by Paige Yancey
“To be honest, I am worried about her and you, too, but she’s in good hands, and we have a good team here.”
“Of course, you’re right.”
Instinctively he put his arm around her, as if they had been together always.
She leaned her head against his shoulder.
Atlas took a deep breath, inhaling her unique scent, like honeysuckle and wild flowers.
“Everyone, it’s time to move out,” Kujo said.
Atlas came out of his little trance and turned to look at Siobhan. “Are you sure you still want to do this? You can back out anytime. We can do this without you, if need be.”
“No, I’d feel safer there with you, and also I need to help bring these guys down.”
He took her head. “Then let’s load up.”
Chapter 5
The drive to the event seemed to take forever, and at the same time only seconds. Siobhan had not felt this kind of exhilaration and fear since she’d been in the military. Even though she’d only met Atlas that one time before, and now had spent about 24 hours with him, she felt comfortable with him, like they’d known each other their entire lives.
Taking a quick peek at him from the passenger seat, she noted he always seemed to be in control, and yet there was a casualness about him, an instant sense of ease that drew her to him, just like it had that night six years ago. Just as she started to look away, his hand left the steering wheel and encased her hand, bringing it his knee. His warmth seeped into her and calmed her raw nerves. How did he stay so calm?
“Siobhan, when we’re at the event, I want you to stay with me at all times and let me know if you see anyone you recognize from the hospital.”
“Alright.” She let out a deep sigh. “Atlas, when this is all over, I want to tell Mable that you’re her father.”
Without taking his eyes from the road, “I’d really like that. I was meaning to ask you if I could spend time with her. If that would be ok with you…?”
She smiled. “I’d really love that, and she seems to have already taken a shine to you. I’m sure the transition to having you in her life won’t be that difficult.”
“I would also like to spend time with you as well,” he said, shooting a quick glance at her.
Not taking her gaze from him, she smiled and nodded her head.
They held hands for the rest of the drive.
As they pulled in to the parking area for the event, all the vehicles that had come with them pulled in next to each other, forming a line of black SUVs. Seemed like the men in black or some ominous government agency had arrived, but to look at these men, you knew that they had all seen things that had forever changed them. They all stood together, Siobhan seemingly the lone stranger amongst them, but she felt their comradery. Sometimes, she wished she’d stayed in the military, because she missed that feeling of belonging to something bigger than herself. But getting out had been what she’d needed to do for her daughter.
Kujo walked up to them, “Lady and gentlemen,” he said with a nod in their direction. “You all know the game plan. Each of you take an ear bud—you as well, Siobhan—and report any suspicious activity.”
They all acknowledged his order. Siobhan slipped the ear bud into her ear and tested its functionality. When she was sure it worked correctly, she fell in step beside Atlas as they moved toward the crowd of people that was already forming.
There were little booths set up on the outskirts of the field where they were holding the event, and there were volunteers handing out water bottles. She could feel the warmth radiating off of Atlas as he got closer to her and put one arm around her shoulder. Earlier, they had discussed making it seem like they were a couple. It felt so right that she almost put her head on his shoulder but kept herself from making that overly familiar gesture.
“Do you see anything?” he said, leaning close to whisper in her ear.
“Nothing so far, but when I saw them, they were all wearing military gear, so I’ll really have to keep my eyes peeled this time.”
The crowd moved forward to take seats in front of the stage that had been set in the middle of the university football field.
The ear bud in her ear crackled, and then she heard one of the men’s voices say, “Sharpshooter in place, nothing on visual yet.”
“Everyone in position?” Kujo asked.
In unison, they all replied, “Roger.”
“You know, Atlas,” Siobhan said, “this kind of reminds me of being in the military. Now granted, I wasn’t in a unit like yours, but all the training we did before deployment was like this.”
“Yeah.” He nodded with a twisted smile. “Brings back old memories.”
She glanced at the Band-Aid she’d affixed to his head. It didn’t take away from his naturally alluring physique but seemed to make him less superhuman in a way, more approachable. He looked down at her and his crystal blue eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief.
She giggled under her breath. “You could sweep a girl off her feet with a look like that.”
“You better be careful, Doc, or I might just do that,” he said with a wink.
They both looked around. More and more people were arriving.
“With all these people here, and more arriving, I hope I’ll be able to pick out the mercenaries,” she said in a whisper to Atlas.
“Don’t worry. The guys are trained what to look for. You’re only here for cursory review of the crowd, like the cherry on the top of a sundae.”
“Wow, way to make a girl feel appreciated and hungry at the same time.”
His deep laugh gave her a warm feeling all the way to her toes. His warmth seeped into her, and she wanted to step closer to him to feel a part of him and all that glorious heat. He moved past her, and she finally came out of her happy daze. Following close behind him, she took his hand when he reached back and felt a warm zing travel up her arm.
Toward the middle of the crowd stood two men talking with their heads together. They both had the hulking build of the men in the hospital and both wore dark clothing. In a crowd of bright colors and summer attire, two men wearing long sleeves and pants stood out.
“Hey, guys,” she said, “two suspicious men at my 12 o’clock.”
“Roger,” came Kujo’s voice. “Swede, do you have a visual?”
“Roger,” Swede responded. “Moving in.”
“Good call, Doc,” Kujo said.
Warmth filled Siobhan’s chest. “Thanks.”
From the side of the crowd off to their left, she saw a flash of red, her gaze drawn to the red like a moth to a flame. The female that had been with the Germans in the hospital had worn red. The person wearing red moved out of sight, and Siobhan stopped to scan the crowd. Farther to the left, she saw another flash of red. With a quick glance further ahead, she saw a tall slender woman with streaming red hair.
Siobhan stepped out, moving fast in the direction of the woman. She tried to not take her eyes off her, but also did not want the woman to see her if she was one of the mercenaries.
“Hey, Siobhan, slow down,” Atlas called out.
“I think I recognize that lady,” she said, nodding in the woman’s direction.
With more determination, Siobhan picked up speed and ran through the crowd. She narrowly missed running into several people. She continued to follow the woman until she turned between two buildings at the end of the field. The woman’s pace slowed enough that Siobhan caught up. When she was close enough, she reached out to tap her shoulder.
The lady in red whipped around.
The two women made eye contact.
Siobhan barely had time to confirm it was the woman from the hospital. With a quick step back, she narrowly missed the other woman’s fist. Taking a fighting stance, she raised her arms. The other woman swung her right leg, trying to take Siobhan down with a sweeping kick. With the military training she’d had and the Krav Maga self-defense class she took on a weekly basis, Siobhan was ready.
Sounds of the crowd faded into the ba
ckground as Siobhan focused on the women in front of her. The redhead darted forward and swung her fist at Siobhan’s head.
She ducked beneath the woman’s fist and landed a blow against the woman’s abdomen then danced away.
The woman came at her again, this time tagging her with a kick against her ribs.
Siobhan’s breath left in a hard gust, but she raised her arms in time to deflect the fist that came, aimed at the same side of her body.
Suddenly, the other women clipped Siobhan’s chin, and for a moment she saw stars. Furious with herself for leaving her other side open for the blow, Siobhan felt a spike of adrenaline and rushed the woman, taking her to the ground. They wrestled, trading body punches.
Siobhan knew she was in trouble when the woman wriggled and bucked, then flipped them both. She forced Siobhan to her side then clamped a red-clad arm around her neck.
Her vision blurring around the edges, Siobhan gasped for air.
Suddenly, the women in red was gone and another gentler set of strong arms wrapped her. The smell of musky man and the outdoors surrounded her, and a familiar male voice was talking to her. “Siobhan, can you hear me? Siobhan, answer me.”
“Yeah,” she rasped. “I’m okay.” She stared up into Atlas’s pale face.
He shook his head. “Doc, you scared the crap out of me.”
Chapter 6
After losing her in the crowd, Atlas had frantically searched, catching glimpses of Siobhan as she’d slipped through the crowd after the woman. A group of people had steeped in front of him and he had to go around then which stole precious seconds in his pursuit of her. Atlas had never been so scared or so impressed in his life. He had just watched the woman he was starting to think of as his almost take out what had to be a trained assassin. Within seconds of seeing Siobhan pin the women, she was flipped over and choked, and he could see the life draining from her.
Trying to stay calm, he said into his mic, “Need help, guys.”
He took a quick glance over at the women in red, still laying there after he’d knocked her out.
Swede and Kujo came sprinting and put plastic zip ties on the wrists and ankles of the lady in red. Six circled around the men.
Watching the men and the dog, Atlas vowed that, one day, he was going to get a dog, and he wanted to make sure it was good around kids, so his daughter could play with it. Wow, he had a daughter. Life had changed in a heartbeat and Atlas was not going to let go of what he’d found. Squeezing tighter on Siobhan, he heard a mumbled voice.
“Atlas, trouble breathing here, can you give me some room?”
“Sure,” he said, easing his hold. But he wouldn’t let go, never again.
He helped Siobhan sit up and took stock of all her bruises, his hands roaming over her body as he checked to make sure she was okay.
“Uh, hey, I’m okay,” she muttered.
“Just making sure,” he said as he put out an arm to help her to stand. A warm shiver went through him when she placed her arm around his waist.
He watched as Siobhan moved to the woman sprawled on the ground.
“I hear something, don’t you?” she said, glancing back at him.
“No. Be careful.”
She leaned over the woman’s body, pulled back her red hair and grasped a white ear bud from the woman’s ear. She held it close to her ear, then closed her hand around it and held it away. “Atlas, I hear them speaking German. They’re talking about the package… It’s the Vice President, and they have a shooter on one of the buildings surrounding the field.”
A cold chill shivered down his spine, and he turned to give Kujo a hard stare.
Kujo started talking rapidly into his mic then turned away. “Team, listen up. Reaper cover the eagle’s nest and Bear cover the VP’s location. We gotta move now. Chatter we picked up from the mercenaries sounds like the package is a sniper. The VP isn’t here yet but will be soon.”
“What’s the call boss?” Atlas came to stand by Kujo and Swede. Siobhan moved next to him, and he reached out to hold her hand.
Kujo shot a glance toward them. “Atlas, Secret Service has been informed, but the V.P. wants to continue on. If the sniper is not found before then, he will leave at the last minute. They are giving us a chance so that the mercs don’t know that we know.”
“Okay, where do you want us?” Siobhan asked.
Atlas shook his head. “You need to head back to our vehicles and sit tight.” He looked into her eyes, saw the fierce frown, as well as her determination and strong will. He felt warmth in his chest and realized he was truly falling for this woman. “Okay, you stay with me, but when this is over, we’re going to get you checked out at a hospital.”
“Fine.”
They turned to Kujo.
“I need you two patrolling the crowd, keeping an eye out for any more of the men you saw in the hospital the other day. Also, I need you to keep listening in on that mic to see if there are any changes to their plans.”
Swede stayed behind to guard the woman.
Kujo walked off toward the crowd, giving orders into his mic, calling for police, and letting them know about the woman they’d detained.
Atlas took Siobhan’s hand as they walked in the crowd so that they could canvas another area.
“Siobhan, you really scared me over there,” he said.
“Sorry. I knew I couldn’t let her get away. I just jumped into action.”
“Literally,” he said, his tone dry.
“Well, I do that in the ER. I just jump into action and get stuff done. I would say that I learned to act like that through the military. But, honestly, my parents and my grandfather raised me that way.”
He liked that about her and felt a connection with her because doing something for the greater good was why he’d joined SEAL Team 6 and why he’d gone to work for Hank and the Brotherhood Protectors.
“When this is over, we need to have a serious ice cream party,” Siobhan said.
Atlas chuckled. “I think you’ve lost it.”
They stopped in the middle of the crowd. He looked down at her as she turned to stand in front of him. Swiftly he took her in his arms and kissed her. Like a crashing wave, all the emotions swelled over him. Her lips were warm, and her taste was intoxicating. He heard a little moan come from her, and she seemed to sag into his arms, melting into him. She fit against him like a puzzle piece, and he never wanted to let go. But the situation forced them apart.
They broke away from each other, and he watched as she gasped for air just like he was trying to catch his breath. He kept her close but at arm’s length.
He heard garbled whispers.
Siobhan let go of him, turned her head slightly, and placed the mercenary ear bud back in her ear. Since he couldn’t hear anything on the Brotherhood Protectors mic, she must have been listening to the mercenaries.
She wrapped the earpiece in her hand and said, “Kujo, the sniper is set up in the building third to the right of the podium that the VP is going to take.”
In his own mic, Atlas heard, Kujo respond, “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
For a moment, he didn’t hear all the orders Kujo was giving. He couldn’t take his gaze off the woman in front of him. He wanted to take her away from there. Get her out of danger.
“Atlas, did you hear me?” Kujo said.
Atlas shook his head and focused on Kujo’s words. “Say again.”
“I need you and Siobhan to head over to where Swede is standing by the podium. I’ll meet you guys over there, shortly.”
“Roger,” Atlas acknowledged.
As they walked toward the podium, Atlas noticed more people gathering. As they started to pass more and more people, Siobhan came to a sudden stop.
She cupped the redhead’s earpiece to her ear and listened. Once again, she held it away. “Hold on. The Germans are talking again. They’re asking for someone to report in.”
“Do you think they’re asking for the women in red?” he asked.<
br />
Siobhan fit the device into her ear again and motioned for him to be quiet. “They’re looking for her. She must be in charge or one of the higher ups.”
Shouting sounded in his ear piece. On the mic, he heard, “Guys, they’ve found the sniper and have him subdued. Police are on the way.”
“Atlas, you, Siobhan, and anyone else not helping with the sniper, I need you guys watching for any more of the terrorists. Hopefully, they won’t try to start anything now that their plan is foiled, but they may make a last-ditch effort.”
“Roger,” Atlas and Siobhan said in unison.
He looked down at her, and she smiled. He noticed how the sun shone on her hair, and it was paler in the light with strands of red running through the blonde. From what he could remember of seeing Mable’s hair, it was the same color. He was so ready for this to be over, so he could spend time with them.
As they walked toward the stage and podium that had been set up for the VP and other special guests, Bear was just ahead of them, already standing to the left of the podium, scanning the area. To their right, Kujo came with his dog Six. On the dog’s vest, it said, “Service Dog” and didn’t look like the usual tactical gear. They weren’t trying to freak anyone out, so the goal was to make things seem normal.
Ahead of them, Secret Service men escorted the VP to the stage, and the crowd surged forward. As this happened, Atlas noticed a large man dressed in black, weaving his way through the crowd at a quick clip.
“Atlas, you see that guy over there, walking through the crowd toward the stage?” Siobhan said in his ear.
“Yeah, I see him,” he moved forward. “Stay here.”
Not waiting to see if she listened to him, he started walking as fast as he could, without drawing attention to himself, to intercept the terrorist. The man wearing black didn’t slow down but seemed to notice that Atlas was coming toward him and picked up speed. Now having to run toward the man, Atlas said, “Guys, there is a man in black heading for the stage and the VP.”
As Atlas drew nearer, the other man sprinted to reach the stage, jumped onto it, and ran for the Vice President, raising a large hunting knife with jagged edges in his hand. Atlas leaped onto the stage behind him, tackling him from behind. They rolled.
