Chapter Thirty-six
In the back of the Humvee, Candy closed her eyes. She was exhausted. It’d been an eighteen-hour day now that it was midnight. Nothing would be better than passing out in her mate’s arms. With that thought came all the worries about him not wanting her once her got to see how she really was.
Maybe she’d take all she could in their time together, then when he left, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Well, she doubted that, but she’d deal by throwing herself into her work. Perhaps even ask for a transfer for another tour overseas. She could easily move into a commander sergeant major role with any battalion.
Josh grabbed her hand from the other back seat. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Oh, shit, she thought. The man could smell everything she felt. Damn, how would she ever get away with anything around him? She couldn’t even have a surprise birthday party without him smelling it.
“What’s wrong? I’m tired, for starters,” she said. “The list is a lot longer, if you care to take notes.”
He smiled. “Don’t need to. Eidetic memory.”
She dropped her head back and laughed. Oh my fucking god! The man was a god. There wasn’t one thing wrong with him. Nothing. Pure perfection. It felt so good to laugh.
The truck turned the corner and the street was partially blocked by federal agency vehicles in front of the NIB.
“Damn, they are still here?” she said.
Their driver tensed. “Ma’am?”
“It’s all right, soldier. There was an incident at the building earlier. These guys are still working it apparently.”
“Do you think they’ve cleaned up the roof yet?” Josh asked.
“I would’ve thought they would have, but maybe not,” she said. “Soldier, would you mind driving us to the roof of the parking garage?” She sat back. “It’ll be much quicker than going inside to the elevator. Besides, my car is parked there.”
“Good idea,” her mate said.
“Yes, ma’am,” the driver replied. She noted Josh’s grip on her hand tightened for a second.
She stared at Josh, trying to figure out what he was responding to. Maybe he needed a moral boost? “This here director’s men and I took down several uglies. Their bodies needed to be removed. That’s it.” He shook his head then glanced at the rearview mirror up front. She mouthed What? to Josh. “We make a good team,” she finished.
The director’s helicopter came into sight. The driver stopped at the bridge connecting the garage to the NIB roof. She and Josh climbed out and the soldier drove away. Josh remained standing where he got out, staring back at the Humvee.
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head again and shrugged. “Nothing, I guess I must be overly tired too.”
A guy wearing an FBI jacket stood on the roof, staring at the floor. He looked up when they crossed the metal bridge. He offered his hand to her first. Smart man. “Sergeant. I’m Agent Mike Ward, FBI.”
“Good to meet you. I’m Obermier.”
Ward turned to Josh and gave him a nod. “Good to see you, Director.”
That surprised her, though she wasn’t sure why. “You know each other, obviously.”
Josh smiled. “Yeah, he’s one of us.”
Her brow raised. “Us, us?”
“Mike, this is my mate, Candy. Found her this morning.”
The agent’s face lit up with happiness and he gave Josh a manly hug/slap on the back. “That’s fantastic, man. I’m so jealous.” She hadn’t realized how big of a deal it was—
A gunshot rang out and all three dropped to the ground. Josh and she were near the helipad while Mike was several feet away, closer to the door leading into the building. “What the fuck now?” Candy growled.
“Mike,” Josh called out, “you all right?”
“I’m hit, but will survive,” he said.
“Get behind one of the air ducts. Try to get inside the building. Stay low,” Josh instructed.
“What about you?” Mike said, scooting away.
This man was injured and worried about her and Josh. “Don’t worry about us, Ward. Just go,” Candy said.
From the garage, the soldier who’d driven them here strode out with ammunition and automatic weapons. Rifle pointed at them, he stopped in front of the couple, still on the ground.
His face was twisted into a snarl. “I should fucking shoot you both, right now, and let the birds eat your fucking guts.” He hitched back his leg and kicked toward her head. “You fucked up everything.” Josh caught his foot, sending him to the ground. He kicked with his other foot, making Josh release his hold, then scooted away. Through it all, his rifle was steady enough to shoot.
He looked around. “Where did the other go?”
“You hit him,” Candy said. “He’s probably dead already.” Partially behind, partially on top of her, Josh cursed quietly. She could tell he was pissed off about something. This wasn’t his fault. He shouldn’t get overly stressed about what he couldn’t control. She snorted to herself—like she should be giving anger advice to him.
The gunman shuffled back to a large pipe exiting the roof and quickly looked around it. Josh moved to stand and helped her up. The man hurried back, gun raised. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said.
Josh’s chest rumbled against her back. “I thought I recognized your voice. But you didn’t say enough in the truck,” Josh said. “What do you want, Mikhail?”
Candy whipped her head around and stared at the bastard pointing a gun at him. With the dark paint on his face, Josh didn’t recognize the man from the YouTube video. But he wasn’t looking for similarities, either. Plus the heavy vodka smell wasn’t on his clothes like with the others. That was because the asshole was wearing the uniform of the dog trainer he’d killed earlier.
Loudly, she said, “Mikhail Steganovich, who would’ve thought you’d get by Captain Bridges’s men who are at the White House right now? Men who are highly trained, standing around, ready for something to do. Yup, Colonel Bridges. At the White House. Right now.”
Josh leaned down to her ear. “You okay?”
“I know what I’m doing,” she said, trying to move her mouth as little as possible.
Mikhail stared at her like she was nutso. “Uh, yeah, it was easy, actually. Your fucking procedures make it so predictable.” The Russian stepped closer to her, squinting his eyes. “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I? You’re that woman promoted to some position no other woman’s ever had.” He nodded and grinned. “We’re keeping tabs on all you. We know who you are and how to get to you.”
That sent a chill down Candy’s back. She assumed the “we” he spoke of was Russia. That country and the U.S. had always had a tentative friendship. This could cause an international incident that wouldn’t be pretty.
Down a ways, the door to the roof slammed. Hopefully, Mike had understood her earlier instructions and was on the way to the White House.
She looked at him. “You’re on a clock, Steganovich. Just go back to the truck and drive away. Any direction you want. We won’t see it.” She read the uncertainty in his eyes. Josh should smell it, too. Then a nasty smile grew on the man’s face.
“You killed my brother.” His body shook, his face red from more than the cool wind. “I will enjoy watching you both being interrogated. I will avenge his death.”
“Come on, Mikhail,” she said, disgust pushing her buttons. “Your brother killed two people and held the NIA director hostage. What the fuck did you think would happen? It was his own damn fault that he died. He could’ve just walked away.”
The Russian screamed and fired his automatic gun, narrowly missing them. Josh squashed her into the concrete. Her heart raced so hard, it hurt. Could a thirtysomething have a heart attack from the heart beating too fast?
The man stood, panting, staring behind them. “How fitting. Instead of my brother taking the helicopter, I will in his place with better hostages.” He waved his gun at them. “Both of you get in the helicopter. We’re going for a ride.”
“We don’t know how to fly,” Josh lied. She wondered if he knew or not. Knowing his skill set, he probably knew how to do about everything there was.
“Then I’ll kill you both and be on my way.” He raised his gun level with Josh’s head.