Danger Close (6 page)

Shuffling footsteps came closer, and she relaxed when she recognized his big silhouette blocking the opening. “Come on,” he said softly, reaching out a hand to her.

She hesitated for a heartbeat, then took it and allowed him to help her to her feet. His warm, sure grip helped calm her racing pulse. “What’s going on?”

“They’re gone. Looking for us up the mountain. But they won’t be here long—backup’s already on its way up. Should be here within a half hour, the elder said, judging by their progress up the hill. We’ll wait just at the cave entrance for them. Can’t bring a helo in here without giving away our position and there’s no good place for one to set down, so we’ll likely have to hump it out to an extraction point for them to pull us out.”

Erin eyed him. She might not trust Sandberg fully, but he’d gotten them to safety and had put himself in front of her to protect her and Thompson. She’d follow his lead for this part of it too. “Well,” she said into the darkness after a long silence. “Guess this means we’ve missed our flight.”

Something close to a chuckle answered her, but it sounded rusty, as if it had been so long since he’d done it that he’d forgotten how. There were so many things she was curious about with him. Just what the hell had he been doing on this last “job” of his? She settled back against the rock wall, resigned to spending at least one more night at Bagram.

The man was still hiding something big from her, something that had almost gotten them killed. Once she got back to Bagram, she intended to find out exactly what had precipitated all this.

Erin trudged back to her B-hut in the early morning sunlight a few hours later, still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. After staying in that cave all night and hiking nearly four kilometers to the extraction site with the rescue team, then the debriefing she’d just come from, she was exhausted. And since she wasn’t going anywhere until at least tomorrow morning, she was looking forward to some serious rack time.

Opening the door of the hut, Erin stepped inside to find Ace standing next to her bunk, in the process of stripping off her flight suit. “Hey.”

Ace paused in the act of pulling down the zipper and blinked at her in surprise. “Hey. What are you doing back here?”

“Short version of that story is that I had quite a little adventure yesterday on the way to Kabul that I can’t talk about. Except I
can
tell you that I got to spend some quality time with Cam earlier this morning.” Cam Munro was a Pararescueman, and engaged to Devon, a former roomie of theirs. He and the CSAR team had dropped in by parachute before hiking in to the rescue site to lead them to the extraction point. She’d never been so glad to see a familiar face when he’d shown up in the cave just before dawn.

Ace’s dark eyes widened as she scanned her from head to boots. “Holy shit. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just tired and shaken up.” And pissed that no one would tell her anything about the incident. There was no way those guards would’ve just randomly targeted them. She knew this whole thing had something to do with Sandberg’s “job” he’d mentioned, but he hadn’t told her anything more. When she’d stopped to see Thompson at the hospital after he’d been stitched up—no surgery required other than a good debridement, thankfully—he’d told her he hadn’t heard anything either. He was bad enough that they were sending him home though, and he was slated to be on a transport bound for the States in a few hours. Ironically, it now looked like he’d arrive home before she did.

Ace eyed her in concern, taking in the fresh scrapes and cuts on her forearms. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah, just tired.” The only sleep she’d gotten was brief combat naps in that tunnel, until she’d at last succumbed and fallen fast asleep sometime before dawn. She’d woken to find her head resting on Sandberg’s muscled shoulder rather than the rock wall when he’d shaken her slightly to alert her that the rescue force had arrived. Though she couldn’t be sure, she suspected he must have settled her against him at some point during the night. And even though he was a virtual stranger who’d inadvertently put them in grave danger, she couldn’t deny the magnetic pull she felt toward him. Waking up against his powerful frame had made her feel oddly safe and protected.

Ace sank onto her bunk, frowning. “Will you still get to take your leave?”

“God, I hope so. You just get in?”

“Yeah. Had a good night. Took out two targets.”

“Perfect. We can crash together.” And after everything that had happened, she’d feel better knowing Ace was close beside her while she slept. Erin dumped her ruck at the foot of her bunk, unlaced her boots and pulled back the fresh sheets she’d put on before leaving yesterday. Ace hit the lights and within minutes of crawling between the sheets, Erin was asleep.

A brisk knock on the door woke her sometime later. Still groggy, she lifted her head from the pillow and looked behind her at the other bunks. Ace was already up and gone, and she was alone. What time was it?

Another knock. “Lieutenant Kelly?”

She sat up, rubbing her aching eyes. “Yes?”

“I’ve been asked to escort you to a debriefing, ma’am.”

Oh, God, another one?
“All right. Hold on a minute.” She got herself together, put her boots on, grabbed a bottle of water and opened the door to find a young sergeant standing there. “Where’s the debriefing?”

“I’ll show you.”

Well, duh.
Who wanted to see her this time? Already cranky due to lack of sleep and being deprived of what had really happened at that checkpoint yesterday, she fell in step with him and chugged half the water during the walk across base. He escorted her into a secure building and down a long linoleum-lined hallway to the door second from the end. When someone responded to her knock, she opened the door to find two forty-ish men dressed in khakis and button-down shirts seated behind a wide metal desk.

“Lieutenant Kelly, come in,” the dark-haired man said.

She crossed to the chair he indicated opposite the desk. The man stood and reached out a hand. “I’m Agent Bertrand, and this is Agent Filiponi,” he said, indicating the blond, balding man beside him.

“Are you with the FBI?” she asked as she shook hands.

“No.” Bertrand sat and when it was clear he wasn’t going to expand on that, Erin sat. She opened her mouth to ask something else, but the door suddenly opened. She glanced up to see Sandberg stride in and her belly did an annoying little flip. He was just so rugged and masculine, radiating all that quiet, controlled power. Coupled with that dark scruff on his face and those intense dark eyes, he was one hell of a distraction.

His irritated expression flared with a hint of surprise when he saw her, but he quickly turned his attention to the two men behind the desk as he sat in the chair beside hers. “Was it necessary to bring her here for this?” he asked, sounding annoyed.

Erin blinked, taken aback by the sharpness of his tone. Why didn’t he want her here?

“Yes,” Bertrand answered. He looked at her. “I’m sure you know by now what a shit storm this incident has caused with the Afghan government. They’re refusing to admit that it could have been a planned attack, or that insurgents could have infiltrated the military and police personnel stationed at the checkpoint. And because of the firefight and the wounded they incurred as a result, they’re not being cooperative with the investigation. But,” he continued, and something in the way he paused sent a shiver of foreboding up Erin’s spine, “we do know a few things.”

“Like?” Sandberg prompted, sounding aggravated. Erin didn’t blame him. As far as she knew he’d been awake the entire time they’d been in that cave and she knew without a doubt he’d been called to far more debriefings than she had since arriving back at Bagram. He had to be exhausted, especially after keeping watch all night.

“Like Lieutenant Kelly’s passport and other ID has gone missing from the checkpoint, as has yours and Sergeant Thompson’s.”

“Is that it?” Sandberg asked in a clipped tone.

“No,” the balding one, Filiponi, responded. “Recent chatter indicates that whoever took your ID at that checkpoint was working for Rahim.” His pale blue gaze shifted to her. “Do you know the name?”

“I recognize it. Don’t know much about him, though.” Except that he was rumored to be a Taliban leader who operated in the mountains to the east, and that he was considered highly dangerous to U.S. forces in the region. She cast a questioning glance at Sandberg, but he was still staring at the two agents. Did his mysterious “job” have something to do with the terrorist leader?

Filiponi continued. “Your information has been passed up the chain of command, so it’s likely already reached Rahim. Based on the chatter we intercepted this morning, he knows you and Agent Sandberg—”

Erin’s eyes shot to the man next to her, and narrowed.
Agent
Sandberg. That shiver of foreboding was more like a full-fledged earthquake now.

“—were seen together at the hospital in Kandahar, and that you left Bagram together, arriving at the checkpoint a few hours later. And after the firefight Agent Sandberg told the village elder you were husband and wife—”

She stifled a gasp and threw an accusatory glance at Sandberg. He had his arms folded, that hard jaw clenched as he stared at Filiponi. The man could’ve been carved from granite from all the expression his face revealed.

“—so it’s likely that’s reached Rahim too,” Filiponi finished.

Erin shot another glare at Sandberg, not that it did any good, since he wasn’t looking at her.
What the hell have you done?
She understood that he’d told the elder that to protect her, but it had backfired big time. Instead of shielding her, apparently that lie had now embroiled her in the bigger picture unfolding around her. An incredibly dangerous one that had her stomach in knots.

“In short,” Agent Bertrand said to her, leaning forward to lace his fingers together atop the desk, “you’ve been linked to Agent Sandberg three different times at three separate locations. By now Rahim will no doubt suspect you’re working together.”

She swung her gaze back to him, her hands tightening on the arms of the uncomfortable plastic chair.

“In short, Lieutenant, until we can prove otherwise, it’s likely you’re now a target of Rahim’s network as well.”

Erin absorbed the words in silence as they crashed through her with the force of a sledgehammer.
Holy. Shit.
For a moment she couldn’t speak, could do nothing but stare.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Lieutenant?” Bertrand asked.

She nodded, forced herself to swallow past the sudden restriction in her throat. Maybe she didn’t know what Sandberg’s history or involvement with Rahim’s network was, but she understood just how deadly the possible threat against her was.

“Are you all right?” the agent asked her, frowning.

Sandberg snorted. “What the hell do you
think
?” he snapped, glaring at the two other men. “Is that seriously it? That’s the best evidence you’ve got to bring her in here and tell her this shit?”

“It’s protocol,” Bertrand answered evenly.

“The hell it is,” Sandberg fired back. “If you were following protocol, I wouldn’t still be here at Bagram.”

“Oh, you’ll be out of here soon enough,” Filiponi told him. “We’ve looked into how your travel itinerary might’ve been leaked to Rahim’s network. Had to be someone on the outside. And as luck would have it, a tip came in about forty minutes ago.”

Sandberg raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Filiponi stared at him for a moment. “And it’s credible and serious enough that both of you will be going back to Langley to stay in a safe house until we get to the bottom of this investigation and neutralize the threat against you.”

Erin exchanged a disbelieving look with Sandberg as her stomach dropped. CIA headquarters were in Langley. Safe house? She was going to have to spend God only knew how long in a freaking safe house because of this mess?

Pushing out a breath, Sandberg turned his attention back to Bertrand once more. “What tip came in?”

The man’s dark gaze never wavered from Sandberg’s. “We’ve got a few possible leads we’re looking into. One in particular we find very…interesting.”

Erin thought her stomach couldn’t drop any lower, but the way he said it made it feel like she’d just swallowed a chunk of lead. Oh yeah, she definitely wasn’t going home anytime soon, and even though she knew Agent Sandberg had no control over any of this or the terrorist after them, it didn’t mean she wasn’t still pissed as hell at him for involving her in this.

****

They weren’t telling him shit because he was officially off the taskforce, Wade realized in disgust as Erin left the room. He couldn’t believe they’d do this to him after all he’d done for The Company and his country during the past three years undercover, but agency bullshit was always a problem. It was why he’d always preferred work in the field rather than being trapped behind a desk and finding himself entangled in miles of red tape.

“You gonna tell me who you’re looking into now that she’s gone?” he said to Bertrand. Erin had been pale, clearly shaken when she’d left a minute ago. Wade wanted to go after her, but he needed to know this first. What exactly was he up against? Who’d set him up?

“You’ll be alerted if anything comes of the probe. Your handler will update you when you get to Langley.”

Wade’s hands clenched into fists as he fought to curb the sharp spike in his temper. Blowing his cool here with these desk jockeys wasn’t going to help his cause. He’d just have to wait until he got to Langley.

Dividing one last icy glare between the two of them, Wade stormed out of the room and into the hall. Erin was already out of the building. He hurried to the far door at the end of the hallway, scanning for her when he stepped outside into the bright sunshine. Shading his eyes with one hand, he spotted her headed toward the Exchange, and broke into a jog. “Hey,” he called out.

She paused to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes shooting daggers at him. Not that he blamed her. If not for him, she’d be on her way to her parents’ ranch right now. Instead, she’d been chased and shot at yesterday, forced to stay the night in a cave and was now stuck here at Bagram until they caught a transport back stateside to whatever safe house the agency had picked out for them. Where they’d be staying
together
, due to budget restrictions or some other shit Bertrand had explained.