by Lisa Hughey
She finally blinked and locked on to his gaze.
Trust me.
But he couldn’t say the words out loud. Couldn’t afford to let Darla know that he had no intention of honoring her request. That his only motivation was to get Kita to safety.
He didn’t even care about the judge anymore.
“I have heard the rumors about Adams-Larsen.” Darla Nichols demanded, “You are going to give me a new identity. If you don’t, I will kill her.”
“Are you the one who threatened me?” The judge’s voice shook.
“Yes.” Darla sneered. “Agree to help me, Marsh Adams, and your father and friend will live. If not, I will kill them both.”
Shep was sneaking up behind Darla. Alex was still concerned that the gun could go off while Shep disabled her. Alex racked his brain for a way to alert Kita that they were about to take her down.
“Why the attacks on the judge? The poisoned drink, the fake anthrax?”
“I was trying to get to you, but you didn’t show up. I needed you to show,” Darla complained. “But you kept sending your minions.” In that moment her concentration wavered.
Three things happened at once.
Shep took a step toward Darla and a branch snapped.
Unable to wait any longer, Alex rushed toward the bench where Kita sat, his weapon in his hand. If he had to shoot the congresswoman, he would. Nothing was more important than Kita’s safety.
Darla’s attention shifted to Alex. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw his face up close. “You! Where’s Marsh?”
Her arm had automatically followed her gaze, and the momentary distraction cost her.
At the same time, Kita wrapped her hands around the congresswoman’s wrist, shifted her weight, and threw the woman over her shoulder.
Kita yelled at the judge to duck, and he dove into the interior of the limo.
Darla Nichols landed on the hard ground with a bone-jarring thud.
Kita followed her, wrestling for the gun. The report of the weapon was extremely loud in the early morning mist.
Kita grunted and banged Darla’s gun hand repeatedly on the ground, but she was hampered by slow reflexes and her bound wrists.
Shep jumped over the bench and was finally able to wrestle the weapon away from Darla Nichols.
Shep hauled the congresswoman to her feet as she fought valiantly. “Unhand me.”
Alex rushed toward the grappling pair, trying to rescue Kita. But she’d already rescued herself.
He bent down and lifted Kita up. Her knees dipped and Alex caught her before she fell, circling his arms around her.
“Are you okay?”
“Still weak. Drugged.” Her words slurred as she dropped her forehead against the ball of his shoulder.
“What the hell were you thinking?” He wanted to shake her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go. He wanted to lock her in a room where she couldn’t get into any more trouble.
“Following the rules,” she said softly.
“What rules?”
“Protecting the judge,” Kita said. “That was our job. Your job.”
“Not at the expense of your life.”
“Couldn’t let the judge get hurt,” she whispered. “Colleen would be devastated.”
Jesus. “Yes. But these were extenuating circumstances.”
“All good,” she said, “Judge is safe. Your job is safe. We followed the rules.”
Fuck the rules.
But before he could tell her so, she dropped into a dead faint.
Chapter 22
The FBI had come and gone.
Darla Nichols was under arrest on multiple counts: kidnapping and drugging Kita, making threats against a federal judge, and the murder of her husband. The FBI would have to verify the truth about her statement that she was a foreign national agent in the Russian government’s illegals program.
If that was the case, then Operation Ghost Stories was going to have to be reopened or revisited.
The thought that other Russian sleepers had infiltrated the United States Congress gave everyone the heebie-jeebies.
She had confessed to using AirBNB to rent an apartment in the Watergate on the floor above the judge’s co-op. She’d dropped the fake letter on his doormat, knocked on the door, and run up the stairs into the rented apartment.
She’d also been the one to suggest to Vanessa that the US Marshals get involved. She’d basically orchestrated the entire situation for the outcome she’d wanted. And she might have been successful if her opponent hadn’t gotten ahold of the autopsy of her husband and exposed her deceptions, prompting her attempts to save herself.
The mystery of the judge’s threats was tied up to everyone’s satisfaction. Alex’s boss wasn’t happy that he and Shep had failed to notify the office before they went to rescue Kita. And they might have left out a few pertinent details.
But right now, Alex Saunders had more pressing concerns.
Kita was checked out by Viktor Kuznets, Adams-Larsen’s onsite medical guy. Alex was hard-pressed to let go of her. He held her hand while Kuznets did a full exam to make sure she wasn’t suffering any more than ill effects from the benzodiazepine.
Alex gave his statement to the FBI. Jillian Larsen smoothed the way and Alex was allowed to stay with Kita as long as he didn’t upset her.
He was a little put out by that. Jillian Larsen only said two things to him. “You are under orders not to reveal any of what you learned this morning.”
Alex nodded.
Jillian admonished. “All the information is classified.”
“Fine.”
But that got him to thinking. Because the way her stare bored into him, he had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about Darla Nichols being a spy. Jillian indicated that Adams-Larsen was acting with the full consent, or the dubious consent, of some form of the government.
“Anything else?” He wanted to make sure he didn’t break any more of her rules.
She smiled but it was lethal. “If you hurt her, I will hunt you down.”
And kill you was left unsaid.
“Fair enough.”
All the revelations of the morning bombarded him as he sat by Kita’s bedside, and she drifted in and out of consciousness. By ten in the morning, the Adams-Larsen office was bustling.
Dwayne checked on Kita repeatedly. Every single time he bussed her forehead and whispered she was a badass. Jillian squeezed her hand every hour she’d checked in. Maria Torres stood in the doorway staring at Kita with regret and a peculiar longing. Some guy named Jake called and talked to Viktor even though he couldn’t make it in. Marissa and Bliss from the Adams-Larsen West Coast office—who knew they even had a West Coast office—FaceTimed Kita, talking to her even though she didn’t respond. The entire ALIAS family, with the notable exception of Marshall Adams, checked on Kita to make sure she was doing okay.
Alex held her hand the entire time, ignoring the speculative looks from her coworkers and praying for her to wake up.
No one could believe that Kita had stayed conscious long enough to take down the congresswoman. But Kuznets promised she’d wake eventually.
Finally, her eyelids fluttered.
Alex squeezed her fingers gently when she opened her eyes.
For a moment, her gaze was disconcertingly blank. Then awareness returned and a flush spread over her cheeks.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she rasped out. “What are you doing here?”
He had no fucking idea. All he knew was that he needed to be here. With her. Making sure she was okay.
“Keeping you in line,” he teased. Except he didn’t feel like teasing. He’d been worried sick. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She closed her eyes, took a breath. “I was thinking that our job was to protect the judge.”
“You could have been killed.”
She hesitated. “I didn’t want Marsh and Colleen to lose him. He might not be my idea of a good father or a
good husband, but they love him.”
Anger flashed through him. That was great and all, but, “What about the people who love you?”
Kita was feeling a lot better. Her strength and sanity returned in a rush when Alex started grilling her.
She could get up. Leave. The conversation was definitely on the uncomfortable side. What about the people who love you?
“It’s a pretty small list.”
Marsh. His mother. That was it. But the sacrifice in that moment had felt like it was worth it to keep them happy.
“Pretty sure it’s growing.” Alex ducked his head as if he were unsure of her response. The blue-black of his hair dulled in the odd lighting of ALIAS’s training room, where they went to get patched up if they had a minor injury.
“I used to believe if I broke the rules, it was all on me.” Kita sat up quickly, cupped his face in her palms. “But lately someone made me realize that the rules can have merit.”
“But you need to trust your gut too,” Alex countered.
She blinked. That was not the response she expected. “I was afraid that if I put my trust in someone, they could abuse it, and me.”
“I would never do that.”
She knew they were no longer talking about work. But she still couldn’t ask the questions that circled in her mind. Right now she just wanted to get out of the office and take a day or so to recover.
Alex said, “Let’s go home.”
“Home?”
“I thought we could swing by your place, water your plants.” A smile broke out over her face—he got the fact that she wouldn’t want her plants to suffer. “Then I could take you to my house. I’ll take care of you until you’re feeling better.”
Her smile widened, her cheeks lifting so hard, it almost hurt. A lightness that had been missing filled her heart with joy. “You want to take me home?”
“I want to take care of you.”
She thought about it. They barely knew each other. But she knew the important things. Like he’d be there if she fell and she’d be there if he faltered.
Within a few minutes, he had her bundled up and was ready to carry her to his car. Jillian stopped by to check on her before she left.
“You okay?”
She glanced at Alex. “Better than.”
Jill’s eyes filled with relief. “I’m glad.”
“Uh, yeah. Me too.”
Alex said, “I’ll bring the car around to the front.”
Oddly Kita felt a rare kinship with Jillian after the past few days. “Any word from Marsh?”
“No.” A worried expression entered her eyes. “I tried all his numbers again.”
“I wonder where he is.”
“I don’t know but I’m going to kill him when he gets back.”
Ha-ha. But Jillian’s trouble expression sobered her up. “We’ll keep looking for him then.”
“Yes.” Jill nodded.
“How is Hannah?”
Kita had asked Alex when she first woke up and he’d reassured her that Hannah was doing fine. Kita would still like to see her but based on the dark bruise on her temple and the limp from the gouge in her foot, she thought perhaps she should wait a day so she didn’t upset the already fragile woman.
“Maria is looking after her,” Jill said. “I think it’s been good for both of them. The safe room is a little on the small side, but the girls don’t want to leave their aunt’s side.”
“And as far as we know, Frank Donner still doesn’t have a clue?”
“No,” Jill said. “One of the girls had a kid cell. Luckily I found it before we left your apartment and disabled it.”
Kita hadn’t even thought to check the kids for cells. Hannah had left hers in the train station, just like Kita had instructed.
“You were right,” Jill said grudgingly. “We’re working on the paperwork.”
Kita had known that once Jill saw the abuse that Hannah suffered, she’d be on Hannah’s side. The weight that had pressed on her chest eased. What a perfect ending to an awful week.
“So far Frank Donner hasn’t said a word to the authorities,” Jill said. “We may be in the clear.”
“Good.”
“Go home. Rest,” Jill advised. “Take the weekend off and we’ll see you on Monday.”
“Sounds good.”
Alex texted her. “He’s out front.”
“So, good news, if he screws you blind, he already knows our secrets.”
“Jill!” She flushed.
Jill laughed. “Kidding. Sort of. Enjoy your weekend.”
They drove off in Alex’s car. They hadn’t talked about the confrontation with Darla. Kita wasn’t even sure she wanted to.
She was still wiped out from the benzodiazepine Darla Nichols had given her. The urge to doze off was strong but instead she rolled her head to the side and watched her partner drive. The competent, sure touch he used to navigate the streets sparked something deep within her.
When they arrived at Kita’s place, he opened the door for her. Old-fashioned, outdated, and still kinda sweet. Who knew she’d be a sucker for a man opening her car door?
They rode up in the elevator without speaking. She wasn’t sure what to say, how to break the suffocating weight of silence that grew with every hushed moment.
By the time the elevator arrived, she was second-guessing the tentative plan to go to his house. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe she’d changed her mind. Shit, she didn’t know what she was doing.
As they strode toward her apartment, several things registered. The door was open, hanging slightly crooked, the wood splintered around the handle.
She held up her hand. “Someone’s here.”
Before she could say more, Alex had his weapon out and at the ready. Kita’s gun was still in her apartment, which was now at the very least the scene of a break-in.
“My gun was in my apartment when I left,” she whispered.
Alex gestured for her to get behind him. “You’re recovering.”
She didn’t quite think that was it, but since he’d been so sweet, she agreed. With his non-dominant hand he pushed open the door, his weapon held in the other hand with ease.
Nothing happened.
“Wait for my okay to come inside.”
Sure. And then she’d wait for Mickey Mouse to start singing “It’s a Small World” before she provided backup.
As soon as Alex breached the entrance, Kita followed. He was utilizing standard sweep protocol to clear each room. She trailed behind him, her horror growing with every step. Her home, her sanctuary had been trashed.
The antique tea set she’d gotten from her Vietnamese grandmother was shattered into hundreds of pieces on the hardwood floor. Her plants had been ripped from their glazed ceramic pots and tossed around the room, roots and leaves and loamy dirt littering the Oriental carpet.
Her books and CDs were strewn in a pile in front of the bookshelves. The destruction broke her already fragile heart.
Before she could caution Alex, a bear of a man barreled from her bedroom and roared, rushing Alex in a frenzied rage.
On some level she registered that while she’d taken care of Hannah, they had all dismissed Frank Donner, when he hadn’t made any noise about the kids’ disappearance.
“Where is she?”
She. He just wanted his punching bag. Alex had spread his legs into a ready stance and held his weapon in a two-handed sure grip. “I’m a US Deputy Marshal. Stand down.”
“I know she was here,” Frank accused, his face red, spittle flying from his mouth. “I put a tracker on my daughter’s phone.”
There was little use pretending that she hadn’t been here. Kita didn’t even want to get into the legality of him tracking an adult. “Hannah left the area.”
“Bullshit.” Frank’s fists were bunched and ready to swing. “She was in this apartment at the time the train was leaving the station. I’m not stupid.”
“Let’s discuss this like adults.” A
lex was trying to reason with a crazy man. She totally appreciated his effort but she was worried that the situation was only going to escalate.
“I’m going to get that bitch,” Frank vowed.
Kita had already dialed 9-1-1. She hoped the operator could hear what he was saying because she didn’t want to incite more violence. They couldn’t engage this guy. But as she stood there, she was thankful that Jill had followed procedure. Otherwise, Frank Donner would be at Adams-Larsen right now.
“Just like I got my wife.”
Holy shit. Had he just confessed to killing his wife?
“What happened to your wife, Frank?” Kita asked. They needed a recording of his confession. Then perhaps Hannah wouldn’t need to disappear.
“She’s dead.” Not an outright confession but enough for the cops to reopen the investigation. “Now I’m going to get you.”
“You don’t want to do this, Frank.” Alex tried to reason with the guy. “Let’s sit and discuss this like rational adults.”
“Fuck you!” Frank Donner rushed Alex.
But in a worthy sparring move, the same one she’d tried to get Hannah to engage in the day Kita met Alex, her guy sidestepped the enraged man. For such a big man, Frank Donner was lighter on his feet than expected. He lunged around and bent low, and instead of attacking Alex, she could see his intent. He was preparing to tackle her, going for the smaller target.
“Oh hell no,” Alex growled.
Kita got ready. The room was a mess, the debris on the floor made maneuvering severely difficult, but she wasn’t going to be taken down by this bully.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
The percussive sound of the shots being fired battered her eardrum.
Frank went down in a howl of pain and blood.
Her eyes widened. Alex had shot him.
“Tell 9-1-1 we need an ambulance too.” His chest was heaving and his eyes were wild.
She stood frozen. Alex had just shot Frank Donner. “You…shot him.”
That was certainly against the rules.
“He was a clear and present threat to your safety,” Alex said fiercely. “I was protecting you.”
