Part 33 (1/2)
Gena was seated in a straight-backed chair, her hands and ankles bound. She wore a white bathrobe. He noted the bruises at her neck.
Harry stood behind her, a gun pointed at her head. ”You really want to risk her life?”
”You won't make it out of here alive,” Rocco warned.
”I'm counting on it. You really think I want to be taken alive? You know what they'll do to me?”
”Keep him talking,” Travis Franks's voice said through Rocco's earpiece.
”Do you think you deserve anything less?” Rocco said. ”You're a traitor!”
Harry laughed. ”If you're trying to p.i.s.s me off, you can stop. I'm finished, and we both know it. This is my last hurrah.”
”You always were a cowardly SOB,” Rocco said. ”It's one reason we never got along.”
”No! Kerri Ford was the reason we never got along.”
Rocco tried to recall who Kerri Ford was. The name was familiar, but he wasn't sure why.
”Kerri Ford,” Rocco repeated.Come on, Travis, give me a hint.
”Jesus Christ. You don't remember Kerri?” Harry tightened his grip on Gena's shoulder, causing her to flinch in pain. ”See, Gena. I told you that he was a male wh.o.r.e-that he'd f.u.c.k anything. Kerri Ford worked at the Blue Halo in Phoenix.”
Rocco did remember Kerri. Blond, big smile. Big flirt. Harry had talked about her all the time. Until she died.
”I remember Kerri,” Rocco said. ”Sweet girl. No one believed she was the type to commit suicide.”
”I wanted to marry her,” Harry said. ”And then you had to ask her out. She was sure you loved her because you'd slept with her. And you don't even remember her name!”
”Max will take him out when he moves clear of Gena,” Travis said in Rocco's ear.
”How did it feel when I stole Gena?” Harry said. ”Too bad you were never around to see our game.”
”You mean the one where you beat her, Harry? Nice game.”
”Even that lost its fun,” Harry said. ”Because you were gone. h.e.l.l, you weaseled out of everything.”
”Sometimes things don't work out like we plan.”
”No s.h.i.+t. Do you think you could have survived what Dante and Max went through? You were supposed to be on that mission, not Max! It should have been you!” Harry leaned lower, closer to Gena. ”Tell him good-bye, princess.” Then he pressed his lips to Gena's temple and kissed her.
”f.u.c.k you, Harry,” Gena said as she slammed her head backward, straight into Harry's nose. He jerked away, screaming and swearing.
Rocco fired his gun. Harry fell backward with the force of the shot. Immediately, Dante swept in the room and moved to where Harry was rolling on the floor in pain.
Rocco raced over to Gena and began cutting away her bindings. She stood and Rocco s.n.a.t.c.hed her up and carried her into the next room.
”Is he dead?” Gena asked.
Rocco shook his head. ”I wanted to kill him for what he'd done to us, to you. But when I heard him admit what he did to Dante and Max, I realized he needed to live. To answer to them and for everything else he's done wrong. Harry wanted me to kill him so he would avoid standing trial and going to prison.”
Max rushed in to where Rocco and Gena stood. ”Travis wants to know if Gena is okay.”
”Tell Travis she's perfect.”
”Tell Travis she wants to go home,” Gena added as Max headed out the door.
”Home with me?” Rocco asked. ”At least for now? I love you, Gena. And we have a lot of time to make up for.”
”Home with you?” Gena lifted her lips for a kiss. ”Sounds like heaven.”
Epilogue.
Key West, FL October 12, 4:30 P.M.
The reflected sunlight hurt Rocco's eyes as he watched Gena rise up from an ocean wave. Did that excuse sound legit? Or did he need to rub sand in his eyes to disguise the fact he'd just teared up while sitting there.
Watching her.
His Gena. Gena.
She had returned to Arlington with him, and except for a few times when Rocco went in to the office, they hadn't been apart. He wanted it to stay that way. Forever. And since she'd agreed to marry him, his chances at forever forever were looking d.a.m.n good. were looking d.a.m.n good.
The rest of it was all up in the air. Where to live? What to do? Gena had insisted that he stay with the Agency, not wanting to influence his decision. But Rocco knew it was time for a change. He'd been feeling restless for a while.
Then Gena teased that neither of them knew what they wanted to do when they grew up, which sounded perfect to Rocco. He and Gena would build a new life together, with no remnants from the past. In fact, the sooner the aftermath of theold was cleared away, the better. was cleared away, the better.
The extent of Harry's betrayal still wasn't clear, but he'd agreed to plead guilty and cooperate in exchange for a life sentence. Of course Harry was still playing games with investigators, teasing them with information in hopes of gaining favors. Which made Rocco grateful the investigation was someone else's job.
He watched as Gena walked toward him, her face turned up to catch the waning sun. What this woman did to a bikini should probably be outlawed in public.
The ache in his chest grew heavier as she approached. Would it ever go away? This haunting desire to be with her? Or had he lived with it for so long, it was embedded in his psyche? He rubbed his sternum.
Gena reached the edge of the blanket. She stood there and smiled. Then she bent over and shook her head, spraying him with water. ”A gift from the sea.”
”You? Or the droplets?”
He stood and helped her dry off before pulling her close for a kiss.
”I'm seriously considering a career as a beach b.u.m,” he said.
”Great minds think alike. I've been imagining myself as a sand castle builder.”