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Addy nodded but didn't write anything down and he was impressed. The doctor declared the extraction a success and she stood and pulled her phone from her back pocket.
"I'm going back to the senator's house to get the information. You guys need to stay here and guard him."
Rafe squared his shoulders. "You're not going alone."
"Why not?"
"What if King's men are at the house? You'll be there with no backup. No one to guard you."
The second she tilted her head and her lips formed a straight line across her face, he knew that was the wrong thing to say.
Henry coughed and tried to hide his amusement. The instant his eyes landed on Myles's though, he saw the humor. What in the hell did they think was so funny?
Addy slowly stood. Her shoulders pulled back and her spine was straight as an arrow. When her dark brown eyes stared straight into his, the little hairs at the back of his neck prickled.
When she spoke, her voice was even and low. "I don't need anyone to guard me."
Fear prickled his skin, something skittered down his back - fight or flight syndrome began to kick in. His palms began to sweat.
"I meant." He swallowed. He could barely hear his own words over the beating of his heart and the snickering of Henry and Myles. "I meant...It never hurts to have backup. You should have backup."
Myles nodded. "You should be her backup."
Straightening his spine, he nodded in return. "Okay." He braved a look at Adelaide. "Shall we go?"
She huffed out a breath but didn't say anything in return. Not to him, anyway. She turned to her teammates, "We'll come back here. The senator will need to rest after what he's been through. If you have any issues, let me know."
The senator finally found his voice. He watched Dr. Krueger close his case after carefully packing his bloodstained tools in a towel, then in a bag, and placed into his medical kit. Dr. Krueger met his gaze. "I'll sanitize them at the clinic. You'll feel a bit of pain when the numbing wears off. Take some painkillers, over the counter should suffice. Don't lift anything heavy for ten days or more. Change your bandage daily, keep your wound clean until it heals. If you need anything else, these folks can get in touch with me."
Dr. Krueger barely looked his way as he passed. Slipping out the door, he disappeared. His footsteps were quiet on the walkway outside. He was like a ghost in the night.
Senator Jackson sputtered. "Wait. What if they come for me?"
Myles turned to him. "Henry and I will be here."
"But this isn't safe. These walls are paper thin, that door could barely keep a mouse out."
Rafe agreed with him. This place wasn't secure. But for now, it was an unknown. Henry sat at the table. "We're working on a safe house for you. As soon as we have confirmation on that, we'll move you. Until then, we're here. You need to rest to get your strength up. So, take a nap."
Addy grabbed a large shoulder bag off a chair in the corner, then passed him as she stepped toward the door. She softly addressed Myles and Henry. "Call if you need anything. We'll be back soon."
Her eyes met his for the slightest moment before she slipped out the door as quietly as Dr. Krueger. Nodding he followed her out, deciding it was better not to say anything to her until he could gauge her mood.
At the bottom of the stairs she finally turned to him. "Where's your vehicle?"
"It's right behind you."
Her head turned, the smooth column of her neck caught his attention. Her profile was stunning. She began moving toward his vehicle and he followed without a word. Once again for the hundredth time in the past two days he thought about how his life was going to change. He had no idea how much and right now he was thrust into going on a recon mission for information. He hadn't been on a recon mission since his military days twelve years ago. Hopefully it was like riding a bike.
Once they'd both buckled up, he maneuvered his vehicle to the driveway of the motel. "I'll need an address or directions from you." He watched her lips turn up slightly.
She leaned forward and punched the senator's address into his navigation system. A few seconds later the robotic voice told him to turn right and get up on the expressway.
Merging into the traffic, he let out a deeply-held breath, and put his mind to the task and what he'd done in the past on missions. As his thoughts were organizing themselves, she interrupted them.
"You're right in that it's better to have backup. But, for the record, I could have slipped into the house unseen, gotten what I needed and slipped out without issue."
His eyes landed on hers for a moment. He dreaded looking away from her. She had a soft serene beauty that invited his attention. Not that she tried to get it. And that was the thing about her. She was guileless. She didn't seem to care if he noticed her or not. She was just who she was and that was likely the biggest appeal of all to him. He'd known plenty of women who played games and craved attention. Adelaide was just the opposite - attention would get her noticed. And a special operative didn't want to be noticed.
