Nori's Delta (Delta Team Three #1) - Lori Ryan Page 0,35
before. “No one is seriously injured. Marcus hit his head and Sharon’s wrist is sore but nothing life threatening.”
“How did they know we were coming?” Eleanor looked at Heath. “We were scheduled to be there through the afternoon.”
Merlin met Heath’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Heath had been wondering the same thing.
Still, he brushed off her concern. She had enough to think about without worrying about the fact that someone on her team might be trying to get her killed.
“They probably had a team watching for any opportunity that might arise.”
It was true. They’d probably simply left the men there to watch just in case they got a shot in on her. In fact, the attempt hadn’t been all that professional or well organized. Heath wondered if the organization after her had simply hired a few extra amateurs to cover their bases since the professional teams they’d sent so far hadn’t been successful.
What he didn’t say to her was that it was possible the person who had leaked her flight information wasn’t back in her home office, but here on the ground with them. And that person had somehow messaged their contact when Eleanor changed their schedule.
When he got her back to the hotel safely, Heath was going to tear into the lives of the people around her. They needed to find out who was helping these people and put a stop to it. Now.
Chapter 16
Not unexpectedly, it was a while before he was able to get Eleanor alone. She met with her team while his people tried to find out what was happening. Duff radioed in that Demir and his brother had gone to the bunker where the doctors were being kept. Duff was still watching from outside, but so far no one had come back out.
He studied the people sitting at the table with her now. Marcus’s hands were shaking and the others all looked shook up. But even if one of them had been the one to tip off whoever was gunning for them, they’d be shaken by what had happened.
He could see Beth looking at all of the members of the team and could all but read her thoughts. She was starting to doubt all of them. Geoff too, going by the edge to his tone as they spoke.
Eleanor, though, she was holding it all together. “Guys, we have a job to do. I know what just happened was scary as hell and if any of you want to go home, I won’t blame you for that. But if we stay, we need to find a way to stay calm through this and go back in there. We can’t let whoever this is derail these talks. We just can’t.”
Sharon rubbed her arms as though she were trying to warm herself. “That was … “ She stopped and shook her head. “That was horrible. It was terrifying when that truck hit us.”
Eleanor reached over and squeezed the other woman’s hand. “It was. And I know this is hard. You can go home if that’s what you want to do.” She looked to her people. “And you guys can stay back at the hotel and support me from here if you want to do that, too. I can manage.”
That got her people’s attention and Heath saw steel in all their eyes at that. Even Marcus, despite the shaky hands.
“To hell with that,” Beth said. “We’re not going to be run off.” She looked around at the group. “And I’ll tell you what I’m also not going to let them do. I won’t let someone make me suspect all of you. I don’t believe it was anyone in this room and I won’t let someone scare me into thinking the worst of the people I know and trust to have my back.”
Eleanor was smiling at Beth but Heath wasn’t so sure. He wouldn’t rule out anyone as long as Eleanor was in danger. He couldn’t.
Half an hour later, Heath watched as Jangles and Zip led Eleanor’s people out of the hotel room before turning to Eleanor.
“Want to go to our room and take a break? You can lie down for a bit before meeting the others for dinner.”
She tilted her head. “So it’s officially our room?”
He gave a low laugh and walked closer to her, closing the space between them like he’d wanted to all day. He’d never had such a hard time remaining professional on an op. Not that he was fully succeeding. He’d already made it damned