Page 46 of Securing Jane

Shit.

“IDs please,” the junior-grade lieutenant said as Jane pulled up in front of the small guardhouse.

She turned to look at Carlin. She had a bright smile on her face and the knife she’d held to Jane’s side was nowhere to be seen. But that damn box in her lap seemed to be even bigger than it had been earlier. That wasn’t the case, of course, but Jane couldn’t help but sense the danger lurking inside it.

She slowly reached for her purse to pull out her ID and saw Carlin give her an impatient look. Jane wanted to say something to the young officer. To give him some clue as to the danger they were all in, but she also didn’t want to risk his life…or her own.

She grabbed the ID that allowed her access to the base and took the fake ID Carlin handed to her as well. She handed both to the officer, opening her eyes really wide, hoping against hope he’d get the hint.

Without hesitation, the man turned away from her and took the IDs into the guardhouse, as was protocol. Jane knew he’d scan them both, then if nothing seemed awry, he’d hand them back, and they’d be on their way.

Time ticked by extremely slowly. Every second seemed like an eternity. Jane glanced around without turning her head, and to her, it seemed as if there were more people hanging around the gate to the base than normal. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the rise of the sun, and she could see naval police personnel around almost every corner. It made her feel hopeful, but scared shitless at the same time. More people meant more causalities if something went wrong.

After a moment, the young officer turned to her. “There’s an issue with your ID, Ms. Hamilton. If you can please step out of the car.”

For just a second, Jane’s hopes rose. She undid her seat belt and reached for the handle of her door. She had just opened it a bit when Carlin moved.

The knife was pressed against her skin again, but this time it was at her throat.

“Step back,” Carlin ordered the lieutenant. “She’s not going anywhere. You’re going to open the damn gate and let us through, otherwise I’ll gut her like a pig and set off this bomb in my lap. You have ten fucking seconds to get it done. Starting now.”

The officer’s eyes opened wide, but his eyes flicked to something behind Carlin. Without moving her head, Jane saw three naval police officers, their pistols pointed right at Carlin, out of the corner of her eye.

“Put the knife down, now!” one of them shouted.

Within seconds, the car was surrounded by more police officers than Jane had seen in one place since she’d started working on the base. She hadn’t been around the parking lot when Phantom and his girlfriend had been attacked, but she imagined it probably looked a lot like the area around her car right now.

“Get back!” Carlin shouted a little desperately. “I’ve got a bomb and I’ll fucking set it off! I will! Don’t mess with me!”

“Just relax,” one of the police officers said. “We’ll figure this out, and no one will get hurt.”

“But I want people to get hurt,” Carlin screamed. “Just like my husband and I were! Get Rear Admiral Creasy here. Right now!”

Jane shook violently in her seat. The car was surrounded by shore patrol—SPs—or masters-at-arms…whatever the naval police were called. She couldn’t remember if they were SPs when they were on a ship and masters-at-arms when they were on base, or vice versa, or both.

She did know her mind was going in a million different directions, and she forced herself to concentrate. It didn’t matter what they were called. Police were police, and she prayed they’d figure out a way to get everyone out of this in one piece. Literally.

Jane sat as still as she could, hoping against hope Carlin would somehow forget about her sitting there, what with all the commotion going on around them…when she felt something brush against her left hand.

When she’d opened her door, and after Carlin had shoved the knife into her neck, Jane had let her hand dangle limply against her side.

But now someone was holding it. Tightly.

She couldn’t look down to confirm who it was, but she’d recognize the feel of the callused fingers anywhere. In her panic, she’d forgotten Storm was even behind her. But he’d obviously gotten out of his car and was now at her side. She prayed Carlin couldn’t see him.

Having him there terrified her—but it also made her more determined than ever to do what she could to make sure this ended without her, or Storm, in tiny bits all over the asphalt.

She squeezed his hand back as hard as she could, and the way he tightened his hold made her sigh in relief. Storm was there. He’d help her. She just had to be ready for whatever he had in mind. And she had no doubt he had a plan.

Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.

* * * *

Storm watched with his heart in his throat as Jane pulled up to the guardhouse at the entrance to the naval base. After Storm’s call to the police to inform them to be on the lookout for Jane’s car, the junior-grade officer was more than aware that something was hinky. He’d been instructed to act normal, however, and to get Jane out of the car as unobtrusively as possible.

As her car stopped, Storm pulled up to it as closely as he could get and slipped out of the driver’s seat. He immediately got down on his belly and crawled toward Jane’s door. The second she stepped out, he would be there to grab her and get her to safety. Everyone else could deal with whoever was sitting next to her.

The hair on the back of his neck hadn’t gone down. He knew something was very wrong, and his only objective was to get Jane clear of it. He regretted not insisting they drive together, and in the future, he’d be sure to do a better job of keeping her safe.