by Jan Coffey
As he made his way toward the main road, he had to hand it to the men that hired him. It was a truly brilliant move to wrap everything up so tidily.
But even brilliant plans could go wrong.
Darius McCann had ruined their plan by simply refusing to die. Mako planned to do some ruining himself.
He wasn’t angry. But he was certainly going to get even.
~~~~
Chapter 60
Yale-New Haven Hospital
8:41 p.m.
The nurses and doctors knocked and then just entered, so Amy knew it couldn’t be one of them at the door. She grabbed a tissue out of a box on the bedside table, wiped her face, and blew her nose. It had to be Lieutenant Connelly, who’d probably remembered more questions to ask. She sat up in the bed.
Or maybe the lieutenant had decided to let her use the phone, after all. Amy much preferred the second scenario.
She called to whoever it was to come in.
“For a minute I thought you were already asleep,” McCann said, poking his head in.
Amy was mad as hell at herself for the way her pulse jumped at the sight of him. Something was fluttering inside of her as if she were twelve years old. What was wrong with her? She’d known he was in the hospital. Lieutenant Connelly had mentioned that when Amy asked about him earlier. She’d never imagined he’d stop to see her.
“No,” she said. “No sleep.”
“Can I come in?”
She should have said no. “Yeah, sure.”
He didn’t have any right to look this good. Not after what they’d gone through. And especially not when she was looking like a dish rag.
Amy noticed that he closed the door. Nerves pushed to the surface. If she weren’t in a hospital bed, Amy figured she’d be running away by now. She was horrible in situations like this. She didn’t know what to say, what to do, how to avoid being nervous and acting like an idiot. That was why she’d refused to date after her divorce. It had been a miracle that her ex-husband, Ryan, had even lasted through their early dates. Maybe she should have thought of that jitteriness as a warning. No, thinking of Kaitlyn and Zack, Amy was thrilled that her life had taken the shape that it had.
“How’s your shoulder?” she asked as he approached her.
He moved it. “It’s still numb from whatever they injected in it. But it should be as good as new.”
His dark gaze moved over her. She felt a charge pass through her, electrifying something at her very core. There was something very intimate happening now. He was interested and she couldn’t figure how he could be, considering how horrible she looked.
“How’s Brody?” she asked in a rush.
“Sleeping. He has another surgery in the morning.”
Amy already knew that. She looked around her as he walked toward the bed. “How’s your sub?”
“They’re still working on her. I don’t know if they’ll be able to save her or not.”
He reached the side of the bed.
“How did your debriefing go?”
“Good. Very good,” he answered.
“How come they gave you a change of clothes, and I’m still in a hospital gown with a turban wrapped around my head?”
“Maybe because you look better in it?”
“That’s not an answer,” she told him, shivering as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “How’s—”
“Amy,” he said, taking her hand.
She hadn’t realized how cold her hands were until his touch warmed them.
“It’s my turn to ask some questions,” he said with a smile.
“This is not your ship. You’re not in command…uh, Commander.”
“Well, we aren’t in a shipyard. So you’re not in charge, either, Ms. Russell.”
“Amy to you.”
“Only if you call me Darius.”
“Darius McCann. Persian and Irish,” she said with a grim. “Do you have a horrible temper?”
“You’re about to find out.”
“Ooh, I’m almost frightened.” Amy felt the most comfortable when they were kidding around. “What have I done now?”
“You were trying to control the conversation.”
“You’re mistaken, Commander…Darius,” she said. “I was being socially adept. Charming. Making sure there’d be no dead air in the room.”
He caressed her hand. “There doesn’t seem to be any dead air in any room while you and I are together in it.”
“Are you bragging?”
“No, only stating the fact, ma’am.”
As far as Amy was concerned, his smile was the most dangerous part of him. It gave him a boyish and vulnerable look that was even more irresistible than his clean-cut, chiseled features. And it made her lose her head. She looked down at their joined hands, not knowing what to expect, or what she was expected to do. She was totally out of practice.
“You should know that I’m all talk,” she murmured. “Nothing else.”
He lifted her chin with his hand until she was looking into his eyes. “I don’t know. I think I’d like to find that out for myself.”
His hand slipped around the nape of her neck, and he drew her mouth to his.
Darius McCann knew how to kiss. Well enough that Amy felt all of her inhibitions suddenly begin to slip away.
She didn’t know who was more out of breath—or whose hands were straying more—when they broke the kiss.
“This is much better. You are not all talk,” he told her, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. He still wasn’t letting her go. “Do you know the one thing I was wishing for on that submarine?”
“That we’d make it through alive?”
He laughed. “Okay. I was wishing for two things.”
“That I’d occasionally follow your orders?”
“Three things.”
“That—” She was silenced by another kiss. She liked his technique. This kiss was hotter than the last, and it took longer for them to surface for air. How long had it been since anyone had kissed her like that?
“I give up. What was the third thing?” she asked.
“That we meet again, have another chance at it, in a different place, a different time. Hopefully, under less stressful conditions.”
His words clutched her heart. But her conscience wouldn’t let her enjoy the moment. Dammit.
“Please tell me you’re not married, Commander McCann.”
“I’m not. Never have been.”
She considered that for a few seconds and shook her head. “I still think what we’re doing here isn’t fair to Lieutenant Connelly.”
He stared at her for a moment and then smiled. “No more than what we’re doing isn’t fair to your ex-husband. Sarah and I broke off our relationship a while ago.”
“What’s a while?”
“More than a year.”
“Does she know you’re here with me?”
He nodded.
“Does she have any objection to it?”
He smiled, shaking his head.
“In that case…” Amy wrapped her arms around Darius’s neck again and kissed him, this time with no guilt and no reserve.
~~~~
Chapter 61
Yale-New Haven Hospital
9:25 p.m.
Kilo walked past two black sedans on the street and the black SUV parked along the circular driveway of the hospital entrance. Extra help was on hand, just in case he needed it. He tugged on the earpiece, testing its connection. They had a live one.
The combination of civilian clothes and NCIS badge always worked like a charm. The security guard at the front desk looked up at his face as he gave back the ID.
“Would you please sign in, sir?” He pushed a clipboard in front of Kilo.
He preferred not to, but the last thing he wanted was to bring any extra attention to himself. A healthy dose of foot traffic continued to stream out through the same door he’d entered. He scribbled the name on the page.
“Commander Dunn and Li
eutenant Connelly are expecting me.”
“So you know where you’re going?”
Kilo contemplated telling the truth and saying he didn’t. But the guard’s hand was on the phone. He guessed the man was ready to call upstairs and announce his arrival. The hospital spread in a couple of different directions. He’d never been inside the building, but he knew his backup on the street could walk him through, once he got past the security desk.
“Yes, I do. I just got off the phone with Commander Dunn.”
The man let him go and Kilo spotted the elevators to the left. He turned and headed straight toward them.
~~~~
Chapter 62
Yale-New Haven Hospital
9:25 p.m.
Bruce Dunn ended the call and pocketed his cell phone.
“Anything new?” Sarah asked.
“The group we sent to Canada looking for Captain Barnhardt was able to contact another hunter on the island. They don’t believe Barnhardt is there this week. I guess they all keep an eye on one another in the wilderness.”
“Does anyone know where he is, then?”
Bruce sat on one of the faux-leather chairs next to Sarah. “We’re making some calls and visits. We should hear something soon.”
The two of them had been using McCann’s room as a place to compare notes since he’d gone to see Amy.
“Considering that we have access to Captain Whiting and now Darius, is it that critical to find Barnhardt?”
Bruce shrugged. “Maybe not. But considering his expertise and other things that Seth has dug up over the past couple of hours—things he just told me about—it might be good to get hold of him.”
“What things?”
He paused. “Six of the nine people who were left on Hartford while docked at Electric Boat, including Paul Cavallaro, reported to Captain Barnhardt at some point earlier in their careers.”
Sarah’s head snapped up. “You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not.”
She thought for a moment. “Was Lee Brody ever on his crew?”
“No,” Bruce told her. “Between talking to Barnhardt and McCann, we should be able to come up with some logical reason why these people decided to help the hijackers. They knew these sailors.”
He looked at the doorway.
“Is McCann still across the hall?”
“I definitely think there’s a romance blooming over there.”
Bruce glanced over at Sarah, trying to gauge her mood. She’d been putting on a great charade of looking relaxed since McCann walked out.
“You really think so?” he asked.
She gave a long and knowing nod. Bruce had been conscious of giving Sarah her space. But she’d appeared focused on what they were doing. And even when he’d been on the phone, he’d watched her stay busy the entire time.
“Are you okay with it?”
She sat back and fiddled with a pen she was using. “I’m very much okay with it. In fact, I believe this is what I needed.”
“What’s that?”
“Seeing Darius genuinely interested in someone else. It makes me feel…feel…”
“Like crap,” he finished for her.
Her blue eyes rounded on him. “Why would you say something like that?”
He shrugged. “Because I’ve been there. I know what you’re going through.”
She seemed at a loss for words, so he decided to reveal a little more of himself for her. “My marriage broke up because my wife became ‘genuinely interested’ in someone else. Unfortunately, that was while we were still married.”
“That’s a problem.”
“It was for me,” he told her.
“Darius and I broke up over a year ago. There’s no reason for me to feel like crap, as you so delicately put it.”
“Have you gone out with anyone else since?”
“No,” she admitted. “I hear rebound relationships are the pits.”
“A year later no longer counts as a rebound.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “Are you speaking from experience again?”
“No. I’m saying that so you’d agree to go out with me.”
She had the most beautiful laugh. Bruce found himself laughing, too. “So what is it? Yes or no?”
“We’re in the middle of a case, Commander Dunn. Don’t you think this isn’t the most appropriate time to plan social engagements?”
“I can wait,” he said honestly. “So long as I know the answer is yes.”
“How about a maybe?”
“I can live with that.” Bruce pushed himself to his feet. “Now, before you change your mind, let me buy you a cup of coffee. I hear this hospital knows how to make the perfect brew. It only sits in the machine for a week at a time.”
“I’m sold.”
He pulled Sarah to her feet. They walked to the door. In the hallway, a shadow moved into one of the rooms some twenty yards down. Bruce looked to where a guard had been posted by the hall leading to the elevator. No one was there.
His cell phone rang in that very moment. He answered it on the first ring.
“Commander Dunn?” a voice said at the other end.
“Speaking.”
“I hear you’ve been looking for me.”
“Who am I speaking with?” Bruce asked, not taking his eyes off the hallway.
“Ramsey Barnhardt.”
It took a split second to stifle his surprise.
“Captain Barnhardt,” he repeated, looking at Sarah. Her interest was immediately piqued, too. “Yes, we have been looking for you, Captain. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything that has been going on with USS Hartford.”
“Yes, I’m very familiar with what’s happening.”
“We need a few minutes of your time, Captain, to sit down and go over some things. We need your expertise, sir.”
“I thought you would. That’s why I’m calling.”
“What’s a good time and place for you?” Bruce asked, knowing he had to jump on the opportunity. “Lieutenant Connelly and I would like to meet you in person, if that’s at all possible.”
“How about now?” the man said from the other end.
“Now?” Bruce repeated for the sake of Sarah knowing what was going on.
She mouthed to him that they should split up. One of them could stay here and the other go to meet Barnhardt.
“Where would you like to meet, sir?” Bruce asked.
“In the hospital parking lot.”
Bruce turned and looked in the direction of the elevators. “You’re here, Captain? Why don’t you come up?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. From what I hear, it’s not too safe on your floor,” Barnhardt told him. “But you and your friends might want to come down and join me. If you get away alive, that is.”
Bruce looked up and down the hall. No security guards, no doctors or nurses. He and Sarah were the only people there.
“All the security guards on your floor have been dismissed or erased, Commander. Right now, a man who goes by the code name Kilo is on your floor. He’s been assigned the task of eliminating the survivors taken off Hartford, along with you and Lieutenant Connelly, if it becomes necessary.”
Both McCann and Amy had mentioned the name Kilo in referring to the one who was doing the ‘clean-up’ on Hartford. Apparently, he wasn’t done. But how would Barnhardt know any of this?
“Captain Barnhart—”
“Get out now.” The phone went dead.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.
“We’re part of what’s left to be cleaned up. Get McCann and Amy. We have to get them out of here. I’ll get Brody.”
Neither he nor Sarah were carrying guns.
Bruce spotted the fire alarm across the hall.
He went immediately to it and pulled the lever.
The hospital wing filled with the blaring buzz of the alarm.
~~~~
Chapter 63
Yale-New Haven Hospital
<
br /> 9:30 p.m.
Lee Brody never had a chance.
He died in his sleep with a single bullet to the brain. As far as Kilo was concerned, he was on borrowed time anyway. The instructions to Rivera and Dunbar this morning had been to put the kid out of commission. Leave it to them to figure a bang on the head was good enough. Of course, the instructions Kilo received with regard to the hijacking were very different from theirs. They thought it was all a big exercise. A drill.
And they didn’t know that before it was over, they’d all be eliminated. It was no drill.
Kilo looked around the hospital room one last time before reaching for the door. The suddenness of the fire alarm made him stop.
Between the regular blasts of the alarm, he heard the sound of running feet coming his way. He moved behind the door, his weapon drawn. The door opened with one sharp kick, and only Kilo’s boot stopped it from smashing against his face. He had no target. He couldn’t see anyone through the slit at the edge of the door.
“Christ!” a voice muttered from the outside of the room.
The lights from the hall illuminated the room. The dead man’s face was turned toward the door. The bullet hole visible even from a distance.
He saw a figure move outside the door. He fired, and the door slammed into him again, harder this time. He’d missed. He shoved the door back with his shoulder. He didn’t think they’d be armed, but he couldn’t be sure.
His ear piece buzzed. He ignored the voices and jerked the door open. A fire extinguisher smashed into his chest, knocking him off balance. Kilo never lost his grip on the gun, and he fired again as he stumbled backward.
Someone was running down the hall. He rushed out in time to see the emergency fire exit doors swinging shut.
“They’re heading down the stairs,” he said into the microphone. “Pick them up.”
~~~~
Chapter 64
The White House
9:43 p.m.
“The news of the plane crash and the explosion is all over the networks,” Bob Fortier said to the president, flipping through the channels on the muted television. “What they don’t know yet is that there were no survivors.”