Chapter 19
Ethan grabbed the sink and stared at his haggard expression in the mirror. He’d nearly screwed up royally. Seeing her in that dress, feeling the shackles close tight around him, and then the flash of pain and betrayal in Kate's eyes was enough to take him to his knees.
These last couple of weeks of sparring and fighting and the hottest damn sex he'd ever experienced crashed in around him. Ethan turned on the cold water full blast and splashed his face. Now he’d have to wait all night to take her in his arms.
She surprised him, constantly keeping him on his toes.
She learned faster than most men he trained, her natural ability for self-defense rising to the point she'd taken him down a few times.
And their nights, God their nights had been filled with heat and fire and passion and.
.. Fuck, what was he doing in this damn bathroom staring at himself in the mirror?
He needed to get back to his post and do his job. He could make love to Kate later. After the mission.
Ethan shut the water off and dried his face. He rushed from the bathroom in time to see the door slam behind a pale and shaken Senator Cotter.
“Senator, is everything okay?”
The older gentleman slowly shook his head, his lips twisted into a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes. “One day, when you have daughters, you'll understand.”
“One day, sir, if I have a daughter, I'm keeping her as far away from the male species as possible.”
Aaron spoke up from his post on the other side of the door, “Amen to that, brother.”
Cotter shook his head and shoved his hands into his pocket. “I thought the same thing too, boys. Keep up the good work and make sure you bring my daughter down on time safe and sound.”
The senator slapped Ethan on the shoulder and strode past them, calling over his shoulder, “You might want to make sure they have some peace and quiet for the next few minutes. They were all in a tizzy when I left.”
Both men answered with a confirmation and the senator left, leaving Ethan to stare at the thick antique white wood blocking him from the woman he loved.
Jesus. Love. He’d never even thought the word before.
Ethan's hands fisted at his sides and it took every ounce of willpower not to barge into the room right this minute and demand to see her.
“Don't do it,” Aaron said, reading Ethan’s mood. “Give them a little time to settle down. Take it from the guy with four sisters. I got to hear part of the Senator’s conversation with his daughter, trust me, you don’t want to go in there until she’s had some time to calm down first.”
Ethan blew out a long sigh and leaned his head against the door, the aching silence that greeted him a reminder that he could have lost her. “I don't know if I can wait.”
Aaron checked his watch. “The senator said you should wait. He must have experienced the full brunt of it, otherwise he wouldn't have run out of there like a scared rabbit.”
TEN minutes later Ethan knocked gently on the door. “Kate?”
No answer. He waited a full thirty seconds before knocking again. “Come on, Kate, I need to talk to you.”
“I think she's more than a little pissed,” Aaron said.
Ethan pressed his ear to the door. He didn't hear a sound, and the unnatural silence put a choke hold of fear on his chest. He rapped hard on the door. “Kate, open up!”
No answer.
Ethan and Aaron drew their weapons at the same time. Muscles tense, Ethan tried the handle, found it unlocked and pushed inside, Aaron sweeping in right beside him, both with their pistols ready.
“Shit.” Ethan ran to the bathroom, knowing it would be empty before he opened the door.
“Command, the little bird flew the coop. Need all available team members to the nest.”
Ethan stormed back into the bedroom and the white gown laid out on the bed stopped him in his tracks. An image of Kate and her broken gaze flashed in his mind.
“I don't see any signs of distress.” Aaron finished sweeping the room.
Everything looked orderly, like they just packed up and left. A gentle breeze blew through the open curtains and Ethan pressed the mic on his shoulder, his common sense rejecting the damning evidence. “Team Alpha, report.”
The radio crackled in his ear. “All quiet.”
“Team beta, report.”
“It's quiet out here too.”
Ethan pushed the curtains wide and stared into the darkness, his near perfect vision zeroing in on the west gate, which was wide open. His mouth went dry. “They left. Look through there,” Ethan said to Aaron and then pushed the button for the communications mic in his ear. “I need a vehicle, now.”
Five minutes later, Ethan and Aaron sped down the highway in a rented sedan as the rest of the team convoy scrambled to catch up.
“How do you know they headed to the airport?” Aaron asked from the passenger seat.
“Because the senator had a GPS device planted in Caroline’s necklace.” A fact Cotter had informed Ethan of as he ran through the foyer to get to his vehicle.
Ethan punched the gas pedal to the floor, driving at a breakneck speed down the near abandoned highway.
Ethan made a hard right, put the vehicle in a controlled skid around a wide curve and then sped back up on the straightaway.
“Man, Senator Cotter really screwed the pooch,” Aaron said.
The bright lights of the runway appeared in the distance and Ethan stomped on the gas. “Right now I don't really give a flying fuck who's to blame. I just want to get Kate and Caroline and Celine back safely.”
Ethan squalled tires onto the tarmac, his headlights flashing on two forms too big to be the small females they were tracking. “That's not the girls.”
“That's Caroline's private jet.” Aaron ripped his pistol from his holster.
Ethan screeched to a stop, lunged out of the vehicle, gun drawn, and took aim at the lead man scurrying from the limo to the airplane. “Stop right there!”
The dark-haired man turned and Ethan's heart stopped when he saw Kate unconscious in his arms.
The second man fired off a shot and Ethan ducked behind the door. He pressed the comm button. “We need back up now! We got two suspects boarding the plane. One of them has Kate.”
Aaron took aim at the second man and fired off two shots. The suspect dropped to the ground, unmoving.
The first suspect continued running toward the jet and Ethan took aim, but held off from firing. If he missed, he might hit Kate. “Cover me.”
Ethan took off in a full out sprint, completely uncovered and vulnerable and uncaring. He'd rather die than let anything happen to Kate.
He ran past the man on the ground, his attention focused solely on the plane.
“Ethan, watch out!”
A shot cracked through the air and Ethan heard a bullet whiz right past his ear.
Another shot fired off, ending in a dull thud.
Ethan spun, his weapon trained on the now dead man on the ground.
He nodded his thanks to Aaron for having his back and then took off running after Kate, Aaron pounding behind him.
The airplane engine roared to life. Ethan took the steps two at a time.
Light haloed around the suspect as he tried to yank the door shut.
Ethan lifted his gun and fired, the bullet pinged harmlessly into the side of the plane.
Ethan sprinted to the top of the stairs, his pistol raised and ready.
Another shot whizzed past his right shoulder.
He dove for the floor of the airplane in a controlled roll and came up firing.
One bullet, straight to the man's head. He dropped like a brick to the ground.
Aaron jumped over Ethan and ran into the cockpit. “Clear!”
Ethan got to his feet and took off down the luxurious plane, his heart stopping the same moment his feet did. Kate was laid out on a leather couch, eyes closed, her mouth slack, with her hair hanging over the edge in glistening black waves. He went to his knees beside her. “Kate, can you hear me?”
She moaned and moved her head, and then slipped back into unconsciousness.
“Dammit, Kate, wake up!” Ethan roared, fueled by fear and fury.
Kate opened one eye and lifted a shaky hand to her head, a small gold locket fell from her grip.
Ethan's spine went stiff as realization dawned. They'd tracked Caroline's GPS, but Kate was the one with the necklace. “Aaron, check the rest of the plane.”
Aaron ran past him, slammed through the back door, and then cursed. “They're not here!”
“Kate, please wake up, honey. Did you see where they took Caroline and Celine?”
Kate mumbled, her words mostly incoherent, “Limo driver. Mr. J. Couldn't stop them.”
Every single cell in Ethan's blood iced over at Mr. J's name. The Task Force Scorpions ex-CIA Liaison turned traitor had not only betrayed his country, but tried to murder Ethan's entire Team. And now he had kidnapped the daughter of the senator in charge of the US Joint Special Operations Command.