HelenKay Dimon - Gunning for Trouble

“Since I’m not sure how to answer that, I won’t,” Adam said.

Caleb had had enough conversation. He wasn’t too fond of Avery’s reaction to Adam either. Hearing them joke back and forth while he stood right there was not Caleb’s idea of a good time. It made him want to punch something. Like Adam.

Leave it to Avery to come between them. From his experience, she ruined everything. Seemed she hadn’t lost that trait.

But they had a bigger problem at the moment and it—or rather, they—had just turned the corner and were heading down the alley. When Adam tensed, Caleb figured his friend had seen them, too. It took Avery a little longer, but her sharp intake of breath signaled her awareness.

“Everything okay up there?” The policeman was on top of them in a few steps. He put his hand on his gun and his partner beside him followed suit.

Two men in their late forties, if Caleb had to guess. Uniforms, matching battle stances, calm tone. Caleb wasn’t getting the paid-assassin vibe from them, but he inched his fingers closer to the weapon tucked in his waistband just in case. He noticed Adam did the same.

Caleb decided to play dumb until one of their guests gave him a reason to start shooting. “Is it a fire? If so, we figured it wasn’t safe to use the elevators.”

“Something like that.” The officer’s shoulders relaxed. “You see anyone else wandering around over here or upstairs?”

Avery shook her head, but the rest of her body remained rock still. “No, sir.”

The officer motioned them off the steps. “Then get moving. You should have been out and on the street a half hour ago.”

“We thought it was a drill.”

The officers waited until the three of them stepped on the macadam. “We need everyone out until we confirm the electrical fire and make sure it’s under control. Can you three find your way?”

Even though they looked to be in the clear, Caleb didn’t let any of the tension leave his body. He stayed ready. “Absolutely.”

The officer nodded. “Get moving.”

They waited until the police turned the corner to the front of the building again before anyone said anything. Finally, Avery let out a shaky breath. “That was close.”

“Too much so.” They kept to the side of the brick wall, out in the alley and far out of the line of sight of any of the professionals or gunmen who may be walking around the front of the complex as Caleb explained their plan. “Adam will act as a decoy and drive Avery’s car. We’ll take his alternate truck and head in the opposite direction.”

“Alternate what? You know what? Forget it. I’m not going to ask.” Avery reached into her bag and grabbed her keys. “Here. I’m parked on the street.”

Adam took them and then threw his set to Caleb. “I’m in the garage.”

Caleb felt more faith in the plan than he did five seconds ago. “Even better. We can divert their attention.”

“But there are people everywhere.” Her wild-eyed gaze traveled between the men. “And then there’s the part where this is dangerous. Adam could be hurt.”

“We could all be killed.” Caleb took in her openmouthed stare and decided she still didn’t get it. “What did you think was supposed to happen when my front door exploded? That wasn’t a friendly hello.”

A fiery heat replaced the worry in her eyes. “I am well aware of what happened, Caleb. I was there.”

“They broke into my house with weapons drawn. They, whoever they are—and you will be filling me in on that as soon as I get you to safety—were not there to talk.”

As a result, his condo, her house and anywhere else obvious was out as a hiding place.

That left the new Recovery Project headquarters as their option. The place was little more than an empty shell, an abandoned warehouse, but it couldn’t be traced to her and that’s all that mattered at the moment.

“You can stop talking to me like I’m an idiot.”

Oh, he knew she wasn’t that. She was smart and confident and driven. He’d lost his last job thanks to her and her ambitions. “Their orders likely were to grab you, kill me and take you somewhere for questioning. That means torture, Avery. You do understand, right?”

Adam shoved at Caleb’s shoulder. “Ease up.”

“She needs to understand.”

“I think she does.”

She stepped in front of Adam and right up to Caleb’s chest. “I’m sorry I involved you. Is that what you want to hear?”

Seeing her clenched fists and pale face knocked the temper right out of him. “If you’re right, you didn’t. Rod did.”

“He couldn’t have anticipated putting you in danger,” she asked.

“That’s exactly what he thought would happen.” Caleb tried to shut off his questions about Rod and WitSec and every other disaster, and focus instead on the problem in front of him. “Avery, that’s what we do.”

“This?”

“Exactly this.”

She hesitated a second more. “Then it’s good I’m with you.”

Them. Together. Caleb had to block out those images. “We’ll see if you feel that way in a half hour.”

“What happens then?”

“We’ll know if we escaped without gunfire,” Adam said and then turned to Caleb. “The truck is in my extra space on the top floor. No one will be looking for it or put me together with Avery. Keep her head down until you’re away, just to be safe. Don’t stop for any reason—roadblocks, questioning, I don’t care. If I need to cause a scene on my end to get you out, I will.”

“Sounds like you guys have done this before.” Her nervous laugh ruined her attempt at a joke.

“We’ve done far worse,” Caleb said.

Adam winked at her. “Certainly far stranger.”

“I’m driving a red sedan. I don’t know the license plate, so you’ll have to hit the automatic locks if there’s more than one of that color.” Her hand shook as she brushed her hair off her face. “It’s up the street on the left.”

One piece of information didn’t mesh with what Caleb knew about Avery. “Why don’t you know your license plate?”

“It’s my neighbor’s car.”

“Does she know you have it?”

“He doesn’t. I took it without asking.”

Caleb pushed the male reference out of his mind. They didn’t date anymore. She could see anyone she wanted and it wasn’t his business. He repeated the comment in his head three times, and the reality still refused to sink in. The idea of her with someone else made his back teeth slam together.

“With our luck the guy reported it and Adam will get picked up for stealing it,” Caleb grumbled, more at the idea of the neighbor than anything else.

She reached out and touched his arm. “My point is that the bad guys shouldn’t recognize the car, so Adam should skip the driving around part and come with us.”

“Negative.” Caleb made the comment right as Adam started shaking his head.

She dropped her hand back to her side. “Both of you?”

“It’s a safety measure,” Adam explained.

“And we’re done talking.” Caleb gave his command and then turned to Adam. “Head for the street. If the situation is too hot, ping me, keep walking and I’ll send someone to come around to pick you up.”

“Someone?” she asked.

“Another agent.” Caleb wondered if she thought he and Adam worked alone.

Her mouth dropped open. “How many more of you are there?”

Adam chuckled. “Three. Does that scare you?”

The shock turned into a small smile. “The exact opposite, actually.”

“Let’s go.” Caleb slipped his hand under her elbow and used his key to open the outside door to the garage.

To anyone watching they might have looked like a loving couple. In reality, Caleb had a death grip on her skin as he pulled her out and onto the underground garage floor. If he thought she would run, he was wrong. She was too busy trying to keep her dinner in her stomach rather than on the cement in front of her. The internal muscles heaved and rumbled. Everything sloshed and moved.