Chapter 17
Summer stared at the man standing behind Devlin and Easton. She couldn’t believe the asshole was the same man she’d seen off and on throughout the days she’d been up there, even since he’d led her to the office where she’d unloaded her gear in the first place.
She stared at the pilot. “Is that really you, Robbie?”
“Don’t use my name,” he roared.
She frowned and stood from the table. “Why wouldn’t I? It is your name. But what the hell are you doing? Are you involved in this?” She shook her head and approached. “That’s really not very smart. No good can come from this, you know,” she added gently.
He waved the gun at her. “Stay back.”
She stopped, frowning at him. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
He snorted. “Hell no. But I don’t trust these two with you.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” She gave him a bright smile. “They are pretty sneaky men.”
Easton slid her a sideways glance. She hooked her arm through his. “You know, you can walk away from all this, right?”
“Like hell, bitch.”
She frowned at him. “There is no point in getting nasty.”
She motioned to the computer on the table. “I presume you’re after that USB key.” She watched as his gaze darted to the table and then back at her again.
“You can’t get into it so no point in trying,” he said as he motioned at the laptop. “Get me the key.”
She shrugged, walked over, ejected it. “Here it is.”
He snatched the USB key from her hand and shoved it into his pants pocket. “Finally,” he snarled. “You’ve been a pain in the ass since you picked that up.”
“What do you mean, I picked it up? It was an accident.”
“I know that now, but, at the time, when you did it so casually, I figured you were the drop. I was supposed to hand it off to somebody, and I didn’t know when, until the next day, after I was told where the drop would happen and realized you’d snagged that thing for yourself.”
Her jaw dropped. “You thought I was part of this?” She looked at him in horror. “I would never do such a thing.”
“At the time I wondered. It seemed like a masterful plan.” He shook his head. “Imagine my shock when I found out how wrong I was.”
She glared at him. “Did you have to shoot the driver?”
“It was supposed to be you.”
“Oh, that’s why they couldn’t find the sniper,” she cried out. “Because they thought he headed back to camp to disappear into all the people, but instead you were on the plane. You just had to sneak back to where you belonged.” She glowered at him. “But really, shooting the driver is unforgivable. And shooting at me too. I had a really bad headache for the rest of the day.” Instinctively she reached up to check her head, but, as she’d barely noticed it all day, she presumed it had healed just fine.
He glared at her. “After all this, it won’t make any difference.”
“You really think anybody can pay you enough to run for the rest your life? Always looking over your shoulder?” She shook her head. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“You don’t know anything about it, and it’s none of your goddamn business.”
“What?” she cried out. “None of my business? After all you put me through?”
“That wasn’t me. That was Harry.”
“Well, he’s dead, so he isn’t talking anymore.” She stared at the pilot, her mind thinking about the chain of events. “One of the guards killed Harry, right? And you were the sniper both times. Instead of making your way back to camp you returned to the airfield. What about the heavy breather and the damn snake? Henry again? Is that why he was killed?”
“Yes. Failure was not an option. He died because he failed.”
“That’s why you’re so desperate to make sure you don’t fail, because you will be next on the chopping block.”
He nodded. “Once I deliver this to him, I’m off the hook, and I’m out of here.”
“There is nothing important on that thing,” she snapped. Beside her she felt Easton stiffen, and she realized she probably shouldn’t have said anything about it.
The gunman stared at her. “You don’t have a clue what’s on this.”
She shrugged. “No, but I can guess. Somehow it must have something to do with the water program the Canadians are working on. It’s hardly important stuff.”
It was almost funny to see Robbie relax his shoulders, calming down right away. “You don’t know anything about it.”
She slipped closer in front of Easton. She wasn’t quite within range, but somebody had to make a move soon. Robbie couldn’t afford to let any of them live. She’d already identified him.
She snuggled back against Easton’s chest, hoping he would put his arms around her. Of course he did. He was that kind of a guy. She could feel the tense muscles against her back, his grip on her arms. Chances were he really wanted to move her out of the way so he could jump Robbie. But she wasn’t having anything to do with that. As soon as his arms came around her, she grabbed him by the wrists and lifted herself ever-so-slightly. She placed one foot on his foot, and, while the gunman looked around, figuring out his next move, she whipped out a leg and kicked Robbie’s gun hand. Then, using Easton’s arms for support, she twisted, slashed a hard kick to Robbie’s head. Her foot connected with his jaw. She landed and cried out, “Goddammit, that hurt.”
Devlin was already on Robbie, tackling him to the ground. Easton picked up the gun and emptied the clip, putting the gun on the table. She jumped up and down on the floor, holding her foot. “That was your fault.”
“None of this was my fault,” Easton said with a sigh. “What the hell were you doing, kicking a gunman in the head with a bare foot?”
“Somebody had to do something.”
Devlin chuckled. “Well, I am glad you do what you need to do when you have to.”
She glared at him. “Of course you’re just trying to be nice.”
He laughed. “And you were being very much you.”
She looked at him in confusion and shrugged. “That’s all I know how to be.”
“Exactly,” Easton said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her close.
She glanced at the gunman. “Are we done now? Can I get on with the rest of my life? That should be the end of it?”
“Not quite,” Devlin said from the floor. He rolled Robbie to his back. “Who is your contact?”
Robbie just glared at him.
Easton walked over, bent toward Robbie and said, “General Morgan by any chance?”
Robbie’s gaze widened, and he stared at the group of them. “How did you know?”
Both men pointed at Summer.
She grinned. “I caught him on camera.”
Robbie was still swearing when the cops and Mason arrived twenty minutes later. She stared at the distinguished-looking man as he walked into the room. She could sense the leadership in his stance, the sense of absolute control of a situation at a glance. She gave him a winsome smile. “May I take your picture?”
His eyebrows rose, and he studied her as if she were a creature he’d never seen before.
Easton sighed. “Forget about it, Mason. She does this to everyone.”
“I want to take pictures of all your friends. You won’t let me take pictures of you,” she told Easton in a cajoling voice.
Devlin smirked. “I’d give that some serious thought,” he said to Easton. “Imagine if she starts taking pictures of Saul and Dakota. Or Ryder and Corey. They’re all single.”
Easton shot Devlin a hard glance, looked at Summer and asked, “If I agree, will you leave my friends alone?”
She beamed at him. “Of course,” she said. “I can have a lifetime of fun taking pictures of you.” She cupped his chin and stroked his cheek. “And I don’t care if they’re good or bad, I’m keeping every one of them.”
Mason said, his voice interested, “Keep the images? Not keeping the man?”
She grinned at him. “I’m going to keep them all. He doesn’t have any say in the matter. He might think he does, but he really doesn’t.”
Devlin chuckled. “Easton, what do you think about that?”
Easton rolled his eyes. “Like I have a choice.”
She rounded on him. “You do have a choice, you know. I would never do anything you don’t want me to do. If you don’t want me to keep you, that’s okay.”
He stared at her, then laughed. “And how is it okay?”
She smiled. “Well, it’s okay for the moment. After all, I’ll keep badgering you—until you see it my way and change your mind.”
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. “This isn’t quite over yet. The general must be picked up for questioning. Their fate won’t be resolved any time soon.”
“That’s okay. I trust you,” she said. “Whatever you do sounds perfect to me.”
He shook his head. “You’re perfect.”
She chuckled. “Yep. But you love me, so that’s perfect too.”
He stared at her for a long moment as if the truth just now dawned on him. She watched his gaze widen, the look of shock in his eyes and finally the understanding. She knew he hadn’t quite accepted it yet. But she’d known days ago. She hoped he’d get there soon.
“How did you know?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “It couldn’t be any other way,” she said. “Because I love you. And you’re a keeper. That means, I’m never letting you go.”
He held her close. Just before he kissed her, he whispered, “You better be sure because I won’t let anybody else get near you.”
She was still chuckling when his lips closed over hers. When she could raise her head again, she smiled at him. “That’s all I ever wanted.”