Chapter Six
“B esides,” Evan said . “The kid is fine. He was explaining his miraculous feat of not being dead to a couple of Homeland Security agents who had no idea he was being questioned along with the terrorist .” Evan put the word terrorist in air quotes with his hands.
“When I realized you weren’t with him,” Evan continued, “I went searching for you. It was a good thing I did.” He looked at her burns. “You’re not healing very fast,” he whispered. “Is this normal for burns or...?”
“I’ve received a number of serious wounds in a short period of time and haven’t fed to replace the energy my body is using. It’s going to take longer, but that can only help us at the moment.” She waved the subject away. “What happened in there? Was it a bomb?”
“Yeah.” He gave her a little boy grin that made her want to trace his mouth with her fingers, then kiss him, taste him. “I planted it.”
No. No tasting .
Then his words registered, and the bottom of Anna’s stomach turned to stone, then crashed to the ground with enough force to make her dizzy. “ What ?”
Evander Gunn was insane. It was the only explanation for what he had just said.
“What do you mean you planted the bomb?” Anna asked, staring at him. This was his idea of a... rescue ? Her lungs stuttered, her body forgetting for a moment how to breathe.
He lowered his voice. “I had to get you out of the building, delete all the evidence of your abilities, and scramble the plans Ledger had for you and the baby FBI agent.”
His gaze was direct, intent, and wide open. The sincerity in his voice was not something that could be simulated. Yet every word out of his mouth only added to her unease.
Abilities ? Did he know...everything?
“Who are you?” It came out in a hoarse whisper. She needed to know. Needed to know if she could trust him or not.
His gaze never wavered from hers. “Someone who wants to help you.”
Most of the people who’d said that to her over the years had betrayed her. She shook her head. “Why would you want to do that?”
“You mean aside from the fact that you were kidnapped, assaulted, and confined illegally by a member of an American law enforcement agency?” he asked, anger turning his cheeks red and his voice rough. “How about basic human decency?”
She studied his face. Under the anger, there was confidence, conviction, and kindness ? She blinked. Why would he be feeling any of those things for her? “Tell me why I should trust you.”
“The man you gave the ring on my left hand to owed you a debt. He’s passed on and can’t repay that debt, but I can, and I will.”
“I think you’re an idiot,” she told him, completely serious. “We could have died. All of us. The bomb and fire probably did kill some people. Is that acceptable to you?”
“No one died. I made sure the building was mostly evacuated by using the smoke bomb first, then the destructive bomb.”
“That soldier I dragged out was injured.”
“They should have gotten you and the kid out earlier than they did.” Evan grabbed her by the elbow to keep her sitting upright. She hadn’t realized she was falling over. “They were stupid to wait so long.”
“It was a huge risk you took,” she hissed. She wanted to yank herself out of his hold, but resisting his help might draw attention to them both, so she let him help her.
“It was a calculated risk,” he muttered. “Getting you out was worth it. Besides, you risked your life to save that soldier. You made moral choices and proved you’re a lot more trustworthy than the jackass who kidnapped you. He planned to kill anyone who’d seen you, including those soldiers and myself. I have a recording of Ledger explaining all this to two politicians”
“So, not all the evidence was destroyed?”
“All the evidence about you being more than you seem was destroyed. I have what I need to prove that Ledger is a power-hungry lunatic.”
The man looked so smug, and suddenly, she saw someone else clearly in his smile and the light in his eyes.
“You really do know Bernard?” she asked hesitantly.
“He was my grandfather,” Evan Gunn said. “He changed his last name to Gunn after the war.”
Her first encounter with Bernard Gunnerson was when he was twenty-four years old and wearing a German officer’s uniform. He spoke unaccented German, French, and English, and he’d just talked their small team through a German checkpoint. He’d had the same smug smile of triumph.
Bernard had been her friend when she thought she didn’t need any, and had told him so. He told her he already had a wife and a son, so a friend was all she could get out of him.
He’d made her laugh even when danger had been all around them.
“You must make your wife crazy,” she muttered.
Evan snorted. “In my line of work, you wait until you’re retired for marriage or a significant other.”
“So, there won’t be anyone who would worry if you disappeared or died?”
“Hey, I’ve got a family, just no spouse.” He glanced around, then made eye contact with her and said to her, “My grandfather was a member of the Ghost Army in WWII. He masqueraded as officers and enlisted men from a dozen different units. He was a tailor and artist who could speak fluent French and German.”
“Anyone could have looked up the Ghost Army and the operations they did,” she said. “It’s not a secret anymore.”
“My grandfather gave me a picture of you,” Evan said, maintaining his casual tone. “It’s from WWII.”
“No such thing exists.” She should know, she’d been very careful, had avoided cameras at the time and for a few decades after that. Until she couldn’t avoid them anymore because there were just too many of them.
Evan glanced at her again. “He drew it.”
He what ?
“On the inside cover of a manual,” Evan continued. “It’s in pencil and you’ve got a crooked smile on your face.” He tilted his head to one side for a moment. “You look...light-hearted in the picture. Gramps said it was because your particular group of French resistance fighters had just fooled the Germans big time.”
She remembered one night, after a success like that. She and her group, along with several members of the Ghost Army had stayed in a large, abandoned house, drinking the excellent contents of the home’s wine cellar. He had been quiet that night, writing in a book. Or so she thought.
Bernard had promised to keep her secret, to forget about her.
He’d broken his word.
“Who else did he tell?” she asked, her tone hard.
Evan glanced at her again, and this time his gaze stuck on her. “No one else. He never told me about your abilities until after I’d joined the army. Until that time, he made it sound like you were a brave French fighter who helped him and his band of merry men run the German’s ragged. He said he never saw you again after the war, and left it at that. When he realized he was dying of cancer, he sat me down and explained the whole story.”
“And you believed him?”
“Not until I’d looked into you myself. I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure until I saw the video tape of you healing your head wound in less than three hours.”
“You planted a bomb to help me escape because of a story and drawing your grandfather gave you?” He was certifiably insane.
“Ledger was planning to kill me, the baby agent, the medical staff who’d seen you, even the guards who’d encountered you, remember? He was willing to kill all of us and more just to keep control of you and any information about you. It wouldn’t have mattered if you turned out to be a normal human or something extra. He would have killed us all regardless of the outcome.”
That meant all of them were still in danger, and they were missing someone. Oh no .
Anna grabbed Evan’s arm. “If Ledger is that committed to his plan, Brian is in danger.”
Instead of getting to his feet to go look for the younger man, Evan drew her closer, putting an arm around her back.
She knew he was only playing up the image of him escorting a wounded victim to safety, but being this close to him was dangerous for both of them. His scent hadn’t been totally covered by smoke. It reminded her of walking in the old growth forest in her homeland. She wanted to roll in it, put her head on his naked chest, and let that scent lull her into a stupor.
It was the pulse she could see in his neck that was the greatest danger. One bite and she could assuage the thirst clawing at her throat.
She pictured herself doing it, but the fantasy quickly ground to a halt. If someone did that to her without her permission, she’d be angry, and she’d feel...betrayed. His opinion of her mattered. It shouldn’t. She’d just met the man, but it did matter.
“Agreed,” Evan said. “But you are in more danger than he is right now. No one is going to believe you don’t need medical attention.”
“I need new clothes,” Anna complained. “I stand out like a broken finger.”
“A sore thumb. We say, sore thumb .”
“Anna!”
She and Evan glanced in the direction of the voice. Brian was jogging toward them, a cluster of Homeland Security agents behind him.
Evan chuckled. “Hot damn, the kid found us. He’s good at talking his way out of trouble.”
Anna had to make an effort to keep from rolling her eyes. “You’re sure any proof has been destroyed?”
“Yes.”
“Then I think it’s time I created a diplomatic incident, don’t you?” Anna asked.
Evan met her gaze and grinned. “I like the way you think.”
As Brian and his group got closer, Anna realized Brian was shouting at the men and women around him.
“You know you sound completely crazy, right? Besides, she’s got diplomatic immunity. It doesn’t matter what made up bullshit you think is going on, kidnapping her is illegal .”
“Ledger said she was completely uninjured—” a man at the front of the pack said.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Evan drawled, as the group reached them. “She got lucky, but as you can see, she’s suffering from some serious burns.” He gestured at her.
Everyone turned to look at her, and she saw several winces come and go on the faces of the Homeland Security agents.
Ah, yes, her bloody and burned clothing. Her hair was tangled, frizzed from the heat, and bloody from the gunshot earlier. She certainly looked the part of a woman who’d been badly hurt.
She raised a shaking hand to give everyone a little wave.
“Ms. Breznik,” Brian called, pushing his way to her side. “Are you all right?”
“I have burns and possibly a concussion,” she said, in a small voice. “At least the bleeding has stopped.” There was dried blood in her hair, so that was realistic.
Brian crouched next to her and put a hand under her elbow. “We should get you to a hospital, have you checked out. Those kinds of injuries are dangerous.”
“Thank you, Agent Stettler.” She forced a fake moan out of her throat. “But I’ve had enough American hospitality to last me a decade or two. I’d prefer to go straight to my embassy.”
She let Brian and Evan lift her to her feet.
A couple of guys put their hands on the butts of their guns. “Not so fast, we need to question her. Someone brought a bomb into a secure military facility.”
She sucked in a breath and raised her chin, even though it wavered a bit. “I would be happy to answer your questions. After I see a doctor, shower, rest, and contact the State Department regarding this egregious violation of my and Slovenia’s diplomatic standing.” She wobbled, as if her legs were about to give out.
“I assure you,” she said, as if her tongue had gotten three times too big for her mouth. “I have a great deal to say about this inci...” She rolled her eyes into the back of her head and let all her weight fall against Evan.
He scooped her up like a bridegroom.
***
E van adjusted Anna’s body slightly, curling her into his chest so her head rested on one of his pecs. She hardly weighed a thing.
“Shit,” someone from the group of Homeland Security agents said.
“Bring her this way,” one of the others said, waving at him to follow.
He didn’t move.
It only took a few seconds for the Homeland Security agent to realize Evan wasn’t following. “I gave you an order, soldier.”
Evan wanted to sneer at the moron, but kept his face flat. “She was clear in what she wanted to do next, and having anything to do with you assholes was way down on the list.”
“It wasn’t on the list at all,” the baby agent said.
“Who are you?” the Homeland Security agent asked Evan, striding up to them.
“Ledger invited me in,” Evan said. “To interrogate a possible terrorist. Only the terrorist turned out to be a foreign diplomat.”
“But who are you?”
“I’m a United States Army Intelligence officer, and I don’t take orders from you.” He glanced at Brian. “Are you with them?”
“No, I’m with the FBI.”
“I take it you know this lady?”
“Yes,” Brian shot a glare at the Homeland Security agents. “We were kidnapped together.”
“That is not true,” another Homeland Security agent said. “Ledger said—”
“A gun was put to my head,” Brian shouted back. “I was told that if I didn’t cooperate, I’d be killed and dumped into a hole.”
That shut them all up. For about three seconds. Then the whole group started yelling at each other.
“Hey, kid,” Evan said to Brian in an irritated tone. “There’s a cell phone in my thigh pocket. Call for backup.”
“From the FBI?”
Evan slanted a look at Brian. “From whoever you think won’t put that gun to your head again.”
The kid reached into Evan’s pocket and pulled out the phone. “It’s locked.”
“The code is one, one, one, one.”
“That’s not very imaginative,” the kid muttered.
“It’s a throw away.”
Brian paused. “Where are we?”
“This is Fort Hamilton base.”
Brian punched in some numbers. “This is Brian Stettler—” He paused. “I’m looking at her right now. We were kidnapped and...she got hurt. Can you pick us up?”
Another pause.
“Some guy from the army is helping us...at least, I think he’s helping us. He’s not doing anything too sketchy, at the moment anyway.”
Brian sighed, as if whoever he was talking to was giving him some shit. “I’d like to, but she’s unconscious right now.”
He winced. “Well, the building we were in blew up and she dragged someone out. From the state of her burns, I’d say the fire was right behind her the whole time. The place is burning to the ground now.”
He paused again.
“Yes. You’re probably right. Okay.” Brian ended the call and looked at Evan. “Her next of kin says to go with her in an ambulance to the nearest hospital.” He pointed in the direction he’d come from. “There are ambulances this way.”
“Sounds good to me,” Evan said, and they started walking.
“Stop,” one of the Homeland Security agents shouted.
“Where do you think you’re going?” another added.
“To get medical care,” Brian shouted back.
They kept walking, not fast, not slow, but with purpose.
The sound of running feet had Evan half-turning to see who was coming and how many of them there were.
One man, mid-forties. He looked like he’d kept in shape until the last year or two. “I’m coming with you.”
Evan snorted. “Somehow I think the ambulance is going to be full.”
“You can’t just take someone in our custody—”
“She can’t be in your custody, she has diplomatic immunity,” Brian said. “And you’ll be lucky to have a job once the proper authorities are notified of the crimes committed by Homeland Security today.”
“Ledger is a lying sick fuck who fabricated a bunch of bullshit,” Evan said. “His paranoid ambitions nearly got a foreign diplomat and everyone who’d been in that building killed.” He bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile. “I can’t wait to report to the Department of Justice the list of crimes he’s committed.”
The Homeland Security agent pinched his lips together and looked away.
Cowed for now.
Evan started walking again with Brian keeping pace next to him. The Homeland Security agent didn’t follow.
They rounded the corner and found a group of first responders and emergency vehicles.
Brian took the lead and bee-lined it to one of the ambulances. The two paramedics standing outside of it saw them coming and rushed forward.
“What happened?” one of them asked.
“She passed out,” Brian said.
“She was hit by falling debris before getting out of the building,” Evan added. “Then dragged an unconscious guy twice her size outside.”
“Shock,” the other paramedic said, with a nod. “She may have other injuries she didn’t realize she had.” He gave Evan a tight smile. “Adrenaline is great, until it isn’t.”
Evan nodded at Brian. “He’s injured too.”
The first paramedic gave Brian a once over and focused on his bloody arm. “Two wounded.” He looked at Evan. “What about you?”
“No injuries,” he reported. “Beyond some singed hair and a few burn marks.”
The paramedics got Evan to lay Anna on a gurney as soon as they reached the ambulance. They tried to shoo him out of the vehicle, but Evan just shook his head and sat in the back on the floor.
“I’m on her protection detail along with him,” Evan said, flicking a glance at Brian. “I’m not leaving her alone again.”
The paramedic didn’t look happy, but finally shrugged. “Just try and stay out of the way, okay?” He sat down next to Anna in the back.
Brian took a seat on a box in the back of the vehicle while the other paramedic took the driver’s seat. The guy in the back shut the double doors, and they moved out.
No one said anything for a minute or two as the paramedic checked Anna’s vitals, blood pressure, temperature, pulse. He was very careful to stay away from her burns.
“What time is it?” Brian asked, his gaze slightly unfocused.
“It’s nine forty-five in the morning,” the paramedic said, studying him and cataloguing every movement and expression on his face.
“Huh, it feels like it’s been a week since I had any sleep.”
“Stress does that to you,” Evan said.
“No,” Brian said, in a casual, offhand tone. “I think it was the assholes.”