Rule Breaker (Project ROOT Book 1)

by Michele, Ryan

  “Not a problem.” He snorted.

  “Okay, got it.” She hit enter a couple times before pointing to the screen. “This is the tooth before it was modified. A Dr. Fredrick Macks placed this one in Anthony James’ mouth.”

  Macks…Macks, why did his name sound familiar to Asher? He tapped his chin as he began to pace again. “Does it say in what city he placed the tooth?”

  “Washington, DC, about six weeks ago.” She frowned. “He put them in specifically for this mission?”

  It’d seem so. “Can you find anything else?”

  “I’m sure if I trace the serial numbers, they’ll come back on the same day with the same doctor.” She grabbed one of the other manila envelopes and retrieved the tooth.

  “So, Barclay sends, or requests, Dr. Macks to assist with placing fake teeth into mouths of Barclay agents.” The pieces of the puzzle were laid out before him, but none were fitting together. “He should have known what he was putting in their mouths. He should have had questions.”

  “Unless he was working for Lincoln and Barclay.” She arched a brow. “Think about it. Lincoln uses the one person he’s friends with. Pays him off, and boom, all the major players in his team get these teeth. If they question it, maybe they’re told it’s for an emergency only or a transmitter. Maybe only someone like James would have known the truth.”

  “This is good.” Asher pointed at the screen. “Really good. We’ll have to question the doctor.”

  “Can’t,” Rae stated. “The minute you get near him, Lincoln will know.”

  “Shit.” He fisted his hands. “Fine. Get me the reports for the implants so I can add them to the evidence we have.”

  “You got it.”

  He crossed the room to her. “Thank you. Good thinking.” He bent and placed a kiss on her lips. “Later, we’ll blow off a little steam.” He kissed her again.

  “Cocky is going to be added to the things I call you.” She smirked, then drew his bottom lip between her teeth.

  He growled. “You’re dangerous. I like it.”

  She placed her hand to his chest. “Don’t be too hard on O’Malley.”

  He reared back. “What?”

  “You keep everything to yourself. Protecting those you care about. Keeping them safe. It’s obvious you made this place for everyone. Not just for the job, but everything associated with it.” She stood. “Asher, he’s scared. An asshole, maybe. But there’s more to him.”

  “Are you a peacemaker now?” He cocked a brow and covered her hand with his.

  “No. Yesterday…”

  “I went caveman.” He nodded. “Sorry. I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

  “I don’t need promises.”

  “So, what would you advise?” He wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to him. The last few days had been filled with one damn thing or another, never giving him a chance to rest or catch his breath.

  This morning, when he got up, he realized how much of his life he’d given his team and never taken a bit of luxury for himself. If he were honest, he’d been jealous of O’Malley and Hanover. Both of those bastards had someone to go home to, and yet, they both hid. They didn’t want anyone to know about their relationships. Well, that shit would stop.

  “Share.”

  The answer was so simple. “Want to start with each other?”

  “You already know some of my background, but not all of it. My parents are all-American. My mom was the PTA president. She made cupcakes every year for me and my siblings’ birthdays and would bring them for our class. She’d coordinate parties for the holidays. Halloween. Christmas. Valentines. Everyone waited for their invitations. My dad practiced medicine in a clinic, so we had money, but we were never rich. We lived modestly. I went to school on a scholarship and followed in his footsteps.”

  “You must have been pretty popular in school.” He could picture her dressed up for her parties, enjoying the evening with her friends. “I bet your mom made your costumes, too.”

  She blushed and a pulse of yearning flowed through him. “She did. At the time, I thought it was super cool. My mom could create anything, and I think she even made a few party dresses for our neighbors. Little did I know it was to cut costs. She was one of those coupon shoppers. Could buy four-hundred-dollars’ worth of food, and only spend sixty bucks for it.”

  He caught a hint of sorrow in her voice and, she used was a lot. “Where is your mom and dad now?”

  “Oh, home,” she laughed. “She’s continued the party tradition with my brother and sister.”

  “What about your brother and sister?” He inched her closer to the stools behind them. “I know your brother is military. What about your sister?” He sat, drawing her between his legs.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “She’s a cheerleader for Utah State. How about you?”

  He shrugged. “My team is my family.” How much did he tell her? “McNamara is my uncle.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. No one knows, though.” When he set up R.O.O.T. with his uncle, they knew the funding and who issued the orders would have to be kept a secret. The minute the media got their hands of the information, his team would no longer exist. The government would take it away from them.

  “Wow. I can see where you get the asshole part of your personality.”

  He cuffed her ass and chuckled. “Behave.”

  “It’s true.” She sank into his embrace. “I never saw you being a kid kind of guy.”

  “I love them.” He shrugged, running his thumb across the expanse of her stomach. The idea of her carrying his child felt right. Though, he knew the chances were slim, the thought of it coming true settled him. Gave him a sense of purpose, more than just being part of the group.

  “I could tell when you were holding Rhett. He chilled out with you.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I freaked the fuck out when shit went down.” He dropped his head forward and gave a quick shake. “Holding Gabby in my arms, knowing if I pulled too tightly or moved wrong, she could bleed out, took ten years off my life. And you…fuck. You were cool. So at ease. You slipped into this persona I was in awe of.”

  “It’s part of my job. Kind of like watching you take over the scene in Colombia. It’s your job.”

  True. “We’re only sent out on missions like this when someone thinks there could be an issue. Someone went specifically to my uncle and told him to look into it.”

  “It’s beginning to seem they had a point.”

  They did. He pulled her down for another kiss when his comm went off. He pushed the button on his earpiece. “What?”

  “There’s been some activity,” Hanover said.

  “I’ll be right there.” He pushed the button again, then glanced up at Rae. “I’ve gotta run.”

  “Go. Think about what I told you.” She stepped away from him and headed back to her station.

  “I will. See you for dinner. Take your meds if you need them.” He headed out the door. As soon as he was clear of the lab, he hit the comm again. “What’s going on?”

  He strode down the hall to the elevator and stepped inside the waiting car. Pressing the button, he watched the numbers tick down. A flurry of noise hit him square in the chest when the doors opened.

  “Glad you could make it. CCTV caught one of Lincoln’s buddies going in and out of a building in Bogotá.”

  Not out of the ordinary, yet he saw the stress marring Hanover’s face. “What’s the deal?”

  He blew out a breath. “I tried to figure out who the building belongs to. It’s a maze of fucking shell companies. It’s owned by a company in Miami which is owned by a company in Frankfurt and so on. It’s a cluster fuck.”

  “Okay, we’ll start with the one in Miami first. What is their purpose?” The live feed from the city played out on the seventy-two-inch monitor along the north facing wall. Sure enough, three men were coming and going from the building.

  “It’s supposed to be a PR
firm, but I can’t find employees or even a record of them doing business. However, they bring in money on the regular. Go figure.” They were using the company to wash ill begotten monies, then sending it out. Why, though, still boggled his mind.

  “What about the other companies?” They had to find the key to cracking the whole situation. Lincoln wouldn’t just show up to a scene of a massacre without cause.

  “Same. One also works in cutting edge drug tech. It looks pretty legit. They also get a small budget from the government. Lincoln helped push the bill through.” Hanover pulled up the screen to show him the different articles then financial statements from the company.

  “What was the cartel in Puerto Nariño dealing?”

  “Cocaine. Nothing about Lincoln screams illegal drugs, though,” Hanover added.

  “What about the land?”

  “There are a few poppy fields. The cartel pretty much ran the area and sold the poppy to the highest bidder.”

  “There ya go. Poppy is highly sought after. In the Middle East, people pay top dollar for an ounce.” He’d come to realize the more people could farm, cultivate, and distribute poppy seeds, the more money they could make. “Can we break down the drug he’s manufacturing?”

  “Not without getting our hands on some.”

  Asher frowned. “I’ll see what I can do.” If they could figure out what tied this cluster fuck together, they could go after Lincoln himself. Until then, they had to watch and gather evidence and hope, if push came to shove, whatever they found, stuck.

  “Incoming,” O’Malley shouted. “Lincoln is actively sending text messages to a demo crew.” Thank fuck his uncle had been able to sneak a clone to Lincoln’s phone. How he did it, Asher didn’t want to know right now. Later, when it mattered, he’d ask the questions. Until then, he’d thank the man for a little assistance.

  “A what?” Asher narrowed his eyes as he stomped to the other station, all the while keeping the downtown portion of Bogotá in his periphery.

  “Whoever he’s calling is using a burner phone. There’s no information on it, but Lincoln is contracting them to implode one of his buildings. Soon.”

  “How soon?”

  “Three days.” He pointed to the screen. “That building.”

  “Not coincidental at all,” Asher muttered. “We need to get a team down there. We have to find out what’s in the building and save it before it can be destroyed.”

  “I’ll take Callahan and Schoell with me. We’ll intercept at the site, and hopefully bring back the evidence we need to take down this son of a bitch.”

  He grunted in agreement. “Hey, about earlier—” he said to O’Malley.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re a sensitive asshole. I get it,” O’Malley replied. “I didn’t realize, neither did you. We’re good.”

  He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks. You should take my advice, too. Get Ginger and bring her here. Show her what you do. Don’t fuck up your marriage because you think no one wants them around.”

  “I’ll think on it,” Jake stated, pushing away from his station. “What about you and Rae?”

  “We’re okay.”

  “You ready for a kid?”

  He laughed. “It was one time. She isn’t pregnant. I swear to God, everyone but us is concerned.” Nevertheless, the idea didn’t send him running. They’d be careful from now on and come what may.

  “It’s the first time we’ve had something juicy to chew on for a while.” He clapped Asher on the shoulder. “Things were getting a little fucking boring around here.”

  What-the-fuck-ever. They were constantly on the go the last few months. The only difference between the others and this one? The status and the fact a woman and a man had been caught in the cross hairs of a horrible situation.

  “Be ready to leave in an hour.”

  “What? No sarcastic comeback? Wow, Rae really is taming your ass. Or, it’s the fact you’ve finally gotten laid.” Laughter lit his friend’s gaze. The asshole.

  “Yeah, yeah. Get the hell out of here, before I reconsider kicking your ass.”

  O’Malley saluted him. “Roger that.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  O’Malley, Callahan, and Schoell caught a C130J-Hercules loaded with a Blackhawk for their mission to Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. They’d unload the hawk then wait for night to fall before they made the trip in the bird to an empty field approximately five klicks from the building Lincoln targeted for demolition.

  O’Malley kept in contact, and it had been decided they would leave the army base in Puerto Rico at nine p.m. O’Malley was fucking giddy as hell, claiming luck was on their side. Weather reports stated heavy clouds during the night, which meant any light from the moon would be blocked.

  He reminded the team again this mission, for now, was a simple recon of the building. They all knew, though, it could go to shit at a moment’s notice. His team was prepared and extremely well-armed. Schoell had loaded enough weapons for an invasion.

  His gaze swung to the clocks on the wall of C&C. Each of the ten timekeepers represented a mission currently underway with the correct time for the time zone they were in. Under each clock, an LCD readout showed the mission’s name. O’Malley had requested to name this mission JWB, which stood for John Wilkes Booth. He chuckled. O’Malley was seriously fucked in the head with assigning names.

  His gaze moved to Hanover, who sat at a desk in front of the massive dead center. It was where the mission would play out once they went live. Hanover was still gathering evidence and monitoring the building while downing copious amounts of coffee.

  “Hanover,” he called out.

  “Yeah, boss,” the team’s sniper answered, his focus never leaving the monitor in front of him.

  “Go grab a smoke, a meal, and a nap. We’ve got an hour before wheels up and four hours before they are on the ground,” he said firmly, letting his sniper know it was an order and not a request. “Murray’s on his way down. He’ll cover.”

  “Trying to give up smoking, boss.” It didn’t go unnoticed Hanover was jumpy as fuck. His leg bounced a mile a minute.

  “You picked a bad fucking time to try.”

  “Yeah.” Hanover rubbed a hand through his hair. “When’s a good time in our line of work, though?” He pushed away from his desk and stood. “You planning to do the same?”

  “Yeah. I got dinner plans with Doc.”

  Both knew being left behind on missions sucked balls. Nervous energy built up slowly, then heightened to almost nonstop adrenaline released into the bloodstream with no outlet. At least, while on the mission, he had opportunity to release the buildup with training and mission work. Being stuck at command, his options were limited. Hanover would sneak out and go to his lover. Before Rae, he’d troll a bar, find a willing woman, and pound the shit out of her in some dive hotel.

  “She’s meeting you at the chow hall?” Hanover quirked a brow.

  “Yeah.” He reached up, pulling the headset off he used while in C&C.

  “Can I offer some advice?”

  “Uh, sure?” he replied as the massive glass doors slid open.

  “Get her onto the family floor as soon as you can,” Hanover told him as he pushed the button for the elevator.

  He was going to regret it, he knew it, but he had to know the reason why Hanover suggested the move.

  “Why?”

  “Soundproof walls are on the family floor. Not on our floor. I don’t care or anything, but she does scream real sweet like when she comes,” he declared like it was not a big deal.

  “What the fuck, Hanover. Are you for fucking real?” he snarled just as the elevator dinged, the doors opening. They both stepped in and he turned on Hanover, getting in his face. Even knowing his sniper’s sexual orientation, it pissed him the fuck off that he heard Rae during such a moment. “You better not say a word to her, asshole.”

  Ever willing to push his buttons, Hanover continued, “What would I say? I’m not sure wha
t was more disturbing, hearing the bed banging against the wall at a breakneck pace, her screaming, or you grunting like a fucking bear.”

  “I think I want to fucking kill you,” he spat out, glaring at his teammate.

  “Seems to be going around. Did ya think none of us noticed O’Malley’s nose. We did.” Hanover patted him on the shoulder. “Relax. I got no fucking filter like the rest of us, but I’d never embarrass Doc. She’s good people.”

  Hanover didn’t ask about the fight with O’Malley, he didn’t expect him to. It wasn’t how they worked. He knew when either Asher or O’Malley were ready to spill the beans, they would. It’s how they rolled.

  Once the elevator stopped, they stepped out and went their separate ways. They’d meet back in C&C in a couple hours. Spotting Rae already at a table waiting, he headed to her.

  “Hey.” Her voice had been low, shy even. He knew she was still trying to get used to her place on base and in his life.

  It would be another conversation they needed to have.

  “What, no kiss?” he teased. “You don’t see me for a couple of hours, baby, I expect a kiss when we see each other again.”

  “Asher—”

  “It’s not negotiable.” The husky quality of her voice had his dick pulsing with need. Wasn’t going to happen now. He needed to remain focused. After the mission, when he knew his team was safe and heading back to Puerto Rico, her pussy was his. Fuck, he could feel pre-cum pooling at the top of his dick just thinking about later. Might be a good idea to forewarn her.

  Laying his hand on her neck, he pulled her closer as he leaned down, kissing her. She was pliant in his arms, her blunt tip nails digging into his chest. Wanting her to know exactly how hot she got him, he rubbed his erection against her belly. She gasped and he slipped his tongue past her lips. Nothing existed around them. His entire focus was centered on feasting on her lips.

  Knowing he only had so much time with her, he released her, but kept a tight grip on her neck. With trembling fingers, she touched at her now swollen lips in wonder. If they were in either of their rooms, he would have laid her out on the table and had his way with her.