Crusher reached for Marta’s hand and held it all the way down.
When the door slid open on the lobby level, Marta held her breath, her gaze darting from left to right, searching for signs of dangerous men carrying weapons ready to pounce on them.
Draco appeared from a side door and made a broad circle around the lobby, coming to a halt a few yards from where Crusher, Marta and Phantom stood. He gave a brief nod and focused on the entrance.
Crusher’s gaze swept the room, his eyes narrowing.
“Is Marsh here?” Marta whispered.
Crusher shook his head. “Not yet.” He glanced down at his watch. “It’s a minute to eight.”
The revolving door at the entrance to the hotel spun, and a man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing sunglasses, a dark polo shirt and trousers stepped through it.
Marta tensed.
“That’s him,” Crusher said, his jaw tight.
Marta blew out her breath. This was it. Crusher squeezed her hand and then released it.
Devon Marsh looked around the lobby, took off his sunglasses and looked again. When he spotted Crusher and Marta, he strode toward them and stopped in front of them. “Crusher, I’m glad you two made it.” He shook hands briefly with Crusher and then gave his full attention to Marta. “Dr. Hale, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My apologies for the roundabout way you had to come to get back to the States.” He held out his hand to Marta.
She took it with some reluctance. This was the handoff. Her time with Crusher was over. “Mr. Marsh. I suppose I should thank you and the State Department for sending someone in to retrieve me from Colombia.” She wanted to ask him what had taken them so long.
“I understand you’re in need of a place to work and are in a bit of a time crunch.”
She dipped her head. “I do, and I am.”
“If you’ll come with me, I’ll get you to a lab where you can work.” Marsh reached for Marta’s elbow.
Instinctively, she moved backward, out of his range.
Crusher stepped between them. “What about her security?” He looked purposely around the lobby. “You didn’t bring a team?”
Marsh gave Crusher a tight smile. “I did. They’re waiting outside.”
“Then we’ll escort Dr. Hale to that point. She’s had enough people trying to get to her. It would be remiss of us to let you, an unarmed man, walk out the door with her.” Crusher gripped Marta’s arm. “Isn’t that right, men?”
Phantom and Draco moved closer.
Marsh frowned. “Really, it’s not necessary. They’re right outside the door, waiting near the transport.”
“I’d like them to accompany me,” Marta said, glad for the show of support. Marsh hadn’t been with her and Crusher the past few days. He hadn’t seen how desperate Vasquez had been to activate his men to retrieve her. She laid her hand over Crusher’s on his arm. “Shall we?”
Marsh stared from Marta to Crusher and back and then shrugged. “If you’ll follow me.” He led the way to the revolving door.
Crusher and Marta followed through in the next gap, emerging into the early morning Miami sunshine. The heat had already baked the sidewalk, and in the glare it took a moment for her eyes to adjust.
A dark van stood a few yards away from the entrance.
As Marsh walked toward it, three men fell in step. One with Marsh, the other two bringing up the rear behind Marta, Crusher, Phantom and Draco.
Marsh stopped beside the van. The man who’d flanked him slid the side door open and came to parade rest beside Marsh.
Marsh faced Marta. “As you can see, I came with a security team. You’ll be safe with us, and we’ll get you to where you can work.”
Marta stared at the dark interior of the van and shivered. She wasn’t sure why she was so hesitant, but she wasn’t getting any closer to stopping Vasquez’s plan to release the virus by standing on a sidewalk in the Miami heat.
She turned to Crusher and held out her hand. “Thanks again,” she said, the words so incredibly inadequate to express her appreciation for him rescuing her. Marta wanted to throw her arms around Crusher one last time. Surrounded by a bunch of men who didn’t need to see how much it broke her heart to leave the man who’d saved her, kept her from making a fool out of herself and embarrassing Crusher in front of his team and Marsh’s.
