Lucky Like Us

chapter Thirty-Six

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Friday, 9:13 P.M.

SAM BROODED DURING the car ride and Jenna made Elizabeth’s dream come true. Jenna offered her restaurant space in the Merrick International building in downtown San Francisco. Prime real estate for any business, and Jenna had offered up a huge space in her building. The current lease expired in another month, and Elizabeth could take over the space and open a new bakery and restaurant. The location was better than perfect and three times the size of her current shop. She and Jenna would iron out the details with Cameron Shaw, the president of Merrick International, and in about three months she’d be open in a bigger location. It’s what she always wanted.

They arrived at the Governor’s Ball. A beautiful spectacle of champagne-carrying, tuxedo- and gown-clad who’s who of politics and high society. The more she introduced Sam, the more uncomfortable he became at the sheer number of people she knew.

Crowded, people crushed in on her at times. She tried to keep track of where she was and the people around her, but she simply couldn’t, and it added to her anxiety. Each time a cork popped, she flinched, thinking someone was taking a shot at her. Sam had to tell her every five minutes to relax.

She and Sam danced together, enjoyed a wonderful meal, and spent time with Sam’s family as well as her entire Hamilton family. Sam was a wonderful dancer, and she loved being in his arms. It had been the only time all night she’d felt safe. Her thigh wasn’t completely healed, so as the night wore on she leaned heavily against him. Her high heels probably weren’t the best choice.

“What’s the matter? You’re like a falling tree.” He loved having her pressed to his side, but it worried him. Every man in the place stared at her. All of them saw she only had eyes for him, and that was a powerful feeling for Sam.

“My leg. These shoes are making my thigh hurt. Sorry, I hope I’m not bothering you.”

She liked feeling him hold on to her, so he did it often. Scared to find the man who had tried to kill them, she was also afraid of not finding him. Feeling his arm around her gave her strength, and Sam would do anything to let her know she had him.

“You can lean on me all you want. I wanted to make sure you’re all right. Have you spotted our guy yet?”

“No. The guest list includes over three hundred people, so it’s been hard to get a look at everyone. He’s got to be here. This has to end.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Even if he doesn’t show tonight, we’ll get him. I promise you.”

He wasn’t sure he could keep the promise. The guy might go into hiding and never surface again. If he left the country, they’d never track him down. Nothing this guy did would surprise Sam. The man was unknown right up until he decided to take down an FBI agent and failed.

“I need to visit the ladies’ room.” She kissed him on the cheek and pulled free of his arm.

Before he let her leave his side, he whispered into her ear, “Remember the drill. I’ll be a few steps behind you all the way. If anything happens, signal me and the other agents.” She stepped away, and the familiar little devils danced up his spine. Minding his back, he kept her in his sight and followed at a distance. The hardest thing he’d ever done was let her go, so a killer could make his move.

Elizabeth wound her way through the crowd. Just about every other person stopped to say a few words to her. She knew most of them by name, if not by sight. The crowds at the charity events she attended consisted of many of the same people attending the ball tonight.

About ten feet from the exit, leading out into the hallway, someone grabbed her arm from behind and propelled her through the double doors. Startled, she looked up, thinking it was Sam, and found herself face to face with a killer.

She held up the glass of champagne in her hand above her head to avoid someone walking by. At least that’s what she wanted the man beside her to think. She was actually signaling Sam and every other agent in the room. She handed off the glass to a passing waiter.

He may have been dressed in a tux with expensive Italian leather shoes and a Rolex watch, but a killer hid beneath the facade. The FBI suspected him in eight cases, and now the attempted murder of her and Sam. All those deaths on his hands, and here he was, a respected businessman and philanthropist. He gave to a number of charities. But he was also known for investing in shady business deals that usually turned out to make an astronomical profit. Many CEOs and business managers sought his business advice. Everyone respected him, and women flocked to him. He appeared in the society pages in many major cities across the country.

She didn’t pay attention to such things. She’d paid for that by not being able to identify him immediately. She didn’t attend parties and benefits to network and make business deals. While others craved their picture in the papers and magazines, she liked her quiet life. Tomorrow the newspapers would print a very different headline about him:

RESPECTED BUSINESSMAN ROBERT CHAINY ARRESTED FOR MURDER

“Why do you do it?” she asked. He had everything. He led a rich and full life. Why would he become a contract killer? For sport? For fun? For the thrill? Or was he a cold-blooded murderer?

“Do what?” He pretended not to understand.

Undeterred, Elizabeth pushed on. “You know what. You kill people for money. Why would you do that? You don’t need the money?”

His grip tightened around her arm where Sam had shot her. Pain shot down her elbow and up into her shoulder.

“You’re right. I don’t need the money. Making money is easy. I can do it in my sleep, and I do. It’s all become so tedious.”

“Tedious. You kill people because you think your life is boring. You’re crazy. If you want a thrill, go skydiving.”

He leaned in close to her ear so no one overheard them. “You have no idea what kind of thrill it gives me when I take a life. The first couple of times, I found it exciting. Now, it’s an art. The police can’t figure out if the death is an accident or murder. They can’t trace them to me. I’m one step ahead of them all the time.”

He made few mistakes in his life. Those he did make he fixed, learned from them, and continued to succeed, excelling in everything he did. But this thing consumed him, clouding his reasoning.

“You almost screwed everything up for me. That stupid insurance agent tried to set me up with a cop. He got what he deserved, and I would have finished off the cop if you hadn’t stuck your nose in my business. I’ll take care of you tonight. No loose ends, you see. Once you’re out of the picture, I can go back to my boring financial enterprises, and no one will be the wiser. Even if you’ve identified me to the police, all they have is suspicion. They can’t tie me to anything. They might think they know what I did, but they don’t know. If they can’t prove it, then they have nothing. Nothing,” he rambled, growing more agitated. “Without you to testify, well, let’s just say my lawyers will have a field day if they try to charge me with nothing more than circumstantial evidence.”

“Then why go after Sam in the first place?”

“The ultimate challenge. A trained agent. I had him until you interfered,” he said through clenched teeth.

Sam had been for sport. A challenge Robert couldn’t pass up. No sympathy, empathy, no regret. No soul. Completely out of his mind. If she didn’t stop him, his sociopathic tendencies would drive him to keep killing. He’d never stop. He’d pick a new place and a new way to do it and elude the police again.

He continued propelling her down the hallway to where it ended in an emergency exit. She couldn’t allow him to take her out the door. If she did, he might succeed in killing her before the agents reached them and arrested him. She stopped dead in her tracks. His only choices, drag her or stop. Surprisingly, he stopped and faced her. His back to the wall, the hallway and the emergency exit on either side of them, she stalled, knowing Sam would rescue her.

“You really think you can get away with killing all those people? It’s not going to happen.” Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Sam heading their way. She turned so Robert was between her and Sam. “The FBI is on to you. They can hear everything we’ve said.” The light dawned in his eyes. “That’s right, I’m wired. You’ve admitted to the contract killings and to killing the man from the insurance company. You’ve admitted to the attempted murder of an FBI agent and trying to kill me. Oh, and let’s not forget the threat you’ve made to my life tonight. This is over.” She took a slow step away, and then another.

“I’ll kill you.” He lunged at her and grabbed her wrist. “If for nothing else, I’ll kill you for setting me up and making me say all those things.”

Something in his eyes wasn’t quite right, a reflection of the madness driving him to kill. It chilled her to the bone.

She’d gone too far. Releasing the rage, he spun her around to face Sam, grabbed her around the throat, his arm cutting off her air. His breathing quickened and his heart pounded against her back at her shoulder.

He fumbled behind her, his grip around her neck tightening. He pulled a gun out of his tuxedo jacket pocket and held it to her temple, the muzzle cold, hard against her skin. Frightened, she locked eyes with Sam and the fear eased.

Sam had never been so scared in his life as he was at that moment, seeing the man they called the Silver Fox with a gun to Elizabeth’s head. “FBI, drop your weapon. You don’t have anywhere to go. If you shoot her, I’ll kill you. Slow.”

“You’ll drop your weapon if you want her to live.”

“I can’t do that.” Sam wished that’s all it would take to get Elizabeth back.

Sam watched Robert Chainy closely for any movement he made toward shooting Elizabeth and looking for a way to take him down.

“You will, or I’ll kill her right here. You’ve been with her day and night. She’s a beautiful woman. I’ll bet she’s a wildfire in bed,” Robert taunted. “Is she? Maybe I’ll keep her for a while, see for myself.”

Robert brushed his lips against the side of Elizabeth’s head, and the agent’s eyes flashed fire and promised death. Robert lived for this kind of adrenaline rush. The situation was deteriorating to the point of no return, and it was going to be Elizabeth’s demise or his. He’d prefer to go out in a blaze of glory, but he had money and a dozen lawyers to keep him out of jail long enough for him to leave the country and disappear. All he needed to do was get out of the hotel. The thought never crossed his mind that he shouldn’t have come in the first place, or gone after the agent at the bar. He’d craved this kind of excitement his whole life, but never found anything quite like it until he’d planned and executed his first murder.

“Touch her again, and I’ll drop you where you stand.” Sam tried to figure out a way to get Elizabeth safely away from this guy without someone getting hurt. He didn’t want that someone to be her. He’d do anything to save her. Anything.

“Sam, I want to go home now.”

Elizabeth’s panic and fear shot straight through his heart, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. “I know, sweetheart. Don’t move. Keep still.”

He didn’t have a clear shot. If he tried to shoot Robert, he might hit Elizabeth. All his training, all his experience came down to this one moment. Get the hostage away from the suspect. He needed to take her out of the equation. How? He couldn’t shoot Robert in the head because he held a gun on her. Robert’s head was too close to Elizabeth’s anyway. He needed a clear shot to the guy’s heart, but Elizabeth was a perfect shield in front of him.

Elizabeth didn’t know what to do. The grip around her throat cut off her air and Robert pressed the gun so hard to her temple a headache bloomed and throbbed. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. He’d admitted everything. Now it was supposed to be over.

Elizabeth tried to take her weight off her feet and let Robert hold her up. Maybe he’d get too tired of holding her, and he’d have to drop her. Instead, his grip grew tighter around her throat. She had no choice but to stand on her feet to prevent him from choking her to death.

She loved cop shows and crime scene investigations. Enjoyable, and very helpful when a madman wanted you dead. Her life had turned into a TV drama with all the necessary components: a serial killer, the FBI hunting him, and a woman in peril. She hoped, in this case, for a happy ending.

Sam needed to kill him. She knew it, and Sam knew it. She also knew Sam was an excellent shot.

Her shoulder was over Robert’s chest. Sam could shoot her and the bullet would go right through. Sam had only one choice in order to save her.

Shoot the hostage. She kept her eyes locked on him, but Sam’s narrowed gaze remained on the Silver Fox, waiting for any opportunity to take him down. Robert took a stronger hold on her. She smelled his fear, it hummed through his body pressed against hers. Or maybe she was the one shaking. She clawed at the arm around her throat, but she was no match for his strength. She’d never free herself.

“You’re going to be fine. Stay still,” Sam pleaded, never looking directly at her.

If she moved to her left, he’d have a clear shot. Her throat and lungs hurt from trying to suck in gasps of air. She continued her futile struggle to get away, clutching and scratching at the hand at her throat.

He didn’t want to do it. He didn’t have a choice. Several other agents took up their positions to the sides and behind Sam. Men wearing jackets that read FBI filled the hallway. Probably a dozen more agents waited outside the emergency doors, ready to burst through them. If they did, she’d be dead for sure. Her best chance was Sam. She trusted him. He’d make a clean shot and she’d be okay. She would make it through this. She trusted him completely with her life.

“Shoot him. You can’t let him get away,” she rasped out. “He’ll run, and you’ll never find him again. He needs to be punished for what he did to all those people, to you, and to me,” she gasped and struggled to get the words out.

She wanted Sam to think like an agent, not like the man sleeping with her.

“Stay still, Elizabeth. You’ll be fine.” Please, Elizabeth. Stay still.

Sweat trickled down Robert’s face. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I’m taking her with me. You’ll never see her pretty face again. If anyone tries to stop me, I’ll kill her. Now drop your weapons!” he shouted.

Robert backed up toward the doors, dragging Elizabeth. Too heavy to hold on to her for much longer, he needed to get away before the agents overtook him. If he could get her out the door to his car, he could make his getaway.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was rich. People did what he said, no questions asked. They wanted to be part of his circle. They listened to him, admired him, envied him.

She’d make a nice consolation prize for all the trouble he’d gone through because of her. If she hadn’t taken his mask off that night, so long ago now, he could have continued this enterprise with the cops none the wiser. This was her fault.

She’d ruined everything for him, and now she was about to get him killed. When they were safely away, he’d teach her a lesson she’d never forget.

“Agent Turner, shoot!” Elizabeth yelled the moment before Sam fired. The bullet tore through her flesh, blood immediately stained her snow-white gown red. The Silver Fox’s gun went off, a blast of fire and smoke as the bullet exploded from the chamber at her head. Robert dragged her down and she fell hard to the floor. Sam, frozen in that moment, stood with his weapon held out in front of him. His heart stopped. His mind grinded to a halt. Something else entirely took over. It had to be a dream. Some kind of nightmare conjured while he slept, Elizabeth safe beside him, her skin against his, not lying on the floor dead.

Agents burst through the door and came from behind Sam, surrounding the Silver Fox and Elizabeth. He hardly registered any of it. He stood there with his weapon at his side, the weight of it like an anchor dragging him down to the depths of hell. He’d shot her. Blood poured across her chest and down her head, covering her beautiful face.

She’s dead. I shot her. She’s dead.

He didn’t have any other options. It’s what the other agents would have done. He thought maybe he’d be lucky enough to just wound her, but all that ominous blood confirmed he’d killed her.

Someone spoke behind him, a muffled sound layered behind the echo of emptiness consuming him. His whole world tunneled in on him, his focus on Elizabeth. An agent put something over her and tried to stop the bleeding. She lay on her side facing him, both arms flung over her head. Barely able to make out her face, the blood oozed down from her temple, covering her eye and cheek.

“Sam! She’ll be okay. Give me your gun.” Tyler had seen and heard everything. Sam didn’t have a choice. He had to take the shot or risk losing Elizabeth. The wound to her side wasn’t bad, but Sam was in shock and clearly not thinking straight.

Sam’s eyes remained clouded over. He wasn’t really seeing Tyler standing in front of him. His flat voice chilled Tyler to the bone.

“I shot her. I shot her again.”

He held his gun up to his head, scratching it as if trying to figure things out. “She actually yelled at me to shoot her. I love her, and I shot her. How can this be? How does someone shoot the woman they love?”

Tyler didn’t like seeing Sam with the gun held up to his head. Jack came toward them, and Tyler hoped maybe Sam’s brother could help.

“You didn’t have a choice. He was going to kill her. The only way to stop him was to shoot him in the heart. You did. It was a clean shot. She’ll be okay.”

Tyler hoped he was right. Elizabeth moved just in time to save herself from serious injury. The shot sliced open a huge gash in her side, right along her right breast and into Robert Chainy’s heart. He’d dropped like a stone, but not before he’d squeezed the trigger and fired his gun. Elizabeth’s head had been right next to the barrel and the bullet opened a large wound at her temple. The concussion from the shot could do serious damage to her brain, and Tyler hoped she would be okay for her sake, as well as Sam’s.

“Give me your gun,” Jack pleaded, waiting until Sam really saw him. “Give it to me.” He held out his hand, but Sam made no move to hand it over.

“I shot her. She’s dead.” He backed up until he hit the wall nearby and slid down with his knees up and put his hands, gun and all, to his face. He sat there holding on to the gun he’d used to shoot the woman he loved. He smelled the gunpowder and felt the hot metal against his forehead.

He never told her he loved her. How much he wanted to have a life with her, make babies with her, and have a real home together, like his brother and sister had in Colorado with their families.

“Sam, please don’t do this. Give me the gun. She’s not dead. She’s unconscious. Let’s take her to the hospital. You have to go with her.”

Jack hunched down in front of Sam. His mirror image, Jack would understand how he felt. “She’s dead.” His despair laced in his voice, a single, lonely tear sliding down his face.

“No. She’s not. Look at me.” Sam’s eyes cleared, allowing him to actually focus on Jack. “She’s alive,” Jack said, but Sam knew he lied. “We have to take her to the hospital. Give me the gun,” Jack pleaded.

Sam dismissed the gun in his hand and his brother’s request, focusing on Elizabeth. She didn’t look like the beautiful woman he remembered seeing not ten minutes ago. Her blood stained the gorgeous white gown.

Paramedics rushed down the hall. He didn’t want them to take her away from him.

“Sam. Give me the gun. Now!” Jack’s voice penetrated the hollowness in Sam’s ears.

Jack’s eyes were fierce, his mouth drawn into a sharp line. He turned the gun over without a word, rushing to Elizabeth’s side. He pushed several people out of his way, grabbing Elizabeth and holding her to him. Rocking her back and forth, he looked down at her bloody face.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to kill you.”

He kept a tight hold on her and couldn’t hear anything around him. The world had closed up to him and Elizabeth. As far as he could see, hear, and feel it was only the two of them. No one would take her away. He used his left hand to brush away the blood from her cheek, smearing it more than anything. He ran his hand over her hair.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I never meant to kill you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Let me go,” she said weakly.

He held her close, his strong arms around her and hearing him say he loved her filled her heart and soul with such warmth, it burned bright just for him. He rocked her and with each beat back and forth her head pounded. A scorching pain seared through her side, and for a moment she thought she’d been stabbed again. His arm pressed on whatever burned and throbbed like a hot poker. She wanted him to let her go so the pain would stop. On the other hand, she wanted him to hold her for the rest of her life and tell her he loved her. They were the sweetest words she’d ever heard. Barely able to keep herself above the black ooze, she fought to open her eyes and see the man she loved.

“I’ll never let you go.” Sam rocked and held her tight. He was losing it. He’d killed her, and now her ghost pleaded for him to let her go. He couldn’t do it. They’d take her away, and he’d never see her again.

“Sam. Let her go, man. You’re hurting her. They have to take her to the hospital.” Jack crouched behind Elizabeth and put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Sam, she’s awake. Talk to her. Let her go before you hurt her.”

Sam focused on his brother. “Hurt her?” How could he hurt her if she was dead?

“Sam, look at her. She’s alive. We have to get her to the hospital.”

“No more hospitals.” Her words came out barely above a whisper. Her eyes fluttered open, looking into Sam’s. “I want to go home. I love you so much. Take me home, Sam.”

“You’re alive.” He couldn’t believe it. Everything rushed back to him, and the world around him that had once enclosed just him and Elizabeth now exploded into reality. His brother, Tyler, the paramedics who wanted to get to Elizabeth, and about twenty other agents all came into focus. Robert Chainy dead, blood running down his chest and pooling on the floor. His eyes were open, but the life inside them had extinguished.

“Sam, let her go. Give her over to the paramedics. She’ll be okay.”

This time Sam heard and understood. He placed a kiss on Elizabeth’s forehead, and as gently as if lying down a sleeping baby, he set her on the floor. Unconscious again, but at least she’d gotten through to him. Tyler thought the way he touched her, and the way he stood not even a foot away from her with that tender look in his eyes, spoke volumes about how much he loved her. He couldn’t imagine the many emotions going on inside Sam after shooting Elizabeth for a second time.

Tyler would have to speak with Jack and make sure they kept an eye on Sam a little longer. Elizabeth’s head wound was serious. A large gash across her temple swelled to an egg shape, opening the gash even more and spilling more of her blood over her face. The wound under her arm and across her ribcage had a padded bandage over it and the paramedic applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

The paramedics lifted her onto the gurney. Sam stepped forward once they strapped her in and kissed her forehead again. He held her hand and followed alongside to the waiting ambulance.

Tyler grabbed Jack and Jenna and they followed behind the ambulance. The entire Hamilton family waited outside, desperate to get a look at Elizabeth before they took her away. Tyler had no doubt they’d give him and Sam a tongue lashing when they got to the hospital. He hoped he wouldn’t have to be the one to tell them this had all been Elizabeth’s idea.