“Yeah,” she said, still choked up.
“And he’s on the team because you let him be. Despite your differences. So your level-headed thinking saved the day.”
“No. It was you, Mack. You convinced me to keep Evan around.”
Sean eyed her. “Seems like you might be glad on a personal level too.”
“Maybe. Yeah. Not sure.” She looked at her watch, seeing that the clock had ticked into 9/11 and they were all still standing. “Would one of you find Eisenhower and bring him up to speed?”
“I’ll go,” Sean offered.
“And I’ll tell the sheriff,” Mack said.
“What do you want me to do?” Cam asked.
Kiley had so many unanswered questions swimming through her brain, but this was an easy one to answer. “Review the firewalls for the dam. I want to make sure it’s locked down tight before we leave this place so it’s not vulnerable to future attacks.”
He nodded and followed the others up the walkway. Her team. The men she would go into battle with if need be, and tonight it felt like they’d done just that.
The medics strapped Shah onto the gurney.
“Will he make it?” Kiley asked as they rolled past her.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” one of them answered.
A vague answer that told her nothing. She’d never shot a person before and didn’t want to be responsible for someone’s death, even a terrorist who’d planned to harm millions. She offered a prayer for him, and a prayer of thanks for being able to stop the terrible threat, then turned her attention back to the water.
Finally, Evan came to the surface. Fins in hand, he strode up the incline. Water slicked down his wet suit, highlighting his strong thighs and powerful shoulders. But she couldn’t quit looking at the slice on his arm.
She might have lost him.
That fear—that ages-old ache that often bit into her deepest recesses—surfaced again. She could have lost him. Truly lost him when she’d just recognized her feelings for him.
He pulled off his mask and set it along with the fins onto the concrete. He locked eyes with her as he slid off his vest and tank.
Barefoot now, he crossed over to her, his focus pinned on her face. The heated look in his eyes make her heart skitter.
“Are we safe?” she asked, trying to keep them on a professional level.
He nodded. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to look. Sean and Eisenhower marched down the ramp. Her supervisor carried an umbrella, and his suit looked perfectly dry next to Sean’s soggy clothing.
“Good work here, Dawson,” Eisenhower said. “And on making sure we got Amari and Nabi in custody. DNA from the container was matched to Nabi and Shah, so we’ve got them for entering the country illegally too.”
She wanted to sag with relief but instead held her shoulders back. “They’ll go away for a long time.”
Eisenhower shifted his attention to Evan and held out his hand. “Barry Eisenhower—ICE Special Agent in Charge of the Cyber Crimes Center. I hear we owe you a great debt of gratitude.”
Evan shook the man’s hand. “Just doing my job.”
“Don’t downplay it,” Eisenhower said. “Not sure the last time I heard of an ICE agent saving the day quite so dramatically.”
Kiley was so proud of Evan, but... “He’s injured, sir, and should get to the medics.”
“It’s only a scratch,” Evan said, downplaying again.
Eisenhower’s eyes narrowed. “Go get checked out, and out of the wet suit, and then join us for a debrief.”
“Will do, sir.” Evan started to leave but then paused to look Kiley in the eye. “To be continued,” he said.
