“Four.”
“Go.” He turned her, and though it went against every fiber of his being, he propelled her toward the open courtyard. But neither one of them was the kind of person to let others take the fall for them. He might be willing to let a hundred people die if it meant he could hold her one more night, but she would hate him for that. This was what she wanted him to figure out.
“Three.”
Love meant standing beside her in the hard decisions. Like right now.
He darted to the right, hiding behind another vendor booth, his body going cold. Now he could see Wilson, standing over the body of the cop in the middle of the courtyard. Not behind the stage. Out in the open. He’d dragged the officer a bit away from the Skyline and stood with three armed men to his back.
“Two.”
Nikki paused at the end of the line of restrooms. He very nearly snatched her back. They could sprint through the park, get away. But then the cop would die. There were things he’d done that he had to live with, but the death of another cop wasn’t something he wanted sitting on his shoulders for eternity.
Nikki held her hands up, her gun dangling from her thumb, and stepped into the open.
“There you are, Agent Gage.”
Gabriel straightened, aimed, and fired.
Once, twice.
Wilson’s body jerked. His jaw went slack and eyes bulged. He fell backward, almost on top of the men standing guard.
The guards didn’t hesitate, not like what Gabriel had anticipated. They raised their firearms, pointing them at Nikki, not him.
No.
Not her.
Gabriel sprinted, throwing himself in front of her.
He heard the shots, then he felt them ripping through his back. Fire and pain like he’d never experienced before. He hit the ground, trying to draw breath, to move. Nikki needed him. But his legs didn’t seem to move and things were dark.
He couldn’t lose consciousness. That wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. He couldn’t leave her, not like this.
* * *
Nikki crouched next to Gabriel, transfixed by the blood filling the little lines between the stones. It was so much darker red than the masonry.
Yelling. Someone was yelling at her.
She lifted her gaze, bringing her arm up automatically. One man knelt over Wilson’s fallen body while the other two were pointing and yelling at her.
Gabriel’s breath rattled. He was still alive. There was a chance he wasn’t dead, but he would be if these men got hold of him.
She snatched Gabriel’s dropped weapon with her left hand and fired with her right. She clipped one of the men in the leg and the other dodged, swerving. Gabriel’s gun was heavier in her hand, so her aim was off.
The second armed man pivoted toward his fallen comrade, lifted his gun, and fired, hitting him in the skull. Nikki gaped as he then shot the remaining militiaman assisting Wilson.
One of Nico’s fellow defectors?
Voices. Yelling from behind the stage.
The rest of Wilson’s people.
Nikki grabbed Gabriel under the arms and tried to drag him, but he was too heavy, and with his wounds, she was afraid what moving him might do.
He couldn’t die on her.
Not now. Not when they’d finally found each other again.
She couldn’t move him, but neither would she leave him.
Nikki straightened and blew out a breath. The tears she couldn’t help, but right now, she had to focus on protecting her heart. Gabriel. Without him, she couldn’t feel, couldn’t love. He was her heart, and he was possibly bleeding out right now.
The shooter put his back to the stage and gestured at her to stay where she was. The rest, she didn’t understand. Her brain wasn’t working as fast. She watched him, trusting this man with not only her life, but Gabriel’s, and prayed it was the right thing to do.
Her friendly shooter nodded and stepped back, raising his assault rifle.
Nikki leaned around the restroom, using it for cover. Easily a dozen men advanced toward them in military style.
Two against twelve.
Hadn’t there been more?
The first fired at her unexpected backup.
She fired back, wounding the person in the lead. Their attention swiveled toward her.
Nikki fired again. And again. She went to a knee, blinking rapidly to keep the tears out of her vision.
She was going to die.
There was no way the crew or backup would get there in time.
A shot pinged off something metal.
The barrel.
She closed one eye and fired through the group. Again she squeezed the trigger.
Fire erupted, and the blast threw men off their feet. Nikki dove, covering Gabriel with her body. Shrapnel hit her side and legs. Metal creaked.
Pain erupted on the side of her head, and her vision swam, fading. If this was how it ended, at least she’d be with him. It was all she’d ever wanted.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Beeping. The sound grated on Gabriel’s nerves, and even those already hurt.
Either he’d been taken prisoner and beaten within an inch of his life, or he was in the hospital. The last memories were a little fuzzy.
He pried one eye open.
The room was dim, lit mostly by the screens flashing numbers and squiggly lines.
Aw hell. The hospital. His least favorite place.
He opened his other eye. What had he gotten himself into?
All he remembered was driving the Skyline into a crowd and . . . Nikki.
He inhaled, and pain did laps around his chest.
“Shh, don’t do that.” Hands grasped his arm, soft fingers twined around his.
Cold dread sat heavy in his stomach. He turned his head and stopped breathing.
Nikki had a line of stitches going up her cheek and temple, which appeared more severe because of the tight pull of her ponytail. She wore sweatpants and a T-shirt he was pretty sure he’d seen on Roni a few times, and her arm was in a sling.
“What happened?” His tongue didn’t seem to want to work. “How long have I been out?”
“Take it easy, for me, please?” Nikki sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed a cup of water.
He took it from her and sucked down as much as he could.
“You should be in bed. What happened to you?” The last time he could remember seeing her, she’d been sopping wet but otherwise okay.
“Uh, well, how about I start at the beginning?” She took the cup back and clasped his hand once more in hers.
“Where is everyone?”
“Can I answer one question before you ask me another?”
“Yes.” But he wanted answers now, damn it.
“You’ve been out maybe twelve hours. It’s a little past one in the morning. Everyone was here until a couple hours ago when they kicked out all the visitors. I might have lied and told the nurses you’re my husband so they’d let me stay. They don’t seem to care about the whole FBI bit.”
“Okay.” Hell, he had zero issue with that lie.
“You got shot. Twice in the chest. The bullets did some damage to your right lung and there was some internal bleeding, but they think you’ll be okay. They wanted you on the ventilator, but you were fighting it so hard they decided to take their chances.”
“I hate being in hospitals. What happened to you?” He reached up and ran his finger along her hairline, not wanting to hurt her.
“Let me finish, okay?”
“What about Wilson? The bombs?”
“Seriously, I’m going to ask them to knock you out again if you don’t shut up.”
“All right, fine.”
“You shot Wilson. He coded in the ambulance after the blast, but they revived him. I think there’s a good chance he’ll live and go to trial. One of Nico’s defectors turned on Wilson’s guards, shot them, then we got into a gunfight with the rest of their people. The barrel bomb I found deton
ated, probably from a stray bullet. It blew up the stage, did a lot of damage. Killed three of the men. Shrapnel did this.” She pointed to the stitches. “Help got there not long after and pulled us out.”
“What about the bombs? The rest of them?”
“Between Nico, Wilson, and the other two, they were able to locate all of them. The only fatalities were on the militia’s side.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Getting people out of there was the best crazy plan.”
“What about Nico?”
“He pulled through. I talked to him earlier. He’s going to be a star witness in the trial. We’re going to put Wilson and his buddies away for a long time. Then a lot of other people are going to get help. Help they need.”
“The others?”
“Everyone’s fine. It’s just us that got a little banged up.”
“Come here.” He blew out a breath and tugged on her good arm.
“They sliced you open.”
“I need to hold you. Don’t make me get out of this bed, I might pull something.” Okay, he doubted it, but he wasn’t above guilting her into doing what he wanted.
He gritted his teeth and scooted over, making enough room for Nikki to stretch out on her side next to him. She unfastened her sling and let her injured arm lie across his chest. He felt the weight pull against the stitches holding him together and was glad for it. Each ache and pain was just another indicator that he was alive. And so was she.
They could have died. He could have lost her. But they’d lived.
“I tried treating you like the others and almost got you killed. You should know that from now on, I’m going to be completely unfair about protecting you.”
“It’ll be a long time until anyone lets me in the field again. I’ve been put on leave until internal affairs investigates the whole case, and I’ve got to answer for the people I killed.”
“They’ll clear you.” He kissed her brow. It was routine. He’d gone through it a number of times, and though the questioning was intense, it was to ensure no life was lost that didn’t have to be. “You’re a good agent. Talked to your father yet?”
“Yes.”
“What aren’t you telling me? I’m tired of the secrets, mi cielo.”
“It’s not that I’m not telling you, I’d just like to have this conversation somewhere more private. I love you, Gabe. I don’t want to keep things from you. I want . . .”
“What?”
“Nothing. Later.”
“Tell me.”
“I want to share my life with you.”
“What? Like marriage and babies and stuff?” He smiled and stared at the ceiling. Yeah, that was what he wanted, too. It was worth everything to him.
“Yes.” Nikki’s voice was very quiet, as if sometime in the last twelve hours she’d forgotten they’d already crossed this bridge.
“You realize this means I have to meet your dad?” His mother would do him worse than Wilson if he didn’t ask Nikki’s father’s permission before the real proposal. And next to Nikki, the one person he didn’t want to anger was his mother.
“He’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Guess I better get the guys to bring me a change of clothes. I don’t want to meet the man wearing a gown. Did we screw up so badly he has to come fix it?”
“It’s not a work trip. He’s coming to see me. Us. He has to be back in DC tomorrow night.”
“That’s awfully nice of him.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Why did he get the feeling it wasn’t a family visit? What was Nikki keeping from him still?
* * *
Nikki fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. After a few days of shorts and tank tops, her suit felt foreign. She perched on the chair, watching the entrance to the hospital.
It didn’t make sense that Dad would come all the way to Florida for a wellness visit. Something was up. She could feel it, and Gabriel had picked up on it. She wanted to tell him, but hadn’t figured out how to put her concerns into words. So they’d eventually stopped talking. He’d sent her away so he could get dressed, against the nurses’ wishes, but he wasn’t one to care about that. At the rate he was progressing, they might be persuaded to release him today. And then what? Did they stay in Florida? She would need to report soon for evaluation.
A sleek black town car pulled up to the entrance. The passenger door opened and a man wearing a suit and earpiece got out, sweeping the area once with his eyes before opening the rear door. Her father emerged, standing straight and buttoning the top button of his jacket. He had a way with always appearing perfectly pressed that she’d never quite managed.
She got to her feet, feeling the ache and pull of every protesting muscle. In theory sleeping with Gabriel was nice, but not in a hospital bed wearing a sling.
Her father entered the hospital alone and made a straight line for her.
“Dad.” She opened and closed her mouth. What did she say? She’d screwed up, even though she’d gotten the bad guys shut down.
He folded his arms around her, gently pulling her closer.
“Don’t scare your old man like that ever again, okay?” he said for her ears alone.
“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t mean to do any of it?”
“Yes. But we can talk about that later. Right now I’m here as your father.” He stood back and gave her a once-over. “How’s the arm?”
She wasn’t buying the I’m here as your father line at all. They might be close, and she didn’t doubt her dad loved her, but this trip was completely out of character. It wasn’t the first time she’d been injured in the field, just the worst. But she wasn’t about to call him out on that in a public hospital.
“Good. They said I should be able to go without the sling soon. It’s not broken, just wrenched out of the socket.” Didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt. She’d screamed when they set it.
“Ortiz still here? Or did he break out already?” He smiled, and there was a bit of mischief in it. She had the sneaking suspicion Gabriel and her dad were going to get along just fine.
“Yes, he’s still here. Probably not for much longer.”
“Good. Let’s go see how he’s doing.” He rested his hand against her back and urged her toward the bank of elevators.
Nikki led the way even though her better judgment was screaming at her. There was something up. Something she wasn’t sure she was going to like.
They rode all the way up in silence, which only proved again that he wasn’t there just to ensure his only progeny was well.
The nurses eyed them as they passed. Probably hoping she was there to take Gabriel away. He wasn’t a cantankerous patient, but he wasn’t good at lying there and doing what he was told, either.
She stepped into the room first and her gaze went straight to Gabriel, standing at the window, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She’d never met a man who made those simple articles of clothing look so good.
“Gabriel Ortiz, it’s good to finally meet you.” Her father strode across the room, arm extended.
“Deputy Director.” Gabriel shook his hand, expression slightly grim.
“Close the door, will you, Nikki?” her father asked.
Here it came. He wasn’t a man with a lot of time on his hands, so she should have known he’d jump to whatever the purpose of this visit was.
She shut the door and slowly walked around the bed to join the two men. Her father had taken a seat on the rolling doctor’s chair, leaving the two padded chairs for Gabriel and her. Nice. And by sitting, Gabriel had to follow suit to keep the playing field level.
“You aren’t here just to check up on Nikki,” Gabriel said. No question about it.
Her father paused before speaking.
“Not entirely.” Her father never once glanced in her direction. It wasn’t a slight, but right now Gabriel was the subject of whatever her father was up to, and she didn’t like it. “I did of course want to know how she was, so I’m happy to kill two bird
s with one stone.”
“What do you want?” Gabriel asked.
“Have you told him anything?” Now her father looked at her.
“No. Nothing,” Nikki said without skipping a beat.
Gabriel’s gaze switched between the two of them, unreadable.
“We’re working on something. Nikki. Myself. Others. We’re working on something that’s going to do a lot of good for people. I can’t get into specifics, but we could use people like you. People who want to do good things.”
“What? You’re offering me a job?” Gabriel frowned.
“Yes and no,” Nikki said. She drew a deep breath.
“It’s still ground-floor stage. You would be our first hire, so to speak,” her father said.
“Why me?” Gabriel asked.
“You’re one of the best covert agents the academy has turned out in a long time. You left and you’re still helping people. We just want to let you do that on a larger scale. Can’t say more, but there is more.”
“Why now?”
“Seemed like the right opportunity at the right time.”
“This would have nothing to do with my relationship with Nikki?” Gabriel inclined his head slightly toward her.
“It didn’t hurt.”
“So if we were to split, would the offer still be on the table?”
“That would be up to you and Nikki to sort out.”
Nikki stared at Gabriel. Was that where this was going? Had something changed?
“And if I wanted to ask her to marry me?”
“I’d say don’t ask her mother for advice on rings.” Her father chuckled.
Okay, what the hell? First breakups, now wedding talk? Just where was he going with this?
“Is that a circumspect way of saying you wouldn’t mind?”
“Depends. Are you asking for my permission?”
“I might.”
“Then you’d better decide before you ask.”
“What the hell?” Nikki blurted, but neither blinked at her. She was ready to bash them both over the head.
“I want to ask your daughter to marry me. Do you have a problem with that?” Gabriel spoke slowly, which was good, because she needed to replay those two sentences in her mind, over and over again.
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