More tapping. The silence was unbearable.
“Um, Justice,” Martin’s tone was wary and shocked. “It’s not the agency. There is no record of a kill order. Just a burn notice. She’s on the books now because she’s been blacklisted and is on the no-fly.”
I was confused. “I’m telling you, Martin. A woman was in here who didn’t belong and she almost injected Evie with something. Then she ran before I could get to her.”
“Yeah, I meant, there isn’t a kill order from us. I sent a secure text to a contact and he just replied. It’s a hit, Justice.”
I dropped the phone, stunned and incapable of moving. It clattered on the ground, and I could hear the faint sounds of Martin calling my name. If there was a hit out on Scarlett, how would they know she was in the hospital? She was checked in as Genevieve Shaw.
Suddenly, it hit me. I bent and scooped up the cell, my voice like steel when I asked, “Where is Heron?”
“Interrogation at Moron. The brass wanted to wait for you, but Colin convinced them to let him fly out there and take a run at Heron.”
I was pretty sure I’d reached my limit on shock for the day. One more jolt and my heart would probably give out. Colin. No fucking way. I’d trusted him with my life countless times, I’d trained him and been his partner. He’d been the best man at my wedding for fuck’s sake.
“Martin, who all knows about the noc list?”
He cleared his throat guiltily. “Um, you know, the higher ups.”
“I don’t give a shit how long you’ve known, Martin. Or the fact that you shouldn’t. Who else? Does Colin know?”
“I honestly don’t know, man. I can’t hack a person.”
“How many times has he interrogated Heron?”
Martin clacked away at his computer. “Three. He stepped out twice, ostensibly to give a progress report.”
“Did he make a phone call?” I asked anxiously, more and more convinced by the second.
“Let me check his log.” After a pause, Martin responded. “Yeah, two on his second break.”
Two? Shit. There could be another contract on her life.
“Martin, you’ve got to get her out of here and to Moron as quickly as possible. I don’t care what it takes. Burn the fucking agency to the ground if you have to. I want her in the air in 30 minutes. And find out who the fuck took the contracts.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “You don’t ask much, do you, Justice?”
My response was a menacing growl before I snapped the phone shut. I didn’t know how long I stood there, my eyes squeezed shut as I tried to process. I was practically crushing the cell phone in my hand when the doctor came back. I stalked to Evie’s bed and hovered over her warily.
“Good news, Mr. Shaw. The lab results came back sooner than expected. There is no sign of bleeding or trauma beyond a very small fracture. No need for surgery, it can be treated with pain medication and rest. I’m clearing her to be transferred.” He looked at me oddly. “I’ve been told to wait on the ultrasound and any other tests. Is this what you want?”
I stifled a sigh. Martin had come through. “Sorry, doc. I need to get my wife to a military facility. Insurance and all that stuff,” I lied.
He looked slightly affronted, but nodded and left the room without speaking further.
We were in the air no less than twenty minutes later. I watched Evie like a hawk, alert for any signs of things being off. At last, we reached Moron and she was taken to a private patient room where I waited for her new doctor.
Dr. Pena eventually brought me the rest of Evie’s test results and completed an ultrasound. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed that both she and the baby would be okay. They were convinced her state of unconsciousness was simply her body healing from the trauma.
I thanked the doctor and she left me alone with my wife. I needed to call in but unable to resist it a moment longer, I crawled into the bed and held her, my hand resting protectively over the place where our baby was nestled. Sleep eluded me as I ran over the events of the last two weeks and the phone call about Evie’s burn notice.
Guilt filled me, knowing Evie had sacrificed her career for me. I realized there wasn’t a part of her I didn’t love, and that included Scarlett. I never wanted to lose my Evie and changing who she was would chip away at the woman I so desperately adored. An idea began to take root, and I mulled it over until I heard the low buzz of my phone vibrating on the bedside table.
I wiped blood off of my hands as I stepped into the hall outside the interrogation room. Looking down, I saw it splattered all over my clothes. I needed new ones and decided to shower, hoping to cleanse away some of the ugliness lingering over me from my interrogation.
Perry, the Chief of Station, was waiting for me and lifted a brow in question.
“My wife?” I asked first. I wouldn’t agree to leave her side for the interrogation unless she was heavily guarded and her condition monitored closely.
“No change.”
There was nothing left in me to deflate, yet somehow, I felt my body sag. “I’m going to get cleaned up before we debrief.” I stared at him for a moment, daring him to contradict me. I was in no mood to be fucked with.
He nodded and spun around, marching down the hallway. I made my way to a locker room and found a fresh pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and black Converse. Seemed he’d been expecting my demand. After a quick shower, I dressed and dragged my tired ass to the nearest conference room to give my report.
Unsurprisingly, I found my superior looped in on a secure feed, appearing on a large flat screen mounted on a wall. I lifted my chin in acknowledgment. “Donovan.”
“Seems you’ve once again proved to be invaluable, Justice. I hear you broke them both.”
I dropped into a chair, wishing I could slither to the floor and sleep. But, the sooner I got the debrief over with, the sooner I could get back to Evie.
“Heron is a weasel and it only took threats to crack him wide open. He rolled on Colin immediately. Apparently, Colin has been dabbling in unethical methods and black market sales for a while. Heron made the mistake of approaching Colin to help him with the sale of the noc list. Colin clearly never learned to share as a child because he wanted it for himself and tried to kill Heron. He went on the run and Colin came to us with his sob story, hoping you’d send me to retrieve Heron so he could interrogate and extract the noc list.”
I clenched my fist, swallowing down my fury as I relayed the next bit of information. “Colin specifically asked about the identity of Scarlett. Heron gave it up, giving Colin the opportunity to put a hit out on her life.”
Perry jumped in with a question. “And the list? Did Colin get it?”
I pierced him with a dark stare. “Colin has watched me interrogate targets for the whole of our careers. What the fuck do you think?”
“Justice,” Donovan said with reproach. I looked up, annoyed, but slightly pacified when I saw the understanding in his eyes. “What about Colin?”
I narrowed my eyes and spit, “Everybody talks.”
Colin had been harder to break, it had taken some interrogation techniques I couldn’t have gotten away with in certain parts of the world.
“Heron gave me the list of agents, Colin provided the names and locations of the hired guns.” I locked my gaze with Donovan’s before delivering the next blow.
“He had a partner.”
None of us had expected this, but I was the best there was at this fucking job. Although, as I sat in the meeting, I began to realize, I didn’t want to do this anymore. I filed that away for further dissection later.
“Leon.”
Donovan and Perry hissed matching breaths before muttering, “Fuck.”
“Pretty much,” I agreed dryly. Leon was the Chief of Station in the part of India where Colin had been working.
Donovan sighed and shook his head, then peered at me with a calculating expression.
“You seem burned out, Justice.”
“Are you ready to move on from the field?” he asked. “Because we’ve decided to offer you a promotion. If you take it, you’ll no longer be a field agent, though you will remain field rated to be one for any times it might be necessary.”
I guess my heart could take one more shock. Because instead of stopping, my heart sped up. Was it really going to be this easy? I could make the change and know I’d be coming home to my family every night, not putting myself in constant danger. But, the question was, just how much they wanted me to fill the position. I wanted something in return.
“I’m open to the change, sir. However, I’ve got a few conditions.”
Chapter 13
Evie
“C’mon, baby. Open those pretty brown eyes for me. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them.”
There was something wrong with Alex’s voice. It sounded hoarse, like he’d been crying. That couldn’t possibly be right, though. My husband wasn’t a crier. I tried to think of the last time I’d seen tears in his eyes, but my brain didn’t seem to be in working condition at the moment.
I felt the weight of his hand where it rested on my belly. His heat seeped into my skin, warming me, and I realized I was chilled. Goosebumps raced along my arms, and I wanted to pull the blankets up higher but couldn’t seem to make my arms move. There was a short buzzing sound, and I tried to turn my head in the direction from which it came, but couldn’t manage it. I started to panic, but then Alex spoke again and the sound of his voice soothed me.
“Can you bring in a warmed blanket for my wife? She’s cold and it isn’t good for the baby.”
Baby? I knew he liked to call me baby. It wasn’t something I’d ever expected to enjoy, but I loved that Alex had a cute nickname for me. Only, I didn’t think that’s how he’d used it. It was so hard to focus, but I could have sworn he meant it as in an actual baby, a life we’d created together.
Holy crap, how long had I been out of it? I fought against the exhaustion and pain, desperate to make it past the darkness. I tried to open my eyes, but it made the pain worse. It was excruciating, worse than anything I’d ever felt before, but the added pain had one huge benefit—it got my vocal cords working again as a deep moan burst from my lips.
“Evie,” Alex gasped, his hand moving from my stomach to grab my hand and squeeze tightly. “Come back to me. I’m right here waiting for you.”
His voice is filled with hope and rough desperation. I can’t let him down. Not my Alex. I gathered all of my meager strength and directed it towards the hand he was holding, making my fingers wiggle.
“That’s it, baby. You can do it.”
It was as if some of his strength flowed from him to me, coursing through my veins.
“Alex,” I croaked. My throat felt like it was on fire, very dry fire. I swept my tongue over my lips, trying to wet them, but to no avail. My entire mouth felt like I’d been walking in the desert for months without water. The sound of pouring liquid filled the room, and I almost cried in relief.
“Here, baby,” Alex murmured, sliding a straw between my lips. “Just a little sip. The nurses will probably want to kick my ass for giving you water before I tell them you’re awake, but I can’t bear to see you in pain like this when there’s something I can do to help.”
I managed a sip and the cool liquid tasted better than the finest wine as it hit my tongue. I took a second sip, and then a third before he pulled the straw away from me.
“No,” I protested, cracking an eye open and wincing. I left it open, squinting in the direction of Alex’s voice, just in time to see him drop the cup onto the floor as he jumped from the chair beside my bed. He looked so haggard in his rumpled clothes, with dark circles under his eyes and more days’ growth on his face than I’d seen in a long time. “I want more.”
“My greedy girl,” he whispered into my ear. “I’ll give you all the water you want as soon as the doctor clears you for it.”
“Doctor?” I repeated, thinking back to the last thing I remembered. “We were at the warehouse. Heron was going to shoot you.” My other eye popped open, the pain overshadowed by my fear for Alex as I frantically searched his body for any signs of a bullet wound, until a long finger gently lifted my head until our eyes met.
“I’m fine,” he reassured me. “You dove in front of me and took the bullet he meant for me.”
His gaze dropped for a moment to my shoulder, and I was suddenly aware of the throbbing pain there. A pain which was mirrored in Alex’s eyes when they met mine again. “Fuck, Evie. I can’t believe you did that, but it’s something we’ll discuss later when you’re fully recovered.”
The thread of steel in his tone made my lip tug up at one corner. It was as close to a smile as I could manage. I knew what he meant when he said we’d be discussing it though, and the reason why I needed to be better for that talk—one which was sure to take place while I was stark naked and spread eagle on our bed. My thighs tightened together and the slight movement sent a shockwave of pain through my body.
“Hurts,” I whimpered.
Alex’s head swiveled away from me so he could look over his shoulder. “You’re due for more medicine soon.”
“Where are we?”
“Moron.”
His answer shocked me. Martin really had been able to get me on a military base.
“What’s my cover?”
Alex dropped back into the chair, running his fingers through his hair. It was a sure sign I wasn’t going to like what he had to tell me. “You don’t have a cover, Evie. There wasn’t a need for one because you’ve been burned.”
He slumped even farther into his chair and rubbed his palms over his eyes, but we were interrupted before he could tell me anything else.
“Oh, my,” the nurse breathed as she walked into the room. “It looks like our patient finally woke up.”
She flashed me a smile before calling out to someone else in the hallway. Before I knew it, I had a full medical team in the room with us. They hovered, poking me, prodding me, and doing who knows what else. None of it phased me. It didn’t even register. My gaze was locked on Alex. I needed to make it through their examination before I could be alone with him. Before I could find out why I’d been burned. They explained that I’d suffered a skull fracture, but to my relief, it didn’t require surgery. Finally, after what felt like hours, they left us alone.
“Tell me.” I didn’t need to say anything else, Alex knew exactly what I meant.
“Colin put a hit on Scarlett after he got information about your code name off the noc list from Heron.”
“Colin?” I felt like I was in an alternate universe as Alex explained everything that had happened with Colin, Heron, and Leon while I’d been unconscious.
“I’m damn sorry, Evie. Colin was a part of our lives because of me.”
“It’s not your fault, stud. He managed to fool us all, and from what you uncovered, it sounds like he was after Scarlett without knowing I was her,” I reminded him. “And I’m probably getting off lightly since I made the decision to leave Heron alive against my orders.”
“Why did you do it, Evie?” he sounded tortured.
“Because I love and trust you, Alex,” I answered. “You were so certain you needed the information Heron had. How could I take that opportunity away from you? And look what happened. If I’d killed him, you might never have known about Colin. A fact my boss was apparently unwilling to take into consideration when he burned me, but maybe it’s for the best. I’m clearly not as good at reading people as I thought I was. I didn’t know you were an agent and I never pegged Colin for a bad guy.”
“About that,” he sighed. “We’re lucky the agency doesn’t look at it the same way you do because I didn’t see it either and they offered me a promotion. To a desk.”
“You won’t be in the field anymore?” It was a huge relief to me, knowing he’d be safe in an of
fice. But I’d seen for myself how he thrived in that environment. “Are you sure it’s what you want?”
“Yes.”
His one word answer wasn’t exactly convincing. “Really?”
“I think I’ll make a damn good Controller, and it means I get to come home to you every night,” he replied. “So yeah, I’m more than okay with the promotion.”
“Good,” I sighed.
“That’s not even the best part, though,” he continued. “Special Operations wants you to stay on with the agency as an instructor.”
“They do?” I breathed, afraid to get my hopes up. It was practically unheard of for a burned operative to be allowed anywhere near the agency, let alone to be offered a position. “How did you manage that?”
He grinned sheepishly. “It wasn’t too hard to convince them to make it a condition of my accepting the promotion. My superiors didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to have the infamous Scarlett training the newbies. I think I just gave them the perfect excuse to make it happen.”
A giggle slipped past my lips, surprising me considering the situation. “I guess we’ll start on a new phase of our lives together when they spring me from here then.”
“More than you realize,” he mumbled under his breath. His Adam’s apple shifted as he gulped, making me incredibly nervous.
“What haven’t you told me yet? Are my injuries really bad?” My voice rose, and I wiggled my toes to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed.
“Shhh, baby. You need to calm down.”
“I’ll calm the fuck down when you tell me what the other shoe is that’s about to drop on me!” I shrieked. Ouch! Fuck! I needed to remember there was a crack in my skull.
“Damn, Evie,” he sighed, freaking me out even more until he placed his hand over my belly again, and I remembered what I’d heard when I was struggling to wake up.
“Baby,” I gasped. “Am I imagining things or did you tell the nurse I needed a warm blanket because the cold wasn’t good for me or the baby.”
The Passion & Vows Series Page 12