McMannus put up a good fight, used a knife to try to get Reid in between the ribs and nearly succeeded. But Reid shifted, let the knife slash at air before turning McMannus’s arm. McMannus grunted with surprise as he saw his knife sticking into his own chest. Reid yanked it out and pushed it back in, hard, with a twist, finishing the job.
And then he heard the shot and turned, saw Jack had taken out one of the other men. The third, the one Reid had thrown off, was attempting to stagger up.
Reid lunged for him, grabbed him around the neck, held him in place and put a knife to his throat. “Where’s Chambers?” he demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“What about Crystal?” Reid asked.
“Don’t know anyone by that name.”
“Bullshit.”
“I work for Chambers. I do what he asks. I’m for hire, just like you,” the man spat at him.
“You are nothing like me,” Reid told him.
“Reid, there are airline tickets here,” Jack called. He was next to Grier, trying to comfort her. “I found them in this guy’s pocket. Florida.”
Reid’s blood ran cold. He knocked out the man in front of him, because he couldn’t kill him in front of Jack and expect the man to look the other way. He’d have to be content knowing two of the three had gotten what they deserved and this one would spend serious time in jail, with Teddie’s testimony.
He let the body drop to the ground heavily.
Crystal had known Grier was coming to him, and now Chambers and his men were involved too. Where was Crystal? Was he taking Chambers to Florida? How would he even know where Kell was?
Because he’s damned good at his job. And maybe Reid was overreacting, but better safe than sorry.
Florida. Crystal had found a way around Reid that none of them had considered.
He looked over at Grier, who was watching him as Jack held her hand, a glazed look in her eyes. He saw the syringe lying on the ground near her.
They could’ve given her anything—she looked half-paralyzed, and maybe it was GHB or another drug meant to disable her.
It appeared Crystal had wanted her beaten to death, wanted her helpless while it was happening.
The man was as good as his word. He must’ve followed Grier—and by default, Reid—to Chambers and figured out a way to align himself with him. Crystal wouldn’t give a shit about the outcome of what happened to Teddie or Chambers himself. This was simply a way in to harm Dylan, and all the rest of them by association.
“Help’s coming, Grier—you hang on,” Jack told her.
She didn’t say anything but her mouth opened and closed, like she wanted to. Reid moved closer to her and Jack said, “I’m going out to the street so they can find us more quickly. Stay with her.”
Reid nodded. With Grier at hand, he dialed his phone quickly. Dylan picked up on the first ring with an expectant hello and Reid jumped right in.
“Dylan, you’ve got to get in touch with Kell for me, however you can. I think Chambers’s met up with Crystal … I found his men with tickets to Florida. To Miami. Fuck, Chambers could’ve been calling me from Miami—he might’ve had the address long before I gave it to him, from Crystal. That’s intel Crystal could’ve gotten.”
“A storm’s not going to stop Crystal.” Dylan cursed, but Reid hung up before he could say anything else. As soon as he found out Grier’s status, he’d be on the next flight that would get him as close to Florida as possible. Probably have to land two states away and drive because of the storm, but he’d do it. For now, he cradled Grier and said, “Don’t you dare leave me now,” heard the urgency in his own voice.
“Don’t feel … pain,” she told him in an attempt to reassure him.
“They drugged you, honey. You’re not dying, you’re just numb. Keep breathing, dammit.” He shook her, hard enough to make her gasp in a breath. “That’s it, more of that. I need to see some color in your cheeks.”
He heard a siren in the distance. “Can you hear that? Someone’s coming to help you—we’ll get you to a hospital and you’ll be good as new.”
She looked up at him, slurred, “You knew this would happen. You think I’m terrible at my job.”
“No, sugar. Not even close,” he said softly. Stroked her hair and fought the urge to pick her up and run with her to the closest hospital. “Just try to stay with me.”
“Stay with you … I couldn’t keep up with you.”
“You’re fighting a losing battle, no one’s ever been able to—part genes, part training.” He watched her eyes, which were glazed. “Besides, you got me to come to you.”
“Pity,” she shot at him groggily.
“You wish. Listen, I don’t come back for people I pity.”
“Angel … saved me.”
Angels. Motherfucking guardian angels.
He guessed he’d owe them another one if they got Grier to a hospital safely.
Kell started to make them something to eat and Teddie went to shower. She stood under the hot spray, feeling sore and stiff but somehow far lighter than a week ago.
She was more alive, if that was possible, even living under the constant threats. Wanted to get out, do things, wanted to take her life back, immediately.
Would Kell be included in that? She would let him … but would he let himself?
He was still angry—mainly at himself for revealing too much, and she understood that. It was not easy to let others see the demons of the past, and the storm around them seemed to mimic one that was just beginning for both of them.
It was far from over—both their personal storms and the one battering the coastline. What they were experiencing now was the eye of the storm. When she’d been in the embassy, she’d had a false sense of calm when this had happened, hadn’t realized that the worst was yet to come.
Now she recognized that was entirely possible, but she also realized that good things might actually come after the storm finally passed.
Kell had said he needed to discuss the next stage of their plans with her. There was a state of emergency in Florida at the moment, which meant they were still in this safe little bubble for a while.
But the next steps … she had no idea what they might be.
She was restless, wanted to make love with Kell again, but approaching him now seemed akin to standing naked in a storm. And so she walked around Riley’s house—it was quite modern, without a lot of personal photographs at all, like a beautiful shell, and Teddie could see why Riley no longer spent time there.
Kell mentioned that she and Dylan lived together in upstate New York, that this had been her place when they’d been separated. Teddie wondered if their road had been tough. She’d learned enough about the tight-knit group of friends Kell and Reid shared to realize that the women who stayed with these men had to be extraordinary.
Did she have that inside of her? If Kell decided not to bail on them all, she hoped she’d be given the chance to find out.
She let her hand brush along the objects decorating the shelves in the living room. Riley collected many things from all over the world—Teddie used to do the same.
All of those things were in boxes in storage, because when she was working, she never had a home base. She’d never been in any one place long enough to call it home. The nomadic lifestyle had worked for her.
Once the protection had started, there had been no going back for her belongings. She didn’t know what had happened to them and hadn’t wanted to ask.
Possessions had never defined her, but the thought of losing them all did make her a little sad, thinking about what she’d given up over the years.
When she picked up a photo of a woman and a young girl, she found something she couldn’t resist. Behind the large frame, pushed into a corner was a camera case. Tentatively, she pulled it forward and took it in hand, careful to replace the frame where she’d found it.
For a few minutes, she didn’t open the case. A fear ran through her—maybe she’d lost her touch and
wouldn’t be able to take the kind of photos she used to … or maybe she’d love it as much as she always had and it would be too hard to give it up a second time.
In the end, the camera won. She held it in her hands, feeling its weight. It wasn’t digital, and had nearly a full roll of film in it.
She’d owe Riley for this. But taking photos in here wouldn’t be satisfying unless she could take some shots of Kell, and he was certainly in no mood for that.
She went to one of the French doors that led to the deck and unhooked the hurricane shutter and moved it away to stare outside, saw the sun and could almost feel its warmth. The urge to leave the house was strong, but she resisted, because this was far from the aftermath of the storm.
It was ridiculous to think that making love to Kell and spilling her secrets had set her free from her storm phobia. Her heart pounded as she touched the handle on the door and opened it. She could see the palm trees still swaying and the wind whistled, but it wasn’t as fierce or furious as before.
She’d survive this storm … and she’d come out stronger for it.
Even though the brunt of the storm would hit them soon, they were still safe. She let that comfort her for a long moment as she basked in the salty air and began clicking on the beautiful destruction that lay all around the house—life and death, all wrapped together, clinging to the last moments of the brilliant rain. She snapped the pictures with a vengeance.
It was so nice to hold a camera again. She stared into the viewfinder and felt like she was finally standing upright again.
There was a man walking along the beach—slowly, watching at the water like he didn’t have a care in the world. She took a few shots of him, because the background of the setting sun and the debris on the beach, coupled with his lanky frame caught her eye. Maybe he was a surfer or a local or a stranded tourist. It didn’t matter.
For the moment, she felt as free as he was.
CHAPTER
16
Grier lay in the hospital bed feeling vulnerable as hell and hating herself for it. She shifted and winced and tried her best not to be more annoyed with the nurses, doctors and even her own team for forcing her to stay in this place for a twenty-four hour observation.
All for a stupid concussion. She’d had them before. Once they’d flushed the drugs out of her system, she felt much better. Well, semi-better, except for the bruised ribs, which hurt when she moved, or breathed. Those men had had a time with her, for sure. The only thing that had saved her from breaks was actually the drugs—they’d relaxed her body to a point that she didn’t resist the punches.
She’d looked in the mirror once, when the nurse had helped her into the bathroom—her face was a mess on the right side, purple bruises that would soon turn ugly green and yellow, and her eye was swollen, as was her bottom lip.
Her body had fared equally badly in terms of being Technicolor right now, but she’d been lucky.
If she hadn’t trusted Reid …
You did.
He’d been with her when the ambulance came, but he’d deferred to Jack riding with her.
“Don’t want to get you in trouble, sugar,” he’d drawled softly, had extricated his hand from hers, and it was only then she realized she’d been literally clinging to him.
The ride in the ambulance had been hellish, the drugs beginning to make her jumpy instead of calm and the EMTs wouldn’t give her anything to counteract their effects until a doctor examined her. And even though they had the attackers’ syringe, they still couldn’t be sure exactly what was in it, so after the flush, she couldn’t take anything stronger than Motrin and Tylenol until they were sure she’d been fully detoxed.
The doctors promised her more painkillers within the next few hours. So for now, she remained as still as possible, even though her body continued to feel restless. She clicked through the TV channels, flipped through a pile of magazines aimlessly … knew all the while that nothing would satisfy her until she left this place.
“They’re gonna have to tie you down by nightfall.”
His drawl was slow and sweet like honey and she could almost taste him. Reid stood in the doorway, holding flowers.
“Any way you can sneak me out of here? They’re talking about keeping me for twenty-four hours at the minimum.”
Reid looked like he was considering it. “I hate hospitals too, but I think you’re right where you need to be.”
“You’ve had a couple of rough days too, you know.”
He walked into the room then, set the flowers on the rolling tray in front of her.
She tried to think of the last time a man gave her flowers and came to the conclusion that it had been never. “They’re beautiful—thanks.”
“Would’ve brought ammo but I didn’t want to cause a scene.”
He was serious and she wanted nothing more than to pull him into the bed with her.
Now, that would certainly pass the time a lot faster.
“I wish I’d gotten there sooner,” he said quietly as he stared at her face.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she lied, and he gave her a small half-smile.
“You’ve got to be careful, Grier. Crystal sent Chambers’s men to get you. He’s serious as hell, and he’s not stopping.”
Reid hadn’t moved and she was about to snap back some kind of You think I can’t do my job retort, but she didn’t. Because he was right. And he was telling her so out of concern, not disdain.
Crystal wasn’t an ordinary street criminal. He was as highly trained as Reid, and she’d seen what he could accomplish. “How did Crystal and Chambers start working together?”
Reid hesitated for a long moment and then said, “Crystal followed you, and you followed me. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to discover Chambers’s connection to Teddie’s case.”
“Shit.”
“Has he contacted you again?”
God, she didn’t want to tell him—hadn’t wanted to tell anyone, but Jack had been monitoring her phone and he’d been the one to listen to the message. “Yeah, he called. He threatened me. He said, ‘Job’s not done.’ ” She couldn’t bear to see the pained look on Reid’s face. He turned away for a few moments, and she heard him muttering something to himself.
“What kind of protection are they looking to give you?”
“I turned it down.”
He whipped around to face her. “You are fucking crazy.”
“He’s after you too,” she reminded him. “Does that not worry you? Or are you going to tell me you can handle yourself?”
To his credit, he didn’t say that, although she was one hundred percent sure it’s what he thought. Instead he told her, “Crystal doesn’t like loose ends of any kind, no matter how small. He won’t stop until either you or he is dead.”
“Then I’ll make sure it’s him.”
“You’d better.” Reid looked as though he wanted to say something else but he remained silent. Instead, he touched her knee through the blankets, a comforting rub with a big hand. And then he finished with, “Rest up,” and he walked out with a quick glance over his shoulder.
She stared at the flowers, saw the card attached. Pulled it out and found a note and phone number on the inside.
We can protect you.
She didn’t doubt it, even though she wasn’t sure who the we entailed, beyond Reid.
When she turned the card over, she saw a series of numbers—four of them, listed one under the other. They looked like they might be bank accounts. And they were written by the same hand as the flip side.
A swift rap on the door made her start, pull in a too fast breath. She winced before she said, “Come in,” thinking it was Reid again.
But it wasn’t—it was her supervisor, with a man she’d never seen before. She tucked Reid’s card under the covers with her and said, “Sir.”
She tried to sit up straighter but her boss held up a hand.
“Please, Grier. Stay where you are.” He came to the bed. �
��We have some serious business to discuss.”
The satphone hadn’t been working well during the hurricane—the signals were congested, no doubt because satphones were pretty much the only comms during a natural disaster.
Instead of dwelling on it, Kell had watched Teddie open the back door leading to the pool—hadn’t wanted to bother her because she’d seemed so intent on what she was doing. Now she was outside, holding the door open with her foot. The sound of the wind was pretty deafening, coupled with the ocean roaring.
He couldn’t bring himself to call her in, lecture her … because she was taking photos for the first time in a year.
Right now, she was free. In the moment. To call her back inside would mean taking all that away … and she deserved this. He knew as well as anyone that life was full of risks, and she’d simply have to find her own balance.
Besides, he’d wanted to give this back to her, and now that she had a taste of it again, she wouldn’t be letting it go. He was sure of it.
Whatever happened now, he’d make it so she wouldn’t have to live in secret. Chambers wouldn’t take any more of her life away than he already had.
Kell moved back into the kitchen, wanted her to think she’d gotten away with something by being out here. Because that always made things more fun.
The next sounds he heard were all too familiar—to an untrained ear, they would have sounded like bombs, but they were flash-bang grenades, similar to those that had gone off with the actual bombs, which caused far more damage, at the house outside of Juarez.
Which was too big of a coincidence for his taste.
Although the grenades were loud as shit, over the wind and the surf, Teddie wouldn’t hear them or be affected by them, since she was outside. And he had to warn her—save her.
But as he tried to make his way out, he felt the pinprick in the side of his neck and clamped a hand there, pulled out the syringe. Tried to read the words on it but his eyes were already blurring from the flash-bangs and the drugs.
He thought of Teddie blithely shooting photos, being happy, and he didn’t want things to end this way. He hoped whoever was doing this would just take him and leave her.
Night Moves: A Shadow Force Novel Page 23
