He glanced toward her and she could tell from his expression, even in the predawn shadowed light, that whatever the person on the other side of the conversation was saying, it wasn’t good.
Her impression was solidified when he swore. “Fuck. Tell me exactly what happened.” He was quiet for a couple of minutes as the person on the other end filled him in. “Did Waters see him?”
Uh-oh. Definitely not good.
Scott’s expression grew even more intense. “Where did the bullet hit?” Natalie gasped and Scott’s gaze met hers. She could see how worried he was. “You are sure it went through?” He waited. “Okay, good. He was lucky, as usual.” Another pause. “No, no, you did the right thing. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” From his tone, Natalie could tell he was obviously trying to calm her down. “Colt would know if it hit something vital, Kate. If he needed a hospital, he would have told you. But I’ll be there soon to make sure. He’s not going to die, okay? You have to calm down.”
He had to repeat himself a few more times, but eventually Kate must have relaxed enough for Scott to hang up. Natalie already had an inkling of what had happened, but it was still a shock to hear that Deputy Secretary Waters had shot Colt.
“I didn’t even think that Richlikedguns,” Natalie said, referring to her mild-mannered former boss. “Let alone knew how to use one. He never said a word.” She looked up at Scott apologetically. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. A home weapon is something Colt would have anticipated. But you can’t control for everything. Apparently the laptop had an alarm and the humidity this summer made the office window difficult to open.” He took a few steps toward her. “I hate to leave you here like this, but Kate is freaking out, and I told her I would come check on Colt. I guess she’s not as over him as she wanted me to think.”
“Of course you have to go,” Natalie said. “I’ll be fine here.”
Scott looked at her, clearly uneasy with the idea and seemingly debating with himself. “I’d rather take you with me, but I don’t know what we are dealing with yet, and it’s safer for you here with all the senator’s security.”
“Scott, go!” she said with not a little exasperation. “It’s Fort Knox, remember? I’ll be fine.”
He held her gaze for a moment longer and nodded. After retrieving his bag, he pulled out some clothes and went into the bathroom to throw some water on his face, brush his teeth, and use the toilet.
Even though she’d seen it before, she was amazed at how quickly and precisely he operated. In a matter of minutes, he was dressed and geared up, ready to go. She knew he was already in mission mode, but he surprised her by pulling her into his arms for a long and very thorough kiss before he left the room.
She held on a little long—not wanting to let him go.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said. “You can hang out by the pool but try to stay close to the house otherwise.”
“Take as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere. I’m sure the senator will take good care of me.”
“He’d better,” Scott said fiercely. “I’m trusting him with what matters most to me in the world.”
And then, before the swell of happiness could rise from her heart to her eyes, he was gone.
The room seemed so empty with him gone and the sudden sense of loss told her how quickly she’d come to depend on his steady presence again.
Natalie sat on the window seat, her knees tucked in her arms, and watched the sun come up, praying that this would all be over soon without anyone else getting hurt.
• • •
Scott hated leaving Natalie behind, but if he had to go, he knew he could do a lot worse than the senator’s fortress. The place was wired up tight and monitored by a well-trained security force.
Nothing was going to happen to her. At least that was what he kept telling himself as he made the forty-five-mile drive to Kate’s town house in McLean. His sistermust have been watching for him. The door was thrown open before he pulled up.
One look at her tear-ravaged face, and he was glad he’d come right away. He held her in his arms in the doorway as she sobbed out her fear on his T-shirt. “Where is he?” Scott asked. “Let me see him.”
Kate turned and pointed behind her. “He collapsed right after he got inside. I couldn’t move him.”
Scott closed the door behind him a little too hard, and Colt’s body tensed at the sound. His eyes opened and shut a few times before settling on open.
A gruff curse was the first thing Scott’s former chief managed to say before his hand went to his injured side with another, “Fuck, that hurts. What the hell—” He stopped, as if suddenly remembering. But just in case he didn’t, Kate had come down on her knees beside him. “You were shot!” she yelled accusingly, and then repeating in soft tremble, “Shot.”
She looked like she might fall apart all over again, but before Scott had put a steadying hand on her, Colt had done it. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I told you I’d be okay. You did a great job.”
Scott had never heard Colt talk to anyone in that tone of voice. Even when they were married, he’d never talked to Kate so gently. Scott looked back and forth between the exes, wondering what the hell was going on. He’d obviously missed something, and it was equally obvious that he doubted he’d like what it was. There was an intimacy between them that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“You could have died!” she accused again through tear-filled eyes.
Colt shook his head. “It would have had to be a few inches over to have any chance of that.”
