He was confident, impatient. In a hurry to get to his destination and get this done. Failure would be a disappointment not only to his superiors but also to him. But he’d get over it. Eventually he’d look back on today as nothing more than a temporary setback to his career.
Kat had just ninety seconds to make the switch before he boarded the arriving passenger train.
A screeching, hissing rush of air that seemed to fill the entire waiting area announced the train’s arrival as it slowed to a stop at the loading platform. In seconds the waiting passengers would be allowed to board.
She had to move now.
Bracing herself for the impact, Kat began to walk faster. Faster. She slammed headlong into her target. He stumbled back several steps, the briefcase in his hand falling to the floor. Kat dropped her own case as she used his tall frame to regain her balance.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she cried.
He reached to steady her—chivalry too deeply entrenched to ignore, despite his years of training—and at the same time demanded, “Are you all right?”
Kat smiled engagingly as she played the part of the flustered, in-a-hurry passenger. “Oh, yes. I’m…I’m fine.” She reached for the briefcase, tracing one fingertip over the lock mechanism to make sure she had his instead of her own. The locking mechanism of the briefcase she’d carried had a slight burr in the metal in a certain spot so she’d recognize it. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. I’m so late!” She eased back just one step and pressed a hand to her chest as if to slow her palpitating heart. “I am so very sorry.”
His answering smile told her he didn’t suspect a thing. “No harm done.” He straightened his jacket and reached for the remaining briefcase. “Have a nice day.”
For one tension-filled second, before she turned away, he stared at the briefcase she held half hidden behind her short skirt. She hoped her legs would distract him.
Her heart skidded to a stop as time lapsed into slow motion.
She held her breath.
If he suspected her now—
The legs did the trick.
His gaze roved the length of her long, athletic limbs. She’d worked hard to keep them that way, and it was paying off now. The realization startled her for reasons that totally escaped her. A tremble started deep inside her. She was losing it…she had to get out of here.
Other passengers abruptly brushed past the man still staring at her, jerking him back to attention. He blinked, forced a grim smile and quickly turned away to board the train, a bemused frown still marring his brow.
Kat released a shaky breath.
It was done.
She hurried away through the crowd, taking care not to run. Up the escalator. Deep breath, she told herself. Almost there. No one paid any special note to her. No one shouted for her to stop.
She moved back through the lobby as swiftly as she dared. She couldn’t risk calling attention to herself even now. Her target would attempt to open his briefcase the moment he took his seat onboard the train and had a chance to think about the encounter. He wouldn’t rest until he’d assuaged the concerns that took root too late in his distracted thoughts.
The lock had been jammed so it would take some doing to open the case. By the time he realized what had happened, the train would be on its way. He would call Union Station security immediately and the whole place would be locked down tighter than a drum. Her description would be passed to all Metro Security personnel.
She had to get out before that happened.
Her heart hammering, her palms sweating, her fingers tight around the handle of the briefcase, she hurried toward the main entrance. When she pushed through the wood-and-glass front doors and out into the bright noonday sun, relief flooded her, made her weak-kneed, despite the gut instinct that she’d done this hundreds of times.
She zigzagged through the taxis and other cars parked along the train terminal’s busy driveway and headed toward the far end of the main parking area where the car she’d arrived in waited. Her step was a little faster now, not quite running.
Two more minutes and she’d be in the clear. A kind of calmness slid through her veins. Her heart rate slowed to a more reasonable level. She could—
A strong arm abruptly cut across her path, stopping her dead in her tracks. Her pulse leaped into warp speed again. Her somewhat sluggish reactions went automatically into offense mode.
Fully expecting to see a blue security uniform, she instinctively, stealthily, slid her hand toward the edge of her jacket lapel as she peered upward into smoky-gray eyes that were at once completely alien to her and alarmingly familiar.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the love of my life.”
Her fingers wrapped around the butt of the small .38.
“I’ve missed you, and then some.”
For three gut-wrenching seconds Vince was certain the code phrase wasn’t going to work. Kat stared up at him as if she’d never laid eyes on him in her entire life.
Then she whispered, “Vince?”
He relaxed a fraction and smiled. “Long time no see, Kitty Kat. Have you missed me, too?” Maybe the implant hadn’t gone too haywire. He’d been watching her all morning. Had followed her all the way from Port Charlotte just to catch her alone. It shifted something deep inside him when he considered that she’d remembered that little thing he always said to her all those years ago. I’ve missed you, and then some.
“Don’t move.”
The voice was male and right behind Vince. The nudge of a pistol barrel in his spleen told him it was Kat’s partner in crime, Philip Yu. The driver of the getaway car. Thankfully he’d stayed in the car and this opportunity had been the closest to catching Kat alone the morning had offered. Interrupting her assignment would have put them both at risk. Vince had tried to wait it out, but he’d had to act before she got back in the car with Yu. Now he’d learn the price of his impatience.
“You know this dude, Kat?”
She looked from Vince to the man behind him and back. The confusion on her face was clear to see. Tension rocketed to a new level. Maybe things weren’t in working order, after all. He’d soon know.
“Phil, this is Vince.” She searched Vince’s eyes, looking for answers he hoped she’d see. “He’s the guy I’ve been telling you about.”
The pressure in Vince’s side eased. He resisted the urge to exhale his relief.
“The case,” Yu demanded as he reached around Vince.
Kat relinquished her bounty. “We should get out of here,” she suggested. She glanced behind her, then scanned the parking area. “They’ll be looking for me any second now.”
Yu backed away. “Let’s go.”
Vince turned in the other man’s direction. “She goes with me.”
Something changed in Yu’s eyes. “I don’t think so.”
Lucas’s intel was correct. Philip Yu had a thing for Kat. Too bad for him. Something that felt entirely too much like jealousy burned through Vince as he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close before she could react.
“Maybe you didn’t hear me.” Vince met the steel in Yu’s dark gaze with lead in his own. This part was nonnegotiable. “I said she goes with me.”
“We’ll be right behind you,” Kat assured her partner. She glanced up at Vince. “Right?”
She was nervous. He could see it in her eyes. “That’s right.” He settled his gaze back on Yu’s. “Are we going to stand around here and argue about it?”
Yu glared at Vince then