Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
W hile Carmichael held the SUV’s back door open for Bean, Gavin quickly rounded the vehicle and climbed in the opposite side so Bean wouldn’t have to slide over. If she did, it would likely hike the slit on her dress even higher, and the damn thing was distracting enough.
She was distracting enough.
A part of him wanted to be irritated that he’d had to come to the event tonight. That Constance Whitcomb had ended up being their prospective client. It seemed like a waste. But as they sat there waiting for the valet to give Carmichael the okay to exit, he glanced at the woman next to him and realized he had zero regrets.
He had a ton of questions about that interaction with her mother. Because frankly, it had been completely fucked up. But if Bean said she’d explain later, she’d explain. She was a woman of her word. A damn beautiful woman of her word. Unlike Constance, who was a piece of work.
Physically, the other woman was attractive, though it was mostly due to genetics, facial symmetry, and fillers. That was it. She checked off the boxes on what society deemed to be the stereotypical “beautiful woman.” It was horseshit though, because the woman was atrocious. Not only had she shamelessly flirted with him while Bean sat right next to him, but with her own husband beside her as well. Then she’d had the gall to throw her brother’s money around, expecting Gavin to drop his current clients for her.
It didn’t matter that he’d lied to the woman. Their cyber division, which Bean oversaw, absolutely had the capacity to take on another client. They could probably add on another five and not bat an eye, but there was no way in hell he’d work with the woman. He respected Edward and would continue to work with him, but if Constance was in any way involved, it was a hard no-go.
“How’d the shindig go, guys? The food any good?” Carmichael asked as he slowly pulled their SUV out of the valet circle and took a left onto First Avenue.
“It was,” Bean replied, a tired smile gracing her lips. “They had this salmon that was fantastic. It was?—”
Carmichael took a hard right, and Gavin’s arm shot out to steady Bean even though she was buckled in.
“What is it, Carmichael?” Gavin asked, immediately on alert.
“Shit,” the other man muttered, taking another abrupt right. “Picked up a tail.”
“Where’d you put my briefcase?” Bean asked.
“Under the seat in front of you,” Carmichael replied.
As she leaned forward to retrieve it, Gavin opened the hidden compartment in the middle seat between them. He pulled out a Glock and two magazines. He racked the slide a couple times, confirming it was clear. After loading the mag, he slid the extra into his suit pocket. “Talk to me, Carmichael. ”
“Black Audi. Two cars back.” He took another hard turn. “There.”
Gavin turned, and sure enough, a black Audi sedan with heavily tinted windows turned in behind them.
“It was following me after I dropped you guys off earlier. Thought I lost him on the freeway.” Gavin saw his friend’s frown in the rearview mirror. “Apparently not.”
“You sure it’s the same car?” He trusted Carmichael but had to ask.
“Yup. There’s a dent off the driver’s side hood, right by the side mirror.”
“What do you want to do, Gavin?” Bean asked, laptop fired up and perched across her lap.
He frowned. As Carmichael darted in and out of traffic, the other car did nothing to hide the fact they were following them. “It’s too risky to get to the helipad here...”
“We can go to the one at Boeing Field.” Bean’s fingers flew over the keyboard as she gnawed on her lower lip. “If you give me a couple minutes, I can get us cleared and get Owen in the air.”
“Shit, gun!” Carmichael swerved to the left, and a ping sounded.
Reacting on instinct, Gavin reached over. His hand went to the back of Bean’s head and tried to press her forward. “Get down, B!”
Instead of complying, she swatted him away, her focus never wavering from her laptop even when two more pings rang out. For a moment, he could only stare at her dumbfounded.
“Bean. Get the fuck down,” he seethed.
Again, she waved him off. Literally. Her left hand stopped typing long enough to shoo him away. Like he was a damn fly.
A growl left his chest before he could stop it .
“Stop growling, boss. This is an armored freaking vehicle. Unless they’re shooting an RPG at us, we have nothing to worry about.”
There was no way she could be for real right now. “And how the hell do you know they aren’t?”
Gavin could have sworn she rolled her eyes, but he couldn’t be a hundred percent certain since she was still typing away.
“Because Carmichael said gun .” She glanced at him, and he caught that familiar gleam in her blue eyes. She had an idea, had come up with a plan of some sort.
Yes, they were being shot at and chased through the streets of downtown Seattle but seeing that sparkle back in Bean’s eyes made him feel a little better. He hadn’t realized how much he’d appreciated it until it had been snuffed out both times she’d seen her mother tonight.
Before he could ask what she’d figured out, she turned to Carmichael, who was zigging and zagging them between cars. “I’ve overridden the lights. Take the next right and then make a left on Alaskan Way. Traffic’s lighter that way. I’ll make it all green for you and figure out a way to lose this asshole.”
“Hang on,” Carmichael said as he turned, the screech of tires insanely loud in the vehicle.
As they rounded the corner, Gavin lowered his window halfway. When the other car came into view, he fired two rounds into the open passenger window, aiming at the shadow shooting at them. When the person’s gun retreated, he quickly rolled his window back up.
“Did you get ’em?” Carmichael asked.
“Not sure,” Gavin muttered, keeping his eye on the car behind them.
“Turning onto Alaska,” Carmichael said. “Work your damn magic, B, and I’ll get this fucker off our ass. ”
For the next few minutes, Carmichael flew through the streets of Seattle as Bean hijacked the traffic lights, turning them red immediately after their car passed through. It got hairy as they approached the ferry terminal. A wall of red taillights was in front of them since there was a line of cars disembarking.
“Where am I going, Bean?” Carmichael asked.
“Get into the far right lane.” She glanced over her shoulder, furiously typing. “When I say go, hop into the bike lane.” Three long seconds ticked by. “Go!”
Gavin grabbed the back of the driver’s seat and braced as the SUV jumped the dividing curb into the bike lane. Swerving past the line of stopped cars, they followed the narrow pathway, which was lit green for them.
“All the lights will be red at the ferry terminal, but keep going,” Bean said. “When you pass the terminal, get back onto Alaskan Way. Immediately.”
Carmichael followed her instructions, and the second he passed the terminal, she turned all the traffic lights green. Horns blared, and cars blocked the intersection. The black Audi was nowhere in sight.
“Fuck yeah!” Carmichael whooped as he sped down the street. “That was fucking awesome!”
Gavin let out a breath and looked at the woman next to him. Holy shit . He was probably going to hell for finding that insanely hot. “Good job, you guys.”
Ten minutes later, and after more instructions from Bean, Carmichael pulled to a stop at a nondescript hangar at Boeing Field. Roughly seventy yards away was their Bell 505 with Owen at the helm. Bean must have let her know the urgency was gone since Owen didn’t have the main rotor going .
By the time Gavin had rounded the SUV, Bean stood next to her open door clutching her skirt with both hands—the tarmac was surprisingly windy—and Carmichael had her briefcase and purse. They hurried toward the helo.
Once Bean was situated, Gavin got in next to her and turned back to Carmichael. “Stay alert. Check in when you get back to the hospital—let me know how Anson’s doing—and keep your tracker on.”
“Got it. And thanks for those evasive driving lessons, man. That was kinda fun. And B was right, you know. If they’d had more than a gun, I’d have yelled RPG, missile, or some other shit.” He lifted his chin at Bean. “Thanks for all the green lights, lady.”
“Any time.” Bean frowned while putting her headset on. “Well, maybe not when I’m actually in the car with you.”
“Damn straight,” Gavin muttered.
“Later, guys,” Carmichael said with a salute before he slid the door shut.
“Holy shit,” Owen said, beginning her start sequence. “Do I even want to ask about his ‘RPG or missile’ comment?”
“The car following us fired at us, and Frazier was being paranoid. I was in the process of taking over the lights, and he wanted me to duck for cover.” Bean shook her head.
He stared at her, his mouth agape. “They fired at us.”
“Were you in a Hudson Security vehicle?” Owen asked.
“Yeah, one of the armored Rovers,” Bean replied, her tone very much can-you-believe-this-guy?
Owen chuckled as they took off. “Yeah, don’t start getting all paranoid on us, Frazier.”
He shook his head but kept silent. He knew he couldn’t win an argument when these two teamed up.
Moments later, the helo’s nose dipped, and Bean grabbed his forearm and squeezed it in a death grip. Even in the limited light, he could see that she’d paled. He glanced at the flight display system. They were going much faster than on their inbound flight.
“Hang in there, honey,” he said, covering her hand with his. “Owen will have us back on land in no time.”
She pressed a hand to her stomach. “That’s kind of what I’m afraid of.”