Hot Ice (A Hostile Operations Team Novel - Book 7) (31 page)

“You have to do something.” She sounded desperate and panicked, and he knew it was for Grace as much as for herself.

He let his gaze rove over the men in the van. They hadn’t seemed to care if he saw their faces, though they’d left her eyes covered. That couldn’t be a good sign for him.

“I know,” he said softly. He reached for her hand and squeezed. “I know.”

* * *

The exchange was to take place on the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Grace and Colonel Mendez were supposed to walk to the middle from the DC side. The men who had Garrett were supposed to cross from the Virginia side. It all seemed surreal, like a spy-movie plot. The colonel had told her that a public exchange might be dramatic, but it was actually safer. There would, presumably, be no shots fired.

Grace chewed her lower lip and didn’t say anything as they drove through the city. It was just the two of them, as had been arranged. But she knew the others—Alpha Squad, Victoria had said—weren’t far away. Garrett’s team. She’d learned their names during the past couple of hours, though she was still working on connecting code names with people.

Matt was the team leader. Then there was Kevin—who was Lucky’s husband—Billy, Chase, Dex, Nick, Ryan, and Sam. Victoria was also part of the team, as was Lucky.
 

A lot of intense, highly trained people who wanted Garrett back almost as much as she did. It gave her hope, though the fear was still there and still strong. Especially since these other men wanted her in the exchange. The colonel had assured her that wouldn’t happen, but she didn’t know how he was going to prevent it.

It was nearly eleven at night now. The bridge would be busy, but not as busy as during the day. There would be tourists walking the span, people shuffling between the Lincoln Memorial in DC and Arlington in Virginia. Not that they could get into the cemetery right now, but they’d still walk it just for the night view of the city from the other side.
 

“You still sure you want to do this?”

She turned to the colonel. She’d had to fight to be here. At first, they’d planned to have Victoria impersonate her. They’d reasoned that in the dark, with her hair covered and a pair of glasses, the bad guys wouldn’t know it wasn’t Grace.

But she’d argued that they would. They’d known enough to come after her at her home, and they surely knew what she looked like. Victoria wasn’t tall enough, and she was a bit too beautiful. Glasses wouldn’t hide that.

And then there was the chance someone would test her knowledge. Did bad guys travel with a scientist? She doubted it, but could any of them really say for certain?

“Yes, I’m sure.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. His hands flexed on the wheel. “You’re very determined for someone who’s only known Garrett Spencer for a few days.”

Grace swallowed. She knew this was the man who’d ordered Garrett not to get involved with her. And she knew he had his reasons for it. She also knew Garrett wouldn’t appreciate her letting the colonel know that he hadn’t followed orders after all.

“He took care of me, Colonel. He kept those men from getting me. How could I do any less for him?”

He didn’t say anything, and she turned her head to look at the city lights passing by. Everyone went about their lives as usual, but her life perched on the precipice of disaster. How could the world be so ordinary when yours was crumbling apart?

A phone rang in the silence, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
 

“Mendez,” the colonel said as he brought the phone to his ear. He didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Copy that. Good work. Everyone in place? … Excellent. See you there.”

He laid the phone down again.
 

“Change of plan,” he told her. “We’re going to the Jefferson Memorial instead.”

“What? Why?”

He glanced at her. “Some sort of obstruction on the bridge. Too many cops.”

She thought about what he’d said about everyone being in place. How could they be in place if the location was changing?
 

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay, Dr. Campbell. It’s what we wanted in the first place.”

She turned in her seat. “You arranged the obstruction? But why?”

“Jefferson is better. Trust me.”

He wouldn’t say anything else about it, and she lapsed into silence as they cut through the city and headed for the monument on the edge of the Tidal Basin. The Jefferson Memorial was a beautiful building set off from the rest of the Mall by a body of water. From the memorial, you could see the Washington Monument. There would still be tourists, just like on the bridge.
 

The colonel didn’t use the parking lot near the memorial. Instead, he parked a couple of streets away and they walked toward their destination. The evening was cool, and her breath frosted in the air. She was wearing a hoodie at the colonel’s insistence, and she’d covered her hair and cinched the hood tight.
 

Cars moved along the streets, and people still walked the sidewalks at this time of night. As they approached the monument, Colonel Mendez spoke. “Give me your hand, Grace.”

She did as he said. His hand was warm, though he wasn’t wearing gloves and she was. She could feel the heat burning off him, but his touch didn’t make her sizzle deep inside the way Garrett’s did. It was a companionable touch, nothing more. He held her hand lightly, and she knew he did it so they would appear to be an ordinary couple out for a stroll.

He wasn’t wearing his uniform like earlier. He’d changed into jeans, a leather jacket, and a ball cap. He didn’t look very military at the moment, though he did manage to look menacing. Like Garrett, she supposed.

They walked up the steps to the memorial, and he stopped and turned to look out over the Tidal Basin. The water shimmered darkly in the night, its smooth surface rippling with the currents from the Potomac. The Washington Monument was reflected in the water along with the lights of nearby buildings.
 

But it was still a dark, forbidding pool.
 

“What happens now?” she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

“We wait. If they want this trade badly enough, they’ll come.”

* * *

You have to do something.

Garrett was still thinking about what the hell he could possibly do when Black’s cell phone rang. After a clipped conversation, he spoke in Russian to the man driving. The van slowed and did a U-turn before heading south again at a fast clip.

Another few minutes and they were swinging onto Lee Highway, heading toward the district. The van pulled up behind the Jefferson Memorial, and Black swung around to look at the American who’d cuffed Garrett in the first place.

“Uncuff him. You and Dmitri stay here with the girl. If anything goes wrong, get the fuck out of here.”

“What do we do with the girl if things don’t go as planned?”

Black shrugged. “Get rid of her.”

Brooke sucked in a gasp, and Garrett wanted to punch the asshole. In another minute, he’d be free and he could do just that.

Except that it would cost Brooke her life, which meant he wasn’t doing it after all. No, he needed to stay calm, buy them every minute he could in hopes they’d be rescued.

The man who’d cuffed him reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. He unlocked the cuffs, and Garrett snapped them open just so the guy would jump.

Black got out of the van along with two of the other guys. They hauled Garrett out and shoved him toward the walkway that would take them around the memorial to the side facing the Tidal Basin.

He could hear Brooke crying just as the door to the van slammed shut.

“You don’t need to hurt her,” Garrett said. “She’s done nothing.”

“Don’t worry about her. Worry about you.”

“Too bad we didn’t shoot your ass in Qu’rim. Accidentally, of course.” He no longer cared if Ian Black knew that he’d recognized him for what he was.

Black snorted. “You fuckers did enough in Qu’rim. Now behave, or Miss Sullivan
will
die.”

They rounded the monument and walked toward the water. There were tourists about, but no one paid them any attention. Garrett’s gaze slid over the terrain, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Looking for Grace.

He wished like hell he knew what HOT was up to. It was hard not being on the inside, but he trusted his team. Trusted them with his life… and with Grace’s.

A couple started down the stairs, a man in a ball cap and a woman in a hoodie. They were holding hands, which was what threw Garrett off when he first looked at them. He was drawn to the woman inexplicably—and then he realized it was Grace when she moved her head and the light glinted off her glasses.

His gaze slid to the man. Colonel Mendez’s hard gaze stared back at him as they descended. It was a surprise to see him, but then again maybe it wasn’t. Colonel Mendez didn’t get involved in operations for the most part, but since guarding Grace had been his project from the beginning—and a powerful senator was involved—he was more personally involved than usual.

Garrett’s gaze went to their linked hands, and his lips tightened. It was an act, of course, but he found that it made his stomach churn.

“Gentlemen,” the colonel said, and Garrett’s captors tightened up around him.

Except for Black, who stood apart and faced Mendez.

Grace’s eyes widened as she recognized Ian Black. Garrett hated that look of betrayal on her face, but he’d tried to warn her about the man. She hadn’t wanted to believe him.

“Hello, Colonel. Grace.”

“Ian. I admit I’m a bit surprised. And disappointed.”
 

Garrett could have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious. Grace sounded like a queen. A very disappointed queen with a prim voice and more breeding in her little finger than the lot of them had in their entire bodies combined. She was beautiful. Fierce and brave and beautiful, and his chest swelled with longing.

He wanted more than anything to sweep her away from this mess, to prevent her from knowing just how rotten her fellow man could be.

Too late. She now knew that old friends were sometimes the devil in disguise. That people could turn on you when the incentive was strong enough.

“A man’s gotta eat, Gracie. I’m sorry. But I promise you’ll be fine. Just come with us, help my friends out a little bit, and no one will get hurt.”

She snorted. “No one will get hurt? Ian, you have no idea what you’re messing with—what could happen if you let this hypothetical thing loose in the world. It won’t go where you tell it. It won’t discriminate.”

Ian Black’s head lifted. “I could say the same to you. Did you stop to think about that before you created it? About what could happen if you succeeded?”

Grace’s throat moved, and her gaze dropped for a split second. Then she was glaring at Ian again. “I didn’t create anything. I failed. That’s the truth. I falsified the results, but the lab was so happy with me that I couldn’t back down without losing everything I’d ever worked for.”

Black stared at her for a long moment. Then he laughed. “Nice try, Gracie. But I don’t believe you.” He turned his attention to Mendez. “I’ll take Dr. Campbell, Colonel. As soon as I’m in my car with her, I’ll call my men and they’ll turn over Spencer.”

Mendez’s mouth was a hard, flat line. “That doesn’t sound like a plan I’m going to agree to.”

“I’m not sure you have a choice. My men are armed.” Black seemed irritated more than menacing.

The colonel’s mouth curled in a smile. “What a coincidence… so are mine.”

The Tidal Basin erupted.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“DOWN, GRACE!”

She didn’t know who’d yelled at her—Colonel Mendez or Garrett—but she dropped to her belly and flattened herself against the concrete. Her heart beat a million miles a second as dark-clad men rushed from the Tidal Basin, guns held aloft, water streaming from their bodies. They were wearing rebreathers, which was why there’d been no bubbles. No warning.
 

Someone fired a shot, but she wasn’t sure who. She heard the screams of distant voices—tourists on the memorial steps. But she couldn’t look at them.

Her gaze was caught on Garrett. He was still standing, so she was pretty certain he hadn’t been shot. He whirled and kicked the man on his right. The one on his left brandished a knife, and one of the men who’d come from the water knocked it out of his hand before taking him to the ground with a well-placed kick.
 

“Gray van in the parking lot,” Garrett yelled as he straightened from where he’d punched the man he’d been kicking. “They’ve got a hostage!”

Three of the men started running up the slope toward the parking area. In the distance, sirens wailed, growing closer. Someone had called the police. And no wonder. When a military team exploded from the water and a gunfight broke out at a national monument, it was sure to gain some attention.

A helicopter’s rotors beat the night air, and Grace snapped her head up to look at the dark sky. It wouldn’t take long for it to arrive. She dropped her gaze to the area in front of her again, but Garrett wasn’t there. The man he’d taken down was on the ground, along with the other one who’d been holding him, and two men stood over them, guarding them.