21
“Yo, Merc, wait up,” Ethan called out from behind him.
Merc reached the end of the left hall, the man from his memory nowhere in sight. Shit. What the hell was wrong with him? There's no way his old teammate could be alive. The only memory Merc managed to hold onto was him bleeding out on the street.
“Merc, what is it? Who did you see?” Ethan sidled up behind him, his hand hovering near his waist in the vicinity of his Beretta.
Merc scanned the rapidly emptying hallway again still unable to shake the uneasy feeling. “I don't know, man. Thought I saw something strange.”Like a dead man from my memory without a name.
“Do we need to call it off?” Ethan asked all seriousness.
For a figment of his imagination? How did he even know that one memory he'd managed to snatch was real? Fuck, the empty black hole in his mind was a threat. “No, I think we’re good. I didn't see Mr. J or any of his known assets. Come on, let’s get back to the group.”
“You sure? You say the word and we’ll call this off right now.”
“I'm sure. Let's go.”
They went back to the lobby, and as soon as he saw Aaron standing with Kate and Celine, he filled with dread. “Where is she?”
“She took off but I think she was going after you. You see her?” Aaron asked.
“Dammit, no.” How the hell could she disappear so fast? That knot of trepidation turned to full-out fear. If Caroline had followed him down the hall, he should've seen her on their way back.
Forcing himself to walk and not sprint, Merc retraced his footsteps down the hallway, but she wasn’t there. The theater next to him rattled, and Merc's hand went immediately to his weapon. He glanced up at the sign above the door – the newest 007 movie was showing.
It was just the movie. Just a movie…
He stalked back down the hall, ready to barge in each and every single theater if he had to. Something was wrong, he knew it. He hadn't been imagining the guy from his memory.
Merc was halfway to the next door when one on his right opened and Caroline stumbled out, paler than she’d been only minutes before.
Sweet relief hit him first and he yanked her to him without thought, folding her into his embrace, needing to feel her body next to him and to reassure himself she was okay. Then like a roaring wildfire, he jumped to fury. “What the hell do you think you're doing, disappearing like that? Anything could've happened to you.”
Caroline pushed against his chest and he released her. Then she lifted her chin in that stubborn way he'd come to recognize and said, “I had to go to the restroom.”
Merc stooped over, putting his face within inches of hers. “So you left Aaron’s protection because you couldn't hold it five minutes? You put yourself in danger on purpose?” How could she be so cavalier when she knew the threat Mr. J still posed? “How the hell are we supposed to protect you if you won’t stay where we tell you to?”
Instead of backing down, Caroline inched closer, her beautiful blue eyes narrowing. “And what about you? You're the one who took off down the hallway like he'd seen a freaking ghost.”
“In case you failed to notice, I'm a trained operative. It's my job to assess and neutralize threats. Not yours.” He no longer cared about what he thought he’d seen. Didn't she realize how terrified he'd been when she’d disappeared? What if J had spies planted everywhere and he'd done a snatch and grab? If J took her, Merc knew without a shadow of doubt he'd never see her alive again. And that thought shook him to his core.
“Yeah, I get you’re the big bad soldier boy, and you're supposed to protect me and all that stuff.” She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, purposefully pulling the girly move. “But I can walk to the bathroom by myself. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on here? Is there a threat nearby I need to know about?” Her cheeks flushed and her lips parted in anger.
Dammit, she was sexy even when she was pissed. But somehow he had to make her understand that until J was caught, she’d always be in danger. And he couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
Merc took her hands in his. “I know it might not mean much to you, that you scared the shit out of me, but J is the most dangerous man I know, and we don’t know where or when he’s going to strike next. He’s not here right now, but what if he kidnapped you again – or worse, finished what he started at the palace and ended your life? Think about it. Think about Harriet and Francis and your father. Think about Celine and Kate. I've never seen so many people love and care for anyone as much as we love you.”
Caroline sucked in a breath. “We?”
Had he really said that out loud? He should tell her not we. He should tell her it was everyone else, but that would be a lie. Somehow he’d fallen in love with Caroline Cotter.
He shoved a hand through his hair, frustrated and at a loss for words. He wasn't a poet. He hadn’t even been able to complete the simple task of ordering her flowers, for fuck’s sake. He was a soldier, a mercenary who lived only for revenge. What did he have to offer her?
“Merc, what did you mean when you said we?” Her expression was completely unreadable.
He’d never been so scared before, thinking he lost her like that. How could he have just now realized how important she was to him?
Because your whole life you’ve been obsessed with revenge. She’s the first light in your existence.
