Dangerous to Know (32 page)

“Zoe?” Mercer shoved his face into hers as she blinked and fought back unconsciousness. “Don't you fucking quit on me!”

He was right in her face, their noses an inch apart, if that much. He pressed on her shoulder and she gasped as pain went slicing through her, red-hot and searing.

There was another zip and then two more. She stared in fascination at the carpet. It looked like it jerked, tiny pieces of it making a little powder puff a few inches from her head.

“Someone drop that fucking sniper!” Mercer yelled into a handheld communications device.

“They're working on it,” Saxon barked from across the room. He grabbed the chair Roni was strapped to and pulled it into the dining room. There was a horrifying grinding noise as the metal legs gouged tracks in the wooden floor. Roni made a sound that resembled a growl as she and Saxon disappeared from sight.

Zoe didn't get a chance to see much else. Mercer was pulling her up and slinging her over his shoulder. He didn't open the door. Instead he shot out the front window. The safety glass fell out of his way in a shower of tiny pebbles before he carried her through it.

She ended up crouched down in the middle of Roni's prized star lilies. The sweet smell engulfed them as the sound of a helicopter drowned out everything else.

“About time,” Mercer growled. He grabbed a fistful of her shirt again and used it to sit her up against the side of the building. He was yanking his own shirt off and balling it up. A moment later, she gasped as he shoved it into the bullet wound on her shoulder. She arched up, trying to escape the agony.

“Not a chance, Zoe. I'm not letting you bleed out,” he growled at her. “I warned you once. Not on my watch.”

His watch.

That was right.

It was an operation.

They were the last thoughts that her brain managed to grip before the blackness she'd been fending off slammed into her with so much force, she lost the battle. It was better anyway.

Better that she wouldn't get the chance to see Mercer walk out of her life.

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

She'd never really understood pain before.

Zoe woke up feeling like she'd discovered a whole new definition of hurt. It was deep and hot and so intense, she wasn't sure opening her eyes was worth the effort. Sinking back into blissful unconsciousness was very attractive.

“Come on, Zoe … wake up.”

“Bram?” She forced her eyelids up, looking around for her brother. He was sticking his head through the bodies of scrub-wearing people who were all busy poking her with various tubes and needles. They watched her through plastic glasses and had medical masks on.

“Big pinch now,” one of them called out as a needle was pushed into her arm. Comparably, it was a drop in the bucket given the way her shoulder was on fire.

There was a soft ripping sound as her top was cut off her.

“Yeah, sis, it's me.” Bram confirmed.

“Excuse me, sir.” One of the medical people turned on her brother. “We need you to wait in the hall.”

Zoe tried to sit up. “Wait … Bram … Where is Roni?”

She didn't get far. Someone pushed her back onto the bed as machines started beeping and chirping all around her. A blood pressure cuff was inflating around her arm, putting pressure on the biceps as someone pressed a cold stethoscope against her inner arm.

The pain was making her nauseous. The single foot that she'd managed to lift her head off the pillow was enough to make the room spin. She lay back down, fighting the urge to throw up. There was no way she was going to add public humiliation to the day's events.

Hell, it was the little things in life that counted … right?

“We're going to give you some pain medication, Ms. Magnus…”

The plunger was already being pushed as the doctor spoke. She looked up from where a glove-covered hand was holding the IV port stuck in her arm to see a doctor peering intently at the monitors above her.

“Right. Let's get her up to surgery.”

Her thoughts went fuzzy as the bed started down the hallway. The iridescent lights above her looked like some kind of roller-coaster track. Bram poked his head in again as she felt herself being carried away on the wings of the drug. Behind him, she thought she saw Mercer, but wasn't really sure. Her vision was blurry, her grasp on facts slipping.

It didn't matter. He was waiting in her dreams for her. The nightmarish moments in Roni's condo replaying over and over again as she was held powerless by the pain medication to escape back into consciousness.

*   *   *

“This isn't over.”

Saxon was kneeling on the floor of Roni's condo, taking in the scene. Vitus hunkered down near him, tracing the tracks of the bullets. There were little numbered flags dotting the area now. Flashes were still going off from cameras as evidence was collected. Tim's body lay where he'd drawn his last breath, his limbs contorted. The blood covering his chin was darkening. Time was dulling the facts.

“Why do you say that?” Kagan asked.

Vitus and Saxon pushed back up to their feet to greet their supervisor. Kagan was attired in his standard suit that covered his chest harness. Saxon and Vitus were still wearing their civilian jeans and T-shirts. Saxon had his badge clipped to his belt. Vitus had a
SPECIAL AGENT
sticker slapped onto his back to allow him into the crime scene. The uniformed police were stuck outside doing traffic duty as the term
classified
was used to keep them from getting a look at the scene.

“You know why,” Saxon responded.

Kagan gave him a crusty laugh. “Just trying to compare notes. You might be brighter than I am.”

“Some things don't change,” Vitus observed, earning a raised eyebrow from Kagan. “You still play stupid when you want to know what someone else is thinking.”

Kagan flashed him a grin. “Maybe I'm just humble.”

“The word that comes to mind is …
calculating
,” Vitus said.

His onetime superior enjoyed the compliment. His eyes brightened for a moment before he looked at Saxon, his thoughts back on the case. Kagan nodded at the scene. “What do you see?”

Saxon pointed at the corner Tim had taken refuge in. “This was never about that hard drive. Tim used it as a way to get Zoe in play.”

“It was shit anyway,” Vitus said. “Old data.”

“That doesn't mean it wasn't being sold,” Kagan said. “I'd rather catch my bad guys with false bait than risk losing control of critical intel.”

“True,” Saxon agreed. “Bad data is still classified data. But that doesn't explain the body armor and the sniper. The perfect setting in the corner by the heat source. Bait placed in the open area.”

“This was a cross-fire kill zone,” Vitus confirmed.

“It is.” Kagan agreed. “Tight and almost effective. Tyler wanted a whole lot of bodies on the ground. No other reason for him to make Tim think he wanted in on the deal. Tyler knew he could never touch that money, it would be too simple to trace.”

“And he assigned the case to me,” Saxon concluded in an ominous tone.

Kagan nodded. “I'd say it's a solid bet he had an arrangement with the good Congressman Jeb Ryland.”

“Can you prove it?” Vitus asked.

Kagan shook his head. “But I've got Tyler alive. Let's see if anyone comes to his rescue.”

“Ryland wouldn't be that stupid,” Saxon said.

“I wouldn't be too sure about that,” Kagan replied. “Tyler isn't wet behind the ears. You can bet he's got some deets on Ryland. Things that might really soil the man's dreams of getting to the White House.”

Kagan exchanged a hard look with Vitus.

The three men stood silent, surveying the evidence for a moment longer. Kagan slowly nodded. He pulled something out of his suit jacket and offered it to Vitus. The afternoon light reflected off the badge. Vitus hesitated, his eyes narrowing as his jaw tightened. He tightened his grip on his belt while Kagan considered his response.

“I never agreed a hundred percent with Tyler's handling of your case. Even if I did, I'd have to revisit the matter since he proved to be a rat's-assed traitor. Take your shield.”

“Maybe I don't want it back,” Vitus argued.

Kagan snorted. “You just don't want to reach for it. Don't blame you any for being a little steamed, either.” He sobered. “Take your shield, man. We might all know Tyler was working for Ryland, but we're not going to take the good congressman down with our opinions. You need the resources the department can give you to keep yourselves alive. This isn't over.”

Vitus took the badge and shook the hand Kagan offered him.

“Now, I know you've been working hard, but I need you to get up to the hospital and sit on Bryan Magnus's daughter. Can't have her getting smothered in her hospital bed.”

“Mercer is up there,” Saxon supplied.

“So is her brother,” Vitus added.

“Bet that's a combustible combination. Sorry I won't get to see it.” Kagan choked on a laugh. He offered them both a two-finger salute before disappearing through the kitchen of the condo.

Saxon took another look around the room.

“What are you thinking, brother?” Vitus asked.

“That we are going to have to deal with Ryland. As Kagan hinted.”

Vitus declined to answer but that didn't change how much he agreed with his brother. “Well, today's challenge is keeping Zoe Magnus from getting smothered while Mercer is dealing with her brother.”

“Why do you think I sent Greer and Maddox up there already?” Saxon supplied. “I've got enough paperwork to fill out without having to bail those two out of city jail.”

Vitus clipped the shield to his belt and put his gun on his belt now that he was licensed to open-carry again. “In that case, let's get a move on it before we miss the fun.”

*   *   *

The ICU nurses were accustomed to high emotions.

But they were getting nervous as Bram and Mercer took turns standing at Zoe's bedside. They changed places every fourteen and a half minutes, in strict accordance with the fifteen-minute visitation rule. It was those thirty seconds when they were passing each other that the air tightened and the nurses kept their hands hovering over the security panic button.

“We're going to talk,” Bram said as he passed Mercer.

“You can count on that.”

Bram pushed through the doors into the hallway and sent Greer a look warning the agent to clear the path. But that left him facing a ravishing female. She lifted her eyelids and flashed him a look that captivated him. A second later he was tripping over his own feet, his boot soles skidding on the polished tile floor. Disengaged from her stare, he shook off the fascination that had gripped him, giving him enough clear thought to realize what an idiot he'd just been.

“Agent Thais Sinclair.” She was holding her hand out when he looked back at her.

Bram squelched the urge to take her hand and hold it like … well, like he was going to kiss the back of it. But shaking it felt wrong. He finished after two short pumps and was pretty certain he caught a glint of amusement in her dark eyes. She oozed feminine … something or other. It was a hazy, undefined sort of awareness. He felt like he was about fourteen, at the first school dance and getting his first glance at dresses that reveled what school uniforms had been hiding.

“I was on the team assigned to your sister.”

Mentioning Zoe cleared up his thinking instantly. “Really?”

“Of course,” Thais responded in a tone that was honey-coated. The agent didn't appear to be attempting to cajole him, which made her seductiveness that much more effective. There was something about her that was a pure shot of captivation.

“An all-male team would have been inappropriate.”

“You can leave off, Thais,” Saxon said as he came around the hallway corner.

Agent Sinclair turned and considered her team leader but her attention shifted to the man walking beside him and the badge clipped to his belt.

“Very interesting,” she said in that drawl before she turned and made her way down to the waiting room.

Bram felt his collar tightening as he watched her body move. Heat touched his cheeks when he shifted his attention back to Saxon and caught the man watching him with a knowing look in his eyes.

Which only flipped the switch of his temper.

“What kind of team do you run anyway, Hale?” Bram demanded.

“An effective one,” was the cool reply.

Bram fought to keep his voice even. “So I've heard.” He bit the words out, making it clear how much he wanted to smash his fist into Saxon's jaw.

“If you want to fight, I'm your man,” Mercer said from behind him.

Bram twisted around, his fingers tightening into a fist.

“Zoe is worth it,” Mercer said. “I'm not defending what I did and I'm not disappearing, either. So we might as well get the tension dealt with.”

“We need to talk…” Saxon interrupted, stepping between the two men. “And get our professional back on.”

Mercer stared at his team leader. “I held the line on the professional part of the operation. There is a personal part. One I mean to explore.”

“Vitus … talk some sense into him.”

Vitus only hooked his hands into his belt and considered Mercer for a long moment. He slowly shook his head. “Pointless. Besides, it's really up to the girl.” He cast a look at Bram. “Do you clear your girlfriend choices through your sister?”

Bram's body tightened. “This isn't about me.”

“No, it isn't,” Mercer agreed. “I'm here to stay. Get used to it.”

“Only if she'll have you,” Bram fired back at him.

Mercer stood up to his hard glare before letting Saxon turn him away.

If she'll have you …