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Kyle raised his head and peered through the haze of smoke from Gage’s explosion. There was a huge hole in the wall where the windows had been, and the smell of C-4 stung his nostrils.
Thank God Gage was the best in the biz when it came to explosives, or they could’ve all been killed.
Scotty punched a guard who’d rushed into the room, knocking him out cold, then crouched by Kyle’s side. “You okay, dude?”
“Yeah.” He sat up and ran a hand through his hair before starting on the knots still binding Natalie’s ankles to the chair. “How about you, Duchess? You all right?”
“Fine. Other than the fact my arm is numb from you knocking me into the floor, then suffocating me.” Her snippy tone made him smile. “What about Arrieta? Did he get away?”
“We just rescued you,” Scotty said, undoing her wrists. “A thank-you wouldn’t be out of order. And Spencer and Gage are after him.”
Another scuffle sounded out in the hall, and Scotty sighed. “Duty calls.”
He moved toward the door, and Kyle took over freeing Natalie.
“I’ll say thanks when that asshole’s behind bars.” As soon as she could, Natalie shifted from the awkward position she’d been tied in.
“Or dead.” Kyle flung the ropes aside and stood, then extended his hand down to help her up. “Can’t believe you still want to turn him in after he just tried to kill you.”
“We need to get as much intel as we can on his terror network. Can’t interrogate a dead man.”
“No.” Kyle brushed off his clothes, then followed Natalie out the busted wall and into the yard. “But putting a bullet in his brain sure would make me feel better. Listen, Duchess. About last night…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Spencer jogged up, out of breath and sweating. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, gasping. “I tried to catch Arrieta, but he had a car waiting. They took off, headed east, toward the city. Sorry.”
Kyle turned back to Natalie. “What’s our next move, Agent Matthews?”
“I need to call my handler.” She gave him a quick glance, then pulled her phone from her pocket and turned away. There was dirt on her arms from the scuffle, and angry red welts marred her wrists and ankles. Kyle wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and keep her safe forever, but that wasn’t an option. Not when he had no idea whether or not she’d welcome his touch.
Natalie walked away, talking quietly into her phone, while Kyle remained in place.
“Things okay between you two?” Scotty asked, joining him and Spencer.
“As good as expected,” Kyle said. “Where’s Gage?”
“He went back inside to deal with the few guards still left.” Scotty hiked his thumb toward the house. “We should probably check the servers while we’re here.”
“Yep. Take Spencer with you before he keels over.”
Spencer flipped Kyle off, then followed Scotty back into the house.
Natalie hung up and returned to Kyle’s side. “The Agency wants us to check the servers before we go.”
“Already on it,” Kyle said, staring at the toes of his boots. “Hey, Duchess. I know now isn’t really the time, but last night—”
“Save it.” She held up her hand. “Last night was a mistake, on both our parts. Right now, you have your job to do and I have mine. End of story, yeah?”
Even though he’d been half expecting them, her words hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut.A mistake?He did his best to hide his hurt. “Yeah. Fine. Whatever. You do what you want—I need to go check on the guys.”
She watched him for a moment, and he saw a brief flicker in her dark eyes—regret, perhaps—before she looked away. “Fine.”
“Fine.” Kyle walked away, his heart in shreds. “See you later?”
“Probably not. The Agency’s sending a car to get me.”
“Right. Well, then.” What could he say? What wasleftto say? “Good luck, Natalie.”
“Good luck, Kyle.” She walked away, and he watched her go. “See you on the other side.”
