Page 14 of Until the End

“Copy,” Alistair said over the earpiece. “We’ve got this. I’ll make sure no one follows.”

Castle bolted down the long staircase to the undisturbed shady quiet of New Jersey Avenue. The high walls of the park buffered the suppressed noise of gunfire along with the final bell ringing to mark the hour.

He scanned south toward the Capitol grounds for any sign of the woman and Achilles. Making a break for the Capitol Police would’ve been a smart move on her part, but there was only a clueless passerby in that direction. Taking off to the right, he ran north down the narrow street toward Union Station—a labyrinth of traffic and pedestrians where she could vanish.

One block down, Castle spotted Achilles wagging his tail beside a tree and a navy boot in the grass. Shit. The woman was on the ground, facing in the opposite direction with her back against the trunk, preventing him from seeing if she was wounded or even breathing. He charged down the pavement, eyes peeled for hostiles.

He dashed across the intersection of C Street, passing a row of parked government vehicles, and caught sight of John Reece, former Delta Force operator, sweeping in from the Lower Park past the reflecting pool and headed toward the fray. No telling what kind of standoff was taking place in the Upper Park now that the bells had stopped ringing. Those professionals, whoever the hell they were, would do everything possible for a clean exit. And the Gray Box, an organization that wasn’t supposed to exist, needed to stay under the radar.

But the situation in the park was no longer his immediate concern.

Achilles licked the woman’s cheek with a whimper. A weak hand lifted, shooing the dog from her face. She was alive.

Relief jolted through Castle. She was the only link to the stolen bioweapons, and they needed to question her to have any chance of recovering them. But he was thankful for another reason he didn’t quite understand.

Alive, but she must’ve been hurt. He pounded down the sidewalk, tearing up the distance, just not fast enough for his nerves.

Achilles greeted him with a whine that meant the woman was in trouble. Castle knelt beside her, searching her thin body for any sign of blood. Nothing. Whatever they’d injected into Gary had only taken seconds to drop the man. If one of those pros had hit her with a needle after Castle had lost sight of her, she’d already be dead.

“Are you okay?” He put a palm against her porcelain cheek. The icy smoothness of her skin startled him, gripping him beneath the rib cage. “Are you hurt?”

Raspy breaths scraped past her quivering lips. Dilated pupils swallowed the blue of her irises, highlighting dark circles under her eyes. Bruises marred her legs. Hair that didn’t know if it wanted to be blond or light brown escaped from her hoodie, framing her face. One hand was clenched around a tan prescription bottle.

He took the pills from her grasp and read the label. “You have a heart condition?”

She nodded. “Need a minute…meds…kick in.”

The wheezing faded from her breathing and she didn’t appear to have any major injuries. She’d be fine if her medication worked.

Castle slipped his arm underneath her legs, banded the other around her waist, and hoisted her up. Her head lolled against his chest, body settling into the tight cradle of his grip. She was lighter than she looked. No more than a buck thirty. With her height of five eight, maybe five nine, a little extra meat on her bones would do her good. So would a shower.

She didn’t smell the best. Safe bet she hadn’t slept, showered, or eaten a decent meal in a while.

Hustling to the car, he clicked his tongue to ensure Achilles kept close.

The woman shivered against him. Her delicate body trembling in his arms triggered a strange protectiveness. One that eclipsed duty, stirring him on some primal level.

He shook it off before he softened, rearranging his thoughts.

Teeth chattering, she trembled and gasped for air as if she’d run a marathon. The combination of cold and shock must’ve been getting to her. The eye-popping dress she wore wasn’t helping. Three inches shorter and it would’ve failed to cover her ass. Ridiculous to wear the skimpy thing on such a breezy, frigid day.

Best to get her warmed up, comfortable, and safe at the Gray Box, fast. He picked up his pace and glanced down to check if her meds were taking effect. Her anxious gaze met his, and he was momentarily awestruck by the sweetness of her face up close, her arresting bone structure, those crazy-beautiful eyes—a raw mix of wildfire and a haunting fragility.

He opened the passenger’s side door of the bulletproof government SUV and tucked her gently inside, careful not to hit her head on the frame. Throwing him an uneasy look, she clutched her messenger bag close to her chest. He flipped the latch on the frame of the door to engage the detainment function. Sort of like a child safety lock to prevent someone from opening the door from the inside but for adults taken into custody.

The fine hairs on the nape of his neck raised—that instinctual sense of warning. He wheeled around, scanning the area. All clear. Nothing and nobody stood out.

He hurried to the driver’s side. With a whistle, he let Achilles hop in. The dog scooted between the front seats to the back. He had stayed with the young woman the entire time. Best damn mutt ever had earned himself a steak dinner.

“I’ve secured the target,” he said to Alistair over comms, gunning the engine, and peeled out of the parking spot, hitting Louisiana Avenue. “Headed back to headquarters.”

“You missed the rest of the fun. Those boys cleared out like ghosts, scattering to the four winds as soon as the bells stopped ringing.”

His palms itched. It was that familiar whisper of warning. “Their degree of self-control, the impeccable timing, something about it bothers me.” Castle cranked on the heater to help warm the woman. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear they were operatives.”

“This line of work, sometimes we’re two different sides of the same coin. Reaper and Maddox are in pursuit of two via car. We lost the others. I’ll hitch a ride back with Reece.”

“Roger. See you at headquarters.” He removed his earpiece and set the wireless device, half the size of a thimble, onto the console. “Any idea who those guys were and why they want you dead?” He glanced in his rearview mirror and then over at his passenger.