Sudden Recall (13 page)

Parker said, “Then give us enough to go on that we can keep away from whoever these mercenaries you hired are, long enough to find the second flash drive.”

Sienna said, “Hey, Karen,” into the phone and stepped aside, still listening to Parker and Loughton.

While she said a lot of “Yeah” and “Yep,” she heard Loughton say, “I didn't hire those men.” He groaned. “The buyer must be trying to get the flash drives by any means necessary, since the sale went south. He's going around me, because I clearly don't have them.” He muttered aloud his feelings about that.

“So help me and Sienna get the information before the buyer finds her and extracts their locations.”

Sienna didn't figure Loughton cared what happened to her, only what happened to his property. But hopefully he would tell them enough to point them in the right direction, even with selfish motives. She didn't want him to escape justice, and she didn't think Parker would allow that to happen, either. Loughton had to face the consequences of putting all of their lives in danger. If he hadn't stolen the information and offered it for sale, none of this would be happening.

Loughton shoved one shoulder forward, a final attempt at besting Parker physically. Then he said, “Okay. I want an agreement with the marshals. Witness protection, the whole deal. The CIA can't find me, not ever. I get one inkling someone is looking to close in on me, and I'm dust. I'll hide out somewhere no one will ever find me.”

THIRTEEN

T
he helicopter was in the grocery store parking lot when they pulled in. Local police were also there—two cars with flashing lights while the cops kept gawkers back.

Parker let the cops wave him through the crowd of shoppers and parked. He turned to Sienna. “Wait in the car?”

She nodded, a neutral expression on her face that he couldn't read. She'd done well on the highway, enabling him to bring Loughton in to custody. Hopefully, his team would be able to garner enough information from the former NSA agent that they could finish this without anyone getting seriously hurt.

Parker opened the back door and held Loughton's elbow while the man got out. His boss, Jonah, came over and walked with Parker and Loughton to the helicopter. Ames was in the chopper, ready to secure the cuffs to a chain that attached to the floor of the helicopter but had enough slack so Loughton could sit safely and comfortably.

Two paces from the door, the hair on the back of Parker's neck started to prickle. He didn't look around to see where the threat was coming from. He sped up, muscling Loughton faster toward the chopper. “In!”

Jonah knew what that meant. It had happened before, someone trying to shut down their witness. Or kill them so their fugitive escaped custody. Jonah matched his pace, and they hauled Loughton up into the aircraft.

Shots rang out. A circular hole planted in the metal of the chopper six inches above his head.

“Rifle fire.” Parker ducked. Loughton and Jonah did the same. Ames aimed out of the window and returned fire.

“Get me out of here,” Loughton wailed. “The CIA must have found me.”

Crack.

The report was so loud he could hear it over the screams of the crowd as they ran for cover. Police officers yelled for them to leave the area calmly. One called for backup, and another helped a child that had fallen. They ushered everyone toward the safety of the store.

Parker wasn't so worried about them. This was a sniper, not someone who sprayed bullets into a crowd for maximum casualties.

A bullet cracked the window and the pilot cried out. Another shot was fired but didn't hit anything. Jonah jumped in and grabbed a shotgun before he turned back to Parker.

“Wait for backup, or go hunting?”

Parker didn't fancy getting shot crossing the parking lot to search for whoever was shooting at them, but they needed to know who it was. “Hunting.”

Jonah yelled, “Ames! The prisoner is yours.”

“I'll cover you guys.”

Parker nodded. Jonah jumped out of the far side of the chopper. Parker made sure Loughton was going to stay put and then circled wide, past the driver's door of the SUV. Sienna was out of sight, probably hunkered down.
Good girl.

Jonah would be circling around from the other direction. Eventually they would meet in the middle and have their suspect in custody.

The crack of each shot was evenly spaced long enough for the shooter to reload and aim. Parker had done it himself many times with the SEALs. It wasn't a skill easily forgotten.

He passed the rows of cars until there were no more in the lot between him and the cover of trees in front of the small stores across the street. They were going to have to leave safety and cross the street.

Crouched beside the tire of a rusty beater car, Parker saw Jonah do the same thirty feet to his left. He glanced at the stores, but couldn't see the shooter. Probably on the roof behind a tree. It would limit visibility, but given the distance was less than a quarter mile, a high-powered rifle shot would punch through the leaves and branches like a knife through overripe watermelon.

He and Jonah both ran at the same time, and a shot was fired between them.

Parker had to draw the shooter's fire. Jonah was married and had a baby on the way. Parker wasn't going to be the one to tell Elise that her new husband wasn't coming home.

Emergency sirens—police cars—pulled around the corner and sped toward the helicopter. Good. They needed to finish this clean, without too many people crowding in and making things more complicated.

Jonah ducked into an open coffee shop, probably looking for stairs that led to the roof. Parker eyed the front of the building. Window boxes of flowers. A canvas awning flapped in the morning breeze. A drainpipe. A brick, two-story building with a flat roof.

Parker secured his weapon to the clip on the front of his vest with a snap. He sprinted, leaped and grabbed the drainpipe. He climbed up with his weight braced off the wall and using the brackets holding it to the bricks. The pipe creaked and groaned against his weight, but he just climbed faster.

Crack.

The bullet whizzed past his ear, too close for his liking.

He gripped the edge of the roof, hauled his body over the top and unsnapped his weapon as he landed. Two hands on the grip.

The man dropped his gun and ran.

“Freeze!”

Parker ran after him across the gravel roof.

The siren from an ambulance filled his ears, blocking out everything but his breathing as it tore down the street.

He pumped his legs as fast as he could stand and raced after the man. Medium build, the guy was fast. Short blond hair, drab clothes. He could be easily overlooked. Probably had a face that blended into crowds. Unnoticed.

Parker narrowed the distance a little with every step. The man ran to a door and grabbed the handle. He flung the door open and came face-to-face with Jonah, weapon ready. “US Marshals.”

Parker caught up and grabbed the man's arms while Jonah covered him.

Jonah chuckled. “You look winded.”

He smirked at his boss. He was out of breath but not unfit. Adrenaline rushed through him from the sprint, but he didn't feel like he'd won the race. “Let's get him into police custody. They can retrieve the rifle.”

Jonah shot him a look and held the door open so Parker could take the shooter out first. “In a hurry?”

Uh, yeah.
He could admit to himself he was eager to get back to Sienna. She was probably freaked out over what had happened. When this was done, he'd have to take her out for a quiet dinner just to reassure himself that she was good. Stuff like this left a mark on a person, no matter how much training they had or how mentally tough they thought they were.

For all Parker had been taught to do, he had seen and done things that would break most people. They had almost broken him, and he still struggled with lingering nightmares and anxiety that liked to creep in when the team was running down whatever fugitive they'd been tasked to bring in that week. The team knew the signs and how to adjust accordingly when Parker was having a hard time dealing. They had to so that it didn't hurt the job.

But Sienna had none of that. No training that she remembered, and almost no support system.

Except him.

Parker and Jonah walked the shooter and handed him off to the police lieutenant who had arrived. They would need to talk with him eventually, but for now the cops could do the interview and pass on any pertinent information. Ames and Jonah needed to get Loughton to their office to talk over the deal.

He glanced at his SUV but couldn't see Sienna. People were everywhere, cops and EMTs. The helicopter pilot was being bandaged. He turned back to the chopper where Ames was covering Loughton.

He glanced between Ames and Jonah. “If you've got this, I'm going to find Sienna.”

Jonah nodded. “Call me if you need anything more.”

Parker lifted two fingers in a wave and jogged over to the SUV. Where had she gone? He reached for the door handle and froze.

There was a bullet hole in the cracked window.

He pulled open her door and Sienna slumped out. He caught her, saw the blood and lowered her to the ground.

He sucked in a breath and nearly choked. “I need help!”

* * *

Sienna's phone was ringing. When she tried to move, she almost screamed. No sound emerged from her throat, but her whole body curled inward. Her eyes flew open. The sky was a blinding swatch of light, and she blinked, trying to focus.

Parker's face appeared in front of her, along with two other guys. One of whom she'd seen before.

She tried to speak, but no noise came out. She could barely breathe.

Parker touched her cheek. “Easy.”

She fought against the rising tide of panic that threatened to drown her. She was all wet. Being held down. She couldn't breathe.

All she could do was choke on the water. The weight on her back kept her under the surface of the bathtub. Information. They wanted information—the location of the flash drives.

She wasn't going to tell them. She'd die before she told them.

Sienna was hauled upright.

Parker. His mouth moved. “Okay?”

Sienna couldn't answer him. A sharp sting pinched her arm and warmth spread through her, a heat that dulled the pain. What had happened to her? All she remembered was that glass had shattered. The car window. She'd ducked as an inferno erupted in her arm. Her shoulder. She'd been shot?

The numbness swept over her, and she was falling.

The man's face was so close she could distinguish the colors in his eyes. Loughton had gone out for food and left her tied up in the hotel room. She hadn't told him where the flash drives were, either. Now the buyer had found her, and he wanted to know, as well.

Nothing but a means to an end. This was what her life had become.

She'd given up Parker and the future she'd seen so clearly with him. A happy future that would have been full of love and family. And here she was, alone again facing a vicious world intent only on their own selfish gain.

Why had she done that? Karen had been so convincing, talking about duty and the life she could have after the job was done. But the job would never be done. Sienna would never be finished. For every evil person taken out, another would rise in his place. It was relentless. The time would come for her to pass the mantle of active intelligence agent along to someone younger, whose passion hadn't waned.

Sienna was ready to give this up, no matter what Karen's best advice was.

The man yelled in her face, odor and moisture flying at her with his words. Sienna was forced back below the surface before she could gasp in a full breath.

She was going to die.

When she woke, the warm numb feeling was still there, except for the tube feeding medicine into the inside of her elbow. That pinched.

“Hey.”

Sienna turned her head. Her right arm shifted with the movement and she bit her lip. Tears filled her eyes. What was she going to do? She could barely move. Nina was going to die.

Moisture ran down her face. Parker settled on the bed beside her injured arm—or was it her shoulder? She couldn't tell. His thumbs wiped the tears from her cheeks. He was so gentle it just made her cry more.

He winced. “I'm sorry. I should have been with you. Made sure you were okay before I went after the shooter. I'm sorry.”

He was apologizing? She was the one who had left him at the airport alone. She'd gone there, even though she wasn't sure why she'd done it. Karen had known; Sienna was sure of that. She didn't go anywhere that Karen didn't know about.

Parker had stood so tall and solid by the coffee shop, sipping from his paper cup. Checking his watch. Getting impatient. She'd seen when that impatience turned to anger. Then to hurt.

She'd hurt his feelings. But in order to walk away, she'd had to know what it would do to him. She'd needed to know that he felt it just as she did, or else she'd have gone to him. She couldn't have walked away and gone back to work, in serious pain over her decision—even second-guessing herself—if she hadn't known what it was doing to him.

He'd felt their connection, too. Not love; it'd been too soon for that. But what was between them had been big. Big enough that it was a blow to both of them when she'd done what she'd thought was right and walked away.

He looked like he was about to cry. “You're killing me.”

Sienna sucked it up. The guilt. The pain she'd caused him. She squashed it all down inside and tried to gain control. Eventually the tears subsided.

Parker leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. Sienna shut her eyes and took in choppy breaths. He leaned back and she mourned the loss. Parker handed her a tissue and she tried to blow her nose in a ladylike way. Which everyone knew was basically impossible. Her face felt all blotchy and hot, but she probably looked even worse.

She glanced at her shoulder for a second before it hurt to strain that way even with just her eyes. Her shoulder was twice the size as normal.

“The bandages make it look worse, but it's pretty mangled and swollen. The bullet went all the way through, but it did some damage. You're going to be laid up for a while.”

Sienna shook her head. “The deadline. We have to find the other flash drive and get Nina back.”

“My team is on that. Eric and Hailey drove down last night to your uncle's ranch to look around again. They're searching for it there.” Parker's voice was soft. “All you have to worry about is getting better.”

Sienna shook her head.

“Don't argue with me now.” He grinned, but she couldn't return it.

All Sienna could think was how Nina was faring. These people had tried over and over to drown her until she confessed where the flash drives were. But they hadn't succeeded—because she'd fallen into unconsciousness and then woken up with no memory. They were probably hurting Nina for fun.

“I need my phone.” Her voice was broken and scratchy, like she'd been shouting for hours and worn it out. No matter how long she'd been unconscious, she had to make sure they didn't hurt...

“Tinker Bell.”

Parker glanced back from the drawer by the bed and frowned. “What?”