Bulletproof SEAL

by Carol Ericson

  A laugh bubbled to her lips, and she kissed the side of his intact head. “I thought... I thought, when I saw the blood... I thought...”

  He rolled to his back with a low moan. “You need to come back to planet earth and tell me what it looks like.”

  She ripped off what was left of his shredded, blood-soaked sleeve and peered at the damaged flesh. “Hang on. This is going to hurt.”

  She probed the wound and tucked her hand beneath his shoulder. “Went clean through, Quinn. Stay right here. I’ll get some towels to stop the bleeding.”

  He grabbed her ankle as she started to crawl away. “No 911. We’ll handle this.”

  Cranking her head over her shoulder, she said, “No 911, but you’re going to have to see a doctor at some point. You need that properly cleaned, maybe some stitches, and you’ll need some antibiotics for infection.”

  “I have some old antibiotics in the bathroom and ibuprofen. I need something to dull this pain.”

  Rikki didn’t stand upright until she got to his hallway, away from that window. David. It had to have been David. They had both underestimated David’s obsession with her. While still in good standing with the CIA, David had probably gotten a complete dossier on Quinn McBride once he learned about her affair with him.

  She gathered several towels, wet down a few of them, and then snatched bottles of ibuprofen and expired antibiotics from a drawer in the bathroom.

  She crawled back into the living room, pushing her medical supplies ahead of her. A few feet away from Quinn, she came to a dead halt and gagged.

  He peeled open one eye where it gleamed from his bloody face. “Does it look bad?”

  “What did you do? What happened? Why is that blood all over your face?”

  “Because I’m a dead man. I just got shot in the head and you’re going to take a picture of me for proof.”

  “For David.”

  “That’s right. That bullet was meant for me, to get me out of the picture and out of your life.”

  “Why am I not crazy with grief?”

  He scooped a little more blood from his shoulder wound and dragged it through his hair. “Because I’m the sniper the navy and the CIA sent to take you out. You always knew that. You were using me to get information and to help protect you against the CIA. Now you have Dawson.”

  Rikki left the towels and bottles on the floor and scooted toward the kitchen to retrieve her phone. She yanked on the charger to bring down her phone and made her way back to Quinn.

  He positioned himself to resemble a man who’d been shot in the head, and as a navy SEAL sniper with plenty of kills under his belt, he knew exactly what that would look like.

  “Take the pictures.”

  Rikki swallowed, almost believing the proof before her eyes and imagining how destroyed she would’ve been if the sniper had hit his mark.

  She loved this man. He hadn’t even been angry that she’d kept Bella’s existence from him. His only concern had been how she’d begun her pregnancy in a North Korean labor camp and its effects on their baby.

  She could give herself completely to Quinn and he’d never use or abuse her devotion. He’d only return it tenfold.

  She clicked several pictures of him and his bloody head, and then grabbed the towels.

  Quinn rolled to his stomach. “Not yet. Get back on that phone and call Dawson. He’ll expect it, either way. His guy is probably still watching the apartment building. He’s gonna wonder where the lights and sirens are.”

  “David would know I’m not in any position to talk to the police and then the navy.”

  “Whatever. You need to make contact now. What reason would you have to keep silent, other than a desire to hide from him and hide the fact that his mission failed?”

  “I hate him.”

  “Use that passion.” He wiped his hand across his bloody mouth. “And hand me a towel so I can stop gushing blood on the floor.”

  She threw him a wet towel and a dry towel. “Bunch that dry towel under your shoulder and get on your back to apply pressure.”

  Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her phone and tapped the number she’d saved for David.

  He must’ve been waiting, because he picked up on the first ring. “Yes?”

  “It’s Rikki.”

  “I figured as much. You okay?”

  “Oh, I’m just fine, but Quinn McBride is dead, shot in the head right through his window. Are you crazy?” Her fingers got busy texting him Quinn’s death shots.

  “Do you care that much about him? The father of your baby? I could tell you a thing or two about your heroic Quinn McBride.”

  “Nothing I don’t already know, like he was the navy SEAL sniper sent to eliminate me, the traitor.”

  David choked. “You knew that already?”

  “Why do you think I came to see him right out of Jamaica? I wanted to take care of business. You taught me that, David.”

  Rikki glanced at Quinn, who’d paused from stanching his blood flow to stick his finger in his mouth. She scowled at him.

  “But you didn’t take care of business. You stayed with him, took him with you to visit Belinda.”

  “I needed him as a protector. He’s all muscle and brawn, but not too much brain.”

  Quinn kicked her foot, and she stuck out her tongue at him.

  “I knew the two of you weren’t meant for each other, Rikki. I’m sorry I had him taken out right in front of you, but he has to be out of the picture for us to move forward.”

  “Oh, he’s out of the picture.” She tapped her phone several times and sent the last of Quinn’s death pictures to David. “Am I safe now?”

  “The sniper? He’s long gone.” David clicked his tongue. “Got the pictures. Once he saw McBride fall, he disassembled and took off—just in case you went ballistic and called in the authorities.”

  Rikki snorted. “No chance of that. Do you think I want to talk to a bunch of cops? Once they found out Quinn’s identity, they’d call in the navy. No, thanks. His death needs to remain a secret for as long as possible.”

  “Any chance of discovery there?”

  “Nobody heard the shot. There’s a bullet hole in the window, but the velocity of the bullet was such that the window didn’t shatter. McBride’s deploying in another few weeks, and I’m assuming that’s when his body will be discovered. He has no family to speak of. Nobody’s going to miss him.”

  Quinn kicked her again.

  “Good. There’s someone very important I want you to meet. Plenty of people have already switched to his side. He pays well and he’s loyal—unlike the Agency.”

  “Y-you don’t mean who I think you mean, do you? I thought we were going out to Korea to provide information that would lead to his capture. Can’t we still do that?”

  “There’s no need for it, Rikki. What he does is no different from what we were doing, but he’s supporting different countries than we are. That’s all. He’s not interested in taking down the US, but he wants us to think twice before sticking our noses in other countries’ business—countries he wants to control.”

  “I’m not saying I’m in, David, but I also won’t betray you. I’m done with the Agency. Y-you were always my first loyalty anyway.”

  “We could do this together, Rikki—partners. I could provide your daughter riches beyond belief, and with those riches, safety and security.”

  Rikki pressed a hand to her chest. Hearing David talk about her daughter struck fear in her heart. His threats against Bella always simmered beneath the surface. “When is this meeting? Where are you, David?”

  “I’m where it all began for him, Rikki. I’m in Berlin.”

  Her gaze flew to Quinn’s face, and he lifted his good shoulder.

  “You want me in Berlin?”

  “You must have an ID that you’re using or
you never would’ve made it to the US from Jamaica undetected. Besides, nobody knows you’re alive except me and Belinda. We don’t have to worry about McBride anymore.”

  “What about Belinda? Did you have her...shot?”

  “I did. I had no intention of killing her, or she’d be dead.” David made a strange hissing sound before speaking again. “I found out she tried to kill you, Rikki. She knew I was always in love with you. I couldn’t allow that to stand. I wanted to let her know I could get to her anytime, anywhere. And now that you and I are going to be together, we don’t have to give her another thought.”

  Rikki rubbed the sick feeling in her stomach. “Who is he? Who is Vlad?”

  “You’ll see.”

  David spent the rest of the phone call giving her instructions for getting to Berlin, but wouldn’t give her the meeting place with Vlad.

  After his precise orders, David’s voice softened. “I know you don’t love me...yet. I know you’re not on board with joining forces with the other side...yet. But I think you’re halfway there on both, aren’t you?”

  “I think I’ve always been half in love with you, David.” She glanced at Quinn, but he avoided her gaze in favor of tending to his wound. “The other... I don’t know.”

  “I knew it, but I hope you understand, Rikki.”

  “Understand what?”

  “If you don’t join forces with our friend and do a really, really good job of pretending you love me, we’ll take your daughter.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  A white-hot fury coursed through Quinn’s veins. His head felt light. Two seconds later, Rikki’s cool hand fluttered about his face.

  “You passed out.” She folded a clean towel and applied pressure against his gunshot wound. “Enough of this nonsense. You need a doctor.”

  Quinn blinked and squeezed his eyes. “I need to find out where David is taking you to meet Vlad. This is our chance, maybe our one and only chance.”

  “You heard David. He’s not going to tell me in advance. He’s meeting me at the airport and taking me directly to the meeting. If he gets a hint that anyone has come with me or is following us, it’s over, and it could be over for Bella. I’m not going to risk that.”

  “I’m not either.” He winced as Rikki got aggressive with the pressure. “Following you is not good enough. We need to know the meeting place in advance so that we can set up.”

  Once she secured the towel against his arm and finished cleaning up his blood, Rikki scrambled to her feet and closed the drapes over the glass with the bullet hole.

  “Let’s get you up.” She took his arm and helped him up.

  He collapsed on the sofa, clutching the pill bottles in his hand. “Can you get me some water to down these?”

  She took away the bloody towels and stuffed them into plastic garbage bags. She banged through his cupboards and returned with a bottle of water and a bottle of whiskey.

  “Now that’s a good idea, even at ten in the morning.”

  She shook the water bottle. “This first and then a shot of whiskey just so you won’t pass out on me again.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She twisted off the water bottle cap and handed the bottle to him.

  He downed a couple of antibiotics and three ibuprofens. “You need to call Ariel now.”

  Rikki poured him a shot in a juice glass and thrust it at him. “Drink this first.”

  “You don’t have to twist my arm.” He threw back the whiskey, and the burning down his throat made his eyes water but cleared his senses. “Ariel.”

  Rikki got through to the head of the Vlad task force almost immediately, and Ariel’s smooth voice almost purred over the line. “What do you have for me, Rikki?”

  “Quinn McBride is listening in.”

  “I would expect that. Did David reach out to you?”

  “You could say that. David hired someone to take out Quinn.”

  “Since Quinn’s listening in on this call, I’m guessing the hit wasn’t successful.”

  “Only because Rikki saw the laser and saved my life.” Quinn laced his fingers through Rikki’s. “Did I ever thank you for that?”

  “You were in shock. I don’t hold it against you.”

  Ariel sighed. “If you two are finished with your cute banter, what’s the upshot?”

  Rikki explained to Ariel how they faked Quinn’s death and told her about David’s proposal.

  The pause from Ariel dragged on so long, Quinn exchanged a glance with Rikki. He thought Ariel would be all over this.

  Finally she spoke, her voice strained and thin. “You’re meeting with Vlad?”

  “I am. I have to go through with it.”

  “And we need to be there to make sure it’s the last meeting he ever has.”

  “Agreed.” Quinn squeezed Rikki’s hand before releasing her. “David Dawson is never going to fall for any surveillance. We have to know in advance and we have to be ready.”

  “It’s yours, Quinn, yours and your teammates’, all of them. I’m calling them all into Berlin right now, today.”

  Patting his shoulder, Quinn winced. “I’m not sure how much use I’m going to be with a sniper rifle right now. That shooter missed my head, but a bullet went clean through my shoulder.”

  “We have five other sniper rifles to back you up.”

  “Wait, wait.” Rikki waved her hands in the air. “This all sounds wonderful, but we can’t have six navy SEAL snipers roaming around Berlin looking for a meeting place.”

  Quinn rubbed his knuckles down Rikki’s thigh. “I’ve been thinking about this. We have Dawson’s phone number, Ariel.”

  “That’s a start.”

  Rikki threw up another roadblock. “If you think you’re going to put a trace on David’s phone, he’ll be way ahead of you. He’s not going to take it with him.”

  Ariel said, “No, but he’ll need to communicate with Vlad, and we can track those communications.”

  No wonder Ariel was leading this task force. Quinn snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”

  “Again.” Rikki pushed the hair from her face and scooted to the edge of the sofa as if ready to do battle. “David and Vlad are not going to communicate in plain English or any other plain language.”

  “They’ll use code.” Quinn tapped her knee. “Like the code in those emails.”

  Ariel spoke up. “We’re working on those.”

  “Ariel, I have a guy working them as well, and he’s getting close.”

  “Berlin, huh?” Ariel’s voice had a dreamy, far-away quality and Quinn raised his eyebrows at Rikki, who shrugged.

  “I know Berlin is a big city, but this meeting won’t be in a public place. Vlad would be too worried about plants among the crowd.”

  “The forest.” Ariel’s voice rose with excitement. “The Grunewald forest is in Berlin.”

  Rikki scrunched up her nose. “I suppose that would be a good place for him. They would notice any people wandering around, wouldn’t they? I know there are some schlosses there that attract tourists, but it’s a big forest. Why did that come to mind, Ariel?”

  She coughed. “Seems like it would work for him, but we need to do our research. When do you leave, Rikki?”

  “I have a flight out tomorrow, and the meeting is the following day.”

  “That’s not much time, but I can get Quinn’s sniper team into Berlin tonight. I think Alexei Ivanov is still in LA. Miguel Estrada is in San Diego at Coronado. Josh Elliott is already back in Europe, as is Slade Gallagher, and Austin Foley is in the Middle East. I’ll get them moving today, military transport.”

  “Whew.” Quinn raised his eyes to the ceiling. “You’re way ahead of me.”

  Ariel cut him off. “The number. Rikki, give me Dawson’s number. We have to start intercepting now and hope we’re not alre
ady too late.”

  When they finished their plans with Ariel and ended the call, Quinn drummed his fingers on the coffee table. “She’s a dynamo for sure. Why is she so invested in bringing down Vlad, and what made her think of the Grunewald forest?”

  “It’s her job.” Rikki bounded up from the sofa. “I’m going to check in with Mom, and then I’m going to pack. You’d better start thinking about a disguise to get out of this apartment house in case it’s being watched.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I have a way out of here, and nobody ever has to know I left.” He reached for his phone. “I need to get on Chan and tell him to expedite the decoding.”

  After sending a message to Chan, Quinn got on his own laptop and brought up Dawson’s email exchanges with Vlad—he had to have been communicating with Vlad and Dawson had childishly given Vlad his own villain’s name from his book. Hubris was one quality that usually brought people down, and Dawson was no different. He couldn’t really believe that Rikki would fall in love with him, and yet here he was, making plans.

  A sudden, piercing pain gripped Quinn’s shoulder, and he grabbed it. He hoped he wasn’t suffering from the same delusions as David Dawson.

  Rikki charged in from the back rooms. “Bella’s doing fine. Mom says there’s a twenty-four-hour watch on their place by some tough dudes from Montego Bay. Nobody’s going to get to her.” She held up her phone. “And I just got off the phone with Ariel again. She’s sending a doc around for a house call. I have his number. Maybe you can sneak him in.”

  “Better yet. We’re sneaking out of here, or at least I am. You go out the regular way in case someone’s watching my place.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I have a buddy who manages a hotel just off Rue Royale. I did him a...favor once and he lets me have a suite at the hotel whenever I want.”

  “The Fourth of July weekend is coming up. Is he going to have anything available?”

  “He usually has a high-end suite up for grabs that they use for upgrades. I’m calling in my chips.”

  * * *

  TWO HOURS LATER, Quinn had sneaked out of his apartment through the basement and into a penthouse suite overlooking the French Quarter, and Rikki had followed him out the front door of his apartment and assured him nobody had followed her.