by Milly Taiden
His mate sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then tell me how you plan to get rid of the men outside.”
He hadn’t intended on letting her in on their secret just yet. But what else could he do? He doubted very seriously if she would stand in the hall for a few minutes while they stripped and shifted. His guys looked at him. “Uh,” he started, “yeah, about that . . .” Damn, how did he get her out of the room for a few minutes? “Do you need to go to the restroom or anything?” he asked. God, if that wasn’t the lamest.
Her brow rose. “No. Do you?”
“No, that’s not my point.”
Both eyebrows rose. “Then what is your point?” she asked.
Dammit. What could he say that would not be suspicious? “Would you mind standing in the hallway for minute?” Her eyes narrowed and mouth puckered. He guessed that was out of the question.
Hamel spoke up. “She’s your mate, right?” he asked.
Well, damn. He hoped the men wouldn’t have realized that, but the nose never lies. He ran his fingers through his hair.
Candy stared at Hamel, then flicked her eyes to him. “What the hell is up with you guys and the word ‘mate’?” she asked.
Josh sighed. “It’s what we use where we come from.”
“You all come from the United States,” Candy said. “Your files say so.”
“Yeah, that’s not what I mean,” Josh mumbled.
“Having a hard time with your words, eh, Director?” she poked at him. He had a hard time lying to her. That was the problem. “I thought so. I think my plan will be better.”
Her plan? She had a plan? Where the fuck had he been when that happened?
Her eyes narrowed in on him again, a twinkle of desire lit in her eyes. “You had better not be thinking that a woman cannot come up with a plan,” she growled. “I will so kick your ass into next week, soldier.”
Fuck. If that wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever heard from a woman. He wondered how many men underestimated her. Probably all of them.
“No, Sergeant Major.” He tried to stop the oncoming grin. “That thought had never occurred to me.”
“Good,” she said, clearing her throat and stepping back. “Keep it that way. I need to get down to the security office and take charge in there. There’s no audio on my laptop, plus there’s access to the outside and the tunnels below to maneuver.”
“I?” Josh questioned. She wasn’t going anywhere without him.
She huffed at him, pushing the few strands of her hair that came loose behind her ear. “Yes. Me, myself, and I. All of you can’t fit in there, much less sneak down the stairs and past the bad guys,” she said.
That would be the perfect way to get her out of the room for them to shift. But he wasn’t letting her go alone. He stared at the camera views and where all were positioned. “I’ll agree with that. And with the guard standing at the elevators, you’re not sneaking around him, either. As soon as you open the stairwell door, he’ll see you.”
“I’m aware of that,” she conceded. It shocked him that she gave in so easily.
Day, standing at the window, tapped on the glass. “We need a diversion and I think we just got it.” Standing over his mate’s shoulder, Josh watched the laptop screen as an exterior camera showed a news van pulling up to the sidewalk in front of the building.
“How the hell did the media get wind of this?” Candy said. “The DC police aren’t even here yet.”
Sitting on the sofa, Hamel hit Dubois in the arm. “Didn’t one of your ex-girlfriends work for a news station?”
Dubois frowned. “Yeah, but don’t mention that to my mate. A jealous mafia wife isn’t the best thing to have. You can go to bed a rooster and wake up as a hen.”
Josh ignored the dumbass remark. “What station did she work for?” he asked.
“I think it was WADC. Something with DC in it,” Dubois replied.
“How about WWDC?” Josh said.
“Yeah, that’s it.” Dubois got up from the sofa and joined him. He leaned closer to the laptop when the passenger door of the van opened. “Huh, that’s her. Claire Carter.” A shapely woman wearing a jacket and pencil skirt stepped out from the vehicle, microphone in hand. The driver came around to her side and opened the van’s sliding door, setting out equipment.
“Still got her phone number?” Josh asked his agent.
Dubois pulled out his phone. “Maybe.” A moment passed while Dubois flipped through his contacts. “Yeah, I have it, as long as she hasn’t changed it since we went out. What do you want me to tell her?”
Good question. He asked his mate, “Candy, what do you think is the best way to use them?”
She sucked in the side of her cheek and one eye squinted. She was so adorable when in deep concentration. “We need all the guards’ attention away from the back of the lobby so I can go from the stairwell around the corner to the hall leading to security.”
He knew she meant “we” and not “I”; he’d let her know that shortly. He stood at a window and looked for a locking mechanism. He asked, “Do these windows open?”
“Originally, they did. Now you have to remove the electromagnetic screens from the inside to get out,” she replied. “You’re not thinking about jumping, are you? It’s twenty feet to the ground. You’ll break a leg. And they’ll see you hobble away.” Her voice had a slightly amused tone.
He shrugged, playing off her statement. “Just curious.” He turned to Dubois. “Frank, call the girl and tell her we need her help. Get her on the line for me.” On the laptop, he saw the woman reach into the van and pull out something, then put it to her ear. Her voice came over Frank’s phone. Frank spoke a moment and handed the phone to him.
“Hi, Ms. Carter. I’m Josh Tumbel, Frank’s boss.”
“I remember your name. How are you doing?” she asked.
“Well, I could be better. We need your help.”
“I’m on assignment at the moment,” she said. “Can I call you back?”
“Actually, Ms. Carter, your assignment deals with our problem. How did you get information to come to this building?”
“My producer got an anonymous call at the office. Someone said a news crew should get to the NIB immediately. So, here I am. Are you inside? What’s going on?”
“Ms. Carter, I need you to stay calm and be professional,” he said.
After a pause, she replied, “Okay . . .”
“Inside, approximately twenty people are being held hostage by Russian gunmen.” On the monitor, the lady’s body stiffened, but she didn’t react further. “If you got an anonymous call, I suspect they wanted you here to make a statement or demand. Whatever you do, don’t go live. This would only cause panic that isn’t necessary. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. I get it. What do you want us to do?” she asked. He was impressed with her ability to stay calm and think. “We need a distraction of some kind to get the men’s attention away from the back. Something that would draw them toward the front.”
She waved a hand in the air. “That’s all? That’s easy. When do you want it?”
“Give us two minutes. Is that long enough for you?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m ready whenever. It’s not like this will be hard or anything,” she said. That had him a bit worried. But he didn’t have time to question her.
“Great, thanks.” He hung up and handed the phone back to Dubois. “You all heard—”
Candy glared at him. “Of course not. You were on the phone. How could—”
“We’ll talk later,” he said to Candy, then to his men, “After my mate and I are gone, do your thing and wait for my signal outside. Pick a guard. First will be the one at the back on the west side.” He held the door open and looked at Candy. “Let’s go.”
She was taken aback. “Go where?”
&
nbsp; Goddammit. Now was not the time for her to get uptight about a man taking charge. Sometimes it was just that way. “Candy—”
“Sergeant Major—” she started.
“Whatever,” he growled. “We have only seconds left before we miss this window of opportunity to get to security. Are we going to stand here and argue over semantics or get your sweet ass down there?”
Her widened eyes and dropped jaw were comical. She was cute when surprised, too. Hell, who was he kidding? She was cute no matter what.
He raised a brow. “Don’t make me stop this car.”
The corner of her lips twitched and she stalked forward. “Fine.” She breezed by him into the hallway, leaving her alluring scent in her path. He gave a nod to his guys and closed the door.
Chapter Ten
She was pissed enough to spin bullets. Once again, a man presuming the little lady couldn’t take care of herself. As long as they didn’t get in her way, all was fine. It was when men interfered that shit hit the fan.
He did ask her opinion on how to use the TV reporter, but he’d also used her first name. She let it slide. Wasn’t sure why. She doubted he even realized he’d said it. He was a very personable guy. He seemed kind, like he’d never hit anyone, but you never knew a person until the worst happened. Then the man behind the curtain revealed himself.
And how dare he call her ass sweet. He was being sexist and she shouldn’t put up with that crap. But it was flattering he noticed—anyone else, no—but he was okay.
She shook her head. What the hell was wrong with her? Never was she fine with men being overbearing and controlling. What was it about this one man that was turning her world upside down? Maybe if she worked with him instead of against him so much, they could compromise and get through this alive. But he needed to do the same, dammit. This wasn’t a one-way street.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Tumbel put his arm out to stop her from approaching the door. Like she was going to walk out without checking first. When he put his hand on knob, she jerked him back.
“What the hell are you doing?” she whispered-yelled, slapping him on the side. “Stick your head out there and it’ll get shot off.”
He rested fists on his hips. “I may be able to see in the dark, but my X-ray vision is in the shop.”
She huffed. “I don’t expect you to see through doors, dumbass.” God, he was impossible. She pulled her phone out and stuck it in his face. “Technology.” She opened the camera app. “Help me push the door open enough to stick my phone out. Like we did on the ceiling.”
Slowly, quietly, he pushed the door barely open. She pushed her phone out then glanced at the screen. The guy standing at the elevators earlier was no longer there. The reception desk was vacant also. “It’s clear. Let’s go.” Pushing the door farther open, she slid out, keeping her back to the wall the few steps to the corner leading to the security hall.
Safely around the corner, she let out a breath. It’d been a while since she’d seen any real action and it appeared she was getting soft. Later, she’d buckle down and chew on some nails. After a few seconds without Josh coming around the corner, she backtracked and peeked into the lobby. Josh stood staring at the front like the rest of the guys who were glued to the entrance glass.
Outside on the sidewalk, a tall, slender woman with long hair had taken her suit jacket off and was stretching, doing a fabulous job of showing off her boobs. Big ones at that, of course. She unbuttoned the top of her blouse and fanned herself as if hot. Candy knew for a fact the nighttime temp was around seventy degrees.
The woman then slowly bent toward the glass, her top gaping, to pick up something. That was enough. Candy grabbed Josh’s ear and dragged him around the corner. She said, “Keep it in your pants, big boy. That’s our distraction, which seems to be doing a perfect job.”
He batted her hand away and followed. “Sorry, I was just making sure the men were watching,” he retorted.
“Don’t worry. Their eyeballs were as glued to the door as yours were.” The thought almost made her laugh. Men were so easy sometimes. A little sex and a little beer and they were in heaven. Except when they were mean drunks. Her father had been one of those.
She waved at the camera, realizing she’d forgotten to call Dotson to let him know they were coming down. She gave a thumbs-up and pointed to the guy behind her. Her instructions were to not open the door unless she was alone. And Dotson wouldn’t; he was an excellent soldier. If she didn’t give the right signal, he would have his gun at the ready and fire immediately.
Candy punched in the passcode and the magnetic lock disengaged. When she opened the door, Dotson was already standing, saluting. She pulled Tumbel inside and quietly closed the door. Returning the salute, she introduced Tumbel to Dotson then went to the board with all the video screens.
The woman outside, Claire—she remembered the name, continued her routine. The woman was bent over, running her fingers over from her ankle over her calf muscle. And interestingly enough, two of the Russians were arguing close to the front. She heard the voices, but it didn’t matter as she didn’t know the damn language. She needed Day. But that wasn’t happening. He was in her office waiting on some signal from Tumbel. She had no idea what that exchange of words between Tumbel and his men meant. He didn’t tell them to go anywhere, so . . .
Tumbel leaned toward her, but didn’t touch her. She was sorta hoping he might. Dammit, no she wasn’t. No one touched her. Maybe she could allow—No!
“Hey,” Tumbel whispered.
“What!” she said louder than she intended. Not that they could be heard outside this room. It was soundproofed as well as blocked to all radio emissions, in or out. He frowned at her anyway. She had pulled herself together to fall apart after five seconds of being close to him. Maybe she needed a week’s vacation—with the men from Chippendales.
God, great time for her to think about that silliness. Here was Tumbel making her all kinds of distracted and her body doing insane things just from being near him. She should really reconsider her usual stance on men. Tumbel was proving to be a nice guy so far. Hard-headed and gorgeous, but nice. Not one of those jerks that was full of himself.
“Sorry,” she said. He motioned her to the side. She accommodated his wish and followed.
“I, uh, I need to do something and it would be best if you and your boy, here, did not see it,” he said.
“What?” she asked. Candy couldn’t fathom what was going through his head. “What are you going to do? Steal the computer? And where do you think he and I could go?” What could he possibly do in there that she couldn’t see?
She held her hands up for Tumbel to just be quiet for a moment, then turned to Dotson. “I need you to go through the tunnels and cross under Peters Avenue to the metro exit then double back to the TV van out front.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dotson replied. “Any reason I shouldn’t use the tunnel exit here on the corner?”
She picked up his firearm and handed it to him to holster. “They may have men in the tunnel disguised as normal civilians. We don’t know. You being in military garb makes you a target. The farther you get from here, the less likely you are to come across anyone.”
“What are my orders after getting to the TV crew?”
She needed a second to reason out the best tactical strategy. “We need a man on the outside to communicate with Dresden’s men and the police when they show up.”
Josh interjected, “I thought we didn’t want police.”
“We don’t,” she said, “but I doubt there’s any way around it. Maybe they can serve as an added distraction while we figure out a solution.” She turned back to her guard. “Tell Dresden and the police we are working on the inside and to stand by. Be ready for anything. But don’t initiate.” She pushed him toward the wall.
“Yes, ma’am.” He pulled up the hidden panel in the
floor that led to the narrow stairwell going to a thick metal door to the tunnel. From there, she hoped he had a clear path away from any ambush.
Now she had to figure out what to do with Tumbel. What did he need to do that she couldn’t see?
Chapter Eleven
Well, shit. Josh didn’t know how he was going to shift with his mate in the room. Was now the time to tell her? He had to do something. His guys should be shifted, out the window, and hiding in the night, waiting for his signal. He scanned the camera angles to see where the four guards outside currently were.
He almost laughed. All four were toward the front, watching Frank’s ex-girlfriend do her thing. He was surprised at how undisciplined the men were. But the men inside were the same, having everyday conversations over pizza and beer. Something wasn’t right. But he’d worry about that later after the hostages and his men’s mates were free.
Josh turned to his mate. “Stay here for now. I’ll take care of the guards outside. Then I’ll come back and we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
“You’re going to take on four men armed with ASh guns?” She stood with her fists on her hips. “Are you high? All there is to hide behind are shrubs and some trees that edge the park. And you don’t even have a gun.”
Candy whipped around in the small room and edged her way to a corner locker. With keys from her pocket, she opened a metal cabinet door to reveal an arsenal of weapons. Enough to stage a small army if need be. His mouth fell open. They were beautiful.
She saw his expression and smiled. “Beauts, aren’t they? Never had the opportunity to break them out. What do you need? Let’s get the party started.”
His mouth snapped shut. It was really going to freak her out when he told her he didn’t need anything. On the video monitors, the guards were moving around. The show out front must’ve finished. Shit. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back. Don’t come outside.” He slipped out the heavy metal exit door into the cool air.