That Day, Karen Deen [early readers .txt] 📗

to your heart’s content. But from now on, you need to let me do my job. I can’t be distracted, do you understand, baby?” Kurt’s eyes are pleading with me.

“I do. It’s time to take on the bad guys, isn’t it?” I whisper.

“That’s right, and there is only one way it can end.” He takes my hand in his from his seat. “You and me, walking away holding the prize.” He pulls my hand to his mouth, kissing it.

“What’s the prize?”

His eyes are full of emotion. “Your freedom.”

Closing my eyes, I pray with all I have that he’s right.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

KURT

Touching down on the runway has my adrenaline surging.

Closing my eyes for a few seconds, I put myself back in the agency mode where code names are used and nobody speaks unless needing to.

Sitting on the tarmac is a black SUV, dark tinted windows and all the signs of a typical agency car, although I know it’s not. As soon as I turn my phone off airplane mode, it starts lighting up with messages from Ghost.

Ghost: Hawk on route, will be there when you land.

Ghost: On tarmac in a black SUV.

Ghost: Target has left her location and heading for the meet-up.

Ghost: Cover ops in place.

Ghost: You’ve landed, check in when in car.

Looking to Asha, I can see the apprehension in her. Like all of us, she just wants this over so she can have a normal life.

“Ready?” Standing in front of her, I take her hand.

“No,” she replies, standing up anyway.

“That’s my girl.” I admire all the strength she has for such a little person. More than a lot of the agents I worked with over the years.

We thank Mason and Ashton as we exit the cabin and head down the stairs. I have a feeling these guys are the kind of people I’d be friends with. Who knows, when this is over, we may meet again, because life has a funny way of making us cross paths with people when we least expect it.

Just as we make it to the car, the driver’s door opens, Scott stepping out.

“Hey, good flight?” he says casually as I put my hand out to shake his.

“Yeah, all good. Look, I need to apologize. I misjudged you, and I’m sorry.” I needed to get it off my chest as soon as I saw him and get the elephant in the room out the door and gone so we can get on with this whole mission.

“Apology accepted and forgotten already. We were both played, so don’t worry about it. Asha is okay, and that’s all we need to worry about now.” He lets go of my hand, and before I can say anything else, Asha leaps into his arms and hugs him.

“Thank you for saving me, Scott…” Her voice is a little wobbly with emotion.

“Well, you might not be thanking me later if you get stuck living a life with this stubborn man.” Scott’s comment breaks the tension.

“There is no if, she can’t get rid of me now,” I say, pulling her back into my arms. I know she wanted to show her appreciation, but Asha being in someone else’s arms has my inner caveman beating his chest.

“I think I’ll survive.” She looks up at me with the love I know we share.

Scott’s voice breaks us out of the moment. “Right, we’d better get this show on the road before Ghost blows up both our phones.” He walks past me to open the back of the SUV to load in our bags.

“Jump in the back seat, Asha.” I open the door for her then walk around to the back.

I push everything aside; it’s time to work.

Standing with Hawk and opening up my gun bag, I get myself kitted up.

“You loaded?” I ask him an obvious question, but he humors me anyway.

“Roger that.”

I finish putting my pistol in my holster. Hawk opens the floor panel to a secret compartment with his bag in it, where I place mine too. We don’t need our weapons on show or with easy access for others.

“Let’s do this.”

I walk to the front of the car. I would rather have Asha close to me, but this time it’s Scott driving, and I’m riding by his side to watch for anything that could alert us to trouble.

The phone starts ringing, and I know it’s not mine, but on the dash the name Ghost appears, so it must be Hawk’s phone on Bluetooth.

“Hello, all. Asha, I hope these boys are being gentlemen?” Ghost’s voice booms through the speakers.

She giggles from behind me.

“Never in doubt, boss man,” I reply while Hawk rolls his eyes at me.

“Well, for me anyway,” Hawk butts in. “Bull is a different story.”

“Fuck off, asshole,” I grumble my answer, and everyone just laughs.

I know Ghost has done it deliberately to help Asha, whose nerves must be escalating rapidly by now.

“Back to business.” Ghost’s voice changes to his serious tone, and the car becomes silent instantly as we wait.

“Davina is on route to the prearranged spot that she thinks is where she will meet up with Hawk, and then he will take her to where he believes Asha might be hiding. From all my intel, she is on her own and no one is following her. I still believe she is working on her own with this at the moment, and she hasn’t told whoever her boss is that she has lost the target. Because if she had, I don’t think she’d still be alive.”

Asha lets out a little gasp, but I can’t be worrying about her. I have to believe she is strong enough to ride this storm.

“Your ETA is about twenty minutes, and the abandoned house is just on the outskirts of Chicago. We have eyes on it and eyes and ears inside. Hawk, get her inside and talking. We need to know why she is doing this and what we are up against. Bull, you stay with Asha until we give you the all-clear to enter.”

“Roger that,” both