And Jameson was damned proud of her.
Chapter Fifteen
Alex landed precisely when and where he expected to. There was no humping through weeds and shrubbery for him. He fast-roped into the scene, then secured his gloves and gear while the rope disappeared into the dark overhead. He’d brought a collapsible stretcher with him, but didn’t intend to use it unless the EMTs failed to show. Then he’d hike out with his men.
“Hey, Boss,” Adam called out from the open limo door. “Eric has our man ready to travel. Jameson and Maddie are good to go, as well.”
“Where are they?”
Adam nodded toward the dimly lit rear seat. “Inside rehydrating. Eating. Resting. Stuff like that. It’s been a helluva first day at work for Jameson.”
At the opposite limo door, Alex leaned in to look over the pair of grimy, weary employees, one sitting on his newly hired agent’s lap. Maddie didn’t seem inclined to move, and Jameson Tenney didn’t seem inclined to let her go. And Alex was pretty sure Maddie was wearing Jameson’s suit jacket.
Damn they looked cozy. He had one arm around her shoulder, his other hand rested on her knee. They were exhausted, their faces smudged with soot and sweat, and a hundred-mile stare in Jameson’s eyes. His head was cocked as if he were listening. At least Maddie had the grace to smile sheepishly when she saw her boss.
“Junior Agent Tenney,” Alex said as he offered his hand, which Jameson seemed to know right where to reach out and grab hold. The young man had a solid grip. He didn’t look directly at Alex; just in the right direction. “I know who abducted you two. Already have Reagan’s security footage. Lucy Shade’s behind this, and she was working with Pops Delaney, whom you terminated back at the farmhouse. Fill me in. What don’t I know?”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Stewart,” Jameson said as he straightened on the seat. “This was a publicity stunt. Shade wanted it to look as if she’d escaped two kidnappers—us—who were supposed to burn to death when her jet exploded. She needed her escape caught on film, but something went wrong.”
“It went damned right if you ask me,” Adam growled. “You lived.”
Jameson reached out for a knuckle bump, which Adam obliged. “Yeah, bro, no kidding. Don’t know why, but Delaney didn’t shoot us on the tarmac. Brought us out here to kill us.”
“Reagan’s a high-profile airport. Too many cameras. What else?” Alex demanded.
“Well, Mr. Stewart, when I came to, she and Pops were arguing. I’m pretty sure she slapped him. They were nasty to each other. When they stomped off, I knew we didn’t have much time left. Maddie crawled through the ductwork, made it outside, and…” He turned into the side of her head, close enough to kiss her as he said, “I wasn’t there, so I’ll let her tell you what happened next.”
Alex liked that willingness to share the spotlight.
Maddie cleared her throat and sat up straighter on Jameson’s thighs, her fingers interlocked on her lap. Alex couldn’t detect the hint of a blouse or TEAM polo beneath the jacket she wore. This was the craziest debrief he’d ever held.
“Boss, I, umm…” Lifting one hand, she coughed politely into her curled fingers. “I kind of changed Jameson’s plan once I made it outside. I was just supposed to run and get help, but I had another idea when I saw Delaney’s men’s cars and all those tires and the barn and all that hay—”
“You set the fire.”
Her head bobbed. “Not at first. I was going to, but that’s when I found Mr. Vlad buried in the hay. He said Miss Shade shot him, and he was hurt pretty bad, and he was bleeding, but he couldn’t breathe, so I kinda had to—”
“She fabricated the perfect bandage, Boss,” Eric declared from where he was kneeling by the man in question. “Saved his life.”
Alex look over at Vladimir, who had just given Maddie a weak thumbs-up with his IV-taped hand.
“Boss, this is Mr. Vlad,” she said quietly. “I couldn’t just leave him. I took a first-aid class a long time ago, and I remembered how to plug bullet holes and make bandages with whatever was on hand.”
Man, she was nervous, and Alex knew it was because of him. She’d always been skittish. “Settle down, Maddie,” he said calmly. “Take a breath. You did good. Might have to promote you to junior agent.”
As expected, she shook her pretty blonde head. “No, no, no. This was the scariest night of my life. Well-l-l…” She looked to Jameson. “Almost.”
“She didn’t want to bother you, Mr. Stewart, but she’s got a couple loan sharks pestering her,” he volunteered. “That’s why she’s been late to work. Mind if I take care of them for her?”
“Jameson!” she hissed.
“Stop calling me Mr. Stewart, and we’ve got a deal.”
“Yes, err, umm—”
“Boss or Alex,” Hunter supplied the missing title. “Never sir. He’ll roast your nuts over a slow flame for that.”
“I want in on that loan shark action, Jameson,” Adam said as he reached into the limo and cuffed Maddie’s biceps gently. “Should have told me you were having trouble, Mad Dog. I like shark meat.”
She almost smiled, but Alex could tell she hadn’t wanted her dirty laundry outed. He’d talk with her in private about that loan shark. See what else he could do for her.
“Mad Dog, huh?” Alex lifted a brow. “How’d you come to have Miss Shade’s limo?”
Maddie reminded him so
