Page 108 of Silent Comrade
Her heart skidded in her chest, too fast.She dug her trembling fingers into Red’s corded arm. Solid. Warmflesh over hard muscle grounded her. She concentrated on thestability of their connection.
She sucked a breath in. Out.
She could see Red’s denim jacket.
She could smell his aftershave.
She could hear the low growl rumbling fromhis torso.
Breathe. In. Out.
Her hand on his arm. Solid. Stable.
She fought back the clawing panic.
With his free hand, he fished out his cellphone and hit a series of buttons. Set down the phone. Ran a handup and down her upper arm. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
For now. Then the tremors started.She made a choking sound. Couldn’t swallow.
Success was never going to happen, was it?Not in a way that protected both her family and the team.
“Can you sit on your own?” he whispered. “Idon’t want to draw more attention.”
She nodded and he eased her onto a tallchair with a back and scooted her up to the sewing table. Movingthe arrangement to the far corner of the table, he returned tohover over her shoulder, hand on her back. She didn’t have to lookto know he was scanning the room.
Every muscle in her body burned, tense anddrained of strength. The act of holding her head up took too mucheffort. Why was she pushing so hard to finish this task? Britt hadforgotten why it was so important.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered.
Red’s voice wove a net of support aroundher. “Right now, you’re going to smile and act normal,” he saidunder his breath. “Then we’ll assess next steps.”
The heat from his body seeped into her. Sheconcentrated on her exercises until sparkles left her field ofvision. Fishing out a bottle from her backpack, she swished coolwater in her dry mouth and managed to swallow.
Then Gonzo strolled into the lab, casual asyou please, if you didn’t know to look beyond the dimpled smile tothe deadly glint in his eye.
“Que paso?” Like any other day.Nothing to see here. He took up a subtle position on her flank.
Red gave him an efficient three-sentencerecap that chilled Britt’s blood.
She fiddled with the hoop in her earlobe.“What am I going to do?”
Gonzo’s head tilted as he studied her. “You,mi amiga, are going to put on an earth-shattering fashionshow tomorrow, that’s what you can do.”
Britt huffed. “You’re joking, right?”
“You’re joking, right?” Red echoed.
Gonzo partially turned so he could scan thelab, his dark stare meeting her eyes. “Never fear. I’m here tohelp.”
“It’s a bad idea, Gonz,” Red said.
Gonzo’s brief dark and lethal expressionmade Britt lean away.
“Nocabeza de pingais going tothreaten good people like you. Not on my watch.” The fabric of hisblack-and-green button-down strained over the biceps as he formedtwo huge fists.
Britt glanced at Gonzo. “Do I want to knowwhat that means?”
A snarl smoothed into a tight grin. “No, youdo not,mi fashionista.”
