Unknown Enemy (Love Inspired Suspense)

by Michelle Karl

  Colin must have recognized how she was feeling, because his hand squeezed her shoulder as he pulled her closer to him. “Greed makes people—and companies—do crazy things sometimes. This wasn’t your fault. You did your job. You’re working to make life better in that country, to preserve history and better the lives of the people there through your research. Empress Oil doesn’t see that. They only see wasted potential for revenue. You can’t blame yourself for that.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead, and Ginny was tempted to melt into his embrace. But they couldn’t afford that right now, not if her suspicions were correct.

  “I think he posed as a custodian in the school,” she said, drawing away from Colin. “To gain access and to keep an eye on my work. He’d have had full access to literally everywhere and everything in the college. He’s probably been here for months, ingratiating himself with the staff, like...like Donna.” She inhaled slowly, trying to work out what that could mean. “He and Donna left notes for each other and I thought it was a secret admirer–type situation, but now I’m not so sure. Donna really seems to like him. Remember what she told us? They were finally going to meet in person. On a date, sometime soon. He was going to call her when he was free.”

  Colin held Ginny at arm’s length. “Where were they going to meet?”

  And that’s when all the pieces clicked. The conversation they’d had the other day about her plans for the date. “Colin, remember? Donna’s extended family owns a small aircraft at the local airport a few miles out of the city. She has that pilot’s license and was going to take him on a surprise flight above the airfield before he took her to dinner. You don’t think...?”

  “Absolutely I do. She’s his escape plan.” Colin jumped down from the ambulance, ignoring shouts of protest from the paramedics. “Send me a text message with the airport address. Sam, flag down one of the policemen around here and have them call the chief to get some backup coming behind us, but tell them to stay back and wait for my signal. If Donna’s a hostage and not an accessory, this might get tricky. Tell him where I’m headed and have them warn the folks working at the airport.”

  “I’m coming with you.” Ginny hopped down from the ambulance, too, using Colin’s nearby shoulder to steady herself. “Donna’s my friend, and she’s already been injured once during all this mess. There’s no way she’s involved. And maybe if Dr. Hilden—uh, Roger—sees I’m still alive, it’ll throw him off. Maybe we can use that.”

  Colin regarded her with a thoughtful expression, then nodded. “Fine. But you’re staying in the car until I know it’s safe.”

  Ginny rolled her eyes and pulled her car keys out of her back pocket, gripping them tightly so he couldn’t snatch them away. “Fine. But for once, I’m driving.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Not for the first time that day, Ginny marveled at how calm she felt with Colin by her side. By all rights, she should be panicking and lying in a hospital bed being treated for smoke inhalation. The latter would come once they finished this—she’d promised the paramedics she’d return for further treatment as soon as they stopped Hilden. Despite their protests, her friend’s life might be on the line. Her own health could wait.

  Colin’s hand rested on her back as she drove, gently reminding her that she wasn’t alone. When she’d woken up in the library, in the middle of the fire, she’d flashed back to the day of the car crash twenty years ago. Flames and wreckage had surrounded her then, too, and the incident had scarred her features for life. She’d managed to come out of the library fire with what the paramedics said was little more than a few second-degree burns on her legs and some singed hair, but unlike the look on her mother’s face when Ginny had been pulled from the wreckage of the car crash—sporting the raw flesh of a horrific burn on the right side of her face—Colin hadn’t looked at her any differently.

  In fact, he’d never looked at her differently, no matter how many times she’d tried to convince herself otherwise. The only person looking at someone differently around here was herself, seeing Colin with new eyes.

  Ginny knew it with full certainty. She was falling in love with Colin. She loved his sincerity, his drive to protect her and his respect for her work and for what was important to her. Not many people had been able to look past her outward scar, but he’d focused on the inside since day one. And she’d pushed him away because she’d foolishly believed her mother’s words about her lack of worth.

  “We’re going to make it,” Colin said, his voice low and even-pitched. He pointed to their left. “There’s the sign for the airport. We’re here?”

  Later. She’d talk to him later. “Yes, but we’ll have to hoof it from the front parkway, unless they’ve opened a gate for us to get around to the runways.”

  “It’ll depend on whether the chief was able to get through to anyone here and if they were able to mobilize fast enough.” He pointed at a chain-link gate to the left of the departures drop-off area of the main terminal. Several trucks sat inside a garage with gaping loading bays, with no personnel in sight. “There’s no one at the gate, and we don’t have time to wait around. Know of any other entrances?”

  Ginny pulled her car up next to the gate and put it in Park. “No, but this is a tiny airport. The aircraft are behind the garage and main terminal. It’ll be faster to run around to the back and try to flag someone down from there, see what’s going on.”

  Colin climbed out of the car and tugged on the padlock holding the gate shut. “Guess that’s a local airport for you. It’s up and over.”

  “You’re not serious. The drop on the other side seems risky, Agent.”

  The slight smile on his face slid off at her address. “Don’t. Please don’t call me that.”

  A surprised apology leaped to Ginny’s lips, but her words were lost when Colin grabbed hold of the fence and began climbing. It rattled as he moved. He glanced back at her with a frown. “Stay in the car.”

  He’d made it almost to the top when Ginny took a closer look at the bottom of the fence. There were several inches of clearance underneath the gate, and no tension wire along the bottom of the chain link. Colin was too large to have considered it, but she had a much smaller frame. Could she make it?

  She dropped to the ground and slid sideways, sucking in deep breaths to contract every part of her body. The exertion made her realize that perhaps she should have gone to the hospital to have her lungs checked for smoke inhalation after all.

  She slid her head and shoulders through first, feeling the scratch and tug of the chain link’s base across her clothing, occasionally catching on her burns. Pushing through the pain, she made it through, triumphant. Hilden had been wrong. She was strong, despite everything. She could do this.

  Colin’s descent rattled the fence, so Ginny rolled away and began jogging toward the terminal. She managed to take only a few steps before a hand clamped down on her shoulder, pulling her to a stop.

  “You’re supposed to stay in the car.”

  “He tried to kill me, Colin. And my friends. This is about my work, and I’m not going to let you face it alone.”

  “You’re not going to let me face it alone?”

  “That’s right.” Ginny stepped away from his grasp and walked backward toward the path that led around the terminal and parking garage. Colin laughed, shot forward to close the distance between them and cupped her face between his hands. Her breath caught as the familiar urge to bolt returned. As the old lies tried to creep in.

  He lowered his mouth to hers, stopping whisper-close before making contact. “May I?”

  The lies would not win this time. She answered his request for permission without words. The urgency and danger of the moment disappeared for those few seconds as her lips met his. A thrill rushed through Ginny from head to toe as Colin’s hands slid across her cheeks to find the back of her neck, twining his fingers into her hair as th
ough afraid she’d slip away from him at any moment.

  Would he stay here like this forever, if she let him? No, they both knew the weight of responsibility that fell onto this moment. She drew back from Colin as he pulled his hands from her hair. “Colin? I know this isn’t the right time, but—”

  He planted a quick peck on her lips and cupped her damaged cheek, cutting off her words. “You’re right. It’s not.” Her heart sank. The disappointment and confusion lasted only as long as it took for him to draw her into a tight embrace. “I want you to feel comfortable and safe when we have this discussion, but Ginny? Whatever happens in the next few minutes, remember this. I love you. All of you. Even if you don’t love all of yourself, yet.”

  He released her and jogged toward the airport garage, picking up speed with each stride.

  With a hidden smile and determination in her spirit, Ginny followed after him. He loved her, truly loved her. She could hardly wait another minute to tell him the same, but they had business to take care of first. Still—

  A bang split the air as Colin disappeared around the side of the building.

  * * *

  Colin ran full tilt toward the small plane at the edge of the runway, only a few hundred yards away. As soon as he’d rounded the corner of the building, he’d seen a man and woman walking hand in hand toward the airplane. He’d slowed his approach while drawing his gun to try to catch them by surprise, but there was no cover on this open airfield and he was spotted almost immediately.

  The man spurred into action in an unexpected way, drawing his own weapon and firing off a shot at Colin before grabbing the woman’s arm, spinning her around so that her back pressed into him as he shoved his gun into her temple.

  “I wouldn’t come any closer, if I were you,” the man called out.

  Colin slowed his steps, now close enough to see what Ginny had feared. Roger—or Hilden—had indeed duped the librarian into meeting him here, and was using her as collateral for his escape. Colin prayed that Ginny would have the good sense to stay behind the garage building. If Hilden saw that his scheme to kill Ginny hadn’t worked, he might grow angry and unpredictable. Getting everyone out of here unharmed would be even harder.

  Colin lowered his stance but kept his weapon trained on the false Hilden, thanking God that he’d had the courage to tell Ginny exactly how he felt before this moment. In case things didn’t go down well, he’d at least leave this life knowing that she felt the same way, even if he’d stopped her from telling him in the midst of this crazy moment. She deserved better than that; she deserved a more peaceful situation where there were no pressures. No gun pointed at anyone’s head. He’d be sure to take her out to dinner and give her that opportunity, just as soon as they made it out of here alive.

  And they would. Saving Ginny from the library fire had reminded Colin of something—he was good at his former job. He’d been a good Secret Service agent. Despite his heart’s involvement with a protectee, he’d used all his training two years ago to act the way he’d thought was right. Mistakes had been made and the results had been tragic, but that inner scar didn’t need to define him for the rest of his life. No one’s scars should. Thanks for the reminder, God.

  “Let Donna go,” Colin shouted, inching forward. “She’s not a part of this.” The librarian’s expression was one of utter shock and dismay, reflecting the horror of betrayal. “She’s done nothing but unknowingly help you. You should be thanking her, not holding a gun to her head.”

  Hilden laughed, making Colin’s skin crawl. The man clearly didn’t care about that; he’d been at the school to do a job—one he’d likely been paid handsomely for by someone at Empress Oil. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Donna has played her part well, though, hasn’t she?”

  “What’s going on here? Roger?” The librarian looked frantically between Hilden and Colin. “What is this?”

  “He’s not who you think he is,” Colin said. Hilden’s sneer worried him. The man was cocky, believing he’d get away with this and likely become rich in the process. How much had Empress Oil paid a man like this to destroy human lives? “He’s been using you for information about the school. He may have murdered the museum curator and he’s the one behind the attacks on you and Ginny.”

  Donna’s eyes grew wide as she twisted in Hilden’s grasp. “No! Is this true?”

  Hilden’s response was to pull the gun away and plant a forceful kiss on the side of her head before returning the weapon to the same spot. “You’ve been a real sweetheart.”

  “You’re disgusting,” Donna growled, shifting her head slightly to face the gun barrel.

  The next second, Donna spat in her captor’s face and Hilden shouted in surprise, just barely releasing his hold on the librarian.

  “Now, Donna!” Colin shouted. Donna pulled back her loosened elbow and plunged it into Hilden’s stomach, causing the man to cry out again and double over as the sounds of sirens pierced the air.

  Before Colin could run forward to pull Donna behind him to safety, Hilden raised his gun and pointed it at the librarian, finger squeezing the trigger.

  “Wait!”

  The gun went off, firing wildly as Hilden’s attention was snatched elsewhere. Colin’s heart sank, knowing full well who the voice belonged to and who’d provided the distraction.

  “How are you...how did you...?” Hilden stammered, swinging his gun wildly between Colin, Donna and now Ginny.

  Colin sensed Ginny come alongside him as the sirens grew louder. “It’s over, Dr. Hilden, or Roger, or whoever you are.” She reached for her friend, yanking Donna toward her. The librarian’s face was streaked with tears. Ginny held Donna’s hand, giving what small comfort she could in a trepidatious moment. “The police are on their way. You’ve lost.”

  “Not yet.” Hilden trained the gun on Ginny. “I can still eliminate each of you and ensure the lovely librarian flies us out before the police arrive. You’ll remain discredited, Professor Anderson. And you’ll remain a disgraced former public servant, Mr. Tapping.”

  “It is over,” Colin said. “Even if you kill us now, the police know who you are and what you’ve done, and we have a witness who’s more than willing to testify against you. I’m sure that with a little bit of elbow grease, we can prove the connection to Empress Oil, and even if you do get on that plane and force Donna to fly you out of here? I have a feeling that not everyone at the oil company sanctioned your actions.”

  “The international community and the people of Amar might have something to say about this, too,” Ginny piped up. “You’ll have nowhere to hide.”

  The sirens were close now, and Colin hoped that he could hold off Hilden long enough for them to get here. But the man was incredibly intelligent and resourceful. Any wrong word or movement, and this could end badly for all of them.

  Hilden sighed. “I’m afraid I’ll have to take my chances.”

  Colin leaped in front of Ginny, swinging his weapon up as his opponent’s pistol discharged. At the same time, Colin fired at Dr. Hilden. The man went down, clutching his stomach. Colin stumbled backward into Ginny’s arms, knowing instinctively that he’d been hit, as well.

  But it had been him, not her. He’d done it. He’d saved the woman he loved, the way he hadn’t been able to two years ago. He was grateful to have been given this chance to make things right—even if it meant losing his life so that she could live hers.

  The sound of sirens pierced his eardrums and his vision grew hazy. Ginny’s face hovered above his as he slipped toward the ground, a strange ache in his side. Tires crunched, doors slammed. Shouts of “Hands up, Secret Service!” filled the air.

  They’d done it. The Service had come through for him, just as they’d promised. And this time, he’d come through for his protectee, fulfilling his own promise.

  Ginny’s hand caressed his cheek, the same way h
e’d touched hers only minutes before. Her gaze flickered elsewhere and then back to him. Strangers knelt by his side, poking and prodding at his ribs, but he didn’t care. As long as he could see Ginny’s beautiful face in his final moments, he could ask for nothing more.

  “You did it,” she said, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. “And I’m not going to wait to say it.” He tried to protest, but she pressed a finger to his lips. “Not this time. After everything we’ve been through? I know it’s happened fast, but when you know, you know. And now’s as good a time as any. I love you, Colin. I love you.”

  Colin closed his eyes, seeing only her face, hearing only her voice as the darkness overtook him.

  EIGHTEEN

  Two weeks later, Ginny sat at her desk, absently tapping a pen on the arm of her office chair and watching Tigris swim circles in his bowl. She’d received a phone call this morning from the college’s dean to let her know that the hearing for Sam’s future at the school would be held the following Tuesday. Despite her efforts to advocate for her student, she agreed that he still needed to face the consequences of what he’d done.

  She’d also managed to recover some of her professional dignity, but it would take some time to fix all the damage Hilden had done. The good news for everyone was that Dr. Hilden—or Erik Pedersen, as they’d learned was his real name—had survived the major surgery to the bullet wound in his stomach. He’d been charged and the case against Empress Oil had begun. Thanks to the cooperation of the Kingdom of Amar and UNESCO, her theorized location of the summer palace had been declared a possible historical site, and Ginny had full confidence that after the necessary parties had reviewed her work, the area would become a landmark and an important addition to Amar’s cultural history and the history of its people.