Executive Protection(73)

Trey and Debra were so obviously happy, dancing close, eyes only for each other. Their wedding had been stunning in one of Raleigh’s oldest churches. There were several other couples dancing. Lucy spotted Sophie with Sam, who bent over slightly as he held her hands and twirled her around.

As Thad danced her in a circle, she saw Sam’s friend Mike was here, too. He sat at a table watching them.

The song ended and she and Thad went to their table.

“I’ll be back.” Lucy headed for the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she came out of the bathroom and headed toward the ballroom. The loud bang of gunfire made her freeze. Someone was shooting a gun at the wedding! Lucy ran through the formal entry toward the ballroom. All she could think about was Sophie. At the doorway, she bumped into Mike. He had a gun.

Oh, good. He could help.

But then he grabbed ahold of her and put the pistol against her head.

* * *

Seeing the Secret Service agents dive for his mother and that she hadn’t been hit, Thad ran after Mike Harris. Mike Harris! He never would have guessed Sam’s good friend would try to kill Kate Winston. Why?

The janitor at the building across from the hotel where his mother had been shot must have been mistaken when he said the man he’d seen had short hair. Mike was bald. The janitor had also said Mike had worn a hat, so maybe he had been mistaken about the hair. Every other descriptor matched.

Mike being the shooter explained so much. Jaden leaving the window and door open. The ease of access to the estate. Without Jaden’s help, Trey’s wedding offered the perfect opportunity. Mike was invited.

Thad emerged in the formal entry and came to an abrupt stop, aiming his pistol at Mike, who held Lucy around her torso with one arm and the gun at her head with the other. Her arms pinned, she stared at Thad with wild fear, but didn’t fight Mike.

Thad stepped forward. As Mike backed across the entry, Thad moved to block an escape to the lower level of the house. Mike was forced to attempt his escape by going upstairs, where he’d be trapped, which was Thad’s intention. All that consumed him was saving Lucy.

“Stay back or I’ll kill her!” Mike shouted.

The shock of discovering Mike was the shooter began to wear off, and anger took its place. How could someone who was a friend of the family decide to kill their mother?

“You won’t get away, Mike.” Thad kept his aim steady and his temper under control. “Let Lucy go. She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“If you want her to live, you won’t follow me.”

Where did he plan to go? Would he jump out a window or off a balcony? What then? Did he think he’d get off the estate? By now the feds were gathering. Mike would be surrounded. Already he heard agents running into the entry. A glance back confirmed that, along with Sam in the lead.

“Mike,” he said, breathless and still in shock. “What are you doing?”

At Sam’s question, Mike’s demeanor changed. His eyes grew panicked and his pistol unsteady.

Lucy managed to grip Mike’s forearm as he climbed a stair at a time.

“Nobody follows or she’s dead,” Mike said.

Thad stopped at the foot of the stairs. “Don’t do it, Mike.”

“Stay where you are!”

Thad waited until Mike reached the top of the stairs before charging after him. On the second level, he caught sight of Mike forcing Lucy into an enclave down the left hallway.

What would he do? Would he actually kill Lucy? The idea gutted Thad. If he lost her...

There was still so much that needed to be said. So much that they still hadn’t shared.

At the quaint sitting area in the enclave, Thad saw Lucy craning her neck. She saw him and some of her panic eased.

Mike saw him, too, his eyes round and crazed. He was not the Mike that Thad knew, not the Mike who’d helped save Lucy from Cam. What was wrong with him? What had made him go out of his mind like this?

“I told you not to follow me!” The pistol shook slightly in his grasp.

“Drop the gun, Mike.”

“No! I told you to stay back!”

Lucy grimaced as Mike pressed the pistol harder against her head. Thad didn’t have much time. He needed information from Mike, but if he let too much time go by while Mike lost his grip on sanity, there was no telling what he’d do.

Shoot Lucy. Thad could not allow that to happen. Every fraction of a second that passed felt like an eternity. Losing Lucy would take a piece of him too large to replace. He would not recover from it. She meant more to him than he’d realized. Real fear assaulted him, nearly stealing his concentration. His conviction over the odds of a failed marriage paled in comparison. He found it incredible that he’d ever placed so much importance on it, when losing Lucy would be so much more devastating.


“Mike...why are you doing this?” Thad tried once more. “Did someone pay you?”

Mike’s breathing grew harsher in his altered state. He was going to kill Lucy. Thad felt it.

Thad didn’t have a choice. He saw Lucy’s fear, the certainty that she’d die, and fired.

Lucy screamed and crouched as Mike’s body fell to the floor. Thad knew he hadn’t missed. Lucy crawled away, toward Thad. She stumbled to her feet and launched herself against him.

He held her, still aiming his gun to make sure Mike didn’t move. Hearing agents rushing down the hall, he set Lucy aside.