A whizz and a pop. Then a grunt and a thud. And silence.
She didn’t realize she’d squeezed her eyes shut. When she pried them open, it was to see the warrior sit up and brush himself off. He might have laughed.
Laughed.
“That went well.”
Oh. Holy God.
Ben’s voice from behind her made her heart sing, fly. She lurched around, taking the chair with her. “Ben!” she cried.
He was so beautiful. So precious and dear. So handsome. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her, and then he murmured. “Are you okay?”
“You’re here. Of course, I’m okay.”
He glanced at her bare chest and growled. “Fuckers. He pointed his gun at Ralley’s body, which was on the floor, lying on top of Jonas’…and shot him again.
“I think he’s dead,” a deep voice said from her side.
She whipped her head around and stared at the warrior. Her breath caught in her throat. Holy shit, he was big. And ominous. And handsome.
“Not dead enough,” Ben growled. He narrowed his eyes on his buddy and added. “I’ll fucking shoot you too if you don’t stop staring at her chest, Sterling.”
Sterling shrugged. Grinned. “It’s…a nice chest.”
Ben might have snarled. He looked his friend up and down. “You okay?” he asked, but there was little warmth in the question.
Sterling nodded and he slipped off his heavy jacket. Michelle realized it was a flak jacket, just like the one Ben had been wearing when he’d been shot. Still, Sterling grimaced as he moved his arm. “I’m fine. I told you it would work.”
Ben nodded and then picked up Jonas’ knife and cut her free. She worked her fingers to get the circulation going as he took the jacket from Sterling and wrapped her up in it. It was heavy. She could feel the weight of the metal plates.
“Shall we get out of here?” he asked.
“Oh yes,” she said. “Please.”
Sterling thrust a thumb at the doorway. “We have a transport waiting at Bolling to take us to HQ for the debrief.”
Ben curled his arm around her shoulder and led her out into the bright sunlight. “My boss is very interested in looking at your file. The information in it will give us a lead on Red Wolf.”
She smiled. “Without Ralley and ASTCORP, his plans to set up his minions in the senate will never work.”
“Right. But Red Wolf will always have some plot afoot.”
“Until we kill him dead,” Sterling added.
“Killing him dead sounds like a plan,” Ben said with a grin. He opened the back door of the truck and helped her in. “But before we leave, we need to go back to your apartment.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“We need that file.”
Michelle couldn’t hold back her laugh. “The file is not in my apartment, silly,” she said.
“Where is it?”
She pointed to her head. “In here.”
“In…there? All of it?”
“All of it.” Every word.
He gaped at her. She liked the awe in his expression.
But then, that look might not have been for her phenomenal skills. It might have been…just for her.
And that was mighty fine indeed.
He pulled her closer and kissed her. It sent a warm river of need and delight through her. He was alive and she was alive and life was too short for them not to do…more of this. Forever if they could.
“You are an amazing woman, you know that, Michelle Parsons?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered, loving the responding blaze in his eyes. “I am.”
Epilogue
“Aren’t you done yet?”
Michelle glanced up as Ben’s petulant tone wafted from the doorway. She shot him a repentant smile. “Not yet.”
“And your incessant interruptions aren’t helping,” Titanium growled. He sat across from Michelle in the austere, mirrored debriefing room. A microphone sat between them on the metal table, pointed at her face. She’d been talking into it for hours, answering question after question.
When she’d finished relaying the pertinent details of Ralley’s plot and how he was connected to Babikov, Titanium, apparently being directed by someone speaking into his ear piece, had begun asking probing questions about ASTCORP.
She’d answered them all. Told them everything she knew. And it was a lot.
He was a large man, like Ben, but a platinum blond. He was intimidating as well, but the fact that he had a beautiful golden lab by his side throughout the interrogation made her trust him.
You could trust a man who loved dogs. You could trust a man dogs loved.
Ben leveled a glower on Titanium. “She deserves a break,” he grumbled.
Titanium snorted. “I want to get as much as I can while she’s fresh.”