“Just being clear about his importance.” And trying to make a point. The only kind he could make out here in the open with Tony the driver sitting a few feet away.
Seth sat there, not moving for a second. He glanced out the window at the traffic. Even tapped his fingers on the glass as he watched. When he looked at Rick again his eyes were brighter and unblinking. “Is Alec the kind of guy who would know about transportation issues in Munich? About how to get goods from one place to another without trouble?”
There it was. Seth might not think they were on the same page. Rick knew better.
He stole a quick glance at the back of the driver’s head before answering. “I’ve learned everything I know on the subject of transportation problems in Munich from him.”
“Shit.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
The words barely left his mouth when the car jolted. Rick’s body jerked hard to the right, smashing him into the door. The seatbelt dug into his shoulder, flinging him back again. The material sliced across his neck with a burning sensation. The world blurred outside the window as Tony’s head bobbed in front of them.
It took a second for Rick to realize the car had entered a spin. Tires squealed and he could hear a crashing thud. He thought he heard a scream right before the window next to his head shattered, raining cubes of glass over him.
One minute he was sitting up and the next he was half bent over, still strapped in but being pulled down. The weight on his back registered. Seth was on top of him, saying something.
The words finally registered.
“You okay?” Seth shouted the question more than once.
Rick’s ears felt clogged, like he couldn’t get them to pop after a long flight. “I…uh…”
“Rick, fucking answer me.” Seth’s face hovered right over him.
“I’m fine.” Then he saw the crack in the partition with the front seat. “Tony.”
The car slammed to a stop as the back rammed into something. The impact, being thrown around on the backseat, all took place in slow motion. Then time sped up. People ran toward the vehicle and smoke curled up from the engine.
Tony didn’t move.
“Damn it.” Seth fiddled with his seatbelt and got it open with a click. He groaned as he leaned forward and shoved aside the window between the seats to touch Tony’s neck. “He has a pulse.”
Rick expected relief but a wave of dizziness crashed over him. He could see the crumpled side of the car where it pushed in on Seth and shoved him over until he almost sat on Rick’s lap. Then there was the harsh smell of gasoline and the clink of glass as it fell out of his hair and down his chest.
“We need—”
Seth put a hand on the back of Rick’s neck and kept him low and against the seat. “Do not move.”
The seatbelt burned like fire through his shirt. “But I—”
“This would be the perfect time for someone to grab you.” Seth shoved at the bent door on his side but it wouldn’t open. “That was no accident.”
“Tony needs help.” The words sounded so shaky. Rick could hear his tone bobble as people approached the car and tried to open Tony’s door.
“So do you.” Seth reached over and pulled the handle on Rick’s side of the car but the door wouldn’t budge.
“Here.” Rick tried to help but Seth pushed his arm away.
“I’ll handle it.” Seth shoved. Spun his body until his legs stretched in front of Rick, then kicked the door when it seemed to get stuck.
Cool air rushed into the car a second later. Rick’s head pounded but he tugged and pulled at the seatbelt. Then Seth was there, climbing over him but careful not to put any weight on him.
Seth had a gash on the side of his head and blood dripped down from his eyebrow. He was talking to people outside of the car but Rick couldn’t really make out the words. The back of his head was killing him and his ears still rang.
Sirens wailed in the distance. More people gathered and a few hovered over Tony’s still form.
The belt tightened across Rick’s waist and chest until he gasped, then the pressure eased. He saw the flash of the blade in Seth’s hand and knew he’d sliced through the material.
“You’re hurt.” Rick tried to lift his hand to touch Seth’s face but his vision darkened. His head lulled forward and bile rushed up his throat. “What the hell?”
“Rick, look at me.” Seth lifted Rick’s head and stared into his eyes.
“What?”
“You were shot.”
Rick tried to make out the words but his brain wouldn’t function. He opened his mouth but the darkness swallowed him. He called out as the last of the lights went out.
—
Seth waited just outside the curtained-off bed, pacing back and forth, while the clinic doctor examined Rick and gave the final okay. He had a tear over the top of his ear and a slim cut across the back of his head. The doctor was one of theirs and wrote it down as minor injuries from the shattered car window.
Seth knew the truth. The skin burns from the seatbelt and rattled brains came from the car accident. The slice came from the bullet that passed far too close to Rick’s head. It skimmed him, injured him, but did not kill him.
It all made sense to Seth. The accident was a distraction. Ram the car from one side and fire into the other. Try to get Rick while everyone was looking elsewhere. It was a hit, right out there in the open.
They’d gotten lucky. So fucking lucky.
When Rick passed out at the scene Seth almost threw up. It wasn’t until the crowd pressed in that his body kicked into gear. Instinct and training took over and he moved without thinking. He handled the blood and the onlookers. Called the right people and notified Owen.
Most important, he got Rick the hell out of there before someone could launch round two.
Now Seth’s body shook, inside where only he could feel it. Waves of anxiety steamrolled him. The adrenaline rush had died down and the aches sprang to life. Seth had been checked and declared fine but he didn’t fucking feel fine. He felt ripped and shredded and turned inside out. Seeing the blood, watching Rick’s eyes roll back at the scene, had Seth desperate to rip the hospital apart piece by piece.
When the doctor finally stepped out and nodded for him to go in, Seth couldn’t move. His legs refused to work. It felt as if every part of him had started to shut down.
He didn’t do this. He never fell apart. Even when bodies fell around him, he stayed in the moment.
Not this time.
Rick called out and Seth forced his lungs to work. He inhaled nice and deep, trying to spark life back into those failing brain cells. When he heard Rick shifting around, he went in just to stop him from getting up too soon.
The rings rattled on the pole as he pulled the curtain back and stepped into the small space set up to handle emergencies. Rick sat there on the edge of the bed with his legs hanging over the side. He wore one shoe and his white dress shirt was ripped and stained with blood. His glasses were in his hand. Somehow they’d survived the crash. Maybe better than Rick had.
Seth had never been so happy to see anyone—ever.
Rick frowned at him. “You’re okay?”
“Sure.” That’s it. That’s all Seth could force out.
Rick winced as he touched the bandage on his ear. “Tony?”
“He’s fine. Broken collarbone and head injury, but he’ll be okay.”
“Good.” He blinked a few times before dropping his hand again. “What the fuck was that?”
Seth moved in knowing he needed to whisper and determined not to lose control. “A hit on you.”
When Rick’s frowned deepened, Seth took the small baggie out of his pants pocket and held it up.
Ricked examined the bag. “A bullet?”
“Clearly.” Seth moved in closer. He almost smiled when Rick opened his legs to give him room to stand between them. “I recovered it.”
He’d fished it out of the headrest right behi
nd Rick’s seat while the medics had gone to work on Tony.
“What are the police saying?” Rick dropped his hands to his lap.
“Hit and run. It’s a world gone wild. No one takes responsibility for their mistakes anymore.” Seth mimicked the one officer’s heavy accent.
“I mean about the shooting.”
“They don’t know that part.” Seth tucked the bag back in his pocket. They’d run analysis on that later. They were starting to have a lot they needed to do later. “It’s not my first day on the job.”
The joke fell flat and Seth didn’t have the energy to try again. He used all of his focus, every last drop of adrenaline, to stand there.
“I’ve been here six days and someone tried to kill me, so timing might not be the issue here.”
“You do make an impression.” Seth put his hand on the bed, right beside the outside of Rick’s thigh. Seth wanted to get closer, to take Rick home, but this satisfied him for now.
“I guess so.” Rick reached down and brushed his fingers over Seth’s. Just for a second and very gently.
He tried not to let the touch matter, but it did. It soothed him. Made his heart stop jumping around in blind panic. Right there, as people yelled and ran around and the intercom spewed with announcements, they had a few seconds of quiet.
Leave it to Rick to know the exact right thing to do. He might not be perfect but he was damn close.
“I would point out we went to the art thing yesterday and this happened today.” Seth could feel the anxiety churn inside him. “We let Tim out, he talked with people, then this.”
Seth wanted to fucking kill that guy. He knew he should have insisted on interrogating him, scaring the shit out of him. Instead, he acquiesced to Rick’s suggestion. Give the guy rope. Let him out and see what happened. Well, this fucking happened.
“You don’t know it was Tim.” Rick moved his head and made a hissing sound. “Ben was there. So was Owen. The only one we left behind was Lisa and that’s because she was pissed about Tim sneaking out to meet other women.”
Seth tried to rein it in and get control of his emotions. Something he’d never had to worry about before. “Clearly someone knows you’re digging. Maybe it’s not Tim, but I’m skeptical.”
“So long as you don’t try to beat the crap out of him—”
Seth shook his head. “I’m not promising that. I see it happening in his future.”
“And I’ve been careful on the digging.”
“Honestly, I may have caused this.” Seth had to admit it. He’d been lurking around since he got there. People seemed to accept that at the consulate. At the residence might be another matter. “I dragged Owen over to the house first thing this morning, while you were on that conference call. Told him I needed to check the place out before I moved you in.”
“You found the gun.”
Rick’s directions had been perfect. Seth still couldn’t believe Rick had found the spot. There was nothing obvious about that hiding place and Seth knew from experience that the room, the entire house, had been taken apart after Ed died.
“I have it. Nate is coming to take care of it.” Seth gave in to the need to touch him and put a hand on Rick’s thigh. Anyone passing by could see them, but in that moment he didn’t give a shit. “We’ll know more soon. Maybe it’s part of some weapons drop. Who knows?”
“I’m not enjoying this assignment.”
Seth rubbed his hand back and forth by Rick’s knee. Felt the clear line of the firm muscles underneath. “If you’re right about this scheme, and after this afternoon I’m betting you are, then some people have a lot to lose. This is a big money game. Knocking you off and getting you out of the way would be small time.”
“A second diplomat dying in the same consulate. You don’t think that would draw attention?” Rick slipped his thumb over the back of Seth’s hand.
“Whoever shot that bullet has training. It was a target hit. With all the glass and debris and witnesses talking about the car hitting you and taking off, who would go looking for other explanations?” Just talking about this made Seth seethe. Anger shot through him. The idea of Rick being in danger, of someone literally trying to take him out made everything inside Seth strain and tense. “A suicide and a car accident chalked up as bad luck. Nothing more.”
“That’s hard to imagine.”
“It would raise a flag but this might be about building in enough time to move the operation out.” Seth had to believe that was the plan. Continuing on in Munich would be too dangerous, which meant their time to catch the mastermind and end the operation might be coming to a close. “Remove you and run.”
“Fuck.”
Exactly. “Yeah, sorry to tell you this but you’re not a desk jockey anymore.”
Rick exhaled. “I’m going to miss that desk.”
“Right now you need a bed.” Seth had a full evening of watching over Rick planned. The second he thought it he waited for his mind to rebel…but it didn’t.
“Alone?”
“I plan to sit next to you and stare at you all night.” Seth stepped back and helped Rick get down from the high bed. Shouldered his weight when Rick’s feet fell heavy on the floor and he started leaning.
“That sounds fun for you.” Rick stood up straight. “Maybe a little weird. We’ll probably need to ask your teammates about that one.”
Score one for the nerd.
But Seth had a shot of his own to launch. “Don’t want you to faint again.”
Rick smiled and amusement filled his voice. “I was wondering how long it would be before you brought that up.”
“Oh, I plan to bring it up a lot.”
“You know what this means, right?” Rick looked down at his one remaining shoe and toed it off, leaving him in his socks.
“That I’m an asshole?”
“Yes, definitely that. But you can’t deny it this time. You just agreed to a night of cuddling.”
Seth hated how good that sounded. “You tell anyone and I’ll shoot you.”
“Deal.”
Chapter 14
The solid night of sleep helped. Rick’s head had stopped spinning by morning. His ear stung and every other part of him ached, but Seth had stayed in bed beside him as promised. Hadn’t even grumbled about the spooning or having to eat eggs again.
Rick knew that last part wouldn’t last much longer.
Car accidents were a bitch, especially when they weren’t accidents. No one else at the consulate knew the truth, of course. The staff had taken turns visiting Tony. The press had gotten a toned-down version of the story, which wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t every day a diplomat got plowed in a hit-and-run, or maybe it was, but Rick doubted most diplomats had to deal with getting shot at.
Everyone talked about how sorry they were to hear about his injuries and how impressed they were he refused to take the day off. All except Seth, who called him a dumbass for that decision.
At the impromptu meeting he’d called this morning, everyone had looked equal amounts worried and intrigued. Lisa wouldn’t stop staring at the bandage on his ear.
All said, he’d spent most of the morning lying his ass off. Since the people who worked for him spent a good amount of time whispering when he walked down the hall, probably because they were convinced his office was cursed, Rick didn’t sweat the deception. One consul general dead. Another injured in a crash. He half expected someone to show up to perform an exorcism.
Maybe that would come later, but right now he had a makeup meeting with Alec. He’d been fine to postpone yesterday and had even offered to come to the hospital. Rick declined because he needed to be on top of his game, or close to it, when Seth and Alec met.
And now was the time.
They’d set aside the conference room that operated as a SCIF. Seth had performed a quick check of the room before Owen ushered Alec inside. Now that Seth had declared it clear, Rick stood with him outside the door, waiting to go in.
Just as he lift
ed a hand to disengage the lock, a shadow fell over him. Seth stepped right in front of him, his forehead wrinkled in concern. “You sure you’re up for this meeting? It can wait another day so long as you agree to stay inside and right where I can see you.”
Rick glanced up at the hallway camera. Security couldn’t hear what was said here, but they could watch what happened. Not inside, but definitely in the hall. “I need to keep up with my schedule. There are enough odd things happening around here. Many more injuries and we could accidentally trigger an international incident.”
Seth smiled at the joke. “For the record, I’d prefer not to run you to the hospital a second time in two days.”
That sounded sweet but Rick picked up on the hint of sarcasm. “I’m fine.”
“You sure you’re not feeling faint?” Seth wiggled his eyebrows. “Because I could carry you. Get you a cool towel for your forehead. Maybe find you a kitten to pet.”
“Asshole.” Rick whispered the comment then opened the door.
The second they stepped inside, Alec stood up. He hadn’t changed one bit. Long and lean with a perfectly flat stomach and laser-like stare. He repeatedly smoothed his hand over his tie. Rick long ago chalked that up to an unconscious response.
Everything else about Alec matched Rick’s memory of him, too. He wore a suit and watch that managed to be expensive without looking over-the-top. Waiting there, he looked every inch the confident businessman. He hid the billionaire part and skipped the blowhard tendencies, which helped him slip into the shadows whenever he wanted.
The secrecy also made him a valuable asset to the U.S. government. Rick wasn’t a hundred percent sure what Alec and his company did to protect national interests, but something big. Something that let them do and go where others couldn’t.
Rick didn’t ask. He really didn’t want to know.
“Damn, man. Are you okay?” Alec walked over and put his hands on Rick’s arms and looked him up and down.
For a second, Rick thought Alec was going to hug him, which was weird. Alec wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type. He never showed affection, in public or alone.
Guarding Mr. Fine (Tough Love #2) Page 12