Amelia screamed.
His assailant’s eyes widened as he slumped downward. The crowd scattered and the stunned man hit the ground hard.
Then there was gunfire and he instinctively ducked. The people around them panicked and began charging for the doors as more shots rang out. Wraith swore under his breath, pulled Amelia in front of him and shoved her out the side door into the snow.
She tumbled but he merely picked her up, placed her on her feet and lifted the remote over his head and pressed. Two cars down on the left, the alarm on a black Mustang chirped and he arched a brow. Though he didn’t stop to smile at Igor’s audacity, he pulled Amelia toward it and she ran around the passenger side and climbed in.
A couple of Storogenko’s men were out the door and firing at them again, hitting the car, breaking the back taillight. He pulled his glock and returned fire even as he tossed the key in. “Start the car!” he called.
He exchanged a few more shots before he heard the powerful engine roared to life. Feeling backward, he opened the door and tossed himself into the front seat, slammed the door and threw the vehicle in gear just as sirens were heard in the distance. He figured someone had called the cops after the shooting began, added pressure for him.
“You’re bleeding?” Amelia sounded surprised.
Strange, he hadn’t felt the heat of the first tinge of pain until she pointed out the injury. Glancing quickly to his right arm, he noticed there was a long slash just beneath his shoulder.
“You got shot. We have to get you to a doctor.”
“In Russia?” Wraith asked. “No thanks. I’ll take my chances.”
“At least let’s go somewhere I can find a first aid kit. We have to clean the wound before it gets infected.”
He frowned. “Amelia, it’s flesh wound. I’ve been shot before.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
There was the sound of a zipper then of material being ripped. She then caught his arm in her hands and wrapped a piece of her shirt around where he was bleeding. The pain was increasingly worse, but he merely flinched as she knotted the material and kept his eyes on the road.
As he sat beside Amelia, bleeding from a gunshot wound, those old sensation were coming right back. After watching so many die, some of which by his hand, Wraith felt as if his soul was dead. But the brokenness throbbing through him then told him the thrill for military life may be gone but his soul was still alive and kicking.
He eventually stopped and handed Amelia the keys. “Stay in the car,” he said.
“But…”
“No buts, Amelia. I mean it.”
She frowned at him but there wasn’t another way. People were looking for them and where as he might blend in, Amelia in a small Russian town stood out like a sore thumb. Giving her a final look, he peeled himself from the vehicle, ignoring the burning in his arm
The misty air outside further sent the cold clinging to exposed skin. It burned a little more than normal, but he ignored it and picked up his steps across the parking lot and into the store. He wandered around until he found things for his wound but was certain not to buy the hulking items which screamed gunshot. He also gathered some food—sandwiches, nutrition bars, chips, bottles of water and juice.
Though there was a sign advertising coffee, he ignored it.
He paid and hurried back to the car, setting the bags at Amelia’s feet.
“Did you get stuff for your wound?” She asked.
He smiled. “Yes, mother.”
She merely grunted at him and began going through the bags after handing him the keys. Wraith watched her for a second before starting the ignition and pulling back onto the road. Eventually, he found a secluded bit of land and pulled over. He sat patiently while she fussed over his wound and babbled about how it could get infected. She seemed irritated it might leave a scar. During her nursing session, Amelia was close. Her soft, perfume was long gone. Replacing cherry blossoms was the soap she’d used in her last shower. Still, he wanted her close.
“I’ll be fine, Amelia, really.”
“You might be used to this.” She held up a band-aid, frowned and dropped it back into the bag. She ripped another piece of her shirt and finished off dressing the wound by tying it over the gauze on his arm. “But I’ll never be all right with you getting hurt.”
“Does this mean you’re falling in love with me, Hummingbird?”
“Are you trying to get slapped?”
“I’d settle for a kiss.” He smiled. “I was told a great nurse knows when to kiss it better.” He wasn’t sure where those came from, but it was too late to take it back.
She hesitated but eventually dropped a chaste kiss to his lips. “Okay there.” She seemed quite proud of her work.
“That’s all I’m getting?” Wraith teased.
To his shock, Amelia placed a tender kiss over the material then turned to look out the window. He smiled, fixed his shirt back in place and started the engine.
They barely said two words to each other after. Wraith wasn’t sure what he could say without sounding like a complete tool. But the kiss she’d dropped on his arm did make him feel better. What did that even mean?
Knowing the conditions of the road the rest of the way would be terrible, he decided to stop for the night. He parked the Mustang at the back, away from view of the road then removed a large duffle bag from the trunk. He took her hand and led her into the crumbling building.
Stepping into the motel was like stepping into something from an old, horror movie. The windows looked as though they hadn’t been cleaned in years and the counter was stripping. The old sofa was something straight from the seventies. There wasn’t much left of it for the thing had seen too much action. One leg was propped up by three old books.
Bastards!
The clock on the wall was stuck on ten o’clock and the picture behind the old man at the front desk could be the statue of Liberty but with all the dust on it, who could tell?
Walking up to the front counter, Amelia gripped tighter to Wraith’s hand and he looked down at her and smiled.
“My wife and I would like a room for the night,” Wraith said.
The old man peered at them over the rim of his crack glasses and Wraith wondered why he was still wearing it.
“And you took her to this dump?” the man wanted to know as he waddled over to a key.
“It wasn’t our first choice,” Amelia said. “But we were told the roads ahead would be horrible so—you know?”
The man placed it into Wraith’s hand and eyed Amelia again before scribbling something into a book. “Makes sense.”
Wraith led her down a dimly lit hallway with cobwebs hanging off everything.
“Do you think they’ve ever cleaned this place?” Amelia asked.
“Maybe five hundred years ago.” Wraith frowned and turned the knob. If fell off in his hands and he swore. “Sorry.” He muttered. He wasn’t used to having a woman around him on a mission.
He smiled when she shrugged at him and pushed the door open to step into the room. Following her he looked around. The actual room surprised him and from the way Amelia’s jaws dropped he could tell it did the same to her. The walls were blue and adorned with pictures of different landscapes. The bed draped in blue sheets with matching pillow cases and a couple of black cushions.
Wraith dropped his bag on the bed and fixed the gun in the back of his waist. He dug through the bag for a shirt and handed it to her. “You can take a shower and put this on.”
“I keep losing clothes. And the last top I had, well, you’re kinda wearing it. I mean what’s the point?”
“I’m not upset you keep losing clothes.”
“How can you not be upset?”
“Simple.” He smiled. “If I had my way, your beautiful curves would never again be hidden by fabric.”
She bowed her head and Wraith knew her face was on fire.
“You always blush when I….”
“I’m not used to compliments—that’s all.”.
She accepted the shirt he offered, her fingers brushing his. Wraith bit down on his tongue to avoid saying anything. Just the mere brush of her fingertips brought him back to their bed the night before. Amelia had been wild, vocal, sexier than he could ever imagine a woman being. One session of lovemaking turned to two then three and even after she climbed from the bed to shower, Wraith had followed her. Sessions four and five happened with the water running, lukewarm then cold over them before they tumbled, damp and shivering back into bed.
Wraith lost control then. He allowed his heart, mind and body to relax and accept a woman into his bed the way she did him into her body. Pride, unbelievable pride surged through him as he laid awake with her snuggled into his chest and as he stood watching her walk to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
The door closing pulled him from his thoughts and Wraith shook his head to clear it. Wraith set to work going through what else was in the bag Igor put together for him. At the bottom beneath the clothes, he found four new license plates, two black Taurus handguns and extra bullets. There was also a hunting knife, three boxes of matches, a couple of candles and a burner phone.
He quickly turned on the phone, and called Tex.
“I see you lost the laptop.”
“Didn’t have a choice.” Wraith told him. “Did you activate the…”
“I’m not an amateur, Wraith. Trust me. It’s now a very expensive paperweight.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ve been doing some diggin’ and I have bad news and some not so bad news.”
Wraith quirked a brow.
“Which do you want first?” Tex asked.
“The not so bad news.”
“I think I’ve located the Lala—or at least the last place the Lala was.”
“O—kay.” Wraith inhaled deeply, exhaled loudly and braced himself. “And the bad news?”
“Someone filed a missing person’s on Amelia.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Wraith flopped back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.
Chapter 11
The snow-covered mountains should have given Amelia some peace. Though she didn’t like the cold, a beautiful view always took her breath away. But Russia had become such a harsh place for her, she couldn’t focus on the way the dying some glistened off the snow. She couldn’t conjure up the happiness or the familiarity of it. Sadness pulsed through her as she tried bringing here mind back to the conversation Liam was having behind her with John Keegan.
Tex, as they called him was a handsome man, sinful eyes and an ever-present smile Amelia wished she could bottle. She kept meaning to ask Liam about him, but things were always getting in the way.
“A woman name Lisa reported you missin’” Tex was saying.
“It’s my best friend,” Amelia explained.
“Tex…” Wraith began.
“Already on it, brother,” Tex said. “But Wolf’s guys are far away. They wouldn’t make it over in time for much of anything.”
“Lili…” Liam’s voice cracked.
“What about her?” Amelia chimed in.
“I’ll get her online,” Tex said as though Amelia hadn’t asked.
Before Amelia could push the subject, Lili’s beautiful face filled the screen. She yawned and leaned in toward the screen.
“Damn it, John Keegan!” Lili swore. “You do know I could have been naked.”
Tex laughed, a sound Amelia was beginning to enjoy. But Lili did have a point.
“Hello to you too, Beauty.” Tex teased. “I wish I could say this was a social call but we’re going to need you to suit up.”
“Wraith? What’s going on?” Lili asked.
“Amelia has a friend who needs eyes on her,” Wraith said.
Doc hopped up to the bed beside Lili and looked around while wagging his tail. Amelia knew what that meant—the wolf recognized Liam’s voice and was searching.
“Miss you too, Doc,” Liam said. “I’ll see you soon. But seriously, Beauty, I need your help.”
“Say no more.” Lili shoved her hair from her face.
Damn, even with bed-head she still looked as though she walked off the pages of a magazine. Amelia sighed. How could she even think of competing with that?
“Send the details my way,” Lili said. “I’ll make sure the friend’s covered.”
“Already on it.” Tex told them. “Do you need a care package?”
Lili shifted off screen and when she returned, she held up a black gun.
And she’s G.I Jane too – well shit.
Amelia swallowed her insignificance and fell into the seat beside Liam.
“I’m on it,” Lili said. “And you two be careful, okay?”
“We will.” Liam promised.
“Good.” Lili tilted her head. “And Tex?”
“Yes, Beauty, my Beauty?”
“I’m going to kick your ass the next time I see you.” She threatened.
“You can’t threaten me with such a good time.” Tex grinned. “I am a married man.”
Lili rolled her eyes, smiled and was gone.
Tex laughed.
“Do you always have to tease Beauty?” Liam asked, chuckling.
“Sometimes, she needs to unclench.” Tex muttered. “A dose of Tex is good for her once in a while—keep her on her toes. Now, back to this missing person’s report.”
“Make it go away, Tex.” Liam yawned and rubbed the back of his neck. “We don’t need this getting any more out of hand.”
“Say no more.”
“I’ve been out of contact for a while.” Amelia explained. “I didn’t exactly tell her I was going away. We had plans—It’s actually nice knowing I have someone cares.”
“It’s report is highly problematic,” Liam said. “We can’t have cops on our tails too. And if they can’t find you at home, they will push that shit international.”
The handsome man on the screen nodded once and began typing away. “Listen, if you need some help, I can have a bunch of my GSG 9 buddies on their way.”
“GS—” Amelia started. “Who are they?”
“Like SWAT but kick-assier,” Tex said.
Amelia laughed. “Well, I will remember that—kick-assier. Well, what do you think, Liam?”
Liam’s shoulders rose and fell. “Maybe not the entire team. I mean, moving an entire elite German squad into Russia, would raise some red flags.”
“Okay, Beast and Pitbull will be on their way.” Tex promised.
“One of these days, Tex,” Amelia leaned closer. “You’re going to have to explain the reason behind these nicknames.”
Tex grinned. “It would be my pleasure.”
“In the meantime.” Liam cleared his throat. “Hummingbird and I could go and check out the place. See if we could figure out a layout.”
He wanted to take her with him. He hadn’t even patronized her about staying where it was safe. She liked that—this was her life and she wanted a hand in taking it back.
When she lifted her eyes from Liam to Tex, the computer genius was smirking. Her cheeks heated. She didn’t have to be able to read his mind to know what Tex was thinking. The mirth tickling his lips told her everything. Amelia cleared her throat.
“You two be careful,” Tex said. “I’ll send you the information you need, Wraith. And maybe it’s time you taught your—Hummingbird—how to use a gun.”
“What? Me? No!” Amelia sputtered.
“I can’t be with you all the time,” Liam explained. “I would rather know you can take care of yourself if for some reason I’m not around.”
Amelia sighed.
“Do this for me, Hummingbird?” Liam’s voice was soft, alluring.
She weakened then nodded. “But if I shoot myself in the foot, I’ll blame you.”
“I’ll risk it.”
“I can’t with you.” She smacked his arm then headed for the bathroom just down the hall.
“What�
��s goin on between you two?” Tex asked.
“What do you mean?” Liam asked in a tired voice.
“You have a nickname for her now?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Wolf started calling his girl, Ice. Beast started calling his woman Fleur. I mean, every time one of our guys give a woman a nickname, they wind up together.”
Amelia trembled at the thought. Her body positively hummed at the idea.
Liam laughed. “Amelia doesn’t see me like that. I’m pretty sure she sees me like every other woman in the past has—I’m Hades, Tex, the bringer of death. Women really doesn’t see me the way they see you or the others. Amelia is the kind of woman who deserves a man who works a stable job, who can show her off to his family and be proud of her.”
“You can show her off to your family, Wraith. Sure, we aren’t DNA family, but haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Havin’ the same blood does not a family make. But a true heart and the ability to have each other’s backs. And ghost-man, you know this team has your back.”
“You guys do…”
“Hell to the yes!” Tex exclaim. “The rest is really up to you and her.”
“Let’s get through this debacle first, huh?” Wraith asked. “Afterward, I’ll sit her down and have a talk—see where her heart is.”
“Good man.” Tex encouraged.
“Listen—Cuzo’s body…”
“I took care of it.” Tex’s voice was sad. “He is in the care of one of my Canadian buddies. Once we wrap this up, we’ll get together and give him a proper send off.”
“Thanks. Tex.”
“Anytime. I know how much it killed you to have left him.”
“Yeah.”
“Beauty is already on the move...”
Amelia tuned out the rest of the conversation then. The happiness she felt inside was something she never imagined. Wraith was willing to try for more. He was willing to want more and would put the ball in her court. She wanted to do backflips and leg clicks and all those happy things people did in the movies when their hearts were close to bursting.
When she returned from the bathroom, Liam was standing by the window looking out. The storm whistled through the house, reminding her the world was being buried outside and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Liam’s shoulders set, rigid as if he carried the world on them and Amelia knew then, it was her fault.
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