Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

M addox had been sitting in the living room with Hamilton, attempting to make conversation with the excruciatingly awkward man when Sutton called. He excused himself and stepped into the hall to take the call.

“Sorry I’ve been hard to reach,” Sutton began. “I wanted to make sure I had as much info as possible before we spoke.”

“I understand.” Maddox braced himself, sensing that what Sutton was about to say was significant.

“Brent Barrett came up clean.”

The breath left Maddox’s lungs. “What? Are you sure?” His mind raced in circles like a dog chasing its tail.

“I’m sure,” Sutton answered in a tone so matter-of-fact that it left no room for doubt.

“To be clear, you’re saying Barrett didn’t kill Jordan and that he didn’t steal the hard drive?”

“That’s precisely what I’m saying.”

“What about Addie’s attempted kidnapping?”

“The money trail leads to Brent Barrett. From the outside, looking in, it’s a slam-dunk case against him.”

“Meaning you think he was framed.”

“Bingo.”

Something Addie said came rushing back to Maddox. She questioned why a criminal would use his bank account to finance a kidnapping. She made a good point, but most transactions were done electronically as opposed to cash. Maddox also figured that Barrett wanted to do things remotely to keep as much distance between himself and his henchman as possible. The trail that led them to Brent Barrett had been twisty, going through various accounts before it was finally linked to an offshore account owned by Barrett Medical. He spoke, thinking out loud. “Are you saying that someone made the transactions convoluted enough to avoid suspicion, but clear enough for us to follow back to Barrett?”

“That’s my thought.”

A bitter disappointment rose in Maddox’s throat. He swallowed, tasting acid. If Brent Barrett was innocent, then they were back to ground zero.

“I do have some other information that might prove useful.”

Maddox’s ears perked up.

“When we did the initial round of questioning at Therapia, everything came up squeaky clean. However, we did more digging—offered a reward for information—and received an anonymous call from a woman asserting that PZT wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. We were able to track the call to a pharmaceutical scientist who worked alongside Jordan Phelps.”

Maddox tightened his hold on his phone. “How trustworthy is this woman? Is it possible she’s blowing smoke to get a reward?” Maddox thought about the video he and Addie watched of the Alzheimer’s patient in the care center who’d been given PZT. Addie knew the woman, knew firsthand the state the patient was in before taking PZT.

“Yes, it’s possible. At this point, I don’t have enough information to make a clear assessment.”

Maddox’s thoughts were a jumble. Even though he and Addie weren’t a hundred percent sure Barrett was guilty, they were both cautiously optimistic that they were getting to the bottom of this thing. Maddox knew from sad experience that no mission or job ever went as planned, but this was like finishing Hell Week only to be told you had to do it all over again. If Barrett was innocent, then who was behind all of this? Addie was going to flip her lid when she realized they were back to square one. He forced himself to push aside his personal feelings to think analytically. “What’s the woman saying?”

“That Jordan and his wife, Piper, were at odds about PZT. The drug had gone through several rounds of company testing. It passed the initial tests with flying colors. However, when it got to the beagle phase, some abnormalities were detected.”

“What sort of abnormalities?” he asked carefully.

“Radical cell division.”

“Cancer.” Maddox said flatly.

“Yes.”

“Why were Jordan and Piper at odds?” Maddox asked. “Was Jordan trying to cut corners to fast-track PZT to the market?”

“Not according to the researcher. Piper was the one who wanted to push forward. She was concerned about looking bad to the investors. Jordan was the one holding back. He’d given the drug to a handful of patients at a care facility. It shook him up badly when one of his test subjects developed cancer.”

Maddox gasped like he’d been sucker punched. Addie’s grandmother! Had Jordan given her PZT? “What kind of cancer?”

“Let me check my notes.” The sound of rustling papers came over the line. “Brain.”

Blood fired through Maddox’s veins like a rocket launcher. The answer had been staring him in the face the whole time. He’d suspected Piper from the beginning, but Addie had been so adamant about her innocence. Then, after he saw the video with the Alzheimer’s patient, the hard drive was stolen and the trail led to Barrett Medical. So, he assumed Addie was right, and Piper was the victim. A warning bell went off in his head, his only thought to get to Addie.

“You need to question Piper Phelps and her father, Dr. Hamilton Gentry.”

“I’m here now. I’ll let you know what I find out.” He’d just ended the call when he heard movement. At the same instant, he felt a sharp stab of pain in his neck. He grunted as he collapsed to the floor, the phone falling out of his hand.

Addie’s head felt like a gargantuan watermelon as she tried to swim through the darkness surrounding her. Voices swirled around her like hissing serpents.

“Time to wake up,” a woman said.

She tried to raise her eyelids, but they wouldn’t budge. Rough hands shook her arm. Her head dropped forward, her chin resting against her neck.

The voice became more adamant. “Addie!”

“My head,” she moaned, pain throbbing across the bridge of her nose. Some of the fog lifted as she opened her eyes. She tried to brush her hair out of her face, then realized her hands were caught behind her back. Panic rose in her throat as she twisted, realizing she was sitting in a chair—no, tied to a chair! Her eyes shot open wide. She looked around wildly, trying to orient herself. She’d been sitting beside Piper when something happened …

“She’s awake,” a voice snapped.

Piper’s voice. The room came into focus. Addie realized she was in Piper’s family room. She looked down at the kitchen chair, her heart racing. She jerked, trying to free her hands. Then it occurred to her that Piper was standing in front of her, watching with a curious expression as if Addie were a lab rat. “What’s going on?” she managed to squeak. “Maddox!” she shouted, a wave of dizziness assaulting her. “Hamilton put something in my water” she asserted, glaring at Piper. Right after she drank it, she passed out. She looked at Piper, now dressed in jeans and a pullover shirt. She didn’t look weak or suicidal. She looked perfectly normal. Well, except for her hostile expression. Addie tried to grapple with what was happening. “Why are you doing this?” Nausea swept over her, making her want to puke. She tried to swallow but couldn’t. Where was Maddox? “Maddox!” she screamed, terror clawing at her like the talons of an eagle, picking apart its prey.

Piper sat down on the arm of an overstuffed chair, folding her arms over her chest, an amused smile washing over her face. “Don’t worry. Loverboy can hear you.” A cruel smile overtook her lips. “But I’m afraid he can’t do much about it.”

Heat flushed over Addie’s body as she glared at Piper. “What did you do to him?” She couldn’t believe this! She was still so floored by what was happening that she could hardly process it.

Piper laughed. “All in good time.” Her eyes turned a deep black, malice twisting over her features. She leaned forward. “First, you’re going to tell me what you did with the formula for PZT.”

Somehow, Addie managed to find her voice. “W—what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Addie. I know you have it.”

Terror—swift and mind-numbing—raced through Addie as she tried to make sense of what Piper was saying. A hysterical giggle bubbled in her throat. “Do you think I stole the formula?”

“No, I don’t think you stole it,” she sneered. “Jordan gave it to you.”

Addie’s eyes narrowed. “Did you kill Jordan?”

Piper grunted. “If you mean, did I hit him with the car? Yes.” Piper rattled out a hard laugh. “But I didn’t kill him.” She shot Addie a look of malice. “You did.” She clenched her teeth. “You took Jordan from me and destroyed any chance we had for happiness.” A sadistic look came into her eyes. “It’s time for me to repay the favor.”

Addie’s heart slammed against her ribs like a caged animal. Repay the favor? Meaning hurt Maddox? Her heart shrank in despair as a prayer rose in her mind. Please, help me and Maddox. Piper wasn’t making any sense. “I don’t understand.” Addie got the feeling that none of this was real, that she was in the middle of a nightmare. Tears rose in her eyes. “Why’re you doing this?”

Piper sighed. “Determined to play Miss Innocent, huh? Fine, I’ll play along. Everything was going along just fine until Jordan gave PZT to your precious grandmother,” she spat.

“No, he didn’t give PZT to Gram, remember? That’s why he asked me to forgive him.” Maybe Piper was insane. Why had Addie not noticed the signs before?

“No, stupid! Jordan gave PZT to your grandmother. As my rotten luck would have it, she was the one in fifty who developed a brain tumor.”

The only sound in the room was Addie’s sudden intake of breath. An invisible fist squeezed her lungs. “I can’t breathe,” she uttered.

“You can give it a rest, Addie. Your tricks won’t work.”

Addie felt like her head would explode. Jordan had given Gram PZT. She died because of him. Piper killed Jordan! She would kill Addie, had possibly killed Maddox already. Addie willed herself to relax. The only chance she had to make it out of this was to keep her wits about her. Breathe! she commanded herself. Her lungs expanded, allowing in a margin of blessed air. She tried to rise above the tide of hysteria threatening to sweep her into oblivion.

“Jordan felt guilty because of your grandmother and suddenly developed a conscience. He wanted to pull the plug on PZT.” She wrinkled her brows. “Do you think he gave a crap that Dad and I had hocked everything to finance the research of PZT? That we had investors breathing down our necks, threatening to pull their backing? No!” she barked. “Not in the slightest.”

Addie tried to connect the dots. “Does PZT really cure Alzheimer’s?”

“Or course,” Piper snipped. “You saw the video.”

“But it causes brain cancer.”

“In one out of fifty patients.”

Addie exerted her strength, trying to break free of the band that bound her hands together with a spindle of the chair. It felt like hard plastic cutting into her wrists. Probably a zip tie. “When Jordan realized it caused cancer, he wanted to stop the process, which is why you killed him.” Her mind raced to something else. “Are you the one who ransacked my house and hired the man to kidnap me?”

A hard light streaked in Piper’s eyes. “Well, duh. It would’ve been so much easier to handle this if your SEAL hadn’t stepped back into the picture. Now we’ll have to do things the hard way.”

“Why did you want to kidnap me?”

A raucous laugh issued from Piper’s throat. “That’s the ironic part. I was trying to find out what Jordan had given you the day he came to see you.” Accusation shot from her eyes like arrows. “I figured Jordan would run to you. You were his true love.” She spoke the words nastily.

“No, that’s not true. What Jordan and I had was over a long time ago. Jordan loved you.” The urge to charge out of her chair and wipe the smirk off Piper’s face was overwhelming. “He trusted you.” Her stomach churned acid in her throat as she eyed the woman she’d thought was her best friend. “How could you kill your own husband?” she seethed. Piper was lower than low.

“You took Jordan from me!” Piper screamed, rage filling her eyes. She clenched her fist and raised it at Addie. “You knew Jordan loved you when you introduced him to me.” She snorted in disgust. “That’s how you are, Addie. You rack up hearts, pining away for you, while pretending to be oblivious.”

Addie realized that any argument she put forth would be shot down by Piper. It was better not to waste her breath. “You were looking for the item that Jordan gave me—the key.”

“Yes.”

“Maddox and I handed it to you on a silver platter.”

Piper lifted her eyebrows, her eyes dancing in amusement. “Pretty much.”

Addie connected the rest. “Dr. Gentry said he had to meet with the funeral director, but he’s the one who stole the hard drive.” It all came rushing back with a hard slap in the face. She’d thought the voice of the masked gunman was familiar, but had pushed it to the back of her mind. Regret punched through her. Maddox had been suspicious of Piper the entire time, but she’d dismissed his assertions, confident Piper was innocent. The sting of betrayal hit her so strongly she felt like her chest might collapse. “Jordan was never having an affair with Blanche Richey, was he?”

Piper giggled like a teenager. “That’s the part I was most surprised about—your willingness to believe that. Your opinion of Jordan was almost as high as his opinion of you. I’m sure the two of you would’ve ridden off happily into the sunset had it not been for your SEAL.” An expression of mock pity masked her face. “Poor Jordan. He never did get over you falling in love with another man.” She sighed. “He tried to make do with his consolation prize—” she touched her hair “—me. That was so kind of you to throw your leftovers in my direction,” she pouted.

“The money trail that led to Brent Barrett, you framed him.”

“See, you’re getting it, Addie. You’re not as dumb as you look. Blanche was all too happy to help implicate her former boss.”

“Because Brent Barrett fired her for embezzlement.”

“Yes.”

“Blanche was in cahoots with you.”

“Blanche got a hefty payment for her assistance. She’s living it up in Mexico.” She frowned. “Too bad she’s greedy, always wanting more money to keep quiet.” She pursed her lips, cocking her head. “I guess I’ll have to deal with her when the time comes.”

It was at that moment that a chilling realization swept over Addie. Piper wouldn’t be telling her all this if she planned to let her go. She didn’t want to die! Not now, when she’d finally found happiness. She forced away the fear, willed her mind to concentrate on the details. Piper still needed something from Addie or she’d already be dead. She’d said earlier that Maddox could hear her, but that he couldn’t do anything about it. Hopefully, that meant he was still alive. Even if I have to die here today, please let Maddox be okay , she prayed. “What was on the hard drive?”

“I’m so glad you asked,” Piper answered gleefully. “Because I’m about to show you.” She grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV. A video of Jordan came on.

Tears rose in Addie’s eyes when she realized he was speaking to her.

“Hey, Addie,” he began, offering a slight smile into the camera. “If you’re seeing this, then it must mean that the situation has escalated.”

A sense of horror rose in Addie’s chest as she listened to him outline the events in a dispassionate, cool tone—telling her everything Piper just had. When he got to the part about giving PZT to Gram, his voice choked. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am,” he uttered.

Tears rolled down Addie’s cheeks.

“How touching,” Piper cooed, her voice dripping with venom.

A scorching indignation pulsed through Addie’s veins as she glared at Piper.

Piper fast-forwarded the video. “You already know all of this part,” she explained. “This is the part I want you to see.” Her voice hardened to flint. “That way, you won’t waste my time trying to deny that you don’t have the formula.” The video slowed to normal speed, Jordan’s voice commanding Addie’s attention.

“Addie, you’re the only one I can trust. This drive contains Therapia’s lab results for PZT, including how the damaged tissue samples were switched. I’m putting this into your hands because I trust you will get it to the right people to stop PZT from hitting the market in its current form.” A pained look came over him. “I’m so sorry I failed you.” He smiled thinly. “My intentions were good. You have everything you need, including the formula for PZT. I suppose a part of me hopes that you can get it in the right hands, so the formula can be refined.” His face radiated optimism. “Think about what it would mean to the world, Addie, if we can cure this horrible disease once and for all.” A boyish smile tugged at his lips as he pushed on his glasses. “You were my hope and inspiration. I love you.”

“How sweet,” Piper purred, turning off the TV. Her face went hard. “Where’s the formula?”

Confusion swirled around Addie. “You said you kept the formula for PZT on a single computer, locked in a vault. You killed Jordan, stole the hard drive. You already have everything you need to move forward. Why am I here? Unless …”

“Jordan broke into the vault and messed up the formula.” Piper smirked. “Yeah, unfortunately, I didn’t realize that part of the equation when I killed him.” She stepped forward and got in Addie’s face. “Where’s the formula?”

“I don’t know,” Addie admitted.

The hard slap against her jaw took her by surprise as she yelped in pain, the force of the hit jerking her head sideways.

Piper eyed her. “I was afraid that might be the case.” She sighed. “Well, let’s see if I can jog your memory.” Piper left the room and returned a minute later, holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.

Revulsion swelled over Addie like something rotten as she swallowed. She had no idea where the formula was. Even if by some miracle she found it, Piper would kill her. She prayed silently for help. Piper stepped behind her. Addie realized she was using the knife to cut the zip tie.

As she stood, Addie felt the cold press of metal in her back. “One wrong move, and you die,” Piper growled. “Hands up where I can see them!”

Addie complied, raising her hands into the air.

“Move,” Piper ordered, pushing her forward.

Addie’s wrists burned, and her legs felt like wobbly toothpicks. Her thoughts rushed back to when she was kidnapped as the same feeling of desperation cloaked her. Maddox had rescued her then. Not likely to happen this time. The notion sank like lead in her gut.

“We’re going to my bathroom,” Piper said.

Piper’s bathroom? Fear iced down Addie’s spine. A strangled cry sounded from Addie’s throat when she saw him. Maddox was lying in a large Jacuzzi tub filled with water up to his face. His eyes were open, his body motionless. For an instant, Addie feared he was already dead, then saw the distress in his eyes. “What did you do to him?” She moved to rush to his side, but Piper grabbed her sweater, yanking her back.

“Not so fast.” Piper jabbed the gun in her back.

Trembles started in Addie’s hands and rippled through her body, snaking down to her toes. “Oh, my gosh,” she uttered, her hand going over her mouth.

Piper stepped around to face Addie, pointing the gun at her.

Rage trumped the fear as Addie glared at Piper. “What did you do to him?”

“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 with the 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 for Alzheimer’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. “The next 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.

“Dad!” Piper screamed. “Dad!”

“911. What is your emergency?” the operator asked.

“A man has been shot.” Addie glanced at Maddox. “Another man has been drugged. We’re at the Gentry Estate in Liberty Falls. Hurry!”

Piper’s anguished wails echoed off the hard wall of the master bath. “Dad’s dead! You killed him!”

“No, you killed him,” Addie replied softly. She wanted to feel pity for Piper, but the bitterness of her betrayal was too overshadowing. She glanced at Maddox. “It’s okay,” she assured him, “the police and paramedics are on their way.” She wasn’t sure but thought she saw relief in his eyes.

“I love you,” she added, gratitude welling in her chest. Her prayers had been answered. It was a miracle that they’d made it through this. Her heart clutched. Hopefully, the drug cocktail wouldn’t have any lingering effects on Maddox.

He blinked, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Intense relief surged through her when he made a noise. At first, it was guttural grunts. Then finally, he got the words out in slurred groans. “I love you too.”