Page 254 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

“I gave him a nice cocktail of drugs to render him motionless but allow him to comprehend everything with excruciating detail. Don’t worry, if you do exactly as I say and get me the formula, the drugs will wear off and Loverboy will be just fine. If you don’t …” A vicious smile twisted her lips as she went over to the tub and turned on the faucet.

Addie screamed as the water rose higher. “Stop!” The water was an inch shy of entering Maddox’s nose and mouth. She could feel his despair spilling out between them. It couldn’t end like this! Maddox was a kick-butt, former Navy SEAL who’d survived torture and imprisonment by ISIS. Addie couldn’t let Piper do him in.

“Of course, if the threat of drowning isn’t enough to sway you, there are other means.” Her voice had the controlled hiss of a viper about to strike. She reached for her blow dryer, resting on the nearby vanity. Addie followed the trail of the cord and realized there was an extension cord leading from the bathroom to the bedroom.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Piper said with a laugh. “I thought about just plugging the blow dryer in here. Then I realized all the outlets in the bathroom have GFCI switches, hence the extension cord.”

Addie felt like she was having an out-of-body experience when Piper turned on the blow dryer. Keeping her hand withthe gun trained on Addie, she held the blow dryer with the other hand. “One drop is all it will take,” she taunted.

“Okay,” Addie screamed, tears pooling in her eyes. “I’ll give you the formula.” She squared her jaw, her eyes burning with wrath. “Know this though, if you kill Maddox, you’ll never get it no matter what you do to me.”

After what seemed like an eternity, Piper turned off the blow dryer and placed it back on the vanity. “All right,” she said lightly. “Where is it?”

“In the jewelry Jordan gave me,” Addie blurted, not knowing what else to say.

Piper studied her with a keen eye, trying to decide if Addie was telling the truth.

Addie didn’t flinch. “It’s at the cabin.”

Piper cocked her head. “Maddox said the jewelry was being examined.”

“I lied.” She gave Piper an unyielding look. “You’re not the only one who can keep secrets.”

Piper laughed. “All right. We’ll go to the cabin and get the jewelry.” Her eyes turned to black slits. “But for your sake and his, she motioned at Maddox, you’d better be telling the truth.”

“What’s going on here?” Hamilton asked as he came into the bathroom and stepped up beside Addie.

“Dad, you were supposed to be taking a nap,” Piper said, giving him an annoyed look.

Shock came over Hamilton’s features as he looked at the gun and Maddox in the bathtub. “You said you were only going to hold Maddox so Addie would be more inclined to help us find the formula. This has gone too far.”

Piper gritted her teeth, her voice rising. “I told you to let me handle this!”

Hamilton’s voice was heavy with regret as he continued. “I went along with your plan because I felt like a cure forAlzheimer’s outweighed the negative effects of PZT. But this,” he shook his head, his face draining, “it’s too much. You need to put the gun down and stop this before more people get hurt.”

“Shut up!” Piper screamed. Rage boiled in her eyes as she zeroed in on Hamilton. “You’re weak, just like Jordan. I’m the only one who has the courage to do anything!”

Act now!Addie’s mind screamed. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she lunged forward and attacked Piper. They toppled to the ground, wrestling for the gun. A shot went off. Piper let out a cry of anguish as Hamilton fell to the floor.

Addie wrenched the gun out of Piper’s hand. She scuttled back, holding it with both hands, aiming it at Piper as she got to her feet.

“You shot Dad,” Piper croaked, a crazed look coming into her eyes. She crawled to Hamilton’s side as she cradled him in her arms. “Oh, no.” she cried. “What do I do? How do I fix this?”

Hamilton fought to get a breath. His hand was over his chest, a pool of red spreading in a large circle over his white dress shirt.

“Dad, tell me what to do?” Piper screamed, hysteria coating her voice. “Oh, my gosh!” she kept repeating.

“I think my artery has been hit,” Hamilton breathed, then coughed, wincing in pain. “Use my cellphone. In my pocket.” The words came out in gasps. “Call 911 before I bleed out.”

“I’d do what he says,” Addie demanded. “Better yet, hand me his phone.”

Piper’s upper lip curled, making her look more monster than human. “Or what? You’re gonna shoot me?” She let out a derisive chortle. “You don’t have the guts.”

Time seemed to slow as Addie saw herself clearly for the first time. Yes, she had the guts to shoot Piper, or anything else it required to save Maddox. Addie flinched as she pulled the trigger, the bullet firing into the wall just to the right of Piper’s head. Piper jumped, her head slumping into her shoulders. “Thenext time, I won’t miss,” Addie said savagely. “The phone. Now!” she barked.

Piper reached in Hamilton’s pocket, then handed her the phone.

“4348 is my passcode,” Hamilton managed to get out in halting breaths before closing his eyes.

---