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Hayley parked, then crept toward the dock area of the small marina.
She would’ve preferred to charge in, guns drawn, but considering she was on her own here, covert was better. With luck, she’d be able to use the element of surprise to her advantage.
From what she could see, Michelle had lost quite a few of her team in the fight at the row house. She only had enough agents with her now to guard the guys. Which meant maybe Hayley wasn’t too outnumbered after all. She ducked behind a nearby boat and double-checked her weapon—ammo clip full, safety off. She hadn’t fired one of these things since the Academy, but she’d been a pretty good shot back then. She’d never actually fired at another human being, either, but there was a first time for everything.
Hayley inched up to peer over the hull of the small fishing boat. Scotty knelt directly across from her, a department-issued Glock with a silencer attached aimed for his brain stem. Her chest squeezed tight.
They’d just found each other. She couldn’t lose him. Not yet.
Kyle seemed to have gotten Michelle talking, which was both unusual and a testament to his persuasive skills. Or maybe guilt had pushed Michelle to want to confess, figuring she had nothing to lose by spilling her secrets to a group of men who would be dead soon anyway. They always joked around the office about getting criminals to “monologue” at crime scenes. Half the time they’d incriminate themselves, no coercion or interrogation necessary.
Even after all she’d seen, Hayley still had a hard time believing her boss was doing this. A woman she’d admired and tried to emulate, career-wise. Was she being blackmailed? Forced in some way? Had someone succeeded in bribing her—were these good men going to die just for money?
What would drive Michelle to do something like this?
Hayley looked at Scotty kneeling there, a gun pressed to the back of his head, and the answer burst into her mind.Love.Love would be enough. Considering her own actions over the past few days, yeah, love made people do strange things. Somehow, Michelle thought that this would protect someone she loved. Just as Natalie had thought that her actions, whatever they were, would protect Nick. But she’d been wrong…and Hayley very much feared that Michelle would prove to be just as mistaken. There was no safety to be found in working with men who would engineer something like this.
“I’m sorry, too, Matthews.” Michelle’s words cut through the air like a scalpel, and Hayley’s pulse skittered. “See you in hell.”
Hayley cocked her trigger and sidled down the length of the boat.
Hayley came around the end ready to fire. Except, when she looked again at the dock where Michelle had been standing, the situation had changed. Bodies writhed on the dock, and the air filled with the sounds of fighting—gunshots, yes, but also the hard thuds of fists smacking flesh, pained cries, bones breaking. The frantic need to find Scotty sent adrenaline exploding through her veins at the same exact moment she realized every single man twisting on the ground was wearing a black suit. Somehow, the SEALs had managed to sweep the feet right out from beneath the standing agents and knock them to the ground. Michelle was nowhere in sight.
Where was Scotty?Hayley rushed forward, hoping against hope she wasn’t too late. “Scotty!” she yelled.
“Red? What are you doing here?” he shouted, standing over the unconscious body of one of the agents. “See if you can find the key to these damned handcuffs, will you?”
She searched the pockets of the agent near her feet and found a set of keys.
Rushing forward, Hayley quickly unlocked Scotty’s cuffs. The first thing he did when his hands were free was cup her face and give her a quick, hard kiss. Then he snatched the key from her and dashed over to his buddies to unlock them as well.
“What about Agent Harper?” Scotty called to Kyle.
“Let her go for now,” Kyle said. “We need to concentrate on Natalie and Becks.”
Hayley started to follow Scotty, then halted at the sound of a gun being cocked behind her. From where she stood, her position was hidden from the others’ view by a larger boat tied to the dock. Slowly, Hayley turned, her hands up in surrender, already knowing who she’d see.
“Figured you’d show up sooner or later, Agent Stevens,” Michelle said, dripping wet. She’d obviously dived into the water when the fighting started. “Drop your weapon.”
Hayley did as asked. “How does it feel to have your whole career flash before your eyes, boss?”
“You tell me, Stevens.” Michelle tilted her head to the side and smiled, stooping to exchange her wet weapon for Hayley’s dry one. “Too bad. No way you’ll get that promotion now.” Michelle moved closer and kicked the other weapon into the bay. “Law enforcement on the way?”
“Of course.”
“Right.” Michelle stared at her a moment.
“What are you going to do now?” Hayley called as her boss backed toward the idling black van behind her. “You won’t be able to go back to the Bureau.”
“I’ll figure something out.” She kept her gun trained on Hayley as she climbed in, then slammed the door behind her. “See you around, Agent Stevens.”
“Yes, you will.”
The van took off down the gravel road leading into the nearby woods just as sirens approached.
“You okay, Red?” Scotty asked, coming up beside her. He traced his finger down her cheek, and her pulse tripped.
“Yeah.” Even bruised and bloody and covered in dirt and sweat, he was the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen. Unable to resist touching him, she reached up and ruffled his hopelessly scruffy blond hair. “How about you?”
