Kam nodded and for the first time since they arrived, he wished that he was armed, but he wasn't a federal agent so his firearm stayed locked away in the truck along with Taylor's. "Head on a swivel."
Kam paused at the end of the wall, listening. "Come on. Don't die on me." Kam slipped around the corner at Paul's words. Paul let out a growl as Nixon's lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling. Paul's shirt was wadded on Nixon's stomach saturated in blood. Paul stared straight ahead, lost in memories or possibly praying.
Paul snapped out of his daze. "You've got to get Taylor out of here." He glanced at his phone. "As soon as I saw the body, I called it in. She can't be here when Hollands arrives or she'll be hauled away."
"Check the pocket." Kam took a step towards the entrance.
Paul shook his head. "Gone."
"We'll turn over the drive and get out of here." Kam's retreat halted as Paul rose, his scars visible on his chest. Kam wanted to apologize, but words didn't seem to be enough.
"Just keep her safe and we'll call it even." Paul held his gaze.
A scream cut off Kam's response. He dashed into the women's side of the restroom area as Taylor jammed her elbow into the neck of the Russian woman from the coffee shop. The woman stumbled back right into Kam's arms. He easily put her into a sleep hold and gently laid her on the floor.
"You good?" he asked as he took a step toward Taylor.
She sucked in a few deep breath. "Apparently she thought she would fare better in round two."
Something like pride swelled in his chest at the tough, warrior woman before him. He had always thought that hewould need to protect her from dangers of this world, but she held her own twice today against a highly trained Russian spy. This new Taylor kept on impressing him. He needed to get them both out of this mess because there was no way he was letting her go this time.
"Come on. Give the envelope to Paul and we'll get out of here."
"What about Nixon?" she asked as she stepped over the prone body of her attacker.
"He's gone and Hollands is on his way."
CHAPTER 8
Kam had been on the run before from the FSB, but he couldn't be sure that was who tried to get their hands on the drive at the airport. The woman who attacked Taylor, twice, a fact that still turned his blood cold, looked familiar but he couldn't be certain.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, but it could wait until they got back to the safety of the truck. Paul would have to get a ride from one of the many FBI agents that would be flooding the place soon enough. Taylor hadn't said a word since they left the corridor. He wasn't sure if she was simply mission focused or she was processing the loss of her best bet of getting out of this mess sooner than later.
The beep of the doors unlocking echoed in the relatively empty parking garage. Kam opened the door for Taylor which earned him a small smile. Taylor reached for her seatbelt. "Kam," she paused. "Thanks for saving me. More than once."
"I'll always be there for you."
Hurt and uncertainty flashed in her eyes. Years of absence would be hard to overcome. He reached for her cheek. She leaned into his touch. "Now that I have you back, I'm never letting you go."
His words might have been a bit strong given that they hadn't really worked through all of the trust and hurt, but it didn't make them untrue, at least not for him.
"You better not." She clicked her seatbelt closed. "I won't survive your death again."
Kam closed the door and felt the crush of her words deep in his bones. The ones he loved had suffered so much in their grief over losing him. For what? So the government could gain a ghost? Someone who didn't exist to go into places they could never send any intelligence agent.
Kam pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was a message from his handler. It did not take her long to find him again which didn't surprise him.
"Did Max send you a message?"
"Worse, Monica found me."
Taylor's brows scrunched together. "Who’s Monica? A girlfriend from within Spartak?"
A chuckle slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Monica was far from his type and he didn't trust her. Not like he trusted Taylor or even Paul and Davin.
Taylor narrowed her eyes at him, waiting for him to answer her. "Monica is my handler. She's the whole reason I'm in this mess. And before you ask, there isn't anything between us, nor was there ever anything." Kam flexed his fingers. "I only trust her as much as I have to."
They settled into a silence which gave him time to think. They'd have to get to the person who took the fake USB drive to see where that trail ended. He couldn't be sure that the two Russians were working with the person that got to Nixon or not.
