The airport was packed with people and weaving his way through the maze was like navigating an obstacle course. All while looking for a needle in a haystack. He prayed he got lucky.
Scott Moore was nowhere to be seen around the Southwest check-in counters and Noah’s stomach dropped. Cursing, he headed toward security. This was his last chance to stop the a-hole.
Please let there be long lines today.
Noah froze when he saw a man with blond hair standing in the line of people waiting to go through the TSA checkpoint. Noah couldn’t see his face, but his gut told him it was Moore.
The guy turned to chat with the woman behind him. That’s when Noah got a good look at his face and knew without a doubt it was Moore. Noah looked left and right but didn’t see anyone that fit Magpie’s description. For all he knew, Magpie might not even be here.
Noah slowly walked toward Moore. The last thing he wanted to do was spook the guy. Moore looked nervous enough already.
Noah moved casually as he walked along the security line, running through his options. If this were a SEAL mission, his plan of action would be simple. He’d pull his weapon and put a bullet in the guy’s leg, then politely ask him exactly where he’d hidden Peyton. But doing that wasn’t an option, not unless he wanted TSA all over him. Not to mention the uniformed cop who stood nearby. Something told Noah they wouldn’t be interested in listening to his story.
He was still a few feet away from Moore when the man spotted him. The color drained from Moore’s face, his eyes taking on a panicked look. He threw a quick glance at the TSA checkpoint, then at the exit door half a football field away. For a minute, Noah thought he might try to make a run for it, but instead, Moore darted out of line and slammed into the side of the unsuspecting cop.
What the hell was the man doing?
Then Noah saw him jerk the cop’s gun from its holster and he knew exactly was Moore was doing.
Shit.
“Stay back!” Moore ordered, swinging the weapon back and forth between Noah, the cop, and the startled TSA agents. “Everyone stay back!”
Moore didn’t need to tell anyone twice. All around Noah, frightened people screamed and ducked for cover. From the corner of his eye, Noah saw Sam, Wes, and Lane, working to get people out of the danger area but there were so many people and most of them were frozen solid.
Noah held up his hands and stepped closer to Moore. He had his 9mm tucked firmly inside his waistband but adding another weapon in this situation wouldn’t help. In fact, it would probably make everything worse.
“Take it easy, okay?” he said. “I don’t care about the book. I just want to know where Peyton is.”
The gun trembled in Moore’s hands. “Peyton’s fine. I’ll call and tell you where she is after I get where I’m going.”
Moore couldn’t possibly be stupid enough to think the cops and TSA were going to let him get on a plane after this, was he?
Noah opened his mouth to urge Moore to put the gun down and tell him where Peyton was, but a sharp voice cut him off.
“Drop the gun and put your hands in the air! Now!”
Out of the corner or his eye, Noah saw a second cop had arrived and was aiming his weapon at Moore.
Shit, could this get any worse?
“Don’t shoot him,” Noah told the cop. “He kidnapped a woman and he’s the only one who knows where she is.”
The cop glanced at him sideways, then turned his attention back to Moore. “Put down the gun nice and slow and step away.”
“Do as he says, Scott,” Noah said. “It’s the only way out of this.”
Moore went back and forth between Noah and the cop, shaking his head.
The cop’s finger tightened around the trigger. “I’m not going to tell you again.”
Noah bit back a curse. If Moore didn’t surrender soon, the cop was going to take him out. He wouldn’t have any other choice. Noah tensed, ready to tackle Moore and wrestle the weapon from his hands when a gunshot rang out.
Moore crumpled to the floor, the gun sliding harmlessly out of his grip, blood staining the front of his shirt.
Noah was on the floor beside him in a flash. He gripped Moore’s chin, turning his head so he could look at him. Moore gazed up at him in shock and confusion.
“Tell me where Peyton is,” Noah urged.
“She’s…”
Moore’s voice was weak, and Noah had to lean close to hear him.
“She’s in…”
“She’s where?” Noah demanded.
Moore didn’t answer.
Noah lifted his head to see Moore staring up at him with a blank look in his gray eyes. The stupid son of a bitch was dead.
Shit.
Noah got to his feet, fear like he’d never felt before gripping him. Around him, TSA agents and his SEAL teammates were trying to calm the gathered crowd even as the cop who’d killed Moore got on the radio to report what had happened.
How the hell was he supposed to find Peyton now? Scott was dead and none of them had a clue where Magpie was. Hell, Noah wasn’t even sure if he’d know the man when he saw him.
Noah was just about to call Dwayne for his help when movement over by the TSA security checkpoint made him look that way. It took him a moment to figure out what had caught his attention, but then he saw the tall, dark-haired man stepping calmly through the full body scanner. Any other time, a person moving through security in an airport wouldn’t have attracted notice. But any man walking this casually seconds after someone had been shot dead twenty feet away made you wonder what the hell was going on. The fact that the man matched the general description of Magpie was almost secondary at that
