Intercepted Risk

by Sidney Bristol

  Kelsey had thought she was so smart, that she had a handle on the situation with Abner, but he’d figured her out. She’d been captured and held against her will. When Logan and his guys rescued her, she’d been fueled by rage to the point she hadn’t realized how that experience had changed her.

  She’d gone to a bar exactly once on her own, met a guy, but couldn’t bring herself to do more than flirt. Toward the end of the evening, even that had been too much, and she’d gone home alone.

  Logan was the last man she needed in her life, but for some damn reason he was the only thing she wanted. Despite his ability to push all her buttons, he made her feel safe. And that was the kicker that got her every time.

  The room was almost full, with people milling around trying to find seats where they could. She caught sight of the other girls. Diha even turned her head and met Kelsey’s gaze with a raised eyebrow.

  Great.

  Now Kelsey would have to fend off questions about why she was sitting with Logan. She hadn’t admitted her crush to anyone. Not one of the girls. They’d have to be blind to not see it. Chances were they were talking behind her back, waiting for her to come clean in her own time.

  Thinking about this close circle of girl friends warmed her. She’d never had this before, and she didn’t want to give them up.

  She sank down a bit more, willing herself to be invisible.

  Logan was forgetting one very important fact.

  He had to get the job to go undercover, and she didn’t see him applying for a job well. He was too used to giving orders for that.

  Zora breezed into the room. Alone, surprisingly. These days it seemed like Tucker was her constant shadow and no one could tell her why. Felecia had said her husband had told her something about Zora and Tucker having worked together in the past, but there weren’t more details.

  “Do you think we’ll hear anything we don’t already know?” Logan asked her, his voice pitched low for her ears alone.

  She jumped, startled by the question when she’d been lost in her own thoughts.

  “If we’re invited, I can’t see them saying too much.”

  Logan grimace and straightened.

  It was a point of irritation that after all these months they still didn’t know what the task force was really for. They did these jobs, working toward a goal they couldn’t identify. The fact that Zora was including them meant they wouldn’t be discussing the far-reaching goals of the task force.

  “Good morning, let’s get started,” Zora said, addressing the room.

  Those gathered hushed immediately.

  “On to today’s important business.” Zora gestured at a screen. A dozen faces appeared, some old, some young. Men and women. “We are putting all active investigations on hold and focusing every division of the task force on this one front. Thanks to intel we have decrypted from the hacker Valentino’s servers, we are aware of an impending threat on Congress by these people.”

  Kelsey schooled her face into a mask of serenity.

  It wasn’t Congress or even the Senate that was under attack. Just one man.

  John Dixon.

  But this was where their trap for the mole began.

  Zora launched into a detailed overview, mainly focused on those coming into the country, what their connections were, and assigning them to different divisions to monitor and hopefully locate the people before an attack happened.

  The other differences in Zora’s presentation were minimal. There was nothing about their undercover efforts, but Kelsey expected that. Often the only people who knew what the Aegis boys were up to were those absolutely necessary to the job and no others.

  “To reiterate,” Zora said.

  Kelsey leaned back in her chair.

  Zora had said everything interesting. At this point, she’d repeat herself to save having to answer some questions.

  Finally Zora uttered the words, “Thank you all for coming.”

  Before Kelsey could leap to her feet, Logan turned toward her again. His dark gaze made her pause in the act of standing.

  “Best of luck,” he said.

  “Thanks, but I don’t need luck. I’m just good at my job.” She smiled and stood.

  He could be the badass hero, but when it came to undercover work, this was what she did. Not him. This was her time to shine and pull her weight.

  Felecia and Diha waited to the left of the doors leading out of the room, both watching her with wide eyes.

  “Hey,” Kelsey said a little too brightly. “You guys ready to go? Because I am starving.”

  “I am!” Cat called out from the hall.

  Kelsey laughed, waved at one of the CIA agents who caught her eye. “I can always count on you, Cat. Hi, Nadine.”

  Nadine Baker was one of the two most senior CIA agents on the task force. She had a petite, grandmotherly appearance with her silver bob and old fashioned skirt suit. Kelsey admired the woman. She’d not only worked in the CIA for decades, she seemed to have thrived, earned the respect of her peers and was still going despite being at or past retirement.

  “You girls off to cause problems?” Nadine asked.

  “Yes. The worst kind.” Kelsey waited for Nadine to reach her and fold her into a hug.

  Nadine was one of those people that had surprised Kelsey. Nadine could be a ruthless bloodhound when she was on the hunt for something. But the rest of the time? She was what Kelsey would have wanted in a grandmother if she’d ever known hers. Warm. Affectionate.

  The girls said their goodbyes to Nadine while Logan slunk off in the other direction.

  Kelsey’s smile remained firmly in place as they made their way out of the building and down to the parking garage. Thankfully Diha had already spoken up about driving them so they were saved from another harrowing experience of Felecia’s driving.

  The moment the car doors shut, Kelsey knew her reprieve was over.

  “What the what?” Felecia turned to look at Kelsey in the back seat with Cat. “What was going on in there?”

  Cat shimmied in her seat. “What’d I miss?”

  “Logan and Kelsey were having words.” Diha glanced back at her in the rearview mirror.

  “It wasn’t a big deal.” Kelsey waved her hand. “Logan just wanted to make sure we can play in the same sandbox and be nice.”

  Felecia’s face scrunched up. “I still don’t understand why you two clash so much.”

  “I don’t either,” Diha said.

  Cat leaned against the door. “Strong personalities. Kind of like how if you put two positive magnets together they’ll push apart? That’s the two of you.”

  “He just creates problems. Every time, I swear. There was no reason to pull me aside. That creates an issue to talk about and now it’s something that should have never been.” Kelsey slumped down in the seat. “Next topic? Are we ready to talk about Miles yet?”

  Diha groaned. “God, not yet.”

  Felecia bounced in her seat. “Your parents have really taken to him.”

  “I know.” Diha pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I’m scared of wanting this to work.”

  Kelsey waved her hand. “Shut up. Miles is crazy about you.”

  “By the way.” Cat leaned forward between the seats. “Tell your parents thanks again for inviting all of us over? That was really nice.”

  Diha smiled. “We loved having everyone over for Thanksgiving.”

  Kelsey couldn’t help but smile, too.

  Holidays were always an awkward affair for her. Her parents had divorced, remarried and passed away. Which left her with an odd assortment of half-siblings and step parents she’d never really gotten to know. They weren’t people she had close relationships with and were at the bottom of her list to visit for holidays. She’d fully expected to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at her apartment or window shopping.

  Instead, Diha and her family had extended the offer to all those without a home to join them. Kelsey hadn’t known what to expect, but it hadn’t been
a day full of smiles and laughter, all while eating the most delicious food. Seriously, turkey curry? Who’d have thought that would be as good as it was?

  Diha parked outside the small restaurant they’d all fallen in love with. A month ago they’d started going out every other week. Having coworkers and a routine like this was still a novel concept to Kelsey. Truth be told, it was good for her.

  These women were good for her. She’d be grateful for this chance to work with the task force if for nothing else than she’d met them. For the first time in her adult life, she had a group of girl friends.

  When she left, she’d miss this.

  “Are you sure Logan isn’t into you?” Felecia asked after their drink order had been taken.

  “What?” Kelsey blinked across the table.

  God, part of her wanted that to be true. But she knew from experience that attraction wasn’t the secret key to making everything work out.

  “I was wondering that, too.” Cat propped her chin on her fist.

  Kelsey turned her head to look at Diha. If anyone was reasonable, it would be her. “Seriously?”

  Logan? Into her? God, Kelsey had to be a much better actress than she thought if the girls hadn’t seen straight through her.

  Diha sighed dramatically. “Don’t look at me. We’ve all wondered it.”

  “You are all crazy.” Kelsey ripped open the paper wrapper for the straw. She had to do something with her hands.

  Was it possible the girls knew?

  She hadn’t shared her attraction with them for the simple reason that emotions made for a complicated work environment. What they did was already complex enough without her throwing an emotional, unsteady bomb into the mix.

  But maybe they had a point?

  Maybe all this pent up lust was bad for her.

  She still wasn’t going to do anything about it.

  Nope.

  Not her.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

  MONDAY. UNKNOWN.

  Skilton picked up the steaming mug. It was too hot to drink, but just the smell of the fresh brew was enough to make his mind start spinning. They’d had a few road bumps lately, but this? This was coming together.

  He could lay a lot of the latest blunders at the feet of Senator John Dixon. The man had taken everything Skilton offered, pissed on it, then left. And to think, the man had been nothing when Skilton found him. Just a backwater politician from a good family with no ability to find his way out of a paper bag. John had charisma and a good face. Exactly the sort of thing Skilton wanted in a figurehead. Along the way, however, John had gotten greedy.

  The senator was about to learn a hard lesson about loyalty and paying your dues.

  Skilton was going to enjoy this. It had been quite some time since he’d been out in the field himself, but it was time.

  Their people had to know that they couldn’t take the bounty of being part of this organization and just leave. It didn’t work that way.

  Once you were in, you never left.

  Ever.

  The ones like the senator? They learned the lesson as they lost everything.

  TUESDAY. TASK FORCE Headquarters. Washington, DC.

  Logan tossed the basketball at Jamie, then swiped the back of his hand across his brow. Logan had come to the gym to burn off a little of the lingering frustration before his interview with Senator Dixon’s staff. He’d found the rest of his team had the same idea.

  “I’m done, guys.” Jamie let his head hang back as he sucked down air. He tossed the ball from hand to hand.

  Harper barked a laugh. “Getting a little soggy around the middle, bro.”

  “Fuck you,” Jamie got out between breaths.

  Harper smacked Jamie’s stomach loud enough the pop reverberated through the gymnasium in the basement of the building. The basketball hit the floor and bounced away.

  “Ow, what the hell?” Jamie shoved Harper away.

  “Your girlfriend’s feeding you too well, man.”

  Jamie merely spread his arms. “Yeah, well, at least I have a girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend?” Harper snorted and thumbed over his shoulder. “You’re more married than Evan.”

  Evan spared an annoyed glance at Harper, but didn’t wade into the exchange. There wasn’t any point to it. Harper only harassed his friends. He’d be the first one to their defense if anyone else tried the same lines. Lately it seemed a little different. More tense..

  “Harper.” Tucker’s voice boomed in the enclosed space.

  The two men paused their banter and glanced at Tucker.

  “Cut it out,” he said with a glare.

  Harper held up his hands and took a step back.

  Logan glanced between the four. He hadn’t seen much of them in the last week, what with the holiday and working out details with Zora. There was some tension in the air, but he didn’t know how to deal with it or where it had come from.

  Harper’s gaze swung toward Logan. “Where were you all weekend?”

  “Working.” Logan grabbed his water bottle and took a long pull.

  “You should have stopped by for some turkey curry leftovers. It sounds weird as hell, but Diha’s family made it work. That shit was amazing. Do you ever do anything besides work?” Harper flopped down on the bench and looked up at Logan.

  “Sure, it just doesn’t include your lame ass.”

  Jamie laughed. “Oh, burn.”

  “Haa. Haa.” One side of Harper’s mouth screwed up into a lopsided grin.

  It had taken months for Logan to feel Harper out in the beginning. Now, Logan appreciated Harper’s peculiar way of joking around. He got to the matter, lancing wounds with humor in a way Logan would never be able to. He’d thought no one could get under his skin like Harper until he met Kelsey. She took things to a whole other level.

  Harper dropped the smiling and laughing routine in an abrupt about-face. “What’s up, man? You seem a little stressed.”

  Jamie sank onto the bench with Harper. “Kelsey ruffling your feathers again, TL?”

  Logan grimaced.

  “Oh, man.” Harper’s grin was back. “She’s a firecracker, that one.”

  Logan bit the inside of his mouth to keep his thoughts to himself.

  Kelsey was a pain in his ass.

  What was it with her?

  All he’d wanted to do was clear the air between them, ensure they could go into this job with the right mindset. Instead, she’d turned it around. Somehow all of this was his fault,, and he had no idea how that’d happened.

  As of today, Logan was going to do everything in his power to stay away from Kelsey Young. He couldn’t shake his attraction to her, but he didn’t have to act on it. Maybe if they stayed in their own corners, far apart, they could get their work done in peace.

  Some people just weren’t made to be together. Not that he’d had intentions of anything happening between himself and Kelsey. It would be unprofessional.

  “You know what I want?” Harper asked.

  Jamie squinted at the other man. “Who are you talking to?”

  “I want more of Nadine’s brownies.”

  “Oh, my God,” Evan groaned.

  Jamie arched a brow. “That good?”

  Tucker shook his head. “You have no idea.”

  “You were there, too?” Jamie’s eyes widened.

  Tucker stared back at Jamie. “What?”

  “Yeah, he was there Thursday. Only people not there were you and TL here.” Harper thumbed at Logan.

  “What do you think she put in the brownies to make them so good?” Evan asked.

  “Crack,” Harper replied.

  That answer was met with chuckles.

  Nadine Baker.

  She hadn’t yet been cleared from their suspect list for the mole. Logan didn’t think the grandmotherly CIA agent was the culprit, but she also couldn’t be ruled out. It made for a difficult team atmosphere when they couldn’t even trust the lady who brought brownies to dinne
r.

  “When’s everyone going for their interview?” Evan asked, bringing them all around to the big thing on their list today.

  “I’m up first.” Logan checked his watch. “I’ve got about two hours. I should shower and head over there.”

  “Good luck getting the job, man.” Harper held up his hand.

  Logan slapped palms with the other man. “You, too.”

  With luck, a few of them would get on the senator’s security detail. Logan doubted they’d all make the cut. There weren’t that many openings, if Zora was correct.

  They still didn’t know why Senator Dixon was opting to hire his own rather than use the Secret Service. It was a question they couldn’t answer without showing their hand, and Zora wasn’t going to allow them to do it. The whole thing was especially odd considering Dixon wasn’t a name most people would have heard of. Senator Dixon wasn’t a camera hog, he didn’t stand for anything controversial. He blended into the backdrop of Washington.

  Logan mulled that over while he showered and dressed for the interview.

  He couldn’t actually recall his last job interview.

  People didn’t apply to Aegis Group. Aegis Group recruited who they wanted. Before that, Logan had been in the SEALs. He hoped their mock interview sessions preparing for this gig were all he needed to land a spot on the senator’s team.

  Half an hour until his appointment, Logan climbed the stairs to the Senate Office Building on Constitution Avenue north of the Capitol building. He paused to soak in his surroundings and the people. Another person might feel awe in his shoes. Instead, the unease that had been a constant presence in the back of his mind grew.

  He was walking into something they didn’t fully understand. Hopefully this didn’t get anyone killed.

  Logan passed through security. He took his time, chatting with building security and shaking a few hands before he headed toward Senator Dixon’s offices.

  Diha had briefed him on every nook and cranny not covered by cameras. Those would be vital to their work going forward. If possible, they didn’t want Dixon to ever know he’d been in danger. The fewer people who knew about the Task Force, the better.