The Spy Who Loves Me (32 page)

A needle of fire stabbed his arm, and Finn realized he'd been shot. He stumbled, but didn't stop, just kept pumping his legs, determined to get to Amber.

“I'll kill you, Mackenzie. Fire again, and I swear I'll blow your head off.” Amber's voice carried over the din in the room, not loud but sharp enough to cut through the noise. Finn knew without looking what was happening. Drake was poised to take him out. And the only thing that stood between him and death was Amber.

He kept running.

“Drake!” Diana's piercing scream reverberated through the room. “Forget them and get the hell over here. We've got bigger problems.”

Finn knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself. He turned and saw Diana frantically entering code at the keyboard, Drake racing up behind her. Time to add a distraction of his own. He reared back and threw the second tennis ball, sending it smashing through a computer monitor, the explosion setting off a flurry of sparks and sputters in that corner of the room, which drew the attention of the remaining lab rats.

Not that they were home free. Garner had gotten into the act, but by the time he got off the first shot, Amber was grabbing Finn's arm and pulling him forward. James reached for her, but Amber pulled back. James lunged, desperation on his face, and then surprise as a bullet meant for Amber caught him in the back. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, and Finn watched as a single tear slid down Amber's cheek.

He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled. “Six minutes,” Finn gasped. “The island's going to blow.”

Amber didn't waste time asking why Finn had arranged for their impending demise. “Stairs,” she said, racing in that direction. “The chopper's our only chance.”

 

“Can you redirect it?” Drake asked, fearing he knew the answer already.

Diana shook her head. “In six minutes? I doubt it.”

A surge of rage burst through Drake, and he stepped back, aiming his gun at the monitor. He fired, the bullet punching through glass and tubes, transistors and resistors. Unlike in the movies, there was no explosion, and even in his fury, he felt a little stupid.

Behind him, Garner and some of the control center operators were on Teague and Robinson's tail. But they didn't know the truth. It didn't matter if they caught the agents or not. Soon they'd all be dust.

“The chopper,” Drake said. “And give the evacuation signal.”

Diana complied, and immediately the complex filled with a periodic loud squawk interspersed with a piercing red light. Diana and Drake headed to the theater chairs, the same ones that had sent Teague and Robinson to the flood chamber. Now, the floor tiles rose, taking them to the helipad atop the control room.

His staff, Drake knew, would be scrambling for the ten speedboats anchored in the basement of the building. The door to the sea—which looked like nothing more than the cliff face—would open with the evacuation signal to allow them to speed to safety. The coast guard might pick them up—and he didn't envy their task of explaining their predicament—but it was no longer his problem.

He and Diana were heading for Bali. And since he sincerely doubted that James would make it out of the building in his condition, Drake would make a point of reacquiring his partner's half of Mujabi's down payment.

Of course, in light of recent developments, Mujabi would probably ask that the funds be returned. But returning money wasn't something that Drake did. Ever. And since Drake was now officially a fugitive, he intended to remain a very well-financed one.

 

“Time?”

“Four minutes, thirty seconds,” Finn answered. He and Amber were pounding up the metal stairs that led to the helipad on the roof. Finn was right at her heels and they were racing against time to reach the chopper.

They rounded the last turn of the stairs and found themselves facing a steel door with a metal bar across it. The sign on the door made perfectly clear that it was only to be opened in emergencies, and an alarm would sound.

Amber burst through, quite certain this qualified.

They were on the roof. Almost home free.

Her elation, however, was short-lived. In front of them, the blades of the chopper were spinning, and Drake was in the pilot's chair. Beside him, Diana was strapping herself in.

Amber came to a dead stop and aimed, Drake's head in her sight. She fired.

And nothing happened. The gun clicked uselessly, the chamber empty.

“Shit.” She reached behind her for James's gun, but the copter was already rising. And that's when she realized that Finn had pulled out a lighter and was about to toss something. He heaved, and the burning mass of what looked like solid plastic flew from his hand, landing in the cockpit.

A smoke bomb.

Dense white smoke filled the cockpit, and the helicopter twisted as Drake fought for control.

“Fire,” Finn yelled.

She did. Aiming at where Drake's head had to be. Had she hit him?

She fired again. And again. And again, emptying the chamber into the smoke-filled cockpit. Nothing. And the helicopter rose into the sky.

She felt ill. The nausea of failure. And then the copter swooped back, out of control. She hit the deck, Finn beside her, the blades barely missing them as the copter spun out of control, racing over the helipad and the building to crash on asphalt below.

“They're dead,” Finn said.

She nodded. “We will be too unless we get the hell out of here.” And dying wasn't an option. Not now. Not when her entire future with Finn loomed open before her. There had to be another way.

Her heart pounded in her chest as her gaze swept the helipad. Behind them lay the way they came. There were escape routes, of that she was sure. Otherwise the evac siren was pointless. But there was no time to find those routes.

In front of her lay thirty or so feet of concrete and then the sheer drop-off they'd seen from the lagoon. Fifty or so feet to the Pacific, the ocean's depth unknown. She closed her eyes. “Time?”

“Two minutes, twelve seconds.”

She licked her lips. They were all out of options.

“We're going to have to jump,” she said.

The corner of Finn's mouth lifted, the gesture almost imperceptible. “Babe,” he said. “We've already done that. You're gonna have to get some new material.”

She wanted to laugh, but instead she kissed him. Just once on the cheek for luck. And then they jumped.

They broke the surface, the blast of water knocking all reason from Amber. Finn was already at her side, and together they surfaced and started kicking like mad out to sea.

“Three,” Finn said. “Two…one.”

Amber dove, pulling Finn down with her even as Prometheus did its work on the island. When they surfaced, only a pile of rubble remained where the complex once stood. “The fire is spreading over the island,” she said. “We'll need to go to the lagoon. We can't stay out here.”

Finn started kicking in that direction. “What do we do then?” he asked.

“We wait,” she said. If he expected a better answer, she didn't have it. They could try raising Tom on the radio, but their equipment was likely ruined in the sea. With luck, the coast guard would see the fire and come looking. With even more luck, Diana was wrong about Prometheus, and even now Schnell was sending agents to investigate the location to which Prometheus had directed his rage.

They reached the lagoon and let the surf do its job, taking their weight and tossing them up onto the beach. Around them, the trees and flora burned, but in this sandy alcove, they were safe. A reddish glow covered their bodies, and smoke swirled around them. And despite the horror of the situation, it seemed like something beautiful.

Finn took her hand. “I'm sorry about James.”

Amber nodded, closing her eyes. “Thank you.” She squeezed back. “But you don't have to worry about me. I'm strong enough.”

“I know. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.”

She blinked, and a single tear streamed down her cheek. “It does hurt. In the space of a few days, I lost Brandon and James.” She grimaced. “I'd lost James a long time ago,” she amended. “I just didn't know it.” She met his gaze. “All I have now is you,” she said.

“No,” he said. “All we have now is each other.”

 

Finn lowered his lips to Amber's, tasting heaven, and wondering how long it would last. He had her now. But he knew it wouldn't last. She'd be reinstated and he'd…what? Go back to being a lawyer? Pine over this woman, this life?

It was a fate he couldn't accept, and he pushed the thoughts out of his head, instead concentrating on the pure, sweet heaven of her touch. Raw emotion crashed through his brain like a windstorm, wild and frantic, and he clung to her, wanting to never let go. But knowing that in the end he'd have to.

“Finn?” Her voice held more than passion. Instead it was sharp, alert.

He opened his eyes. That wind wasn't in his head. That sound was out there…and getting closer.

Amber climbed into a crouch, her gun aimed at the sky. Finn had no idea if a gun would still function after their dive into the sea, much less if it would be any protection against the helicopter. He hoped so, on both accounts.

The helicopter appeared over the burning complex, its spotlight sweeping the ground. There was nowhere to run, and it would be on top of them any moment.

“Into the water,” Amber called.

He nodded and they started racing for the lagoon.

The spotlight caught them less than a foot out. Finn stiffened, sure that this was the end.

The crackle of an amplifier sounded, the noise rising above the roar of the fire, and then, “Rebecca. It's Han.”

Amber's shoulders sagged in relief, and she turned around, looking up at the helicopter with her hands shielding her eyes from the light. Finn had no idea what the hell was going on.

“Brandon,” she whispered. “Brandon's alive, and he's in Tom's helicopter.” She turned to him, her smile bright. “Looks like we found a ride home.”

 

The chairs in the waiting room to Schnell's private office lacked both style and comfort. Not that Amber minded. Her thoughts were too full of the mission and the debriefing to worry about creature comforts.

“You'll be an active agent again soon,” Finn said, looking as uncomfortable as the chair. Amber hid a smile, knowing it must be intimidating as hell to meet a man like Schnell. “Hell, they'll probably give you a medal.”

“A medal, maybe,” she said. “Reinstatement, though…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “No.”

Finn's brow creased. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“My life,” she said. She'd been thinking a lot over the past few hours. “I'm retiring. I can't go back. Not after what's happened. I need to move forward. I need to rely on my own resources for a while.”

“You're giving up the work?”

She shook her head. “Not the work. Just the employer.”

“And the employer's rules,” he said. She heard the hope in his voice, and it just about broke her heart.

She nodded. “Yes.”

His brow furrowed. “What? What aren't you telling me? That there's nothing between us? That we're not even going to try?”

She closed her eyes, not wanting this moment. Part of her wished she'd never met him, and part of her knew that not knowing him would have left a little hole in her gut.

“We can't try, Finn.” She swallowed. “The rules won't apply to me any longer, but they will apply to you.”

Silence hung between them, and then he spoke, his words measured as if he wasn't entirely sure he could believe the subtext of their conversation. “As far as I know, my firm allows relationships.”

“Your not a lawyer, Finn. You have the degree, but it's not in your blood. You belong with the Unit. You kicked butt in there. The CIA was foolish to turn you down.”

“Yeah,” he said dryly. “I'll write them a letter.”

“Don't bother,” she said. “I'll do it for you.”

She saw the light in his eyes and couldn't suppress her grin. “I asked Schnell to get you in the Unit, and I'm pretty sure he will. You'll have to go through training, of course, but—”

“Why?”

“Because this is who you are, Finn.” She blinked, and a tear slid down her cheek. Damn, but she was a mess today. “I love you,” she added. “And this is the only gift I have to give.”

 

She loved him. She really loved him.

Finn repeated the words over and over, turning them in his mind, caressing them, wondering at them. She really loved him.

And yet, if he joined the Unit, there was no way they could be together. It was an unsolvable riddle. He wanted both lives. But how the hell could he put them together?