Chapter Nine
Victory rushed through Josh’s body. The fact that he and Candy had something in common thrilled him to death. This was only the beginning of their coming together. They needed to get this shindig over with so he could take her home. His girl liked guns. Goddamn, that was something he never expected. Candy seemed so uptight. But he bet she would be soft and sweet when he got to know her.
Finding out who their terrorists were was good, but did nothing for him. He wanted them gone. “We need a plan,” he said.
“Agreed,” Candy said. “We should take down the outer perimeter first, then we can focus on inside. But we need to watch for the brother. He could be outside, ready to pick off anyone trying to get in.” She sighed. “What can we do until backup gets here?”
The guys looked at her. “Backup?” they said in unison. Josh and his men didn’t even know what backup was. On their assignments, it was them and no one else, for several reasons.
By her incredulous look, he needed to clarify. “Sergeant Major, we are used to doing things on our own. Backup does not exist in our world.”
His mate sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then tell me how you plan to get rid of the men outside.”
He hadn’t intended on letting her in on their secret just yet. But what else could he do? He doubted very seriously if she would stand in the hall for a few minutes while they stripped and shifted. His guys looked at him. “Uh,” he started, “yeah, about that . . .” Damn, how did he get her out of the room for a few minutes? “Do you need to go to the restroom or anything?” he asked. God, if that wasn’t the lamest.
Her brow rose. “No. Do you?”
“No, that’s not my point.”
Both eyebrows rose. “Then what is your point?” she asked.
Dammit. What could he say that would not be suspicious? “Would you mind standing in the hallway for minute?” Her eyes narrowed and mouth puckered. He guessed that was out of the question.
Hamel spoke up. “She’s your mate, right?” he asked.
Well, damn. He hoped the men wouldn’t have realized that, but the nose never lies. He ran his fingers through his hair.
Candy stared at Hamel, then flicked her eyes to him. “What the hell is up with you guys and the word ‘mate’?” she asked.
Josh sighed. “It’s what we use where we come from.”
“You all come from the United States,” Candy said. “Your files say so.”
“Yeah, that’s not what I mean,” Josh mumbled.
“Having a hard time with your words, eh, Director?” she poked at him. He had a hard time lying to her. That was the problem. “I thought so. I think my plan will be better.”
Her plan? She had a plan? Where the fuck had he been when that happened?
Her eyes narrowed in on him again, a twinkle of desire lit in her eyes. “You had better not be thinking that a woman cannot come up with a plan,” she growled. “I will so kick your ass into next week, soldier.”
Fuck. If that wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever heard from a woman. He wondered how many men underestimated her. Probably all of them.
“No, Sergeant Major.” He tried to stop the oncoming grin. “That thought had never occurred to me.”
“Good,” she said, clearing her throat and stepping back. “Keep it that way. I need to get down to the security office and take charge in there. There’s no audio on my laptop, plus there’s access to the outside and the tunnels below to maneuver.”
“I?” Josh questioned. She wasn’t going anywhere without him.
She huffed at him, pushing the few strands of her hair that came loose behind her ear. “Yes. Me, myself, and I. All of you can’t fit in there, much less sneak down the stairs and past the bad guys,” she said.
That would be the perfect way to get her out of the room for them to shift. But he wasn’t letting her go alone. He stared at the camera views and where all were positioned. “I’ll agree with that. And with the guard standing at the elevators, you’re not sneaking around him, either. As soon as you open the stairwell door, he’ll see you.”
“I’m aware of that,” she conceded. It shocked him that she gave in so easily.
Day, standing at the window, tapped on the glass. “We need a diversion and I think we just got it.” Standing over his mate’s shoulder, Josh watched the laptop screen as an exterior camera showed a news van pulling up to the sidewalk in front of the building.
“How the hell did the media get wind of this?” Candy said. “The DC police aren’t even here yet.”
Sitting on the sofa, Hamel hit Dubois in the arm. “Didn’t one of your ex-girlfriends work for a news station?”
Dubois frowned. “Yeah, but don’t mention that to my mate. A jealous mafia wife isn’t the best thing to have. You can go to bed a rooster and wake up as a hen.”
Josh ignored the dumbass remark. “What station did she work for?” he asked.
“I think it was WADC. Something with DC in it,” Dubois replied.
“How about WWDC?” Josh said.
“Yeah, that’s it.” Dubois got up from the sofa and joined him. He leaned closer to the laptop when the passenger door of the van opened. “Huh, that’s her. Claire Carter.” A shapely woman wearing a jacket and pencil skirt stepped out from the vehicle, microphone in hand. The driver came around to her side and opened the van’s sliding door, setting out equipment.
“Still got her phone number?” Josh asked his agent.
Dubois pulled out his phone. “Maybe.” A moment passed while Dubois flipped through his contacts. “Yeah, I have it, as long as she hasn’t changed it since we went out. What do you want me to tell her?”
Good question. He asked his mate, “Candy, what do you think is the best way to use them?”
She sucked in the side of her cheek and one eye squinted. She was so adorable when in deep concentration. “We need all the guards’ attention away from the back of the lobby so I can go from the stairwell around the corner to the hall leading to security.”
He knew she meant “we” and not “I”; he’d let her know that shortly. He stood at a window and looked for a locking mechanism. He asked, “Do these windows open?”
“Originally, they did. Now you have to remove the electromagnetic screens from the inside to get out,” she replied. “You’re not thinking about jumping, are you? It’s twenty feet to the ground. You’ll break a leg. And they’ll see you hobble away.” Her voice had a slightly amused tone.
He shrugged, playing off her statement. “Just curious.” He turned to Dubois. “Frank, call the girl and tell her we need her help. Get her on the line for me.” On the laptop, he saw the woman reach into the van and pull out something, then put it to her ear. Her voice came over Frank’s phone. Frank spoke a moment and handed the phone to him.
“Hi, Ms. Carter. I’m Josh Tumbel, Frank’s boss.”
“I remember your name. How are you doing?” she asked.
“Well, I could be better. We need your help.”
“I’m on assignment at the moment,” she said. “Can I call you back?”
“Actually, Ms. Carter, your assignment deals with our problem. How did you get information to come to this building?”
“My producer got an anonymous call at the office. Someone said a news crew should get to the NIB immediately. So, here I am. Are you inside? What’s going on?”
“Ms. Carter, I need you to stay calm and be professional,” he said.
After a pause, she replied, “Okay . . .”
“Inside, approximately twenty people are being held hostage by Russian gunmen.” On the monitor, the lady’s body stiffened, but she didn’t react further. “If you got an anonymous call, I suspect they wanted you here to make a statement or demand. Whatever you do, don’t go live. This would only cause panic that isn’t necessary. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. I get it. What do you want us to do?” she asked. He was impressed with her ability to stay calm and think. “We need a distraction of some kind to get the men’s attention away from the back. Something that would draw them toward the front.”
She waved a hand in the air. “That’s all? That’s easy. When do you want it?”
“Give us two minutes. Is that long enough for you?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m ready whenever. It’s not like this will be hard or anything,” she said. That had him a bit worried. But he didn’t have time to question her.
“Great, thanks.” He hung up and handed the phone back to Dubois. “You all heard—”
Candy glared at him. “Of course not. You were on the phone. How could—”
“We’ll talk later,” he said to Candy, then to his men, “After my mate and I are gone, do your thing and wait for my signal outside. Pick a guard. First will be the one at the back on the west side.” He held the door open and looked at Candy. “Let’s go.”
She was taken aback. “Go where?”
Goddammit. Now was not the time for her to get uptight about a man taking charge. Sometimes it was just that way. “Candy—”
“Sergeant Major—” she started.
“Whatever,” he growled. “We have only seconds left before we miss this window of opportunity to get to security. Are we going to stand here and argue over semantics or get your sweet ass down there?”
Her widened eyes and dropped jaw were comical. She was cute when surprised, too. Hell, who was he kidding? She was cute no matter what.
He raised a brow. “Don’t make me stop this car.”
The corner of her lips twitched and she stalked forward. “Fine.” She breezed by him into the hallway, leaving her alluring scent in her path. He gave a nod to his guys and closed the door.