Page 38 of Yankee in the Wind

“Are you always this bossy?” she asked.

“I’m not bossy. I’m protecting you. You’re my responsibility.”

“Macho much?”

He tossed her a look. “Poking the sleeping bear much?”

“Touché.” Then she chuckled to herself.

“What?”

“I think we’re cut from the same cloth.”

He smirked. “Trust me, your cloth is much prettier.”

“We’re not talking about temperament anymore, are we?”

“Thomas was right. You are quite direct. I like that.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you like me?”

“Lilly,” he said, “we’ve already established that I like you.”

But did Lilly feel the same for him that he felt for her? Did she reciprocate the feelings he’d had even before they’d met seven years earlier? He had no right to ask this question. Lilly had no other choice but to stick with him right now.

When they reached the office park, where Delta Labs was located, Jack switched off the headlights. There was no traffic, and he didn’t want the security guard to see a car approach the building. He parked half a block away from the building, turning the car in the direction they would need to flee should something go wrong. He didn’t lock the car, knowing that every second counted during an escape. Perhaps he was paranoid, but paranoid had kept him alive for the past three years.

Under his jacket in a shoulder holster, he carried his Glock. And strapped to his ankle beneath his khaki pants, was a knife.

“Lead the way,” Jack said to Lilly.

“To the right there,” she said, pointing to a spot on the west wall of the building.

As they approached, Jack looked around. There was a light over an unassuming door.

“Is there a camera covering that door?”

Lilly met his gaze. “Yes, but the security guard in the lobby is probably napping.”

“Probably isn’t good enough.”

Jack pulled his Glock from its holster, then reached into his other pocket to take out the silencer he’d brought.

“Oh my God, are you gonna kill the security guard? He’s an innocent guy. You can’t just—”

“Of course not,” he interrupted while screwing the silencer onto the muzzle of his gun. “I would never shoot an innocent.” He pointed to the back door. “I need to take out the camera, so we can’t be seen entering.”

He aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the camera in its center, and there was barely a sound. The security guard in the front of the building wouldn’t have heard it.

“Wow, you’re a great shot,” Lilly said.

He acknowledged her compliment with a nod. Arriving at the door, Lilly pulled out her access card and held it over the card reader. A green light flashed, and there was a beep. Lilly opened the door, and together they entered the building.

They were in a well-lit corridor.

“Are the lights on all night?” Jack whispered to Lilly.

“In the corridors, yes, but not in the offices and labs.” She pointed to a door with the word Stairs on it. “We can’t use the elevators. The guard would hear us.”