Defensive Action

by Jenna Kernan

  * * *

  HE SHOOK HIS HEAD. Haley stepped forward and checked, locating the flash drive taped to the roof of the junction box above the groupings of wires.

  She gripped the drive in her fist and turned to Ryan, elation racing in her blood with the adrenaline.

  “You got it?” he asked.

  She nodded, unable to hold back the grin as she showed him.

  He laughed and then lifted her at the waist, turning her in a circle before letting her drop into his waiting arms.

  The kiss was quick and joyful. But the celebration ended when Ryan stiffened and glanced around. They were drawing notice of the families on the mini golf course. He released her and they headed back to the GMC.

  “I have to contact my handlers,” Ryan said.

  “But you said they are compromised. They might be the ones who sent those men after us.”

  “I have friends. I can get the information to the right people.”

  “You have someone that you trust with your life?”

  “I have lots of people I trust with my life, including you. But I only have one person I trust with your life.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “My old commanding officer and the man who recruited me. Colonel Jorge L. Hernandez. He’s retired but I know he can get me help. We need to get to a phone.”

  Ryan opened the door for her and she slipped inside. As he backed out, she popped the flash drive into the USB port in the navigation system and pressed Copy. He drove them to a motel as she uploaded the information into the vehicle’s hard drive.

  The motel he chose was the sort of place that fell between classically charming and seriously behind the times. The two-story L-shaped building had balconies with those bright metal vintage chairs in various colors and hanging baskets of flowers that cascaded blossoms. Each door was painted a different color.

  They did not pull to the office but drove past the pool full of children splashing and parents relaxing in lounge chairs. He chose a spot at the end of the line of cars that already filled the lot. Then he parked and left the SUV. She slipped the drive out of the USB port and offered it to him when he rounded the vehicle.

  “Could you tell what’s on there?” he asked. Clearly he had not realized that she’d copied the drive.

  Should she tell him?

  “I couldn’t read it. But the...” But the navigation system had. “That brand of auto has something called a—”

  He cut her off. “No time now,” he said. “Tell me later.”

  She followed him to a downstairs room.

  “How are you going to get in?”

  In answer he lifted his hand and knocked. They waited in silence and when there was no response to his second try, he pressed his shoulder to the door and pushed. The door swung inward, taking a piece of the frame with it.

  “I’ll never rent a room in a place like this again,” she said.

  He clasped her elbow and hurried her inside, closing the door behind them and using the chain to keep it closed.

  The room was littered with suitcases that seemed to have been mauled by animals, judging from the clothing and personal belongings that spewed forth.

  He moved to the bed and made his call, reversing the charges. She listened as he explained their situation to someone—she assumed it was his colonel—with Spartan efficiency, leaving out all the terror and blood and death that had recently surrounded them. Haley sank down on the end of the queen-size bed, exhaustion suddenly taking her.

  There was silence as he listened, presumably to the colonel’s instructions. She heard him return the handset to the cradle. He touched her arm, startling her from her stupor. She lifted her chin from her chest and their eyes met.

  “Takashi is safe and out of the country. He made it to Toronto. Hernandez said they are still investigating the breach but it definitely wasn’t on our end.”

  “That’s good news.” Her brow furrowed. “So those two women, the hikers, were lying about capturing him?”

  “Yes. If he left the country, they could assume he had made his drop. That made me the only one who would know where to find it.”

  He rummaged through the piles of clothing on the dresser and chair, pausing occasionally to check the size of a shirt. Then he stripped. The sight of his broad back brought her brain back into focus and got her heart thumping, as well.

  She tucked the image of him half-naked away for later use and smiled. Best thing that had happened all day, next to surviving with their lives.

  Ryan shrugged into a thin button-up shirt in a check, the sort used by fisherman to keep the sun off their backs. Then he dropped his cargo pants and stepped into navy blue shorts. They were the sort with multiple pockets that dads wore on vacation. On Ryan, they gave a completely different look. He continued to sift through the things.

  “You ever shop in a conventional store?” she asked.

  He grinned at her. “Your turn. What about this?” He held up a red sundress.

  She stood. “I can try.”

  Haley took hers to the bathroom. The dress had spaghetti straps and a V-neck. The size was right and the fabric was spandex so it clung to her torso and hips. When she returned she had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes bulge.

  “Holy smokes! That looks good on you.” He lifted a pair of sandals. “Will these work?”

  “For walking, not running.”

  “We are walking out of here and tomorrow we’ll have transport.”

  “This dress makes me look like a target.”

  “It will definitely make me invisible.”

  She grinned. “So I’m your...”

  “Diversion.” He grinned, coming to put his hands on her waist and turning her slightly from side to side. “No bad angle.”

  She met his gaze and her smile dropped away. The intensity, the sheer heat of that look, melted her.

  “This is stealing,” she said.

  “It’s called commandeering,” he answered.

  She felt only mildly guilty as Ryan tossed a spray deodorant, comb and toothpaste into a small carry-on suitcase.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Where are we going?”

  “My friend got us a room at the Gideon.”

  She whistled. “Swank.”

  “You know it?” he asked.

  “It’s in Saratoga Spa State Park. We used to drive past it on the way to SPAC.”

  “SPAC?”

  “Saratoga Performing Arts Center. We would go to SPAC for concerts. It’s an outdoor amphitheater. Just great. Anyway, we would drive through the park. Dad always made us stop to drink the water and...” She looked away.

  “And...” he encouraged.

  When she turned back her eyes were glittering as water tested her lower lids but she went on.

  “Maggie always went first and said how sweet it was, and bubbly. Then I’d drink, as if I didn’t know what was coming and make a big show of how terrible it tasted.” The tears fell in unison and rolled down her cheeks.

  “Sulfur?” he said.

  “Yup. Every time. Hard to believe that folks came, still come, to taste the waters.”

  “To bathe in them.”

  “Yes, but to drink them, too. They used to bottle it and sell it. It’s naturally carbonated. But the wells, groundwater I guess, got too low and the state stepped in. You know it’s the only natural geyser east of the Mississippi?”

  “How do you know?”

  “Dad. He loves New York State history. The Revolutionary War is his bailiwick.”

  “Now there’s a good old word.” He extended the handle of the carry-on and then offered his elbow. “Shall we?”

  He paused at the open cement staircase just past the ice and vending machines.

  She glanced longingly at the display of cold drin
ks. Why didn’t she realize how thirsty she was until right now?

  “Want something?”

  “I don’t have any money.”

  He reached in his pocket and pulled out several bills, then fed them into the machine. She knew where he’d gotten that cash and hesitated.

  “Oh, take it.”

  “Will you find that family and reimburse them?”

  He sighed and then nodded. “Yes. Okay. Now pick something.”

  “Police will be here over that break-in.”

  “Yup. And we will be long gone.” He motioned for her to continue before him to their vehicle. Once there, he held open the door for her. Must be the dress, she thought and climbed into the seat.

  “Do you think the police caught Hornet and Needle and... Was there another one?”

  “There was.” His smile was chilling. It reminded her that they were not out on a date to the fanciest place in town, but fleeing hired killers. And Ryan, he was one of the good guys, but that smile seemed to indicate he enjoyed his job a bit too much for her liking. What was she even doing here with him?

  Why had he come back? It made no sense.

  “Why did you come back for me before you collected the flash drive?”

  His knuckles flexed on the wheel.

  “You saved me. Just returning the favor.”

  “Favor or obligation?”

  “What?”

  “I’m wondering if I am like one of your men. Your responsibility. The ones back there that you said trusted you to keep them alive. I’m like them.”

  He shook his head, but his jaw was clamped tight.

  “You ever work with a partner?” she asked.

  He glared at her and then returned his attention to the road.

  “Have a long-term relationship since coming home?”

  “What are you, my shrink?”

  “Did you have one of those?”

  He stared out the windshield. “A few. It’s required on occasion after fieldwork.”

  “Well, I’ve had more than a few. After my sister’s death they introduced me to something called survivor’s guilt. I’ve spent enough time talking about my guilt to wonder if maybe you are burying yours behind a revolving door of dangerous assignments.”

  He hit the brakes and they swerved to the shoulder of the road. Haley was tossed forward and then backward into the seat.

  “Spit it out, Haley. Stop poking at me like a piñata. What kind of guilt we talking here?”

  She swiveled in her seat to meet his glare. “It occurs to me that the risks you take might have something to do with your feelings over the men you could not save. People die in wars, Ryan. Good people, and not you nor anyone else can prevent that. Putting yourself in situations where you could die might not be so much about feeling alive as not feeling at fault.”

  “You take psychology along with those computer coding classes?”

  “Well, what do you think?”

  “I think I couldn’t bring them back. Getting killed now won’t change that.”

  But it would remove his pain, she thought.

  “True enough.”

  “So if you’re done, I have to deliver that thumb drive and get back to base.”

  “Certainly.”

  They drove back along the main drag toward the town of Saratoga Springs but cut off the highway before reaching the place she could see perfectly in her mind’s eye—Union Avenue, with the entrance to the racetrack that was the destination in August of each year. Past that, closer to town on the wide, tree-lined street, sat the grand old Victorian homes with generous front porches often only used during the summer season. They ended at Congress Park where mineral waters still flowed from marble water fountain. Instead, they took the less scenic back way to the Gideon Putnam down South Broadway and into Saratoga Spa State Park.

  The long elegant drive gave impressive views of the large brick resort and spa fronted with multiple columns and a green awning. The entrance to the Gideon Putnam was magnificent, dressed in a profusion of planted blooms bursting from the garden beds that lined the path. Enormous flower baskets sagged, spilling over with purple-and-white blossoms. They pulled up to the columns that marked the hotel’s entrance here inside the state park.

  Ryan left the car with the valet and opened her door, offering a hand as she slipped from the vehicle. Then he retrieved “their” carry-on and escorted her inside. His hand was warm and steady. Meanwhile she was trembling again as she wondered if their attackers had followed them here.

  She could not keep her head from swiveling at the lux lobby for potential threats. As they continued along, she took in the Oriental carpet, warm rust-colored walls and large cascading flower arrangements set on period tables. They followed the carpet runner past the flanking columns.

  “Been inside before?” he asked.

  “Only to the Sunday brunch, which is awesome.”

  “We’ll have to come back sometime, after you finish adventure camp.”

  “I think I’m done with adventure camp,” she said.

  “No cliff jumping or zip-lining?”

  “Pass,” she said.

  “That’s what you would have said about all of the challenges.”

  “Right now, I’m nervous about the challenge of checking in.”

  He squeezed her hand and cast her a smile that was meant to reassure but instead set off a current of electricity that seemed to lift every hair on her body. Now she was picturing him naked again.

  At the registration desk, Ryan took on a very convincing Midwestern accent, told the customer service agent that this was their first trip to the area and gave a name she had never heard of.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Terry Greenbrier.”

  After a few seconds that stretched to eternity, the young man smiled and nodded.

  “Yes, I have you both in a porch suite.”

  Mr. Greenbrier turned to his missus and gave her a chiding look.

  “Honey, a suite?”

  “Oh, you’ll love it,” said the receptionist, coming to her rescue. “French doors leading out to a private enclosed porch with views of the state park. We also have a free shuttle to the racetrack, downtown and the casino.”

  “Hmm,” he said, seeming to consider. “Sounds good. Do you have a business center?”

  They did.

  “We also have two pools on-site and complimentary use of the historic Roosevelt Baths & Spa.” He continued tapping on his console and his brows lifted. “I have a package waiting for you. If you will just give me one minute.”

  He disappeared in a back room returning with a priority box. “Here you are, Mr. Greenbrier. Two keys?”

  “Yes, and I’d like to order room service.”

  “Our kitchen is open until ten p.m.” He sent two keys into the system, loading the information to open their doors.

  “Wonderful,” said Ryan, accepting the keys and box.

  Directions were given and Ryan led her to the elevators for a short one-floor trip to their room.

  “Will you transmit the thumb drive data in the business center?” Haley asked.

  “Orders are to collect and deliver.” He opened the box and extracted a phone, identification cards, credit cards and cash.

  “Aren’t you at all curious?” she asked.

  He gave her a hard look. “No.”

  “I could probably see what’s on there. Might be time sensitive.”

  He shook his head. Was that because of orders or because he still didn’t trust her? Haley fumed at that possibility.

  He handed her an Illinois license with her photo and the name Irene Greenbrier upon it. Her jaw dropped.

  “Handy,” she said. “Who from?”

  “Compliments of Colonel Hernandez again.”

  “So if he can send this, why
can’t he send more agents?”

  “They’ll be along, as soon as he gets to my CO.”

  The elevator stopped on the second floor and they stepped from the car. Haley consulted the signage and saw the word Spa.

  “Trapped in a deluxe hotel with potential chance of spa treatment. That’s my kind of adventure camp.”

  He smiled at that.

  “You have the cash. But I don’t have word that our attackers have been apprehended. So for now, you stick close to me.”

  That did not sound like punishment. In fact, it raised all kinds of possibilities.

  He let her into the room and then followed, throwing the dead bolt. Then Ryan walked to the window and checked for an escape route. The ground below was grassy and faced the tall pines in the state park. Then he turned to face Haley, who flicked on a light on the desk. He closed the curtains, removing them as potential targets.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “Starving.”

  Ryan lifted the phone. “What would you like?”

  “Anything?”

  “Courtesy of Uncle.”

  “Steak, steak fries, salad with French dressing and their best-selling dessert.”

  “Which is?”

  “Who cares? It will be wonderful.”

  “Coffee?”

  “Red wine,” she answered.

  He nodded and placed her order and his, asking for their meal to be delivered at eight. Ninety minutes, she thought, wondering what he planned to do in the meantime.

  She had her hopes. Desires, really.

  When he lowered the receiver, she was within easy reach. He leaned in, his hand going to her lower back as he gave her a kiss that she thought was meant to be a quick goodbye. But his mouth was gentle and she stepped closer. He tugged her against him as he deepened the kiss. His fingers delved into her hair and she gave herself over to the kiss.

  Ryan drew back at last, giving her a look of speculation.

  “Don’t blame me,” she said. “You started it.”

  “Looking forward to finishing it even more,” he said.

  “Why wait?”

  His jaw dropped. Did he wonder if this was the same timid mouse who didn’t like to take chances? Dressed in red, her daring finally matched her attire.