So Blondie isn’t in the wind after all. When I turn around, I expect to find her armed with a rifle or something, but she’s holding a phone. By now, I know that in Sveta Koval’s hands, a phone is never just a phone.
“At least you’ll die at the hands of your own government,” she says. “Sort of. I hacked an armed drone that was on training maneuvers at Buckley Air Force Base.”
At that moment, I hear a buzzing noise and look up to see a drone coming over the ridge, aiming right for Katie and me. I instinctively reach for my sidearm, but Rogers took it away. We’re exposed, unarmed, and out in the open. The nearest cover is the stand of Russian olive trees, too far away to be any help.
Two targets are harder to hit than one, and I know Sveta wants me more than Katie. If Sveta sends her drone after me, Katie might have time to reach those trees. I grab her hand, squeeze, then let it go.
“Run, Katie!”
Just as Katie takes off running, I hear a car come over the ridge, followed by a loud thump. I turn back in time to see Sveta on the car’s hood, her phone flying through the air. No longer under her control, the drone falls to the ground. The car screeches to a stop and Sveta slides off and onto the ground, moaning. For a brief moment, I regret that she’s still alive.
Bunker jumps out of the car, looking almost as horrified as he did when Sveta had the rifle in his back. That memory makes me not want to call an ambulance for her crazy ass.
“Did I kill her?”
“No, unfortunately,” Katie says. “You didn’t hit her quite hard enough. But it will definitely sting for a while.”
“I didn’t mean to, I swear. I just came over the hill and there she was.”
I try to shake off the adrenaline rush from almost dying for the umpteenth time today. “You saved our lives, man.”
“I really wasn’t trying to hit her at all,” Bunker says, sounding freaked out. “I just thought maybe you’d want a ride home, so I came back for you.”
I pick up Sveta’s phone before going over to her and checking her injuries. There is no visible blood, but the less-evolved part of me can hope for a little internal bleeding. She’s still moaning, but her heart rate is good and her skin isn’t clammy, which means she probably isn’t in shock.
“She’ll be fine, Bunk. She’s like a roach—nearly impossible to eradicate. Keep an eye on her while I call Rogers to get an EMT and a police escort.”
“I’ll call.” Bunker takes my phone and nods behind me, where a black SUV is pulling through the gate.
I’m worried there’s another hostile on the loose because, as everyone knows, covert operatives only travel in black SUVs. But Katie waves at it, and I realize it’s come for her.
I want to smash something or someone for a million reasons: Rogers for basically firing me, MI6 for taking Katie away, Sveta for ruining everything.
Then Katie comes over and kisses me and I damn near forget about Sveta, Rogers, and the entire universe. I hold her like it will be the last time. She kisses me again like it’s only a preview of more to come.
Now she’s smiling at me like we share a secret.
“See? Told you I wasn’t lying. When your fifteen minutes of fame are done, call me. We’re always looking for exceptional talent.”
Katie just offered me her heart and a job. My girl is awesome.
She looks at me like she never wants to leave. In my head, I tell her I don’t ever want her to. We stand there for a second before she breaks away and gets into the SUV, and they drive off.
So she doesn’t hear me when I say, “I’ll do that. Then I’ll owe you one.”