Silent Warrior: A Loveswept Classic Romance (20 page)

She’d thought Nathan had given her that. The freedom to truly break free and do what she wanted. But she knew now she had given it to herself. Since his death, she’d never really freed herself again. She rubbed a fingertip over his smile as she thought about all the life plans they’d made in that bungalow.

The driver’s-side door opened and she shoved the photo away.

All John said was, “Get your seat belt on.” They were swerving onto the highway before she had the clasp hooked.

She held on to the door handle and the dashboard with equal fervor. “Where are we going, John? I think I have a right to know.”

“There’s been a change of plans.”

“Considering I didn’t know the original plan—”

“I got a cell call.”

Which explained why he’d taken so long coming back to the car. And she thought he’d been agonizing over her. More fool she.

She’d been there when Scottie had given him the high-tech phone. Apparently it was a creation of their former leader, specialized in that it scrambled the
transmission so no one could listen in on a conversation. Spy toys.

“Did they catch them? Is it over?” She tried to keep the hope from her voice.

“No.”

She sighed in frustration but swallowed her retort when she noticed his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

Quietly she asked, “What happened, John?”

He paused, but only for a second. “T. J. He’s hurt. There’s no one to go in after him.”

Realization came swiftly. “Except you.”

He nodded sharply.

“But Scottie said—”

“The hell with what Scottie said. You don’t know what he got me out of, Cali. I can’t just let him—” He broke off and shoved his foot down on the gas pedal.

Cali swallowed hard, the still-brutal-looking bruises marking his beautiful body agonizingly clear in her mind’s eye. “So where do we go to get him?”

“That’s the change in plans. I don’t have much time.”

An ominous feeling settled heavily in her chest. “So where are we going?”

“Airstrip, just ahead.”

Her eyes narrowed further. “We’re taking a trip?”

“Not exactly.” He hadn’t looked at her once.

Cali didn’t have to drag the whole tiling out of him, she saw the scenario pretty clearly. “So you were going to ship me off somewhere so you could run back and join your buddies all along.”

His silence was answer enough. Eyes glued to the road, he took another tight curve with gravity-bending speed.

Cali hesitated before hashing it out any further for fear she’d distract him, and after all of this, they’d both end up roadkill in the middle of nowhere. But patience had never been her strong suit.

“Answer me, McShane. Does Scottie know about this? Was this the real plan all along?” She’d been in on all the final instructions, and to her knowledge, John was to stay with her until it was all over—the only aspect of the plan she’d approved of. Of course, she realized now, there could have been other meetings she knew nothing about.

He glanced at her.

“You bastard.”

He turned his attention back to the highway. “I’ve told you that before about me.”

She didn’t know which emotion won out—fury or hurt. It didn’t matter, her control snapped. “Where are you sending me? I thought you all couldn’t trust anyone? The only other person who knows anything—” Her eyes widened. “No. No, you wouldn’t.” She didn’t care if she killed them both, she reached out and dug her nails into his arm. “Tell me you’re not sending me to my father.”

He didn’t flinch under her assault. “There was no other way. The embassy can afford us protection that we couldn’t ensure anywhere else.”

One word snagged her attention. “
Us?
Do you
expect me to believe you really intend to get on the plane?”

“It was my intention.”

“Until now.”

He slowed down marginally and looked at her. “I have to go back for T. J., Cali.”

“Then take me with you.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Then stop the car.”

“Don’t, Cali. This whole thing will be over soon. You won’t have to stay at the embassy more than a couple of weeks.”

“Just when were you going to tell me?”

“At about twenty-thousand feet. Where I knew you couldn’t pull a stunt like you want to pull now.”

She hated the fact that his plan had been right on, because she would have tried to bail out. “What makes you think you can get me on that plane now?”

He slowed the car completely and pulled over. “Because there is no way I’m going to let you anywhere near the action. You’ve been as close to a fired bullet as you’re going to get. Let the team take down Adrian Magdelane. He, or someone he works for—Grimshaw, most likely—tried to kill you. He probably had something to do with Nathan’s accident too. Whatever you feel for me or think of me, don’t put me through this, Cali.”

“If you’re so damned worried about me, then why were you so eager to get rid of me?”

“Nothing else has changed, Cali. I didn’t lie about how I feel. I also didn’t lie about what I think is best.”

“Yeah, but best for me or for you?”

He stared at her for a long time, then very quietly said, “I wish I knew.”

It wasn’t his words, but the true anguish she saw in his eyes that extinguished her anger and will to fight. “I don’t suppose there is anywhere else on the face of the earth you can hide me until this is over?”

To his credit, he didn’t show any relief at her unspoken decision.

“If there was, I’d have found it. I want you safe.”

“Make me one promise.”

“If I can.”

“When this is all over, I get a full report on exactly what happened. Especially since it involved Nathan.”

A flash of pain crossed John’s features and his hand reflexively gripped the gear knob. Despite her lingering anger, Cali felt her eyes burn. She smoothed her fingers over the now rigid veins in his arms. “He’d be proud of you, John. Of all that you’ve done. For both of us.”

He didn’t say anything, didn’t move so much as a hair.

Cali swore silently, knowing it was time to shut up but unable to. “He’d also want me to be happy. You too. Don’t let a ghost stand in the way, McShane. When this is over, put it all to rest.”

In answer, he shifted her hand from his arm and pulled back on the road. Hurt mixed with pain, but she bit her lip and remained silent. Several minutes passed, then several more.

“I want to know about T. J. too,” she said quietly. “I understand why you have to go back for him.”

He slowed for a second and looked directly at her. “I would have gotten on the plane, Cali.”

She simply nodded. There was nothing else left to say.

TWELVE

John paced the twentieth-floor Denver office that had once belonged to Seve Delgado but was now temporary home to Scottie Giardi. She was late.

He stared out the floor-to-ceiling window behind the massive desk, too preoccupied to see the majesty of the Rockies laid out before him. He hadn’t been informed about why he was there, although he could make a pretty good guess.

“Well, Ms. Giardi is going to have to learn to take no for an answer,” he muttered. He turned away from the window and paced the considerable length of the office. Scottie had taken the idea of rebuilding the team to heart. She was not only scouting for new team members, but also changing the way the team operated. She wanted a permanent interior staff of trained operatives as well as field agents. Her rationale was to prevent what had happened when Del left
from happening again. This would give the team depth and a broader base of power.

John approved. Had told her so. He just didn’t want to be a part of it. Problem was, he had no idea what he did want to be a part of. It had been two months since they’d brought in the fringe team that formed inside the Blue Circle, calling themselves the Inner Circle. They had restructured themselves as an internal band of Uncle Sam’s finest who had their own code for success. They had been operating for their own gain for well over ten years. Having Nathan’s program become available again had been too tempting to pass up. The possibility of retiring the entire team in luxury and wealth as a result of selling the program to the highest international bidder had caused them to get sloppy, impatient, and they’d gone after Cali.

In the end, she had been the one to bring about their downfall. She’d been right on about Adrian being the connection. Once the team had brought him in, it had been only matter of time before the rest were rounded up. Trial dates still hung in the far future, but for now, Cali was safe. And the virus program had been rendered inactive with an antidote program.

He hadn’t seen Cali since he’d sent her off in that plane. She’d stayed away for several weeks, then returned to L.A. He knew that she’d made a stop in Denver to be debriefed. She’d been told, along with all the other gritty details, that he had successfully extricated T. J., though his teammate had sustained
injuries serious enough to require some lengthy hospitalization. John had talked with Scottie and T. J.

The only one he hadn’t heard from was Cali. Not once.

Not that he’d expected to. He swore under his breath and paced back to the window. Her words still rang in his ears.
What exactly are you afraid of, John McShane?

The door opened behind him. He swung around just as Scottie crossed the threshold.

“If you dragged me here to talk me into being internal strategic coordinator, you could have saved the airfare—”

He broke off when another person entered the room.

Cali.

In that moment he realized he knew the answer. Had known it all along. He’d been afraid he wouldn’t survive if he allowed himself to want her, had her, then lost her again. But hadn’t that already happened?

Scottie walked briskly to her desk, leaving Cali pausing in the doorway. Apparently she knew nothing about this little meeting either.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Scottie sat in the large burgundy leather chair and rolled up to the desk. “Cali and I had some last-minute details to hammer out.” She looked from one to the other then glanced down at her blotter. John thought she might have grinned, but he found his attention pulled back to the doorway.

Scottie pinned both of them with a no-nonsense
look and gestured to the two navy leather chairs across from her. “Well, have a seat. I’m due at another meeting in less than ten minutes.”

Cali stepped in, her long russet skirt brushing her ankles when she sat. She crossed her arms over a thick, cream-colored cowl sweater and turned her attention to Scottie. John found himself following suit, though he had a harder time forcing his attention to his former boss.

Scottie snapped open a folder and pulled out two thick sheaves of papers. She slid the slightly thinner one across the desk toward Cali and the other toward John. “Here is the final outline of the proposed restructuring of the new Dirty Dozen.” She looked to Cali as they both picked up their copies. “You know most of this. Familiarize yourself with the rest. Any questions John can’t answer, save for the first meeting.” She shifted to John, not giving him time to assimilate her words much less comment on them. “My proposal for your position is all there. It’s my final offer. I think I have covered everything that might be of a concern to you. I want you as part of this team, John, and I’m not above using any means to get you. You might be interested to know that Santerra has agreed to meet with me to discuss his becoming our in-house special-skills trainer. That’s where I’m headed now, in fact.” She nodded at the papers he held. “I think you’ll see that I mean business.” She flipped her folder closed, scooted her chair back, and stood. “Please don’t add to my workload and make me replace you.”

She rounded the desk and stuck out her hand to Cali, who also rose and shook it. “Welcome to the team, Agent Ellis.” She jerked her head toward John. “I’d say I was sorry for the surprise, but I’m not.” She flashed a sudden, brilliant smile that was stunning in its transformation of her demeanor. “Now’s your shot, Cali. Don’t you blow it, either.”

She strode to the door, had one hand on the knob when John finally found his feet and his voice. He had questions. A lot of them. He fully intended to get answers to each one of them, but first things first. “Scottie.”

She turned, raising a questioning brow.

He’d lost too much in the past by not saying what was in his heart when he should have. This was as good a place to turn over a new leaf as any. “Regardless of my decision, Del would be proud of you. We all are.”

A faint trace of color on her cheeks was her only reaction. She was a leader already.

“It takes all of us, John. Don’t let him down.”

“Low blow, Agent Giardi. You still backing out after you reorganize?”

“Touché, Agent McShane.” She smiled; this time it seemed less spontaneous and more than a bit intimidating. “But for the record, when you report to work next week, you can call me boss.” She was gone before he could so much as nod his approval.

“Does that mean you’re on the team again?” Cali asked.

He turned to face her. “It means I think she’ll make a helluva boss.”

He let himself truly look at her. In less than five minutes the entire foundation of his world had shifted, and as was becoming the rule rather than the exception, Cali Ellis was in the center of it.