He smiled, shaking his head.
“In that case…” Amy wrapped her arms around Darius’s neck again and kissed him, this time with no guilt and no reserve.
Chapter 61
Kilo walked past two black sedans on the street and the black SUV parked along the circular driveway of the hospital entrance. Extra help was on hand, just in case he needed it. He tugged on the earpiece, testing its connection. They had a live one.
The combination of civilian clothes and NCIS badge always worked like a charm. The security guard at the front desk looked up at his face as he gave back the ID.
“Would you please sign in, sir?” He pushed a clipboard in front of Kilo.
He preferred not to, but the last thing he wanted was to bring any extra attention to himself. A healthy dose of foot traffic continued to stream out through the same door he’d entered. He scribbled the name on the page.
“Commander Dunn and Lieutenant Connelly are expecting me.”
“So you know where you’re going?”
Kilo contemplated telling the truth and saying he didn’t. But the guard’s hand was on the phone. He guessed the man was ready to call upstairs and announce his arrival. The hospital spread in a couple of different directions. He’d never been inside the building, but he knew his backup on the street could walk him through, once he got past the security desk.
“Yes, I do. I just got off the phone with Commander Dunn.”
The man let him go and Kilo spotted the elevators to the left. He turned and headed straight toward them.
Chapter 62
Bruce Dunn ended the call and pocketed his cell phone.
“Anything new?” Sarah asked.
“The group we sent to Canada looking for Captain Barnhardt was able to contact another hunter on the island. They don’t believe Barnhardt is there this week. I guess they all keep an eye on one another in the wilderness.”
“Does anyone know where he is, then?”
Bruce sat on one of the faux-leather chairs next to Sarah. “We’re making some calls and visits. We should hear something soon.”
The two of them had been using McCann’s room as a place to compare notes since he’d gone to see Amy.
“Considering that we have access to Captain Whiting and now Darius, is it that critical to find Barnhardt?”
Bruce shrugged. “Maybe not. But considering his expertise and other things that Seth has dug up over the past couple of hours — things he just told me about — it might be good to get hold of him.”
“What things?”
He paused. “Six of the nine people who were left on Hartford while docked at Electric Boat, including Paul Cavallaro, reported to Captain Barnhardt at some point earlier in their careers.”
Sarah’s head snapped up. “You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not.”
She thought for a moment. “Was Lee Brody ever on his crew?”
“No,” Bruce told her. “Between talking to Barnhardt and McCann, we should be able to come up with some logical reason why these people decided to help the hijackers. They knew these sailors.”
He looked at the doorway.
“Is McCann still across the hall?”
“I definitely think there’s a romance blooming over there.”
Bruce glanced over at Sarah, trying to gauge her mood. She’d been putting on a great charade of looking relaxed since McCann walked out.
“You really think so?” he asked.
She gave a long and knowing nod. Bruce had been conscious of giving Sarah her space. But she’d appeared focused on what they were doing. And even when he’d been on the phone, he’d watched her stay busy the entire time.
“Are you okay with it?”
She sat back and fiddled with a pen she was using. “I’m very much okay with it. In fact, I believe this is what I needed.”
“What’s that?”
“Seeing Darius genuinely interested in someone else. It makes me feel… feel…”
“Like crap,” he finished for her.
Her blue eyes rounded on him. “Why would you say something like that?”
He shrugged. “Because I’ve been there. I know what you’re going through.”
She seemed at a loss for words, so he decided to reveal a little more of himself for her. “My marriage broke up because my wife became ‘genuinely interested’ in someone else. Unfortunately, that was while we were still married.”
“That’s a problem.”
“It was for me,” he told her.
“Darius and I broke up over a year ago. There’s no reason for me to feel like crap, as you so delicately put it.”
“Have you gone out with anyone else since?”
“No,” she admitted. “I hear rebound relationships are the pits.”
“A year later no longer counts as a rebound.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “Are you speaking from experience again?”
“No. I’m saying that so you’d agree to go out with me.”
She had the most beautiful laugh. Bruce found himself laughing, too. “So what is it? Yes or no?”
“We’re in the middle of a case, Commander Dunn. Don’t you think this isn’t the most appropriate time to plan social engagements?”
“I can wait,” he said honestly. “So long as I know the answer is yes.”
“How about a maybe?”
“I can live with that.” Bruce pushed himself to his feet. “Now, before you change your mind, let me buy you a cup of coffee. I hear this hospital knows how to make the perfect brew. It only sits in the machine for a week at a time.”
“I’m sold.”
He pulled Sarah to her feet. They walked to the door. In the hallway, a shadow moved into one of the rooms some twenty yards down. Bruce looked to where a guard had been posted by the hall leading to the elevator. No one was there.
His cell phone rang in that very moment. He answered it on the first ring.
“Commander Dunn?” a voice said at the other end.
“Speaking.”
“I hear you’ve been looking for me.”
“Who am I speaking with?” Bruce asked, not taking his eyes off the hallway.
“Ramsey Barnhardt.”
It took a split second to stifle his surprise.
“Captain Barnhardt,” he repeated, looking at Sarah. Her interest was immediately piqued, too. “Yes, we have been looking for you, Captain. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything that has been going on with USS Hartford.”
“Yes, I’m very familiar with what’s happening.”
“We need a few minutes of your time, Captain, to sit down and go over some things. We need your expertise, sir.”
“I thought you would. That’s why I’m calling.”
“What’s a good time and place for you?” Bruce asked, knowing he had to jump on the opportunity. “Lieutenant Connelly and I would like to meet you in person, if that’s at all possible.”
“How about now?” the man said from the other end.
“Now?” Bruce repeated for the sake of Sarah knowing what was going on.
She mouthed to him that they should split up. One of them could stay here and the other go to meet Barnhardt.
“Where would you like to meet, sir?” Bruce asked.
“In the hospital parking lot.”
Bruce turned and looked in the direction of the elevators. “You’re here, Captain? Why don’t you come up?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. From what I hear, it’s not too safe on your floor,” Barnhardt told him. “But you and your friends might want to come down and join me. If you get away alive, that is.”
Bruce looked up and down the hall. No security guards, no doctors or nurses. He and Sarah were the only people there.