by Taylor Lee
Diamond inched forward and got close enough to see the crazed gleam in Tiffany’s dilated eyes. Confirming that the raving woman was truly deranged, Diamond quickly made her plans. She stopped short when Tiffany pointed her gun at her.
“You Goddamn bitch. You’re his whore now, aren’t you? But you can’t have him. I will kill him first. Then I’ll kill you!”
Seeing Tiffany wildly waving her gun in the air, pointing it first at John’s head and then at his heart, Diamond sucked in a calming breath. She knew she had one shot. As much as she hated to kill Tiffany, she had to take the irrational woman down before she could kill the Senator.
Diamond yelled, “Tiffany! Look at me!”
In the second following her urgent order, Diamond had her Rugar in her hand and her finger on the trigger. In the split second that followed, as if in slow motion, Diamond saw Tiffany turn and aim the Glock at her. In the barrage of gunshots and sounds of men and women screaming, Diamond prayed that her bullet had hit the crazed woman, not the Senator. Seeing the Senator standing horrified but safe, and the young woman crumpled on the floor clutching her bleeding wrist, Diamond gave in to the blinding pain that was making it impossible to breathe. As she sank to the floor, the last thing she saw was Ian rushing toward her, his face stark white, twisted with fear.
Chapter 31
“You could have saved me a few dozen new gray hairs, Tiger, if you’d ever told me that you faint at the sight of blood.”
Diamond stared up at him and said groggily, “I…usually don’t…except when it’s mine.”
Ian laughed. Seeing her confusion, he squeezed her hand and stroked her cheek. He nodded to the gray-haired man standing beside him.
“You’re in good hands, Col. Davis. This serious-looking fellow is Doug Magnuson, the finest thoracic surgeon at Walter Reed Medical Center. Fortunately we didn’t need Doug’s special expertise. Turned out Tiffany’s bullet not only missed your lung, but all your other vital organs. In fact it was more of a surface wound than anything. Which doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to be sore as hell for the next couple of days. You’ll be glad we pumped you full of some impressive painkilling drugs which have the added advantage of making sure you can sleep.”
“I…don’t want to stay in the hospital, Ian. I hate them. Please…”
Ian leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Why did I think you would say that, Tiger?”
At that moment Ruby poked her head inside the curtained bay.
“I hear my boss’s voice. Can we come in?”
Ian waved both Ruby and Noah into the cubicle.
“Please do. Our patient is awake—barely. But I can tell you of the three of us, she is in the best shape. I’m not sure when if ever I will forget that crazy woman waving her Glock in the air then pointing it directly at Diamond.”
Even saying the words, Ian felt his throat tighten. Hell, taking a reasonably deep breath seemed to be a thing of the past. Squeezing her hand more tightly, Ian sent a passionate prayer of thanks to the angels who had to love this beautiful woman as much as he did. Shocked at the unexpected word that had flashed in his mind, Ian was grateful when Ruby came up on the other side of the gurney and reached for Diamond’s hand.
“Damn, girlfriend, you scared the shit out of us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Noah or Ian as freaked. I could barely understand what Noah was saying when he ordered me to meet them at Walter Reed. I can tell you, Boss Lady, it was the fastest trip I ever took down Wisconsin Avenue. I’d be surprised if I didn’t cause a pileup of car crashes trying to avoid the crazy woman driving down the median.”
Noah put his arm around Ruby and moved in next to Diamond. His lip trembled when he spoke.
“Ian’s right, Diamond. I’m not sure when he, or I, will ever get a full night’s sleep without seeing that deranged woman point her gun at you….” He choked back an audible sob then said quietly. “Diamond, my father would be dead if it wasn’t for you.”
Diamond frowned and looked up at Ian.
“Is Tiffany okay? I…I didn’t want to kill her, but I had to take the shot.”
“Yes, you did, Tiger, and it was a helluva shot. You not only saved John but Tiffany got by with a wing shot.”
Ian shook his head at the two agents across from him. There would be plenty of time to tell her that it was his bullet that took down Tiffany. His crack shot to Tiffany’s wrist hadn’t prevented the bullet that hit Diamond, but it had clearly kept it from killing her. Diamond’s bullet had lodged in the wall behind the crazed woman. It was miracle Diamond had been able to get a shot off, given that Tiffany’s errant bullet had hit her first.
Swallowing the bile surging in his throat at the memory, Ian focused on the task at hand. Gazing at Ruby and Noah, he said, “You won’t be surprised that our feisty patient doesn’t want to stay in the hospital. Given our experiences in hospitals, I’m confident we all agree. I’ve arranged for a medic to be available to us tonight at the hotel. Obviously we won’t need him, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
Diamond roused and tried to sit up, then groaned at the pain.
Ian eased her back down. “Uh uh, Tiger. Keep that up and these docs are going to insist on keeping you here.”
Diamond gazed up at him, her eyes were wide, pleading. “I…I don’t want to go to the hotel, Ian. I want to go home with Ruby and Noah.”
Trying to cover his shock and frankly his hurt, Ian shook his head.
“We don’t have to back to the Triumph, honey. We can go to a different hotel, one close to Ruby and Noah’s place…”
She shook her head. “No…no, Ian. I don’t want to go to a hotel. I want to go with Ruby.”
Noah must have seen Ian’s pained reaction to her plaintive plea. He reached for Ian’s arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. “It’s okay, Ian. Like you, both Ruby and I have extensive field training. We will take good care of her. You can come and see her first thing in the morning. We’ll make sure she sleeps through the night.”
When the nurses came in and shooed them out of the cubicle so that they could prepare Diamond to leave, Ian reluctantly joined his friends in the hallway. Taking a deep breath, he laid down his marker.
“Look, I know Diamond and I have had a bit of a challenge, but it is imperative that I’m with her tonight. I need you two to support me, help me convince her to come with me.”
To his surprise, Ruby shot him a scorn filled glare. Ignoring Noah’s warning gesture, Ruby faced Ian head on.
“Sorry, dude, but you’re not my commander, Diamond is. She says she wants to come home with me? She comes home with me. Period!”
Ian stared at the impudent sprite, not hiding his surprise at her rudeness.
“I beg your pardon, Sargent Harper? Please understand. That wasn’t a request. As I indicated, it is essential that I am with Diamond tonight.”
Ruby raised her pert chin and returned his hard gaze.
“I do understand, Colonel Ross. However, as you did, I heard my commander say that she wanted to go home with me. She couldn’t have been more clear.” Ruby pressed her lips together in a hard line and added, “While we’re at it, Colonel, give me one good reason Diamond would want to go with you. She’s a little banged up, don’t’cha think, to be your pretend lover or your whore? But, at least unlike last night, if she’s in tears tonight it will be because she has a bullet wound in her side. Not because some arrogant man had crushed her spirit in his oh-so-capable hands.”
Turning on her heel Ruby headed toward the exit where the nurses had indicated they would bring Diamond. It didn’t take Ruby’s ramrod straight back, squared shoulders and high heels clicking furiously on the tiled floor to confirm that the red tornado was mad as hell.
“My apologies, Ian. Now you have an idea of what I put up with. Ruby does her bright red hair proud. But I have to tell you, she sure makes my life interesting. And you can always count on her to tell it like it is.”
Ian glared at his friend who w
as standing to the side, a trace of amusement lighting his dark eyes. Ian tried to dampen his anger. He admitted that he was more frustrated than angry and more than a little embarrassed. “I see. And so, Noah, in your view as well as Ruby’s, I’m an arrogant asshole who hasn’t earned the right to be with the woman I love even though she was almost killed tonight? And all because I made the mistake of uttering the most stupid phrase that has ever come out of my mouth? For Christ’s sake, Noah. I was teasing her. Jesus, how could I know how much that would offend her? And since it did, why didn’t she tell me instead of going along with my apparently tasteless joke?”
Noah looked thoughtful. “Yeah, I can understand why you’re surprised. Although, I’ll admit, when I listened to the two of them last night discussing your ‘pretend lover/whore ruse,’ I was taken aback. You are known for your aplomb and that phrase definitely lacked your usual élan.” He sighed, “But maybe it was Diamond’s tears that stripped it of your intended humor.”
“Christ, man! She really was crying? Jesus God, Noah, you have no idea how bad this is. Today….” He paused not knowing how he could bear to tell Noah what had happened earlier, but then gave into the inevitable. Exhaling a hard breath, he dragged his hand through his hair, a habit he had when he was distracted or in this case, upset, then faced his friend and spilled the sordid tale.
Noah was wide-eyed by the time he finished. “Jesus, Ian. That bitch actually set you up? Did it on purpose?”
Ian was surprised that Noah was focusing on Marjorie Chapman’s vicious behavior, rather than what he’d done to and with Diamond in the hallway. He said as much to Noah.
“You got to be kidding, man! That scene you described is hot as hell and there isn’t a guy alive who wouldn’t envy the hell out of you if he’d seen it. By the way, that also goes for all the women who are lusting after your elusive ass, Col. Ross.”
Ian grunted. “At least, thank God, Rourke Nielsen called and confessed that he was the one who saw us in the hallway. He promised that I could count on his discretion.” Ian added, “To your point, Noah, he didn’t sound at all unhappy that he’d viewed the scene. He muttered something about now that he had, he could die happy. Or some other damn fool thing.”
Ian and Noah walked out to the entrance where Ian had told his driver to wait for them. He’d assumed he would be the one taking Diamond with him tonight, but that obviously was not going to happen. Almost as an afterthought he and Noah took a few moments to agree on the timing for the plan they were about to wreak on his father. Ian closed his eyes, wondering how in the middle of one of the most critical operations he’d led, his major concern was the pale woman his driver and Ruby were helping into the elegant town car.
Noah didn’t help matters when he sidled up next to Ian on the curb and said, “By the way, Commander Ross, when you were talking about why you had to be with Diamond tonight, you used a certain four-letter L-word. I know for a fact, I’ve never heard you use that word in connection with a woman you are seeing. Methinks your ‘ruse’ may be a lot more real than pretend.”
With that he gave Ian a hearty clap on his back and sauntered toward the town car. He turned at the car door and forced a grin.
“After today, tomorrow should be a piece of cake. All we’re going to do is take on the illustrious Senator John Elijah Walker once and for all.”
Chapter 32
Ian’s gut clenched when he saw Diamond. She was sitting in an overstuffed arm chair by the fireplace, a fuzzy angora throw covering her from the waist down. Her pale face made her eyes seem even larger, darker brown. Without makeup, and with her long sun-streaked hair tied up in a high ponytail, she looked like a teenage kid. Adding to the fragile image that was tearing at his heart she was wearing one of Ruby’s infamous Marvel Comic nightshirts. The doppelgänger on this one was none other than Wonder Woman. Ian fought the urge to pick her up in his arms and hold her and never let her go. Instead, grinning at her, he strolled over to her, leaned down and lifted her chin. He held her gaze for a long moment, then shook his head and placed a lingering kiss on her lips.
He smiled at the flush that rose on her cheeks. Pointing to the image on her chest, he chuckled.
“You couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate nightshirt, Tiger. Unless you opted for Gamora.”
Her flush deepened and she pulled away, then pressed her lips together and met his gaze.
“I don’t know who Gamora is.”
“Ah, you should. She is the most dangerous women in the Galaxy and also one of the most exotic.”
He crouched in front of her not allowing her to look away.
“How was your night, Tiger? Please tell me that you slept soundly through the entire night and woke eager to go to the gym and beat the stuffing out of a leather punching bag?”
She snorted, “Don’t I wish?” She added, “But, really, Ian, I’m fine. It’s more of a surface wound than anything. Since you apparently not only had a thoracic surgeon attending me but also a plastic surgeon, I may not even have a scar for bragging rights.”
He laughed. “Hey, you think I was going to allow some crazy woman to mar that beautiful body of yours? Not a chance, Tiger.”
When her flush deepened and she looked down at her hands clasped in her lap, he said softly, “After Noah and I are finished talking with John, I’m going to take you in the bedroom and have a look at that wound. When it comes to you, Diamond, I don’t take anything for granted.”
She shook her head and frowned. “I’m okay, Ian, honest.”
“You’re more than ‘okay,’ sweetheart, but knowing that isn’t going to stop me from seeing for myself.”
Ruby was standing by the counter between the living room and kitchen, arranging coffee cups and pastries. Her rigid body language confirmed that her pique from the night before hadn’t dissipated. Ian chuckled and turned back to Diamond.
“I see that your mother hen is standing guard protecting her little chick from the big bad rooster.”
Ruby snorted confirming that she was listening to their conversation and was prepared to intervene if necessary. Ian didn’t bother to lower his voice. He wanted Ruby to know that no one was going to stand between Diamond and himself.
Reaching again for Diamond’s chin, he forced her at look at him.
“I have a question for you, Col. Davis. It’s one that I wrestled with most of the night.” Seeing that he had her attention he continued, “Amber told me that she asked you to call me, to tell me go to John’s office to check on him, that she thought Tiffany might do something rash.” He paused for effect. “But you chose not to call me. Do you want to tell me why you failed to do so, Col. Davis?”
Diamond gave one of her imperious shrugs. The kind that made him want to scoop her up in his arms and take her into the bedroom and show her what happened to naughty girls who took risks and put themselves in danger. His intention must have shown in his eyes because her face blossomed in a lovely shade of scarlet.
He chuckled at her unspoken confirmation that she knew what he was thinking.
“On that point, Colonel, did you know that Tiffany had a gun?” When she shook her head no, he asked, “If you had known, would you have called me then?”
She shrugged again then tossed her head and said dismissively, “I might have. Or, I might not have.”
Ian laughed softly and nodded, indicating that he had expected her answer. “And that, my feisty Tiger, is another thing we are going to discuss when you’re all healed.”
At that moment a loud knock on the door confirmed that their expected company had arrived.
John Walker blew into the room like the human tornado that he was, all bluster and bravado. He was followed by Francis Walker and Peter Kennedy. The solemn expression on Peter’s face and the strain on his wife’s tortured visage should have dampened the Senator’s bonhomie. Instead the comparison between Peter’s and Francis’s tense expressions and the Senator’s exuberance only highlighted his disconnect with the damage that he h
ad caused those who loved him.
The Senator gave Ruby a quick buss on her proffered cheek, but ignored her serious expression if he noticed it. Ian rose to his feet and stood protectively beside Diamond’s chair as the animated man marched across the room. Walker grasped Ian’s arm and pulled him into the accomplished politician’s version of a bear hug.
“Here you are, Col. Ross. Jesus, man, I haven’t seen you since that horrible scene in my office yesterday. I hope you got a better night’s sleep than I did, Ian.”
Ian huffed a soft snort and allowed his lips to curl in an ironic smile.
“Something tells me, John, that you likely had the best sleep of us all.”
John flinched then scowled at him, confirming that Ian’s arrow had hit the mark. Seeing Diamond sitting bundled in the chair, he shoved by Ian and knelt in front of her. For a fleeting moment genuine sorrow flashed across his face. As quickly as it came, the blustering man covered his distress with his usual audacity.
“Ah, here she is. The true hero of the moment.”
He shuttered his eyes as if the sight of her had conjured up the nightmare they’d participated in but quickly regained his composure. He held her hand and said simply, “Thank you, Diamond. You and this arrogant man saved my life.”
As if the genuine emotion he’d allowed to escape had tried him, the Senator stood and turned to Ruby. He said in a boisterous voice, “Hope you don’t mind, Ruby, my girl, but my new opponent is about to announce his race for my senate seat. None of us want to miss this spectacle.”
Not waiting for Ruby to turn on the television, the big man grabbed the remote off the counter and in seconds the screen was filled with an all-too-familiar scene.
In the center of the screen a dark-haired middle aged man stood behind a podium pontificating. His fluid expressions ranged from outrage to an ingratiating smile. At his side, a blonde, slightly overweight woman, with a plastic smile locked on her face, stared up at her man as if she’s seen the rapture. Behind them were the requisite four children. A cute, pig-tailed, fidgeting little girl who looked to be about seven years old, stood next to her bored teenaged sister and the two pre-teen boys dressed in white shirts and bow ties mimicking their father’s conservative appearance.