Page 77 of Fatal Thrill
The cross had a long and ill-gotten history, and even with its immense beauty and infamous reputation, she found it hard to believe people had killed over it.Wouldstill kill over it. If the cross wasn’t handed over to the criminals holding her brother captive in the next few hours, the bloody thing would be responsible for yet anothermurder.
One hundred and seventy-seven milliondollars.
Holy Moses, as her dad wouldsay.
A sigh as weighted at the cross escaped her lips. She began wrapping the heavy family heirloom once more in its protective, satin material. “I know what I have to do to end the curse,” she said, more to herself and the ghosts hovering around her than to theothers.
“You do?” Jonasked.
A loud click reverberated behind them and they whirled to see a man in a bulky coat and faded jeans behind them on the Blackrock side of the tunnels. “I’ll tell you how to end the bloody curse,” he said. A second man emerged from the tunnel, also with a nasty looking black gun in his hand. “Hand the fecking thing over, love, and I’ll take it off yerhands.”
Bloody hell,Jon thought, as everyone in these parts was prone tosay.
He still had the knife in his palm, and with the room only lit by the flashlights Miles and Charlotte were holding, he hoped neither of the gunmen saw it. One of them was PaddyDoyle.
Knew it. Paddy was either one of Fitzpatrick’s investors who’d turned on him, or he’d put the mercenaries working for the dead Moreau ontoSean.
Now, he just needed the backup he’d put in place to get their assesmoving.
“Come on, now, girl,” Paddy Doyle said, wiggling his fingers at her. “Hand itover.”
“Fat chance.” Jaya sounded calm, but Jon knew she had to be shaking in her boots, and not from the cold. She glanced at Jon. “Guess black market criminals have no problem getting hold of handguns, huh?” Her gaze flew back to the man. “Now, if you’re in possession of Finn, then we can talk, otherwise, get the hell out of my way. I have a brotherto—”
Before she finished, Jon stepped in front of Jaya and threw theknife.
Miles—excellent wingman that he was—jumped Paddy as the first man screamed in pain. The knife had landed in his thigh, and he staggered back against acasket.
Charlotte lunged for Jaya, taking her to the ground as gunfire erupted. Jon felt a bullet whiz past his shoulder, a sudden reminder of the one he’d taken in Oklahoma only a few monthsbefore.
“Jon!” Jaya’s voice blasted in his ears. He jumped the lead gunman, bringing a swift knee to his balls and slamming the hand holding the gun into the stone wall behind him. It clattered to the stonefloor.
A punch, a kick, and the man went down and didn’t move. Glancing over, Jon saw Miles had incapacitatedPaddy.
Jon scrambled to Jaya’s side behind the concrete casket. “Are youokay?”
Charlotte was crouched and ready for action. “Miles?”
“I’m fine.” He stood over their two assailants with his gun trained onthem.
Jon helped both women to their feet. Jaya hugged the cross to her chest. “I’m okay, too. We need to get out ofhere.”
Kieran emerged from the side the two culprits had come from, pushing a third in front of him who was bound and gagged. “Nice work,” he said, eyeing the two men on thefloor.
Percy suddenly appeared in the narrow entrance to the O’Sullivan’s side of the tunnel. Colton and Shelby with him. “You were right. They followed you from the hospital,” Percy said. “I’ve got a car going to pick up Mrs. Doyle now. We’ll see what sheknows.”
“They’re probably all part of the crew that’s been after us since we landed,” Shelbyadded.
“Took your sweet time with the backup,” Jonsaid.
Bells kicked at Paddy’s foot. “We didn’t want to tip themoff.”
“We handled the situation fine, didn’t we, Jaya?” Charlotte guided her out from behind the casket. “And we found what we were lookingfor.”
Percy strode forward. “The cross? It washere?”
Jaya hugged the burlap sack to her chest. “You don’t get it until I have my brotherback.”
He looked crestfallen. “I only want to see it, cousin. It’s legendary. Not many people in our lifetime have seen it, much less heldit.”
