He peered at her name badge for what felt like eons. Everything else faded away and it was just her and this captain, a widower, who’d just done something irrevocably wrong. She prayed he’d only fired warning shots.
Please don’t let it be murder. She hadn’t met Sergeant Cruz-Street yet; he couldn’t be dead.
But she’d heard the shots. If he was still alive, Cruz-Street must be in bad shape. Few survived that many bullets.
The sound of pounding feet, sure and rapid, echoed up the stairwell. Post security.
His eyes narrowed and he glowered at her. “Tell your boss that he’s too late. And he’ll pay for what happened to my wife, too. You all will.” Spittle flew as he mouthed the threat, but before Vikki could react, he darted into the stairwell and up the stairs. There were three more floors—was he going to take hostages?
“Way to go. Who the hell are you?” Harsh words spoken with a deep voice boomed behind her. Vikki turned and looked into whiskey-brown eyes. Sharp, keenly intelligent. Focused on his prey.
“Cruz-Street, you okay?” An MP stood on the landing, looking straight at the man wearing workout gear who wouldn’t take his gaze off her.
“I’m fine, Jimenez. Captain Joseph ran into this stairwell.”
“He went up the stairs.” Vikki pointed, still feeling the burn of Cruz-Street’s stare on her cheek.
Without preamble, the MP motioned his team forward and disappeared up the stairwell.
“Who are you?” He asked the question again and she faced him. His voice reached out and pulled something in her middle taut, though his eyes revealed nothing but simmering anger.
“Sergeant Vikki Colton, JAG.” She swallowed. “I’m actually here to meet you. Are...are you okay, Sergeant?”
Recognition flared when she’d said “JAG,” as if he’d forgotten what was causing all of this chaos. RevitaYou. But when she asked about his welfare, a frown turned what she realized must be dimples into deep grooves on either side of his mouth.
“I’m fine, Sergeant Colton.”
“It’s Vikki.” Eager to ease any tension, she forced a smile. “We’re both soldiers. This won’t take long. I’m here to help.”
“I have nothing to tell you. If you don’t mind, I have work to do.” He turned toward his open room door, where they both saw a pair of MPs exit. The man in front nodded at Cruz-Street.
“It’s clear, Sergeant, but we’re going to need to take photos and samples for evidence. And you need to be checked out by the post clinic.”
“I’m fine. The only thing injured by bullets was my wall. Can I get my laptop?”
“Not until we’re done.”
Cruz-Street swore a string of words Vikki hadn’t heard since she’d been on a deployment. “Make sure you give me a signed statement for my instructor, who’s expecting a paper from me by midnight tonight.”
“You can use the post library.” The MP wasn’t taking any guff from his senior enlisted soldier. It was a matter of security.
“Me and all the high-school kids. Joy. Can I at least get my shoes and a jacket?”
Vikki bit back a smile. The situation was anything but humorous, yet Sergeant Cruz-Street’s mannerisms bespoke a man who thought on his feet and made the best of a horrible situation.
Cruz-Street disappeared into his barracks room and she waited until he returned wearing athletic shoes, a civilian jacket and the same frown he’d given her five minutes earlier.
His expression deepened the moment he saw that she was still in the corridor.
“I told you I don’t have any information for you.”
“And I tried to explain that I’m here to help.”
“The last thing I need or want is any help from you, Sergeant Colton.”
Copyright © 2020 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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ISBN-13: 9781488064302
Agent’s Mountain Rescue
Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer D. Bokal
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Agent’s Mountain Rescue Page 24
