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He spun toward her, regretting his next words. “The facility’s been compromised.”
Chapter Three
A shot of adrenaline zigzagged up Lila’s spine, leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake. The blood pounded in her head. She squeezed her eyelids shut against the daggerlike pain that knifed behind them.
Justin gripped her shoulders and her eyes flew open. She twitched then sagged against him. He pressed her body to his, the warmth quelling the panic that rippled along her nerve endings.
Through their clothes, she felt his hard muscles already coiled for action. In contrast, she felt like jelly. If he let her go, she’d morph into a blob on the floor.
He looked down into her face, and she tried to soak up the strength she saw in his eyes. He ran his palms down her arms and squeezed her hands. “Follow me.”
His touch and words acted like an electric prod. She straightened up. The room sharpened into focus. Her nostrils flared. Her muscles tensed. She could do this.
Before grabbing her wrist, Justin swung around and killed the lights. He prowled across the floor, the satellite images casting a green glow over his taut body. He placed a chair beneath a vent, climbed on it and pushed the vent into the ceiling above them.
He beckoned to her to join him on the chair, and she teetered on its edge. Encircling her waist with his strong hands, he hoisted her up and into the vent.
He whispered, “Crawl to your right until you get to a dead end. I’ll be right behind you.”
Turning toward the blackness, she heard him scramble into the vent after her. She began crawling, her breath puffing out in short spurts, scattering the cobwebs tickling her face. The dark enclosure suffocated her, but she kept moving, afraid if she stopped, she’d die. Her head hit a wall. She gulped once, twice, to swallow the scream barreling its way up her throat.
Justin crowded in close to her, sweat dripping from his face. His hot breath, smelling of cool spearmint, bathed her cheek. He lifted out another vent and lowered himself through the square hole. As he disappeared, waves of panic engulfed her until she saw his face peering up at her.
He said, “Come down.”
She sat down on the edge of the hole and dangled her legs through the opening. Fear drummed against her temples until Justin wrapped his arms around her thighs. She slid down the rest of the way, and he held her close for just a moment. Could she stay here…forever? His heart thudded against her chest, willing her own skittering heart to mimic its steady beat.
His lips brushing her ear, he said, “We’re in a closet in the entryway. The front door is right outside. Do what I say. Once I open the front door, crouch down as far as you can and follow me out to the car. Don’t look up, don’t stop. The keys are in the ignition. If I don’t make it…”
Her strangled cry stopped him. He moved his hands up her arms to cup her face and swept the rough pad of his thumb across her lips. He dropped one hand and dug into his pocket. “If I don’t make it, call the number on this card and ask for Leo Caine.” He nudged the card into her stiff, damp hand.
Wrapping his finger around one of her curls, he bent over and pulled her face toward his, his lips brushing hers. “You can do it, Lila.”
Couldn’t they just stay in this closet and finish the kiss? All too soon, he released her, prepared his weapon and eased the closet door open. She peered out from behind his broad back. No one in the entryway. Two steps put them at the front door.
Pushing it open, he glanced back at her. “Let’s go.”
He hunched forward, folding his tall frame almost in half. She followed, her eyes darting around the perimeter of the compound.
The first shot split the hot desert air.
Following orders, she didn’t look up.
Justin moved faster, not bothering to return fire. Another shot. He dropped.
She stumbled over him. Just a few feet ahead, the car beckoned, promising safety.
Shoving her forward, he yelled, “Go.”
She took a few steps and then turned to see him gripping his leg, blood flowing between his fingers. “You’re hurt.”
He shouted, “Go, I can’t get up. It’s my leg.”
She charged back, stooping over and hooking him under the arms. “Move, damn you. You can’t leave me now.”
She felt a surge of power jolt his body as he staggered onto his good leg. She yanked open the door on the side away from the gunfire and pushed him into the car. He slumped against the seat, still holding his leg, and she scrambled over him to the driver’s seat.
A bullet smacked behind them, and a spiderweb of shattered glass spread across the back window. She punched the truck forward.
Speeding toward the closed gate, she screamed, “The gate. How do I open the gate?”
He responded through clenched teeth. “Push the red button.”
She pounded the button with her fist and the gates rolled open. The truck squealed through and raced back toward Highway 62. Away from the compound. Away from terror. Toward the unknown.
For several miles, ragged breathing and choked sobs filled the car until Justin swore softly and bent forward.
Lila glanced over, her eyes dropping to his thigh. Blood oozed through ripped denim. “Is it bad?”
He grimaced before answering. “It’s not too bad. Grazed me. Bullet didn’t go in.”
He peeled his T-shirt off his back and wound it around his leg.
Lila frowned. “You’re going to need better treatment than that.”
His lips tight, outlined in white, he pressed down on the makeshift bandage with two hands. “Can’t go to a doctor. I have a first aid-kit in the truck bed.”
Watching the blood seep through his T-shirt, she asked, “What just happened back there? How’d you know?”
Leaning back, he closed his eyes. “I heard some noises. A silencer.”
She stared hard at the road. “Who was it? Weren’t there just the seven of us at the compound?”
Feeling him tense beside her, she glanced over at him. He seemed chiseled in stone, his face etched into hard lines, the muscles in his bare chest and belly tight.
He grunted and answered, “That’s what worries me.”
“Y-you mean…?”
“I mean, it looks like an inside job. Dig into my pocket and get my phone for me.”
He shifted his hip so she could reach his front pocket. Keeping her eyes on the highway, her fingers skimmed the smooth skin above the waistband of his jeans, dancing over his hipbone to reach his pocket. The heat of her blood owed nothing to the ball of fire dropping into the desert. The warmth suffused her cheeks as she handed him the phone. If he noticed her blush, he gave no sign. Of course not, the man had the emotions of a robot.
He punched a few keys to speed dial a number and barked into the phone, “Leo, it’s Justin.” Pause. “Cut the code-name crap. The compound’s been hit.”
Lila heard only his side of the conversation, but it didn’t seem to be going well. When he finished, he dropped the phone and clamped down on his thigh with both hands again. He glared in front of him, his eyebrows drawn together.
She licked her lips. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah, Leo said Prasad never called him with the news about Chad’s death. He didn’t know a thing about it…or you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Prasad?”
Hunching one bare shoulder, he said, “I don’t know. Don’t even know if he left before the shooting started. We were in there for a good forty-five minutes before I heard the first bullet. If he already left, he’s still alive somewhere. If he didn’t, he’s dead like the rest or…”
Recalling the young agent’s open face and engaging smile, Lila shook her head. Couldn’t be. “Could it be someone from the outside? Honestly, the security didn’t seem that tight there.”
He shrugged. “I suppose. I didn’t notice any other cars there, but then we usually park them around the back of the compound. I didn’t notice if Prasad’s car was still there or not, either.”
“Where to now? Can we go see this Leo?”
“No.”
She swiveled her head to look at him. “Why not?”
He gave a harsh laugh. “From the sound of his voice and the things he didn’t say, I can tell he’s suspicious…of me.”
She exclaimed, “Of you? He thinks you opened fire on those people?”
“I’m still standing.” He adjusted the T-shirt on his thigh, his jaw tight. “Process of elimination.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re the one who called the incident in. Couldn’t you just explain the situation to him?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Not if he thinks I’m involved. There’d be an investigation, they’d take my weapon. I’d be useless in following up on anything Chad found. I’m not too good at being useless.”
She eyed the contained energy in that hard body and could easily believe it.
“Look, Lila. It’s better to stay out of sight for now. I need to sort some things out in my head.”
“Better for whom?” she asked. “You need to rest and have that wound properly cleaned and dressed. I need to eat, and I’m sorry, I really need a shower.”
His grin ended in a gasp as he clutched at his thigh again. “I have camping gear in the back and that first-aid kit. That’s probably the safest way to go right now. I’ve been checking the mirror since we left the compound. Nobody followed us. That’s one advantage of the desert. You can see for miles. It’s no accident the HIA put the compound out here.”
She announced, “Okay. We’re going to stop at that shopping center when we get to Twentynine Palms. I’m going to pick up a few things, and then we’re going camping.”
An hour later they sat on logs around a fire at the Cottonwood campsite in the Joshua Tree National Park. Justin looked over at the woman poking at the flames. She amazed him. Instead of making her swoon, the sight of his blood bubbling through his jeans called her to action. For a moment at the compound he thought he’d have to haul her out over his shoulder. For a moment.
With little assistance from him, she pitched the tent, treated his gunshot graze and started a fire, humming a tune all the while.
While she cleaned and dressed his wound, her strong, nimble fingers trailing over his skin stirred a slow burn in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t need this complication right now.
The blaze from the campfire illuminated her fine features. She looked like an escaped wood nymph from the Black Forest, but her coloring resembled one of those Nordic heroines.
Noticing his scrutiny, she smiled, but those lush lips quivered with the effort. She plucked up stamina from somewhere to keep going, but the path to total collapse loomed ahead. He hoped to God he could catch her when she folded.
Against his better judgment, he shifted a little closer to her. “What kind of research were you doing in Mexico?”
She clasped her hands around her knees and rocked back and forth. “A group of us went down to dive and do research at La Bufadora. There’s a decline in the fluorescent strawberry anemone there, and we’re testing the water for toxins.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Strawberry what?”
Wiggling her toes at the fire, she laughed. “The fluorescent strawberry anemone. I swear, that’s what it’s called. We drove down in a caravan, and I decided to leave early. My car broke down, and the rest is history.”
Obviously she took life head-on, no shrinking violet, despite her ethereal appearance. “So as a graduate student, do you teach, too?”
She nodded and grimaced. “I spend half my time doing research and the other half as a teaching assistant in undergraduate marine-biology classes.”
“Have you always been interested in marine biology?”
She laughed again, the sound of gurgling water. “Is that your polite way of asking why a woman of my advanced years is still in school?”
He tilted his head, taking in the large, clear eyes set in a smooth face, a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. “I’d hardly call late twenties advanced.”
She leaned forward and winked. “Must be good genes. More like early thirties, and no, while marine biology is my first love, I made a detour for a while.”
Closing her eyes, a spasm of pain arched across her face. As much as he wanted to learn more about her, he respected others’ private demons. After all, he had his share.
She opened her eyes. “How about you? Did you want to be a secret agent when you were a little boy?”
The reference to his boyhood pinked his armor. He’d just wanted to survive his childhood, make it out in one piece. He schooled his face into a noncommittal mask. “Not exactly. I wanted to be a cowboy, then an astronaut, then a superhero.”
Nodding, she said, “I see, the quiet life. I know someone poured from the same mold.” Her expressive eyes misted over as she stared dreamily into the fire.
The blaze crackled, and she fell back to earth. “When can I go home?”
He stirred the fire with a stick. “When I can get you there safely. If all goes well tonight, maybe as early as tomorrow.”
Leaning toward him, she asked, “Do you really think Prasad could be responsible for what happened at headquarters?”
He pictured Prasad’s eager young face as he told him, “I have more at stake here than you. I’m an American and I’m a Muslim.” His background check came back squeaky clean. Justin himself trained him…and Chad. Nausea swept through his body, and he gripped his hands in front of him. That’s what happened when you got too close—betrayal or desertion.
“Justin?”
He looked over at that angelic face, her hair creating a halo that seemed to float around her head.
She reached out and touched his clasped hands. Her warmth spread through him like honey, sweet and thick, and he savored it. Just for this one moment…
Her fingertips played along the grooves between his knuckles. She felt his tension begin to seep out, and she let it bleed into her, drinking in their closeness. He had to feel their connection, too. Or maybe not.
He stood up slowly. “You must be exhausted. Time for that shower.”
He began dousing the fire, and she jumped up to help him. The man obviously could tolerate only small doses of intimacy at a time.
When they finished, she asked, “What will you do?”
He rubbed his hand across the stubble that made him look nine kinds of sexy. “Probably go down to that clearing south of Loma Vista.”
She widened her eyes, and her heart skipped. “Alone? You’ll go down there without any help?”
