“Mr. President, we’re going to be giving you a transfusion soon. Are you up for that?” Chase’s voice, although made of steel, sounded low and comforting even to the most powerful man in the world.
He nodded and licked his lips. “How?” The weakness in his voice alarmed the paramedic and made a sign to get started.
Tessa lay on the table next to him. They were practically shoulder to shoulder with a tube running between her arm and his. The pressure cuff on her arm hurt but she knew necessity demanded it to be there so her blood would flow. She gently touched the president’s hand with her cool fingers causing his head to turn slightly.
“Mrs. Scott.” There was no surprise in his voice. “Are you a member of my political party?”
Tessa squeezed his hand. “I am today, Mr. President.”
The president tried to smile before slipping into unconsciousness.
Staring at the ceiling bathed in shadows that appeared to move like giant ghosts, her thoughts flew to home, her kids and even Robert. She wondered about the new neighbors, the grass being mowed and whether or not she paid the electric bill before leaving.
Was she thirsty or hungry? Did she eat her dinner with the dashing Carter Johnson playing footsie with her under the table? The vague memory of pinching his leg as hard as she could merely encouraged him to lean in to her and try to nibble her earlobe.
Were her friends Shelly and Kate still with their soldier dates? Did they wonder where she was? Would Carter tell them they had a romantic tryst in her suite?
How much blood could she give without dying? Would they drain her like government vampires? Did her uncle lie bleeding in some rain swollen ally, dying from a combination of a gunshot wound and drowning?
Tessa felt a feathery touch on her face as tangled curls were moved aside by a calloused index finger of Chase. A year ago she would have flinched at his touch. Now she could do nothing but crave his warmth. One corner of his mouth turned up in a grin as he pulled a stool to her side. Before he sat down he checked her vitals then laid his hand gently on her cheek.
“You look like a raccoon.” Tessa hated seeing that black circles formed under his eyes.
He smiled. “How’s my girl?” Sitting unevenly on the stool made him look as if he’d do battle at any minute.
“A little scared of needles, but I guess I’ll make it.” Tessa didn’t realize she was batting her eyes again.
Chase chuckled as he rubbed a spot on his chest. He took a white tablecloth from Zoric who nodded to Tessa. “I’m going to put this over you, Tessa, so you don’t get chilled.”
She smiled at him, enjoying the way he accidently touched her with a sensual kindness.
“Needles, huh?” Tessa made a pouting mouth at his sarcastic comment. “You’re hunted down by two hit men, a favorite uncle threatens to kill the president, you get caught in the cross fire meant to kill the president and in the process you save him not once, but looks like a second time.” The grin faded. “And I guess the fact that I nearly knocked you senseless was unnerving as well.” His voice hinted at remorse.
Tessa extended her hand and opened her palm. “Chase,” she whispered. He snatched her hand as if it were a lifeline and squeezed. She pulled his hand and laid it over her heart. “So sorry. Forgive me. I’ll make it up to you.”
Chase slid off the stool and leaned down over Tessa, bringing his face inches from hers. His lips came close to touching hers. With lips trembling, she dared not speak in fear of losing control. In the last year she’d grown stronger, fighting the impulse to cave at the slightest sign of danger. The experiences a year earlier somehow cloaked her in a thin veil of bravery she knew could easily be shattered. Her training into the world of national security left a lot to be desired.
“I never meant to trick you, Chase.”
“There is something you can do to get back in my good graces.” Chase squeezed her hand then touched her hair.
Tessa nodded, trying to avoid looking at his wide expressive mouth forming a half smile like a hungry wolf. “Anything.”
“It has to do with Spider Man house shoes and flannel pjs.” His chuckle made Tessa’s smile widen until she too laughed low and soft like lovers do.
“I’m saving that one for when I steal the launch codes, Chase,” she spoke good naturedly.
This brought a laugh from deep in his throat as he stood up straight and tall only to bend back down when he’d finished. “So I guess that’s a ‘no’.”
“Get me those launch codes and we’ll talk,” she teased.
The awareness that Chase once again was but a breath away made her heart flutter. She calculated that in this position it would be dangerous to the president if she tried to resist a kiss. Was that his intention or was that her fantasy?
It’s my patriotic duty to just lay helpless and submit to Chase’s will for the sake of the president. Tessa felt her eyes begin to close as her lips parted in anticipation.
“Chase,” snapped Samantha Cordova tartly as she bumped against the table.
As if in slow motion, Chase stood to his six-foot one height and looked down at his agent with sour disregard. “Yes, Sam?” He waited for her to speak. She appeared to have been running, since her breathing grew ragged and her face carried a reddish flush. “What is it?”
She handed Chase a small laptop and spun it around. “Dr. Kelley again. Wants an update.”
Chase glared at his agent before taking the computer. Dr. Kelley’s image was already waiting for him. “Doctor.”
“How’s our boy, Captain?”
“Not sure.” He looked at the paramedic who gave a thumbs up. “Optimistic. Looks like you’ve changed clothes.” The doctor now wore scrubs and appeared to be slipping on a raincoat. “You’re not thinking of going out in this?”
Dr. Kelley nodded quickly. “The hospital is twenty minutes on a good day. I need to get started so I can be there when the president arrives. Emergency radio said in the next hour the eye of the storm will be over us. I’m going to start out if I can.”
“Too risky. Stay put until the calm. I’ll have the director send a car. He’ll know how to get you there in one piece.”
The doctor smiled mischievously. “Ahh, Captain Hunter, you do care.”
“If only you weren’t married.” Chase spoke with stoic seriousness.
“Say the word and I’ll give the old boy an injection,” she said with sexy intent.
From somewhere behind the doctor, Chase heard a powerful male voice. “I heard that Mary Pat.”
Chase chuckled. “Give Tom my best. And don’t go out until you hear from Enigma.”
Dr. Kelley saluted with flippant disregard before signing off.
Chase shoved the computer back at Sam who caught it precariously. He didn’t need to say anything. The irritation was evident. She pivoted on her feet and left.
“Old girlfriend?” Tessa said as Chase turned to check on the president. He went over the upgrade in condition before speaking. His eyes made sure the saline drip was replaced as he moved to Tessa’s side.
“Worked with her a time or two in Iraq when I was a Ranger. Back then I was a medic. She saved a lot of lives. Worked tirelessly without complaint, unless she couldn’t get supplies or meds for the wounded. Then you’d better duck. Patched me up more than once after I joined Delta Force. The woman was a miracle worker. Got to know her family after she was assigned to the president. Good people.”
Tessa remained silent, listening to the rhythm of his voice; how it deepened at times then became flat and unemotional. She watched how his mouth moved when he spoke with the bottom lip sometimes protruding slightly as if thinking before he released a word. The quiet tone he now used masked a dangerous situation surrounding them, yet she felt comforted listening to reminisces about Iraq and Dr. Kelley.
She followed him with her eyes as he left her side. He walked about the room checking on a few agents who were wounded but refused to leave their post. Occasionally, Chase laid a hand
on a shoulder or checked an abrasion, adding a few words and a nod before moving on to another matter. After every quick exam his eyes drifted back to her and she rewarded him with a smile or an “okay” sign.
“Almost done,” he declared opening a bottle of water. “I think we may have gotten a little over three pints of blood.”
He began removing the tube from her arm as the paramedic did the same for the president. Pulling the table away from the president another paramedic was able to bandage Tessa’s arm as Chase slipped an arm underneath her back to lift her to a sitting position.
When Tessa squeezed her eyes shut and braced her hands down on the table he tightened his hold around her shoulders. “Careful. You’re going to be pretty woozy for a while. Drink this.” Holding the bottle of water up to her lips he watched her drink, trying not to notice that a few drops dripped from her mouth to her chin. “Drink it all, Baby,” he whispered.
Her eyes cut to him as she paused then removed the water from her chin that had already begun to fall on her upper chest. She shook her head. “Enough.”
“You got any more of that saline solution?” he quizzed the paramedic. He nodded and looked at Tessa holding her head. “Get a line in her,” he ordered roughly.
Tessa snatched the bottle from Chase. “Okay. I’ll drink it. No more needles.”
A devilish smirk formed on his wide mouth. “Nice to know you have a weakness.” Chase retrieved several more bottles of water before helping Tessa off the table. “Want me to carry you to a chair or can you walk?”
Tessa saw Samantha enter the room and frown at Chase’s arm around her. “I can walk.” Flexing her shoulder in stubbornness, Chase dropped his hand to her elbow. Letting herself be ushered to a folding chair someone had brought for her, Tessa decided to make eye contact with Agent Samantha Cordova. She didn’t want any trouble with her.
The two women’s brief encounter a year earlier forced Tessa into service with Enigma. A complicated relationship began to form with Chase at her side that brought out the worst in Samantha. The woman, used to getting her own way about almost everything, soon realized she was being ignored by the one man she desired.
On one level, Tessa wanted to reassure Sam once this nightmare concluded she would fade back into the woodwork. However, the catty side of her enjoyed making the most beautiful woman in the world panic.
Tessa fidgeted, feeling the sore tail bone Sam had given her when she’d thrown her to the floor. In that moment of weakness and pain, Tessa watched as a snide grin formed on the agent’s full lips. She guessed Sam was remembering the act with satisfaction.
Sam took a couple of leisurely steps her way and stopped. Looming her five foot ten inch frame over the injured and now weakened Tessa caused a smile to spread across her lips. Chase stepped away to check on the president. She was forced to look up at Sam. The attempt at intimidation was evident in the agent’s eyes.
“Comfortable? Can I get you some barbwire to sit on?” She kept her voice low and threatening.
Tessa smiled sweetly. “Yes, please. Since you ate yours for breakfast I wondered if you had any left.”
The smirk faded from Sam’s face as she pushed out her lips in a moment of thought. “You might fool the rest of these guys with that southern good girl crap, but I’ve got your number, Betty Crocker. Better watch yourself.”
Continuing to smile, her knees trembled as the woman glared down at her with lethal contemplation. “Oh, I’ve got him to do that.” She nodded toward Chase who chose that moment to look their way. “But thanks anyway, Sam. I’ll be sure to let Chase know of your offer.”
With a deep throated growl of irritation, Sam moved away as Chase came back with another bottle of water. He took the first empty one from her fingers. “You girls getting acquainted,” he asked drily, knowing full well Sam never played nice when it came to other women.
Taking a swig of water, Tessa nodded. “Thought we’d have lunch when this is all over. Of course she said I had to buy.”
His laugh caused several to turn and look their way. Trying to choke it back due to the seriousness of the situation, Chase shook his head. “You always manage to make me laugh.”
Pretending to have a new idea, Tessa gasped. “I know. I can be the agent that gets everyone in a good mood when things go wrong. I can do an internet search of national security jokes and tuck them into your mission portfolios. I’ve even got some NSA pickup lines. We can requisition some gag gifts as prizes for the funniest mishap on the job. What’a ya say?”
Chase shook his head trying to smother his laugh. “I think Carter is the only clown we need at Enigma. By the way he says you couldn’t keep your hands off him. Any truth to that?” His smile narrowed and an eyebrow arched slightly as if accusing her of something.
“All true.” She watched Chase’s smile disappear. “If I hadn’t kept moving his hands and pinching him I’m afraid I might not have made it to the balcony so I could give my uncle a clear shot at his thick head.”
Carter walked up frowning and rubbing the back of his head. “I know you’re playing hard to get. You just haven’t realized I’m a real catch.” His eyes were on Tessa, but he managed to elbow Chase good naturedly. He turned his eyes to his boss. “Just got word. The big birds are ready to go. Calm as a cucumber outside. Be on the roof in fifteen. We better get him ready. Ben is coming to join us. Wants a come-to-Jesus-talk with the prime minister.”
With a few snaps of his fingers people started hustling. Making preparations to move the president up fifteen floors by stairs needed more hands to help. Some of the agents could shoot if necessary, but many of them couldn’t lift more than a weapon at this point. Chase sent Zoric out into the ballroom for volunteers and returned with twenty young men that looked like they were in good shape.
Two of them were his own men, First Sergeant Cooper and Lieutenant Montgomery. They looked relieved to be joining the action instead of babysitting Tessa’s friends. Their clothes looked in disarray with the lieutenant’s shirttail hanging out and a smear of lipstick on Cooper’s chin. Chase eyed them with a harsh examination. Making a quick adjustment to the shirts and removable of lipstick on their cheeks from Tessa’s friends, both men stood at attention as if waiting for inspection.
“At ease, men, you’re not under orders tonight, but I do need your help.”
Both men took charge of the volunteers sending them in relay teams up the stairs to hand off the president as he was carried up toward the roof. Flashlights were duct taped to the stairway railing to offer minimum light for the transport.
Agents spread out along the way to make sure no threat against the president occurred. Several paramedics tagged along. One carried a saline bag attached to the leader of the free world as he made his ascent. The other kept a close vigil on any change he noticed in the president. The decision to send the president’s agent, John Elliott, on the helicopter became necessary for his survival.
Bringing up the rear, Chase, Zoric and Samantha followed, making sure no surprises transpired. They hoped an uneventful transport of the president to the hospital where Dr. Kelley and her team waited would move at a steady pace. Carter stayed behind to secure the area along with the Mossad. Tessa remained in the kitchen alone, sipping water, as she promised to do.
The kitchen became void of noise. Even the wind outside abandoned its onslaught against the exterior doors. The room became stale and oppressive with heat. Smells of burnt food left in hot skillets wafted lightly in the once chaotic space filled with Secret Service and Enigma agents. Only one candle remained, flickering timid threads of light around its small container. Soon it would be extinguished too and darkness would swallow the space where Tessa sat nursing a third bottle of water.
The dizziness disappeared as Tessa stretched her legs. She removed Chase’s jacket he’d wrapped around her shoulders for the second time. The temperature seemed to be rising. Looking down at her once beautiful black dress, she sighed, knowing her husband would never see her in
it. What would he think of all this intrigue? He would probably never know how close the country came to falling into economic chaos or that evil stalked the streets of Washington D.C. with her uncle leading the way. Hopefully Robert would never realize the role she played in the mayhem.
She tried to stand in slow motion and found that the room did not sway. With determination, Tessa moved to the trash can and dropped her empty bottle before reaching for a fourth bottle of spring water from the counter. It was warm to the touch. She tried to loosen the cap, but her hands remained a little weak and shaky. Running some hot water over the lid made her next attempt successful.
Two swallows and Tessa moved toward the door where evidence of more light existed. Pushing the door open she found the corridor empty. Red exit lights made eerie streaks on the wall, blending with the trails of blood that looked like a Pollock painting.
Queasiness overtook her stomach, forcing another quick drink of water. It was at that moment she knew the desperate need for air. Staggering toward the loading dock doors, she jerked one open to see two Secret Service agents. She held up a hand when one stepped to assist her, but withdrew when she rushed to the edge and began throwing up.
Someone cleared his throat before handing her a handkerchief. Nodding a thank you, Tessa wiped her mouth and face, then took another swig of water to rinse out her mouth. She was too embarrassed to look at the agents. The fact that they took several steps away to give her privacy, made their presence less intrusive. From the corner of her eye she noticed they looked into the darkness without saying a word.
Tessa began to breathe easier and managed to sip her water. She extended her hand out to let the rain dripping off the roof run across her fingers before smearing it on her face. Leaning against the end wall, she decided life would continue. The pinging of leftover water made music against something plastic in the alley.
The Enigma Series Boxed Set Page 60
