Hostage Midwife Read Free Page B

of smoky gray glass that was about twelve feet long. “Ready?”
    “Amaze me,” she said.
    He hit a switch and a light came on behind the glass, turning it transparent. Behind a wall of reinforced steel bars, the Valiant gold shone with a radiance that rivaled the sun. The stacks of fifty kilobars took up about as much space as a medium-size coffee table.Nick had seen the gold hundreds of times. He’d held the kilobars and felt their weight in his hands. Still, being this close always gave him a thrill.
    Kelly whispered, “Can I touch it?”
    “Afraid not.”
    She leaned forward, almost pressing her nose against the glass wall. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the real color of gold before. It almost seems alive.”
    He heard the excitementin her voice as she continued. “When I look at this, I can understand why gold has been coveted throughout history—from King Midas to the search for El Dorado.”
    “And into the present day. Two months ago, an Ethiopian prince offered to purchase the Valiant gold.”
    His family’s treasure was more than a showpiece; it was collateral. If Marian was right and the company was on the brink ofdisaster, they could sell the gold—a worst-case scenario.
    She tapped the glass wall. “This doesn’t seem like enough protection.”
    “The glass is reinforced and the steel bars are unbreakable. The only way to open these doors is with a code and two simultaneous fingerprints from Spencer heirs. That includes me, my brother, Uncle Samuel and a cousin who’s currently on an expedition to theNorth Pole.”
    “What about your mother?”
    “Mom passed away when I was just a kid.”
    “I’m sorry.... Do I see a safe in the corner behind the gold?”
    He nodded. “There’s family jewelry in there. Ironically, the diamonds are probably worth as much as the gold. It’s too bad those necklaces and rings are almost never worn.”
    “A real shame.” She pivoted and looked up at him. “Diamondsare meant to be seen.”
    He would have liked nothing more than to retrieve one of the ornate necklaces from the safe, drape it around her throat and make love to her on the Valiant gold. “I wish I could show you.”
    “There’s something magical about precious gems. I got to wear a very valuable rented bracelet once.” She gestured gracefully. “Rubies and diamonds.”
    “You must have beenattending an important event.”
    “The Governor’s Inaugural Ball. He’s a friend of my ex.”
    Nick was getting curious about the ex’s identity. “I’m surprised I didn’t see you there.”
    “I’ve always been good at fading into the wallpaper, even when I’m wearing diamonds.”
    “You look plenty sparkling to me.”
    He heard a loud pop. A gunshot?
    Grabbing Kelly’s wrist, he pulled herout of the vault and shut the door. As he ran toward the exit from the conference room, he shouted to her, “Stay back.”
    In the hallway, Marian poked her head out of her office and called to him. “The noise sounded like it came from your uncle’s office.”
    “Was it a gun?”
    “I think so.”
    A moment ago, he’d thought the worst fate that could befall the Spencers was to lose the gold.He hadn’t considered physical harm to his family. At the door to his uncle’s office, Nick grasped the handle. It was locked. “Samuel, open up. Samuel? Are you all right?”
    There was no reply. If there was a gunman in the office, Nick should proceed carefully. But if Samuel had been shot, they had to get in there and help him.
    Marian grasped his sleeve. “Don’t you have a key in your office?”
    “That’s all the way upstairs. It’ll take too long.”
    In a few strides, he was at the glass display case beside the prospector painting. Fortunately, the case wasn’t locked. Nick reached inside and wrapped his fingers around a pickax from the 1800s.
    At the door to his uncle’s office, he used the tool to break the latch before he kicked the door open. The smell of gunpowder hung inthe