Page 24 of Rescuing Brinley

The sound of gunfire made her flinch, but it was coming from inside the ballroom, not from the man who’d yelled at her.

The hallway felt way too long, and she was completely exposed and vulnerable as she ran, but Brinley didn’t slow down. Her only thought was to escape. To get out.

* * *

Shadow, Grinder, Torch, Kodiak, and Atlas were waiting outside the Vice President’s room for him and his wife to finish changing and getting ready for the day. Ayla was already down in the ballroom, with Echo and Zero watching over her. The plan was for Nelson and Nazita Roling to watch their daughter compete in the evening gown segment, then all three were going on another private tour of Fiji. The wife and daughter would return to the hotel, while the VP attended to some political business before returning himself. Their plane was slated to leave the next morning, and the Deltas would be headed home tomorrow afternoon.

Shadow’s phone vibrated, and he frowned as he read the message from one of the Secret Service members who were stationed around the hotel.

SS1: Suspicious movement SW of the hotel. Keep targets where they are for now.

Shadow: 10-4

The Rolings weren’t going to be happy if they missed Ayla’s turn on the stage. But their safety came first. Everyone understood that this could happen, that the Vice President’s daughter being here could be an opportunity too big for some terrorist groups to pass up.

“What’s up?”

Shadow glanced at Altas. “Not sure yet. But Secret Service has advised us to stay put while they check out some suspicious activity.”

As he spoke, Shadow was multitasking, sending a note to Echo to stay alert.

Grinder knocked on the hotel room door and informed the Rolings of the situation. As they all suspected, Mom and Dad weren’t happy with the thought of missing Ayla’s evening gown segment, but they also didn’t complain.

Torch and Kodiak went inside the hotel room so they could better guard the couple, while the other three team members stayed outside in the hall.

With every minute that passed, Shadow got more and more uneasy. He hadn’t heard back from Echo and Zero, and he couldn’t help but think about Brinley.

It was stupid. There was no reason to suspect she was in danger. And he was here to make sure nothing happened to the VP and his family. But he didn’t like feeling so disconnected with whatever might be happening elsewhere in the hotel. Without knowing where Brinley was and whether she was safe for certain.

Making an abrupt decision, he turned to his teammates. “I’m going to go downstairs. See if I can find out what, if anything, is happening.”

Both Grinder and Atlas nodded, looking relieved. None of them did well with being kept in the dark. They needed intel, and the two of them, along with Torch and Kodiak, had things more than under control here.

If something was happening, the Secret Service might need his team’s specialized assistance.

Shadow headed down the hall toward the stairwell. He nodded at the agents he passed on his way down to the first floor. Things in the lobby seemed fine. People were milling around and barely looked up as he walked quickly by them, heading for the exit.

The conference center, which included the large ballroom, wasn’t connected to the main hotel building, and as soon as he got outside, Shadow began to jog in that direction.

Suddenly, something made him stop in his tracks. There was a heavy feeling in the air, one he recognized from the many ops he’d been on. A sense of danger that wouldn’t let up. He abruptly turned and went down a sidewalk that ran along the side of the building instead of heading to the front door of the conference center.

Ahead of him, he saw someone burst out of one of the side doors and run as fast as they could toward the main hotel. Then another woman stumbled outside, barefoot, looking behind her as she ran.

It was the sound of several gunshots that had Shadow’s adrenaline kicking in.

He didn’t have time to shoot a text to any of his teammates to let them know what was happening, but since they’d already gone over all the worst-case scenarios, including something exactly like this, he was secure in the knowledge that they’d be ready for whatever went down the second he made contact. At the moment, he needed to get inside and see what was going on. To see what they were dealing with. One tango or more.

Just as he slowed down to enter the building as stealthily as possible, one of the doors flew open again—and just like on the beach last night, the person he was desperate to see appeared, as if by some miracle.

Brinley was breathing hard and her eyes were even larger in her face than normal. Shadow quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her against him.

She immediately began to struggle. As she opened her mouth to scream, he clamped a hand over her lips to keep her silent. She fought like hell, and he couldn’t help but be proud of her for that, even as he did his best to subdue her.

“It’s me, Shadow—Dash! You’re okay.”

His words immediately had her stilling in his grasp.

A shout from inside had him moving instinctively, pushing Brinley to the ground behind a series of tall bushes to the left of the doors. She was wearing a forest-green top with her jeans, and he was relieved the color was muted so they’d blend in better with the foliage. He came down on top of her, covering her body with his own. He didn’t need to tell her to stay quiet, she didn’t seem the least bit interested in talking right now, her breathing too hard, and he could feel her heart beating as fast as a hummingbird’s wings.