Jeff’s heart skipped a beat as Kat’s dark shape hurtled down from the ceiling directly in front of where he was about to shoot.
Dear God. Had she been shot?
Pure, unadulterated panic ripped through him, a sick wash of heat that all but knocked his legs out from under him. Roaring in rage and terror, he charged around the corner, heedless of any danger waiting for him. He’d charge the jaws of hell itself for her.
He made out a writhing mass of arms and legs that he dared not shoot at, so he continued to sprint forward, the panic blurring his vision until he could hardly see.
And then a petite figure rose to the top of the pile.
Kat. He’d know her anywhere.
Blindingly fast, she gave a vicious yank. The figure beneath her went limp and thudded to the floor. A second, bigger figure jumped on her from behind, a knife glinting dully in the gloom.
Jeff’s weapon swung up to his shoulder. Time ceased, and his mind went to some strange place it had never gone before. A state of suspended animation descended upon him. He became one with the gun, and with the lead slug resting in its depths. He took the shot almost without conscious thought. It was as if his mind directed the bullet’s path, guiding its flight unerringly a hair past Kat’s temple and into the left eye of her attacker. The guy’s head snapped back, and Kat whipped around in his grasp, striking him an open-handed blow that leveled him long before Jeff’s bullet dropped him.
As he ran forward toward her, a single thought crossed his mind. He’d never seen another human being move as fast as she just had.
“You okay?” he bit out as they sank to the ground, back-to-back as their attackers had just been.
“Yeah. You?” She panted.
“Fine.”
The gunfire in the room was winding down. One more burst of gunfire, he recognized the sound of an MP-7-standard issue for the Medusas-and then it went quiet. The silence was intense after all the shots in an enclosed space, and his ears rang fiercely.
“Report!” he called.
One by one, the Medusas reported in. Misty’s voice sounded strained, as if she were injured.
“Mamba,” he called.
“I’m on it,” the medic replied, already running toward the last sound of Misty’s voice.
He stood up cautiously. “Clear the space by standard quadrants. We’ll meet at the fireplace.”
Kat stood up behind him and it was all he could do not to spin around and snatch her into his arms, to run his hands over her to assure himself that she wasn’t hurt. But now was not the time. Not yet.
He methodically checked his portion of the room, verifying that the two hostiles he and Kat had taken out were, indeed, dead. A few minutes later, the team converged by the fireplace, Mamba holding Misty’s left arm and still binding a splint into place. For her part, Misty’s face was drawn in pain.
“What have you got, Mamba?”
“Bullet in the upper arm, lodged near the bone. Gonna have to dig it out. Bleeding under control. She’s ambulatory but not combat capable.”
He nodded briskly. It was weird to let a woman suffer with a gunshot wound like this, but if he’d ever doubted it before, he didn’t now. These women were soldiers of the first caliber, every bit as good as his own men. They’d worked like a well-oiled machine, in spite of the close confines, the lack of radios and determined resistance by the hostiles.
Kat looked up from the body she’d just searched. “Russian. What do you want to bet our frisky oil minister sent them to get his movie back.”
Jeff nodded. “That movie’s gonna cost India a big oil contract or a whole lot of egg on that Russian minister’s face. The State Department’s gonna kiss your feet when you give that disk to them.”
Kat made a face. “That’s okay. I’ll settle for a decent foot massage. No kissing required.”
He grinned and spoke off frequency. “It all depends on who’s doing the kissing and how. You’re gonna like what I do to your toes.”
Kat’s eyes popped wide open, clearly imagining the possibilities.
The static in his ear stopped abruptly. Hallelujah. In the chaos of battle he hadn’t noticed it, but it had really been starting to get on his nerves the last minute or two.
“Say status,” Jennifer Blackfoot ordered.
She sounded tense. Which was saying something for her.
He replied, “All hostiles down. One friendly injury. We’ll need medevac to a hospital, but it’s not life-threatening.”
“Well done, Maverick, ladies.”
He started. That had been General Wittenauer’s voice. He’d had no idea the Old Man had been monitoring this op.
“Let’s move out,” Jeff ordered.
They headed for the back of the house. Bravo 51 was being directed to move in and pick up Misty and Mamba and fly them back to the H.O.T. Watch cave. Aleesha would remove Misty’s bullet in their operating room, where there wouldn’t be any awkward questions asked about how Misty’d been shot.
The helicopter lifted off, and the Medusas hiked off through the trees to recover the surveillance gear they’d abandoned when he’d ordered them to rush the house. Kat hung back with him, since she’d carried all her gear with her when she broke in to the mansion.
She gazed up at him in the starlight beseechingly. She did not speak, but then, she didn’t have to. Her eyes said everything. She was hurt. Missed him. Wanted to talk to him. Wanted him to understand that this was who she was.
“I-”
A dark shape hurtled out of the trees and barreled into Kat just as a gunshot rang out.
Jeff dived for Kat and the prone figure on top of her. Before he could do a thing to help her, Kat had moved like lightning, slipping the grip of her captor and reversing their positions.
Another shot rang out, and a foot-long divet of grass flew up a scant inch beyond Kat’s head. Jeff jumped to his feet, grabbing the attacker by one arm as Kat took him by the other. The three of them sprinted across the lawn, zigzagging for cover.
A French-accented voice panted. “One shooteur. In the woods that way. I show you.”
“Ahh. We meet again,” Kat answered warmly.
The Ghost? Jeff’s jaw dropped as he ran. The guy had literally run right into his grasp? Exultation shot through him.
They dived into a stand of fig trees and the shooter paused for the moment.
“This way!” The Ghost took off crawling on his hands and knees, with Kat in tow.
“You’re not going to follow him, are you?” Jeff demanded in a whisper.
“Of course I am.”
“You’ve already walked into one trap tonight. Are you going to dive into another one?” Jeff challenged.
“He just saved my life. He’s not a killer.” And with that, Kat turned away and rose to a crouch, running after the thief.
Jeff closed his eyes for a moment in sheer exasperation and then gave chase. The pair had paused at the edge of the fig grove. He drew close in time to hear Kat murmur, “Can you point him out from here?
“I t’ink not.”
“Use this,” she said. Jeff gaped as she pulled out her spotter’s scope and passed it to the Frenchman.
“Ahh. There ’e is.”
Kat glanced over her shoulder. “Give me your gun, Jeff.”
“I’ll take the shot-”
She cut him off. “I’m a trained sniper. You’re not. I’ll take the shot.”
Shaking his head, he peeled his MP-7 off his shoulder and handed it over. “It’s sighted true. I make corrections manually.”
“Perfect.” Kat sounded distant, already completely focused on the shot to come. She transmitted over her radio. “Does anybody have the current winds at this location?”
She stretched out on the ground, settling into a prone position, the rifle coming up to her cheek.
Jeff recognized Carter Beigneaux’s voice from H.O.T. Watch Ops. “Five knots, variable from heading one hundred to one hundred and thirty.”
“Thanks,” Kat muttered.
“What’s going on?” Jennifer demanded.
Jeff answered, “A stray shooter.”
“You need telemetry?” Jennifer blurted in alarm.
“No. Cobra’s got it handled. Stand by.”
And something deep in his gut really did believe she had the situation under control. He was still and silent behind her as she set up for the shot.
“Where is he?” she murmured to the Ghost.
The Frenchman began to give a description, and after a few seconds, Kat cut in. “Got him.”
She murmured, “Target acquired. Request green light.”
Jeff answered immediately. “You are greenlighted.”
At his feet, she went completely still, as relaxed as if she were deeply asleep. Her legs sprawled wide to stabilize her body on her belly. Her right arm draped over his gun’s stock, and her cheek pressed against the housing as gently as a lover. He actually felt the calm that rolled off her, the utter concentration as her entire world narrowed down to a single point in her sights.
She exhaled slowly.
And then a single shot rang out.
Kat spoke emotionlessly. “Clean head shot. Target is down.”
Jeff sagged behind her.
She rolled over onto her back and the Ghost helped her to her feet. To the Frenchman, she said, “Thank you, my friend. I owe you one this time.”
“No, we are even. You went into that ambush instead of moi. I t’ink I would have died in there.”
“Not before you told them where you got that disk of yours,” Jeff commented.
The Ghost looked at him in surprise. “The Renoir job.”
Jeff nodded. They’d been right. The Indian businessmen. “Do you know who those men waiting for you were?”
“They are Russian. Not government. Private. How you say-mafiosi. The oil minister. He want his movie back and hire them.”
“Can you prove that?” Jeff asked.
The Ghost shrugged. “My source…’e cannot reveal himself to the likes of you. But ’e is never wrong.”
Jeff sighed. As he’d expected.
Jennifer spoke into his ear. “Police en route. Those outside shots were heard and reported by a neighbor.”
Kat started. “You must leave, my friend. The police are on their way.”
Jeff started. “Leave? Not on your life! He’s stolen a hundred million dollars’ worth of art. He’s under arrest!”
Kat turned to him. She didn’t say a word. She just looked at him with sad, wise eyes. And he knew in his heart that she was right. The honorable thing to do was as plain as day in her gaze. No wonder Vanessa Blake called her the Medusas’ compass arrow of right and wrong. He hesitated a moment more…
And then nodded in acknowledgment.
He turned to face the Ghost. “In light of the fact that you just saved the life of the woman I plan to marry, I think we can make an exception in this case. If you head down toward the beach, we can stall the police here.”
A wide smile broke across the thief’s face. He bowed his head briefly at Jeff, then turned to face Kat. He pressed a small rectangle of white into her hand. “If you ever have need of me, you have but to call this number. A message will reach me.”
He turned to leave, then paused and looked over his shoulder.
“She is a precious diamond, a woman of extraordinary worth. Take good care of her, monsieur.”
“Trust me. I plan to. For the rest of my life and hers.”
And as the Ghost faded away into the night, Jeff turned to face his future. Kat stepped into his arms eagerly, fitting against him as if she’d been born for him.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“For what? For letting him go? Or for finally seeing you for who you really are, and finally wrapping my brain around the fact that you can handle yourself every bit as well as I can? Or for accepting you for who you are-all of you, including your job and your crazy training and your blasted sense of honor?”
She laughed quietly. “All of that.”
“I love you, you know.”
She froze. Slowly she leaned back to look up at him. “Are you sure?”
It was his turn to laugh. “Oh, yeah. I’m sure. I was ready to slay lions and charge into hell for you in there. I’m a goner. Cupid’s Bolt did me in.”
“Gee, and here I thought it was Medusa’s arrow that got you.”
“That she did. She’s got all of me forever if she’ll have me. What do you say, darlin’? Will you marry me?”
Her smile was bright enough to light the heavens and illuminated his heart until he thought it might burst. “I thought you’d never ask. It would be my honor to have you.”
Jennifer Blackfoot’s voice came up on frequency, startling them both. “Uh, one of you is leaning on your transmit button.”
Kat buried her face against his chest in mortification as laughter and cheering erupted over their earpieces. And then General Wittenauer’s voice came up on frequency. “You’d better take good care of her, son. She’s like a daughter to me.”
Jeff closed his eyes in chagrin. “Yes, sir. I will, sir.” He gazed down at Kat apologetically. “So much for privacy for the two of us.”
“Welcome to my world,” she said, rolling her eyes.
He grinned down at her. “I think I’m gonna like it there. A lot.” He took her hand in his, and together, the two of them turned to walk into whatever the future held.