Chapter Twenty-One

BOHICA. That’s all Cam could think. Bend over, here it comes again. Just when they thought they had the upper hand, another twist in this case sent them on the defensive. How the hell were they going to get out of this? The only wild card they had left was Addison, wherever the hell he was. For now, they were on their own.

“Put your weapon down, Harris. Slowly. I’d leave if I were you, Jenkins. This isn’t your fight.”

“I think it is.”

Cam did as he was told, catching and holding Audrey’s gaze. Her eyes were huge in her face. She lowered her gun arm to her side but didn’t relinquish it. The weapon wobbled as she trembled.

He’d never seen her afraid. Angry, yes. He’d been on the receiving end of that emotion a time or two. Same with belligerence. And desire. But never fear. Until now. For him. She wasn’t fearful for herself, of that he was damn sure. She was afraid for him. His heart swelled.

And then plummeted. She may have feelings for him, but those weren’t going to get them out of this predicament. Only divine intervention was going to, if he couldn’t come up with something, and fast. In the meantime, he’d stall, divert Linder’s attention away from Audrey.

“What are you waiting for, Hal? Let’s get this party over with.” He deliberately didn’t use his CWO’s rank. Audrey’s eyes got even bigger as she stared at him, willing him to shut up, most likely. Sorry, darlin’, but I’m gonna push the bastard until he breaks. As plans went, it sucked, but it was all he could think to do. They were totally screwed at the moment.

“You’re willing to die for nothing?” Linder’s tone was baffled.

Oh good. At least they were going to have a conversation of sorts. Think, think. “At least I’ll die with integrity, not as a traitor.”

“Cam.”

He cocked a brow at Audrey. Defiance for the inevitable was all he had at this point. The gun barrel kissed the back of his head.

“I don’t consider myself a traitor.”

As if Cam cared. But he knew the signs of an upcoming lecture in the way his former CWO spoke. That meant the stall maneuver was a success. Hurry up, Addison, and get your ass here as reinforcement.

“Of course you don’t,” Cam said. “Most terrorists don’t. They have a larger cause that overshadows everything else.” Stretch it, stretch it.

“I’m working for the good of all people, Harris. I’m a soldier for change.”

Cam snorted. “Yet you kill everyone who gets in your way. Not my definition of a soldier.”

“Cam, don’t make this worse.” Audrey broke into their discussion. He cracked a smile at her and wanted to ask if she had any ideas for escape yet. Wanted to take her in his arms and reassure her that everything would be okay, that they’d get out of this in one piece. And wanted like hell to tell her to shut up and get ready. For what, he didn’t know. All his feelings tumbled about inside him, a volcano waiting to erupt. But he couldn’t say one damn thing.

“There are always casualties with any change in the status quo. But the ends justify the means.”

“Especially if you’re not on the receiving end. You know, you’re putting yourself right out of a job. If Gates was expendable, aren’t you? Maybe once this hit was accomplished, your significance to the mission was also through. Ever think of that?”

Linder pushed the gun tight against Cam’s head, hard enough that it hurt.

“Don’t try your Jedi Master interrogation tricks on me, Harris. And don’t take another step, Jenkins. I’ve been watching you. Put the weapon down or I’ll shoot him.” Linder’s voice changed, issuing the harsh reprimand Cam was used to hearing.

“And I’ll shoot you, Linder,” she said. “Sucks for him, but as you said, there are always casualties. I’ll be the one left standing when the dust settles.”

The sirens of approaching law enforcement had ceased, but faint raised voices could be heard in the distance. There were boots on the ground. Linder seemed to recognize this, too. He stiffened, gripping Cam’s arm tighter. Cam squeezed his eyes shut, called on the combat calm that had served him in the past. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. When he opened them again, he found Audrey staring, almost glaring at him. What? he mouthed.

Her eyes held the glint of battle in them. She had a plan. Hot damn, she had a plan. She’d better execute it soon, because Linder was unwinding fast. He needed to escape to keep his role in this coup, and Audrey and Cam stood in his way. Cam tried one more plea to his former CWO’s sanity.

“Let us go, Hal. You’re running out of time. They’ll capture you and you won’t be able to do your work for the GUWP. Killing us has no purpose.”

“Shut up, Harris! If I don’t kill you, someone else will. Do you really think you’re safe if I let you live? You were Brett’s objective, and now you’re mine. If I go down, you’ll become someone else’s. We have soldiers everywhere, ready to fight for our cause. Put the gun down, bitch!”

Audrey extended her arm, shifted position. Linder swung around until Cam completely hid him. He backed up, dragging Cam with him, the Sig now pointing at Audrey, powerfully silent. They were at a standoff. Cam met Audrey’s gaze again. She shook her head, mouthed the unbelievable words I’m sorry, and, just as Cam realized what she was doing, she pulled the trigger.

WTF. Had she just shot him? And then the pain hit. Oh God, it burned through him, the impact of the round spinning him sideways. It was as he fell that he realized Linder was no longer holding him. The bullet was a through-and-through. Mission accomplished, but damn, his wound hurt like a mother.

The ground met him halfway, slamming into his face like a toilet tank, exactly like the one Brett had bashed him with. Blood poured from his wound. Cold seeped into him as he rolled to his back on the grass. Colder. He was so cold. Was he dying? Two kills, one shot? That would suck. But he wasn’t dead. Yet.

He heard a scuffle, grunts, thuds. He swiveled his neck, tried to see what was going on. Through slit eyes he could make out Linder, the traitorous bastard, in hand-to-hand with Audrey. The guy wouldn’t die. And that was his girl, beating the stuffing out of his former CWO. His girl, the love of his life…

…

Linder dropped Cam as soon as the round blew through the two of them. He spun around, his weapon flying free, and Audrey lowered her gun, afraid to shoot until Cam was completely clear.

My God, I just shot the best thing that ever happened to me. The thought haunted her as soon as she’d done the deed. She’d had no choice. Linder wanted to be the only one who walked away. She couldn’t let that happen. Faced with a lose-lose situation, she’d taken a page from Cam’s playbook and done the unthinkable. She’d shot the hostage to put down an unhinged criminal. She wanted to run to Cam, make sure he was alive, maybe whisper an apology. She took a step toward him. A fist came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of her face.

The force of the punch lifted her off her feet. Pain exploded from her cheekbone and into her eye sockets. She stumbled, fighting to remain upright while clutching her face. Her vision went spotty. The next second, she was rocked by an uppercut that snapped her head back. Where there was blackness, now there was a burst of stars. Her entire head throbbed. She lost her balance and landed on her ass.

She had to fight through the haze of agony. Cam’s life, her life, depended on her ability to stop Linder, who’d somehow managed to survive her shot. An errant thought floated through her mind. If he hadn’t died, perhaps Cam wasn’t mortally wounded, either. Hope bloomed. And then she returned to reality. She couldn’t let Linder escape. If he did so, the GUWP would grow in strength. It would attack with even more power. And they would be dead. Guaranteed.

Her vision cleared, though her head still vibrated like it had been slammed between a pair of cymbals. Cam lay where he’d fallen. She hoped like hell he was alive. She couldn’t live with herself if he bled out from her foolhardy move.

She tried to get up. Nausea hovered. Her stomach heaved. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, a booted foot swinging toward her. At the last second, she reached out, grabbing it before it made contact. And twisted his ankle. Linder swayed like a skyscraper in an earthquake but didn’t come down. He yanked himself free, bent, grabbed the bun on the back of her head, and pulled.

“Ow,” she cried, scraping her nails along his forearm.

He batted her hand away and resumed pulling her hair. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” he growled through clenched teeth.

As if she’d take his advice.

Her eyes watered. It hurt so damn bad. Her entire body ached like she’d been tortured by Al Qaeda experts. He dragged her by her hair, flinging her to the ground and giving her a kick in the ribs. She curled on her side like a roly-poly bug, cradling her stomach and rocking to stay conscious. OMG, he fought dirty. She wanted to give in to oblivion, escape her whole-body pain, but there was something she needed to do.

Her mind drifted back to the cabin, when she’d made love with Cam. He’d taken her to heights she’d never been, then brought her down gently, comforting, safe. Feelings she’d never searched for yet realized she needed. With him. Cam. He was worth fighting for. She needed to explore what they’d experienced together, and she couldn’t do it if this SOB persevered.

She rolled to her hands and knees. Cam remained motionless, dead or unconscious was anyone’s guess. Where the hell was Linder? She cast about frantically and saw him raking through the hedge. Looking for his gun. She couldn’t let him find it, so she charged at him. Just as he bent and reached for something, she leaped and pounced on his back, wrapping one arm around his neck. She fisted her free hand and tried to punch him in the temple. Wrong angle. She grabbed at his ear, anything to inflict pain.

“Get off me, bitch,” he ground out on a grunt of pain. He staggered from side to side, attempting to shake her off, but she clung like a monkey to his back. He mustn’t get the gun. He’d blow Cam to bits. She couldn’t let that happen. He was too important to her. She needed to be able to tell him so.

Suddenly Linder reached back, pulled her off him by force. He grunted as he threw her to the ground. Her head bounced off the grassy earth. She moaned, saw double. She tried to focus as her surroundings swirled like a blurry snow globe. Her eyelids drooped. She fought to keep them open and watch Linder as the throbbing in her head continued. He turned from her, touching his arm where blood flowed like a waterfall from his wound. Tossing her off him had cost him dearly.

He bent, reached for the gun again, his wounded arm hanging limp at his side. She tried to rise, to swing her leg to knock him down, but dizziness swamped her. She. Couldn’t. Reach. Him. He was going to shoot her and Cam and escape. She’d failed Cam. Failed herself. And failed America.

Fighting the vertigo, she pushed up onto her elbows. More nausea engulfed her. She paused, swallowed bile, and watched helplessly as he found and palmed the Sig before pivoting toward her.

“You fight pretty well, for a bitch. But you’re not what the commander needs in our army. No offense.” He shrugged his good shoulder conversationally and lifted his gun hand, pointing it at her. She stared straight into his eyes over the barrel. Like hell if she’d look away. She hoped he’d see her face when he closed his eyes every night before he went to sleep.

I’m so sorry, Cam. I wasn’t strong enough.

A sense of calm stole over her. Every time she’d gone out in the field, interrogated a civilian in a hostile land, she’d had to accept that she might not return. This was no different. She’d done her best to help her lifetime band of brothers and sisters, and she’d die with her boots on, as the saying went. She had no regrets, except that she hadn’t told Cam how much he meant to her. There wasn’t any more time left for them. A bittersweet pill to swallow.

“You should have backed off.” Linder’s voice brought her attention back to him. He gave her a smile, and she saw his finger move on the trigger. Her body jerked as the gun went off.

Long seconds ticked by as she braced for the blow, for the burn of a round ripping through her flesh, tearing her insides, as well as the ice-cold sensation that would envelop her.

No pain. Nothing. Instead, a shocked expression crossed Linder’s face. His mouth opened in a silent scream. A bullet hole appeared in the middle of his forehead as he began to crumple, to cave in on himself like a character in The Matrix movie. The Sig dropped from his hand, taking forever to land in the grass. Everything happened in slow motion. He toppled over, a felled tree that had been rotten to the core. Blood began to soak the grass around him.

“Take that, asshole.”

Audrey’s gaze slew to Cam as he lay in the same place, arm extended, service weapon in his hand. He looked into her eyes. Pain reflected in his, yet he cracked a smile before bringing the gun barrel up and blowing at it like a gunfighter in the old west. Then he placed the Glock carefully in front of him and dropped his head on his other arm.

Her eyes watered. He’d shot Linder before that crazy bastard could shoot her. Deliberately wounded by her, Cam had still saved her life. She struggled to stand, rocking from side to side until she caught her balance. Probably a damn concussion was the cause of all this wooziness. It took her a few tries before she was able to stagger to where Cam lay. She dropped to her knees, rolling him over gently and pulling him into her lap.

“You saved my life. Even after I shot you, you saved me. I’m so sorry, Cam. It’s all I could think of doing. I shot high. That’s why he didn’t die.” She yanked her camo jacket off and pressed it to his wound. He groaned.

“I’m so, so sorry. Stay with me, sweetheart.” She slapped his cheeks, startling his eyes open. Her heart climbed into her throat. He was pale, cold to the touch.

“Don’t you dare bleed out, Cam Harris! Damn it, where are the EMTs?” She raised her head, shouted above him, “Over here! Man down!” She looked at him again. His eyes had closed. She shook him, needing to make sure he stayed alive. He moaned.

“Help’s on the way. I promise. Stay with me. I have lots of plans for you when you get better.”

He rolled his head in her lap, then licked his lips. He tried to speak, so she bent her ear closer. “So do I. Naked plans.”

She choked on a laugh. He had a bullet hole in him, and he was making a pass at her? He had to live. He was too damn cocky not to. She grinned, but his eyes were shut. He worked his mouth. He was trying to speak once more. She leaned closer. He swallowed hard and finally managed to croak, “You shot the damn hostage. That’s my move.”

She giggled. He always could make her do so. She cradled him, rocking gently back and forth while tears she never wanted to shed rained down on his face. He sagged against her, saying nothing more. Saving her life had taken all his reserve energy. She stroked his hair as voices, followed by footsteps descended on them, a crowd of law enforcement who secured the area and barked orders while she continued to cry and hold Cam’s limp body.

She wouldn’t release him until Zack appeared at her side, coaxing her to “let go of him, dammit.” She bent and kissed Cam’s cool lips before rising, accepting Zack’s comforting arm around her as they whisked Cam away on a gurney.