He killed the line. He’d bought a little time, not much. It wouldn’t be long before they figured out half their men were dead.
He pushed open the service elevator doors and looked inside. The cage waited above, doors open on the gate level. He lifted the strap of his assault rifle over his head and set the gun on the floor, along with the extra magazine, pulled his jacket on to cover his weapons and the blood on his clothes.
Shoving his way into the elevator shaft, he climbed hand over hand up the side to the upper level, then lay on his stomach and crawled on top of the cage. Quietly lifting away the emergency exit panel gave him a bird’s-eye view of the concourse.
He could see two of the four remaining terrorists, knew there were two more out of sight. He scanned the area and found Ty sitting on the floor behind a row of seats next to Hallie, the kids tucked between them, opposite the open elevator doors.
Ramirez had kept him informed. SWAT would be arriving any minute, dispersing quietly below, getting ready to make their assault. A perimeter had been set up outside, snipers had at least two of the terrorists in their sights.
Army Special Forces were being helicoptered in, but they wouldn’t get there in time. Men from the Alamo Depot had been dispatched to handle the munitions—assuming the terrorists weren’t able to explode them.
His phone vibrated. “It’s a go,” Ramirez said.
Everything happened at once. Shots slammed through the big plate glass windows and passengers screamed as two of the terrorists went down to sniper fire. People started running. SWAT burst onto the floor through the equipment-room doors, firing a barrage of bullets, taking the other two terrorists out.
It was over in minutes. If the leader had pushed the button to set off the explosives, it had been blocked.
Bran jumped down through the open panel in the elevator roof. Just outside the open doors, police swarmed the gate area, shouting orders, herding terrified passengers away from the scene to safety.
Bran spotted Ty and strode toward him, shouldering his way through the mass of humanity rushing to get out of the terminal.
He glanced around. Police and SWAT were everywhere, a group of them directing people down the concourse toward the exits. The bomb squad had arrived. Apparently the devices were rudimentary because the explosives were defused in minutes. Still, it was going to take hours to get the airport back up and running.
“Come on,” Bran said as he reached his friend. “We’re getting out of here.” Ramirez and the mass of law enforcement descending on the building wouldn’t like it, but he and Ty had done their part. The rest was just cleanup.
Lifting Chris, Bran set the little boy in his wheelchair while Ty swung Sarah up on his shoulders and reached down for Hallie’s hand. Their carry-on luggage sat forlornly a few feet away, but getting to safety was more important.
Bran pushed the wheelchair into the service elevator, and as soon as everyone was inside, he closed the doors. Hallie hit the button for the lower level, and the hydraulic motor started whining its decent.
“Everybody okay?” he asked.
Ty clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
Hallie reached up to tearfully hug him. “Thank you.”
Bran just nodded. As soon as the doors slid open and they were headed for the lower level exit, Bran phoned Jessie. “Hey, baby. Any chance you could come pick us up?”
“Oh, my God, are you kidding? Where are you?”
“We’re exiting through the same door where you dropped me off.”
“I’m on my way. I love you.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He was saving the words. He wanted to do it right this time. He thought about what Jessie would do if the cops tried to stop her from coming to pick them up. He was pretty sure she’d be there.
Bran wasn’t surprised to see the big black Cadillac SUV racing toward them across the tarmac. The vehicle roared up and slid to a stop, the driver’s door flew open, and Jessie ran toward him.
Bran swept her into his arms.
It was freezing, the icy wind whipping her clothes, but Jessie didn’t care. Brandon was there and he was safe. Ty and Hallie, Chris and Sarah were safe. The passengers in the terminal were safe.
Bran’s arms tightened around her. His cheek was cold against hers as he buried his face in her hair. She could feel him trembling.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s over.” She held on tighter, slid her fingers into the soft brown strands curling at the nape of his neck. “Everything’s okay.”
He took a deep breath and eased a little away, but he didn’t let her go. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. It always takes me a while to come down after a mission.”
“Oh, honey.” The darkness was back in his eyes, his jaw rigid as steel. The hard edge was part of him, she now knew, part of who he was. He was meant to do what he did. She knew that now, accepted it.
