“Don’t leave me.” Owen’s voice slid into a notch above fear, and everything inside Benning urged him to get his son the hell out of there. But he couldn’t leave Ana without backup. Not again. “I want to stay with you.”
“I know you do, but I can’t lose you again.” He smoothed his hand over Owen’s hair, the sickening scent of neglect heavy in his lungs. He had no idea what his son had gone through the past four days. How horribly he’d been treated, how many times he’d begged to go home without getting an answer from the darkness that’d surrounded him in that tractor shed. This wasn’t a choice between his kids or the woman who’d risked her life for them. There was no choice. He’d left Ana behind once and she’d nearly died for it. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. “I have to help Ana, but I can’t do that if I’m worrying about you at the same time. So I need you to hide.”
Owen nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” Benning led his son back toward the same supply shelf he’d taken the crowbar from and hefted the boy onto the top. “Stay low. Don’t make any noises. If you see someone coming, don’t move, understand?”
“Yes.” Owen slid onto his stomach and laid his head down.
“Good boy.” Ruffling his son’s hair, he took a step back to ensure he wouldn’t be spotted the moment someone came around the corner into the corridor. “I love you, buddy. I’m coming back for you. I promise.”
“Love you, too,” Owen said. “Don’t die, okay?”
“Okay.” He couldn’t fight the tug at one corner of his mouth. Collecting the crowbar from the floor where he’d dropped it after slamming into Owen, Benning retraced the boy’s steps through a maze of corridors and open spaces containing old desks, a set of lockers and tables. His fingers ached as tension locked his hand around the only weapon he had against a trained professional determined to rip apart his entire life. His shallow breaths cut through the silence, mouth dry. He turned another corner.
And slowed as light spilled into the hallway from a single door up ahead. A body fell back onto the cement in the frame of light, a full head of long brown hair hiding her face, but instant recognition flooded through him. Ana. She wasn’t moving, didn’t even seem to breathe, and the world stopped. He wasn’t too late. Couldn’t be. Benning pressed his back into the wall behind him as he heel-toed closer. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, sliding along the column of her throat. Get up. She had to get up.
“You’re only dragging out the inevitable, Ramirez.” The man stepping out of the room and standing above her had the same voice of the one who’d interrogated him against that tree, but the mask was gone. Shorn hair, thick eyebrows arching over narrow eyes. Heavy facial hair had aged the man’s face over the years, but Benning still recognized the agent Ana had been partnered with during the Samantha Perry case. Agent Ericson York. Benning had watched the man’s press conferences, listened to his pleas for any witnesses to come forward. He’d been the face of the investigation. Now he seemed to be behind two kidnappings, attempted murder of a federal agent and the murder of Jo West.
“As long as you’re...stuck here with me, you’re not going...after Owen.” Her laugh lifted her chest off the cement, followed by a deep, wet cough. Rolling onto her side, she pegged him with those hazel-green eyes, but kept moving to stand. “I’ll drag...this out as long...as I have to.”
Her attacker pulled a weapon from under his leather jacket at his low back and took aim at Ana. “Let’s see how long you last with a bullet between your eyes.”
Benning raced to intercept. Gaining the agent’s attention, he slid into the bastard’s feet as Ericson turned the gun on him. The crowbar hit the floor. In his next breath, he hauled his boot up and kicked the weapon free from Ericson’s hand. The gun vanished into the corner of the room, out of sight. The SOB who’d taken his son slammed a fist into the side of his head. Pain exploded through the left side of his face, and he stumbled back. Before the white lights behind his eyes cleared, a feminine growl filled his ears.
Ana launched herself at Ericson from behind, locking her forearm around his throat and pulling the agent away from Benning with a hard thrust. Ericson’s hands went to her underarms a split second before he hauled her over his head and slammed her down onto her back. Her gasp of pain tunneled through the haze of both hits to his face, and Benning lunged for the crowbar. He swung as hard as he could, but Ana’s former partner shot back on his heels and dodged the swipe and landed another shot to Benning’s kidneys. He dropped to one knee as the pain shot through his side and down one leg, but Ana refused to go down.
She caught Ericson’s wrist and wound it over her head before twisting around to crush his nose with the base of her other palm. His scream bubbled beneath a fresh wave of blood. Taking advantage as he stumbled back, she kicked him square in the chest. He hit the floor, a groan slipping past the former agent’s lips.
She stood over Ericson, every bit the woman Benning had fallen in love with. Strong, protective, determined. His. Blood had already started drying along her face and neck. Swiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she swayed slightly as Benning got to his feet. “You can try to kill me as many times as you want and threaten to hurt the people I love, Ericson, but it’s not going to change what happened to Samantha
