Suddenly a Spy (21 page)

“They probably expected him to bleed to death
before we found them.”

“I’m going to kill them. I was going to have
them arrested. That’s no longer on the table,” Veronica informed
him.

“You don’t want to become like they are,” he
warned.

“I won’t be cruel and twisted about it. Does
that help?”

“That’s comforting. Ah, my little killing
machine.”

“You don’t think it’s my fault, do you?” she
rested her head against his chest, unwilling to look him in the eye
as she asked the question she feared most.

“No, I don’t think it was your fault,” Rick
stroked her hair. “And I never should have said it was. I’m sorry,
love. In fact, if you hadn’t been so stubborn about checking out
that building, Vance would have died. If anything, you saved his
life.”

“My fault,” Vance croaked. Rick and Veronica
both turned their attention to him. “Petrov saw me text you. I was
stupid.”

“You saved our lives,” she left Rick and
returned to Vance’s side. He nodded, as if the knowledge somehow
helped.

“Can we get you anything?” Rick came to stand
beside Veronica.

“Harmony…”

“Is on her way,” Rick assured him.

“I don’t want her to see me like this.”

“Too late for that,” a stunningly beautiful
brunette stood in the doorway. Veronica was taken aback by how very
young the woman was.

She was long and lithe with a delicate face
and hair the color of a coffee bean. Her bright green eyes had a
wisdom to them that belied her obvious youth. She wore a pair of
faded jeans and a t-shirt with the words “Wash U” scrawled across
it. She looked like a college kid on her way to class.

Despite his claim he didn’t want her to see
him in such a state, his face broke into a smile at the sight of
the girl. His entire demeanor softened.

“I’m Veronica; this is my husband Rick. Or
have the two of you met?” Ronnie smiled warmly at the woman.

“Once… it’s nice to meet you, Veronica,”
Harmony replied, her eyes never leaving Vance. “How is he?”

“The doctor says he’ll be okay.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll come home now,” she
knelt at his side, running her fingertips across his skin to assure
herself that he was real and in front of her.

“There’s so much work to be done,” he caught
her fingers, bringing them to his lips.

“Actually, I agree with Harmony. You should
go home—at least until you’re fully healed,” Rick said.

“I do, too… but this isn’t our conversation,”
Veronica interjected, tugging at Rick’s arm. “Can we get you
anything at all before we leave you two alone?”

“No, thank you,” Harmony barely glanced back
at the two of them.

“We’ll be back with some dinner for you in a
while,” she promised before leaning over to kiss Vance on top of
the head. “You take it easy. And if anyone asks, I’m your
sister.”

“You’re lying now, too. We’ve completely
corrupted you,” Rick shook his head.

“That was all you,” Vance told him.

“Whatever. Glad to see you still in one
piece.”

Veronica scooped up her flowers as they left
the young couple alone. He laced his fingers through hers.

“I rented a car,” he explained as he led her
to the parking lot.

“I was having fun walking everywhere. And
cable cars—they don’t have those in D.C.”

“True, but we’re going on a road trip.”

“You found them?”

“I think so. Jeff sent me some coordinates to
check out. You ready?”

“Do we have time to get there and still bring
Harmony dinner?”

“We’ll grab take out on the way back.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Veronica was amazed at how the climate
changed once they were out of the San Francisco pocket. Just a
little further south and there was a much more Mediterranean feel
to the air.

“Do we know who’s here?” Veronica asked.

“Your BFFs Adrianna and Petrov. I think
there’s some dissention going on between them and Marko.”

“I really don’t like those two. You know,
sometimes I think I understand how you ended up with her… but then
I come right back to being astounded.”

Rick made a face that plainly said Veronica
had overlooked the obvious attributes Adrianna did hold. Ronnie
narrowed her eyes and Rick sighed.

“I really hate that woman,” Veronica
said.

“Oh look, it’s our exit.”

“So, is there a plan?”

“Don’t get shot.”

“Good plan,” she nodded. “I can get on board
with that.”

Later, it would occur to Veronica that she
hadn’t been nervous as they boldly pulled into the front drive.
Later, she would muse over how much she’d changed in so short a
time. Now, each step was propelled by raw fury as she strode
towards the door of the sprawling mansion tucked up in the
hills.

Rick’s eyes were dark, his jaw hardened. She
knew that look did not bode well for the inhabitants of this
house.

“Petrov Kulenović, please,” Rick asked the
butler politely when the door was opened.

“May I tell him who’s calling?”

“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” Rick’s jaw
twitched ever-so-slightly.

“Right,” the other man acknowledged before
being cracked over the head with the butt of a gun.

“Was that really necessary?” Adrianna purred,
appearing on the stairs.

Veronica answered by pulling her own gun and
leveling it on Adrianna. Just as she prepared to pull the trigger,
she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and redirected
her shot to one of the henchman who’d materialized. He went down
with one shot, but there were others to take his place.

Adrianna took the opportunity to retreat back
up the stairs. Veronica swore softly but let her go. She didn’t
want to leave Rick alone to the swarm. The foyer they stood in
offered them a certain amount of protection, allowing them to pick
off their attackers one by one. Soon, there were alone in the
room.

“She’ll be gone by now,” Rick noticed
Veronica’s gaze flicker towards the stairs. “We need to find the
women.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have killed all of
them.”

“Maybe not. Hey—he’s not dead,” Rick pointed
down at the butler.

“Worth a try,” she shrugged.

Rick hoisted the man like a sack of potatoes
and they headed to the kitchen. He dropped him on the floor while
she grabbed the sprayer hose on the sink and turned a stream of
cold water on him.

After a moment, the man sputtered. She turned
the water off but kept the nozzle aimed at him.

“When Petrov showed up, he had a bunch of
women with him. Where are they?” Rick asked.

“Go to hell,” the man glowered at them.

Veronica turned the water back on.

“Bitch.”

“Watch your mouth. There’s a lady present,”
Rick admonished. “Now where are the girls?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because if you don’t I’ll ask the lady to
leave so she doesn’t have to watch me pry the information out of
you,” he pulled a knife from his boot.

“Don’t let me stop you. I still have to pick
up dinner—let’s not waste time. Scalp the fool if you have to.”

“Okay,” Rick shrugged and grabbed the man by
the back of the head.

“The barn,” he sputtered, giving Veronica an
incredulous look.

“Wise choice,” Rick patted him on the
cheek.

“Go to hell.”

They ignored him, already on their way to the
barn. Rick tossed the phone to Veronica as he peered through the
window.

“Call your brother.”

Veronica nodded, dialing Jeff’s cell. “Do you
think you could send a few guys our way?”

“This isn’t a temp agency. You can’t just
order backup whenever it suits you.”

“Please? I really need to get back to the
hospital, but we’ve got some girls who’ll need to be
processed.”

“Fine. I’ll put in a call—but you have to
start planning ahead.”

“Thanks! Love you.”

“You’d better.”

Veronica tossed Rick’s phone back to him.

“I don’t see anyone. There must be a hidden
room,” Rick peeked through a window.

“It’s too quiet now. Surely we didn’t get all
the bad guys already.”

“No. If I had to guess, they’ve split into
two groups. One is getting Petrov and Adrianna out of here and the
other is protecting the merchandise.”

“So much for the captain going down with the
ship.”

Rick chuckled. “That’s not so much their
style. They tend to prefer self preservation.”

“I think I see movement.”

“They’re probably in there watching us on the
security cameras and wondering when we’re going to attack.”

“I was kind of wondering the same thing.”

Rick made the face that told Ronnie he was
once again warring with irritation and amusement. She leaned over
and brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth. He caught her
and gave her a real kiss.

“Okay, now I’m ready,” his eyes flicked
across Veronica in a way that made her wish they were back at the
room.

“Right. Lead the way, fearless one,” she took
a deep breath, clearing her head of all but the task at hand.

They burst through the door under a blaze of
gunfire. Shots volleyed from each side. Maybe it wasn’t their usual
style, but it sure felt good. Almost as good as reaching the hidden
room and her fist connecting with the face of the first guard she
came upon.

Even if it wasn’t Petrov himself, the
exertion of hand-to-hand combat was refreshing. It diffused some of
the roiling emotion. She threw herself into it so thoroughly that
it startled her when Rick placed a hand on her shoulder. She
whirled, ready.

“Whoa,” he jumped back. “Sorry—you’re out of
opponents.”

Veronica’s chest heaved. She offered a small,
embarrassed smile. Sweat beaded on her forehead. She couldn’t help
noticing it did on his as well. His t-shirt clung to him, the
muscles in his abdomen peeking through the fabric.

“I’ll lead them up,” she redirected her
thoughts. “Hopefully the Feds will be here soon.”

Veronica wondered what mischievous thought
flitted through Rick’s mind before he nodded and went to work
coaxing frightened women out of the shadows. Together, they emptied
the dingy room, leading the girls to safety.

Veronica impatiently checked her watch when
the driveway was still empty.

“It’s hard to find good help, isn’t it?” Rick
observed.

“I’m just worried about getting back before
visiting hours end.”

“After everything you just did, you’d let a
little thing like visiting hours stop you?”

“But those are the rules,” Veronica furrowed
her brow.

“I think there’s a rule about not shooting
people, too.”

“That’s different.”

“Oh,” his lip twitched slightly. “So… what
were you thinking about just now? Down in that room?”

“Getting these women to safety?” Veronica was
confused.

“No, I mean when the fight first ended. The
look on your face… what were you thinking?”

“You noticed that?” Veronica couldn’t be
sure, but thought she might be blushing.

“Aye, I did. So, my love, what was going
through your wonderful mind at that moment?”

“That you have a beautiful body,” she
admitted, lowering her voice. “I was feeling very…lucky.”

Rick grinned like it did his soul good to
hear those words. Acting purely on impulse, he grabbed Veronica and
kissed her. She felt her body melt against his for just a moment
before she remembered her surroundings and shoved him away.

“I don’t think we should be standing in the
driveway making out when the FBI shows up.”

“True.”

“I’m going to see if any of the women need
anything.”

“Probably a better idea than what I wanted to
do.”

Only through willpower and a sense of
compassion for the frightened women did Veronica find the
motivation to stick to her plan instead of checking out his ideas.
So when the agents from the San Francisco field office showed up,
they found Rick and Veronica ministering to the needs of roughly
twenty young slaves.

Sisters and daughters who’d been stolen or
sold, dehumanized and forgotten. Now free with a chance at a new
life.

Rick took care of the details with the agent
in charge and then they were in their car, on the way to get
takeout.

“What will happen to those girls? Doesn’t
Vance usually make arrangements for them?”

“Usually,” Rick’s gaze flickered to Veronica
and then back to the road.

“Is that something we can do? Did he leave
notes or something?”

“I’ll arrange for a local group to follow
up,” he promised. “We won’t let them slip through the cracks. But
now we have to keep moving. We’ll want to strike Chicago before
they can get their bearings.”

“And Atlanta,” she reminded him. “You should
call Daddy after we leave the hospital. Wait, we are going to go
pick up our bags, right?”

“They’re in our trunk,” he grinned at her.
“Don’t worry; your shopping trip wasn’t in vain.”

“Don’t laugh at me,” she smacked his arm,
unable to keep the laughter from her own voice.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Standing in the hospital room, staring down
at Vance and realizing just how young he truly was, the laughter
was gone from Veronica’s mood. She wondered why, at an age when
most men were most concerned about next Saturday night’s conquest,
he chose to roam the world freeing slaves. Especially when he had a
beautiful and devoted girlfriend who clearly preferred he be home
with her.

“Thank you for dinner, this is amazing,”
Harmony paused between mouthfuls of salad.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Given the young woman’s complete absence of
fat, Veronica had gone out on a limb and chosen a healthy meal.
More than svelte, Harmony was fit. Her figure spoke of someone who
never missed a workout. Veronica resisted the urge to check out her
own body in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door.