“I had no idea Olivet’s ‘special guest’ for that party was King Frederick. I stood there in that receiving line trying to figure out how to poison him at dinner.”
Braden couldn’t help but smile. “That would’ve been nice.”
“Definitely. But then Kylee came and everything went insane. Thankfully my girl was okay.”
They both nodded at that.
Admiral Seamons’ gaze darted around. “When I was in the hospital, I knew the house would be seized. I had an employee that I implicitly trusted, who Olivet thought was loyal to her, visit Olivet and ask what he could do for her before the house was repossessed.” He smiled grimly. “Olivet told him the code to her safe and told him to put the money somewhere safe for her and to destroy this.” He pulled a zip drive from his pocket and slipped it into Maddie’s hand. “I don’t know what’s on it. It’s encrypted. Get it to your grand—”
Admiral Seamons’ hand jerked away as he slammed back against his chair. Braden heard the crack of a gunshot in the distance and blood sprayed Maddie from a wound on the admiral’s left shoulder.
Braden tackled Maddie to the concrete patio, covering her body with his. People screamed and dodged away as another shot shattered a water glass.
He heard return fire and peered up to see the admiral shooting across the river. A man sprinted from the interior of the restaurant toward them with a gun drawn. Maddie tried to get out from under him. Braden held her tighter.
The second man aimed and took shots across the river at the shooter as well. Braden recognized the admiral’s driver. They were aiming at a boat that was tied up across the river. The shooter must be hiding inside of it.
“Get her out of here,” Admiral Seamons hissed at Braden.
Braden eased off of Maddie.
“Go!” Seamons said. “We’ve got him pinned down. We’ll get him and I’m fine. You get that to Davidson.”
Maddie looked at him and nodded. “He’s right. The cops will be here soon and slow us down.”
“You’re all right?” Braden asked the admiral.
“Getting shot is routine,” was his only response.
Braden ushered Maddie up into a crouch and they scurried away until they were out of the line of fire. They skirted around the outside of the restaurant, following the crowd that was leaving in a mass exodus. He hated to leave Admiral Seamons, but as he looked back, his commanding officer was focused on shooting at the boat across the way, a half-smile on his face as if he hadn’t been shot and was enjoying being in the middle of the action.
“Tough guy,” Maddie murmured, respect in her voice.
“For sure.” You didn’t get to the rank of admiral without proving yourself. Admiral Seamons was tough and hopefully the bullet wound would get treated soon and wouldn’t be a huge deal. Had the shooter been sent to eliminate the admiral? Or did they know about the flash drive and were trying to stop the information from being passed on? If that was the case, Maddie was in danger.
Braden took her hand and they hurried down the sidewalk and away from the mayhem. Police cars screeched by as they rounded the block and headed away from the river. Braden kept checking over his shoulder but didn’t see anyone tailing them.
Maddie tugged him down a quiet alley. “I need to call Papa.” She handed him the pistol from her purse. “Cover me.”
“Got it.” He sheltered her with his body and kept the pistol gripped tight in his right hand. His gaze darted down both sides of the alleyway, categorizing everybody who walked past.
Maddie yanked her phone from her purse and dialed. She wasn’t trembling and didn’t seem upset at all. He should’ve expected as much, but it still impressed him.
“Papa, we met with Seamons. He gave me a coded flash drive from Olivet’s safe, then a shooter got him in the shoulder.” She listened to Papa’s response, then said, “I don’t think we’re being followed, but yes, the flash drive could have a tracker in it. Or they could’ve followed Seamons from base and set up across the river where they thought they could kill him and get away with it.”
She paused. Braden was so impressed by her calm response. He really wanted to get her far from here, somewhere safe and quiet, and then hold her for a long, long time. Her lack of emotion also worried him. How many times had she seen someone get shot? Or shot someone?
“You don’t want us to come to you?” she asked.
Braden wouldn’t mind going back to that beautiful Colorado valley and spending more time with Maddie and her family. It would give him insight into how she ticked to see her interact with her family members and get to know them all better. It would be far different from his last trip when the Delta men had captured him trying to hike to their secret and Papa had asked him to never return.
“You’ve got a guy?” Maddie met Braden’s gaze and her blue eyes were full of humor. “Of course you do. All right. I’ll wait for that text and instructions.”
She hung up and slipped the phone back in her purse. Glancing up at Braden, she explained, “Papa needs us to get the flash drive to some guy who can decrypt it for him. He lives on Lake Leelanau, Michigan. We’ll need to go get our stuff from Shelly’s and get a rental car.”
“Okay.” He nodded and took her hand again. She hid the gun in her purse. They walked quickly out of the alley and found a taxi.
The drive back to Shelly’s had him edgy, and he found himself constantly looking around for someone tailing them or another shooter. Everything had happened so quick in the restaurant with the shooter and the admiral, and sitting still was making him anxious. At least all of this proved that Admiral Seamons was on their side. Otherwise, why would he give them the flash drive and why would the shooter have targeted him and not Maddie or Braden?