He hot-footed it back to the power plant—he’d spotted a ladder on the ground behind it on his way by—and less than five minutes later, he had very carefully propped the ladder against the armory’s back wall and scaled it. But even standing on the top rung, he could barely reach the bottom of the grate. He wasn’t going to be able to remove it and get inside without creating a shitload of commotion.

New plan. He dug a high-power Maglite out of his pocket, flicked it on and, careful to keep the face of the light flattened against the wall to concentrate the beam there, he stuck the end of the light in his mouth. Then, gripping the bottom of the grate, he pulled himself up so he was eye level with the slates in the grate.

With the flashlight still in his mouth, he hiked himself up a little higher, using his boot tips for leverage against the outer wall, and shined the light inside and down, working the beam across as much of the inside of the building as he could see. And holy shit, did he see a lot.

Enough to know there might be trouble afoot.

Careful to keep the beam of light concealed, he tucked his chin to his chest and, feeling the burn in his biceps, lowered himself back down until his feet touched the top rung of the ladder. Then he switched off the light and shimmied down as fast as he could go.

He’d just hit the ground when he heard voices—close and getting closer. And fuck… there was no place to hide. Deer. Headlight. That was him.

He quickly lifted the ladder away from the wall and laid it on the ground. Then he scrambled to lie down full-length behind it. Pressing his back as close to the foundation of the building as he could get, he pulled the ladder snug against him. They would definitely notice a man out of place in the night, but hopefully a ladder leaning against a foundation wouldn’t draw much more than a glance. Even a ladder that wasn’t supposed to be there. It was dark. They were tired, maybe they wouldn’t notice.

Maybe was a piss-poor plan, but it was all he had.

Willing his beating heart to slow, his breath to even out, he lay still as dirt, flattened against the foundation—be the foundation—counting on the ladder to provide camouflage. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous.

Holding the ladder steady with one hand placed inconspicuously along the bottom edge, he pulled the Makarov out of his waistband but kept it under his shirt.

No sooner had he locked himself in freeze position than the guards rounded the corner, one with an AR-15 slung over his shoulder, one smoking a cigarette and toting a shotgun. Both seemed bored out of their minds and he’d bet the last thing they were looking for was a problem.

God willing, they wouldn’t find one.

They were even with his feet now, then his hips, and he prayed they’d keep moving… but the smoker decided to stop and stub out his cigarette butt, inches from Mike’s face.

He held his breath as a leather boot heel bumped against the ladder as the guard ground the butt into the grass.

Shouldn’t have been a problem. But the back of Mike’s hand, which held the ladder steady, was flat on the ground, his fingertips extending beyond the aluminum slats, and directly under both the cigarette butt and the boot.

He gritted his teeth to keep from sucking in a breath as white-hot pain seared into his fingertip. Then the boot heel ground that ember deeper into his finger, burning through his thin glove and embedding deep into the fleshy part of his fingertip.

Sweat trickled in his eyes as he lay there, fighting the pain and the involuntary urge to jerk his hand away. Jaw clenched, eyes bulging, he willed himself not to move. Swore a litany of curses in his mind to keep focused and stone still. He thought of ice, of Novocain—anything to get him through this. Just when he thought he might pass out or roar and hurl the ladder at the guard’s head, they moved on.

Still holding his breath, Mike slid his hand out from under the ladder, tugged the glove off with his teeth, and lightly fanned his burned finger in the cool night air.

The guards had moved out of sight, no doubt back to their positions at the front of the building. He waited for several more minutes, then decided it was safe to get up. Carrying the ladder with him, he returned it to where he’d found it.

After checking out the motor pool and the storage building, he ended his recon for the night. He stripped off his mask and the other glove and tucked them in his pants pockets. Then he shucked the shirt, tossed it onto his shoulder, and headed straight for the communal restroom—nothing suspicious about a man making a nighttime run to the head.

Feeling like a weenie—his damn finger still burned like it had been stuck in acid—he ran cold water over his stinging digit until the fire had cooled a little, then headed back to the cabin.

“Where were you?” Eva whispered, half-asleep as he skinned down to his boxers and climbed in bed beside her.

“Working on a Purple Heart.”

“You’re hurt?” Alarmed, she started to sit up. He stopped her by banding an arm around her waist.

“Only my pride.” The damn finger still hurt like hell. Mikey has a boo-boo… God, he’d gotten soft. “Go back to sleep,” he whispered, making a place for her against his shoulder. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

He loved the way she snuggled trustingly against him. Within seconds, her breath had slowed again and she was sound asleep.

It didn’t quite work that way for him. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d seen in the armory. And what the hell it meant. Plus his finger throbbed like a bitch.

Weenie times ten.

• • •

The next morning before breakfast, Eva listened as Mike gave her a rundown on his recon of the armory. His near miss scared her half to death, but that’s why they were here—so she kept her concern to herself.

“A freaking ton of AK-47s, AR-15s, a wall of shotguns and pistols, and a shitload of ammo to go with it. I even spotted some frag grenades and Claymores,” Mike told her.

He reached for his boots and tugged them on.

“He’s got his little army; he needs to arm them. The kicker, though, was the explosives. There’re enough spools of det cord and boxes of plastic explosives to blow up a small city.”

She watched him lace up his boots, noticed he favored the middle finger on his left hand. “Maybe he has plans to target a government building. That would make a statement.”

“It would fit the profile, yeah.” He tied the final lace and stood. “Guess time will tell if they decide to read me in on their long-range plans. Not that I care. We’re going to stop Lawson before he ever gets one of his plans off the ground.”

“What did you do to your hand?”

He grunted and, sounding embarrassed, told her. “I’m a candy ass. You’d better hope I don’t get shot. I’ll probably bawl like a baby.”

Grinning, she grabbed her duffel and rifled through her “necessity” kit. “Come here. This will help.”

“Ouch.”

She laughed. “I haven’t touched you yet.”

“I can tell by looking that it’s going to hurt. Maybe you’d better kiss it first. Better idea. Kiss this.”

He lowered his mouth and touched his lips to hers. “Much better.”

“You’re still getting the ointment. Hold still. It should take the sting out of it and keep it from getting infected.”

“I’m starting to dig this. Can we play naughty nurse later tonight?”

“As long as I don’t have to patch up anything more than a burned finger.” She got serious suddenly. “So don’t get shot. I…” She felt overwhelmed with dread suddenly, felt the sting of tears before she could stop them.

“Hey. Hey. I’m not getting shot, okay?” He tried to pull her into his arms.

She wasn’t having any of it. Her display of weakness embarrassed her and she pushed away. “Like you can guarantee that.”

“I can. I will. Nothing’s going to happen to me. Nothing’s going to happen to either of us. Now, let’s go see what kind of slave labor Lawson’s got lined up for you today, while I go play fun and games with my new pals.”

Because he wanted her to—because she needed to—she smiled and pulled herself together. “Fine. But next gig? You get the beast of burden role.”

He dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I’ll flip you for it.”

Smiling, she headed out the door.

And wondered when things had become so easy between them.

And when she’d started thinking of a future with him in it.

31

During the next few days, they fell into a routine. Up at dawn, off to what Eva had started to think of as the coal mines, back to the cabin by seven p.m., quick text to Gabe, then midnight recon missions that had so far turned up nothing of value.