toward him in a crouch, gun down at her side. Her eyes were on Hank.
As the van raced down the street and disappeared around a corner, she ran across the asphalt and knelt by the wounded man. “Hank, don’t you dare let them win. You fight and stay here with us!”
Kyle was already dialing 911 when she turned her head to look up at him, fear mirrored on her face.
“Who are you, and why didn’t you get here sooner?”
The question threw him for a beat. “I’m an agent with the IRS,” he said, using the cover that usually brought questions from the curious to an abrupt stop. “Help will be here soon,” he said, coming up to her. “Mr. Leland’s still breathing, so he’s got a chance, just don’t move him. The bleeding isn’t bad, but he undoubtedly has broken bones and internal injuries.”
She put her hand on Leland’s. “I’m here, Hank. Hang on.”
He watched her, trying to figure out if she was a well-placed mole working with terrorists, or the real deal. Until he knew, trusting her was out of the question.
Chapter Two
Erin held on to Hank’s hand and continued talking to him. She remembered someone, somewhere, saying that even if you were unconscious you might still be able to hear others.
“You can get through this,” Erin repeated, her voice trembling. Desperate to sound as if she believed what she was saying, she cleared her throat and tried again, squeezing his hand very gently. “Don’t give up.”
As the ambulance arrived and the medical team rushed over, she rose to her feet and stepped back, allowing the EMTs to work. The Navajo man who’d saved her life, shooting the gunman who’d pushed her out into the line of fire, joined her.
“What’s your name?” she managed. He was almost a foot taller than her, and his eyes were dark as midnight. They held an intensity that scared her a bit, too, even though she knew she had nothing to fear from him. If it hadn’t been for this man, she might have been dead by now.
“I’m Agent Kyle Goodluck, IRS. Who were those people with the guns? Do you know any of them?”
Goodluck... She was alive, and so was Hank at the moment, so maybe he’d lived up to his name. She tried to smile, but the sickeningly sweet scent of blood was making her head spin. “I’ve never seen them before.”
“Did Hank know them?”
“I’m not sure.” Seeing him searching the ground, she added, “Did you lose something?”
“I’m hoping to find a cell phone someone may have dropped during the gun battle. Do you have yours and did Hank have one on him?”
“No. Hank said he left his at home, and mine’s on my desk. They made me leave it behind.”
Fueled by intense fear, her mind was racing. Something about Kyle Goodluck didn’t add up. “You said you’re IRS, but you came armed...and you’ve had combat training,” she added, struggling to focus. She was so scared she couldn’t stop shaking. “I never knew the IRS carried weapons.”
“Field agents are usually armed,” he said. “Didn’t Hank mention I was coming to interview him?”
Seeing her shake her head, he continued. “I was sent to check out some discrepancies in the purchase orders he filed with the Department of Defense.” He pulled out his cover government photo ID, flashed his badge, then quickly placed it all back into his pocket. “If you’re worried, the local police will vouch for me.”
She wanted to trust this man, after all, he’d saved her life, but something was telling her to hold back. “You don’t have to protect me anymore,” she said, noticing how closely he stood. “They’re gone now.”
“For the moment. You’ve seen these people up close and that makes you a threat to them,” he said. “From this point on, expect the unexpected. That’s how you’ll stay alive.”
His bluntness made a chill run up her spine. Agent Goodluck stood straight, shoulders thrown back, a warrior’s stance. The black leather jacket enhanced his powerful build. Everything about him spoke of unwavering self-assurance. She didn’t know much about Kyle Goodluck, but she had a feeling that this was a man who seldom, if ever, second-guessed himself.
“There’s Detective Bowman,” Erin said, seeing a familiar face step out of an unmarked SUV. “I remember him from one of the fund-raisers Hank held for the local police. His brother Daniel’s in the security business, too.”
“I know. They’re my brothers,” Kyle said.
She blinked, surprised by the revelation.
As her gaze shifted to the EMTs still working on Hank, the full impact of what had happened slammed into her again. Men she’d never seen before had tried to kill her and Hank. One of the gunmen had actually died less than ten feet from her. What was worse, she might still be a target.
Tremors ripped through her and she folded her arms around her middle, as if trying to hug herself.
A heartbeat later, Kyle threw his black leather jacket over her shoulders.
“No, I’m okay,” she managed.
“You’re holding it together, but that’s not the same as okay,” he said, his voice gentle.
As Preston came up, he nodded to Erin, then glared at his brother. “Interesting meeting you here so soon after our coffee break. What’s the story?”
“A word?” Kyle said, taking Preston aside, but making sure he kept Erin in view.
* * *
THEY WERE STANDING less than fifteen feet away from her, but Kyle could see Erin’s full attention was on the paramedics getting ready to transport Hank Leland.
“This is part of an NCIS case,” Kyle told Preston in a barely audible voice. “I’m here undercover.”
“Now tell me something I don’t know.”
“Earlier this morning Hank Leland called and asked NCIS for help, claiming he was being blackmailed by terrorists. I’d been sent here to monitor Leland’s activities anyway, so I was told to go check it out and interview him. Everything looked normal up to the time I pulled into the company’s yard, but in a moment, it all went sour,” he said. “That’s all I have right now, but we’re going to need your department’s cooperation during my investigation.”
Preston nodded curtly. “Why did they come after him here?”
“Don’t know. Maybe that was their plan all along. Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Leland’s company specializes in building safe rooms but that technology isn’t classified. What’s that got to do with terrorists?”
“Not sure—yet.” Kyle glanced around. “Firearms aren’t hard to get, so let’s begin with explosives and detonators. Does Leland keep any here on site?”
“I’ll find out,” Preston
