside. We’re out of time,” he said impatiently.
“Shots from who? Coulter’s men?”
“Unknown, but did you get the key?”
“We’ll have it in a few minutes. The doc has been nice enough to wake McKendrick up for us. After that, we’ll get what we need.”
“We may not have a few minutes,” Falconi countered.
Brinkley frowned. “Then you need to go out there and buy us more time. He’s no good to us dead.”
Falconi glared at him before he grabbed his rifle and stomped off.
Turning away from them, Marena focused her attention on Coulter. She stroked his face while she waited for him to regain consciousness. It took some time for him to come to, but eventually, he opened his eyes.
“Rena?” His voice sounded like a car driving over gravel.
“I’m here,” she soothed. “You’re going to be okay, Coulter. Just take it easy.”
“Am I...cured?”
“I don’t know yet,” she said honestly. “I have to run some tests. But we’re in trouble. Brinkley and Falconi are here. They want Silent Night’s activation codes.”
“Yes, or I’ll be forced to put a bullet in your girlfriend’s head—and then yours,” Brinkley called out from over her shoulder.
Marena turned to glare at Brinkley. “Back off. We need to give him a few minutes. He could have an adverse reaction, go into cardiac arrest, or have other issues. Then you’d get nothing.”
Brinkley was thoughtful for a moment. “No tricks,” he replied grudgingly.
When Coulter was more lucid, Marena helped him sit up. He was still weak, but he wasn’t showing any of the previous symptoms before she put him into the medically induced coma. That made her hopeful.
“We need to hurry,” Falconi said, glancing toward the door. “Palacios is here.”
“What?” Brinkley bellowed. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” Falconi replied. “But we need to get those codes and get out of here.”
Brinkley spun around to Coulter. “Time’s up. I need those codes.”
“You’re not getting them, Brinkley,” Coulter said tiredly. “I’m not about to provide you with the key that you need to activate Silent Night and possibly cause a global incident.”
“I’m not really asking. Give me what I want—” Brinkley reached over and yanked Marena to his side “—or the love of your miserable life gets a bullet while you watch.”
Coulter tried to get up off the bed.
“No,” Marena cried out. “You’re not strong enough yet. Don’t set yourself back fooling around with Brinkley. He’s not worth it.”
“Let her go,” Coulter warned.
“Or you’ll what? Lean on me to death? Look at you. You’re barely standing,” he laughed. “There’s no way you’re a threat to me. Now, I’m going to ask you one last time. Give me those codes, or you’ll be wearing little pieces of your girlfriend.”
“Okay,” Coulter sighed. “I’ll give you the codes, but Marena walks away unharmed.”
“No, Coulter. Don’t believe him. He will kill us both when he gets what he wants.”
“I’m not giving you anything until Marena is gone.”
“I’m not leaving you,” she countered.
“Rena, it’s okay.” Coulter managed a smile.
“Deal,” Brinkley agreed. “Where are they?”
“I need my laptop.”
“Where is it?” Falconi replied.
“It’s in the lab.”
“Let’s go,” Brinkley announced. He tried to yank Marena behind him, but she went over to help Coulter walk.
Coulter pointed to his laptop when they reached the lab while Marena helped him sit down. Falconi retrieved it and handed it over.
Marena contemplated breaking free, but she caught Coulter’s gaze. He shook his head, which was barely noticeable, but she saw it.
Sitting at the table, Coulter logged into his computer. “I need a thumb drive,” he stated.
“Done.” Brinkley nodded to Falconi, who retrieved one from his jacket pocket.
Coulter downloaded the codes and removed the portable drive from his computer. He handed it back to Falconi. “Here. Now keep your promise. Let her go.”
Brinkley shoved Marena away from him, and she ran straight to Coulter. They embraced.
Kneeling in front of him, Marena placed a shaky hand on the side of his face. “Are you okay?”
Coulter’s hand covered hers. He was slowly trying to stand, so she helped him up.
His voice was strained when he said, “Not really, but at least I don’t feel like I’m going to die any second.”
When Falconi reached his side, Brinkley held his hand out for the thumb drive.
Instead of handing it to him, Falconi placed it in his pocket.
“What’s going on? Give me that drive.”
Falconi backed up to put some distance between them. “I don’t think so.”
Brinkley looked shocked. He shook his head as if he hadn’t heard correctly. “What did you say?”
“I said no.”
Brinkley was shaking with barely controlled anger. “This is no time for jokes, Derek,” he said sternly.
Falconi raised the gun up in the air. “I’m not laughing. Well, at least not yet.”
Coulter turned so that Marena would be behind him and backed them away from Brinkley and Falconi. “Looks like you got double-crossed, Brinkley.”
Brinkley’s mouth curled up into a snarl. His head snapped toward the direction of Falconi.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded.
“I’d have thought it was obvious by now, Joe. It’s time to get rid of you,” Falconi replied with the gun still raised.
“How dare you try to usurp me,” Brinkley bellowed, his hands flexing at his sides. “I’m the one who put this all together. Not you, me. I’m the one who used my contacts over the years to ensure that Ghost Town thrived. You were just a worker bee that dreamed of grandeur while I made things happen.”
“You did help me,” Falconi agreed, “but I’ve found someone else who can help me more.”
Falconi glanced past Brinkley to find Palacios standing there.
“Hello, Joe.”
Brinkley spun around. “Palacios.” He turned and fixed Falconi with a mutinous glare. “You’re a fool if you think you’re safe. I taught you better than this, Derek. He’ll betray you the first chance he gets.”
“Maybe so, but I’ll have one hundred million all to myself—and Ghost Town. So the way I see it, it’s a win-win.”
“What?”
“You always did underestimate me, Joe. Ghost Town has been my goal the entire time. The money from all the bidding deposits for Silent Night was a bonus. And one that will set me up for life after you and Cole Everett die, of course.”
“Are you truly this stupid, or are you faking?” Brinkley said with disdain. “Either way, you’ll pay for it with your life. You won’t last five minutes partnering with Palacios, much less long enough to withdraw any of that money he’s pretending to give you.”
Falconi’s face turned red. “Shut up.” He turned to Javier. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to transfer the rest of my money, I’ll give you the codes.”
Javier smiled. He retrieved a cell phone from his vest pocket and dialed a number.
When the line picked up, he switched to Spanish. Coulter glanced toward Javier and then over to Falconi.
Coulter gripped her hand firmly. “Get ready to run,” he whispered to Marena.
“What? Why?”
“This deal is about to go south,” he replied confidently. “Brinkley was right. Falconi is a bigger fool than we thought. He doesn’t realize he’s getting played.”
Javier hung up the phone. “Done.”
Falconi retrieved his cell phone and used it to check his bank account. After verifying the money was there, he glanced up at Javier and smiled.
“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Palacios. As for the money you thought you’d steal back from me, it’s now safely in another account. One that you won’t be able to find.” He added the last part in Spanish.
The smug look on Palacios’s face slid off like an avalanche of snow sliding down a mountain.
Before he could say a word, Falconi shot him in the chest. Coulter and Marena hit the floor, and Brinkley ducked as Javier gasped and dropped. Then, without warning, Falconi’s chest lit up with the red dots of laser scopes. Before he could blink, Palacios’s men opened fire. The sound of glass shattering was deafening as Falconi got riddled with bullets.
He sank to the ground next to Brinkley. A startled look was still on his face as the life ebbed out of him. Brinkley watched him struggle to say something before he gurgled and his eyes closed a final time.
Closing his eyes, Brinkley shook his head. “It didn’t have to be this way, Derek.”
Diving his hand into Falconi’s pocket, he retrieved his thumb drive and cell phone. He glanced down at his dead partner. “I said you were too stupid to survive, and I was right.” He jumped up and tried to make a run for it.
Faster than Coulter, Marena rushed over to Brinkley and attempted to stop him by clutching his arm. Using her momentum against her, he maneuvered her into a headlock.
“Marena,” Coulter yelled.
“You’re not walking out of here, you traitor,” Lucas taunted from across the room, his gun trained on Brinkley. “Let my sister go.”
Unfazed, he tightened his grip on Marena. “Oh, I think I am. I’ll wager neither of you wants Marena to die—do you?” He backed up a bit, holding her in front of him like a shield. “And you can call me whatever you want. Thanks to that dimwit’s betrayal I can buy myself a whole new life in another country, if need be, with the money I’ll have. With my connections, I’ll disappear and now I have the launch codes for Silent Night, too.”
His hold on Marena tightened. “This lovely lady will be my ticket out of here.” He glanced between Lucas and Coulter. “Let’s call her my insurance policy because neither one of you would do anything to risk her life.”
As if to prove his point, Brinkley bent down to retrieve Falconi’s gun.
“Not another move, Brinkley. You’ll have to get through me if you want to take her.”
“Not a problem.” Brinkley aimed and shot Lucas.
Marena screamed as her brother went down. Then, shifting her weight, she headbutted Brinkley, throwing them off balance. As they crashed to the floor, Marena scrambled to get up. Brinkley grabbed her foot and tried to yank her toward him.
“Marena,” Coulter called out as he tried to get to her.
“No,” she called out. “Stay there.”
Winded, a strange look crossed Coulter’s face before he dropped to his knees.
“Coulter?” Marena kicked free from Brinkley. Then, in a conundrum over who to check on first, she decided on Lucas and rushed to his side. “Colt, I’ll be right there.”
Brinkley grabbed her before she could make a move.