Deadly Testimony (Safeguard #2)(67)

“Yeah? What’s with you now? You’re not you.”

“Do you know me? Really? Why do this for me?” He sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped.

It was a good question.

“Because you’re doing a good thing.” There’d been a lot of answers she could give him but some, having to do with her personal feelings, were too tangled up to say yet. Instead, she gave him the simple ones. The ones she’d have even if she didn’t feel so much. “And your family doesn’t deserve to suffer in order to hide the wrongs in all of this. Because this isn’t a difficult decision to make. I can help, so I will.”

Her fire team, Diaz in particular, had been faced with harder decisions and challenges to overcome to do the right thing. In this, her path forward was clear.

“Do you always do what needs to be done?” His question was laced with a hint of annoyance but the sharpness was hiding a more vulnerable note of hope.

Isabelle kept her gaze steady on his. “It doesn’t matter if a thing is scary or dangerous, disgusting or boring. No matter how onerous a task is, it still remains to be done by somebody.”

His scowl deepened as he listened to her but he didn’t offer one of his usual teasing comments. He was having trouble holding on to the humor he used to keep his uglier emotions at bay.

Damn it, she wanted to give it back to him. As annoying as he was, rage-inducing sometimes, he was funny. He had a way of pulling a smile from her when she least wanted to give it to him. She ached for it a little, and for him.

So she gave him a small smile and imagined it was a sad offering as compared to the happiness he could spark in people, in her. “When I was young, my mother said it was often best to let those who are good at doing a thing complete the tasks. Because it will be done quickly and well, and hopefully not need to be redone.”

It was about time for Victoria to check in with them. Lizzy stepped to the door and opened it, scanning the hallway. Victoria stood waiting at the far end. Her teammate gave her a nod and disappeared around the corner. She’d wait until Lizzy left, then come to the room.

Anyone who took notice would think Kyle was just having a lucky night.

“And this thing, the man who needs killing. You will do it.” It wasn’t a question. And the hope was there, shining through more clearly in his tone.

“I am very good at killing.” A light inside her, the tiny flame he’d lit, died. And again, she was the cold, simple, clean killer she’d taught herself to be. It was part of why she was very, very good.

He was a civilian. There was a pretty high chance it’d sink in after all this was done and he’d try to get as far away from her as possible.

“Thank you.” The words came from him as the corners of his mouth turned up. “For saving my family. No one else would’ve helped us.”

Isabelle swallowed past the lump in her throat. She hadn’t looked at it that way. Hadn’t even tried.

She wasn’t special. She didn’t want to believe there weren’t other people in the world who would do this. There had to be. It was faith in human nature and all that. For all the truly despicable things humans had done to each other through history, there had to be people to inspire the happy endings.

Legends and all that shit.

She wasn’t a legend. She was a person trying to do something because she cared.

“Victoria and Marc will be ready with a car. Make sure you get to the car.”

“Your instructions are burned into my brain.” He tugged at the pristine white cuffs peeking from beneath the dark fabric of his suit sleeves.

She shook her head. “Every plan goes to hell. Plan A, plan B, whatever. Things never go as planned. Keep the objective in mind and just do what it takes to get there.”

He was silent for a moment, absorbing what she’d implied. “I’ll get my family to the car.”

She nodded, accepting his prioritization. “All of you would be best case. Go for best case. You’re wearing your Kevlar vest?”

“Yes.” Kyle tapped two fingers against his chest. The sound confirmed the presence of a layer beneath the fine fabric of his suit still.

She’d checked before they’d started this evening. It wasn’t like he would’ve taken it off. But it felt better to check again.

Victoria and Marc would be at the ready to pick up Kyle, his sister and her son. They’d get the Yeuns to safety. Her teammates were very good at what they did too.

“What about you?” Kyle’s gaze had become more intense.

Truth? She didn’t have a spotter. The person who could murmur observations and distance measurements. Wind direction and speed. Their help increased the chance of an accurate shot exponentially. But she’d done very well without a spotter in the past. No. She wasn’t worried about making her planned shots. She was more concerned about the other sniper.

She’d have to find him before he found her.

A spotter would’ve also been watching her six. They’d have been able to warn her of any direct attackers and given her cover as she scrambled into a position to defend herself.

She’d be vulnerable in her shooting position. From what she’d scouted using satellite images earlier in the day, there was no alternative. She’d know better once she was actually there.

“I’ll make the best of what I’ve got to work with out there.”