SocialPreyAllRomance (9 page)

John used the card his friend had given him and unlocked the electronic gate separating
them from the back door. Over Keith’s shoulder, she saw one of the guards try to sneak
around the corner at the far end of the hall.

Paula stiffened and shouted, “Keith. Two o’clock.”

Keith turned as if he knew exactly what and where she’d meant. Raising his pistol,
he fired off a shot and hit the guy in the head. He fell to the ground silently just
as Keith shoved her through the gate and out the back door.

“Nice job,” he said as he ushered her through the yard toward the van waiting a few
feet away.

Several shots exploded around her, and she ducked her head, covering her ears as though
that alone would ward off bullets. Her heart raced in her chest as the van and her
escape came within reach. This was it. She would be going home.

John pushed her into the van first, then he, Keith and the other man came in behind
her. Keith slid the door closed and shouted, “Get us the hell out of here!”

The driver, a man she didn’t recognize, slammed down the accelerator and the van raced
down the road. A bullet hit the back window, shattering it. She screamed in surprise
as glass rained down on her.

“Get down,” Keith commanded.

With a hand on the back of her head, he shoved her forward. Paula did as he said.
The less she was in the way, the more he could concentrate on getting them out of
this mess.

He released the pressure on her head, allowing her to sit back up. Glancing behind
her, she glared at the prison, now growing smaller in the distance as the van raced
toward the…

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Airport,” Keith replied.

Paula nodded and shifted in her seat. Pain sliced through her ribs, and she winced
before raising her hand to cover her side. She’d been so nervous, so focused on their
escape, she hadn’t noticed the pain before now.

Keith frowned before dropping his gaze to her hand. “Are you hit?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s my ribs. They’re still really sore.”

“I can give you something for that. Make the ride easier on you.”

Just as he said those words, they hit a bump in the road. Paula moaned at the pain
that moved through her torso. “No,” she argued. She actually welcomed the pain right
now. “I want to be wide awake. I want to know for sure we’re leaving Turkey far behind.”

Keith snorted softly as he turned to watch behind them. So far, so good, but they
still needed to ditch the van. “I completely understand,” he said as he placed a hand
on Paula’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He turned to the driver. “How far
is the other car?”

“Just around the corner. We should be able to ditch this one pretty quick.”

Keith nodded and returned his attention out the back window. He could hear the sirens
in the distance, but so far, they hadn’t caught up.

His hand was still on Paula’s shoulder and without even realizing it, he began to
rub his thumb over the tight muscles of her neck. She surprised him, impressed him
even, with the way she’d handled herself during the evacuation.

In the past, some women had been hysterical, especially when shots were fired. Paula
had not only remained calm, but coherent enough to warn him of impending danger. She
was strong.

Keith had known Paula for a while, but not really paid attention to her. She was either
dating someone, or he was too focused on his business to pay attention. He looked
across the seat and met her gaze. She had eyes so light gray, they reminded him of
wolf eyes. Black hair hung limp around her shoulders, but Keith could remember how
full and soft it usually looked. How her eyes often sparkled with humor and devilment.

Some of that was gone now, replaced with a knowledge and distrust usually reserved
for men in his line of work. She’d seen more of the world than she ever should have.
She had the eyes of a Seal, and she shouldn’t.

He used the tip of his finger to push her hair behind her ear. An adorable pink hue
covered her cheeks as she looked away to gaze out the front window. She squinted her
eyes as the noonday sun moved from behind the clouds. Long black lashes shaded the
tops of her cheeks and full, rosy pink lips pursed in agitation, making him smile
slightly.

Their driver pulled up behind a white van and put theirs in park. Her eyes widened
in fear.

“What are we doing? Why are we stopping?” Paula asked.

It was the first sign of any kind of panic he’d seen in her.

“It’s fine. We’re just changing cars.”

The sirens in the distance grew louder, and Paula’s hands began to shake. “Do we have
time?”

she asked as Keith slid open the side door.

“It’ll be fine,” he said, trying to assure her.

He helped her out of the van and moved quickly to get her in the other one. John and
his driver right behind them. The other three members of their team pulled up seconds
later and rushed to climb into the white van as well. By ditching the cars, they hoped
to keep the search contained to this area.

“We need to move,” William said as he shut the van door. “They’re not far behind us.

The driver nodded and quickly pulled out of the parking spot. At the end of the street
he made a left and headed toward the airport. They could hear the sirens had come
to a stop behind them, apparently focusing on the vans they’d left behind.

“How much further?” Paula asked.

Keith studied her tired, pale face and felt a ping of sympathy for the young woman.
“Driver?”

Keith asked.

“About ten minutes,” he replied in a heavy Turkish accent.

It wasn’t the first time they’d used a local driver. The natives knew the area better
than they did and could get them where they needed to go much faster. Finding a citizen
that wouldn’t double cross them was sometimes hard, but they’d used this one before,
so they knew him well.

Paula rubbed her hands down her legs nervously. Keith reached out and put his hand
over hers, hoping it would comfort her.

She glanced sideways at him with a slight apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’m just ready
to be out of here.”

“I know,” he said as he wrapped his fingers around hers. Even with the summer heat,
her fingers were cold.

He wasn’t sure why he wanted to comfort her. There was something about her that intrigued
him, captivated him—something he’d never noticed in her before.

She stared at their hands briefly before returning her stare out the front window.
As the airport came into view, she seemed to relax a little.

The van pulled as close to the plane as possible. A beige Learjet 60. It was small
enough to get them into the more isolated airports such as this private one, but large
enough to carry his men, plus equipment over the ocean. They wouldn’t dare use the
main one. Too much security.

“Nice ride,” Paula said as she climbed from the van and headed to the plane.

Keith grinned. “It’ll do in a pinch.”

Paula snorted and rushed up the stairs and into the cabin of the plane. Keith didn’t
miss the way her hand covered her ribs.

“I’m flyin’,” John called gleefully as he headed to the cockpit.

“Shotgun,” William yelled as he took off after him.

Keith grinned and shook his head. At least he didn’t have to fly. He stopped and called
to the cockpit. “Hey! Did you take care of the driver?”

“Yep. Shot him right between the eyes.”

“What?” Paula snapped as she stopped just before sitting down in one of the white
leather chairs.

“I was joking,” John said, his voice full of amusement. “He was well compensated.”

“Oh, my God,” Paula sighed as she dropped into the chair, then winced at the pain
in her side.

Keith turned to one of the other men who stood close to the galley. “Mike, hand me
one of those syringes from the drawer. Would ya?”

“Sure.”

Mike grabbed one of the needles and tossed it to Keith. After catching it, Keith took
the chair opposite Paula and turned it to face her. The engines roared to life, and
the plane began to work its way down the runway.

“This will help,” Keith said as he removed the cap from the syringe.

“What is it?”

“It’s just something to help with the pain.”

She frowned. “I don’t handle pain meds well. They make me sick.”

“This won’t. It’s what we use when one of us is hurt in the field. It takes the pain
away, but still allows us to be a little coherent.”

She nodded. “I guess it would be kind of hard to drag a non-responding body, huh?
Especially when you’re being shot at.”

Keith’s lips twitched. “Oh, no. I’ve done that, too.”

“I would probably have nightmares about what you’ve done,” she said softly.

Keith nodded. She probably would. Sometimes he did.

“Where do I take it?” she asked.

He grinned at her devilishly, trying to lighten the mood. “Where do you want it?”

“Wherever it will hurt the least?”

“Lean forward.”

She did as he requested, and he quickly pricked her upper arm. She hissed as the shot
went in.

Keith remembered from experience that it burned as it entered the body.

“I should’ve warned you about that.”

“Everybody take your seats. We’re about to get the hell out of Dodge.”

Keith snickered at John’s comment over the loudspeaker. Everyone grabbed a seat as
the plane began gaining speed down the runway. It’s a good thing these smaller jets
didn’t need as much room to take off. It made them much more flexible than a larger
jet.

He glanced over at Paula, who still had her chair turned facing him. He tilted his
head in question at the flushed look on her face.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I just never noticed how pretty your eyes were.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. The guys behind him chuckled, and he shot them a firm glare
over the back of the seat. “Knock it off. She’s drugged.”

She shook her head and giggled. “I feel really good.” Dropping her head back against
the seat, she swung it around to face the front and smiled up at the ceiling. “Wow.
I feel really good.”

Her smile faded. “And weird. Where are we going? Are we going home?”

“Not yet. We have to swing by London and get your papers. We couldn’t chance getting
them before we got you out. It might’ve tipped someone off.”

She smiled as a dreamy expression covered her face. “I’ve never been to London.”

“Close your eyes, Paula. You’ll feel better once you’ve had a nap.”

“Okay,” she replied in a drunken kitten voice that made Keith smile.

He watched as the nose of the plane lifted off the ground, and Paula’s eyes shut.
Within seconds she’d drifted off to sleep.

Kiley groaned as pain sliced behind her eyes. Something somewhere was ringing and
every sound made the pain in her head worse. What was it? Where was it?

She groaned and blindly reached her hand out. Pushing the button down on her alarm
clock, she frowned when the ringing continued.

“Damn it,” she snarled as she sat up slightly.

As she did, the pain in her head intensified. She threw a hand over her eyes in frustration
as the sunlight from her open bedroom window poured across her face.

What time was it?

She peeked through her fingers at the clock. It was way too early on a Saturday to
be up, especially with this hangover. Finally realizing it was her cellphone that
was ringing, she quickly grabbed it.

“Hello?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Kiley?” Keith asked. “Are you okay? You sound like shit.”

“I feel like shit. Thanks,” she grumbled dryly.

“What’s going on?” Keith asked. “Are you sick?”

“No. Just had too much to drink last night when I went out with Sharon.”

“You didn’t drive, did you?” Keith asked sternly.

“No, I…” Kiley frowned, unsure how she’d gotten home. “At least I don’t think I did.”

“That’s not funny, Kiley. What the hell were you doing getting that drunk?”

“Look, if you just called to fuss at me—“

“I didn’t. I’m sorry. We have Paula.”

Kiley sat up immediately and the sheet fell to her waist. “Is she okay? Is she there
with you?

Can I talk to her?”

“Yes, yes, and no. We’re on the plane headed to London. Paula’s out. I thought initially
her ribs were just bruised, but I think at least one of them is cracked. We’ll get
her looked at when we get to London.”

“Did it happen during the extraction?” Kiley asked.

“No. Before.”

“Is she okay otherwise?”

“She’s fine. She’s strong. She did good.”

Kiley nodded and sighed in relief. “That’s good. I’m glad you got her. How’s everybody
else?”

“We’re all fine and anxious to get home.”

“How much longer do you think?”

“A few days. Things any better between you and Scott or is that why you got so drunk?”

“To be honest, I don’t remember why. Can we not talk about this please? At least until
I can talk without it causing a sledgehammer to vibrate inside my head.”

Keith’s chuckle on the other end made her smile just a little. She was relieved to
know they were all okay. Every time they went off on one of these missions, she was
a basket case inside.

“All right,” Keith replied. “I’ll talk to you again soon.”

“Bye,” Kiley said just before hitting the end button on her screen.

Frowning down at herself, she tried to remember how she’d gotten undressed, or even
home.

Had Sharon brought her? And if she had, where was her car?

Her eyes widened. Oh, God. Had she come home with someone else?

She looked to the other side of the bed, then leaned over to see on the floor. No
one else appeared to have slept on that side and there weren’t any strange clothes
on the floor. So how did she get home?

A noise coming from the kitchen startled her, and she froze. Leaning over a bit, she
tried to see through the crack in the bedroom door, but all she could see was the
wall in the hallway. Who was in her kitchen?