Nanny

by Christina Skye

“Okay, you’re ready to rock. Go, go, go.”

  Gabe slid away a square of wire mesh and vanished into the lab while Summer clocked his time. First he had to unlock the door to the inner room, she knew. Then would come the safe itself.

  Glass struck glass, then more silence. Had Underhill lied? Was the code correct?

  Sweat trickled into her eyes, but she didn’t move to blink it away.

  Noise discipline was a bitch, she thought grimly. At least she wasn’t hunkered down in a wall of bushes near the Schuylkill River, surrounded by hungry mosquitoes, like her last assignment. She still had marks from the mosquito bites, along with a nasty knife scar at her ankle as a memento.

  She tried to relax. Gabe was damned good, judging by what she’d seen so far.

  Air hissed across her face as the air-conditioning kicked in.

  One minute left.

  Peering down through the open grate she saw Gabe shove something inside his nylon vest. When he looked up, she gestured sharply.

  Get up here. Now.

  He nodded, checking the flap pocket on his tactical vest. He was below the ventilation grid when booted feet approached, echoing loudly in the night. Something moved at the edge of Summer’s vision—not a uniformed security guard, but a pair of dusty feet.

  A boy with crooked teeth and a torn Arizona Diamondbacks shirt slipped out from behind a lab table, staring warily at Gabe. The boy’s eyes widened when he looked up, seeing Summer and the open grate at the ceiling.

  The thought of knocking out a kid was repugnant, but Gabe wouldn’t have much choice with a guard coming.

  She looked down at the boy and managed a smile, then held a finger over her lips. His dark eyes grew even wider as he stared first at Gabe, then up at her. Summer realized her jacket had shifted, revealing a line of jagged scar tissue above her wrist. The boy looked at the skin gravely.

  A dog barked somewhere nearby, the sound low and angry, rumbling through the lab, and Gabe took a step back, blocking the boy and motioning for him to run.

  Protecting him from the dog, Summer realized, even if it cost Gabe precious seconds. But the boy’s crooked teeth flashed in a sudden, wide grin, and he shook his head, pointing to Gabe, then up at the ceiling.

  He was telling Gabe to go, Summer realized.

  The barking grew louder. But the boy shook his head hard, pointing up, never saying a word.

  Gabe did a smooth pull up off the table, swinging into the open hole while the unseen boots hammered closer. Quickly he leaned down and slid the mesh back into place while the boy stood below them, his face grave.

  A guard’s shoulders appeared. A big Doberman hurtled into view, its paws planted firmly on the boy’s shoulders. The guard laughed and nudged the boy with the butt of his gun, showing no surprise at seeing him in the lab.

  Suddenly the dog’s tail began to wag, and the walkie-talkie screeched again. Impatient, the guard fiddled with the unit, barking a question at the boy, who shook his head gravely.

  Gabe and Summer waited tensely. If the boy talked . . .

  The guard asked more questions, and the boy shrugged, snuggling up to the dog, who lapped his face with barely contained joy. Finally the guard shoved the dog with one foot, then moved out of sight, speaking impatiently into his handset.

  As Summer watched, the boy looked up once, smiled, and vanished in the other direction, the dog at his side.

  The silence seemed to clutch at them as Summer and Gabe crawled back toward their access point. Gabe scrambled up, then reached down for Summer, his penlight gripped between his teeth as he pulled her up after him. Inside the shed, the bound and gagged guard was writhing vainly against the wall, but he froze at Gabe’s muttered command.

  Low voices drifted toward them in the night. A truck engine growled.

  “Izzy, sit-rep.”

  “Path is clear. Go.”

  Gabe tapped Summer’s shoulder and opened the door. Immediately humid air washed over her, and Summer realized she was soaked in sweat. She followed Gabe outside, staying close to the building and then cutting across the lawn, retracing their steps toward the back wall.

  Gabe tapped his mike button twice, signaling Izzy.

  “Glad you made it. Okay, you’ve got guards near the patient quarters.” Suddenly Izzy’s voice tightened. “Holy shit.”

  Summer looked right and left, but saw nothing. “Guards?”

  “Worse.”

  Summer’s foot slipped in the grass, and she caught an unpleasant canine odor. She tapped Gabe’s shoulder, trying to warn him as a growl came out of the darkness. A moment later it was echoed by a deeper growl.

  Too late for warnings.

  Directly in front of them two snarling Dobermans stood blocking their exit route.

  chapter 29

  As Gabe stepped in front of her, Summer dug into her pocket. “I’ve got the Taser gun.”

  Gabe opened one of the pockets on his vest and pulled out a similar unit. “We may not have much time. These things are tested on people, not dogs.”

  The two animals edged forward, their growls menacing. Somewhere a man shouted, and Gabe stretched out his hand. Two visible lines of current shot through the air. The bigger dog whined, his body going rigid. But when Summer directed a blast at the other dog, he barked sharply and kept coming.

  “You’re losing charge.” As Gabe turned and aimed at the big head, a twig broke behind them. Suddenly the second dog dropped to the ground, his tail banging on the grass. To Summer’s surprise, the boy in the torn shirt walked out of the shadows and touched Summer’s arm, then pointed to the top of the wall.

  Who was he, Summer wondered, and why was he here at the clinic?

  When the boy leaned over, petting the big dog’s head, Summer realized that his left sleeve dangled free. Just below the shoulder, his arm ended abruptly.

  A rope ladder hit the ground in front of her. Gabe pushed her forward, and she clambered up the ladder, bumping her head soundly on an overhanging branch.

  At the top of the wall, she turned.

  The little boy was still on the ground, rolling happily with the dog. He stared up at Summer, put his finger to his mouth and smiled.

  Frowning, Summer moved past Gabe and crossed over the wall.

  Underhill emerged from the darkness even before the car. “You were supposed to be waiting for me on the other side of the clinic at two, damn it. Your man brought me here or I wouldn’t have found you.”

  “Change of plans.”

  “That’s it? I’m waiting here terrified and you change the plan?” Underhill’s hair was mussed, his eyes wild. “I want answers, Walker. Did you find the safe? Did you get my disk and files out safely?”

  Gabe pulled off his headset. “Get in the car.” Gabe opened the front passenger door and motioned Summer inside.

  “Damn it, I need to know—”

  Gabe gripped Underhill’s shoulder and shoved him into the backseat while Izzy slid behind the wheel.

  Gabe stared at Underhill as the car began to move. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Underhill sat up stiffly. “Someone saw you?”

  “A little boy was in the lab when we got there. He saw us.”

  “Crooked teeth. One arm gone?”

  Gabe nodded.

  “Don’t worry, that’s just Felipe. He lives on the grounds.”

  “What if he talks?” Gabe said. “He knows that we were in your lab.”

  Underhill shrugged. “Felipe cares about nothing but animals. Since he has a way with the animals, the director lets him hang around. Don’t worry about it.” Underhill sounded impatient.

  “But the boy may talk,” Summer said. “He seemed . . . different somehow.”

  “He can’t talk, even if he wanted to. His family was taken by the police during a strike and his parents and brothers were killed. Felipe was just three, so they took his arm, then cut off his tongue. His father talked too much and to the wrong people, they said. Now the boy will never talk again,” Unde
rhill finished flatly.

  Summer turned away, feeling sick.

  “A nun in the neighborhood got him decent medical care. Now he lives with her in an orphanage to the south, when he’s not at the clinic helping with the lab animals. The boy is amazing. You name it, he can calm them down, even if they’re twice his size.”

  Summer remembered how the little boy had stared at her arm. He knew the trauma of being scarred. Was that why he had helped two strangers? Or did he simply dislike the guards?

  Underhill stared into the darkness. “My car’s down that street, so I’ll get out here. Check the disk tonight, and you’ll see it’s valuable. I’ll expect a wire transfer to my account within the next hour.”

  “We can do that.”

  “You won’t be keeping your clinic appointment tomorrow, I imagine.”

  “Now that we have your evidence, the sooner we get back to the States, the better.”

  Underhill nodded. “Remember, I’ll be watching for my wire transfer.” He took a last look at Gabe, then opened his door. “By this time tomorrow, I should be long gone, too.”

  By the time Izzy reached the hotel’s broad courtyard, their dark clothes and surveillance equipment were safely stowed in the trunk. To all appearances, they were simply three happy tourists returning from a night on the town.

  “So how about it, Izzy? What was the secret distraction you engineered for us tonight?” Gabe crossed his arms. “Something high tech, no doubt.”

  “Low tech, Morgan. But very high volume.” Izzy held up a tiny digital camera and triggered a movie clip on the LED screen.

  Summer watched a voluptuous woman in a skintight red dress wobble up the clinic driveway in high heels and begin to remove her clothes, singing loudly. By the time she was down to her black lace underwear, six guards were crowded close, cheering her on.

  “Red gets them every time,” Izzy muttered. “Must have been twenty guards in the courtyard by the time she finished.”

  Summer hid a smile. “Where did you find her?”

  “One of the local cantinas. She was paid very well, believe me. Once you two were out, I sent a fake police car to pick her up for drunk and disruptive conduct. And it was very disruptive, right when we needed it.”

  Gabe shook his head. “I hate to say it, Teague, but you’re the man.”

  “Damned straight, Navy. Don’t you forget it.” Izzy grinned as he pulled around to the back of the hotel. “Keep your powder dry, folks. I’ll check back at Gabe’s call, and we’ll be on our way.” After a two-finger wave, he drove off.

  Summer frowned as Gabe started for the nearest path. “This way will be faster,” she said.

  “Don’t tell me you memorized the hotel plan, too.”

  “Not the whole plan,” she said defensively. “Only the important parts.” She pushed past Gabe. “If you have a problem with my work, you can—”

  He caught her arm, pulling her back against a wall covered by white flowers that filled the night with fragrance. “No, I don’t have a problem with that. For the record, I don’t have a problem with anything you’ve done. You were as good as it gets at the clinic tonight, and I couldn’t have gotten in without you.”

  He was still wearing his game face, Summer realized. Pressed against him in the darkness, she listened to the noisy pounding of her heart, wondering why his opinion mattered so much to her. After all, they were just partners.

  “I don’t care if you—” She stopped, staring at him. “You don’t have a problem with that?”

  “Hell, no. Why should I have a problem relying on you when your excellent judgment saved my butt?”

  “Because I’m—” A woman, Summer started to say. “A complete stranger. And I’m younger than you are.”

  Gabe’s fingers opened on her arm. “And because you’re a woman?” He cursed softly. “Who did the number on you, Summer? Was it your partner or an old lover?”

  His touch was too gentle, his eyes too intent. None of her lies seemed to work with him.

  “Tell me,” he said grimly.

  “Why does it matter?”

  A man and a woman appeared, walking from a nearby building, and Gabe pulled her back behind a jasmine hedge. There in the darkness, pressed against his chest, Summer felt the heat of his body. His muscles were clenched, his hands rock steady, and she was anything but immune.

  No wonder she had fantasies about waking up beside him, feeling his hard body sink into her while the covers went flying.

  The couple walked closer, talking quietly. Gabe leaned in close and kissed her, hard and unyielding, almost angry. “I don’t want it to matter, but it does.”

  She felt the tension in his body. “We should go.” She swallowed hard. “They—they’re gone now.”

  But Gabe didn’t move, didn’t release the muscles locked against her. “Tell me, Summer. What happened to you?”

  “Everything and nothing,” she said softly. Seeing too much of the world and too little kindness there. She tried to move away. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

  His hands opened over her hips. “It wasn’t a lover?”

  She took a sharp breath. “No.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. One more thing, just for the record.” His lips brushed her forehead, her cheeks. “I want you like hell, Summer. Not just because you’ve got great legs, and you’re smart as anyone I’ve ever worked with. You may as well know that scar on your arm doesn’t make one bit of difference. I want you naked in my bed, being bossy and honest and unpredictable. Hell, I can’t walk for thinking about it.”

  Summer felt the world tip at his words.

  Because of the warm air. Because of the jasmine blossoms scenting the night wind and the moonlight that peeked between racing clouds. Or so she told herself.

  Not because of trusting or believing. Not even because of the raw desire that was making her breasts tighten and her heart hammer. She had given up on things like trust long ago.

  She managed a light laugh. “You mean, you’re in the mood for a little postgame R and R?”

  Gabe didn’t laugh back. He didn’t even smile. “I’m asking for more than a little, and I’m in a dangerous mood, honey. The kind where I just might take it. Right now it would be damned easy for me to pin you against this wall and hammer your brains out, so don’t push me.” His fingers climbed, cupping her breast. He circled her nipple, which instantly hardened.

  Summer closed her eyes, feeling the nudge of his erection. She wanted to tell him to stop, but her heart was beating and the words wouldn’t come.

  What if she took a chance, just this once?

  Summer stared at the white blossoms swaying against the wall. What were you supposed to say to a declaration like that? “If you want me, it’s only because of the adrenaline,” she whispered. “It wouldn’t mean a thing.”

  Except to her. Summer was shocked to realize how much.

  “I know that. I’ve done enough field time to know that the adrenaline can be a real bitch, messing you up big-time when you come down.” Gabe’s voice hardened. “I don’t want morning-after regrets, Summer, and I don’t want to hurt you. But that’s the only reason you’ve still got your clothes on.”

  Nothing seemed to have been touched inside their room, but Gabe carried out the same thorough inspection he’d conducted upon their arrival. Satisfied that all was clear, he offered Summer first shot at the shower.

  The steam made her remember the first time she’d seen him—emerging from her shower, humming an off-key Beatles song, his grin as easy and smooth as sin itself.

  Irritated at the memory, Summer finished washing her hair, dried off quickly, and slipped on a white hotel robe. When she opened the door, Gabe was putting away his cell phone. “Any news?”

  “Izzy’s been monitoring all the radio bands, and he says they found the guard we left tied up. The man couldn’t give a useful description, and he doesn’t know where we went. We should be safe for a few hours while I finish up here.”

&n
bsp; “Any mention of our lab visit?”

  “All quiet. Apparently, our friend with the dog didn’t alert anyone.”

  “That’s good news.” Summer sat down stiffly on the bed. “The shower’s all yours.”

  “Thanks.” Gabe picked up a towel from the desk. “Get some rest. I’m going to finish checking out Underhill’s disk and file.”

  “I could help you with that.”

  “No need.”

  Summer glanced at the sofa and saw that he’d laid out an extra blanket and pillow. Even at a distance she could see that the sofa cushions were thin and lumpy. “You’re not really planning to sleep there, are you?”

  “Trust me, I’ve slept on a whole lot worse than a lumpy sofa.”

  “Well, tonight you’re not. This bed is big enough for an army, and that’s that. So get moving.”

  “Why, Summer?” He was wearing his game face again, she realized. The man was completely controlled, absolutely unreadable.

  “Because we have to be up soon to meet Izzy. And because you didn’t push me when you could have. So I guess that means I . . . trust you.” She gave a crooked smile. “Coming from me, that’s saying a lot.”

  She lay down and looked away, afraid he would see the conflicting emotions she was trying to hold in check. She definitely didn’t want to think about him standing a few feet away in the shower, naked and covered in steam.

  Or stretched out beside her in the bed.

  She closed her eyes and punched at her pillow. “’Night, Morgan.”

  She was relieved when he muttered an answer and walked past her into the bathroom.

  His knee hurt like Godzilla had swallowed him for breakfast.

  Gabe winced as he pulled off his shirt. He’d gotten a nasty scrape when he’d dropped down that access tunnel, and now a jagged gash ran from the top of his calf up to his upper thigh. But it was the big bruise covering his knee that worried him. Whenever he turned his leg, he felt a popping sensation.

  Not a good sign. After two extended knee operations, his last surgeon had warned that excessive trauma could tax the tendons beyond hope of repair. For that reason he had ordered an unusually long recovery period.