Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) (24 page)

“He’s already at the hospital with a couple regular agents, working with security there to get everything locked down before we head over. If he doesn’t feel good about it, we don’t go. It’s his call.” He searched her eyes. “Going back there’s definitely a calculated risk though.”

He didn’t sound or look worried as he said it, and she understood he was merely underscoring the point for her sake. They were the best in the business, willing and able to protect her, but heading to the hospital now while her would-be attackers were still at large put them all at risk.

“I don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way for my sake, but I need to see my father.” She’d do whatever it took to make that happen, even if that decision made her seem selfish. They were taking her out of town within the next few hours and the trial was starting soon. She wouldn’t get another opportunity to see her father for at least a week or more, and there was a chance his heart wouldn’t hold out much longer.

She couldn’t leave without seeing him, talking to him one last time. “He and my brother, they’re all I’ve got left,” she said in a tight voice. She wasn’t looking for sympathy, only to plead her case and explain her motivation.

Vance nodded, his eyes warm. “I get it. But I don’t think that’s quite true.” His gaze went meaningfully to the closed bathroom door and back.

Taya lowered her eyes as warmth pulsed through her. She didn’t know how to answer. Did both he and Cruz suspect something was going on between her and Nathan? Would it get Nathan in trouble? She shifted position, her face flushing. “I don’t…”

Vance held up a hand, his teeth flashing white briefly against his dark skin as he grinned at her. “Hey, no need to explain anything. Not my biz.”

His phone rang. He muttered an apology and pulled it out. “Yo. You on your way up?”

The bathroom door opened a moment later and Nathan walked out with a cloud of steam billowing behind him. He was still shirtless, all those gorgeous muscles exposed to her interested gaze, all traces of blood gone. He wore clean jeans, his wet hair two shades darker than when it was dry.

Crossing to his duffel, he tugged a new T-shirt on and gave her a quick, assessing look before turning to Vance. “What’s the story?”

“Cruz is done downstairs. He’s pulling a vehicle around the east side exit for you. Tuck’s already at the hospital, just gave the green light. I’ll follow you guys over.” He grabbed Taya’s suitcase and headed for the door.

When they were alone Nathan shoved his shaving kit into his bag and focused on her. “You ready?” When she nodded he tucked a pistol into the back of his waistband then set a hand on the small of her back, the imprint of his hand sinking through the material of her shirt. She could feel his tension though, and knew it was because of what had happened earlier, that he was angry about her nearly being attacked.

“Wait,” she said.

He stopped, looked down at her questioningly. Without a word Taya stepped in front of him and slid her arms around his back.

Resting her cheek against his solid chest she murmured, “I’m glad you’re safe.” When he’d shot out of the room like that without any warning to give chase she’d been scared, and the whole time he’d been gone she’d worried he might not come back. She of all people knew how fleeting life could be, especially to someone in his line of work. He was smart and an amazing operator, but he was still human. And that meant he wasn’t bulletproof.

Seeming surprised by the gesture, Nathan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. His lips brushed over the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder joined, sending electric tingles racing over her skin. “No one’s ever going to hurt you again, Taya. Not on my watch.”

There was no defense in the world that could protect her heart from him when he said things like that.

Angling her head up, she cupped the back of his head and lifted up to give him a soft, lingering kiss. Just being near him made her feel safe, stronger. He reminded her of how hard she’d fought to live, how hard she’d battled to take back control over her life. “You’re making it really hard for me not to fall for you,” she murmured against his lips.

One side of his mouth kicked up as he lifted his head, his eyes glowing with a possessive light that thrilled her. “Good,” was all he said. Then he set a hand on her waist and led her to the door.

Security guards, uniformed police officers and FBI agents stood in the hall, by the elevator and down in the lobby. They escorted her and Nathan to the exit where Cruz was waiting in an SUV, more police cruisers stationed along the narrow street. Nathan put her into the backseat before getting into the front beside Cruz and they drove to the hospital in near silence with Vance tailing them.

More security was posted at the rear entrance to the Emergency ward. Nathan and Cruz walked her up to the ICU. A well-built man with dark blond hair was waiting for them with her brother. He pushed away from the wall near her father’s room and nodded at them. “Special Agent Brad Tucker,” he said to her, holding out his hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she responded, accepting the handshake. She glanced behind him at Kevin. “Is he still awake?”

“Yes and he’s been waiting impatiently for you to get here,” her brother said in a dry voice.

Taya didn’t tell him why they’d been delayed, already knowing from his calm demeanor that Tuck hadn’t said anything to him about the thwarted attack. But he’d hear it soon enough through the media, and then maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that the FBI was moving her out of state again. Kevin would go ballistic when he found out what had happened at the hotel.

“We can give you fifteen minutes, but no more,” Tuck said to her. “Plane’s already waiting for us at the airport.”

“I understand. Thanks.” She shot Kev, then Nathan a little smile before entering her father’s room. He was indeed waiting for her, propped up into a semi-reclining position, his head turned toward the door. The first thing she saw was his smile beneath the oxygen mask he wore. Weak though it was, it made her eyes fill with tears.

“There’s my sunshine,” he rasped out, voice nearly inaudible. And when he reached out an arm, beckoning her into his embrace, she damn near lost it.

Burying her face in his sturdy shoulder, Taya held on tight. “You promised not to leave me,” she whispered. “Remember? You
promised
.”

He patted the middle of her back and grunted. “And I’m still here, aren’t I?”

She squeezed him. Stubborn, wonderful man. “Love you, Dad.”

He fingered her hair, a scowl creasing his brow. “What the hell did you do to your hair?”

She gave a watery laugh at the disapproval in his voice. “Just changed the color and took a straightening iron to it. It’s only until after I testify. Don’t worry, it’ll still be just like Mom’s when this is all over. A little wild, impossible to tame.”

The scowl faded, replaced by a fond smile. “She was one of a kind.”

She sure was, a pure force of nature, taken too soon by a drunk driver speeding down the wrong side of the road at night with no headlights on. “And you were the only man who could tame her.”

His smile grew, spreading across his face until his cheeks creased. “Yeah. For a little while, anyway.”

****

“So, you heard about the latest fuck-up?”

Nate pulled his gaze from the sight of Taya hugging her father on the other side of the small rectangular window set into the hospital room door, and focused on Tuck. “No, what’s up?” Taya’s brother had left to grab some food and Cruz had taken up position at the ICU entrance, leaving him and Tuck to guard the door.

“Locals and our guys lost track of the other two tangos.”

His brows crashed together. “Seriously?” How the hell could that be, with all the law enforcement personnel and Feds hunting them with satellite feeds? “They had less than a minute’s lead time.”

Tuck grunted. “They were well prepared, apparently. They had other vehicles stashed and ready, and they’ve got people helping cover their tracks. Gonna take a while to pull on all the threads, figure out where they might be heading, and who else is involved. Now that their hacker’s dead, the investigators have a starting point at least. Best we’ve got at the moment.”

Well that sucked. Nate set his hands on his hips, shook his head, pissed off all over again that they’d dare come after Taya. Fucking ballsy, to try and pull that off in broad daylight with so few operatives. Made them all the more dangerous and unpredictable. “You get official confirmation on the tangos yet?”

“Yep. Celida called to tell me it’s definitely the remaining two in the files I sent you. Bureau’s hoping they’ll lead us to whoever took the other witnesses.”

Yeah, but first they had to capture Darwish and Ayman, then hope they’d break under interrogation. Based on what he’d seen of their performance so far, Nate didn’t see that as being quick or easy. These guys were motivated and though technically their training paled in comparison to what Nate and his teammates had, they were still alive and leading authorities on a merry chase across the North Carolina countryside right now. Even if they caught the men, the upcoming trial gave investigators a short timeline to work with to try and break up this cell.

His eyes shifted back to the window. Taya was still embracing her father. He could see her lips moving, and the smile on the old man’s face. She was like a freaking ray of sunshine, lighting up every room she walked into with her calm, loving energy. Even after spending such a short amount of time with her, Nate couldn’t imagine being deprived of that warmth now. She’d thawed the icy core inside him, made him want more time with her.

“There’s more.”

Nate’s gaze snapped to Tuck. “What?”

Tuck searched his eyes, and Nate knew it was bad news. “We’re all being pulled from personal security to prep for a stand-in at the trial.”

Nate’s heart sank, dragging his stomach with it. “When?”

“Tomorrow at oh-four-hundred.”

No.
The thought of being pulled away from Taya now, when she needed him most, was like a punch to the gut. “Who’s taking over her security?”

“WITSEC.”

Nate bit back the automatic refusal in his throat, blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face instead. Tuck kept on talking. “I know, man, but according to Celida they’ve cleaned house over there. The leak there’s been sealed up tight and it’s not our call anyway. We’ve been personally ordered to D.C. by the Director. I know this isn’t your first choice—”

Nate gave a bitter laugh. “No, not even fucking close.” He sighed, decided he’d better come clean. “Okay, look, we’re…involved.”

Tuck kept his expression carefully blank. “Involved.”

He could feel himself flushing. He knew how unprofessional it was to have a relationship with a federal witness under his protection, but he couldn’t help how he felt about Taya. “It’s not casual.” Not by any means.

Now Tuck’s eyebrows rose as the significance of that registered. “I know she’s important to you.”

A not-so-subtle way of probing the subject but Nate wasn’t going to deny it. “Yeah, she is. I’m gonna talk to Matt about it.” He needed to disclose the nature of his relationship to Taya to his commander.

Tuck nodded. “That’s a good call, Doc.”

“Gotta be done. And I’m also gonna talk to someone when this is all over.” He cleared his throat, fought past his embarrassment of admitting this out loud to Tuck. “Find real help and get myself squared away.” He was looking forward to the conversation with DeLuca about as much as he would a punch in the face, but there was no avoiding it and he didn’t want Vance and Cruz put in an awkward position if their commander asked them about it.

“Wow, she
really
means a lot to you,” Tuck said with a smile.

“Yeah.” He’d fucking die for her, if it came down to that. No one else would be even half as motivated to keep her safe as him. Now he not only had to step back, abandon her when there were armed terrorists actively hunting her at this very moment, but entrust her safety to a total stranger and a program that had recently been corrupted.
Shit
. “You believe they’ve dealt with the situation over at the DOJ?” He wanted details.

“From what Celida told me, they arrested the guy responsible, brought in all the people he’s worked with and grilled them, looked into their contacts and checked timelines. So far only the one marshal’s been incriminated and everyone else checks out. Apparently the guy had a bad gambling habit and was willing to take a bribe from The Brethren to pay off the shitload of debt he’d accumulated. He’d been leaking what looked like innocuous information. Nothing too juicy, just enough for them to read between the lines and figure out Taya’s location.”

“Motherfucker,” Nate muttered, hands balling into fists.

Tuck angled his head. “You want me to tell her?”

Nate shook his head. “No. She should hear it from me.” Hell, he could just imagine the look on her face when he told her.

Tuck nodded. “Guys said you did good today.”

He made a face. He’d done his job, nothing more. God knew he’d have taken on any threat to protect Taya. “Wish I’d been able to get more out of the bastard before he went to his seventy-two virgin dating service in the sky.”

Tuck cracked a grin at that. “Something’s better than nothing.”

Nate didn’t respond, his gaze shifting back to the window in the door. Taya was walking toward him. She opened the door, gave him a little smile. Combined with her slightly puffy eyes and reddened nose, the joy radiating from her made him want to cup her face between his hands and kiss her.

“My dad wants to meet you,” she said to him.

For a moment Nate hesitated, unsure whether this was a good idea. Meeting her father at this stage of their relationship and under these circumstances was a little unnerving, but there was no way the man could know anything was going on between him and Taya. She must have told her father about him beforehand. After she’d first returned to the States. “Okay.”

Following her into the room, he’d be damned if he didn’t feel a little nervous. All the women he’d dated, all the women he’d slept with, he’d never once been asked to meet their fathers. It hadn’t even remotely been a possibility. And since Nate planned on showing Taya he was serious about her, he couldn’t fuck up this first impression.