Saxon's Conquest Read online

  Harley laughed wryly. “Knowing you, it will take more than a few seconds to confess your sins.” She sobered and grew serious. “No, don’t lose hope. We can do this, I’ve seen something similar before. I just need some assistance with the layout.”

  Micah turned the camera back on himself. “Even down to the plastic fish-tank tubing conduit?”

  Harley nodded, giving a sad laugh. “You’ve studied Murrah too, haven’t you? Yea, despite using a different type of vehicle, this guy is definitely a copycat. Right down to the blasting caps and thirteen barrels.”

  “So now we know what we are up against. Can you defuse it? And by you, I mean me.”

  “I think we can, working together.” Harley sat back in her chair. “Do you have a pair of snips?”

  Micah looked up at Saxon, wordlessly asking him for help.

  “I’ll check in the building, find a maintenance closet or something.” Saxon took off to find some proper tools. On his way, he stopped to hug Alivia, who had just met Tyson coming to join them. “Hang in there, we’ll do this.”

  “I trust you,” Alivia assured him. “I trust all of you.”

  He kissed her on the forehead, then looked at Tyson, pointing over his shoulder. “Micah and Harley are waiting on you, bud.”

  Tyson nodded. “When this is over, I’ll buy the beer.”

  “It’s a deal.” Saxon hurried on in and searched as fast as he could, locating a toolbox someone had left out in their hurry to evacuate the building. After opening it and confirming there were snips inside, he grabbed the whole box and ran back to the RV. Squatting down next to Micah and Tyson, he set the metal container next to them, then reached in and gave the snips to Micah. “Don’t cut the wrong wire, genius.” Saxon noticed his friend took the tool with a hand that had begun to shake a bit. “You know, Wolfe. That trembling paw of yours is not filling me with a very high level of confidence.”

  Micah glared at him, then winked. “Shut-up or I’ll cut the wrong wire on purpose.” Saxon stood up. “Where are you going?”

  “If you are about to blow half of Richardson to hell and back, I’m gonna spend my last moments with the woman I love.”

  “Ha, you used the L word,” Micah teased.

  Saxon just shook his head and walked back over to where Destry was standing with the woman Saxon now called his own. “There’s probably still no way I can convince you to get out of here, is there?” He took Alivia in his arms.

  “Not a chance,” she responded, molding her body to his. Leaning up for a kiss, she gave him a smile. “I have to run inside and use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  Saxon frowned. “You can’t hold it?” He hated for her to go into the RV.

  “I would if I could.” She frowned at him, dreading walking past poor Josephine’s body again.

  “All right, be careful,” he cautioned, holding her hand until the last second when she pulled it from his grasp.

  Destry watched the exchange with sad eyes. “You’re a lucky son-of-a-bitch, Abbott.”

  “I know I am,” Saxon agreed.

  “Don’t waste a moment, you don’t know how many you have,” he said, then cleared his throat, dispelling his sad thoughts. “I’m glad Tyson is down here to help Micah. He’ll be there to make sure the Wolfe cuts the right wire.”

  Clapping him on the shoulder, Saxon chuckled. “I’ve always heard canines are colorblind.”

  They both shared a quiet laugh until a woman’s scream split the air. Saxon was immediately on the move. “Alivia!” He raced to bound up the stairs and into the RV. He found her standing near the back room, her face as white as a ghost. “What’s wrong?”

  “The timer has come on. Ten minutes until detonation,” she whispered.

  Saxon felt his heart rise in his throat. “Goddammit! Micah, did you hear that?” he yelled, racing out to where the men were working on some wiring that ran from the engine compartment up to the room where the bomb was located.

  “Fuck, yes. I got the message.” Micah directed his next comment to Harley. “We’ve got to step up our game, Mrs. LeBlanc.”

  “I hear you,” Harley said, then bowed her head. “Micah, wait…”

  “Wait? What do you mean? There’s no time to wait!” Micah protested. “Don’t you dare get sick on me, woman.”

  “I’m not sick,” she answered, then jerked up her head, pinning Micah with a stare. “He’s close to you, Micah. His eyes are on you. The killer doesn’t intend on leaving. He intends to die in the inferno with all of you.”

  Adrenaline ripped through Alivia at Harley’s words. She pulled her gun from the holster at the small of her back. “Saxon, we need to go look for him. Defusing this bomb is critical, but this will never be over if we don’t stop Adam Curtiss.”

  “Alivia…” Saxon began, but the look on her face told him there was no arguing. “Hell, come on Destry, let’s go.” Pulling his own gun, he called out to Micah and Tyson as they headed toward the center, “Good luck, guys. We’re counting on you to save the day.”

  * * *

  Adam Curtiss palmed his gun as he observed the activity at the blood mobile unit from a third story window. He’d fooled those lame-ass cops. He’d never left. When he jumped on the train to escape the man chasing him, he’d promptly bailed off, doubling back and hiding before security came out in force. Turning his back on the team futilely trying to disarm his masterpiece, he started for the stairs. Now, all he had to do was get into position and wait for this all to be over.

  Leaving his post, he headed to the main lobby where the memorial display was kept. How grateful he was to Miss Hart and Ms. Kraft for creating the perfect spot for his transfiguration. He would lay aside his diseased body. and take upon himself the new form Christ would grant him.

  After going through the cleansing fire, he would emerge glorified.

  Transformed. Eternal.

  … “Harley said he was close,” Destry whispered as they took cover against the building wall. “I’ll take the maintenance bay.”

  “All right, we’ll go up to the main floor,” Saxon said, taking a quick glance at his watch. “God, time is flying.”

  “Always does when you’re having fun,” Destry quipped as he moved toward the raised garage door. “You two be careful.”

  “Will do, same to you,” Saxon answered as he led Alivia through the service entrance.

  “Let’s take the stairs, better element of surprise,” she suggested.

  “Good idea.” He hurried toward the stairwell and held the door, taking the opportunity to gaze at her beautiful face. “You look like you have a plan. What are you thinking?”

  She gave him a small smile. “I’m trying to think like him, which is disturbing, but I have this feeling we’ll find him at the memorial. He’s too into ritual not to take advantage of the significance the display has for him. He’ll want to be with his victims when he goes.”

  “The bastard is psychotic,” Saxon spat out the words as they began to quietly climb to the main floor. “When we get there, let me take the lead, Alivia. You keep behind me and stay low.”

  “I’m a good shot, Saxon,” she reminded him as adrenaline rushed through her veins.

  “I’m sure you are, but just do as I say. Please?” Saxon was nervous as hell. “A real gunfight is completely different from shooting at a target.” He didn’t want to argue about this – not now. What if these were their last few minutes on earth. He wanted to stop the world from spinning and tell Alivia how he felt – but there just wasn’t time.

  “I know.” When they reached the landing, she took a deep breath and looked into Saxon’s eyes. “You want to protect me and…” She loved him for it. “I want to protect you just as much. We’ve got one another’s backs, that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

  “Damn, you’re sexy.” Saxon pulled her close and kissed her hard. “All right.” He nodded toward the door. “Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  “How much ti
me do we have left?” Micah asked as he stared at the maze of wires and switches before him. “I work better under pressure.”

  “You don’t want to know.” Tyson held the flashlight, so they could see clearly.

  “Okay, guys,” Harley’s voice was calm but forceful, “the next step is to disconnect the blasting caps from the ignition fuses that run through those shock tubes. It shouldn’t be difficult. Just listen, and do exactly as I say.”

  “No problem.” Micah picked up the snips. “Fire when ready.”

  Tyson wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. “Did you really have to use those words?”

  “All right, Micah.” Harley was all business. “See the red wire that runs out the back and up the wall?”

  “I see it.” A trail of sweat had formed on his brow and ran down to drop off the tip of his nose.

  “Cut it as close to the ignition switch as possible.”

  Micah took the red wire in one hand and placed it between the cutting blades. “You’re sure about this?”

  “As sure as I can be without being there.”

  “Good enough for me.” Closing his eyes, he snipped the red wire, holding his breath. “It didn’t blow up,” he said after opening his eyes to see he was still alive.

  Tyson jumped to his feet and ran inside the RV to check the timer.

  “Yes!” They heard him shout. “All zeros!”

  “Don’t be patting yourself on the back yet, guys.” Harley’s sobering tone brought them all back to reality. “That was just the ignition switch. The bomb is still live. You need to reach underneath and pull those blasting caps off. If they get any type of a charge or a spark, that thing will blow.”

  “Understood,” Tyson muttered as he and Micah sweated it out for five more minutes as they carefully peeled back the duct tape securing the blasting caps.

  “Done!” Micah shouted when they disconnected the last one. “Thank you, Harley!”

  “You’re welcome. Whew!” She gave them a big smile. “The worst is over, but you need to dispose of the contents of those barrels carefully, they’re still extremely volatile.”

  The sound of an approaching vehicle, then urgent footsteps alerted Micah that the bomb squad had arrived. Standing up, he wiped his hands on his pants. “Hey, guys! You’re a little late to the party. Since we’ve done the hard work, we’ll leave the clean-up to you.”

  * * *

  Inside the Eisemann Center, Alivia and Saxon moved as silently as possible. With guns raised, they eased forward.

  “Bam! Bam!”

  Saxon heard the gunshot crack the concrete pillar beside him when he rounded a corner. Curtiss was armed and taking shots at him. “Down! Down! He can see our reflection in the plate glass window.” Diving behind a garbage can, Saxon returned fire, chasing Curtiss off around another corner.

  Alivia did as he asked, going to her knees behind a couch. “Go! I’ll cover you!” She raised up briefly, taking a few shots of her own.

  The next corner wasn’t so lucky for Saxon. He tripped over a mop bucket that had been left out in the confusion to evacuate the building, sprawling face first on the ground, losing his gun in the process.

  Hearing the commotion, Alivia jumped up from her hiding place and darted to the pillar Saxon had sought shelter behind only moments ago. What she saw from this vantage point chilled her blood.

  Adam Curtiss stood over Saxon, gun drawn, ready to shoot. “The whores were supposed to die for their immoral acts. The world was supposed to see and learn from my sacrifice! You’ve ruined everything!”

  “Sorry, my bad.” Saxon stared at his gun. There was no way in hell he could reach it. God, he prayed Alivia would stay back and out of sight. “Maybe you can write a book about it while you’re serving life in prison.”

  “I’m not going to prison.” Curtiss moved a step closer to Saxon, aiming right at his head. “Glory awaits me, my reward for faithfulness. I’m ready to die today. Are you?”

  “No!” Alivia stepped out from behind the pillar and leveled her gun, sending a bullet about five feet wide of where Curtiss was standing.

  “Bitch!” Curtiss raised his gun and managed to fire off three quick shots toward Alivia as Saxon lunged for his weapon and pumped two shots into Curtiss from a prone position. Still standing, Curtiss started to whirl on Saxon when another shot took him down. He watched for a couple of heartbeats, waiting to fire again if needed, but the psycho on the ground didn’t move.

  “Is he dead?” Destry came running down the hall from where he’d taken the kill shot.

  “I think so. Good aim.” Saxon rose to his feet, whirling to spot Alivia. When he saw her lying on the ground about twenty feet away, he wailed in agony, “Alivia!”

  Rushing to her, he knelt at her side. Her white V-neck was red with blood. “Oh, my God! Where are you hurt?” He began to gently search her body to see where she’d been hit.

  “Saxon? Are you okay?” she asked weakly, ignoring his concern for her.

  “I’m fine, baby, it’s you I’m worried about.” Pulling his shirt over his head, he placed pressure on the wound he’d located in her chest. “Destry, get help!” he yelled. “She’s been shot!” Glancing up, he could see his friend was already on the phone.

  “I had to try and save you,” she coughed, closing her eyes.

  “Look at me, beautiful. Don’t you dare leave me!” He leaned over to give her a kiss. “Why, Alivia, why? I told you to stay down.” His voice was unsteady with agony and regret.

  Alivia opened her eyes and gave him a faint smile. “I owed you one.”

  “You owed me one?” he asked, a sob in his voice. “What do you mean?”

  As she answered, her voice was just above a whisper, “I cheated during our first fight on Saxon’s Conquest. I hacked your server and wrote code of my own, just for the battle.”

  Saxon couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Oh, baby. That’s okay. I forgive you.” He bent and kissed her on the forehead once more. “You’re going to be fine. Do you hear me? I promise; we’re going to get you some help.”

  “I know.” The pain was immeasurable, and Alivia could feel herself beginning to lose consciousness. “Remember my weird blood,” she whispered. “Josephine’s not there.” Her lips quivered. “I don’t know…”

  “I remember. We’ll figure it out,” Saxon assured her, even as the noise of heavy footfalls echoed in the room. The police had arrived. “Where are the paramedics?” he cried. “She needs help!”

  “They’re on their way, sir. They’ll be here momentarily,” one uniformed cop informed him as two others inspected Curtiss’s dead body.

  “Tell them to hurry!” Saxon looked down and lost his breath when Alivia closed her eyes. “Wake up, baby. Please! Wake up. I can’t lose you. Please, baby!”

  “Over there!” Destry pointed as he came running around the corner with Titus and a paramedic in tow. “There she is! Give them room, Sax.” He and Titus had to physically move their friend away from Alivia so the EMT could reach her.

  “She’s still alive,” they were told by the EMT a tense minute later. “She must have passed out from the pain and blood loss. She’ll need a transfusion.”

  “This is Alivia Hart. She has RH Null blood; it’s stored in the Austin blood center.” Saxon explained to them carefully, making certain they understood. “Her blood type is very rare. She has to have her own blood.”

  The medic nodded. “We’ll airlift her to Austin and let them know she’s coming.”

  As they loaded Alivia onto a gurney, Saxon fell apart. “I can’t lose her, Des.”

  With pain lancing his own heart, Destry physically held Saxon up. “Go with her to the hospital, Sax. She’ll be okay. We’ll be right behind you.”

  As the emergency vehicle made its way through the crowd of cops and first responders, he saw Micah and Tyson standing by as EMT’s bagged Josephine’s body. “That isn’t going to happen to you, sweetheart. I won’t allow it.” Picking up Alivia’s hand, he read the
numbers on the bracelet and punched them into her phone.

  “Austin Blood Center.”

  Saxon was grateful someone answered the phone. He didn’t take time to tell them about Josephine; they’d find out soon enough. “Hello. My name is Saxon Abbott, and this is an emergency. My girlfriend has been shot, and she needs a transfusion immediately. Her name is Alivia Hart. She keeps blood stored in your facility. I need it all sent to…” He cursed. “Where will the helicopter be taking her?” he asked the EMT.

  “Seton Center on 183 North!” the medic monitoring Alivia’s vitals answered him.

  “Seton Center on 183 North in Austin,” Saxon repeated, his eyes roving Alivia’s pale face.

  “Sir, I’m sorry. The refrigeration unit where Miss Hart’s blood was stored must have malfunctioned. We discovered the temperature had been set too high. None of her pints are salvageable. We called and left a message at her office that she would need to come donate some more.”

  “What?” A cold wave of terror crashed over Saxon. Fuck Adam Curtiss! The bastard had sabotaged Alivia’s blood. He knew this as well as he knew his own name. “Well, get some more! Find someone else with the same type!”

  The woman on the other end of the line tried to keep calm. “Ms. Hart has a very rare blood type. I’m not sure we can locate any.”

  “Do it!” Saxon shouted. “I don’t care what it takes, just do it!”

  “What’s wrong?” the medic asked, his face clouded with concern. “She needs blood.” He’d just finished inserting an IV in Alivia’s arm.

  “Proper temperature wasn’t maintained on the refrigeration unit where her blood was stored.” Saxon bit his lower lip, trying to think of an answer. “Savvy.” Taking the phone, he called Micah.

  “How’s Alivia?”

  “Not good, Wolfe. Look, I need your help. Get a hold of Madison and have her call me. I need to talk to Savvy. Alivia needs blood, and Savvy may know where the other people are located who have the same blood type.”