Protecting His Heart

by Dana Volney

  “Is there access from there?” He pointed to a ceiling corner of the shop that had a small catwalk halfway up.

  She scanned the room. “I don’t see another option.” She started for the ladder without looking back.

  He jacked the hammer back on the rifle to put a bullet in the chamber and followed. This was the completely wrong time to be thinking about her ass, but, shit, she looked good climbing up a ladder in cargo pants. Add the action, and she was one hot, dangerous woman. Talk about a fucking turn on.

  She stopped on the second level and covered him while he boogied up. She wasted no time going up to the ceiling once he was on the platform. No guns or heads were sticking out of the hole he’d created in the side of the building yet, but he was in a shoot-now, ask-questions-later kind of mood. He heard a creak. When he looked up, all he saw were Arabella’s legs. After she pulled herself up, she leaned back down, gun in hand to cover him.

  The building wasn’t large, but it covered enough space to give them a good angle. The original attack had come from a rooftop to their two o’clock, but he had yet to pinpoint the angle of the second burst.

  They stayed crouched and picked the spot with the best vantage—he had his rifle out and scanned the rooftops while she watched the streets.

  “It’s too quiet,” she whispered.

  “They’re regrouping.”

  “Maybe they only wanted to intimidate—this was their way of saying hello.”

  “They did too much homework, and who knows how long they were set up waiting for us.” He reached for his phone to call Winter. No signal. “Do you have a signal?”

  He sighted down the scope of his M24, going rooftop by rooftop while he waited for her to check her phone.

  “Nope.” She put her palm to her forehead to shade her eyes. “I bet they’re using a jammer. These guys are trained, Felix.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we are too.”

  She chuckled with a hint of deviousness. “That it is.”

  He didn’t want to kill these guys. He wanted to maim and interrogate them. He would not ever call asking Bahman a couple of questions last night an interrogation. That was a cover-your-ass task. If they caught some of these bastards, he’d be sure to revisit all his training in the matter.

  “Why hit us here though, if they knew we were going to the office? There are better choke points the closer we get.” He slouched down a little more against the two-foot barrier on the roof and met her eyes.

  The sparse golden highlights in her brown hair shimmered in the sun. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she searched his. They weren’t strangers to being in a tight situation together. They were one hell of a team. And as far as he was concerned, unless a fucking enemy helicopter flew overhead all of a sudden, they had the advantage. They would be able to hold off during a firefight, if it came to that, until someone heard the noise, called the cops, and they came in sirens blazing.

  She moved her shotgun to her side and placed a second 9mm clip on the ground within reach of her left hand. She popped her head back up, but he focused on the clip. Could it be? Nah. There was no way she still had it. He was on her left side—he couldn’t see the gun in her right hand, and he hadn’t looked when they were cleaning out his weapons cache. Which gun had she pointed at him last night? That had been a Beretta. After all these years, was it possible that she’d kept the gun he’d given her as a wedding present?

  “They’re here.” She adjusted for better aim.

  He slowly moved into position and watched a very organized team in civilian clothes approach in a V formation behind a black van. This was a snatch-and-grab job. They’d get Arabella over his dead body.

  They started to fan out.

  “They’re going to try to surround the building. We have to stop that from happening.” While they were above average in the combat department, he and Arabella couldn’t physically cover all the areas at once. They had to control where they were going to fight.

  He sighted in the van and moved to the tires. He fired, hit the driver’s side tire, quickly repositioned, and fired on the back tire. Arabella and he ducked right before the burst of bullets started whizzing over their heads. The van stopped, and the driver got out and commanded his troops in Arabic to fan out.

  “Stop them,” Felix said as he aimed at the two men advancing to the left. Felix fired a warning shot ahead of them and sparked the ground a step in front of the first guy. It was almost comical how fast baldy changed direction and hid by a rotting truck in the weed-infested parking lot. The second guy followed his lead. Those two fired back as soon as they had cover, and Felix returned the sentiment. There’d be no more ducking. Or running. If Darek wanted a fight, he was going to get one—right at his doorstep in Saudi Arabia if necessary.

  Gunshots sounded off from Arabella; she was doing something similar to keep the seven men on the ground in front of them.

  “We can’t just pin them down all day.” The irritation was clear in her voice. She always had liked taking things to the extreme. “We only need one to give us information.”

  He really didn’t want to kill anyone. Although they had been backed into a corner and their cell phones were jammed, so she had a point: scare them off or kill them all. She was also right about only needing one to get answers from—and he knew just the guy.

  He found the driver, lined up his sight with the guy’s leg, let his breath out, and shot. The leader went down with a scream and drew his team’s attention. They started to converge on him.

  “I want to talk to that one.” Felix fired at the man almost to the wounded driver and backed him away one shot at a time. “Keep the others away. They need to abandon him.”

  She kept a steady stream of shots going. “How exactly do you expect them to get away? You shot out their tires.”

  “Only two of them. They can still drive it. It’s not like they’re going to care about ruining the axles.”

  The leader was barking orders, and the men looked torn. That’s right. Leave him. As an extra incentive, Felix aimed for one of the yappiest men and shot him in the upper arm. Things were about to get serious if these guys didn’t take the hint and leave.

  The familiar zing of bullets too close for comfort buzzed his ears.

  “No fair.” Arabella spoke quietly, keeping her muzzle trained in place. “You already got to shoot the other guy.”

  “Take your pick. They need to get the hint to leave.”

  A couple of more well-placed shots, and six of the seven men piled into the van and did their best to speed away. Hopefully taking the cell signal jammer with them.

  For good measure, he placed a shot through their back window and bumper. He didn’t want them getting any ideas about circling back.

  They picked up their clips and made their way down to the ground level.

  “Good shooting,” he said as boogied down to the catwalk.

  “You, too. Really, though, we could’ve taken them all out.”

  “They’re pretty banged up. They won’t be back. That buys us time while Darek finds another team.”

  Her eyebrows raised.

  “Which is why we singled out this guy.” He held out his gun as they approached the head minion bleeding out on the ground. Felix bent down to search his pockets while getting yelled at in Arabic. “Bingo.”

  “I like the offensive approach much more.” She winked and took the phone from him.

  He needed to call Winter. Now that the van was gone, his signal was, indeed, back.

  “Where in the hell are you?” Winter answered on the first ring.

  “We were ambushed. We’re a mile up the road from the office.”

  “Holy shit. I’m coming.”

  “Is Alex there with you?”

  “Yeah.”

  Alex Dreyer was a detective with the Seattle Police Department, ex-boyfriend to Winter, and had been their link to the law on several occasions, helping them out with some gray areas so that Wyn Security stayed clear
of being in the middle of police investigations. They didn’t have time for that, so Alex was a necessary ally. Alex was trustworthy and always came through—a bit of an honorary team member. Felix was going to owe the man a case of beer for all the favors he was about to ask for.

  “I kept a souvenir.” He peered down at the guy who was minutes away from passing out. “I need answers, but this prick needs field-medicine patching before that will happen. Then Alex can have him. Not before. If Alex needs to hang back so he doesn’t have to put my questioning techniques in an official report, I suggest he doesn’t accompany you.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  He disconnected. “Hang in there, buddy. Meds are coming.” He turned to Arabella. “Get anything?”

  She grinned and walked straight for him. His heart beat faster, his body came to life, and she was all he could see. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Her lips were hot, and she coaxed his mouth open gently with her tongue. His hand was instantly at her waist and slipped to her back to press her closer. Whatever the reason, he didn’t mind the in-the-field affection. Not one bit.

  She pulled back and palm-tapped his cheek twice. “That was fun.”

  Holy damn. That was fun. “Anything useful on the phone?”

  “No. It had been cleared.”

  “Then what are you so happy about?”

  “When Darek calls, he’ll be really surprised to hear my voice.”

  The excitement that lit up her entire face made Felix smile. She was damn adorable when she wasn’t deceiving him.

  She moved out of his grasp and bent down to check out their straggler. “I’m Arabella, your new best friend.”

  The guy spoke in Arabic, and it didn’t sound like he was trying to introduce himself. Arabella replied, her tone just as harsh. He’d forgotten how exceptional her language skills were. Last time he’d heard a count, she spoke five fluently and could get by on a handful more.

  Hopefully, she’d get something from the guy now. With by-the-book Alex on the way, it was doubtful Felix was going to be able to have the type of conversation he’d like to have with his detainee. Once the bleeder was at a hospital and not afraid of death, there was no way they were getting a location for the rest of the team or whatever this guy knew about Darek.

  She stood and crossed her arms after the guy passed out.

  “Anything?” Felix rubbed his hands together. If his Hummer tires hadn’t been shot out, they would’ve loaded the guy up and he wouldn’t have called Winter. Unlike the guys in the van, he did care about his axles.

  “Not really.”

  For someone who didn’t get much information, Arabella was sure deep in thought.

  Before he could push for what “not really” actually meant, Winter’s SUV came to a screeching halt by the van.

  “I need the kit,” he called out to her.

  Winter went to the back of her Durango as Alex approached.

  “Parsa Bahman was looking like a real win. Have you ruined that?” Alex had his hands in his pockets and a scowl for the bloody guy on the ground.

  “This’ll help. We believe this team was hired by the same guy Bahman is running from.”

  “You are one lucky SOB if that’s the case.”

  Arabella had intercepted Winter, and they were wrapping the leader’s leg to stop the bleeding. He’d lost a decent amount of blood, but Felix had been careful not to nick the femoral artery, so he didn’t feel a major rush to help the guy’s pain.

  He nodded toward Arabella. “She in the clear?”

  “I won’t be filing charges.”

  Relief swept through Felix all the way to his knees. Lock-up was an easy place for Darek’s dirty money to do a lot of talking.

  “Mr. Bahman is going to take a deal. The CIA is taking custody this afternoon.” Alex always wore nice suits—his brown blazer and navy tie today were no exception—but that did explain why his shoes were extra shiny.

  “Does he know who this team was? Anything on the price on Arabella?”

  “He didn’t know much but did give us bank accounts we are tracking down now, so if there was a payment, we’ll find it, but it might take a while. She needs to lay low. They obviously know she’s here.”

  Javed and Erfan, the bodyguards. They must have run off and made their own calls. That was the only way Darek would’ve associated Arabella with Wyn Security.

  “Bahman had two bodyguards. Have you found them?”

  “No sign of them yet.” Sirens wailed in the distance. “I called in an ambulance.”

  Felix raised a brow.

  “I know the intensity of the situation, and I clearly made the right call.” Alex nodded toward the guy, who would need more care than a first aid kit could provide.

  “I wanted time to talk to him before he went into official custody.”

  “You will. The guy won’t do you any good dead.”

  “He would’ve done a lot more for me in pain. We need to keep an eye out at hospitals; we wounded quite a few of his comrades today.”

  “Winter said you had another gift for me to give to the CIA?”

  “Yeah. But not yet.” He hadn’t seen the laptop in Arabella’s possession, and he’d checked her suitcase while she was in the shower that morning.

  “Is it going to give me a heart attack?”

  “No. It’ll probably get you an award.” The guy on the ground started to stir, drifting in and out of consciousness.

  “I like the sound of that.” Alex’s grin showed off white teeth in the rising, bright, winter sun.

  “Knew you would.”

  Felix watched Arabella try for information all the way until the ambulance doors closed. He and Arabella didn’t have a lot of leads to go off, but they needed to regroup quickly. He doubted that Arabella had been physically spotted, that Darek was just standing by to see if hired thugs could get the job done. He’d have backup and keep sending people until she was in his custody with the encrypted laptop. They needed an attack plan, and he needed to keep Arabella out of harm’s way.

  For old times’ sake.

  • • •

  Arabella glanced at Felix as they entered the Wyn Security office. “I need to apologize, and then we have some hunting to do.”

  She followed her boss into her office.

  Arabella knew she’d messed up royally. “Winter, I want to say I’m sorry for what happened last night. I didn’t intend to get your company messed up in this. I saw an opportunity and I took it.”

  Winter stepped closer, and Arabella fought the urge to defend her decisions. Winter had a right to be upset and didn’t deserve getting caught up in this shitstorm. Right or wrong, this was all on Arabella.

  “What is this all about?” Winter’s gaze shifted; she was no longer mad but concerned.

  “An op gone bad. I stole information that could ruin a very dangerous man and many others, and he wants it back.”

  “How is Felix involved?” Winter crossed her arms.

  It was good to know Felix had people around him that had his back.

  “He’s helping me. And technically, Darek also wants Felix dead, so getting rid of Darek is a win-win.”

  “You’re lucky this is all working out with the police and Bahman.”

  Yeah. Luck. Sure. If it was luck, it was all Felix’s, not hers. Her luck had gotten her hunted by a crazy sheikh. “Are we square?”

  “For now. Felix stays alive.”

  She heard the insinuating tone loud and clear. Winter would play nice as long as her friend stayed safe. She would be a challenge if it came to blows.

  “Of course.” Arabella nodded. She’d die before she’d let Felix perish.

  “Let’s make a plan.” Winter headed toward the conference room.

  Arabella followed her into the room where Felix and a new guy sat. Serious expressions met her and Winter at the doorway. Winter hadn’t fired her, but she doubted after this debacle there'd be a place on the Wyn Security team for her. Not
that she was looking to stick around. Even so, disappointment crept down her arm to the tips of her fingers.

  “What did the bleeder have to say before the ambulance took him?” Felix asked Arabella before she could sit down across from him.

  “I’m Eddie.” The blond next to Felix had an easy smile and looked like he could get a girl’s innermost dreams by saying hello.

  “Arabella.” She reached across the table and shook his hand.

  Eddie glanced between her and Felix before returning his attention to his laptop.

  “He was actually forthcoming.” The concept worked for the enemy; maybe it would work for her. No harm trying something new, like sharing the whole truth. Felix had agreed to help, so she was going to let him despite her natural instinct to distrust in general. She kept her gaze on Felix, watching for the one muscle that jumped in his jaw when he was lying. It was vague, and you had to be really studying him to see it, because the man clamped down on his jaw a ton, but when there was a problem, when he wasn’t being totally honest, he moved his jaw in such a way that a side muscle flexed just so. There was no such flex today. “He said he rounded up a team to get me. Alive. With some colorful language. The team would get transport instructions after they succeeded. It sounded like it was a water extraction, not air or auto.”

  “What gave you that impression?” Eddie asked.

  “Certain words and their inference. They don’t translate well. It’s a general feeling. I don’t think he knew more. Of course, I didn’t get much quality time with him.” She raised a brow at Felix. If he kept calling his team every time she was close to getting the advantage, he was going to teamwork her right into a coffin.

  “Darek has to have more than one team here.” Felix tapped his fingers on the table.

  “You two should stay hidden until we can find out more.” Winter, who had never taken a seat, stood behind a chair, grasping the top of it.

  “That guy won’t know more. They were a smash-and-grab operation.” Arabella focused on Felix. She didn’t know the others, and this wasn’t their fight. The help was nice, but she and Felix were making the calls.