Hidden Impact (23 page)

And then the bomb had gone off under her car and she’d understood how someday could be never.

She shook her head. Lifting the cutting board, she brought it to the stock pot and slid the entire load of diced carrots and celery into the pot with the back of her knife. Setting both board and knife aside, she liberally sprinkled salt on the veggies and then gave it all a good stir. It smelled lovely.

After another minute, she used another pot she’d filled at the sink to pour water into her stock. Covering the meat bones and vegetables and filling the stock pot to three quarters of the way full, she figured it’d take only a short while for it all to come up to a boil. Then she’d season and add a few more ingredients to finish the soup.

She’d need something else to keep her hands busy. Bread was out of the question because no one had known to buy yeast and she’d not even thought to get a sourdough starter going. That would have taken a week or so.

Tears welled up and she picked up a ladle to stir the soup even though it didn’t need it. Stupid. Her place was back in Seattle, so why be upset about not having the ingredients she needed to make Gabe nice things? And why think about long-term supplies or things like sourdough starter when she didn’t know what her future with him was going to be? Especially if he got his stupid self killed before they ever figured it out?

She couldn’t make a home here because the entire place was transitory, temporary by nature.

But she wasn’t sure she could go back to the home she had, either.

“You’ll be coming with me now.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Maylin’s heart stopped. No way. Couldn’t be.

“Surprised?” Jewel laughed. The sound was low and almost a cackle. Theatrical.

The thought brought some courage back to Maylin, and she forced herself to continue to stir her soup pot, slow and unhurried. “Why are you still here?”

And how? If Jewel got hold of her for Edict, would they use her to bring An-mei back under their control? Maybe. Or revenge. Either way, it’d hurt An-mei...and Gabe.

“Final bit of insurance. Once I saw the squadrons deploy, I figured security on you would be lighter. My gamble paid off. And since I hear our Gabe was successful, you become even more valuable.” Jewel was continuing her villain act. “I know this base as well as any of the idiots here. I was a Centurion.”

And verb tense meant everything in that statement. Maylin glared at Jewel. “But you’re not anymore.”

Jewel shook her head and made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Doesn’t make me any less good at what I do, darlin’.”

“I think it does.” Maylin stuck her chin up. Refused to let Jewel frighten her out of thinking. She needed to get away, call for help.

“What do you know?” Jewel sneered. “You’ve met a handful of them over the course of a week. I’ve blown up three times as many in half the time.”

True. And what was she? A cook. If it’d been her stepmother speaking, she would have squared her shoulders and listed her accomplishments. She was an entrepreneur. She’d never had to ask her parents for money, and she was independent. But against a woman like Jewel, a woman capable of going head-to-head with Gabe, what was Maylin?

Stubborn. Headstrong. Too determined for your own good
. Her stepmother’s words came to her at the worst of times. This was not the time to let the woman’s words get her down.

Besides, they were discussing the Centurions. And she could multi-task.

“They do the right thing even when the money isn’t there.” Deliberately not looking at something had never been so hard. “Greed isn’t a handicap for them.”

“How philosophical,” Jewel crooned. “Even a little Zen-sounding. Or some shit like that. You learn that growing up? Or do you have a crazy family uncle who vomits up pieces of wisdom? Maybe one with blond hair and green eyes. Did you ever wonder where you and your sister got them from? She is a geneticist, isn’t she?”

Maylin didn’t rise to the bait. She gave Jewel a serene smile instead. “My father came from northwestern China. There’s a possibility we’re throwbacks to a lost Roman legion. Or, we could be the result of a random combination of genetic factors plus environmental influences. Eye color is a complicated thing.”

Jewel’s eyes narrowed. “In any case, the Centurions as a whole are fools, Gabe and his team even worse than the rest, and their chivalrous code doesn’t make them heroes. What it does is make them suckers and makes you a fool for believing in them. They’re mercenaries, like me, and people like us have done awful things for no good reason.”

Jewel stepped forward, the grin on her face broadening when Maylin didn’t bolt. “You’re going to come with me as bait for your wayward sister. Let’s get going before the idiots on watch actually manage to pull together a timely response team. If they realize you’re in danger at all. You see, they’re used to bigger threats. A single woman talking to another woman? It’ll take them time to recognize the back of my head as not belonging to any of the Centurions on site. If they recognize me at all.”

Maylin hadn’t even known where the cameras were, only had faith they had to be somewhere. As much as Jewel knew, there wasn’t any hope of a miracle rescue in time to stop her.

Jewel raised her right hand, training a small gun at Maylin.

Don’t look away. Keep your eyes wide open and look for your own solutions.
Maylin didn’t think her father had meant his advice for life-threatening situations, but hell if it didn’t apply.

She kept her eyes on the gun, with Jewel behind it, and yanked the ladle out of the now-boiling soup pot, knocking it over. Jewel screamed as scalding liquid splashed across her hand and the gun she was holding, and Maylin scrambled around the kitchen island as the stock pot clattered to the floor between them.

Jewel was cursing behind her, and Maylin sobbed as she bolted for the hallway toward the front door. Maybe she’d knocked the gun from Jewel’s hand. Maybe...

Her feet were yanked out from under her and her head hit the ground as she fell. Stars shot through her skull like a billion piercing needles, and she fought to keep conscious. She was roughly flipped onto her back and a frightening click sounded off right next to her head.

Jewel was kneeling over her, gun held in her left hand as she cradled her right close to her chest. “Little bitch.”

Dead was better than taken. Maylin swallowed hard. It’d be better if the mercenary killed her than use her against people she loved. Like An-mei, or Gabe.

And he didn’t even know she loved him.

But Jewel only held the gun steady and cocked her head sideways. “Gutsy. I’ll give you that. I’ve blown you up, driven you through glass, and now I’m holding a gun to your head. Did it even occur to you to leave Gabe? It’s not a major concern to me, mind you, more a point of curiosity.”

Leave?

Jewel regarded her with a small, patient smile.

“He...he’s not staying.” Maylin blurted it out. No idea where Jewel was going with this. The woman was crazy.

“With you?” Jewel cocked an eyebrow.

“Here.” Maylin blinked over and over again, trying to clear her vision past the pounding of her head. “This place is only temporary.”

Jewel had to know that. It was for rest and recovery only.

“Yeah, yeah. I do know.” Jewel sounded exasperated. Maybe Maylin had been babbling out loud. “And what about the two of you? Did either of you talk about anything besides what was directly in front of you?”

Maylin’s throat tightened. “I don’t know. We haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Did it occur to you to take your sister and leave once they all bring her back?”

“Without saying good-bye?” Leave things unfinished? “No. There’s too much. Too many questions.”

“So you were going to just play house here until they came back?” Jewel laughed, a genuine sound of mirth bubbling up from deep inside. The amusement chased away the hard lines and made her look years younger. For a moment, you’d think she was a normal woman. Not capable of shooting people in the back. Not holding a gun on Maylin.

Embarrassment burned Maylin’s cheeks. “It’s what I can do for them. Have something comforting when they get back. I couldn’t go with them, be real help to them. I don’t have the medical training to treat their injuries. This is what I could do.”

And it was something. It was needed.

“You know, I mistook your quiet little demeanor for submissive.” Jewel nudged Maylin’s hip with a booted foot. “You’ve obviously got no combat skills. You played the respect game very well inside the embassy back in DC. Most American Chinese would’ve gone in there and tried to roll over everyone and gotten nothing but passive-aggressive bullshit in return. But you, you walked the fine line and got results. Give a little ground, gain a lot more than they realized, until they were tripping over themselves to help you. More effective than I figured you could be. Takes a lot of patience to be that kind of person.”

Maylin tried to squirm away, but Jewel nudged her harder.

“Ah. Don’t move. I’ve got a point here and I’m going to take my sweet time getting to it. You don’t give up and I like that too, but now’s not the time to get all uppity.” Jewel spit to one side.

Better than on her. Maylin was grateful for small blessings.

“You know the problem with the kind of life we lead?” Jewel continued. “We’re not patient. And if we happen to fall in love, the people we fall in love with aren’t either. It’s not a common enough virtue. There’s too many other priorities out there. And we find ourselves having to choose. But you. You kept your focus through this and you’re loyal to a fault. You belong with them, with him.”

How...?
Maylin opened her mouth to ask but Jewel hushed her.

“Nope. Don’t want to hear you talk. You might be headstrong enough to be good for him. Maybe. If you don’t get yourself killed first.” Jewel’s gun hand steadied and the musing expression wiped away from her face until there was nothing at all. “Me and him, we butt heads, but in a bad way. You, you’re better for him, and I’d have to scratch out my eyes not to see it. The problem with the both of you is tunnel vision. You only see what’s in front of you. It’s too simple. You want to do real good? Learn to notice the other things.”

Fear pinned Maylin down as she stared back up at death. Not too melodramatic, not when Jewel looked as cold-blooded as she did. The word was meant for Jewel when she looked like this. Then Maylin couldn’t look at her face anymore, not when she could only stare at the woman’s finger as it tightened on the trigger.

Another loud click.

“Good. Don’t ever close your eyes when there’s a chance to get away. I like that about you.” Jewel stepped away from her. “You keep that stubborn streak and stay with him. Give him what he deserves.” She turned then and disappeared down the corridor, past the kitchen and right into Gabe’s room.

Maylin wanted to have the courage to go after her, see where she was going. But her practical mind told her it’d be stupid. And the part of her that was truthful admitted she was too frightened to do it. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Because twice there, she’d thought she was about to die.

People came in the front door then and crowded around her. Caleb was there, and others, moving to secure the building and asking her if she was hurt. She was in shock, they were telling her. And yes, she was. But she was busy remembering what Jewel had said. Because it was important.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“She’s waking up.”

“Come see me when you’re done here.”

“Roger that.”

The voices echoed inside her head, low rumbles at different pitches. She struggled to wake faster, working to draw in more air and shrug off the heavy sleep. She wanted to hear one of those voices more. Wanted to talk. There was something important she had to tell it. Him.

Gabe
.

“Easy there.” His voice flowed over her, his tone gentle tinged with worry.

He shouldn’t worry.

“Ah, but I do.” His lips brushed hers. Perhaps she’d spoken aloud. Or he’d gotten to the point where he could read her mind.

“I’d rather keep speaking out loud. Where’s An-mei?” Her throat constricted at the end and she coughed once, twice. A previously faint ache in her skull quickly escalated into a painful throb.

“Nearby, but let’s get some water in you first.” Gabe sounded amenable.

Suspicious, she cracked open her eyes. There he was, leaning over her, hale and whole and not a dream. And he was holding a glass of water.

She let her heavy eyelids fall, and she sighed as relief flowed through her. This had turned out much better than she’d been thinking it might not too long ago, however long that was. In any number of scenarios she’d thought it’d be her standing at the bedside with a glass of water and Gabe in the hospital bed.

“Want help sitting up?” The note of worry in his words had gotten stronger.

Careful of the throbbing headache, she nodded slightly.

There was the sound of a click and the bed started to adjust, the top half elevating gradually until she was in a sitting position.

She opened her eyes again and he stood there grinning, all sorts of proud of himself for having pushed a button. Smiling, she reached out and ran her fingertips over the button controls so she could do it herself later. If it was that easy, there was no reason she couldn’t do it on her own.

He handed her the water, holding the glass until she had her hands wrapped around it. She took a sip, then another, and her throat eased from its dried-up and scratchy state.

“I’ve only been gone forty-eight hours, but you managed to get yourself knocked in the head again since I left.” He reached out and touched her forehead. There was a tender spot, probably a decent-sized lump. “Did Jewel hit you?”

“No.” Maylin leaned her head into his touch and he curved his hand over her cheek. “My head hit the floor when she tripped me is all. Actually, she could have done a lot worse to me.”

His brows drew together in a scowl. “Could have. This was bad enough.”

“I really need to learn to defend myself more effectively.” Guilt warred with a pang of sadness. “Here you are freshly back from a dangerous mission and I—”

“Need to rest and heal.” Gabe interrupted her, pressing his thumb over her lips.

Irritated, she caught the tip of his thumb between her teeth.

Heat kindled in his eyes and she blushed in response, releasing his thumb.

Gabe chuckled. “Don’t tempt me. That wouldn’t be rest. What I could do, if you’re feeling up to it now, is take you to see your sister.”

She startled to scramble out from under the light covers.

“Easy, easy.” Gabe’s arms wrapped around her. “You’re going to tip right off this bed.”

The warmth of his embrace seeped through the thin fabric of the hospital gown and through her skin. He held her for a long moment, whispering endearments into her hair, then he adjusted his hold to scoop her up in his arms.

“I can walk!” She didn’t wiggle, though. He had to have been hurt back there on the mission. She’d seen the vehicle flip over. “You should not be carrying me.”

He grunted. “I can handle getting you into a wheelchair. Safer than letting you hop out of that hospital bed and try to run around with a mild concussion.”

Well, even without a mild concussion she was clumsy enough that she probably would have tripped herself up somehow and fallen out of the bed.

There was indeed a wheelchair nearby, and he placed her gently into the seat. He also got a light robe from a nearby hook on the wall and helped her slip it on.

She tipped her head to look up at him. “How do I look?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Beautiful.”

She batted at his hand on the arm of her wheelchair. “Presentable? I need to know if I look presentable. I don’t want An-mei worried about me after everything she’s been through.”

“Can barely see the lump with your hair down.” He leaned in and kissed her for good measure. “And you make the robes here look surprisingly presentable. Ready?”

“Ready.”

He wheeled her out of the curtained area and out of the larger infirmary into the hallway. It wasn’t far, and he turned her wheelchair in to a much smaller room with only two beds, separated by curtains. As he brought them to a stop at the far set of curtains, Maylin reached out and twitched the edge of one aside.
“Mèi mèi?”

A form stirred under the blankets on the bed.
“Jiě jiě?”

Tears welled up and burned her dry eyes at the sound of her little sister’s voice. Groggy, hesitant, but it was An-mei. Swallowing to ease the constriction in her throat, Maylin tugged at the curtain to open it more.

Her little sister was sitting up in bed, green eyes blinking away tears.

Without being asked, Gabe pushed her wheelchair forward until she was within reach and leaned forward to lock the wheels. Maylin surged out of the chair and stumbled forward, wrapping her little sister in a careful hug.

An-mei’s arms tightened around her in return. “You found me. You found me. You found me.”

“We did.” Maylin kissed her sister’s hair and rubbed her back, surprised at how thin she had become. She didn’t want to ask what had happened to her in captivity. Not yet. “Do you think you could eat something?”

An-mei made a choking sound, somewhere between crying and laughing. “It is so good to hear you ask.”

Maylin released her from the hug and drew back to look her over. “We should both have something to eat, and I’m guessing there are medications they’d like us to take too.”

Shadows darkened An-mei’s gaze and her slender shoulders stiffened under Maylin’s hands.

“You’re safe here.” Maylin wasn’t sure how to give her sister the reassurance she’d need. “These are the people who helped me find you, got you out.”

Giving her sister time, Maylin shifted to sit on the edge of the bed and turned to hold out a hand for Gabe.

Gabe took a step forward and placed his hand in hers. His grip was firm, steadying, and he rubbed his thumb over her fingers comfortingly.

“This is Gabriel Diaz of the Centurion Corporation.” Maylin figured now was as good a time as any for formal introductions. “He led the fire team that went in to save you.”

Recognition replaced the shadows in An-mei’s eyes. “You were there. You came and got me out.”

Gabe nodded. “This is real. This isn’t a new way of trying to trick you into doing their work for them. This is really your sister and you are really out of that place.”

An-mei balled her hands into fists, the sheets caught up in her grip. “They drugged me, had an actress come in trying to pretend to be my sister. But I knew it wasn’t her. Knew it.”

Maylin reached out hesitantly, unsure if her touch was welcome despite the initial hug. “How did you know? How do I help you now?”

A tired smile appeared on her tear-streaked face. “Their imposter always asked me to take medicine and never, ever mentioned I should have something to eat, until I stopped eating because I realized they were drugging my food.”

Maylin bit her lip. This was probably the least of the things they’d done to her.

“There could be addiction to deal with,” Gabe said quietly. “Can we take some blood samples? Our medical team has the resources to do a full workup and find out what’s currently in your system.”

An-mei considered for a long moment, then nodded.

Gabe gave Maylin’s hand a squeeze then released it. He took out a smartphone and showed it to both of them before he slipped it into Maylin’s robe pocket. “I’ll go let our medics know and leave you two alone to talk for a while. I’m just a phone call away.”

An-mei had been keeping her attention on Gabe from the moment she recognized him. When he left, she watched him go. Then she finally looked at Maylin.

Maylin had no idea how to prove to her sister she was who she was. All she could think of to do was wait, patiently, and meet An-mei’s searching gaze with as open a return gaze as possible.

“I’m so afraid this is another one of their tricks. Their mind games to get me to do the research they wanted,” An-mei whispered.

Maylin ached for her. “No one here is going to ask you to do anything. You’re safe.”

An-mei licked her lips and swallowed. “Can we go outside?”

“I think so.” Maylin blinked and glanced back at the wheelchair. “I’m pretty sure I can walk, whether he thinks I should or not. Do you think you can? If you do, let’s find a robe for you and make a break for it. It’s all green and wooded outside. Nice for a walk. I know where there’s a decent kitchen and I can make you some congee. Easy on your stomach.”

The tension melted out of An-mei and she lay back against the raised back of her hospital bed. “It
is
you. Food is the way you heal everything.”

Relief filtered through Maylin with her little sister’s acceptance. “The right food can make anything better.”

An-mei sighed. “Next time, you go to China and I’ll stay home. They had I don’t know how many kinds of dumplings you’d want to try.”

“Okay.” Maylin huffed out a laugh. “I think we’ve both had a lot of adventure lately, though. Maybe hold off on any more continent-hopping until we’ve had a chance to catch our breath.”

“You’re going to be right here with me, for the next few days?” An-mei’s voice got small and timid again. “The medics said I should stay at least that long and that there’d be people to talk to about what happened to me. What happens next.”

“I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Maylin gave her a smile. “I promise.”

“What about your catering company?” Her sister bit her lip.

Maylin took a deep breath. Of course her sister would think about it. It was the reason Maylin hadn’t been with her in China in the first place. “Well, I’ve taken a leave of absence and they can do without me a while longer. So you have my undivided attention.”

Her sister didn’t answer, but the next question hung in the air between them. This one, too, was a familiar one.
But for how long?

“And we’re less than an hour out of Seattle, so if there’s any dire emergency, we could both drive in for the day, if you feel up to it—probably with an escort. But overall, I’ve realized I need to restructure the way I’ve been managing the company anyway. I’ll adjust my work schedule accordingly so we can stay here as long as you need.”

Maylin paused. Considering. “An-mei. You mean everything to me. Whatever the next steps are, I’ll adjust to what you need. Don’t worry about the catering company.”

An-mei reached out to her then, her fingertips touching the back of Maylin’s hand in a brief moment of contact. “I don’t want you to give up the catering company.”

“I would, if you needed me.” Maylin was absolutely sincere on this point.

“And that’s all I needed to hear. It means a lot.” An-mei smiled. “ But I don’t want you to actually do it. There’s a lot of next steps after this and it’d be more than enough if you were there with me.”

Maylin smiled in return. “I will be.
Huān yíng huí jiā.
Welcome home,
mèi mèi.
”

An-mei laughed, finally sounding more like the little sister Maylin knew. “So I think there’s a robe on the wall over there. If you can grab it, we can make a break for it, and you can tell me how you met that incredibly hot man and what’s going on between the two of you while we find ourselves some food.”