Page 29 of Redeeming Meg

The door below opened. Declan hefted her over his shoulder and raced as quietly as he could up the next flight.

Below, men filed into the landing and started the climb.

He froze, but only for an instant. There were four of Hagar’s men, Anderson, and Hagar himself. The amount of shuffling, talking, and general clamor they made was enough to drown out his footsteps.

So he ran.

Bypassing the second-floor entrance.

Up to the third-floor landing.

Controlling his breathing, he kept going.

Pounding feet echoed on the stairs beneath them, then stopped. Hagar barked an order in Farsi.Search for stragglers.

One of the group broke away.

And started up as Hagar and the rest entered the second floor.

Meg smacked him on the shoulder to put her down.

At war with himself, he allowed her body to slide down his chest until her feet touched the concrete floor of the small, square landing.

But he didn’t let go.

As the death squad member whistled and jogged up the next set of steps, Declan grabbed his gun from Meg’s waistband. Meg brought up her handheld ultrasonic weapon.

They moved as one into the shadows in the tight corner, each ready to take out their pursuer should he discover them.

A cell phone went off, ringing loud in the cavernous space. The man stopped and answered. He must have lowered himself to one of the steps because they heard the clatter of his weapon as it caught on the railing. He rattled off a conversation in his native language, and Declan pulled Meg from their hiding spot. He motioned her to continue up as he covered her backside, his gun pointed toward Hagar’s man.

When they hit the next floor, she eased open the fire door, and they slipped inside.

This level was private quarters. None of the residents who called the place home, however, were here.

Meg stopped him before he could lead her away from the door. “We have to stop this,” she said, her voice barely audible.

The hallway here was intact and homey-looking, like an old-fashioned hotel. Fancy fixtures, ornate antiques, and expensive paintings lined the space. It was as if the carnage below hadn’t affected it at all.

Declan rubbed his temples. “This Anderson guy is an idiot and working with Hagar. Wonder who the man is that he said stole the USB? Tommy? Whose office is he taking Hagar to? His?”

“We should follow and find out. Hagar didn’t make us. He saw me peeking at him and realized there were state employees on the loose, that’s all. That’s why he sent his man after stragglers.”

“You understood that?”

“Yes.”

Chasing after Hagar and Anderson would be stupid but might yield the answers they needed. Still… “Our orders are to evacuate.”

“That was before we knew about our mystery man taking the USB and the fact that the intel might still be on his computer.”

“We should report in and let Flynn decide what he wants us to do.”

“We should.” She gave him an evil grin. “But all I’m getting is static, which means we’re on our own.”

The unspoken words—it’s my call—hung in the air between them. She was the team leader. He was her second. His role was set in stone.

And his earlier admission? He would pay for that at some point. Maybe now. “Are you asking me to disobey a direct order, not only from our boss but from the Deputy Director of the CIA?”

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