by Lisa Pietsch
“I'll be alright. Did the guys leave any coffee?”
“I think Isabella made another pot for you. Why don't you go sit on the patio? I'll get the coffee. How about some breakfast and something for the pain too?”
Sarah turned to Vince and kissed him lightly on the lips. “No. Just the coffee now. I'll be fine. Thank you.”
If I didn't have this hole in my shoulder, I'd be in heaven right now.
She walked through the quiet house that had been so busy when the guys were still there. It still hadn't sunk in that this beautiful mansion was all hers. She walked out to the patio and sat on one of the chaise lounges by the pool.
Vince set a cup of coffee and a pill on the table next to her. “Just in case you need it.”
She grabbed his hand. “Really. I'm fine. I don't even think I need this sling anymore.” She slipped her arm out and pulled it over her head. A twinge of pain shot through her shoulder but she tried not to let it show.
Vince sat next to her on the other chaise and sighed. “Sarah, you've been shot. You don't have to suck it up. I'm not going to think less of you if you take something for the pain. Just take the meds, please?”
She held his hand and leaned back. “I don't want this memory to be clouded in a pharmaceutical haze. I want to remember every bit of this.”
“Take the pill, woman. I promise we have plenty of time to make clear memories, and we will.”
She looked into his eyes and the pain went away. Somehow, all of this seemed so right. She took the pill with a swig of coffee and closed her eyes as she faced the warm midday sun.
~~~
“You're gonna burn out here.”
“Mmm…”
A hand touched her cheek and she leaned into it.
“Sarah?”
“Mmm…”
Sarah felt his breath on her cheek
This dream seems so real.
His lips touched hers and she realized it wasn't the dream. The sound of the ocean was real. The palm trees whispering in the breeze were real. The man next to her was real. It wasn't a dream any more. The sun shone down and warmed her body. The air was fresh and warm as she breathed deeply. All was right in her world now. He was there.
She heard him breathing ever so quietly. She turned to him and opened her eyes.
Thank God, I'm not dreaming this time.
Vince was there, smiling at her. “You've been asleep for hours. Was it a good dream?”
“Very good. It isn't a dream anymore.” Sarah touched his face and pulled him closer.
His lips met hers gently at first. Tentative. Tender. He reached around her and softly pulled her closer to him. His lips were more demanding now.
She stroked his neck, his shoulders, his arm. Her fingers mapped every inch they touched. She'd waited too long for this.
Too soon, he pulled away and stood up.
“Vince?”
He picked her up in his arms. His eyes softened and a look of pain came over his face.
“What is it?”
He barely spoke in a whisper. “I can’t get that image of you, bloody and unconscious, out of my head. I thought I'd lost you.”
“Never, Vince. Never.” Sarah wiped a grateful tear from her eye.
His smile was indulgent but said he knew otherwise.
“Now you listen to me. Not a bullet, not a million miles. You'll never lose me.” Vince carried her inside, set her gently on her bed and began undressing her.
She wanted him. It was always him. It always would be. She didn't need a man to complete her, but she needed this man in her life to realize it. Now she could give herself to this man without losing her soul. For the first time in her life, she could give herself completely without losing herself in the process.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Vince watched Sarah as she opened her eyes.
She snuggled closer to him with a sleepy smile. “Good morning.”
“Yes, it is. Uh…do you remember last night?”
She kissed his chest. “How could I forget? Do you have regrets?”
“Are you kidding? This is the first time in years I woke up with a woman and didn’t want to gnaw my arm off to escape.”
Sarah winced. “Compliment?”
Vince rolled his eyes. “Very much so. How about I get us some coffee and we spend the morning in bed?”
“Oh, God yes!”
Vince slipped on his jeans and walked downstairs to the kitchen.
He pulled a carafe from the cupboard and started filling it with the coffee Isabella had made.
The low buzz of his cell phone pulled his focus from the coffee. He pulled the phone from his pocket and flipped it open with a smile. “Morning, Chris.”
Chris was tentative. “Vince, I got some bad news and you're not gonna like it.”
Vince's smile melted away and he rolled his shoulders back, preparing himself for yet another crisis. “Isn't that the meaning of bad news? Get to it, Chris.”
“The team assigned to take out Nikolai didn't.”
“What do you mean they didn't? It isn't a one-shot deal. You follow him into hell if you have to. You chase the son of a bitch down until you kill him.”
“Uh, Vince.” Chris paused.
Vince knew Chris was probably scratching his head, doing that nervous fidget he did when he had bad news. “I'm tired of dancing with you, Chris. Sarah is waiting for her coffee, and she can be downright bitchy if she doesn't get it. Just say what you have to say.”
“The team is gone. All but one were gunned down in their safe house.”
What the fuck?
“Are you shitting me? The whole team?” Vince knew Nikolai's connections were heavy but for him to escape when Victor hadn’t was a very bad sign.
We had the organization mapped all wrong.
If Nikolai knew about the bust on Victor, as well as the team following him, then he had to be higher up on the food chain than Victor. Much higher. “Jesus, Chris. You know what that means?”
“Yeah, they gave us a bad organizational chart among other things.”
“We've got a hot one who knows who we are and what we do. We've been made.”
Chris sighed. “I know. What do you want us to do now?”
“You and Brian get to the Camp. Make sure you aren't followed. Put Will and Jason on a private flight to escort Sarah. Do it now.” Vince hung up on Chris and hit a speed dial key.
A woman's voice answered. “Swift Imports. How may I help you?”
“It's Hennessee, priority.”
Young's gravelly voice answered on the first ring. “Hey, Vince. Nice work on the Russian. We got some great stuff here.”
Vince paced across the kitchen as he talked. “Save the bullshit, Young. What happened with Nikolai?”
“The team was compromised. Only one made it out alive and he was supposed to be the shooter.”
“Why didn't he take Nikolai?”
“He lost Nikolai right before his team went down.”
Vince ran his hand over his head. “They could, hell, they will target my team next.”
“Yeah. I'm afraid that is a possibility. How do you want to handle it?”
“Have temporary quarters made up for the team at the Camp. Chris and Brian are on their way. Sarah is still recuperating in Italy so Jason and Will are coming to get her. I'll be in touch.” Vince hung up and hit another speed dial key to call Will.
Will answered the phone before the first ring had finished. “Adams.”
“Did Chris brief you?”
“Yeah. The boys and I are packing now. Chris is meeting us here.”
Vince gave a small sigh of relief. He heard a handgun being cleared and loaded in the background.
They'll be fine.
“What about you and Sarah?”
“She'll be okay until you and Jason get here. I'll have a couple GIS guys bunk in until you arrive. Tell Jason to pack heavy. Nikolai knows who she is, and she'll be a prime target. I'll make sur
e the GIS knows you're coming in loaded so they can clear it with customs.”
“What about you?”
Vince rubbed his chin. “I gotta go solo on this. He's expecting a team.”
“I don't like it, brother. I'll go with you.”
“No. You need to take care of the team. You're in charge now. Once we nail Nikolai, Sarah and I are out.”
Will sighed. “Alright, but I need daily status checks.”
“No problem.” A phone call every day to make sure he was safe was exactly what he would have required. Vince hated the position they were in, but he was relieved to know Sarah and the boys were in good hands with Will taking the lead.
“Watch your six, leatherneck.”
“Always.” Vince hung up with Will and immediately called Angelo's commander to brief him of the situation. He was given the names and descriptions of two GIS officers who would arrive shortly to guard Sarah while she waited for Will and Jason to arrive. He passed on the details to Isabella in case they came in while he was talking to Sarah.
Now to tell Sarah. What the hell do I tell Sarah?
Vince didn't want to lie, but he knew if he told her the truth she would want to come along and wouldn't take no for an answer.
I have to lie.
Vince finished pouring the coffee as Sarah walked into the kitchen. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, I was just on my way up. Are you okay?”
Sarah smiled and walked toward the table. “Yeah, I'm fantastic. You took a while so I thought I’d better hunt you down.”
Vince pulled a chair from the table for her. “Good instincts. Have a seat. I need to talk to you.”
~~~
Sarah blinked hard and cleared her throat. She knew the goodbye was coming. A lead ball formed in her stomach. “So when do you have to leave?”
Vince sighed and held her free hand across the table. “I've got a deal to put together in the U.A.E. this week. I'm flying out this afternoon.”
A sharp pain stabbed at her chest, and Sarah drew a quick breath. The bullet wound didn’t hurt nearly as much as his leaving.
Vince jumped out of his chair and appeared by her side in a flash. “Sarah, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tender.” She stood so she could be closer to him, if for only a few more minutes.
Vince wrapped his arms around her and cleared his throat. “Listen, since I have to go, I'm having Will and Jason come get you. I don't want you staying here by yourself.”
“Why? The estate is secure. Angelo had a state of the art security system and there’s a guard monitoring it. I have a staff if I want company. I don’t need Will and Jason here to amuse me.”
“I just think it would be best. Please trust me on this?”
Sarah looked over Vince's shoulder to see two Italian police standing in the next room. “Vince, who are those guys in the sitting room?”
“They're with the GIS. Angelo had some things in his office. They're just gonna hang around until Will and Jason get here.”
My bullshit meter is going off the charts. Protection. They're here for protection.
“Who are they here to protect me from?”
Vince stepped back, pulled a box of cigarettes from his cargo pocket and dropped his head. “Jesus, woman.” He tapped a cigarette from the box and lit it. His eyes met hers and she could see he was trying to keep the truth from her. “Why can't you just go with the story?” His shoulders dropped in defeat.
“Because your storytelling sucks. We agreed we're leaving this job together and now you tell me you're working on some deal in the U.A.E.? Either this is a really over the top way of dumping me now that you've had me, or some shit has hit the fan and you're on the clean-up crew. No bullshit now.” Sarah braced for bad news and waited for Vince to tell her what was really going on.
He took a deep breath and exhaled before beginning. “We got a bad organizational chart from intel. It turns out Nikolai was higher up than Victor and we got made. The team in Russia that was supposed to take him down got hit and there was only one survivor. He didn’t get Nikolai.” He ran a hand over his head. “You and the guys are going to bunk at the Camp for a few days until we can get a bead on Nikolai and clean this up.”
Sarah didn't like what “you guys” meant. It implied Vince’s absence. “And where will you be?”
Vince took a long drag from the Marlboro and exhaled loudly. He looked into her eyes and touched her cheek. “I'll be the one getting the bead.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
At the sound of the car horn, Sarah followed Vince outside. The taxi was waiting. An emptiness inside threatened to eat her.
One more goodbye. When will they stop?
Vince stopped just outside the front door and turned to face her. He took her hand in his. “Goodbyes are so awkward.”
“Then don't say goodbye.” Sarah’s stomach churned and dread washed over her. “Just don't say it.”
Something tells me I'm not going to see him again.
Vince dropped his bag and reached around Sarah's waist pulling her close. “I'll finish this soon and then it'll be sweet liberty with breakfast in bed and lunch by the pool every day.”
She ran her right hand up his chest and around his neck. “And the hammock. Don’t forget the hammock.”
Vince pulled her closer. “Yeah, you’re gonna look good in that hammock.”
Sarah nuzzled his neck. “You paint a nice picture, leatherneck. Just watch your six and come back alive.”
“Always.” Vince touched her lips gently with his then whispered in her ear, “I love you.”
Before his words registered in her mind, Vince grabbed his bag, ducked into the taxi and told the driver to go.
Sarah closed her eyes and said a little prayer for his safety before turning to walk back into the house. “I love you too.”
~~~
Vince stepped out of the taxi and shouldered his bag. He looked around to see what other cars were arriving behind him, then handed the driver a handful of bills for the ride and walked into the airport terminal. He scanned the crowd for anyone who looked suspicious.
Too many people. Too many to tell.
He checked the monitors for the next flight to Moscow.
That'll be the place to start if he doesn’t find me first.
Vince made his way to the Czech Airlines desk and purchased a one-way ticket. The attendant seemed distracted.
Not a good sign.
The hairs on the back of Vince's neck stood on end. He took a quick look around before accepting the boarding pass she handed him and started making his way to the departure area. Vince just passed through security when he felt something hard in the small of his back.
Shit.
“Don't cause a scene. See that door to your left?”
“Yeah.”
“Walk through it.”
Vince walked through the service door and looked for anything he could use as a weapon.
Everything went black.
~~~
Isabella laid out a beautiful dinner on the patio in honor of Will and Jason's arrival. Sarah had to admit she loved having Isabella there to manage the house. Because she’d worked so long for Angelo and was cleared by the GIS, Sarah thought it was only right to keep her on.
The patio was quiet and none of them spoke much. Sarah guessed they were probably just as concerned about Vince as she was. They had just begun to eat their dinner when Isabella walked out onto the patio. “Signor Adams, there is a phone call for you in the study.”
“Thank you, Isabella.” Will shot Sarah a curious glance as he left the table.
Something pulled at Sarah’s gut. She gave Jason the same curious glance. “Who would call him here?”
Jason shook his head. “This can't be good.” He pulled a Beretta out from under his pant leg and set it on the table between his plate and Sarah's.
There was something she and Jason both found reassuring about cold steel with the sa
fety off.
After what seemed like hours, Will returned and collapsed in his chair. He tossed the rest of his Scotch down in one gulp, took a deep breath and delivered a body blow. “That was an agency friend in Rome. I've got good news and bad news.” He pushed his fingers through his hair and held his head for a moment while staring at nothing in particular.
Will always has it together. Whatever the bad news is, it must be really bad.
Sarah set her wine glass down with a shaky hand. She and Jason both spoke at the same time. “Bad news.”
“Now we know why Vince hasn't called. He's been kidnapped.”
Sarah's eyes opened wide. “He what?”
Nobody kidnaps a Marine!
“Yeah, a couple guys took him at gunpoint from the airport. A core collector for the agency in Saudi got wind that a couple guys brought him into the country on a private airstrip. We know the agency will disavow any connection with him if a ransom is demanded. So far, none has.”
Sarah came unglued. “Well we can't just let him disappear like that! What are we going to do about this? What can we do? Will, can this friend of yours help us?”
Jason put a calming hand on Sarah's shoulder. “Hold on. Let's get the whole story, Sarah.”
Will continued. “You'll never guess who the strip belongs to.”
Jason sighed. “Nikolai.”
“Yeah. That's all the information my guy passed on. Young was informed of this about two hours ago and instructed to share none of it with us.”
“So Young won't be any help.” Jason leaned forward on his elbows.
“Right.”
“So what's the good news, Will?” Sarah would take anything at this point.
“The good news is there is a guy at the embassy in Saudi who can tell us where Vince is.”
Sarah felt a wave of relief. “Ok, so we know where he is. What do we do now?” She leaned forward and watched Will closely so she wouldn’t miss a word.
“Sarah, you're already on convalescent leave. Jason and I are technically on vacation while we're staying with you here.” Will rolled up the sleeves of his Oxford. “I've already called Chris and he and Brian are both taking some vacation time effective immediately. As far as Young knows, we're all enjoying some down time in Italy while we're reviewing resumes of possible replacements.”
