And Chelsea had a hell of a past. It was always just a matter of time before someone came after her.
“I need that computer.”
He made it to the door and snagged his keys, though he’d have to dump the car before long, too. Again, it was lucky for her he was a man who planned ahead. He simply needed to pick up a few things and then he’d check them into one of four motels that would likely scare the crap out of her, but they were off the grid and accepted cash. He needed a couple of hours to figure out a plan of action before they made a move.
“I need it.”
He stopped because he was an idiot. She sounded scared and tired and she clung to that stupid laptop like a soldier to a gun. “We have to leave it. I promise I will get Adam working on the case as soon as I can.”
“There’s too much information on it. Please.”
“Chelsea, I can destroy it but I can’t allow you to take it.”
She would hate it. She would loathe not being in control, but he couldn’t give it to her. The look on her face made him feel like he’d been kicked in the gut. It was an actual physical bloody ache to not give her what she wanted. Some Dom he was.
“You’re sure?”
“It has to be this way. They’re on their way. They’ll be here any minute and I can’t risk losing you.”
She took a long breath and nodded. “You can let me down. I’ll do it.”
It would be easier if he had both hands, but still, she could be mean. “I swear if you pull anything, I’ll haul you to Ian’s so fast it will make your head spin.”
She smiled as he eased her to the floor. “Like last time?”
It was stupid. He couldn’t help but smile back, that first time they met fresh in his mind. “Except I’m ready for your right hook now, love. You won’t find me so easy to take out this time.”
Her eyes rolled as she straightened her ridiculously large T-shirt. It was at least two sizes too big for her and utterly hid her slender curves. Unlike him, she didn’t dress quickly. She held her hand out, silently asking for the SIG. “Yeah, you were so easy, Weston. If I recall you were an unmovable mountain and I was the little gnat trying to get your attention.”
She’d had his attention from the moment she’d attacked him. He didn’t bother to mention that while her little fists hadn’t really hurt, his cock had been aching for hours afterward. He’d turned her in to Ian that day. He didn’t intend to make the same mistake again. “I’m trusting you.”
She took the gun and flipped the device over so the underside was exposed. She proved she was proficient with firearms, quickly placing two holes in her laptop. “That should take out the chips.” She passed the gun back to him, and Simon released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I’m ready.”
Trust. At least she trusted him this much. He led her to the door, hoping they hadn’t wasted too much time.
He worked the alarm, releasing and resetting it so it would be on when they left.
“Stay close to me.” He gripped his SIG in his right hand and opened the door, quickly turning right and then left. No one. The hall was perfectly silent, as it should have been at this time of the morning. He waited for a moment, listening for any signs. Nothing at all. He reached his free hand for her. “Come along.”
She let him lead her out, waited while he closed and locked the door. “Don’t you think they can get in?”
“It buys us a couple of minutes. I have an alarm that the police will respond to. They won’t have long to look around.” They wouldn’t find anything except his sterile condo and her now useless laptop.
And the phones. He started to hurry her toward the lift as he pulled his burner phone and dialed a number he knew by heart.
“Are you calling Ian?” Chelsea asked, but she kept up with him.
“No. Adam.”
But it wasn’t Adam who answered the phone on the fourth ring.
“This better be really fucking good because I just managed to get to sleep. Whoever the fuck you are, I’m going to find you and tear your balls off and stuff them down your throat and then I’m going to put them on a plane to Europe so they have jet lag.”
He didn’t have time for Jake’s anger issues. The man hadn’t been happy with the European assignment. “I’ve got a situation.”
Jake’s voice went smooth and professional, any hint of sleep gone. “Do we have incoming?”
It wouldn’t be the first time a group had targeted the whole team. They had plans and backup plans, and the first and foremost concern was the team’s women and children. “I don’t think so. I think they’re hunting a very particular game. I have the target and I’ll call again when she’s secured. I need Adam.”
“This is Miles.” Adam came over the line as though he’d been sleeping next to Jake, which he’d likely been, their shared wife, Serena, in between them.
“Brick my phone and the target’s, too.” Adam would render their phones utterly useless and they would be on burners for the time being. The ones they left behind would be good for nothing but bricks, hence the slang.
“The target?”
“You know who she is.” Strangely, despite the fact that whoever was looking for her knew her name, he didn’t want to say it on a non-secured line. The NSA loved the digital age. They listened in on everything. Beyond whoever was trying to kill Chelsea, he had to worry about the fact that any number of legitimate intelligence agencies might use the situation as a convenient excuse to bring her in.
If they got hold of her, he would never see her again.
“Raging Bitch, then,” Adam said.
“I will rip your spine from your body if you call her that again.”
“Hey, we’re using code names, Limey Bastard.”
Whoever let Adam pick codes names needed to die. “Just brick the phones and I’ll contact you in the morning.”
“Understood. I’ll climb the ladder tonight and we’ll be waiting for your call.” Because neither one of them would sleep now. Simon understood that. They would watch over their wife and son until they got the all clear. Climbing the ladder meant Adam would start a domino of calls to the rest of the team. In minutes, everyone would know something was going on and they would likely be up Simon’s ass by morning.