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CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Will tooka deep breath to steady himself as Hannah walked away from the van. He followed her with his eyes through the windshield until she turned the corner of the alley, the bouncy skirt Miranda had sent for her swishing around her legs. At least she had a vest on under the shirt. It wasn’t fitted especially for her like the rest of them, but it was better than nothing. It would protect her.
“I should go with her,” he said suddenly, making a move toward the back of the van.
“She’s got this, Will.”
Tank’s gruff words in his ear stopped him in his tracks. “She’s not a soldier, Tank. Not like the rest of us. She could get hurt.”
“We’ve got eyes on you,” came Ryder’s steady voice through the comms.
Then came Hannah’s voice. “I’m fine, Will. Hearing your anxious remarks in my ear the entire time is going to make it all the harder to keep my head in the game.”
Will exhaled a silent prayer. “Okay. You’re right. Just know I’m right here if you need anything. And we’re watching you the entire way, right, Joey?”
“I’ve got you, girl. Show these meatheads how it’s done.”
Will smiled at Joey’s encouragement and insult combination. On the security camera, he could see the lift in Hannah’s cheeks as she smiled. She also waved at a group of women, so he couldn’t be sure if the smile was the result of Joey’s joke or her own acting skills. Either way, it worked.
The group opened to embrace her and she got in the elevator with them.
“I’m on fourteen,” he heard her say to the group.
“Tank, where’s Yuri?”
“He’s in line at the coffee shop down the block. I can see him through the window, and I‘ll pick him up when he comes back out. All clear for now.”
Will relaxed just a smidgeon, but until Hannah was safely back in his arms, his muscles would stay as tightly corded as they were right now.
He kept his eyes glued to the security cameras. Joey had pulled up a multi-camera view of the fourteenth floor hallway, the front entrance to the hotel, and the restaurant where Ryder and Flint remained, nursing their iced teas and talking like two guys on a business lunch.
He watched Hannah get out of the elevator and wave good-bye to the last few girls. “I’ll try to find you after the fashion show,” she said with a giggle that sounded so fake to him he was sure the girls would notice it. But they didn’t know her true laugh the way he did. They wouldn’t be able to compare how it normally slid like molasses over the rough parts of his heart, filling in every crack with sweetness.
But he did.
Will strummed his fingers on the countertop, his impatience looking for an outlet.
He was terrified something was going to happen to her, even though he knew they had eyes on the target and she was in no danger right now.
“Should I knock?” Hannah asked in a whisper. “Just in case?”
“You think it’s your room. And if there is someone inside, then you have no idea why your key opened the wrong room number,” he said quickly.
He heard her breathe out in a low whoosh.
“You’ve got this, sweetheart.”
“Gag. You guys are gross,” Joey said.
Ryder jumped in with a sarcastic tone. “Oh, okay. Don’t forget, Josephine. Some of us saw you fall to pieces over Kensington last week, so don’t act like you aren’t a big romantic softy now. Your secret is out.”
“Focus,” he snapped at the team. He’d feel sorry about it later, but right now he was watching Hannah disappear from view. “Talk to me, Hannah.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Hannah sworeshe felt her heart stop when the light flashed green on the keycard and the door swung open as she pressed forward.
“Talk to me, Hannah.” Will’s voice in her ear grounded her, pulling her back to reality as she was nearly carried away by the intensity of her own anxiety. Blood pounded in her ears as she stepped into the room.
