Chuck smiled. “You didn’t look very hard, soldier.” Chuck waved the gun again.

Neil followed the barrel of the gun and took several steps back. The island in the kitchen met his back and Chuck moved around him to the pantry and opened the door. He nodded inside.

“Go.”

Neil thought of the small space and considered himself trapped if he moved inside.

“Fuck you.”

“Gwen’s in there.”

Neil hesitated. He didn’t hear her…didn’t see her. “You’re full of shit.”

“Gwen’s inside, Mac. Why would I lie to you now?”

Neil cringed. His mind brought to the surface nightmares of Gwen’s torn body. Could Chuck have killed her and left her lifeless in the pantry? There was only one way to find out. And if she were gone…what was left for him? Could he survive her death? Was life worth living without her light?

He moved into the pantry and noticed a door.

“Open it.”

Neil’s stomach was in his throat as he reached for the knob on the door. The slow twist was met with little resistance. The lack of a lock made him think the worst. Chuck would have locked a live person inside…right?

Unable to stop himself, Neil swung open the door and encountered a rickety set of wooden stairs descending into a basement. Lights flashed from below.

“Go.”

Neil placed a foot on the step, a second one…then he heard it. The muffled voice. A high-pitched voice.

He leapt down the stairs and saw her.

Alive.

Never in his life did he feel like crying with joy. He did now. He rushed to her side, placing himself between her and Chuck. He reached for the gag in her mouth, noticed the red marks on her face and the bruise forming on her cheek.

Her eyes met his and tears sprang in them.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. This was all his fault. She wouldn’t be here had he not put his faith in Chuck.

“You’re here,” she choked between cracked lips.

“Isn’t that nice? The newlyweds reunited.”

Neil twisted to the man he once called his friend. “Why, Chuck? Why sacrifice us?”

Chuck narrowed his gaze. “You were supposed to take Raven out quietly. Not blow up his whole f**king family. That was imperative to the mission.”

“We weren’t responsible for the bombs.”

“You knew what he was capable of. Take out the single target and come home. Then Washington would have been happy. They didn’t need to know who called the order. Didn’t need to know.”

Neil squinted his gaze. “Washington didn’t know about Operation Raven? You called it on your own?”

“Suits don’t know how to run a war. Take out the leaders and the f**ks willing to kill their own kids for their cause…that’s what had to happen.”

Neil was starting to see the picture now. “You’re about to retire. No one would have known…”

“There’s an exit interview process. They’d already called Billy in to ask about me. Any of you could have uttered something and destroyed forty years of dedicated service. I couldn’t risk it.”

The irony was, Neil wouldn’t have said a thing. Neither would Rick…or Billy.

“Mickey’s dead,” Neil told him. Hoping to see some sort of recognizable emotion cross Chuck’s face.

Chuck shrugged. “Collateral damage,” he said. “Now back up.”

Neil bumped into Gwen, keeping her behind them. For the first time since walking into the basement, Neil noticed the twinkling lights and adolescent art and keepsakes all over the floor. Looked as if Gwen had been busy. Smart move, too. Chuck’s eyes shifted around the room and his gun arm started to waver.

“We’ve known each other a long time, Chuck. You knew my dad.” Gwen pressed up against his back. Her body trembled.

He reached one arm behind him and held the side of her body.

Chuck narrowed his eyes. “I’ve known lots of dead soldiers. What’s one more?”

Gwen twisted around behind him. He gripped her arm to keep her from moving in front of him. His fingers landed on something hard in her hand. It took a second to realize what she held.

Relief swept up his back. He wanted to praise her foresight right then but didn’t. Neil took the weapon and kept his hand behind his back. “So you kill me, kill Gwen. Then what? You don’t think I’d come here without telling someone, do you?”

“He said Blake was on his way here,” Gwen said. “Said he’d kill him if I made any noise.”

Chuck blinked, his eyes traveling between the lights and Neil’s face. “Blake knows I’m here. And he won’t arrive without backup.” Neil inched forward. “It’s over, Chuck. There’s no way out of this for you.”

His eyes focused on the barrel of the gun pointed at them, Neil held his breath and flinched with every movement Chuck made.

The tip of the barrel tilted to the floor. Neil jumped on Chuck’s show of retreat and swung Gwen’s gun in front of his chest. “Drop it.” Neil’s voice was deadly. He didn’t want to kill the major. He would. But he didn’t want to. “Do the right thing, Chuck. Drop it.”

Chuck’s eyes landed on the weapon Gwen had brought into the basement and he huffed out a laugh. His displaced humor was a testament to his mental state. Chuck’s gun hung to his side.

“You always were the smart one. Should have had Mickey take you out first.” Then, with no preamble and no warning, Major Chuck Blayney lifted the barrel of his weapon to his own head and squeezed the trigger.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Gwen felt the major’s intent as he lifted the weapon and she closed her eyes. Her scream echoed along with the blast from the gun. Her entire body shook as the room grew silent.

Neil’s arms gathered around her. She stumbled into him, buried her face in his shoulder.

“It’s over,” he cooed in her ear. “I’ve got you.”

Her knees went out from under her. Neil lifted and cradled her into his arms. He kept her as stable as a mother with a child, even with her hands handcuffed behind her back. She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to open them until Neil had taken her up the stairs and set her gently down on a sofa.

He started to move away and she huddled closer. “Don’t go. Don’t go.”

“I won’t,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”

She blinked her eyes open. “Is he?”