car. Drake sat quietly behind the wheel for a moment.
“I should have known that you would go soft on me,” he said.
“I told you, I didn’t want revenge,” Alice said. “I understood her anger. All I wanted was for her to leave me alone.”
“She will.” Drake smiled his coldest smile and rezzed the car’s flash-rock engine. “Ethel Whitcomb won’t bother you again. She knows that if she does make trouble for you, I’ll take her company apart piece by piece.”
“You’d really do it, wouldn’t you?”
Drake turned his head to look at her. Light flashed on his mirrored glasses. “In a heartbeat.”
Alice took a deep breath. “She believed you.”
“Yes.”
“Hopefully, she’ll believe the evidence in that folder, as well.”
“Don’t count on it.” Drake eased the car away from the curb. “Can’t expect a mother to believe the worst of her son. But maybe, in time, she’ll accept the fact that he wasn’t the man she wanted him to be. Or not.”
A wistful sensation wafted through Alice. She smiled a little and reached up to touch Houdini.
“Family,” she said. “Sometimes the rules are different.”
“Yes,” Drake said. “When it comes to family, the rules are always different. You’re my wife. I’d bend every rule in the book for you.”
Warmth rushed through her.
“Drake, there’s something I need to tell you, something important.”
He started to turn his head to look at her, but at that instant his phone buzzed.
“Damn,” he said. “That’s my emergency number. No one uses it unless there’s a real problem.”
He hit the speaker button. “Drake Sebastian.”
“I’m on the way,” Drake said.
Alice groaned. “I knew she was going to be a problem.”
Chapter 47
ALICE STOOD WITH DRAKE IN THE DOORWAY OF THE rooftop stairwell. Together they looked out at the scene unfolding on top of the twelve-story hospital.
Zara Tucker stood at the edge of the wide circle that marked the helicopter landing pad. She was dressed in the oversized green scrubs that she had stolen from a supply cupboard. Her blonde hair was blowing in the snapping breeze. She held a mag-rez pistol on her hostage, a middle-aged woman named Dr. Harriet Metford.
Drake glanced back over his shoulder at the small crowd in the stairwell. The hospital administrator, two para-psych doctors, a couple of strong orderlies, and the guard who had lost his weapon to Zara were crammed into the space.
“What’s the status on the helicopter?” Drake asked the guard.
“The chopper is on standby on the roof of Sebastian, Inc. headquarters, as you ordered. The FBPI negotiator and his team are on the way.”
“Trust me, she won’t wait long enough to allow you to get into extended negotiations,” Drake said. “Tell the pilot to take off and hover over the hospital. Tell him to be ready to land as soon as I raise my hand.”
The guard asked no questions. Responding to Drake’s cool air of authority, he immediately turned away to speak into his phone.
Drake looked at Alice. “Ready?”
“I might have a mild touch of stage fright,” Alice admitted. “But they say that sharpens the act.”
“No kidding?” Drake looked grim. “What about a case of stark terror? Does that work? Because that’s what I’ve got.”
Alice gave him her best stage smile. “Don’t worry, this trick never fails. The audience goes wild every time.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Drake said. “You’re the magician this time. I’m just the box-jumper.”
He moved out of the stairwell doorway. The sharp sunlight sparked and flashed on his mirrored glasses.
“You always had a flare for the dramatic, Zara,” he said. “But you’ve definitely outdone yourself this time.”
“I thought you would appreciate the theatrics,” Zara said. “Where is your lovely new bride?”
Alice moved out of the shadows of the stairwell to stand beside Drake. “I’m here.”
“Excellent.” Zara smiled. “Wouldn’t be the same without you. Stay right where you are. One wrong move and I will start shooting Dr. Metford in various parts of her anatomy.”
“I understand,” Alice said.
The
“Sounds like our ride is here,” she said. “Time for us to fly off into the sunset together. Take off your glasses.”
Drake did not move.
Slowly Drake raised one hand and removed the sunglasses. Alice glanced at him and saw that he had closed his eyes against the blinding radiation of normal sunlight.
“That’s better.” Zara looked at Alice. “Your turn. Pick up his glasses and throw them over the edge of the roof.”
Alice hesitated.
“Do it now or Dr. Metford pays the price.”
Alice bent down and picked up the sunglasses. She moved slowly to the side of the roof and tossed the glasses over the edge. The mirrored lenses caught the bright light in one last flash before they fell out of sight.
The helicopter cruised toward the rooftop and started to hover.
Zara looked at Alice. “Come here.”
“Me?” Alice said.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to make a trade, but it’s not quite the bargain that Drake expected. You’re the one who is coming with me, not him. And don’t even think of pulling your disappearing act or I will kill Metford first and Drake second.”
“No,” Drake said. “That wasn’t the arrangement.”
“It wasn’t?” Zara smiled. “How forgetful of me. Come here, Alice North.”
Alice walked slowly toward her. When she was a couple of feet away, Zara shoved Dr. Metford aside. The doctor stumbled and went down hard on her knees.
Zara aimed the pistol at Alice. “I’m holding the gun on your bride, Drake. Signal the pilot to land the helicopter.”
“There’s no need to take Alice,” Drake said.
“There is every need to take her,” Zara snapped. She took a syringe out of her pocket. “As long as she is with me you won’t try to do anything stupid. Call in the helicopter.”
