“I don’t hear anything.”
But as the noise grew closer, the
The noise grew deafening and the craft burst into view. It was the most beautiful thing she’d seen.
“Jesus, they fly that piece of crap? It looks like something out of the Vietnam era,” Liam said in dismay.
“It is. You won’t care how pretty it’s not when it saves your bacon.” The copter set down about forty yards away, the blades kicking up a dust storm because the pilot hovered, ready to take off again. “Let’s go.”
As she got out of the car, Lily recognized Blaze Kelly leaping from the open side door of the copter. The tall, muscular man had an M16 slung across his back, his dark, wavy hair blowing around his face.
She got their duffel, put the strap over her shoulder, and helped Liam get Jude out of the car. By the time they got Jude upright, Blaze was there.
“I’ve got him,” he shouted above the noise.
With that, he hoisted Jude in a fireman’s carry over one shoulder, as though he weighed nothing. The man was damned strong.
They took off, Liam jogging beside Blaze, Lily a couple of steps behind.
Just as they reached the belly of the copter, a popping noise came from behind them. A sting in Lily’s arm made her cry out and she whirled to see the big man from the resort standing by his own vehicle, firing at them.
“Get in!” She pushed Liam in the back, forward and down, sending him sprawling onto the floor of the copter. She scrambled in after him, shielding him with her body.
“Fuck! He’s shooting at us!” Liam yelled.
“Stay down!”
Blaze spun and yanked the M16 into position one-handed, never losing his grip on his fallen comrade. In a move that would’ve done Sylvester Stallone proud, he opened fire on the enemy, sending him diving for cover.
Satisfied, Blaze climbed into the craft. They were lifting into the air, spinning away, by the time he laid Jude carefully on the floor, on his back.
“Michael said he’s been poisoned?” Blaze called out above the racket.
Lily nodded, feeling nauseated.
“Sorry, we’re not equipped to treat poisoning, just a few things for wounds.”
Inspecting the stinging arm, she held it up. “Like this?”
“You’ve been shot?” Liam exclaimed. “Shit!”
Yes, indeed. In the fleshy part of her arm above the elbow. Though it bled profusely, it technically wasn’t too bad. Amazing how wounds so small could cause such pain and make her stomach flip.
“That I can take care of, temporarily,” Blaze said.
Grabbing some alcohol, swabs, and bandages, he cleaned and bandaged her arm-both the entrance and exit wounds. She supposed she should be thankful it wasn’t worse, but right now she was too wiped too care.
She wanted to get the man she loved to the safe house. The man she loved who’d never love her in return after this.
But now was not the time to give in to the black hole waiting at her feet. They weren’t out of the woods, but when this was over, she’d crawl off and hide. Cry herself dry.
After that, she had no idea.
Michael would probably fire her when all was said and done. So she’d quit before he had the chance.
The flight took forever, the trip made longer because of a stop to refuel, and she was convinced they’d all be deaf before they arrived in Tennessee. Talking was too difficult, so they did it only when necessary. Liam sat by Jude, clutching his shoulder, giving him what comfort he could.
Lily no longer had the right.
The copter finally descended, coming to rest in a valley surrounded by rolling hills. A pretty log cabin sat in the middle of the picture like a postcard, inviting.
They landed and jumped out one by one, Blaze carefully gathering Jude and carrying him inside. She and Liam trailed the big man through the house to a bedroom, where he laid Jude down and stepped back. Outside, the copter took off again.
“I heard he’s been through motherfucking hell,” Blaze said, turning questioning golden eyes on hers. Not accusing, but cautious. Like the jury was out for him.
“He has,” she said around the lump in her throat. “Part of that is my fault.”
“Oh, I don’t know. When you trace this thing back to the root-Dietz and his greed-I think there’s plenty of blame to go around. We all accepted him, answered to him as our second- in-command. Even when the signs began to show, no one did anything. The problem was overlooked until… well, this.”
This was Lily, shot. Jude lying pale and still, lashes rested against his cheeks, dark smudges under his eyes. His hair spilled like blood around his head. His sleep was unnatural, his chest barely rising and falling.
Perching on the edge of the bed, she checked his pulse. Too fast and shallow. He might recover at this point, or he might not.
Look what I’ve done to you.
“You guys want something to drink? I can check the fridge,” Blaze offered.
“No thanks,” she said.
“Me, either.”
“All right. I’m going to stand watch outside. Oh, take this, just in case.” He pulled a SIG from the small of his back and laid it on the nightstand. “Yell if you need me.”
When the agent was gone, Liam looked her straight in the eye, no trace of his warmth or humor present. “I think it’s time you told me a story, don’t you?”
“I deceived you both, from the start. I was sent to kill him.”
Liam sucked in a shocked breath and hung his head. He didn’t say a word, just listened as the whole fantastic, ugly truth came to light. Weapons theft, espionage, Jude finding out one of the bosses had done it, then his being framed, his mind swept. Liam knew the rest.
“You’re telling me Jude is some secret agent for this SHADO group? An assassin?” He shook his head.
“Yes. When you think back on everything, I’m sure you’ll see the pieces fall into place. The trips, how he’d come home in knots afterwards.”
“Why didn’t he ever tell me? I thought he trusted me,” he said in a hurt voice. “I never would’ve said a word.”
“Oh, sweetie, he didn’t want to see you hurt. If you didn’t know about his other life, you had less chance of being used against him. Now that you do know, he’s going to worry.”
“He might send me away.” His chin quivered.
“No, I don’t think that will ever happen. Even if you make up with Dev and Geneva, he’s not going to let you go far. He and Dev will protect you.”
“You think so?”
“I’m positive. We just have to focus on getting him better right now.”
Liam swallowed. “What if these SHADO people decide I’m some sort of threat because I know about them? They could ice me and no one outside your agency would know.”
“You watch too much spy stuff. It doesn’t work that way-the agents at SHADO are the good guys, in spite of how this all looks to you at the moment. It’s like working anywhere else; we have our problem employees. In Dietz’s case, a bad one slipped through, and he convinced a few to follow him. But he’s the exception.”
“So you protect citizens?”
“Yes. We wipe out terrorist threats long before the media ever gets wind of them. We stop the bad guys short of their goal, or we die trying. Sounds a bit corny, but it’s what we do.”
“It doesn’t sound corny at all.”
“Liam, I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, but I want you to know how terribly sorry I am that I didn’t question Dietz’s orders sooner. We’re trained to follow orders, period, but that doesn’t erase the fact that I was wrong. You were hurt, and so was Jude.”
“I know you did what you had to do,” he said carefully. “You’re not a bad person.” He didn’t say he forgave her. Didn’t embrace her.
The pain was almost unbearable. “I’m a cold person. I’m hard, and have been for a long time. It was easier not
