It had also been the moment he’d known he was falling in love with her. He should have found her another trainer, but he hadn’t.
She was both his blessing and his curse. His strength and weakness. She carried herself with a confidence that surpassed her physical attributes—making her the kind of woman that turned heads.
And that was why he hadn’t left her waiting at the terminal. Because he still loved her. As much as he didn’t want to—he did. And it kept him coming back to her, making sure she was safe and alive, when he knew he needed to walk away.
She caught his stare. “What?”
“Nothing.” He put the pants on.
“Ready?” she asked. “That distraction won’t last forever.”
“Let’s do it.”
She pushed passed him, and he blocked her.
“What now?” Her dark brown eyes narrowed.
He wanted to make her promise to be careful. To force her compliance in keeping herself safe. But he knew that any such demands would be met with defiance.
And that was also why he loved her.
He wound his other hand into her hair, tilted her head up, and kissed her. Harder than he intended, but he didn’t care. Tenderness was washed away in the wake of his primal need to imprint the taste of her lips into his memory.
She pushed his arm aside. Rising on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, closing the gap between them as her mouth demanded more.
“Eva.” He whispered her name against her lips as he kissed her, and she opened to him. And underneath it all, he offered her a silent promise that he would make sure she came out of this alive. That he would offer his own life if needed. Whatever it took to protect her.
Even if she didn’t want it.
He pushed her against the opposite wall of the truck while he sagged against the other. They stared at each other, breaths ragged. She touched her bottom lip with the tips of her fingers, as if testing for bruising.
He resisted the urge to do the same. It was time to find Kilburn, or if they were lucky, Felix and Pauline, before they lost what opportunity they’d managed to create. “Like you said, the distraction won’t last forever.” He jumped out of the van. She followed, and they entered the back door of the building.
He picked up one of the small, metal trash cans sitting outside a door, adding to the janitor illusion. Not much, but it was all they had.
She grabbed one, as well. They entered through the back door. The corridor ahead was empty. No cameras. Quinn took point, using the burner phone’s tracking program to guide them.
“Are we close?” she asked.
“Hard to tell,” he replied, holding up the phone. “It isn’t what we’re used to.”
“I wish we had better equipment,” she said.
“We can always call HRS,” he replied, knowing she wouldn’t take the bait. They’d come too far and broken too many rules to turn back now.
The sound of someone humming—decidedly female—carried down the corridor. Both stopped midstep. “What now?”
“Wait here,” he said, slipping the phone into his pocket. “If there’s trouble, you know what to do.”
“Of course,” she replied, giving a dramatic crack of her knuckles.
He rounded the corner. A woman with red-brown hair and pale, porcelain skin, pushed a large cleaning cart toward him, the bin stuffed with broken-down boxes. Her uniform was pale blue and looked more like hospital scrubs than a janitor uniform.
Or like something worn in a lab. The hairs on his arms rose.
He met her halfway down the hall. “Excuse me, I’m a little lost,” he said, stopping her cart with a firm, but gentle, hand.
Her gaze flickered across him, following a path from shoulder to shoulder and from head downward. Her pupils dilated, showing her unconscious interest.
“Are you new?” she asked, her voice soft with an unexpected southern drawl. Normally, he’d find the accent sexy as hell, and before he met Eva, he’d be interested in more than information.
But now… He focused back on the job. “I started today, and I’m looking for the service elevator.”
“It’s on the other side of the building,” she said, her brows pulled together, her annoyance making her appear cute rather than angry. “They never remember to tell the new people.”
“Of course not,” he said, in his best “aww shucks” voice.
She smiled at him. “But since you don’t have a cart, you can use the main elevator if you want. Most of the office drones used the drama down the street as an excuse to take a break.”
So their diversion was working. That was handy to know. “Thanks, uh…you are?”
Her eyes flickered over him again, and she seemed to come to come kind of decision. “I’m Joanna.” She stepped around the cart, closing the space between them, and held out her hand.
He shook it—her grip was firm. Her skin soft despite the hard work. “I can show you where the elevators are, if you like,” she said.
Easier than the damned phone, that was for sure. “That would be great.” Her rounded hip brushed against his as they walked down the long corridor.
“Which agency do you work with?” he asked, their footsteps echoing on the tiled floors. Behind them, it was silent, and it took all of his trust and effort to not turn and make sure that Eva was following them. “You’re dressed more for hospital work than cleaning.”
Joanna leaned in. “Lab stuff.”
Lab stuff. That was all he needed to know. “Sounds interesting.”
She continued, “Not really. It’s still just emptying the trash and cleaning floors. But tell me more about you. You don’t impress me as the kind of man that pushes a cart for a living.”
“We all do what we have to,” he replied. Including flirting with pretty girls.
They reached the door at the end of the corridor.
“Elevators are on the other side,” she said. “I should get back to work.” But she didn’t move to leave.
It was time to ditch the girl and find the lab, but there was one more thing she could do for him. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “If I wanted to see you after work, where would I find you?”
“Bottom of the building. B5,” Joanna replied, “I get off at nine.”
Thank you. “Meet you there?”
She shook her head. “Not without this,” she held up her wrist. A key hung from a rubber band on her wrist.
Hell. Now he’d have to take it from her. She seemed sweet, and while he’d be careful to not hurt her, she was going to be traumatized from the struggle and being trussed.
But there was no choice. This wasn’t a simple rescue. There was a potential bioweapon that could do who-knew-what involved, and the sensitivities of one girl was a price he was willing to pay.
“Having a nice chat with my boyfriend?”
Eva. She stalked toward them, her feet hitting the tile hard.
Joanna’s eyes widened. “Uh, no?”
“I didn’t think so.” Eva shoved the girl aside and placed herself between them, arms crossed and spoiling for a fight. “Don’t you have a job to do?”
Joanna ran down the hallway, her sneakers squawking as she rounded the corner and disappeared.
“Helluva performance,” he said, the sound of Joanna’s cart echoed down the corridor, wheels racing on the tile.
She held up the key. “Glad you liked it.”
He grinned. There were thousands of reasons to regret her time on the streets in Bogotá, but her pick-pocketing ability wasn’t one of them.
“Thanks.” Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes narrowed.
What’s…?” He bit the words off. She seemed angry, but it could be excitement. Adrenaline.
Even jealousy.
Did she still care about him, despite her protests otherwise? An interesting idea.
And one he’d do better to ignore. Especially considering their current circumstance. Another time and place, he might push to find o
ut, but they needed to find Kilburn before he found their tracker. And thanks to Joanna, they were closer to their target.
So instead of questioning the anger, he cracked open the door to the lobby. Joanna wasn’t wrong. The space was devoid of people. He motioned for Eva to follow, and they entered the lobby, making a beeline for the elevator. “Ready for this?”
She glanced up at him, all signs of jealousy gone. In its place was the detached agent he’d trained.
The woman he couldn’t forget or deny.
Tough. Determined. Lethal, even without a weapon in her hand.
“We’re unarmed. Unprepared. And have no idea if Felix and Pauline are here. I think we can handle it.”
“I like how you see the bright side,” he said. The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal a polished steel, sterile wall. They stepped inside. “Do you want to do the honors?”
He gestured toward the button panel with his thumb.
She inserted the key and hit the button marked “B5.”
Chapter Thirteen
Eva pressed herself against the interior of the elevator as the door opened. Just outside the door, the observable area was white, both walls and floor. Sterile. Definitely lab-like. This had to be where they were keeping Felix.
But how to find him? There was only one answer.
A full sweep. And this was a big damned building.
Quinn pointed toward a camera above them. Her hand clenched and unclenched, searching for a weapon that wasn’t there. She slipped the bracelet holding the elevator key over her wrist.
Time to act like the hired help. Trash can still in hand, she stepped into view of the lens, making sure to appear bored with the entire process. Were the props enough to keep the guards uninterested, for at least a while?
If it wasn’t enough, they were defenseless.
Well, not defenseless. They were both trained in hand-to-hand, and together, that made them lethal. But not against a bullet.
Hallway stretched in either direction. “Which section should we start with?” she asked.
Quinn glanced downward—she assumed at the phone—but knew it could only help them so much. It wasn’t as accurate as an HRS bug, but if it got them going in the right direction, that was better than wandering the halls and wasting time. “Joanna said the far offices,” he replied, heading to the left.
The paced down the hall in tandem, trying the random door here and there but finding most of them locked. They turned a corner. Another camera. Ignoring the rising hairs on the back of her neck, she kept close to Quinn.
Footsteps echoed, and she tensed. It seemed the building wasn’t as deserted as they’d hoped.
“Keep cool,” he whispered.
Ahead of them, a man in a suit came into view. Head down, he was reading a file as he hurried down the hall. She held her breath as he came to them—passed by, and never spared them a glance.
She exhaled the fear.
“See? Invisible,” Quinn assured her.
He might be right, but walking into the lion’s den with the flimsiest persona she’d ever concocted unnerved her. On the other hand, her partner looked uninterested and a bit bored.
The exact opposite of someone who was hired to rescue two kidnap victims and stop the creation of a biological warfare weapon. Once they had Felix and Pauline and were safe back at HRS, she’d have to find out how he managed to turn his emotions on and off so easily.
He managed another surreptitious glance at the burner phone when the white hallway ended in a “T.” He gave a nod to the right. Ahead of them, the white walls were replaced by glass, and just in her field of vision were rows of beakers, Bunsen burners, and other assorted hardware.
The labs. Her heart thumped hard. And possibly Felix. But since when did they ever get that lucky?
Quinn motioned for her to slow when they approached the glass.
Come on, Felix. Be there.
Two more steps, and they were in full view of the room. But the large area on the other side of the clear wall was empty. Three rows of lab tables were equipped with a computer, microscope, and the other paraphernalia she’d spotted. At the far end was an emergency shower.
But that was all.
There were no scientists. No tech. No Felix. Disappointment washed over her. Just once she wanted to have a little bit of luck run their way. Was that too much to ask? “Where is everyone?” she whispered.
He gave the door a quick pull as they passed it, but it didn’t budge. “Watching the bomb squad is my guess. Everyone loves watching drama unfold.”
“Useful. But it won’t last forever.”
“I give it fifteen minutes. Maybe thirty. Tops.”
She knew he was being generous. People would get bored soon enough once they realized that the call was a fake and nothing was going to be blown up. “Then we better pick up the pace.”
More footsteps sounded. Heavier this time. Not the quick pace of a manager on his way to a meeting or the bathroom but the even steps of someone who was taking his time. Searching.
For them?
“Just like before,” Quinn said. “Keep your eyes down. Blend.”
“I don’t need you to tell me how to do my job,” she said through clenched teeth. But blend into what? The walls were white, and they might be the hired help, but they stood out.
And she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that refused to die.
The owner of the footsteps rounded the corner. Dressed in black. Gun on his hip. All brawn. This wasn’t a rent-a-cop.
But at least it was a man. That she could work with.
“I got this,” she whispered. Quinn hung back; she managed a broad smile and hurried toward the guard. She smiled up at him. “Hi. We’re new and need a little direction.”
His eyes narrowed, and his hand shifted to rest on the butt-end of his weapon. She tried to act like she hadn’t noticed. “Where’s your ID badge?” he asked.
Eva put a hand to her chest where a badge would rest, but he didn’t break gaze at the movement. Didn’t offer a flicker of interest. A professional, she realized. That would make this more difficult.
She kept smiling. “That’s what we’re looking for. The office to pick them up. If you could just give us some direction…”
“How did you get down here without one?”
He really wasn’t going to let this go. She hoped that Quinn was paying attention, because if she failed on the first blow, she was going to need help. “Screw this,” she said, and went at his jaw with an uppercut. He blocked, backhanding her hard enough to throw her to the other side of the aisle.
Then Quinn was at her side. His right leg shot outward, hitting the guard square in the chest. He dropped, and by the time his head hit the tile, Quinn’s boot was on his neck. “Make a move, and I’ll crush your windpipe.”
“Security is already on its way,” the guard said but held up his hands in surrender.
Eva grabbed the gun from his holster, cocked it, and trained it on his head. “How much time?”
“Seconds.”
She listened. The hall was silent. “Liar.” But she knew he wasn’t far off. The people monitoring the cameras might be preoccupied with the building down the street, but even unexploding bombs got boring, and they’d return to monitoring the hallways.
“Where’s Felix?” Quinn asked.
“Who?”
Quinn pressed harder, and the guard choked.
“Felix,” Eva said, steadying her arm and lining up the sight with the guard’s forehead. “The scientist you’re guarding. Older man. Smart.”
“The main lab.”
“Which is where?”
“Straight ahead. Take the second right. You’ll see it at the end of the hall.” She hoped he wasn’t lying, and in other circumstances, she’d make sure. It wouldn’t be long before reinforcements arrived.
“Where’s his daughter?”
The guard’s brows pulled inward. “Who?”
Qu
inn pressed his foot harder. “Pauline Bennett. Young girl. Light brown hair. Big blue eyes.”
Behind them, the drumming of feet caught Eva’s attention. Quinn met her worried gaze. They were out of time. Quinn ripped the badge from the guard shirt the held out his hand. “Gun. Please.”
The guard squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the worst.
She handed it to Quinn, and he pistol-whipped the man. Once. Twice. On the third hit, the man went limp.
The feet were closer now.
“Run.” But she was already in motion, flying down the hallway and away from the drumming of approaching bodies behind them. They turned the corner, and at the end of the hallway was a wall of glass.
Relief washed over her, giving her energy. She sprinted toward the lab, barely slowing before she reached the doors.
Quinn stopped next to her. Beyond them, the room was full of beakers, test tubes, and machines but devoid of people. Her heart dropped. Where is he?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, swiping the card over a reader next to the doors. The glass slid open, and cool air with a metallic taste washed outwards and over them. “Go,” he barked.
She ran inside with him behind her, the door sliding shut behind them. Wrenching the emergency open button off the wall, he stepped back, aimed the heel of his boot into the touch pad, and three solids kicks later, the mechanism was a mess of wires, plastic, and twisted metal.
He ripped out the wires and dropped them to the floor.
“That should hold them off,” he said.
“Dammit. Where is he?” She felt like an idiot. She’d wanted to believe they could pull this off—but she’d been deluding herself. And in the process, was going to get herself and Quinn killed. “Where the hell is Felix?”
“Eva?” Behind her, a familiar voice called her name.
She whirled.
Felix peeked out from behind a wall—
Relief washed over her at seeing her friend, her responsibility, alive. All self-defeating thoughts fled, and she ran to him.
He stepped into view carrying a large, metal cylinder. On the side, a timer blinked.
Risking It All for Her Boss: A Heroes for Hire novel (Entangled Ignite) Page 17