Джеймс Паттерсон - Private Rogue

Justine started crying herself when she saw tears spring to Beth’s eyes. She’d never before met this woman, but she walked over and embraced her. They were bound by grief.

“No,” Beth said. “It can’t be true.”

“Our operatives witnessed an explosion,” Jessie said, and Justine felt Beth shake and shudder against her.

“What am I going to tell the children?” she said between sobs.

Justine didn’t know what to say. No words would make the slightest difference to her pain because death was something that couldn’t be soothed away. It was a permanent wrench, the destruction of a future and the forced imposition of a different path, one devoid of the company and companionship of the departed. Nothing could make it better, so Justine just hugged Beth tightly.

A loud digital alarm sounded. Taft went over to the TV stand and picked up the device that was making the noise. Roni emerged from the living room.

Justine saw Taft pick up an iPad and examine it carefully.

“We installed motion detectors in the grounds,” he said. “Two of them were just triggered.”

Fear conquered Justine’s grief. She stepped away from Beth and went over to Taft, who studied the iPad.

“Roni, can you bring the kids in here?” Jessie said.

She nodded and ducked into the living room. “Come on, guys. We need to go back,” she said. A moment later she appeared at the door with Danny and Maria and ushered them into the family room.

“Where are they?” Justine asked, peering at the iPad.

“We’ve had two triggered at the back on the outer perimeter, either side of the property. Looks like they came along the beach.”

He pointed to an on-screen digital representation of the property. Two markers near the waterline were flashing red.

“Could it be someone walking a dog along the beach?”

“It’s private,” Taft replied. “Shouldn’t be anyone out there. And...”

He stopped talking and gestured to the screen where a third marker, this one further into the garden, had been activated. “We’ve got another one.”

“We need to get to the cars,” Justine said.

Jessie nodded.

“What’s happening, Mom?” Maria asked.

“We’ve got to leave,” Jessie said, before Beth could answer.

Justine wracked her mind, replaying the journey from Manhattan. Had she and Jessie been so wrapped in grief they’d slipped up and failed to notice they were being followed? Or had their location been compromised some other way? She had no doubt whoever was out there wanted Beth and the children.

“I’ll take point,” Taft said, producing a Glock 19.

Maria gasped and looked at her mom.

“It’s OK, honey,” Beth assured her.

Justine wasn’t a fan of guns, but she was glad to see one at that moment.

“Alvarez, you watch our six,” Taft said.

“We’ll split for the vehicles,” Jessie added. “Beth, you come with me and Jim. Justine, you take Maria and Danny in the Suburban with Roni.”

“I’m not leaving my children,” Beth said firmly.

“We need to separate the targets,” Jessie replied. “It’s too great a risk for you all to be in the same car.”

“I am not leaving them!” Beth shouted.

Jessie shook her head. “OK. Beth, Maria and Danny come with Jim and me. Let’s move.”

Justine nodded and fell in beside Maria, who looked up anxiously. Justine smiled at her but got no response.

They followed Taft to the front door. He checked the windows either side, gave the thumbs-up, and opened the door. There was a crack and a whistling sound. Taft clutched his throat and fell to his knees: he’d been shot in the neck.

Maria screamed and Danny started wailing. Justine instinctively grabbed the girl and pulled her close, so she couldn’t see the horror. Beth did the same with Danny.

“Jim!” Roni yelled.

Jessie tried to pull him inside, but a second bullet struck his skull and his head whiplashed with a sickening crack. Justine had to choke back bile. She swallowed the acrid liquid as Taft fell forward onto the icy porch. That was when Justine saw them: three masked men, all in black, holding machine pistols fitted with suppressors. Jessie tried to shut the front door, but Taft’s body blocked the threshold.

The men were close now, running across the drive past the Nissan. Jessie grabbed Taft’s gun and fired a couple of wild rounds. The men scattered, taking cover behind the vehicles.

Justine heard a noise behind her and turned to see three black-clad men at the glass doors overlooking the waterline. One was working the lock. Roni shot at the man. The bullet made a perfect hole in the glass, hitting him in the shoulder. One of his accomplices dragged him away from the door while the other returned fire, the glass splintering around them.

“Come on,” Roni said. “Upstairs!”

Jessie loosed a couple more rounds to buy time, before pushing Beth and Danny toward the stairs.

Justine and Maria followed behind them as they crossed the marble hallway. Roni was laying covering fire as they ran to the right-hand flight of stairs and raced up them. Justine held Maria’s hand and pulled the distressed girl up after her onto the curved balcony that joined the two staircases.

“He’s setting a charge,” Roni yelled, sprinting after them.

Jessie followed her. As Justine watched the two women race up the staircases, Roni on the left and Jessie on the right, she heard a small explosion and the sound of glass shattering.

“This way,” Roni said. They ran into a corridor leading off to the right.

The children whimpered and cried as they all dashed past a number of bedrooms before reaching a master suite at the very end of the corridor. They bundled inside and Roni shut and locked the door.

Justine heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and the low indistinct sound of whispered instructions.

“They’re coming,” Roni said in a low voice. She ran to the front window. “I’m going to jump,” she said, looking down. “You need to throw the children down to me and then jump after them.”

Danny sniveled and Maria wept.

“We’ve got to do it, kids,” Beth whispered fiercely. “I bet it’s not even that high.”

Justine heard a door being kicked open further along the corridor. They were checking all the bedrooms.

“Come on,” she said, pulling Maria over to the window.

The girl resisted, but Justine was insistent. She knew they had no choice. If they didn’t get out in the next few seconds, all would be lost.

Jessie moved into position by the door and covered it using Taft’s Glock.

Roni holstered her pistol, opened the window and climbed onto the sill. She looked down one last time and dropped. Justine heard a thud and a groan, but when she looked down, Roni was on her feet and had her arms held up to catch the children.

Justine helped Maria onto the sill. “Just don’t look down,” she said.

Maria whimpered and Justine said an inward prayer for forgiveness as she pushed the girl clear. Maria cried out as she fell, but Roni caught her.

Gunshots erupted behind Justine. She turned to see Jessie’s gun smoking and two bullet holes in the door. Jessie signaled there were people on the other side. Justine could hear movement.

“Come on,” she said, trying to control her rising panic.

Beth helped her lift Danny onto the sill.

“Don’t be scared, Dan,” Beth said. “Maria’s done it.”

He turned to face the opening, and Justine pushed him. He squealed as he fell, but hit Roni as intended and the two of them tumbled into the snow.

“Go,” Justine told Beth. She clambered onto the sill and jumped without hesitation.