Page 30 of Hawk on the Hunt

Ace nodded. “Although I never saw the VP and the president in my vision. Only the coffin and the Marines carrying it.”

“And the bomb? Do you know where it will be?” she asked.

Ace shook his head.

“But we can’t waste time on that right now,” Dylan said. “Our first priority is to stop the VP and the president from going to Joint Base Andrews. They’ll take Marine One. It’s the only logical assumption. They wouldn’t drive.”

Ace nodded. “We have to stop Marine One from taking off. Disable it somehow.”

“You wanna disable five choppers?” Zara asked, incredulous. “You’re not even gonna get close enough.”

“Five?” Dylan asked.

“Yes,” Zara replied, “for something like this, there’ll be more than one chopper taking off. Once in the air, you won’t know which carries the VP and the president—at least three if not four will be decoys. The VP and the president might even fly in separate helicopters. How are you gonna stop them?”

“We’ll think of something,” Dylan promised.

She didn’t feel as confident as Dylan sounded. How could he and his fellow agents deal with such pressure? She glanced at the others in the room, and noticed how everybody worked frantically.

Zara sighed. “I’ve gotta go to work.”

“Out of the question!” Dylan snapped.

She clenched her jaw. “I have to, Dylan. With this, with the VP’s son dead, I have to be in the office. It’ll be frantic all day. I’ve already texted my colleague that I’ll be in shortly. I’m needed there.”

Dylan stared at her, clearly torn. “Don’t you remember what I saw? You can’t go to the Hill today.”

“You said that it’s the Capitol that’ll blow up, and you don’t know when, and the Dirkson Senate Building is far enough away from the Capitol. I’ll be safe.”

“You can’t—”

Ace put a hand on Dylan’s arm. “She has to go. We might need somebody on the Hill, in case there’s chatter that we should know about.”

Dylan glared at Ace. “You’re suggesting we rope her in? No way! It’s too dangerous.”

Zara put her hand on Dylan’s chest. “I promise I’ll go nowhere near the Capitol. I’ll stay in the Senate Building, and if anybody asks me to go to the Capitol, I’ll figure out an excuse of why not to go. All right?”

For a long few seconds, Dylan said nothing, and she could see his mind working. Finally, he nodded.

“Fine, but I’ll need the location tracker on.” He reached out his hand.

She retrieved her cell phone from her handbag and unlocked it, before handing it to him. He tapped on it for a few moments, before handing it back to her.

Dylan looked straight into her eyes. “And if I see that you’re getting anywhere near the Capitol, I’ll be on your ass like white on rice. Do we understand each other?”

Zara grunted in displeasure. She hated that side of him. “Has anybody ever told you that you sound like a drill sergeant?”

“No. And you’re not answering my question.” He went toe to toe with her.

“Fine! I promise.”

She sighed and pivoted, ready to head for the door, when Dylan pulled her back and drew her into his arms. His lips were on hers a second later, and his kiss felt as if he was branding her to show everybody that she was his. To her surprise, she yielded to his kiss. He released her as quickly as he’d grabbed her.

As she walked toward the door, Tiger called after her, “Oh, and Zara, your car is parked behind the house. I’ll open the gate remotely for you when I see you on the security camera. Your car keys are on the table in the foyer.”

She acknowledged his words with a quick nod and left.

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