Facing Fire

by HelenKay Dimon

  She couldn’t make out faces and wouldn’t recognize them if she did. “Are the men I’m looking at yours?”

  “No.” Harlan slipped away again, joining Lucas.

  The word just sat there. It poked and jabbed at Sutton.

  “What is taking so long for Ford to get in place?” Mike practically yelled the question.

  She could hear the pain in his words. Frustration swamped her as she stood there. After a lifetime of staying sharp and walking into danger, or what qualified as danger to her but wouldn’t even register to these guys, she felt useless. She watched a figure get close to the side of the house on the video. If the attack had her nerves snapping and the breath dragging in her lungs, she could only imagine how Mike felt. She had no idea how he was surviving this.

  “Here we go.” Josiah made the comment as he clapped Mike’s shoulder. “They’ll handle it.”

  Sutton had no idea what Josiah saw. She heard the conversation back and forth between Tasha and a harsh male whisper over the comm that sounded even more curt than Josiah’s. Short bursts of words, some of which didn’t make all that much sense. Sutton figured they talked in codes and shortcuts. She just wished she knew what had Josiah sounding a bit more relaxed even though his body stayed stiff.

  “We need to—” Tasha’s voice cut off when the room went dark and the screens blanked out.

  All the fans and electronics cut out for a second, then wound back up again. The lights switched from white to green as the room broke into chaos. All but Mike ran around grabbing weapons and unplugging cords. Dim emergency lighting clicked on as two screens came back on but with scrambled images.

  Sutton spun around in a circle, taking it all in. “What’s happening?”

  “Breach.” Josiah called out the word as he stalked back to her.

  Before she could say anything else, a fire alarm whirled to life. Loud and booming, it screeched through the building and bounced off every wall. Sutton wanted to cover her ears. She tried to yell over the din. Noise crescendoed around her. Thumps shook the walls as smoke floated through the air.

  Josiah tugged on her arm, pulling her away from the screens. “Fire.”

  The word refused to compute in her head. “What?”

  Everyone ran around, shouting directions and grabbing bags. She saw Lucas shoving something into his pockets, then checking the ammunition in his gun.

  She felt something in her palm and looked down to see a gun. From there she glanced up into Josiah’s eyes and the darkness looming there.

  He held her gaze. “You shoot at anyone who comes near you who isn’t us.”

  Before she could answer or say anything, he was off. He rushed up to Mike and started talking to him. Sutton couldn’t hear the words over all the crashing. Smoke rolled into the room and climbed up the high walls. She stepped closer to the men, hoping to get them moving.

  Mike’s voice came into focus. “I’m not leaving.”

  He fought and pushed as he tried to keep his position in front of the screens. But Harlan pulled one last cord and all the video blinked out.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Mike lunged for Harlan but Josiah got in the way.

  “We have to leave now.” Josiah didn’t give his friend a choice. He shoved him in Harlan’s direction and he took over.

  Heat stung Sutton’s skin. She tried to inhale and ended up coughing. Bending over, she hacked until a strong arm banded around her waist and dragged her toward the far door. She looked up, seeing them all scatter. Josiah had her and a hand on Mike. The others used other exits, including two Sutton hadn’t even known were there.

  Her vision blurred as the smoke grew thicker. She heard crackling and pops. She didn’t know what was on fire or which direction to turn. She moved without thinking, following in Josiah’s steps and ignoring the bite of his fingers on her arm as he guided her where he wanted her to go.

  They ran down gray hallways lined with emergency lights. One turn to the right and an orange glow greeted them. Flames licked up the walls and spilled over the floor like water. The smell of burning electrical clogged her throat. A new fear washed through her. Forget bombs. Benton might have turned the building into one large explosion.

  As soon as the worry hit her it floated away. She couldn’t hold on to a thought. Her legs grew heavy and her muscles froze. She wanted to shout but her throat closed. Still, she pushed on. She refused to die in a ball of fire. Not like this. Not now.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take one more step she saw a door. Josiah stepped in front of her and Mike protected her from the back. Over the broad shoulders she saw hope. That let her block the fear spinning in her belly.

  She glanced back and watched the flames dance. The red seemed to rush in on them, getting closer. A wall of heat smacked into her as she stood there. Then it hit her that they’d stopped. Both Josiah and Mike pounded on the door. They shoved it, using their joint weight. Something or someone blocked their path.

  As the fire inched closer the panic built inside her. She tried to inhale and calm her nerves but the hot air burned her lungs. “We have to . . .”

  She couldn’t think of any other words. She grabbed on to Josiah’s back and held on. For some reason that made sense to her.

  “Stand back.”

  She heard his voice and felt her body get passed from him to Mike. Josiah aimed the gun and fired. When that didn’t work, he tried again. The bang of the shots mixed with the roar of the fire.

  She handed Josiah her weapon. The one he’d given her. With a gun in each hand, he fired again. Something pinged and the wall next to the door splintered. Josiah stepped back and lifted his leg. Slammed his foot right next to the knob and the door bounced open.

  They looked and checked and ran through their usual drills. She waited until a piece of the ceiling crashed to the floor behind her to push the issue. Then she bolted past Mike and ran right into Josiah.

  Struggling against the crashing around them, he got them outside. The cool night air hit her face. She tried to draw in a huge gulp of fresh air and ended up doubled over and coughing again. When she finally opened her eyes, she spied Josiah’s sneakers and realized he stood next to her.

  Her brain started to click into action again. She spun around. She hadn’t seen where they were but now she did. Some sort of commercial warehouse area filled with boxy buildings hidden behind high fences. Fire engulfed the building right in front of her. The side they had just come from had caved in, and flames multiplied and flared before her eyes.

  “Stay alert.” Josiah issued the order as he scanned the area.

  Mike stood right behind her, close enough to jump on her if commandos appeared. “Someone set it and that someone might still be here.”

  “Benton tried to catch us on fire.” The thought kept playing on a reel in her head. He blew people up, tried to take kids, and now he set them on fire. That level of evil, that kind of disregard for life, stunned her.

  “He probably found it poetic after what we did to him,” Harlan said.

  “We need to find the others.” Josiah motioned for her to follow him.

  Sutton didn’t hesitate. With her mind slowly blinking back to life she could see the destruction around them. Pieces of the building lay in chunks around them, and the smell of gasoline and burning materials lay heavy in the air.

  They jogged along the front of the building. Josiah put a hand out and grabbed her right before she turned the corner. He nodded for Mike to go first. He led with his gun, then held up both hands as he exhaled.

  “Clear.” Mike fully slipped around the side of the building and out of sight after gesturing for them to join him.

  Sutton saw Tasha first. She studied something on the ground while Harlan watched the area.

  “Not an accident,” Tasha said as she got up and wiped her hands on her black cargo pants. “Someone set us on fire.”

  “Where are Lucas and Ellery?”

  As soon as Josiah asked the question a
shiver ran through Sutton. They all stayed calm, but she saw them looking around and starting to move.

  “This is the muster spot.” Tasha glanced around then shook her head. “They’ve had time.”

  “I’ll go—”

  “No.” Tasha shut down whatever Josiah’s plan was going to be before he could spell it out. “We all go.”

  “Because this feels like a trap,” Harlan said.

  Just when Sutton thought the danger was winding down it ratcheted back up. Somehow her legs carried her as they all rushed to the next corner of the building. About halfway down the side she saw something. She turned to tell Josiah but he was already staring.

  He took off running. Harlan stopped and set up, aiming his gun and watching around them. She guessed his job was to make sure Josiah didn’t get shot. At least she hoped so. When Josiah got to the lump on the ground he dropped to his knees.

  By the time they got there Sutton knew what happened. Lucas lay on his back with his arms stretched out to the side. She could see his gun by his hand and the blood caked on his shirt and pooling on the ground.

  Josiah stripped off his shirt and pressed it to the wound near Lucas’s shoulder. “Stick with me.”

  Lucas’s eyes closed, then opened again. His chest rose and fell on rapid breaths as his eyes darted around. “You . . . need . . .”

  “Come on, buddy. Put all the energy into breathing.” Josiah pressed harder as Tasha joined him. She had one hand over Lucas’s wound and a phone in the other.

  One thought popped into Sutton’s head and refused to leave. “Where’s Ellery?”

  They all started looking around. Mike checked the immediate grounds. Harlan pulled in closer. Sutton didn’t know what else to do but stand there.

  Lucas grabbed on to Tasha’s arm. “He has her.”

  The words screeched across Sutton’s brain. Benton got in there and snatched Ellery. He knew how and when to act and took her out.

  “She’ll be fine.” But Tasha’s voice sounded strained and her eyes dulled with sadness. “She’s resilient and smart.”

  “Help . . .” Lucas said in a voice dropping to a whisper. His hand fell off Tasha’s arm as he closed his eyes again.

  “Don’t sleep.” Josiah pressed down even harder. “I need you to look at me.”

  One of Lucas’s eyes opened. “Save her.”

  15

  NO MATTER how many times Josiah washed his hands he still saw the blood. The exact moment when Lucas gave in and the life started to drain away played in Josiah’s mind. A million little things had kept Lucas alive. The hard pressure on the wound, how healthy he was, the clotting powder Tasha applied. Pure fucking luck.

  Ellery needed all of those now. Benton had her and they had no idea where. Harlan set up the equipment they had from an emergency stash Tasha kept, working with Ward back in DC. Together they were checking satellite photos and connecting the pieces. Trying to trace the escape route so that they could track the vehicle.

  So many moving parts. Josiah wanted to do something to help but he sat on the armrest of the couch right by Sutton. The woman made him proud. She’d held it together and tried to keep Mike calm as he teetered on the edge of falling apart.

  So much waiting. Two hours out from the fire and they sat there waiting for news about Drew. Waiting for news about the rest of the team. Waiting for Lucas to pull through. Waiting to get the intel to rescue Ellery. Josiah was an action guy. The waiting dug at him.

  Communication had been intentionally spotty in case Benton was tracing their chatter. Now Tasha had it up and running and stood in the kitchen, pacing back and forth in front of the refrigerator as she talked with whatever contacts she had.

  Since he couldn’t think of anything smart to say, he didn’t try. Maybe Sutton was right. He sucked at comforting. Not his skill at all. Still, he wished he could speed up time or take them back for a redo. Something.

  Sutton slipped the back of her hand along the side of his thigh. The soft touch, not demanding, took the edge off the fury building inside him. Instead of ignoring her attempt to reach him, Josiah took her hand. Slid his fingers through hers and held on. Didn’t care who saw or what they said. In that moment, he needed to feel the warmth of her skin against his.

  Tasha walked out of the kitchen. Fatigue pulled at her mouth and eyes. “I have news.”

  She sounded as exhausted as she looked. Josiah almost dreaded hearing this. Any other time, he’d want the information so he could process it and act on it. This one time he wanted to hide from it. From the landslide of desperation that could hit.

  “Lucas is in surgery.” Tasha swallowed as her voice bobbled. “The bullet missed his heart. The doctor is hopeful.”

  The woman had contacts everywhere from her MI6 days. People she trusted came in and took Lucas away. Trained medical professionals had him hidden, with armed guards ready to unload if anyone unauthorized came near him. Josiah liked that plan.

  Mike stepped away from the fireplace where he’d been leaning and staring into the empty grate. “And?”

  “Good news. Ford and West got to Drew in time.”

  Mike drew in a long breath. He made a noise Josiah couldn’t describe right before bending over with his hands on his knees. “Okay.”

  Mike kept repeating the word as he nodded. Josiah didn’t blame him. If Ford had taken over Drew’s protection the guy would be safe. It wasn’t a surprise they got Drew to safety. Ford and West Brown could take on a trained army if they had to.

  Josiah trusted Ford and appreciated the way he ran his team. Kept them ready and on edge. Insisted on extra training but set aside time for them to go out so they could build rapport. And West was a fucking machine. He had handled most of the Pakistan job and was the first to see Benton.

  No one said anything until Mike got his emotions back under control. When he stood up straight again, some of the tightness had left his face and relief washed over him. He tended to hide his pain and worry and whatever else he felt behind a blank stare. Not this time.

  “What did they tell Drew to get him out?” he asked.

  Leave it to Mike to worry about his cover. The guy was rock solid. Josiah loved that about him.

  “First, here he is.” Tasha typed a few keys on her phone then turned it around for Mike to see. Josiah caught a glimpse of a photo. Looked like a man but that’s all he could see. The idea of Tasha using the encryption software and then convincing West or Ford to snap a photo, all to bring Mike some relief, made Josiah smile.

  Mike nodded. “Thanks.”

  “They said you had a job go sideways and you worried he could be in danger and asked them to watch over him.” When Mike started to say something, Tasha talked right over him. “They assured Drew that you were fine. Apparently he was pretty upset at the thought of you being in danger.”

  “Okay.” Mike stared at the photo on the phone. Held it for a few seconds, then passed it back to Tasha. “Thanks.”

  For Mike that was big. Josiah tried to remember if he’d ever heard Mike say that word. He was the guy who pushed forward and never complained. He didn’t care what the job was, he was up for it. He joked and gave the other guys a hard time, but they knew they could count on him for anything.

  “He accepted that excuse?” Sutton looked stunned by the idea. “Is he in your group or with the CIA of something?”

  “He’s a college professor.” Mike smiled as he said it.

  “What?” Sutton’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”

  Josiah knew all about Drew. It was Josiah’s job to know, even though Mike tried to hide the relationship. But the oddly shy look on Mike’s face when he talked about Drew and what the guy did for a living made the moment even funnier. So did Sutton’s stunned reaction.

  “That’s kind of unbelievable since your vocabulary consists mostly of profanity,” Harlan said.

  Mike shrugged. “What can I say? I like ’em hot and smart.”

  “That’s probably enough information on tha
t.” Tasha blew out a long breath. “And now we have Ellery.”

  “Anything?” Harlan asked.

  Tasha shook her head but didn’t say anything. Josiah got it. Something about giving voice to the concerns about Ellery’s safety made it more real. If they could talk in the abstract, deal with her situation as they would with any other person they needed to extract, they could keep the distance and maybe get through this without slamming things.

  “I’m assuming Lucas got shot protecting her.” Sutton gave Josiah’s hand one last squeeze, then let go.

  Tasha nodded. “All of the blood at the scene is his, so it doesn’t appear she’s injured.”

  “That’s a relief.” Sutton rubbed her palms up and down her legs.

  But they knew better and Mike made it clear they did. “Not really.”

  “I’d really like to know how this happened.” Harlan started walking around the room. Tall and lean with perfect posture, he came off as the desk jockey type when he really could keep up in the field with the rest of them. His aimless wandering ended when he stopped in front of Sutton. “Any thoughts?”

  She glanced up and did a double take. “Are you blaming me?”

  Harlan dropped down, balancing on the balls of his feet, and stared at her. “You were on the tablet and then a few hours later we were attacked.”

  There was nothing threatening about the tone or the questions but Josiah had enough. He stood up and pushed Harlan away. “Back off.”

  They faced off now. Both stood there, locked in a battle of wills. Josiah kept his back to Sutton, putting his body between her and the rest of the room.

  Harlan shrugged. “I’m just pointing out a fact.”

  This could not happen. Turning on each other would make them useless to Ellery. “Well, stop.”

  “It doesn’t work that way and you know it.” Harlan shook his head. “It’s all too convenient.”

  Josiah didn’t see it. He’d accused Sutton before and still felt conflicted about that, but Harlan’s arguments didn’t fit. Yeah, Josiah had been skeptical and shot rapid-fire questions at her. He’d also seen her face and the worry for Mike.