“Alex!” Leo’s eyes scanned the crowd below him. “What’s happening? Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “I know what you know. She’s in danger. She was talking to a fake cop. She said something about being kidnapped, and I don’t have eyes.”
Leo could tell Zoe’s brother was struggling to keep the panic he was feeling from his voice. He looked down. Alex was standing in the bow of the fake boat with Theresa, their bodies forming a protective shelter around Leo’s girls as they smiled and waved at the crowd. The parade was slowing. The fairgrounds were only a few minutes ahead now.
Please, God! Help Zoe! Help me find her!
He’d lost eyes on her, too, now, and the irony of that killed him. He’d noticed her sitting on the coffee shop patio even before the float had made it halfway down the street. No matter how many times he’d told himself to look away after that something had kept drawing his eyes back to her, time and again, like a moth to a flame. She’d always been there, lurking just out of the corner of his eye. Now she was gone and everything in him needed to find her.
The float stopped again. The crowd moved. Then he saw her. She was walking along a thin alley between two buildings. Two men were with her.
“I saw her!” Leo said. “She’s in a network of alleys behind the stores. I see two hostiles.”
“Thank You, God,” Alex whispered a prayer. Then he said, “Okay, I still can’t see her, so I’m going to need you to direct me on how to find her. Do I leave the girls here with Theresa and go after Zoe right away? Or do I wait for you to climb down here to secure the girls and then try to find Zoe?”
Both were bad options. Theresa was an excellent therapist but she wasn’t a bodyguard, and if Leo climbed down he’d lose his vantage point, not to mention they’d lose valuable time. He watched as Zoe and her kidnappers reached the end of the alley and turned into another one. The parade moved forward again. He lost her again.
“I’ve lost eyes.” Leo groaned.
“Can you direct me?”
“Not well enough to risk Zoe’s life on it,” Leo said, “and I don’t want you leaving the girls. We need a third option.”
“Well I’m open to any ideas you’ve got. And I’m praying.”
Leo was praying, too. The metal archway loomed ahead signaling that they were only fifteen minutes away from the end of the parade. That was fifteen minutes too long. He needed to go after her now. The commander’s eyes rose to the heavens. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to go after her.”
“How?”
“I’m going to take the archway to the roof. Then I’ll be able to search the alleys from above.”
“That’s a really bad idea,” Alex said. He sounded slightly impressed.
The float rolled forward and he saw Zoe again. Her kidnappers pushed her down another narrow alley. A car blocked the end. Its trunk opened.
“I know. But I’ve got eyes again and the kidnappers have a car. Staying up high is the only way to maintain visual. It’s rooftops or nothing. If I wait until the cherry picker reaches the ground I’ll lose any hope of finding her.”
The archway was just a few feet ahead of him now.
“You leaping from the top of the parade float is going to cause a pretty big scene. I’m just saying.”
Yeah, he knew. But it was that or letting criminals take Zoe.
“I wouldn’t do it if there was any other way.” Leo braced his legs.
The archway grew closer. Ten feet. Eight feet.
“Just promise me you’ll protect my daughters.”
Six feet. Four feet.
“I will,” Alex said. “With my life. You have my word.”
“Don’t let them worry. Tell them I’ll be fine.”
Two feet.
“I will,” Alex said. “Please, save my sister.”
“I will.” Leo leaped.
He grabbed the bottom of the archway with both hands. His legs swung in thin air. The float disappeared beneath him. Voices shouted. He gritted his teeth, blocked them out, and pulled himself up to his feet. The ledge was so thin he could barely get more than his toes on and a fingertip grip. He worked his way sideways across the arch, feeling an old, familiar muscle ache. It had been a long, long time since he’d done basic training, and the regular physical fitness test he got now was nowhere near as exciting as the crazy obstacles he used to scale back then. But despite the danger and despite the risk, he felt strangely alive in a way he hadn’t in a very long time.
He dropped down onto the rooftop and ran toward the alley. Later the full impact of what this meant for his cover and work with Admiral Jacobs would hit him. But for now the sound of the crowd faded to the back of his mind as his ears focused on one crystal clear sound ahead of him: Zoe was screaming.
He could see the end of the roof looming ahead of him. Just six feet, maybe seven lay between him and the next rooftop ahead of him. His footsteps sped up. He hit the edge of the rooftop and jumped, feeling the empty air surround him as he threw his body forward.
Zoe’s screams echoed up from somewhere ahead of him: screams of fear, screams of determination and strength, the yells of a warrior fighting for her life.
I’m coming Zoe! Just hang on! He hit the roof and pitched forward into a front roll, barely managing to regain his balance before he reached the edge of the second roof. He crouched and looked down.
Prometheus had grabbed Zoe from behind. His arms clenched around her throat pulling her backward toward the car. Jason was standing by the trunk, at the ready to shut her inside.
“Leave her alone!” The three words flew from Leo’s mouth with the strength and force of bullets firing inside him. He leaped over the edge of the roof and onto the fire escape. His feet pounded down the steps. Jason dove for the car. Prometheus yanked Zoe against him in a choke hold and opened fire. Bullets flew wild and unsteady, ricocheting off the fire escape and the metal garbage cans below. Below him he could see Zoe thrashing and struggling against Prometheus, even as he fired inches away from her head. They weren’t going to take her. Leo wasn’t going to let them. Not while he had a beat left in his chest. Leo vaulted over the end of the fire escape and let his body drop, landing hard on the dirty cement, and then rolled behind a Dumpster.
“Stop it!” Jason snapped. “You can’t kill him! Darius has to stay alive!”
Leo didn’t even let himself pause to think what that could mean. He threw his shoulder into the metal Dumpster and pushed. It rolled down the alley, bullets clanged futilely against the side.
“Dude!” Jason’s voice rose to a shriek. “Come on! Let’s go!”
Then Leo heard a click. Prometheus’s gun was out of bullets. Leo wasn’t about to let him reload. He dove around the Dumpster and charged. But before he could even get there, Zoe reached up and dug her nails into the huge thug’s face. Prometheus swore, and threw Zoe to the ground. Leo caught him in the jaw and knocked him to the ground. Prometheus scrambled up and ran for the car.
“Zoe!” Leo crouched down beside her. Her clothes were torn. Blood streaked her arm from a nasty-looking scratch. “Look at me, baby, please. Are you okay?”
“Leo?” Her forehead crinkled like she wasn’t sure it was really him. “What are you doing here?”
I’m rescuing you, silly. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.
The car lurched backward toward them.
It was heading straight for them. There was no time to run.
Leo threw his arms around Zoe.
* * *
They rolled. Zoe felt Leo’s arms around her, sheltering her body. The car roared closer. The stench of exhaust smoke filled her lungs. Their bodies hit the alley wall. The car smacked against the Dumpster with a deafening ring that seemed to fill the alley and reverberate through her bones. The car lurched forward again. He saw Prometheus in the driver’s seat and heard Jason yelling at him to stop.
For a heartbeat, Leo held her there, flat against the brick, shielding her, keeping his body between her and the car. Then she heard the screech of tires and the roar of the engine as the car pealed out of the alley. She looked up. They were gone.
“You okay?” He climbed to his feet. “Are you hurt? Do you need me to carry you?”
“I’m fine.” Zoe grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. “I’m going after them.”
But his grip tightened on her hand. “No, you’re not.”
“There are only a limited number of ways to get back to the highway. I mapped this area. I can chase them down and cut them off.”
“And then you’ll do what exactly? Drag them out of the car? Stop them all by yourself?”
“Yes!” She was breathing so fast that her whole body trembled. “Yes, I would. If that’s what it takes to figure out who these people are and why they’re after you. We have to stop them before they hurt you and your daughters.”
Leo didn’t answer. He just stood there and looked at her, like she was some wild, fierce, unbelievable creature he didn’t know what to do with. His voice deepened. “You’re injured.”
“Trust me, I’ve dealt with far worse.” She shivered and realized her voice was quaking. “I’m fine.”
She didn’t know why her body was shaking or why she was still clutching his hand as if he was the only thing keeping her from drowning.
“You’re going to have a bruise in the morning.” He reached up with his other hand. His fingers brushed the side of her face. “Look, if I can’t convince you not to run into danger, then how about the argument that I just saved your life and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t just throw it away again by chasing after some criminals intent on killing you.”
“I’m pretty sure they wanted to take me alive.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” The fingers on his left hand traced the lines of her face. He pulled his right hand free of hers and slid it around her waist. He pulled her into his chest. “There’s no way I was going to let them take you.”
Zoe’s hands crept up around his neck. “They shot at you.”
“They were just trying to scare me off.” His fingers ran along the edge of her jaw, tilting her face toward his. “I told you, I don’t scare easily.”
He brought her face closer. Her eyes closed, and she felt his lips brush slowly over her forehead then down over the bruise forming on her cheek. She shivered into him. Then he brought her lips up to meet his.
“Zoe! Leo! Are you alright?” Alex was pelting down the alleyway toward them, flanked by police.
They leaped apart. But still her eyes lingered on Leo’s for a long minute, looking for some kind of sign of what had just happened. He’d been holding her. He’d been just about to kiss her. And she’d been about to let him. Did he have any idea how terrified she’d been? Or how much it had meant to her that he’d run to her rescue? But it was like the steel trap had closed over the depths of his eyes again, locking her out.
“I’m fine,” Zoe called. She turned and ran toward her brother. There had to be at least six officers, both male and female, flanking him. “There were two men. Prometheus and Jason. They both had guns. They were driving a brown sedan without a readable license plate. They tried to kidnap me. Leo...” She took a breath and tried to visualize her heartbeat slowing. “Commander Darius came to my aid.”
Aid was a safer word than rescue. She didn’t want to think of him as rescuing her. It was too personal. Too close.
“My daughters?” Leo asked. He brushed past her, and something caught inside her heart at the depth and meaning that resonated in those two words. “Where are my daughters?”
“They’re safe,” Alex said. He raised both hands in reassurance. “Very, very safe. They’re with Theresa, sitting right inside at the official emergency services booths at the fairgrounds surrounded by a whole bunch of real, verified police, paramedics and firefighters, who are finding them absolutely delightful and charming. They might as well have their own private army.”
Leo nodded. “What about the fact I leaped from the parade float?”
Zoe blinked. He’d leaped from the parade float? She’d been so relieved to see him she hadn’t even stopped to think about how he’d gotten there so quickly.
“Theresa told them you’d gone to get Zoe. They seemed to accept that as an answer. They seem to really like Zoe. Theresa also convinced the parade marshal to keep the parade going. People seem to think it was some kind of planned publicity stunt.”
“Okay, thanks,” he said. He turned his eyes to the sky and a long breath left his lungs. Then he looked at the police. “I’d like to see my daughters right away. So, while we need to file a report, I’d like to do it back at the fairgrounds once I’ve confirmed they’re okay.”
His voice was polite and calm, yet carried a firm, unmistakable authority that made it clear he expected the officers were going to agree. It was so easy to imagine the type of leader he’d been. He was the kind of man others would follow into danger without question. There was something undeniably attractive about it. They started walking back to the fairgrounds. Leo led the way with a few of the officers. She and Alex followed behind, walking through the side streets.
“I need you to tell me what happened,” Alex said.
“There’s not much to tell.” She looked straight ahead. “I was following Pandora through the crowd. Prometheus and Jason ambushed me. They yanked out my earpiece, stuck two guns in my ribs, and told me if I didn’t go with them they’d open fire on the crowd. I waited until we were away from innocent civilians and fought back.”
She could still remember hearing the click of the trunk opening and the sight of the duct tape and zip ties lying inside. She shook her head, shaking away the terrifying moment and where it could have led.
“And then?” Alex prompted.
“And then Leo showed up,” she said. “How did he get there so quickly?”
“He leaped onto the town arch and climbed across it.”
They reached the end of the street. The brightly colored tents and canopies spread ahead of them, filling the park. Then she saw Eve and Ivy, seeming so small and fragile in comparison to the strength of the men and women in uniform around them. She watched as Leo’s long strides turned into a jog as he hurried toward them, and heard the shouts of joy as the girls ran toward him. Leo dropped to one knee and swept Eve into a hug, while Ivy stopped just short, letting his hand brush her shoulder.
“Prometheus opened fire at Leo, but Jason told him they weren’t supposed to kill him,” she added. “Prometheus did try to hit us with the car, though. But again, I got the impression from Jason they need him alive.”
She wasn’t looking at her brother. She was looking at Leo. He glanced back, over his shoulder, and for one second Zoe felt his gaze brush her face. A shiver ran down her spine. Leo turned away and the small family walked back to the emergency services booth.
“I’ve rescued a lot of people in my life,” Alex said, “but I don’t normally clutch them like that afterward. I can’t have your back if I don’t know what’s going on with you.”
What did he expect her to say? That she was attracted to Leo? That she couldn’t get him out of her mind? That for the first time in her life it felt like her heart had woken up and started wishing for a dozen different things her mind knew it could never have?
“Talk to me.” There was the hint of something firm in Alex’s voice. “Please. I know what I saw.”
“Leo told me that he promised his late wife that he’d never bring another woman into his daughters’ lives until they were grown,” she said. “He made that very clear. But according to the article that The Anemoi scribbled on, this event you’re accompanying Leo to tomorrow is a bachelor auction, and there’s a big long list of eligible women who are eager to be the next Mrs. Darius.”
Alex sucked in a breath. “I had no idea.”
“Neither did I.” She turned and looked up at her big brother. “So, whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t say it. If you want to protect me, you’ll forget what you saw. Leo is our client, a national hero, a widower and the single father of two remarkable children. He’s completely closed off, like he’s afraid of ever trusting again, and has made it clear he doesn’t want me getting too close. So I’m going to keep my distance, focus on doing my job and help make sure those girls and their dad are safe. And that’s it.”
No matter how deeply the memory of his lips almost touching hers might be seared on her brain.