Risking It All for Her Boss: A Heroes for Hire novel (Entangled Ignite)

by Sharron McClellan

For now.

  “It’s decision time,” Pauline said.

  Eva swallowed hard. She wanted to tell her to “get bent”, but that wouldn’t do anything but get herself killed. “I’m ready.”

  “What about him? Are you still set on defending your partner?”

  As if she hadn’t heard every word. But even if that were true, to deny her desire to keep Quinn alive would only confirm to Pauline that she was a liar. He mattered. There was no getting around it. “I don’t want him to die.”

  Pauline nodded. “That’s why I admire you. He’d hang you out to dry, but you still do the right thing.” She turned her attention to Quinn. “You’re a lucky man. I’ll make sure you’re out of the blast zone, but it’ll be up to you to save yourself.”

  “Fair enough,” he said.

  There’s nothing fair about it. “Can you give us a moment to say good-bye?”

  Pauline rolled her eyes but gave a nod of approval. “Our ride is almost here. Make it quick.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  They had to be leaving by helicopter. Pauline hadn’t said as much, but it made the most sense. There was no way Eva was letting her board. Once they were airborne, she’d lose any chance of retrieving the weapon. The idea of staying with Pauline, riding out the storm, safe and secure on a remote island or in the wilds of Alaska, while people died en masse, was intolerable.

  And she didn’t have to question Quinn to know he felt the same way. That they had to do whatever it took to end this. Eva’s eyes locked with Quinn’s as she went to him, knowing it might truly be good-bye. “Please don’t die.”

  He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

  “We can’t let her leave,” Eva whispered, her lips skimming against his.

  “I know.” His tongue teased her, tasted her, and when she couldn’t take any more, not without breaking down into tears, Quinn leaned his forehead against hers again.

  “Time’s up,” Pauline said.

  “I got this,” he whispered as the guards pulled them apart and goose-stepped Eva out the door, leaving Quinn alone.

  She stared at the wall separating them. Quinn.

  “We have to hurry,” Pauline said. One of the mercs took Eva by the arm, and she realized they were both going with them, leaving Quinn alone.

  She glanced around as they headed toward the exit to the roof and saw that it wasn’t just Quinn they’d left unguarded. The entire floor was deserted. The mercs had cleared out.

  Which could mean many things, Eva tried to tell herself. But one thought kept popping up.

  Pauline planned to detonate the bomb before she left.

  Bile rose in Eva’s throat. No wonder the others had vacated. If she didn’t stop Pauline and the weapon, there was no way Quinn was going to escape.

  “He’ll never get out in time,” Eva shouted as the mercs pushed her into the stairwell.

  “I’m sorry I lied,” Pauline said, slamming the door shut behind them. “But it’s for the best. Losing him will do for you what losing Daddy did for me. You’ll see.”

  “Like hell.”

  “You’re upset,” Pauline said as they climbed the stairs.

  “Of course I am,” Eva replied. “You’re going to set off the bomb and kill the man I love.”

  And more. Pauline wasn’t going to just kill millions by exploding the bioweapon in Crystal City, she was going to try and take down the United States government.

  She hoped like hell that Tempe had managed to contact the president or someone in his cabinet so they’d have a chance to get out. If they didn’t and the government fell, it would be chaos with almost no chance of coordinated assistance for any part of the US.

  And that chaos would spread across the world.

  They reached the top and walked onto the roof. No helicopter yet, but Eva heard the familiar thumping of the blades in the distance.

  Pauline continued, “I can tell you this much, it will be quick. I’m not cruel.”

  “That helps,” she lied. Killing entire families. Leaving children orphans. That was beyond cruel.

  “Good. I know that when this is over, I’ll be vilified, but this will give everybody a new start. It’ll be worth the sacrifice. You’ll see.”

  They stopped just outside the boundary of the helipad. The thumping grew louder, and the helicopter came into view and landed in front of them.

  Eva’s hair whipped about her shoulders, and her thoughts shot back to Colombia and Felix’s rescue. He’d been broken but had pushed himself so he could be with his daughter again.

  He would be horrified if he could see what she’d become.

  Pauline held out her hands, and the mercenary handed her the weapon. She punched in a code.

  Eva tried to watch, but the merc stood in the way as if daring her to try. When he moved, she saw the countdown had begun.

  Five minutes.

  …

  Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.

  Quinn opened the door, ready to fight his way to the helipad and Eva.

  The hallway was empty.

  “Hell.” He’d wasted thirty-seconds. He ran to the stairwell, paused, and slowly opened the door.

  Eva’s voices echoed downwards. You’re going to detonate the weapon, aren’t you?

  And then the squeal of the door as they reached the roof.

  It slammed shut, and he pelted up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. He reached the top, and his hand went to where his gun should be.

  He grimaced. With no weapon, he’d have to rely on surprise.

  Cracking the door open, he watched as the helicopter landed and Pauline took the bioweapon, punched in numbers, and set it down.

  The rotors were deafening, but Eva’s body language confirmed that Pauline had armed the weapon.

  The small group boarded the helicopter, forcing Eva, and he raced across the roof. He wasn’t going to lose her, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Pauline get away. She needed to be locked up in a padded cell.

  The door to the helicopter slammed shut.

  Without breaking stride, he scooped up the weapon and jumped for the helicopter skid, grabbing on with one arm.

  Four feet off the ground, the helicopter lurched in response. Quinn swung his legs upward, wrapping them around the metal, and it lurched again, dipping down, spinning as the pilot tried to compensate. The copilot door slid open, and one of the mercs leaned out, raised his gun, and stopped, his eyes glued to the bioweapon.

  He slammed the door, and the chopper tilted as they tried to shake him off and onto the pavement ten stories below.

  …

  “What do you mean he has it?” Fear tinted Pauline’s voice.

  Eva had felt the chopper lurch and assumed they’d hit a crosswind. The second one, coupled with the pilot’s comments, told her it was something else.

  And that something was Quinn.

  Her white knight. But this time, she didn’t mind.

  The pilot regained control of the chopper and tilted the stick one way, then another, trying to dislodge Quinn. Eva tried to lunge forward to stop them, but Pauline grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her back into her seat.

  “Stop it,” she screamed at the pilot’s. “If it falls, it could detonate.”

  Pauline might be crazy, but she didn’t want to die.

  Good. She could use that fear to her advantage. Time for some white-knighting of her own, and she elbowed Pauline in the face.

  Cartilage crunched, and Pauline shrieked, grabbing the bloody mess that was once her nose. Eva crawled over her and pulled open the door. They were over the building again, but barely.

  Quinn caught her eye, and her heart thumped hard at seeing how precarious his hold was. “Hang on,” she shouted, not sure if he could hear her. She reached for him as the chopper lurched again, dipping down as the pilot tried to rake Quinn off on the metal railing that separated the top of the roof from the street below.

  The man was panicking, Eva thought. And was going
to get them all killed.

  But she could tell the moment his efforts worked—the chopper lifted. She saw Quinn roll to the roof, protecting the cylinder with his body.

  She held her breath, waiting to die.

  But there was no explosion. No white light. No virus.

  Which meant there was still time to end this. And for that, she needed the one person who might have the disarm code.

  Pauline.

  “You’re coming with me,” she shouted and grabbed for the girl, but Pauline lashed out. Furious, her hits didn’t have the same grace or precision the earlier one did, but it was still like fighting a wild animal.

  Pushing past the fists and screams, Eva grabbed the strap of Pauline’s leather messenger bag and dived out the door, planning to take her with her—and realized they were no longer over the building, and she was hanging by the strap over the street.

  Still in the chopper, Pauline tried to slide free, but Eva’s weight held the strap tight.

  “Traitor,” she screamed into the wind as the helicopter continued to lurch and pivot, swinging Eva though the air like a rag doll on a string. Below, she caught a flash of Quinn as she whipped past him. He made a grab for her and missed.

  “Let go!” Pauline slid toward her as the vehicle pitched sideways.

  They were going to die, and then there would be no one to stop the bioweapon.

  I’m sorry.

  Pauline fell toward her, and Eva squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch as they plummeted toward the street below, bound together by the leather purse.

  The fall was shortened as she hit the railing on the edge of the building, the metal cutting into her hip. And found herself kneeling on the ground. Her arm burned, as if being ripped from its socket. Pauline dangled on the other side of the rail, kicking her feet and screaming.

  The strap had held.

  Pauline. “Grab the rail.”

  “I can’t.” Frantic, she swung at the rungs. Eva gritted her teeth as the motion threatened to break her shoulder. But Pauline ended up eight inches too short.

  “Quinn!” Eva couldn’t do this alone.

  “Already here,” he said, climbing over the edge. Hanging on to the rail with one hand, he leaned down. “Grab my hand.”

  Pauline reached up. His finger locked around her wrist, and his muscles strained as he pulled her up. Once she was close, she grabbed the rail with her other hand.

  Eva released her grip on the strap of the messenger bag. Her fingers ached. Probably broken. And she was sure her shoulder was probably dislocated.

  Small price. She watched as Quinn heaved the petite woman over the rail to safety.

  Pauline fell into a heap, sobbing.

  Eva found she didn’t care. She stumbled to her feet, wincing as pain spiraled outwards from her shoulders—definitely dislocated—and yanked Pauline upright with her good arm. “Disarm it.”

  Quinn handed her the weapon. Thirty seconds.

  “Now disarm it or die.”

  Twenty-five.

  Pauline stared at the metal cylinder, hands shaking. “I wanted to change things. Make it a better world. That’s all.”

  “I don’t care.”

  Twelve seconds.

  Eva reached for Quinn, winding her fingers through his. He met her gaze.

  “De nada,” he mouthed.

  I love you, too.

  Pauline punched in a code, and the timer stopped.

  Seven seconds.

  The young girl fell to her knees, head in her hands, letting the canister roll away.

  Quinn stopped it with his foot and picked it up. “That was close.”

  “Understatement,” Eva said, but found herself smiling, giddy to be alive.

  …

  “What will happen to her?” Eva asked. After the rescue, it hadn’t taken long for the HRS operatives and police reinforcements to arrive. The passion and spirit had disappeared from Pauline, but Eva suspected it wouldn’t last. There was too much raw anger in the girl for it to remain dormant for long.

  “Prison.”

  “She needs help,” Eva said.

  “She needs to be locked up,” Quinn countered.

  “I’m not saying she doesn’t, but she still needs help.” She massaged her forehead. “For once, can you let me be right?”

  “Sure.”

  She smiled. Had the events of the day softened him? Perhaps. But she suspected it was like Pauline’s sudden compliance—it wouldn’t last. “Thanks. “

  “What will happen to us?” Eva asked.

  “A commendation, no doubt,” Tempe said. “You caught a dangerous criminal before she could set of a biological warfare weapon.”

  “But Felix.”

  “Not your fault.”

  Eva didn’t miss the undercurrent of I’ll make them understand.

  “And about our going rogue?” Quinn asked. “What will you tell them about that?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tempe said with a sudden smile. “You were deep undercover. That’s how my report reads, and that’s all that matters.”

  She had their backs. Quinn wrapped his arms around Eva, lifting her of the ground and twirling her in a circle. She wrapped her arms around his neck. They’d done it, and they hadn’t lost their jobs.

  She still had a family. Which meant she still had Quinn.

  Eva enjoyed the moment for three seconds until she remembered who they were standing in front of, and then she beat on Quinn’s shoulders with her fist. “What are you doing? Put me down.”

  He dropped her to her feet, and she straightened her shirt, trying to seem indignant when she only wanted to whoop with joy and kiss Quinn in celebration.

  Tempe’s right brow was arched upward. “Do you think I’m so naïve that I didn’t know about your relationship?”

  “What relationship?” Eva and Quinn said in unison.

  “Oh, please.” Tempe admonished them both with a shake of her head and roll of her eyes. “There is a reason for the rules on dating, as you both know. We can’t have emotional attachment compromise a mission.”

  “So you’re saying we have to end it?” Eva asked.

  “No, what I’m saying is that you pulled off this mission despite what you feel for each other. You do the job, and I don’t care what you do off hours. And speaking as your friend, I hope you do work this out. You’re good together, and there is more to life than the HRS and field work.”

  Then her smile hardened. “But screw up, and you’re both fired.”

  She turned on her heel. “See you back at the office. I want the report on my desk by the end of the week.”

  “That’s only two days,” Eva said.

  “Don’t care,” Tempe said in a sing-song voice, and slammed the door.

  “What do you think?” Quinn said.

  “We’ll be writing twenty-four-seven.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know,” Eva replied, but what could she say? That she was scared he’d walk away again? That there would never be enough successful missions to assure him that she was capable of taking care of herself.

  “I walked away from you before,” he said. “I am not doing it again.”

  His declaration was everything she wanted to hear, but she knew from her experience with their last breakup that wanting something wasn’t enough. “Are you willing to take the chance that I might get hurt? That you might be forced to sit next to me in a hospital again, while I struggle to live?” She hesitated, then forced herself to drive the point home. “That I might die on a mission, and there is nothing you can do about it?”

  He stroked her hair back with his thumb. “Are you asking me to like it?”

  She shook her head. “No. Just accept it.”

  “I walked away from you because I let fear guide me. I’m still scared of losing you, and I will never stop wanting to defend you. But I know that you can protect yourself.” He smiled. “Hell, you can protect me for that matter.�
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  “I won’t let my fears drive us apart again. I promise.” He cupped her face in his hands, and she let herself get lost in his kiss. His touch. “I don’t want to lose you,” Quinn said. “Not again.”

  She met his soft gaze. “I know.”

  “Do you believe me? Can you trust me again?”

  He’d rejected her and broken her heart, but he’d been there for her, too. Even when she told him not to be. And she didn’t want her fear of being rejected—left alone—to rule her, either. “I do.”

  His grin widened. “I guess that means we’re a team.”

  A team. She shivered at the implications. “You have my back?”

  “Always,” he said, placing delicate kisses on her mouth. “And you have mine?”

  “Forever,” she replied.

  He pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I never stopped.”

  “Me either,” Eva said.

  And he lifted her off her feet, spinning her though the air, and this time, she laughed, not caring who watched.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Gulf Stream Jets for answering some questions that, I am sure, sounded a bit crazy. And thanks to Marcos for telling me how to land a jet in terms that I could understand.

  About the Author

  Raised on sci-fi and fantasy, Sharron always planned to be an author of some sort. However, in college, the joy of writing was sucked out of her by a writing teacher. So, she turned to her next love—Science.

  Hearts Under Siege

  by Natalie J. Damschroder

  Brady Fitzpatrick has spent a decade burying the pain of a broken heart while working for SIEGE, an information-gathering spy agency. That it kept him away from his family as well as his best friend Molly has been an unfortunate side effect. But when his brother, also an agent, is killed during a foreign op, Brady is drawn into a web of intrigue that threatens the lives of everyone he loves…

  Molly Byrnes has loved Brady forever. As his best friend and a de facto member of the Fitzpatrick family, she holds them together in their crushing grief. But as a member SIEGE’s ground team, she doesn’t buy the official line about Brady’s brother’s “accidental” death and launches her own investigation—only to uncover a shocking secret that she and Brady must get to the bottom of before their target finds them.