Long Road Home(58)

Bile rose in Manuel’s throat. Everything she’d done had been to keep him safe. Just like she’d said. And he’d judged her and dismissed her. Guilty. He’d been judge and jury, and he’d convicted her without a second thought.

Panic tightened every nerve ending in his body. Jules wasn’t safe. Not from the senator and not from Sanderson.

“I’ve got to find her.”

Tony glanced uneasily at him. “I know where she is.”

Manuel’s head shot up. “What do you mean you know where she is?”

Tony shifted from one foot to the other and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I kept tabs on her after she left the Ronald Reagan building. I knew you’d let her go, but I thought it in our best interest to monitor her movements.”

“So where is she?”

Manuel started for the door, his need to find her overwhelming. He couldn’t lose her. Not after all they’d been through. Not after he’d turned his back on her.

“I think she’s planning some kind of damn suicide mission.”

Manuel spun back around. “What the f**k are you talking about?

“For the past two days, she’s sat in the same place. All day long. She sits, doesn’t move. Just waits for something. Or someone. I think she’s waiting for either the senator or Sanderson. Maybe both. I think this is her last stand, so to speak.”

Manuel’s blood ran cold. “Where, Tony? Tell me where, damn it. I have to get to her before they do.”

“The Bishop’s Garden. And I’m going with you.”

Manuel didn’t wait to hear more. He ran from the apartment as fast as he could go. He threw himself into Tony’s SUV seconds before Tony barreled into the passenger seat.

He tore down the street, honking at slow traffic, swerving around stopped vehicles. He cursed, he yelled, he was scared to death.

“How far up does this go, Tony? Who can we trust?” Manuel demanded as he maneuvered through the busy streets.

“I’m calling the FBI,” Tony muttered. “Screw the CIA.”

Several minutes later, the longest of his entire life, Manuel turned into lane leading to the cathedral then slammed on the brakes. “Isn’t that Sanderson’s car?” He pointed to a gray sedan parked several spaces down from the small entrance to the garden.

Tony jumped out, gun drawn. Manuel slammed the SUV into park and charged out after Tony. Manuel could see someone in the driver’s seat, and he motioned Tony to the other side.

Guns raised, they circled around until Manuel had a direct bead on the driver.

He was dead.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jules’s hand curled tightly around the gun as the senator strode toward her. When he was a few feet away, she stood up, drew the pistol and leveled it at him.

“That’s far enough.”

Scorn rippled across the senator’s face. “Going to kill me, Magalie? I think not. You’d never get away with it.”

She shivered as her gaze swept over his sneering visage. She remembered his face well. It was burned into her memory.

“I don’t care whether I get away with it or not. Where is Northstar?”

“Dead. Just like you’re going to be,” the senator said in a cold voice.

Could he be lying? Or had he already gotten to Northstar? It mattered little to her. As long as the bastard was dead.

She stared intently at him. “Why did you do it?”

“Why what? Why recruit you? Why kill Northstar? Blame your parents, Magalie. It was for them that I enjoyed destroying you. I imagined the look on your father’s face as I raped you.”

Rage swept over Jules. Her finger tightened on the trigger, and she knew in that moment, she could kill him in cold blood. And damn the consequences.

A quiet popping erupted, and for a moment, she thought she’d done it. But no, it wasn’t loud enough, and she didn’t recall pulling the trigger. Her entire body jerked, and she fell to the ground. Pain arced through her body, ricocheting from her chest, radiating outward with amazing speed.

She blinked in confusion as her gun dropped from numb fingers. Her fingers. She looked up to see the senator holding a gun with a silencer. His image swam, and she blinked again to try and clear the cobwebs.

Her free hand traveled to her chest. She felt wetness, and when she pulled it away, she looked down to see it bright red with her blood.

“Once again you underestimated me. Rest in peace, Magalie. Say hello to your parents for me.”

She watched him walk away. In the distance she heard shouting. Her muddled brain tried to make sense of the noise. Manny. He was here.

Oh God, the senator would kill Manny. She couldn’t allow it. No. No. No!

Tears leaked down her cheeks. The pain was more than she’d ever endured in her life. She could feel her pulse growing weaker. She could feel herself slipping away. She had to get to Manny. Had to save him.

She pulled herself along the ground with her arm, nearly passing out from the agony. Awake. She had to stay awake. She felt the smooth metal of her gun, ran her hand down until she gripped the stock.

Mustering every bit of her strength, she curled her legs underneath her in an attempt to propel herself up. She made it up to her elbow before nearly collapsing. Black dots swirled in her vision, and she blinked furiously to dispel them. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to her knees.