“I thought you were…oh God. I didn’t want to believe it. I refused to believe it.” Sienna swallowed against the large lump in her throat. “But what about the other agents? Are they okay?”
“Just knocked out it looks like,” Rafferty grunted. “They’ll come around.”
Warrick pulled back from her and glanced around the building, his scowl deepening. “We need cleanup on this. ASAP, because I’m going to be shocked as all hell if no one called the local police, with all the ruckus we made.”
Rafferty nodded. “Agreed. I’ll call for a cleanup crew. It’s a bloody mess in here. Excuse the pun.”
Sienna wasn’t even tempted to crack a smile, she was still too far on edge and couldn’t find the slightest bit of humor in the situation.
Of course, this kind of scenario could very well be commonplace to these agents by now. Maybe they used humor to diffuse the tension and horror they sometimes dealt with.
Her gaze drifted around the darkness and she half expected more bad guys to come flying out of the shadows. Like a video game where they just keep flinging more monsters in front of your path.
Warrick caught her hand, his gaze searching hers. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Her head moved back and forth in a jerky denial, and for a moment she was morbidly tempted to slide her gaze to the motionless body of the man who’d tried to drag her out of the building. But she knew the sight would probably bring up the contents of her stomach.
Thank God Rafferty had killed him before the man could take her. If the men had captured her and her father, good Lord, she didn’t even want to imagine the horror that could have resulted. It all made sense now. Her father would never have helped them, even with his own life threatened. But threaten his daughter’s…
A shudder ran through her and she swallowed with difficulty. Her stomach clenched, this time almost with pain.
“We don’t have much time,” Warrick murmured, his fingers tightening. “I need you to go outside with your dad, take one of the vans and head straight back to the hotel. Can you do that for me, baby?”
She gave a stiff nod, and regretted it when her head began to pound again. More than anything she wanted to curl into his arms again, feel the safety in his embrace. Absorb his strength and replenish her own. But that would be pretty damn selfish of her.
Warrick pressed the keys into her hand, but didn’t let go immediately. His gaze softened and she saw hesitation in his gaze.
“Donovan,” Rafferty’s voice cut sharply through the quiet. “Hilliard’s not coming around. I’m going to need help getting him out of here.”
He wanted to stay and comfort her. Sienna could see the internal conflict in his eyes, knew that he was torn between staying with her and helping his fellow agents. And the realization stole her breath away.
Her heart pinched as she realized fully just how much Warrick had done for her. Time and time again. The sacrifices he’d made since rescuing her in the lab, and would continue to make if she didn’t stop him.
Sienna pulled her hand free and stepped back from Warrick. She glanced over at her dad, who still stood in the shadows, staring at the dead captors.
“Go,” she said, a bit numb now, and turned away. “We’ll be fine.”
“Sienna.”
She froze, but didn’t look over her shoulder.
“Be careful.”
Tears burned her eyes, but she gave another short nod before striding off to find her father.
She knew where they needed to go, and it wasn’t the hotel.
Warrick’s glance slid over the empty waterfront building and satisfaction slid through him as the last of the P.I.A. cleanup crew departed into the thick shadows of night.
“Looks pretty damn good.” Hilliard, his wounds apparently healed, approached him from behind and gave a small sigh. “Don’t think anyone would realize there was a bloodbath that went down in here an hour ago.”
No, they wouldn’t. The interior of the building looked just as abandoned and insipid as it had hours ago. The only incongruity being a floor that nearly sparkled from being cleaned. But there were no body parts, pieces of flesh or bloodstains anywhere.
Gruesome stuff. But, occasionally, a reality in their line of work.
“I need to head back to the hotel to see Sienna,” he said warily, turning to glance at the other agent. “How are the others?”
Hilliard shrugged and pursed his lips. “Fully recovered. Quinton and Larson are heading back to check on the ferals, and Rafferty is going to take the jump drive over to Sienna and her father so they can start working on a cure.”
“Good. The ferals need all help they can get and I have no doubt that Kevin Peters will be able to give it to them.” Warrick glanced over at Hilliard, his gaze narrowed. “I’m surprised you’re still here. What’s up?”