Under the Covers (22 page)

He tracked Cannon's agitated strides with his eyes, pressing his cheek against the floor, hoping to pick up the slightest vibration that would indicate Bree was inside. He listened with half interest to the ravings of a madman, prodding when he knew he could provoke him the most. It seemed like hours before he picked up the faintest tremor, or maybe it was a change in the air as a door opened and closed somewhere in the house. Bree was in. Time to pull out the big guns. He had to keep Cannon focused entirely on him until Bree could arm herself and get into position.

"You know what I think?" he asked, continuing without allowing Cannon time to respond. "I think you couldn't get it up if you had to. That's why that Crystal girl you were talking about left you. I can see her disgust now. I bet she was all smooth, and toned. Big boobs too. What did she do? Did she lie there, getting herself off while you tried to get it up? That's what happened. I know it."

"Shut the fuck up!" Cannon waved the gun around like the madman he was, but Drew had his full attention.

Drew continued to push. "Was her pussy waxed? I bet it was. She'd look like the child she probably was. That turns you on, doesn't it? Little girls? The younger the better. I can see it does. You're nothing more than a pervert."

Cannon had stopped his pacing and his rage was focused entirely on Drew now. The hand holding the gun was steady as he pointed it at Drew's head. "You know what they do to people like you in prison? That's where you're going. To prison. You'll be someone's toy soon enough. They love people like you, perverts. A bunch of big guys are going to corner you in the shower and before you know it, you'll have a bar of soap in your mouth and a huge cock up your ass."

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Drew had pushed all the buttons he dared. Rage steadied Cannon's hand. The man was one involuntary twitch away from pulling the trigger. Drew prayed he'd judged the time correctly. If Bree was going to appear, now would be perfect.

"Federal agent! Drop the gun, Cannon."

Drew had been in life-and-death situations before, but he'd never experienced the heart-stopping fear he did when Cannon shifted his focus from him to Bree. She stood in the doorway in a perfect stance. His frozen heart slammed against his chest. Damn, she was magnificent. The thought registered simultaneously with another one. If she wasn't quick enough, if she hesitated a fraction of a second, Cannon would kill her.

Time slowed. Drew tensed. He saw the instant Cannon made up his mind to pull the trigger and threw everything he had into propelling his legs toward Cannon. His feet made contact, causing Cannon to lose his balance. Two shots rang out. Too close to tell if they came from the same gun, or if Cannon had gotten a shot off too. He instinctively closed his eyes as blood splattered over him like acid rain. The floor shook beneath him as Cannon toppled.

Silence. A heartbeat. Two. Had he been too late? Had Cannon's shot found his target?

"What the hell were you doing? He was going to shoot your stupid ass!"

Drew forced his eyes open as Bree stormed the room. She kicked Cannon's gun across the room, beyond the reach of the fallen man.

His avenging angel. She didn't even pause to assess Cannon's condition. Drew smiled as she knelt beside him, cutting the ropes from his hands and his ankles with the knife he recognized as his own. He quickly catalogued her condition and thanked God she was unhurt.

Drew rubbed his wrists, took the knife from her hands and slid it back into its sheath. "I was distracting him so you could get into the house and find a weapon."

She pressed a gun into his hand. "Here. This one is yours. Mine's in the bedroom. The dumbass left yours on the table in the entryway. I saw it when he ushered me out."

"Is he dead?" Drew asked as he checked the weapon, a habit he knew could save his life. Assured it was properly loaded, he slid it into the holster at his back.

"Who cares?"

"I care. Go get your weapon, and if you have more stashed in the house, bring them." Drew knelt beside Cannon and pressed two fingers to his carotid.

"He's alive." He slapped Cannon and nudged him with his knee. "Nice shot. Maybe too nice."

"Thanks, I think."

"Get your weapon, and bring some water. We need this guy to talk."

It took a few minutes and a dowsing with water to bring Cannon around. The man was in pain, with little hope of surviving the gunshot wound, but that didn't stop Drew from interrogating him.

"What did you bring to the island? What's on the ship, Cannon? We know you had help from known terrorists. What did they give you?"

"What's going on, Drew? What are you talking about?"

Cannon refused to answer Drew's questions, and Drew ignored Bree's. He might not have much time, and he needed to get what he could from Cannon before the bastard died, or passed out again. "Tell me what you brought to the island, and we'll get help for you. I don't have a problem letting you die right here."

"Drew…." Bree sounded alarmed. "We can't—"

"The hell we can't. This bastard has been consorting with terrorists." He turned his attention back to Cannon. "We know all about your Taliban friends." Drew yanked Cannon to a sitting position with his collar clenched in his fist. "The list of crimes you've committed includes treason now, you asshole. Tell me what's on that ship and you might get life instead of the death penalty."

Cannon groaned, and Drew let him drop to the floor. Bree left, and he hoped it was to retrieve her weapon. It had to be clear to her now he'd been lying to her for months. He'd be lucky if she didn't shoot him when she returned. As much as he wanted to take her aside and explain, now wasn't the time. He had to know what they were dealing with before he boarded that ship.

He used the time alone with Cannon to convince the man to talk. He met Bree at the door, wrapped his fingers around her forearm and pulled her down the hall behind him. "What time were they going to unload that ship?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure which ship he came in on."

"Fuck! How many ships are still out there?"

"Two. Only two.”

****

Bree followed Drew along the path to the resort at breakneck speed. She was mad as hell at him, but now wasn't the time to confront him about his lies. Clearly, he wasn't just a security expert, content to hang out on the
Lothario
as he'd led her to believe. His orders, thrown at her over his shoulder, confirmed it. "When we get to the resort, get on the satellite phone and contact Sean. Tell him I said ‘muddy water’. He'll know what to do." They rounded the last corner and the resort came into view. "Send the medics and security people to the house. Tell them Cannon is a Federal prisoner, and not to let him out of their sight."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to find out which ship Cannon came in on." They stopped at one of the cargo containers used for storage. Bree continued on, but halted at Drew's command. "Wait! Come here." Drew opened the lock and threw the doors wide. Bree froze as any doubt about Drew's employment status flew out of her mind.

"You're still in the DIA."

He tossed body armor at her. "Here, put this on." An automatic rifle was next. She caught it and the loaded magazine that followed. "Not still. Again." He tossed her a clear plastic bag filled with nametag-style badges. She stared at it for a moment as reality sunk in. "What do you think Cannon has on that ship?"

"I don't know."

She took the walkie-talkie he handed to her right before he shoved her outside, closed and locked the door. He pressed the key into her hand and folded her numb fingers around it. "But I'm not taking any chances, and neither are you. Make that call to Sean, then hand out those to everyone on the island. To be on the safe side, start putting people on anything that floats and send them over to Ryan's island. If anyone gives you trouble, shoot first, ask questions later."

Drew turned, stopping him with a hand on his arm. "You think he brought a dirty bomb, don't you?"

"It's a possibility."

She dug in the bag and pulled out one of the radiation detector badges. "Here, take this." She clipped it on his collar.

He smiled, pulled her in with a hand at her nape and shook her to the core with a searing kiss. "I won't need one, but thanks for thinking of me." He transferred the badge to the strap of her camouflage tank top. "I've got a Geiger counter." He flashed a smile that had all her lady parts standing up to salute, then he loped off toward the dock.

Bree’s feet felt like lead, but she forced them to move. She made the call to Sean, sent a team to deal with Vernon Cannon, then started handing out the badges and issuing orders for everyone to make their way to the dock. She must have looked convincing in her camo with an automatic weapon slung over her shoulder, because no one argued.

She had no time to obsess over Drew's deception, but she did worry about him. By the time she made it to the dock, he'd taken the speedboat she had arrived in and headed out to the two ships still anchored offshore. Dread sat like a brick in her stomach, not knowing what Drew would find, if anything, aboard the ship.

When Sean and Celeste arrived, Bree told them what little she knew and handed over the walkie-talkie that had remained silent since Drew handed it to her. Celeste took off for Richard's house to make sure Cannon was in proper custody, and Sean headed out to find Drew.

Celeste came back with the medics and security personnel. Cannon was still alive, barely, but Celeste wasn't taking any chances with him. Despite his chest wound, his legs were in shackles and his wrists handcuffed to the backboard they'd used to transport him. "I've called for a helicopter to take him to Miami, Celeste said. “You might want to read him his rights before they get here."

"The DIA isn't taking charge of the prisoner?"

"No. He's still yours, for now. I can't tell you how impressed I am. If it weren’t for you figuring out what Cannon would do next, and insisting you be given the chance to test out your theory, there’s no telling how much damage the bastard might have done."

Bree read Cannon his rights, saw him loaded on the chopper the FBI had sent at Celeste's request, then returned to the dock to wait for Drew.

"Have you heard anything?" she asked Celeste.

"No. It looks like they're taking the ship out to deeper water. I tried to find out what kind of device Cannon had, but the man's an idiot and didn't even know. Either that, or he's one damned fine actor. Which I doubt."

Bree looked closer, picking up the subtle movement of the ship Celeste had indicated. It wasn't a large vessel, but big enough for the open sea. As she recalled, it was supposed to be loaded with teak to build some of the outdoor structures. "That's the one from Costa Rica, right?"

"I think so. It would be a good place for Cannon to hide out. It's a good place to make unsavory friends as well."

The last of the workers shoved off, leaving Bree and Celeste alone on the island. After living with the constant sounds of construction, the quiet was deafening.

"We might as well find a place to rest,” Bree said. “I don't think they're going to tell us anything until they get back." She led the way to one of her favorite spots. According to the resort plans, this spot would eventually be home to a private gazebo-style cabana, open to the ocean and enclosed on the remaining three sides for privacy. On a slight rise above the beach, it afforded a spectacular view of the open ocean. Bree could imagine how wonderful it would be to lie in bed here with the sea breeze blowing gently as you watched the sunset over the horizon. No one could see in unless they were somewhere at sea with a very good telescope. There would be several of these cabanas dotting the coastline, but as far as Bree was concerned, this was the best of the locations.

From where they sat, they had an unobstructed view of the ship as it moved slowly through the water. Two small boats, the ones Sean and Drew had taken out, bobbed along behind.

"I guess you know now," Celeste said, her gaze fixed on the boats growing smaller.

"That Drew is in the DIA?"

"Yes. He told you?"

"I kind of figured it out on my own when he started shoving automatic weapons at me from his stash. He didn't deny it."

"He was under orders not to tell you until it became absolutely necessary."

Bree nodded. She understood orders. "That doesn't make it easier to swallow."

"I know. All I'm asking is for you to give him a chance to explain. I don't think you'll be disappointed."