Chapter 7 #2
Kam stiffened. Resting his forehead on hers, he asked. "There was someone else? Did he give you this?"
Kam gently ran his finger over her jaw. Taylor winced. "I didn't see him coming."
A low growl rumbled Kam's chest. Taylor placed her hand over his heart. "Calm down, Ranger. I need you to stay mission focused and not go all Rambo on me. I'm fine."
"He's lucky I wasn't there." Kam fisted his hand against the wall.
Taylor slid her hand up his chest to rest on his shoulder making it hard for him to keep a hold on his anger. "I don't see her any more."
Kam took her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. "I like going on operations with you. Minus the fact that you got hurt."
He tugged her to the end of the hall. "She is heading towards the coffee shop where Paul and Wyatt are."
The thief sat at a table along the edge of the area. A moment later a lean man came over with a coffee and sat with her. They joined hands and leaned towards one another like there was no one else but the two of them in the airport right now.
Taylor took a step toward the coffee shop, but Kam’s grip tightened, tugging her back. "Let's see what happens."
From where they stood, Kam could see Wyatt sitting at the opposite end of the coffee shop area and Paul sitting at the gate across the way reading a book.
Wyatt read something on his phone then left his coffee and napkin behind as he made his way down the corridor. Kam called Paul.
"Follow Nixon. We've got the other two."
"What other two? Wyatt didn't meet anyone."
The man who attacked Taylor stood and walked toward Wyatt's empty table. "Exactly. Whoever he is meeting moved the spot. They probably clocked the other two or possibly us."
The man picked up the coffee cup and put it down then scanned the area. Paul left his book behind and put his hands in his pockets. "Looks like he's headed to the restroom."
"Don't let him out of your sight." Kam warned.
"I'm a federal agent. I know how to do my job," Paul bit back before ending the call.
"What happened between you two?" Taylor shook her head. "Never mind. You guys work it out later. Right now, we need to follow the mystery couple."
Kam slipped another tracker from his pocket. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
Taylor looked like she wanted to protest, but she simply said. "Be quick."
The man was talking on his phone and the woman was searching the corridor. The man had left the cargo pocket he took his phone from open on his pant leg. It was the perfect spot to place a tracker. He and Taylor could fall back and give them space but still not lose the two.
Kam walked toward the coffee shop counter. The man was speaking in Russian.
"My poteryali drayv. V otnoshenii etogo znaka vedutsya raboty." Kam bent to tie his shoe, dropping the tracking on his target. He needed to get to Wyatt because this guy just reported him as dealt with.
Kam stepped away from the cafe and lifted his phone to his ear. "Pick up. Pick up." When the call rolled into Paul's voicemail, Kam dialed Taylor.
"Where did you go?" Taylor demanded.
"The guy was on the phone with someone. He said that they lost the drive and the target was being dealt with. Paul isn't picking up his phone."
"I'm coming with you."
"No. Stay out of sight and keep the plans safe." The last thing he needed was for these two to get a hold of the plans and Taylor.
Taylor muttered under her breath, "I've got an airport employee approaching me. I'm headed to you. At least together we stand a better chance of making it out of this in one piece."
Together. He was one hundred precent behind always being on Taylor's team. "Nixon went for the restroom. Meet us there."
"Will do." Taylor hung up.
Kam wished that they would have opted for regular coms for this operation instead of communicating via the phone.
He needed to work things out with Paul. Whether that was with words or sparring with him in the ring, he'd let it up to Paul, but for the sake of Taylor they needed to put the bunker behind them.
Kam kept his head down. The cameras in the corridor were recording his every move but he could keep his face from getting caught in case this went even more sideways than it already had.
Taylor approached with a hat pulled low on her head. He wasn't sure where she got the hat, but she needed to keep a low profile until they had Nixon in custody and she could clear her name. Once she was cleared, he'd have to make his move to be free to stay. He hoped his plan worked.
"I'll clear the women's room, you go help Paul. We don't need someone sneaking up on us." He didn't think that Taylor could get more beautiful, but watching her on this op has taken her to a whole new level.
Kam nodded and for the first time since they arrived, he wished that he was armed, but he wasn't a federal agent so his firearm stayed locked away in the truck along with Taylor's. "Head on a swivel."
Kam paused at the end of the wall, listening.
"Come on. Don't die on me." Kam slipped around the corner at Paul's words.
Paul let out a growl as Nixon's lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling.
Paul's shirt was wadded on Nixon's stomach saturated in blood.
Paul stared straight ahead, lost in memories or possibly praying.
Paul snapped out of his daze. "You've got to get Taylor out of here." He glanced at his phone. "As soon as I saw the body, I called it in. She can't be here when Hollands arrives or she'll be hauled away."
"Check the pocket." Kam took a step towards the entrance.
Paul shook his head. "Gone."
"We'll turn over the drive and get out of here." Kam's retreat halted as Paul rose, his scars visible on his chest. Kam wanted to apologize, but words didn't seem to be enough.
"Just keep her safe and we'll call it even." Paul held his gaze.
A scream cut off Kam's response. He dashed into the women's side of the restroom area as Taylor jammed her elbow into the neck of the Russian woman from the coffee shop. The woman stumbled back right into Kam's arms. He easily put her into a sleep hold and gently laid her on the floor.
"You good?" he asked as he took a step toward Taylor.
She sucked in a few deep breath. "Apparently she thought she would fare better in round two."
Something like pride swelled in his chest at the tough, warrior woman before him.
He had always thought that he would need to protect her from dangers of this world, but she held her own twice today against a highly trained Russian spy.
This new Taylor kept on impressing him. He needed to get them both out of this mess because there was no way he was letting her go this time.
"Come on. Give the envelope to Paul and we'll get out of here."
"What about Nixon?" she asked as she stepped over the prone body of her attacker.
"He's gone and Hollands is on his way."