Chapter Nineteen
Josh felt his body shift even though he had not initiated it. He remembered there was a reason to shift, but his mind refused to land on a thought and adhere to it. His wolf howled in his head to pull his shit together and wake up. They had a mate by herself in a dangerous situation, which she could handle, but they didn’t want her getting the idea in her head that she didn’t need them. They would always protect her, always be there for her.
His eyes popped open and he stared into the most beautiful hazel irises he’d ever seen. Worry filled them, then they smiled. His mate was inches from him and thinking about kissing him. He saw the hesitation, but when her pink tongue slid out. Screw it. He lifted the small distance and gently pressed his lips to hers.
Their lips met again in another scorching kiss. A kiss that deepened the strange connection they seemed to have. At least in her eyes. He seemed to think it was all normal. From the moment she saw him, she’d felt the pull to him. She knew there was something strong between them. It scared her, but it excited and pushed her to trust him at the same time. Her mind and heart told her she was delusional if she thought she could deny this. Them.
She pulled away with a smile and blush that made her too adorable. His mate was shy. That endeared her so much more to him. When she looked over her shoulder, he realized they were still in the security room of the NIA building. Shit. He’d been shot. The memories rushed in.
He rubbed his hands over his chest feeling for holes. His hands came away sticky.
“You got blood everywhere. Don’t move,” Candy said. At the water dispenser, she wet several paper towels and brought a dripping handful to him. The second the cold water hit his bare chest, he was wide awake. Goose bumps crawled over his body. “Hold still, you big baby. If you want cold, I’ll drop you in the Potomac.” He looked at her to see if she was serious. Her eyes were severe, then they rolled. “Yes, I would do that, but only if you made me mad.” She winked at him. His heart fluttered. He was in love.
Sitting up, he noticed he still had on his pants. They were shredded, and the button and zipper were busted, but they covered him for the most part. He’d have to find something else to wear if he went into public.
He looked at the wall of video images she kept glancing at. “What’s going on? What did I miss?” he asked.
Handing him another wad of wet paper towels, she wiped her hands and threw the waste into the trashcan.
“The little bastard shot Pommer’s wife for no reason other than to be a fucking prick,” she started. “Then he grabbed Pommer and they were headed for the elevators last I looked to get to the helicopter on the roof. They’d have to take the stairs since we shut down the shafts. I haven’t seen them come out the top yet.”
“Dammit,” he said, trying to stand. His legs felt like gummy worms. “They’re getting away. I need to get my men up there.”
She grabbed him around the waist and lifted. He couldn’t believe how strong she was. No wimpiness for his mate. “Your men are up there, and hopefully, set up to do whatever. I have faith they can make plans without you. Think on their feet.” She pulled out a chair and sat him in it.
“My team can do more than just think in the middle of a crisis,” he said, injecting pride into his voice.
“I’m starting to see that,” Candy mumbled. She pushed a button, changing the large monitor on the desk to the view of the rooftop. The wide angle shot covered the entire roof with one video unit. The helipad shined like the sun in contrast to the darkness around it. He couldn’t see much more than a few air conditioner units and other shadows.
A rectangular swath of light cut through the darkness where the door from the stairwell opened. One of the men slid out, gun at the ready. He quickly circled the space behind the door checking for an ambush. Josh held his breath, praying his men didn’t make a liar out of him. The gunman waved those in the stairwell out and their shadows passed through the rectangular light on the roof’s ground. Four in all.
The group hurried through the darkness between the door and helicopter. Yulian, even though short, kept a gun to the NIA director’s back. When they reached the ’copter’s illuminated area, only three of the men stepped into the light. Josh sat forward in his chair. Candy sucked in a breath.
The first guy looked over his shoulder as if hearing something. The director stopped behind him, stalling the group. The two Russians exchanged words and Yulian pointed toward the dark area. Maybe telling the guy to look for their comrade. If Josh knew his men, and he did, they had taken down their first victim without so much as a murmur or scuffle of shoes.
Yulian poked Pommer with the gun and they headed toward the helicopter. When the director opened the rear plane door, he jerked as if a loud noise had startled them. Yulian spun around and fired several shots into the darkness.
“Don’t by chance have mics on the roof, huh?” he asked.
“Nope,” she replied. “Never needed them.”
The remaining Russian pushed the director inside and slammed the door shut. Facing the darkness, holding his ASh in front of him and firing blindly into the dark, Yulian reached behind him and pulled open the pilot’s door. As he turned to get in, a black mass with shiny white teeth launched from the seat.
Josh shouted, “Sheldon. Where the hell did he come from?”
The black wolf pinned Yulian to the concrete by the neck. Josh and Candy jumped from their chairs, cheering. A wave of dizziness rocked his world and he fell to the side. Candy was there, her arms around him, setting him back into the seat. “You stay here,” she said. “You lost a lot of blood and it’ll take a while for your body to regenerate it.”
Josh opened his mouth to argue, and she pointed a finger at him and gave him the stink eye. “Don’t give me any smack, boy. I’ve eaten men like you for breakfast.” She planted a kiss on his lips and was out the door into the hallway leading to the lobby.
Wow, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow morning’s breakfast.