Page 15 of Waiting for Him (Trident Security #3)

Chapter Ten

B oomer stepped outside the emergency room with Kat and scanned the area for any danger. Keeping her hidden in an alcove, he pulled out his phone and called Ian . When his boss picked up, he gave him the rundown of what had happened.

“ So , Reverend’s going to be okay?”

A car drove by, and Boomer eyed it before answering.

“ Yeah . A bullet hit the wall as he was coming around the corner, and it kicked out a nice-sized chunk of brick. Struck him near the eye and scratched the cornea, but the doc says it’s not as bad as it looks.

He’s got some stitches for a laceration right above the eye.

The fucker bled like a bitch and scared the crap out of us.

He needs an eye patch and some eyedrops for a week or so.

Then he’s got to follow up with an ophthalmologist. They had to give him something for the pain.

The fact that he took it tells you he’s hurting. ”

Ian snorted, clearly relieved the injury wasn’t worse. “ Yup . The fucker even hates taking Tylenol . So , what’s the plan from here?”

“ I’m going to call CC , have him pick up Jake when he’s released, and fly him home.

We told the cops it was an attempted carjacking.

Whether they believed us or not is another story.

One of the detectives is an old friend of my dad’s, so I think he gave us some leeway.

It also helps the only witness was the motel clerk, who hid behind his desk while calling 9-1-1.

I’m just glad we still have carry permits in Virginia .

Otherwise , we’d still be in interrogation.

” His eyes met Kat’s . “ We’re heading to Murfreesboro in North Carolina .

It’s about an hour or so from here, and Kat’s aunt lives there.

We’re hoping she can tell us about the photo from the safety deposit box. ”

“ All right. But watch your six. When CC lands with Jake , I’ll send Dev and Marco up to meet you.

Depending on how much sleep CC’s had, they may not be there before tomorrow morning.

I want you to check in every two hours until your backup arrives.

And I’ve activated your tracker, so don’t lose your phone. ”

“ Anything else, Mom ?”

“ Cut the sarcasm, frog. I don’t like knowing these guys are gunning for Kat , and you’re in their way.

From what you told me, they want her alive, which means you and anyone else can end up as collateral damage.

Watch your ass and call me the second you see trouble.

Worse comes to worst, I’ll call Little Creek and send some of Team Four to help you.

They’re training stateside at the moment. ”

“ Yeah , I doubt Uncle Sam would like that, Boss -man, but I hear you. I’ll be careful and keep you posted.”

“ Every two hours, or I start calling people.”

Before Boomer could respond, his boss disconnected the call.

Beside him, Kat was still pale, but at least she’d stopped shaking.

She’d been great at the scene, administering first aid to Jake while Boomer had made sure their assailants had indeed taken off moments before the cops arrived.

It wasn’t until after the EMTs took over that the shock of being shot at finally hit her.

Now , he pulled her in for a hug. “ You okay?”

In his arms, she began to shake again. “ I’m so sorry, this is all my fault. Jake or you could’ve been killed. What if he loses his sight in that eye?”

He hugged her tighter and ran his hands over her back. “ Shhh . Calm down. None of this is your fault. And you heard the doc, Jake is going to be fine. Please , this is the equivalent of a hangnail for a Navy SEAL .”

Kat huffed. “ How can you joke about this?”

Pulling back so she could see him, he cupped her chin.

“ It’s one thing you learn in the military, Kitten .

Joking is a way of dealing with things. The alternative is going nuts.

And I’m serious. Jake and I have been in far worse situations than today.

I was only freaking about you being in the middle of it all.

If something happened to you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.

I just got you back, and I’ll be damned if I lose you again. ”

He dipped his head, and her breath hitched a split second before he claimed her mouth.

This wasn’t the time or place for a make-out session, but he needed to give her something else to think about.

And since he was constantly thinking about the two of them having sex, why should he be the only one?

He kissed her hard and fast, plunging his tongue into her mouth and taking a quick taste of her.

When he ended the brief kiss, he was pleased to see she was flushed, glassy-eyed, and out of breath.

Soon . He had to make her his soon. But first, he had to keep her safe and find out what the fuck was going on.

“ Come on, let me fill Jake in, and then we’re getting on the road. I want to put as much distance as possible between us and the bad guys.”

It was now after four p.m. Between the police interviews and waiting for an eye specialist, the rest of the morning and afternoon flew by. With rush-hour traffic, it would be closer to six by the time they hit Murfreesboro , if not later.

As it turned out, with an unplanned stop and worse traffic than expected, it was twenty-five after seven when they pulled into Irina Maier’s empty driveway. They both climbed out of the car, and Boomer looked around. He’d been confident they hadn’t been followed.

Before they left Jake , he’d told them to return to the car rental place and switch cars, just in case one of the goons had tagged it.

Boomer could’ve kicked himself for not thinking of it first. They’d even gone one better and returned the car to one rental place before walking across the street to get a new car from another one.

And this time, he used an alias credit card and ID , which he was pissed he hadn’t done with the first rental.

They hadn’t thought the Russians would know they were in Virginia less than twenty-four hours after they’d arrived.

It was too late to change things now, so he had to pray the goons hadn’t memorized their license plate and traced it.

After driving a mile down the road, he’d pulled over and disabled the GPS tracker most agencies use nowadays to track their vehicles.

Once he was sure they didn’t have a tail, he’d gotten on the freeway heading southwest. While sitting in traffic, they’d taken advantage of a truck stop and grabbed dinner to go.

It wasn’t great, but it’d been some much-needed nourishment since they’d missed lunch.

Ivan Maier’s childhood home was a one-story ranch on approximately two acres.

Trees dotted the property, and it was obvious Irina Maier liked to garden or, at least, hired someone to do it.

Fall flowers were in bloom, and their beds were strategically placed around the property, so wherever one looked, there was an array of colors—pinks, reds, yellows, and blues.

The brick home was well taken care of, and the white shutters appeared to have recently received a fresh coat of paint.

Taking Kat’s hand, Boomer approached the front door and rang the bell. He could hear the chime go off, but there was no other sound from within. Knocking was met with the same result. Peering in the front window, he saw nothing amiss, but just to make sure, they circled the house.

“ Maybe she’s out to dinner with friends.”

Boomer hoped Kat was right and there wasn’t a more nefarious reason for her aunt not being home.

They had no idea if Volkov’s people would come here looking for answers to whatever questions they had for Kat .

“ Come on. Let’s find a room for the night.

We can come back in a little while and see if she’s home. ”

She sighed. “ Okay . I guess we don’t have a choice.”

He opened the passenger door for her and closed it after she swung her legs inside. Skirting the hood, he glanced toward the end of the driveway and noticed a man in his late sixties getting mail at a row of boxes.

Holding up a finger to Kat for her to wait a minute, he jogged down the drive. “ Excuse me? Sir ?”

The man was eyeing him suspiciously, so he stopped several feet away and lifted his palms to indicate he was no threat.

“ I’m sorry, sir. My girlfriend is a . .

. a distant relative of Ms . Maier . We were passing through and thought we’d stop in and say hi.

You don’t happen to know where she might be, do you? ”

He didn’t know what Irina’s neighbors knew about her brother’s family, so he didn’t want to mention Kat was her niece.

The man’s gaze shifted beyond Boomer , so he glanced back and saw Kat was out of the car and walking toward them.

“ Damn !”

Boomer’s head whipped around again to face the old man. “ What’s wrong?”

The neighbor seemed to realize he’d alarmed him. “ Oh , nothing to worry about, boy. Any thoughts about you snowballing me with your bullshit story went out the window when I saw your girlfriend there. She looks exactly like Irina . . . well, younger, of course. What did you say your name was?”

“ I didn’t, sir, but it’s Ben Michaelson . And this is Kate Zimmerman .”

Again , he didn’t want to tip the man off about Kat’s lineage. He held out his hand, and the man shook it.

“ Name’s Harry Bernhard . I live across the street. What branch of the military are you, son?”

Boomer’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “ Navy , sir. Retired SEAL , to be exact. How’d you know?”

“ Retired from the Marines about twenty years ago. Major . Can always spot someone who has seen combat. It’s the way they carry themselves. Iraq ? No , don’t answer. Sometimes I forget you black-ops boys can’t answer that question.”

Boomer’s mouth ticked upwards. “ No , sir, I can’t. Let’s just say I’ve been around the block a few times.”

“ I hear you. Now , about Irina . She expecting you?”