May Contain Spies: A Spy Thriller (Meet Abby Banks Book 1) (11 page)

Had he just killed that guy? I shook my head, trying to banish the thought as Stephen reached down and picked up the guy’s weapon. It looked like some kind of machine gun but for all I knew, it was a bazooka.

“Is this where you say ‘Ho, ho, ho, now I have a machine gun?’” I asked, and my voice cracked partway through the statement.

“I will if it will make you feel better,” he said, moving next to me, which seemed sketchy. What if there were more bad guys?

“What if there are more bad guys?” I asked, glancing at him as he took the lead once again.

“Why, Abby?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder and quirking one golden eyebrow at me. “I’m starting to think you’d be sad if I got hurt.”

I didn’t respond to him. What was I supposed to say, honestly? “No you’re wrong, I want to watch your bullet riddled corpse hit the ground so I can go back to my mom who wants to chop me up and make my bits her bits.” I shook my head, dismissing the notion. Nope, I wasn’t going down that road. Then again, it could have gone the other way so easily. Stephen could have been forced to shoot me.

I wiped my hands on my pants and followed after Stephen as he approached a steel door with a large control panel attached to it. He wouldn’t do that, would he? He wouldn’t shoot me…

Stephen pulled on a glove made of black rubber and placed his hand against the screen on the control panel. Electricity arced between his fingers, and he turned to glance at me as wisps of energy darted over his gloved hand.

“Open sesame,” he said, and the door slid open with a
whoosh
.

I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes and shaking my head. “You think you’re so cool,” I said, trying to shove down thoughts of him shooting me in the back of the head as I stared past him into the dank, dark hole beyond the door.

“I don’t think I’m cool,” he said with a grin and pulled his hand away, lightning crackled between his fingertips and the control panel. “I think I’m positively electric.”

He turned and stepped boldly into the room with his shoulders squared, and I followed more timidly. For whatever reason, he seemed to think we weren’t going to get shot at anymore, but I wasn’t so sure. I mean we were trying to escape a secret base of a woman who had just nuked two major cities. She had to have more than two guards here, right?

The first thing I noticed about the room was the smell, like old salt water and oil. It hit me in a rush that made me think we might be on a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean. Stephen took another step and put his hand out, grabbing the slick bronze railing of a spiral staircase that led down into the dank blackness below.

“Be careful. It’s slippery,” he said, taking a careful step onto the staircase and descending a few feet before turning to watch me.

“What?” I asked, taking a tepid step forward, setting my bloody tennis shoe down on the first corrugated-metal step. “Afraid I won’t follow you down into another dark hole?”

“You never know,” he replied with a smirk before facing forward and moving deeper into the inky darkness.

“I don’t suppose you brought a flashlight,” I replied, a few moments later. I could barely see even a few feet in front of me and now every step was slow and measured because I wasn’t sure if I was going to drop off into oblivion.

“Yes, I have one. No, I’m not turning it on. If there are gunners in here, I don’t want to give them a target,” he said. His voice seemed far away, impossibly far away.

A second later, my shoes hit what felt like concrete, and my next step confirmed I was on the level as it were. “Okay, we’re here,” I said. “Where are you?”

“Heading to the submarine, mon petite chou, like you should be.” Donovan’s voice broke through the darkness and nearly made me leap out of my shoes. I spun toward the sound of it. I could just barely make him out standing next to a hulking hunk of metal. I took a few steps toward him, still bewildered, and something grabbed my wrist.

I screamed and leapt straight in the air, whirling toward the thing and striking out with my free hand. Stephen caught my other wrist.

“Careful, Abby. We don’t want you slipping into the water. It’s really cold this deep under the ocean,” he said, hustling me toward the submarine, evidently unaware that my heart was about to explode from the fright he had given me. Jerk.

Chapter 10

“So… we’re in a submarine, that’s cool,” I said as casually as I could. “Because a secret base at the bottom of the ocean is completely reasonable.”

“Glad you agree, mon petite,” Donovan said, glancing over his shoulder at me in a sweep of blond hair that trailed down his back like a gleaming mane. Amusement flickered across his emerald eyes as he spoke.

“Great,” I snapped, turning away from him and crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh, she’s a feisty one, Stephen. I can see why you go all googly eyes at her,” Donovan said with a snicker.

I felt my cheeks burst into flames as I stared across the tiny room at Stephen who looked at me like he’d just been caught sticking his hand in a cookie jar. Very slowly, he swallowed, adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he looked down at his shoes like they were the most interesting thing in the room.

I glanced at his shoes for a second, black combat boots, before whirling around, my hands clenched into fists. “You should be nicer to him!” I snapped. “He just saved me. All you did was wait behind in the submarine.”

“Well, love, to be fair, I’m also piloting the submarine,” Donovan said, waving one hand at the controls. “That’s a skill that your boyfriend doesn’t have. He’s more of a blunt instrument. Like a hammer or a rock.”

“You’re a jerk,” I growled, and suddenly, I didn’t know what to do. I mean I wasn’t going to go attack Donovan, and I wasn’t about to turn around and look at Stephen of the ‘oh so interesting shoes’ either.

The whole submarine was like ten square feet so it wasn’t like I could go anywhere. Most of the walls were covered in things that buzzed, whirred, or blinked. I was fairly certain the twenty seconds I’d spent in computer club with my friend, Lisa Ann, was not going to be enough to get this monstrosity working if Donovan suddenly found himself incapacitated.

“So, what’s the plan, exactly?” I asked, changing the topic. “Drive around under water and pray the world doesn’t nuke my mother’s underwater hideout?”

“It’s a lot harder to nuke an underwater base than you’d think,” Donovan said, hunching forward over his control panel. The motion stretched his pink polo shirt across his back so that the muscles stood out. Maybe someone should tell these guys to buy clothes that fit…

“Strangely, that doesn’t answer my question,” I replied, stamping my foot a little.

The reflection of Donovan on the view screen quirked an eyebrow at me. “True,” he replied… and said nothing else.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked again.

Donovan shrugged. “I’m not telling you, clearly. Why don’t you guys go play cards or make out or something?” Donovan turned, glancing past me like I was invisible as rage filled every ounce of my being. Had he just?

“Stephen,” he said. “Can’t you find something to occupy her?”

Stephen said nothing, but a moment later, I felt his hand on my shoulder. He spun me around so I could see him. His eyes were so blue and deep that, for a moment, it felt like I was drowning as he led me toward the back of the room.

We sat down on the faux-wooden bench under all the scuba gear that lined the back wall. I wasn’t really sure what the purpose of the gear would be since we were so deep underwater that I was pretty sure we’d be killed instantly, but hey, I had learned a lot of things today. Maybe it was super-secret spy scuba gear with pressure-reducing knobs or something.

“So Abby,” Stephen said, pausing for a long time and staring up at the ceiling of the submarine. “What do you want to know?”

“What the plan is for me? I mean, okay, my mom nuked two major cities, so why are you still trying to save me?” I asked, shaking my head. He reached out and took both my hands in his, and they were so warm that it made little tingles run up my arms. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Because, we’re the good guys,” Stephen replied, lips quirking into a smile.

“That’s not enough,” I said. “That’s not enough by a longshot.”

“I agree,” called Donovan from the front of the submarine. “I’m not a good guy either. I’m still all for the ‘leave her body in a dumpster’ option in case you were wondering, but for some reason, HQ still thinks that Gabriella has more bombs. They’re hoping to use you as leverage.”

Stephen bristled, his hands clenching around mine until it was just this side of painful. ‘Don’t listen to Donovan,” he said, shaking his head. “He’s an ass. There’s no way we would hand you back over to Gabriella.”

“Of course not…” I swallowed and took a deep breath. “You guys would just kill me.”

“It won’t come to that,” Stephen said, and this time, he leaned closer to me, perfect lips slightly parted. “I will protect you. I promise.”

Just like that, my heart started going crazy and I forgot how to breathe. Was… was he going to try and kiss me? Now? Oh my god. WhatamIgoingtodo?

I turned my head slightly, putting a little space between Stephen’s lips and mine. “Why?” I murmured, my voice so low that there was no way Donovan could hear me. I hadn’t meant to whisper like that, but well, it was hard to make my words come out right, just then.

“Okay, I guess, technically, you’re still leverage, which is why he’ll keep you alive,” Donovan said with a shrug, and I wondered if he had heard me or if he was continuing his thought. “Don’t let tall, blond, and handsome fool you. You’re leverage.”

“Is that what I am, Stephen? Just leverage?” I said, pulling away so suddenly that Stephen’s eyes twitched slightly. Then he leaned even closer. Which was like weird, right?

“No,” he breathed, and the sound of his voice rolled over me like hot fudge and silk. I swallowed, trying to make sense of what else he said, but the words were lost because the only thing I could concentrate on was his lips. His hands settled on my shoulders, so warm and comforting, I started to lean into him as he spoke.

His brilliant blue eyes sparkled, lips curling into a smile as he leaned in toward me. I shut my eyes and tilted my head toward him, parting my lips as my heart sped up to just this side of a sprint.

The submarine lurched violently to the side, throwing me to the ground. I smacked into the metal floor, bouncing hard on my shoulder as the sound of screeching metal and explosions reduced my hearing to a cotton-dulled buzz. My eyes snapped open as I sucked in a breath that was all acrid smoke and fear.

Flames danced along the control panel in front of Donovan who was lying slumped in his chair, head lolling to the side. His chest was still moving, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t dead.

“Stephen!” I cried, glancing around for him.

“Abby!” I heard him yell, but his voice sounded distant and muffled. I swung my head toward him and nearly screamed. Stephen was buried under a bunch of scuba equipment, blood streaming from a cut above his eye as he tried to pull himself free.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said, torn between wanting to help him and rescue Donovan, the submarine pilot, from certain fiery doom.

“Save Donovan,” he gasped, shoving away a giant oxygen tank. It hit the floor with a loud clang and began to roll toward me.

“Okay!” I said because I wasn’t sure what else to do, and as I tried to get to my feet, the whole world tilted sideways.

I slammed into the left side of the sub so hard the world went blurry. The oxygen tank smashed into the metal next to my head, and even though that should have scared me, I lay there, unable to move.

Hesitantly, I reached out, touching it with my hand, gripping the cold steel for some sense of stability until the world stopped swimming. I glanced toward Donovan. He was still in the chair, only now he was being suspended by the straps over his shoulders and around his waist.

The lights went out. I was plunged into pitch blackness in a tin can a million miles below the surface of the ocean. The ‘floor’ beneath my hands began to glow with neon green light as various emergency lights all over the submarine came to life. While some flickered and went out, most managed to stay on, bathing the compartment in their green glow.

It was still too dark for me to make out Stephen beneath the pile of debris in the back of the submarine. From here, it all looked like twisted shadows. I swallowed again, biting my lip as I rolled onto my stomach and crawled toward Donovan. Jerk or not, he was the only one who could pilot the submarine, and hopefully, stop whatever it was from playing kick the can with the sub.

I reached him a moment later, but the way he was lying against the straps made it impossible for me to get enough pressure on the pull tabs to release him. I struggled with it, pulling so hard that my fingers began to hurt from the strain.

That was when I spotted the knife clipped to his belt. I grabbed hold of it and yanked. It slid out about half an inch before coming to a stop as Donovan’s body shifted. I put my back against the wall and braced my feet against Donovan’s side, pushing with all my strength. His body moved the barest fraction of an inch, and I grabbed hold of the knife, jerking it free.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and glanced at the control panel. Black smoke was streaming from the left most compartments, but thankfully, I couldn’t see any more fire. Well that was strange.

Donovan moaned, and I shook myself into action, leaping to my feet and starting to cut him free of the harness. While it was probably only minutes, it felt like it took hours to saw him free. I put my hands under his armpits, and bracing my legs against the control panel, pulled him upright, my arms trembling with strain.

As I tugged him loose from the chair, my arms gave out. His body smacked into me, knocking the knife from my hand as we hit the ground. My head slapped against the hard metal with a wet sounding thud as the knife went skittering off into the dark.

Stars swam past my eyes as the dead weight of Donovan settled on top of me, making it nearly impossible to breathe. I struggled, pushing at him with my pinned limbs but it was no use. Sweat began to bead on my forehead, dripping down the side of my face.