Thrust

by Becca Jameson

  Ever since Alena figured out she was being closely tailed by the same two men who kidnapped her a year and a half ago, she’d been on edge. Those men wanted her back. It scared the hell out of her like no other threat they’d endured. And she knew from experience they would stop at nothing to get her. In fact, the first time they snatched her right off the street in broad daylight.

  She realized now they’d been disguised at the time. Rough. Hair longer. Like thugs. Perhaps to make it seem more random to bystanders when they kidnapped her in Russia.

  But it would appear they worked for the FSB, and if that was the case, it would explain why she didn’t recognize them this week. They were cleaned up and professional. If it hadn’t been for the taller one’s gait and the way he slapped the roof of the car, she never would have realized what was right before her eyes.

  They might not be as pleasant about it this time, either. What if their goal was revenge? Maybe they hadn’t even been hired to grab her but rather came on their own out of anger.

  Alena shuddered, scaring herself to death with her thoughts.

  When Taylor left the room to make a few calls, Alena stood also. “I need to use the restroom,” she mumbled. What she really needed was a place to have a small personal freak-out before all hell broke loose.

  She headed for the restroom, barely holding herself together. She didn’t want to panic in front of everyone. How did the others hold it together so well? After splashing water on her face, Alena stepped back into the hall.

  She needed to get a grip and go be with Belinda. The woman had to be far more freaked than Alena had a right to. Alena’s breakdown was over perceived future messes. Belinda’s cousin was currently in the hands of Yenin or his men.

  As the bathroom door shut behind her, Alena noticed the rear exit to the clinic closing several yards down the hall near Katie’s office. To the best of her knowledge, no one ever used the rear entrance.

  Alena hesitated a split second, glancing both ways down the hall, and then rushed back to Katie’s office to prove to herself Belinda hadn’t been the one to walk out the door.

  No such luck. The room was empty. Taylor hadn’t returned, and Katie was with a patient. Alena was alone in Katie’s office. Belinda had left? What the hell?

  With a deep breath and against her better judgment, Alena rushed to Katie’s desk, opened the top left drawer with the hidden key, and grabbed the revolver she knew was inside. She knew because Leo put it there and lectured both her and Katie about its location in case they ever needed to know.

  She might not have considered taking the gun if it hadn’t been for Ivan showing her how to fire one. Thank God it looked to be the same sort of weapon.

  Alena grabbed Katie’s jacket off the back of her chair, slipped her arms into it, and tucked the gun into the pocket. Seconds were ticking by. She was acting on instinct. Chances of her catching up with Belinda were slim. How would she even know where to go?

  Ivan was going to kill her. No way in hell should she be doing this. But there was no time to stop and think. Seconds. She could yell for Katie. Which room was she in? Or Leo. He was probably upstairs. But if she did either of those things, Belinda would be gone.

  Where was Taylor? Shit. She couldn’t see her or hear her voice. She might have gone to another room for privacy? Or upstairs?

  “Hello?” she called out to the hallway at large.

  Nothing.

  Dammit.

  No way would she let Belinda take off on her own. Not under the circumstances. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to realize she had probably decided to go after her cousin on her own. Or so she thought.

  Alena silently left the office and pushed through the exit door.

  There she was. Belinda. Walking casually down the alley between the buildings, hands in her pockets, head inside her hoodie. She wasn’t rushing. And thank God. If she had been, Alena never would have been able to catch up.

  Alena looked behind her toward the hall. No one was in sight. She had two seconds to make a decision. Go find Taylor or Katie and risk losing Belinda? Or follow Belinda?

  She chose the latter, slipping out the door and hurrying along the same path as Belinda. She didn’t want to look any more suspicious than Belinda, so she kept her gait at a pace just faster than her friend.

  Yeah, Ivan was going to kill her if she didn’t get herself killed first. And Mikhail would be in line right behind Ivan. This was not one of her finest plans.

  Belinda never looked back, or even to the side. She looked like she was simply interested in getting from point A to point B. And Alena followed.

  After several minutes, she realized their destination was the L station. Alena had ridden the L only a handful of times. And thank God she had ten dollars in the pocket of her scrubs.

  She smiled to herself as she thought of Ivan telling her to always carry some small bills on her person just in case. Today was apparently her just in case. And Ivan wasn’t going to like it.

  It was hard to keep an eye on Belinda, ensuring she didn’t lose her. The worst thing that could happen would be for Alena to lose sight of Belinda and not even know where she was. The last thing on her mind was making sure no one was following them.

  It wasn’t until Alena stepped onto the second train after switching at the first stop that she glanced around. Belinda was in the car ahead of her, paying absolutely no attention to her surroundings at all.

  Why?

  Any number of people could have followed them. But then again, Alena hadn’t seen any more than Belinda. It was unlikely. No one had been in the alley. No one would have expected one of them to head out the back door and take off.

  And no one appeared to be watching her.

  When Belinda got off the second train, Alena followed. She kept her distance, at least far enough to avoid Belinda’s detection. By then she realized they had to be heading to her cousin’s house.

  But why did Belinda come to the FBI with the hostage demand note if she never intended to let them handle it?

  They walked several blocks, and then Alena stopped moving and ducked around a corner next to a building.

  Her breath stopped in her lungs as she watched helplessly while a man reached out and grabbed Belinda. He put a hand over her mouth and hauled her between the buildings.

  Alena froze in horror, unable to move until finally the two of them emerged and walked side by side to the end unit on the row. What the hell? She needed to pull it together. Think.

  Belinda was stiff and awkward, but other than that, no one would notice anything wrong.

  Alena remained perfectly still while Belinda entered the last townhouse with the unknown man. Alena didn’t recognize him, but she realized he had to have been waiting and watching. This would be Rena’s house.

  Why? Why the hell had Belinda decided to go it alone after she went to the FBI? Was there something Taylor said that didn’t sit right with her?

  She wasn’t going to get answers anytime soon, and it didn’t matter, either. The point now was making sure Belinda didn’t get killed or taken hostage herself. Or if either of those things happened, at least Alena would be witness to the last place Belinda had been seen.

  Alena didn’t even have a cell phone on her. It was too bulky to carry around in her scrubs and annoyed her all day. So she’d left it in Katie’s desk. If she’d had enough brain cells, she would have grabbed it with the gun, but her mind had been focused on not losing Belinda instead of the possible eventual need to make a few calls.

  Alena glanced around after Belinda entered the house.

  No one. It didn’t seem she’d been followed. No one was even walking down the street at the moment. Alena took a deep breath, tucked her hands in the pockets of Katie’s jacket, and stepped out in plain sight to walk down the row of townhomes. She needed to get closer.

  When she reached the home directly across the street from Rena’s, Alena silently stepped onto the front porch and rounded the post that supported the awni
ng. Her heart was thumping loudly. She had no plan. No idea what to do. But she did know she needed to take some sort of action.

  Where was the FBI? They would have this address by now and should have come straight here the moment Taylor realized Belinda was gone. Even if she hadn’t noticed Alena missing, she would have sent cars here immediately.

  It made no sense.

  And it scared Alena to death thinking it could be completely up to her to ensure Belinda didn’t die today.

  Why had the man been outside waiting for her instead of inside the townhouse?

  So many questions. No answers.

  After several minutes, the front door opened again. This time the man stepped outside alone.

  Shit. Alena panicked. Where was Belinda? Had he killed her? Or perhaps left her for dead inside the townhouse?

  He glanced both ways and rushed forward, nearly running to get to the steps that led down from the porch.

  Alena didn’t think. She didn’t have time.

  She pulled the gun from her pocket, aimed it, and shot.

  She knew immediately the shot missed its mark by a mile. That recoil Ivan had mentioned indeed was real. Not to mention the fact that she’d never shot a gun in her life. She hadn’t really thought to actually hit anyone, but hopefully the noise would draw attention or stun the guy into running off so she could get to Belinda.

  Seconds later, she realized how stupid she was when the guy shot back in her direction. His aim was better.

  She screamed as his bullet hit her thigh. It burned like hell, and she dropped her gun as she went down, grabbing her leg with her hand as she fell to the porch.

  Another shot went off, scaring the hell out of her. She ducked her head, covering it with her free hand as if that would somehow keep her alive. A sob escaped her throat. Oh God. What was I thinking? I can’t stop this guy. He’s going to kill me.

  With her face toward the ground, she screamed as footsteps rushed toward her and stopped right in front of her head.

  I’m going to die.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” A hand landed on her back.

  She winced before she realized the speaker couldn’t be the bad guy. He would have shot first and asked questions later.

  She twisted her neck to find a man she’d seen before leaning over her. Indian. Definitely FBI. Her eyes widened. “That guy…” She pointed across the street. “He has my friend.”

  “I know, ma’am. We’re working on it. Can you sit up?” He wrapped a gentle hand around her bicep to help her, and she leaned against the front railing of the porch when she righted herself.

  “Did he hit anyone? Where did you come from? I didn’t see any cops or FBI anywhere. I was so scared.”

  The man shook his head. “No. I got him.”

  “You shot him? That last shot was yours?”

  He nodded, lowering his gaze to her thigh. “Let me see what we’ve got here. My name’s Eshan, by the way. I’m with the FBI.”

  She lifted her hand, wincing at the pain. Her scrubs were soaked with blood, and she nearly fainted to see it. She lifted her gaze away, settling it on the front window of the townhouse whose porch she occupied. A woman stood in the window holding the curtains back and looking out at her. The older lady with short, white hair jumped back when Alena met her gaze.

  Eshan ripped a larger hole in her scrubs and pulled something from his back pocket to hold over the wound. “Superficial. The bullet grazed you. I know it hurts like hell, but it’s not as bad as all the blood would indicate. Hang tight.”

  She gritted her teeth, trying to replace the visual of all that blood with something more appealing. Like Ivan.

  No. That wasn’t more appealing because he was going to kill her when this was over. So was Mikhail.

  “Ambulance is on its way.” Eshan set a hand on her arm and squeezed. “Stay with me. Don’t panic.”

  She nodded vigorously as if she could stop the panic from rising by agreeing. She could hear the sirens in the distance. “Belinda…” she gritted out.

  “Working on it. SWAT just entered the house.”

  She lowered her gaze to find him staring across the street. “Where did you all come from so fast?”

  He smiled and glanced at her before looking back. “We were here already.”

  “Really? Geez. I didn’t see anyone. I was so scared for Belinda.”

  “Have you ever shot a weapon before?” He lifted her gun with his free hand and set it behind him.

  “No.”

  “That was obvious.” He winked at her, and then he pressed harder on her leg.

  She winced. “Hurts.”

  “Yeah. Stings. I’ve had a similar wound before. It’s almost worse than when the bullet goes straight in. But heals faster. No surgery.”

  She hoped he was right.

  Another shot rang out, and Alena screamed. She couldn’t stop herself. What if it was Belinda who got shot this time? She fought to turn around, get to her feet, see something.

  Eshan held her steady with one hand on her leg and one on her arm. “Don’t move. We don’t want you to bleed any more than necessary.” He wasn’t looking at her, though. His gaze was planted on the house across the street.

  Seconds ticked by.

  Alena didn’t move a muscle. She struggled to take each breath.

  Belinda… What if she…

  A faint voice filtered into her mind.

  Eshan released her arm to pinch something at his shoulder and speak into it. “Copy that.”

  “What? What happened?”

  He glanced back at her. “Belinda’s fine. Second suspect inside the house shot.”

  Alena breathed out. Thank God.

  Seconds later, two men rushed onto the porch and kneeled at her sides. Paramedics. “What do we have?”

  “Gunshot to the leg,” Eshan responded. “Just a graze. It’s lodged in the wall over there.” He pointed toward the front of the house.

  Jesus. Someone inside the house could have been hit.

  The blond paramedic took over, swapping his hand for Eshan’s. He peeked under the folded material at her leg and replaced the once-white square of fabric. A handkerchief? Who carried one of those anymore?

  Eshan scooted out of the way. “You’re in good hands. I’ve gotta get to the scene. Maybe don’t shoot at anyone again until you’ve had a few lessons,” he teased, winking again.

  She liked him.

  Her attention switched to the paramedic as he lifted the handkerchief and poured something over the wound.

  Alena gritted her teeth, tightening every muscle in her body. It hurt.

  “It’s not too bad. Don’t worry. The blood always makes it seem worse. Let’s get you in the ambulance.”

  She nodded. At least in an ambulance and then a hospital she would be safe. Safe from bad guys holding her friend hostage. Safe from the wrath of Ivan when he found out what stupid stunt she pulled.

  Ten minutes later, she was loaded in the back of the ambulance and moving down the street.

  Ten minutes after that, she was in the emergency room being wheeled toward the back. Two men in suits met her at the entrance and followed the gurney toward an exam room.

  When the paramedics wheeled her inside, the two men stayed right at the door, one on each side. Where Taylor rarely looked the part, these two men screamed FBI. They were not subtle.

  “You’re safe here,” the paramedic told her just before he left the room. “Those guys look like they mean business.” He nodded toward the doorway.

  And then she was alone for just a few seconds before a nurse rushed in. “I’m Stella. Heard you got shot.” She smiled broadly. Warm. Caring. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and she moved with the efficiency of someone with years of practice.

  “Not one of my better days,” Alena told her.

  She smiled again. “Guess not. But could have been worse,” she said as she removed the gauze the paramedic had taped to her leg in the ambulance. She leaned
forward to inspect the area as new blood leaked out. Not nearly as much nor as fast, but still red and mean looking.

  Alena fisted her hands at her sides where she sat propped against a pillow with the bed lifted in a sitting position.

  Stella poured a yellowish liquid over the wound. “Betadine. It shouldn’t sting much. I’m going to have the doctor on duty look at this, but I think you’ll just need an antibiotic and a bandage. It’s too wide for stitches. It will heal from the inside out on its own.”

  “Okay.” Alena winced again as the nurse replaced the gauze with a new piece.

  Two minutes later a doctor was in her room making the same assessment with the same results. He pulled up a wheeled chair and straddled it. After just seconds he spoke, “You’re going to be fine. Superficial. Some antibiotic ointment is all you’ll need. And gauze over that to keep out infection. Keep it dry for several days until the scab is formed.”

  Alena nodded. Her adrenaline was still pumping. Everything seemed to be happening in fast forward. How had a doctor gotten in to see her so quickly? If it was just a flesh wound, as they said, it didn’t need such urgent care. Not above the dozens of people she’d passed in the waiting room.

  But in no time, the doctor was done. He’d spread an ointment over the site, bandaged it with clean gauze and tape, and then sat up to meet her gaze. “It won’t hurt much by tomorrow. In a few days it will itch, but that’s about it. If the area swells or turns red, come back.”

  She nodded. Now what? She needed to call Ivan. Although there was a good chance he was already in the waiting room. No. That wasn’t possible. If he was at the hospital, he would have shoved his way back to see her.

  And besides, it hadn’t been that long since she arrived.

  She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed to standing. It didn’t hurt much. Less than she expected. Her pants looked awful. Ripped. Bloody. Disgusting.

  One of the suited men stuck his head in. “Eshan Patel is here to pick you up. Give him a few seconds to get back here.”

  “Okay.” She leaned against the bed. The world seemed to be spinning in fast forward. Was she confused, or was everything happening as fast as it seemed?