Ally looked at the building as Carter pulled the truck up to the curb. Her stomach started to churn at the sight of all the lights burning in the second story windows of Macmillan Security.
Intellectually, Ally had come to terms with the fact that the building wouldn’t be empty. The cops might have left, but Lucas Addams wasn’t about to leave the place completely abandoned. He would have left at least a few guards behind.
Her emotions, on the other hand, those were another story. Fear kicked into high gear, and her heart started to hammer inside her chest. Ally wasn’t sure she could take another run in with Allied Dynamics’ goons. Every time they’d met had ended in gunfire. This last time people had died. She knew it was only a matter of time until one of the people that got hurt was someone she cared about.
Ally’s hand shook as she reached for the door handle. She drew in a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves as she stepped down onto the pavement. The last time she’d been this scared, she’d been about to walk into Fuller’s fundraiser. And she’d done all right on that one.
Only because she’d found Carter…or he’d found her.
The important thing was he was with her now.
And he’d brought a damned army with him.
Ally wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse. She certainly understood why all the guys had volunteered to come along. Just like she knew there was no way that she would be able to keep a single one of them away. But from their position on the pavement, there was no way of knowing if she was leading everyone straight into a trap.
And if one of Carter’s men ended up getting hurt because of her…
Ally couldn’t even think about it. The guilt would be too much to bear.
She tamped down the fear. But this wasn’t about her. This was about the men and women in uniform halfway across the globe that were about to be led to the slaughter. For them she would be brave.
The rest of the team stepped out of their vehicles, each one giving her a small nod of acknowledgment as they strode toward the front door of the building. The small gesture revived some of her courage.
These guys might not love her, but they had her back. The least she could do was get her head in the game.
Ally clapped her hands together as she turned toward Carter. “You ready?” she asked.
The corners of his eyes tilted up even as his brows arched. “Are you?”
Ally shrugged her shoulders. There was no use lying to him. He knew her too well.
“I’m ready for this to be over,” she admitted.
“Then let’s go,” he said, slipping his hand into hers and leading her toward the back of the building.
“Do you think Fuller’s men know we’re here?” Ally asked as Carter opened the emergency exit door.
“I would,” he said. “So, we have to expect that they do too.”
“How about the cops? How long do you think it will be before they arrive?”
Carter glanced at her over his shoulder as they took the steps two at a time. “Not more than a couple of minutes, if we’re lucky.”
Ally raised her brows. “So now the cops are our friends?”
“They are the moment you get the information you need off that flash drive.” Carter stopped at the second floor door that led into his offices. “Fuller might have a few dirty cops in his pocket, but he doesn’t have the whole force. Not even he has the power to stop the truth getting out.”
“You’re assuming I’m right about the missing information,” she said, her voice suddenly not so steady. Uncertainty plagued her. It was easier to make decisions when she was the only one that had to pay the consequences.
Carter turned toward her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You are,” he said. There wasn’t a trace of doubt in his voice.
Ally nodded as he cracked open the door. She held her breath as he looked down the hallway. The longer he peered into the crack the harder her heart pounded. She only exhaled when a minute later he swung the door open and stepped onto the carpeted floor of the offices.
She stayed a step behind him as he slowly started moving down the hallway, looking into every office and cubicle that they passed. The lights might have been on in every room, but each one was empty. Ally’s anxiety grew with every step.
She didn’t know much about combat or covert missions, but if anything had ever felt like an ambush, this was it.
It wasn’t until they were halfway down the hall that she heard footsteps. They were light, barely audible, as if someone was sneaking around, but they were definitely there.
Carter pulled her into the nearest open office, and Ally held her breath as he peeked around the corner. A second later, she heard him sigh.
“It’s my men,” he said, stepping out into view.
“What?” Ally asked. Even though she knew there was no way he would lie about such a thing, she still poked her head around the corner to check before she followed.
And, sure enough, there were all four guys at the other end of the hallway.
Ally cocked her head to the side. “How did you guys get up here so fast?” she asked.
“There was no one to stop us,” Jake said with a shrug.
“What?” she asked. She’d thought that she’d heard him just fine, but she couldn’t have. There was no way that Lucas Addams would leave the place completely unguarded.
“He’s right,” Mason said.
“Maybe they’re just hiding,” she tried. Unsure why that scenario was any more comforting than the steadily growing sense of unease in her belly.
“We didn’t see a single soul downstairs,” Mason said. “Even the front door was unlocked.”
Ally looked over at Carter. That didn’t make any sense. “Why would Lucas abandon the place?”
“He wouldn’t,” Carter said, shaking his head. His face turned grim. “Not unless he’d found what he was looking for.”
Ally cursed under her breath. She closed her eyes as dread washed over her. She refused to believe it. They couldn’t have come all this way, fought through the past few days, just to have everything that they worked for swiped away from them at the last second.
Without saying a word, Ally turned on her heel, and ran toward Charlie’s office.
“Ally,” Carter shouted after her.
But she didn’t stop. She grabbed hold of the molding outside of Charlie’s door and swung herself inside.
Ally sucked in a shaky breath as she came to a stop in the middle of the room. The place was ransacked. Drawers were flung open. Papers were strewn on the ground. They’d even upended the poor woman’s plants.
Obviously, Lucas Addams had done his homework. He had to know who Charlie was and where to focus his search for the flash drive.
Ally’s hands flopped at her side as her head fell forward. She didn’t want to believe it, but it looked like Carter was right. Lucas Addams had found the drive. The fight was over.
She might have enough to bring down Fuller in the papers, but it would be a hollow victory if she couldn’t save those soldiers’ lives.
A moment later, Ally felt Carter’s hands wrap around her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said.
She shook her head. She refused to give into the self-pity that was running through her. No one needed to be sorry for her. This wasn’t about her. It had never been about her.
“I wouldn’t give up just yet,” a gruff voice said from behind her. Ally turned to see Bowie push his way to the front of the pack. He walked up to the desk in the middle of the room. “Charlie’s got a few tricks up her sleeve.”
Mason peered over the top of Charlie’s bank of computers as Bowie pulled open a drawer. “She has hidden compartments in her desk?”
“We all have secrets,” Bowie said cryptically as he pushed his hands deep into the drawer. Ally heard two hard clicks. She moved closer, stepping around the front of the desk.
“Secret compartments that only you happen to know about?” Mason asked, his brows arching.
Bo
wie lifted his head. His expression was as hard as stone. “What are you implying?”
“Nothing,” Mason said, raising his hands. “No one has ever implied anything when it comes to you and Charlie.”
“And if they know what’s good for them, they never will,” Bowie growled, his tone bordering on feral.
“Gentlemen,” Ally broke in. “Can we reschedule this pissing contest for a little later? We’re kind of in the middle of something.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Mason said, turning his back and walking casually away.
Bowie stared daggers at him for another second before pulling a small wooden box from the desk. He flipped open the top before turning it over. Harvey’s flash drive tumbled out onto the desk.
A rush of air filled Ally’s lungs at the sight.
She turned to Bowie, beaming. “Thank you.”
The grimace from his face faded a bit, and Ally had the feeling that was as close as the man came to smiling. “You’re welcome.”
She switched on one of Charlie’s computers and a hushed silence fell over the room as they waited for it to power up.
Ally’s head snapped up as a faint metallic clink sounded from deep within the building. At least, she wasn’t the only one feeling jumpy. All the men stiffened too.
Carter gave a pointed look to Jake and Rhys. Apparently, that was all the communication they needed, because the pair disappeared into the hallway.
Ally tried not to think too hard about what they were going to find out there. She needed to focus on what was in front of her.
Finally, the little color wheel stopped turning on the computer screen and the desktop sprung to life. Ally didn’t waste any time plugging in the drive and clicking on the icon. All the files that Charlie had passed along to her appeared on the screen.
Ally recognized each one of them. She opened the individual files, but there was nothing that she hadn’t already seen. She knew all of this. Every last bit.
There was nothing new on the drive.
So what the hell was Lucas Addams talking about? What was the missing piece? What was she missing?
“There’s nothing here,” she muttered, flipping frantically between the files.
Carter slid his hand over hers. Only then did she realize how much she was trembling. “It’s there, Ally,” he said. “You just need to take a deep breath and give yourself a chance to see it.”
She tried. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. Then a less shaky one. When finally her chest didn’t shake when she exhaled, Ally opened her eyes again.
Carter was right. The answer was there. It had to be. She just needed to let herself see it.
One by one she clicked the files closed, as she confirmed that she already knew everything that was in them. Until all she was left with was an empty desktop and the disk icon.
The icon.
The copy Charlie had given her had simply been named Copy. But that was obviously the name Charlie had given it. This one had a different name.
ODA1213
Ally stared at the code. That’s what Charlie had missed.
It wasn’t something on the drive. It was the drive itself.
It had to mean something. Harvey had left nothing to chance. He certainly wouldn’t give a random name to the drive that was so important that it had cost him his life.
But for the life of her, Ally didn’t know what it was.
“Does ODA1213 mean anything to you?” she asked the room.
Carter, Mason and Bowie all nodded in unison.
“It’s the name of a Special Forces team,” Bowie said.
“ODA stands for Operational Detachment Alpha,” Mason added. “The numbers tell you which team.”
Carter leaned in closer over Ally’s shoulder. “In this case it would be the 1st Special Forces Group, 2nd Battalion, Alpha Company, 3rd team.”
Ally clicked on the classified Department of Defense file, and scanned down the list. About halfway down she saw it.
ODA1213.
She pointed at the screen. “There it is,” she said. “We’ve got it.”
She turned toward Carter and threw her arms around him. They’d done it.
His arms encircled her waist and she melted against the heat of his chest. For just one moment, it felt so good to not have the weight of the world hammering against the inside of her skull.
Unfortunately, it was only a momentary break.
Two seconds later, Rhys and Jake walked back into the room. A scrawny man struggled at the end of Jake’s arm as he was dragged across the carpet. Ally’s breath hitched as Jake thrust him forward and into view.
Lucas Addams.
Ally stood up straight. She leaned back into Carter’s chest, her heart pounding in her own. Even though she knew there was no way Lucas could manage to pull out of Jake’s grip, she still couldn’t stop fear from springing to life inside.
The man had been trying to kill her for the last three days, after all. And from the sneer he cast her when their eyes met, it looked like he wasn’t done trying yet.
“What are you doing here, Addams?” Carter demanded.
Lucas stared at Ally for a full second before his gaze slid over to Carter. “And here I thought you would be sympathetic, Macmillan, seeing how you know what it’s like trying to lead a group of incompetent baboons.”
Jake grabbed a handful of Lucas’ hair and pulled back sharply. “If you want to keep all the teeth in that pretty boy smile of yours, I would answer the man.”
Carter crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“I was cleaning up a mess,” Lucas finally said. “A bigger one than I imagined, it appears.”
“You’re too late,” Ally said, taking a step forward and swallowing past her fear. “We found the flash drive.”
Lucas barked a biting laugh. “Who cares?”
Ally’s victorious smile faltered. “What do you mean?”
“We tried to end this the easy way. We really did,” Lucas’ eyes went almost wild. Ally took a step back. “But you refused to play nice.”
“Refused to die, you mean,” Carter said.
“Just her. She was the only one that knew anything,” Lucas said. “The rest of you could have gone on breathing.”
“Not the men in ODA1213,” Carter said.
“You should know better than anyone that in war there are casualties.”
Lucas squirmed as Jake tightened his grip. “Wrong answer.”
“Do you think we’re any different? We’re not,” Lucas babbled. “Thanks to your friends here, it looks like all of us good little foot soldiers are going to die now.”
“What are you talking about?” Rhys asked, his voice colder than any Ally had ever heard.
When Lucas didn’t answer Rhys pressed on a spot on Lucas’ shoulder. The man’s head fell forward as he screamed in pain. It took Lucas a moment to recover from whatever Rhys had done to him, but when he lifted his head a demented smile twisted his mouth.
“Boom!” Lucas said, before filling the room with hysterical laughter.
Ally looked at Carter. “That’s why the building was clear.”
Carter’s face went hard.
“The time for subtlety was over,” he said. “Since we couldn’t find the drive, I figured why not just destroy it all—scorched earth style.”
Carter looked over at his men. “Get out now. He’s rigged the place with bombs.”
“Too late,” Lucas taunted, acting every bit the madman that Ally had imagined he was. “For all of us. I barely had enough time to set the charges and get out before your boys nabbed me.”
“We’re going to die.” The words fell from Ally’s lips before she could stop them. How much more time did they have? A minute? Ten seconds? There was no way of knowing.
“Like hell we are,” Carter said.
He pulled his gun and turned toward the window. Three precisely placed shots and the glass shattered.
“Get out,” he shouted to the men.
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They didn’t waste any time following that order. Jake picked up Lucas by the neck to the opening before tossing him out into the abyss below. One by one, the rest of the men followed, jumping out of the gaping hole.
“Come on, Ally,” Carter called out to her.
“One second,” she said, turning to grab the flash drive from the computer. Her fingers had just wrapped around it when Carter’s arms enveloped her.
“No more seconds,” he said.
Ally clinched the drive in her hands as he strode over to the window.
“Carter,” Ally said, her voice shaking as the cold night air rushed through the broken window and over her body. “There’s no pole this time.”
“And there’s no time.”
He wasn’t lying. Ally heard a thunderous crack the moment Carter’s foot hit the windowsill. A fraction of a second later, a blast of heat surged behind them. It was so intense that it almost made her forget that she was twisting and falling in midair.
Almost.
Air rushed out of Ally’s lungs in a whoosh as they hit the ground. Carter rolled the moment their bodies made contact with dirt, minimizing the force of the impact. Still, Ally struggled to pull in a breath. A few seconds later, they came to a stop on the lawn that lined the office building.
Ally rested her head on the soft ground for a moment before opening her eyes. When she opened them, Carter was propped up above her. His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t make out a word he was saying. Her ears were filled with a loud rushing noise that blocked out all other sounds.
He touched the side of her face with his palms and she did her best to read his lips. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what he was asking.
Are you okay?
She might have had the wind knocked out of her and be temporarily deaf, but she didn’t feel any searing pain or broken bones.
Ally lifted a hand to her head. Her hair wasn’t even singed. So, yeah, she was going to be fine.
Ally nodded. The concerned look on Carter’s face faded a little, and he helped her sit up. Slowly, her hearing started to come back to her, though everything sounded like it was happening far away.
The scene she saw wasn’t all that much better. Broken glass and steel littered the lawn. She lifted her eyes to the building. The whole second floor was gutted. Flames licked out the open holes in the building as black smoke billowed up to the sky.
Dear God, that son of a bitch, Lucas, had done it. He’d blown the place up. He’d almost killed them all and destroyed all the evidence scorched earth style.
But he hadn’t succeeded.
Ally opened her fist and looked down at the flash drive in the center of her palm.
“Is everyone all right?” she asked. She looked around the lawn.
“I think so,” Carter said.
Ally’s breathing slowed a little as she took roll call in her mind. One by one all of Carter’s men stood up and started walking around. It seemed everybody knew how to take a fall better than she did.
Everyone except Lucas Addams. That sorry excuse for a man was writhing on the ground, clutching his knee. Even through the tin bell ringing in her head, she could still hear his howling.
And that wasn’t the only thing she could make out. Off in the distance, Ally was pretty sure she caught the sound of sirens headed their way.
Carter sat down next to her on the grass. “See, I told you it’s only twelve feet.”
She cast him a glare. “That was a long twelve feet.”
He turned his head toward the building as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Next time we’ll have to do thirty.”
“Next time?” she raised her brows.
“What, you have a better idea for date night?” he asked, a smile curling up the corners of his lips. “Fine, next time it can be your pick.”
“Seriously?” Ally asked, as she shook her head. “You can’t talk like this when anyone else is around? You know they all think I’m crazy.”
Carter crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face. Her eyes locked with his.
“It’s just for you,” he said, and pressed his lips to hers. “Everything, it’s just for you.”
Chapter Sixteen