Reckless Endangerment (38 page)

“I have a hunch, that’s all,” she said with an annoyed toss of her head. 

“Your hunches are usually right,” Wulf said as he leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms across your chest.  “You want to play hard ball, huh?  Go in on the offense?  We could follow at a safe distance as long as you’re miked, give you a lead, and stay back until you give a code word.”

“Oh my God, you can’t be encouraging her?” he asked the agent, certain that he’d never understand civilian life.  The rules he’d lived by seemed not to apply.  “They’ll kill her, you know that right?  These people she’s dealing with are murderers.  For all we know, Devon and Marshall are already dead.  It’s not like they were conversing on the video.  C’mon, am I the only sane one in the room?  If I am, that’s fucking terrifying.”

She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and looked between the two men like a cornered animal searching for escape. 

“Don’t do it, Hope.  Please.  Whatever you’re thinking, let it go.”  He swallowed the familiar sense of failure he’d lived with for the past several months, even though she’d basically confirmed it just now. 

She squeezed her eyes closed and bent her head, hands still stuffed in her back pockets and braid snaking over her shoulders.  Without saying a word, she debated the pros and cons.  He knew her too well...which is why he’d tried so hard to get her to let him go...why he knew her main concern right now wasn’t to go or not to go, but what to do with him.  He’d become the liability he’d always known he would be. That hurt worse than the shrapnel that had splintered his body. 

Chapter Twenty-Four

She talked out the plan with Special Agent Wulf and tried desperately to block out Michael’s presence in the loft next door where she’d left him fuming.  Standing in the empty space that had been meant for dreams, she worked out a plan with the FBI.  She was playing it safe this time and didn’t want any more blood on her hands. 

“We’ll make sure you’re not followed, get in the way of anyone who might be shadowing you,” Wulf said as he finished taping the wire to her skin.  “What’s the code word for us to come in?”

“They might not be there, you know,” she whispered.  “I could be wrong.  What if I’m wrong?” She twisted her head around to look at her new ally.  “What if this is a gigantic waste of time?”

“Then it is what it is.”  He shrugged his narrow shoulders, eyes hard.  “Listen, none of wants any more blood on our hands.  You’re not only a reporter breaking a story, Shane, you’re our star witness at this point.  Do you want to take these guys down?”

“With a passion.”

“Then think of that, think of those women being forced into sex slavery, those kids that have been murdered, Angel who died trying to save her sister.” He squeezed her shoulders.  “Think of what these bastards have done to your own family.  If your hunches weren’t right, they wouldn’t care less about threatening you off their trail.”

She reached into her pocket and handed him a flash drive before meeting his gaze.  “Just in case...”

“Just in case.”  His hand folded over the flash drive that contained the entire story as she’d developed it so far and copies of her notes.  “Head out of the parking ramp like normal, we’ll pick you up a few blocks down so it’s not obvious.  Give me a five minute head start to get to the car.”

“Got it.”  She swallowed the sudden panic slamming against her ribcage. 

This reminded her of that last day in Afghanistan when she’d disregarded Michael’s protests and had gone straight into an ambush.  She pressed her fingers against her forehead and fought off the bad memories.  That wasn’t now.  That was the past. 

She walked in sync with Wulf to the elevator, refusing to look at the door of the loft she shared with Michael.  She could hear the increased volume of the television.  Hockey.  She shook her head, hoping he would lighten up after a beer and pain med combo. 

She didn’t speak to Wulf as they descended in the elevator.  With a sigh, she zipped up her leather jacket and stuffed her beaten up hat onto her head.  Her hand encountered the remote for the hidden camera still attached to the zipper of her jacket.  Between the wire and the camera, no matter what happened this afternoon, the bad guys were going down.

In silence, she walked to the parking ramp, careful to look around her for anyone lurking in the shadows.  Keeping her eyes scanning the perimeter, she walked to the Jeep and beeped it unlocked. 

She froze at the driver’s door, a combination of fury and confusion and…relief overloading her system.  Michael sat in the passenger side, his gaze intent on hers through the glass.

She practically ripped open the door.  “What the hell are you doing here?  How’d you get here?”

“I’ve got skills you don’t know about, remember?  Did you really think I’d let you leave me behind?” 

His wheelchair had been stuffed haphazardly in the backseat as if he’d forced it there, which she was certain he had by the look on his face.  He’d grabbed a sweatshirt and stocking cap, too. 

“Stubborn son-of-a-bitch,” she said between clenched teeth as she strapped herself into the driver’s seat.  “Pain in the ass, that’s what you are.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”  He tapped his fingers against his jean-clad knee.  “I have the weirdest sense of deja-vu right now and it’s not the good kind either.”

“Just shut up. If you’re going along for the ride, Colonel, try to keep your mouth shut.  This is not Afghanistan and we’re not dealing with the Taliban, okay?  This isn’t some mission that I’m screwing up.  This is my story, my job...I know what I’m doing.”  She drove from the parking ramp, heart slamming so hard against her ribcage she wondered if he could hear it. 

“It is exactly like Afghanistan.  Just like it.  You’re rushing in where you don’t belong.”

“Shut-up.”

“What’s the code word?”

“What?”

“The code word you were supposed to give Wulf.  What is it?  Might be helpful if I know what it is, too, don’t you think?”

“No, because you’re not going anywhere near the construction site.  I’m parking down the road, far from the security cameras.  I know where they are from the other day.”   She braved a glance at him, unable to believe they’d been making love an hour ago.  “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Yet here I am.”  He looked out the window, tension emanating from him like a heat wave. 

“The code word is Angel.”  She shook her head to rid herself of the image of the woman’s brutalized body. 

“Angel.  Got it.” 

“You won’t need it.”

“Of course not.  I’ll be hanging out in the jeep like a dutiful lookout.”

“Lookout?” She glanced at him, catching his grin. 

“I brought snacks, too.”  He nodded over his shoulder to where he’d shoved his wheelchair and a bag of chips.  “And these,” he held up the walkie-talkies she used when skiing. “You can put one in your pocket.  I’ll make it vibrate if I see someone coming along the road.”

She hated that he made sense.  With an accepting sigh, she drove onto the freeway leading toward the mountains.  “Sneaking into my car is unacceptable.  I’m going to be very pissed off at you if something happens to you, you know that right?  I’ll never forgive you if you die on me.”

“Good to know.”  He squeezed her thigh.  “I don’t plan on dying today, babe.  It felt good sneaking around again, though.”

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the smile.  This was definitely not a situation to smile about.  No way.  She curved her fingers over his for a minute without looking at him.  Maybe it would be okay.  They’d been in worse situations than this...and how many people on earth could say that?

For once in her life, she trusted the Feds to do their job and refused to look in the rearview.  In her mind, she remembered the layout of the construction site.  The empty vehicles and buildings.  The limo that had come from there.  What hadn’t they seen that day?  What if they’d been close to finding the truth days ago, before Becky had gotten hurt? 

Putting the jeep into 4-wheel drive, she took it off-road and parked in the trees.  Michael would have a clear view of approaching vehicles, but hopefully wouldn’t be seen himself.  She sighed and allowed herself a moment to simply stare at the towering pine trees swaying against the steady snowfall. 

“I’ll leave tracks,” she said.  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Stay off the road, walk in the trees.  You’ll be good.”  He leaned his elbow against the side of the door and stared at the forest surrounding them.  “Seems pretty remote up here.”

“It is, especially this time of year.”  She tied the yellow scarf around her neck, before reaching for her bag.  She couldn’t look him in the eye, too much emotion threatened to bubble over. 

“I don’t see any sign of the feds.”

“They’re not supposed to be seen.  We have a plan, don’t worry.  It’s all worked out.”  She suddenly felt like this was good-bye, that she wouldn’t be coming back. 

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat.  She’d never felt like this before, not even on that last day in a war zone.  She swallowed the anxiety.  No time for fear.  Not now. 

“You don’t have to do this.”  He caressed the side of her face with his knuckles.  “Let the feds go in alone...”

“They don’t have probable cause or a search warrant.”  She opened his eyes and found his face only an inch from hers.  “It’s gotta be me.”

He frowned before closing the space between them and kissing her with such tenderness that it broke her heart in two. 

She shoved him away, put the walkie-talkie in her bag and opened the door without saying another word.  She couldn’t afford emotion right now.  She needed focus.

McGee stepped out from behind a tree, gun trained on her.

“I planted a GPS on your Jeep days ago, Shane.”  He shrugged his shoulders before letting his gaze slip to Michael. 

With a twisted grin, he shot her without breaking eye contact with his former commanding officer.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?” he asked McGee as he landed face down against a dirt floor. 

“She watched you die once, figured the least I could do for her was to let you do the same.  Payback of sorts.” McGee and two other men stood in the room, one of whom had tossed Hope’s lifeless body into the dirt next to him.  Another man dumped out her bag, looking for a flash drive. 

“Do you really think she’d carry that information with her?” he asked the guy after working himself into a half sitting, half leaning position against the metal wall.  His hands had been zip tied behind him.  “What happened to you, McGee?  How’d you get involved in all of this? Why are you doing this to Hope and me?”

“It’s not about you.”  McGee looked away from his gaze and kicked at the overturned messenger bag.  “I had no idea she’d come back to Denver and pick up this story.  If she hadn’t, none of this would be happening.  Hell, why did she leave the network anyway?  For you?  And why did she need to come to Denver?  She should have stayed put.”

“So you’re blaming her for you shooting her?  Am I hearing you right?”  He kept his gaze locked on McGee’s face. 

“Shut-up. Neither of you were supposed to be involved in this, Colonel, but when my boss asked me to dig up her weaknesses...” Again McGee averted his eyes toward Hope’s unmoving back.  
“So much for loyalty.  Whatever happened to death before dishonor, McGee?”

“Like you, I’m not a Marine anymore.  It’s hard getting a job with my skill set.”

“So human trafficking suits your skill set?”  He spit dirt from his lips.

“I’m just the muscle.”

“Yeah, right.  No matter how you look at it, you sold out the two best friends you’ve ever had.  All kinds of hell is about to reign down on you.  Guarding me...you suggested that to her, didn’t you?  Would you have killed me if you’d been given the order?”  Adrenaline pumped through his blood.  Heartbeat echoed in his ears.  Focus like he’d had in combat zeroed in on his former Captain.  His hands curled around the butt of the gun he’d stuffed in the waistband of his jeans, hidden beneath the sweatshirt. 

“Yes.”  McGee nodded, gaze locking onto his.  “You’re not exactly a shining example of loyalty, Colonel. I’m sure Hope would agree.”

“She uploaded the story to her station, told the feds everything.  No matter what you do to us, you’re too late.” He let the loyalty comment go.  Now was not the time for guilt or doubt. 

One of the men—one who also looked like former military, probably another mercenary without a soul—hauled her up against the wall by her braid and slapped her awake.

Her eyes opened to slits. 

“Stop this, McGee. C’mon...are you honestly going to keep this going?” he muttered with a final look at his so-called buddy.  “You stood with us at our wedding, fought along side me in the war.  Semper Fi, Captain, does that mean anything to you?”

“Shut-up.”  McGee shook his head as if trying to tune out his words.

“Who else knows where you are?”  The other man growled against Hope’s ear.