Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“You shouldn’t be here.” Knox sat on a gurney inside an ambulance as a medic tended to his arm, and Adriana remained outside the vehicle observing them.
He couldn’t face her right now, not like this.
He didn’t know what the hell to say.
Yeah, I got shot. Nothing new. Nope, that wouldn’t work.
Or how about, Hey, pretty much every time I say I’m going out of town it involves shooting someone.
“You were shot.” Her eyes lingered on his forearm before wandering to his naked chest.
“It’s barely a scratch.” He wanted to act casual. Needed to. Because it really wasn’t anything. But her mom died from a gunshot wound, so her mind was going to head straight to worst-case what-ifs.
“Looking at all the blood on that T-shirt of yours, it was more than a scratch.” Her eyes sealed tight, her lower lip quivering as she struggled with her emotions.
Damn it. “I’m all set here. Thanks.” He stood, even though the medic wasn’t finished.
“Be sure to see a doctor. You may need sutures,” the woman instructed. “You don’t want an infection.”
“Sure. Thanks.” He hopped out of the ambulance to get to Adriana.
“Addy, babe. I’m okay.” He braced her arms, hoping she’d open her eyes and look at him.
But he still had no clue what to say to make her feel better right now.
“This is your life, isn’t it?” she whispered, her eyes remaining closed.
“I, um.” Yes. It is. And now you know why I’ve never kissed you like I’ve wanted to. “Sort of,” was all he could manage, especially with the parking lot crowded with so many uniforms.
“Charlie.” His name was a soft plea from her lips.
Oh fuck. She was using his given name. He was screwed.
“We need to talk to Ike when he’s out of surgery to find out who hired him,” A.J. said on approach, and he was actually grateful for the interruption.
“A.J.” She blinked back her tears and shielded her eyes with her hand from the direct sunlight. “You guys are lucky Mendez didn’t cart you all to jail for coming here.”
The deputy secretary had put in a word, but Knox was pretty sure the crowd of people at the truck station saved them.
A witness had reported to the police Knox’s team had acted in self-defense.
Although, no way did the man actually see what went down since Knox had the cover of the trucks.
But the man was apparently a vet, and he must’ve spotted A.J.
’s military tatt and decided to go to bat for them when the police rolled up.
“I wish we could’ve questioned Sarah more,” A.J. said. “She may have overheard something.”
Knox glanced at Mendez and Sarah in the back of another ambulance fifty feet away. “I’m surprised Ike kept her alive.” He’d hoped for it, but he hadn’t truly expected it.
“Maybe he thought he might need her down the road for negotiations,” she said, and when he peered at her, her gaze had settled onto his arm once again.
“I swear I’m fine,” he said, hoping she’d believe him.
“Well.” Jessica strode toward them. “You need to head to the FBI office and make an official statement, but you’re not being charged with anything.”
“And Ike? Any word on his condition?” Knox asked.
“He’s in the OR, but Wyatt took a clean shot. He’ll be fine.” Jessica looked at Adriana. “You think you can get Calloway to let us know what Sarah tells the FBI?”
Adriana tipped her head, signaling to Jessica not to say more. Mendez was on approach alongside Rodriguez.
“It was POTUS first. Now the deputy secretary. Who else do you have in your pocket you can pull out when you need a favor?” Mendez removed his sunglasses. “You’re damn lucky you found Sarah Reardon alive or—”
“Or what?” Knox stepped closer, in no mood for his bullshit power play.
“Now that you know Aaron’s not the shooter, what happens to him?” Adriana asked, reaching for Knox’s arm as if cueing him to back down.
Was it really the second time that day he was butting heads with Mendez?
“I assume you’ll let his friend go, too,” Adriana added in a soft voice. “Ike stole his truck and set him up. And it’s pretty obvious he set up Aaron.”
“You’re off the case, Foster. You forget that?” Mendez switched his focus to her, and so help him, if the man yelled at her, Knox would lose his shit.
“And maybe that was a bad idea.” Rodriguez’s words drew Knox’s attention.
“They found our shooter, didn’t they? They rescued Sarah.
Maybe we ought to be listening to them.” He stepped to the side to face Mendez.
“Ike could’ve been in the apartment that morning, too, and he killed her and used Aaron’s knife to do it. ”
“And yet, we found Aaron with the knife running from the scene,” Mendez shot back.
“No.” Rodriguez pointed to Knox. “They found him.”
Knox’s focus veered back and forth between the two men, and for once, he was happy to be a bystander as he watched two other people go at it.
“Sarah said she overheard Ike talking to someone named Todd.” Mendez looked Knox’s way.
“She heard the name Todd, but she didn’t know if he was talking about Todd or talking to a Todd,” Rodriguez pointed out.
“Maybe Aaron didn’t take the shot, but he’s in on this. My gut is never wrong,” Mendez said.
“It sure as hell hasn’t been on point,” Rodriguez snapped. “Which is why the president called. He’s placing Homeland in charge of the operation. I’ll be running point and reporting to Deputy Secretary Sterling.”
Mendez’s jaw clenched, and his hands tensed at his sides, but the media had eyes on them, and so, he left without another word.
“You know, I don’t remember him being that big of an ass when we worked with him last year,” Jessica said to Knox. “Then again, we never dealt with him face-to-face, so maybe that was why.”
“True.” Knox glanced at Adriana before Rodriguez pulled her off to the side to talk out of earshot. “You think he’s gonna bring her back on?”
He wanted that for her, although he couldn’t help but cling to his normal overprotective ways. It was all he’d known for almost two decades when it came to her.
“Maybe, but it looks like we’re back in the good graces of the government again, which wasn’t what I expected to happen after you all opened fire in the middle of Charlotte.” Jessica averted her attention to the Big Guy heading their way.
“You should get out of this heat,” Asher said to her, worry in his eyes. “It may not be good for the baby.”
“It’s eighty degrees. It’s not that bad.”
“It’s almost September. I can’t handle it being eighty this time of year,” Asher responded and pulled her against his side, protectively holding her in place.
“You’re such a New Yorker,” she said with a laugh as Luke approached with Liam.
“You guys good?” Luke asked. “What happened with Mendez?”
“Looks like Rydell is doing us another solid. He kicked Mendez off the case,” Jessica told him.
“What does this mean for us?” Luke asked as Wyatt joined the group.
“Hopefully it means—” Knox dropped his words at the sight of Adriana.
“I’m back on the case,” she announced.
“And us?” he asked.
“Freelance private contractors.” She tucked her hands in her back pockets. “Unpaid private contractors.”
“Not even insurance? A PPO? HMO?” A.J. held both palms face up. “How about petty cash? Lunches for free?”
Adriana chuckled, but when her eyes went to Knox’s arm, a frown replaced her laughter. “You need to see a doctor.”
“Ah, Knox is basically our doc.” A.J. waved a hand in the air. “You should’ve seen what happened to Liam last year. He—”
“I’m fine,” Knox interrupted. He was already in enough trouble with her. He had a lot to fix between them, and it’d have to start with the uncomfortable truth.
“Since you all have to go give your statements, Luke and I will head back to the hotel and see what else we can find out about Ike,” Jessica said.
“Maybe get a few hours of rest before you come over.” Her gaze wandered to Adriana before traveling to Knox.
“Take all the time you need. We’ve got your back. ”
Take time? Why?
He looked back at Adriana again, to how her green eyes tracked the length of his body from head to toe, once again settling on his naked chest.
And when she pulled her gaze up to his face, her cheeks pinked, and she swallowed.
Was she checking him out?
No.
But was she?
His stomach knotted at the idea. His heart pounded.
“Can I talk to you for a second in the car?” He pointed to his Suburban.
He placed his hand on the small of her back and didn’t say a word until they were inside the back seat of the SUV.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
His eyes lingered on the V-neck of her white tee.
“I have a crazy-ass question to ask you.” He cupped his jaw, feeling insane right now, but after the last few days . . .
“Are you turned on right now?” His forehead tightened.
“I mean”—he stumbled his way through his words—“does the action and stuff make you hot? Is this something I don’t know about you?
” And why would he? They didn’t talk about each other’s sex lives aside from him offering friendly dating tips—like guys are jerks and avoid them.
“You’re right. It’s a crazy question. You getting hurt would never turn me on, but I . . . I don’t know.”
“I’m getting a vibe of some kind, and I feel like I’m losing my mind. Did you think I was going to die today?”
“No, I, um.” She looked out her side window. “I can’t talk about this. Not here.” She reached for the door and pushed it open. “Later, okay? But not in here.”
“Addy.”
“Sorry,” she whispered and hurried out of the car, leaving him so damn confused.