“I do too. I’m sorry. That’s all I have from Ethan.” It seemed obvious when we played the conversation back that I should have pushed for more, but at the time it was a free flowing discussion, going from one topic to another. There was barely enough time to think on the fly. I was still honing my skills as an interviewer.
“Until he texted you Monday morning?”
I nodded. “Right. I left Saturday evening and there were no more communications from him until Monday morning.”
“Can I see the text he sent?” he requested.
I held up my phone and scrolled through the text messages until I landed on the one from Ethan. I was relieved that it hadn’t evaporated like the emails had.
I passed my phone to AJ. “Here it is, the entire thing.”
I waited while he read it.
“Shit, Syd.”
I tried to interpret his worry. “What? What is it?”
“There’s no way this text came from Ethan Howard.”
Eighteen
“How do you know?” I asked. “What did you hear in that conversation that I didn’t?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think the forensics team is going to agree with me when they examine the evidence.”
“Why?”
Before he could respond, there was a heavy knock, interrupting the answer I needed. Our eyes darted to the door.
“Agent Hart,” someone called from the other side. Another knock followed.
“Hold on,” AJ groaned, hopping off the bed. “I can’t believe this.” He strolled to the door and whipped it open. “What is it, agent?”
“Can you step into the hallway, sir? I have a sensitive message. It’s from the director.” He adjusted the earpiece cord trailing into the collar of his suit.
“You can’t tell me now?” I heard the agitation in AJ’s voice.
“No sir. It’s classified. I need you to step out of the suite.”
“Damn it,” he muttered. He looked over his shoulder at me. “Are you ok with this, Syd?”
I nodded. “It’s all right.” I wanted to hear why he didn’t think Ethan sent the text, but I understood there were pieces of information flying in rapidly. How did we know if the classified intelligence was a break in the case?
“I’ll be right back. Some things can’t be relayed over phones,” he explained. “I’ll be in the hall. That’s it. If you need me I’m right outside.”
“I’ll be fine.” I wanted to sound confident.
I smiled. It seemed as if he finally understood that neither one of us liked the idea of being out of sight from the other. At least while hell was trying to consume us.
I folded my legs beneath me and hit play on the recording again. I listened more intently this round. I wanted to hear what AJ heard. I wanted to know what it was that tipped him off. What didn’t match up with the conversation and the text? How was it so easy for AJ to identify it when he hadn’t met Ethan in person? Why didn’t I notice it Monday morning? It would have saved us both so much fear and pain. It was likely we wouldn’t be here now. We never would have been trapped in the farmhouse.
I studied the text. I listened once more and then I heard it. The one word that should have tipped me off. It was in the text twice. I had two opportunities to see it and change my course of action. I shut the screen on my laptop, irritated with myself.
I looked at the door, waiting for AJ to stroll back through. I wanted to tell him. How long had he been in the hall? I checked the time. It had to have been fifteen minutes. I dressed and dried my hair. The spa robe was comfortable, but if agents were going to walk in and out of the suite, I needed to be presentable.
I chose a pair of soft gray pants and a white tank top from AJ’s bag. I had little to choose from.
I checked the time again. Thirty minutes had passed and AJ was still in the hallway.
I crossed the room. I didn’t like how this felt. I opened the door. One of the agents greeted me.
“Ms. Miller, do you need something?”
“Where is AJ?” I looked from one end of the hall to the other. It was empty.
“Agent Hart is with one of the other agents receiving classified intel,” he answered.
“I thought it was only supposed to take a few minutes,” I questioned.
The agent crossed his hands in front of his waist. “It can take a while. You should wait in the suite.”
I didn’t like his answer. “Where is he exactly?”
“I can’t say, ma’am.”
“Is he on this floor?” The tiny knots started in the lower part of my belly.
“Again, I can’t say.”
“Can you tell me if he’s in the hotel?” I pressured. The prickles under my skin didn’t feel good.
“Why don’t you go back inside?”
I glared at him. “Why don’t you tell me where Agent Hart is?”
AJ wouldn’t have left me here. I knew he wouldn’t. There was a new understanding between us. One that transcended the hijacking. It was bigger than what happened in the farmhouse. I felt it.
“Those are not my instructions.”
“What are your instructions? I want to know. Exactly why can’t you tell me what I need to know? I’d like to see him. Now.”
I looked up when I saw another agent step from the elevator. He was wearing a dark suit like the first agent. Non-descript designs with crisp white shirts and black ties. His earpiece was tucked close to his hairline.
“Do you know where Agent Hart is?” I asked. Maybe he would be more helpful.
“Ma’am, that’s classified.”
“Classified?” My voice rose. “He is supposed to be here. Right here. You were here when he promised me that. I want to know if he has left the hotel. I want to where he is.”
“You need to keep your voice down,” he cautioned. I didn’t like how gruff his response was.
“Why? So the other guests at the Ritz-Carlton don’t know what you’ve done to one of your own agents? Where is he?”
They walked forward, creating a barrier between the hall and me. I was blocked from leaving the suite. I took an involuntary step backward. I was a lot of things, but being brave enough to charge two armed FBI agents wasn’t one of them. They were both twice my size. It pissed me off.
“You need to stay inside the suite, and when Agent Hart is done, you’ll know.”
“Done with what?”
“Stay inside.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not a prisoner. I can leave. I need to get out anyway. I’m low on outfits. There’s a boutique in the lobby.”
Was it possible I could find AJ on my own? I just needed a way out of here so I could start looking.
“You’re not leaving the suite anytime soon,” the first agent informed me.
“Says who?”
But neither was willing to answer my questions. The door was pulled to and I was left with a gaping hole of worry.
Nineteen
As soon as I spun on my heels and faced the empty bed, I noticed AJ’s phone on the side table. Shit. He didn’t have it on him. His drink rested next to it. I picked it up, inhaling the bourbon and melted ice. I had lost count of how many drinks I had consumed since we checked in. None of them seemed to warm or calm me. The buzz of toxic adrenaline still ran through my veins.
I walked to the window and looked out over the river.
I slid the balcony door open and stepped forward. Everything felt damp and humid after the storm. I couldn’t sit on the patio chairs. The cushions were water logged.
“What am I going to do?” I whispered to the river.
How did I know AJ was safe? How did I trust anyone from here on out? How could I have been so stupid not to put two and two together before I drove to Louisiana?
I took another look at the text.
Sydney, this is Ethan Howard. I thought more about our conversation about Cindy. I reached out to a friend we had in common at USC. He said she married after college
and her last name is Harper. Sounds like she might be in a bad situation. I don’t know that he’s a good man. He gave me her last address. Maybe you can reach out to her and help her. Cindy doesn’t deserve something like this.
I blamed the lack of sleep. I blamed the trauma of the kidnapping. I should have seen the glaring clue that Ethan didn’t send that text. He never called her Cindy. It only took AJ one pass to pick up on it.
“Fuck,” I groaned, pressing my elbows into the railing of the balcony.
What I did know is that whoever sent the text knew my mom as Cindy, and they didn’t know much of anything about Ethan Howard’s relationship with her.
I stormed into the suite and flipped open the laptop. I didn’t think twice. I had been crossed. Duped. Endangered. AJ was right. Someone had used my heart against me. And that psycho had led me into a trap.
I clicked on the VPN icon and waited for the private connection to take place. I was going to hunt this bastard down.
It didn’t matter to me anymore if one hack turned into one hundred. I had to unlock the chains I had placed on myself. I needed to be free of ethics and standards. I needed the dark web now.
I wasn’t surprised when the phone number associated with Ethan Howard’s text came back as a burner phone number. I was going to have to dig deeper and discover where the phone had been purchased. But I could do it. It might take a few hours, but it would be a starting point. One location could lead to another. I was going to find him.
Another thirty minutes passed. I ventured through the suite to the door, opening it with a swift tug.
“Where is Agent Hart?” I asked.
“Ma’am, his status hasn’t changed. He is unavailable.”
I didn’t like the answer anymore the second time I received it.
“When will it change?” I pried. “When will he be available?”
“We aren’t able to say.”
“I still need to see him.”
I scowled at him. It was the meanest look I had. I didn’t know that it affected him. He was trained well beyond my level. I might be able to intimidate someone online, but the suit gave him an extra layer of armor I couldn’t break through.
“Will it be tonight?” I pushed it. I needed something. I needed AJ back.
“Agent Hart is serving the Bureau. That’s all you need to know.”
“Serving the Bureau my ass.”
I slammed the door closed before I said something worse I couldn’t take back. It felt good to be the one to shut them out. I knew AJ wanted to be here. He’d rather be here than stuck in a room being interrogated or listening to high-level intel. He had proved that. The words he spoke at the farmhouse were still there.
Because this is where you are, Syd.
I couldn’t shake them. I probably never would. There were the kind of words that healed the divide we faced. Words that bound us together again.
I trudged to my laptop, but felt the rumble in my stomach. I hadn’t eaten a full meal yet. It seemed like something kept us from ordering or picking up food. We had managed coffee and alcohol, but if I was going to work all night I needed something in my stomach.
I picked up the hotel phone and called for room service. I placed an order for AJ. I wanted to believe he could walk through the door at any second.
“Yes, I said two teas,” I repeated to the waitress.
I still remembered how he liked his cheeseburger cooked. And that he needed an extra side of ketchup for his steak fries.
There were so many little things I would always remember. How he swore he could win any Johnny Cash karaoke contest. How he hated musicals and groaned when I watched them. But how he surprised me anyway with tickets to Miss Saigon. How he always lost his socks’ matches and ran around trying to find them before work. How he never missed watching a Carolina basketball game, or believed the team would only win if he sat in the same spot on the sofa. I’d spent so much of my time trying to push those tiny memories away. Forgetting. Erasing them. I tried to do something impossible.
While I waited for room service I dove back into the channel I had set up to track the fake Ethan. I needed a route that would trace the model number on the burner phone. With that I could detect where it had been bought and sold.
Working the net came back to my quickly. Easily. As if I’d never left. I rushed through my first sequence and on to the next. It was as if there was lightning in my fingertips. I didn’t want to lose my momentum when I heard the call for room service through the door.
I grumbled, but answered it.
“I’m assuming you’ll let me eat.” I glared at the agent.
“I should check the cart,” he answered, turning to the waiter. “Please stand back.”
He lifted the tray and waved the curtain under the top shelf to the side. He patted underneath and checked the wheels. He then used an electronic wand with a miniature screen to scan the cart a second time. It beeped and a light blinked green.
“All clear,” he reported.
I moved out of the way to let the waiter steer the cart inside the suite. The smell of the burgers made my stomach rumble more. I was tempted to tear into one now. The waiter placed the silver trays on the dining room table. I handed him a large bill and thanked him. It had to be intimidating to deliver food through armed guards. He deserved something extra.
When the suite was empty again, I unveiled one of the platters. Hotel food had never looked so good. I sat across from AJ’s empty seat wondering what the FBI had done with him.
Twenty
I shot straight up in bed when I heard the door to the bedroom close. I was startled I hadn’t heard it open first or heard footsteps in the suite. I couldn’t shake the panic I felt. I should have been more alert. I should have been prepared.
“AJ.” I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him standing in the doorway. I had fallen asleep in my clothes. I felt the side of my face, imprinted from the crease in the pillow.
“Hey, babe.” He struggled to keep his eyes open and there were blueish circles under his lashes.
“What time is it?” I ran my hands through my hair, trying to wake myself.
“You should go back to sleep. It’s late. Or early, however you want to look at it.”
The lights were on in the room. I don’t know how I fell asleep, other than at some point my body gave up fighting. I wanted to tell him what I had discovered. I had my first lead on the stalker. But the way he looked made me doubt he could process a single thing I said to him. What had the FBI done?
“Are you all right?” I pushed off the mattress to walk toward him. “You look terrible.”
“I’m exhausted. It was a long day. How are you? You got food. I saw the trays in the kitchen.”
“I ordered something for you, but it’s cold now. I could try to call room service.” I doubted they were open, but it was worth an attempt. “Or I could reheat your plate in the oven. We might as well take advantage of that big kitchen.”
“No. No. Don’t go to the trouble.” He shook his head. He turned off one of the lamps. “I’m going to take a shower. I just want to climb in bed and sleep next to you. I want this damn day to be over.”
I was too tired to argue with him about all the things we needed to talk about. We were both in our own hazes. It wasn’t as if we could do anything about it in the middle of the night. I spotted the clock next to the bed. It was 4am.
“I just need five minutes. Just five.” He stumbled to the bathroom. I heard the toilet flush and the water in the shower run.
I trailed behind him, brushing my teeth and splashing my face with water from the sink.
I pulled the tank top over my head and slipped the gray pants off my ankles. I peeled the sheets back on the giant king bed and slid underneath, waiting for AJ. It wasn’t long before the bathroom door opened and he stopped at the end of the bed. He dropped the towel on the floor and climbed in next to me. The king-sized bed felt smaller with him in it.
I rolled towa
rd him, smiling when I heard the rumble from his chest.
“Mmm, you smell good.” I nuzzled against his chest. I traced over his damp skin with my fingers. “Are you really ok?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m ok. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m sorry I was gone all night. I wanted to call but I left my phone in the suite.” He pulled me tighter, wrapping his arms against my back. My body aligned with his. My breasts rubbed against his chest, the friction just enough to make the buds harden with the movement.
“I know. I was about to call you when I found it on the bedside table.”
“Syd.” His palms rounded to my ass. He squeezed, tugging me against his hips. I felt how aroused he was. His pulsing shaft pressed into my belly.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” I feathered my fingers through his hair.
“I just need you,” he answered.
I understood.
We didn’t need more words. He didn’t have to tell me how much he needed this. We would consume each other until we had no strength left.
He lifted my thigh over his leg. I rocked into him, locking our bodies together. He ran his cock through my wetness, coating himself with a deep groan. I held on, knowing the impact of how our bodies fused together. He pushed inside me and I whimpered with how fast it all happened. I was filled and awakened by the way my body adjusted to his. I was heated and burned by his roughness.
AJ’s lips were on my neck. On my nipples. He kissed my throat as he thrust in and out of my center. Our bodies tangled and twisted together. His cock penetrated the depths of my core with solid strokes. Strokes that took my breath away. Strokes that lit my blood on fire.
Our silent fucking was as intense as it was last night when I screamed his name. Maybe our quietness came because we knew there were agents outside the door. Or maybe we were just too tired to moan loudly. I didn’t know. I didn’t care. He was deep inside me and that was all that mattered.
His fingers curled to my ass, locking me in place to his hips. I clenched around him, awed by how powerfully our bodies created this magic. I felt the pulses surge from his cock. He sucked my nipple in his mouth. His teeth clamped down and I hissed, knowing I was about to come. I couldn’t barricade the pleasure from ripping through my limbs.
Shattered Hart: Hart Pursuit Trilogy Book 2 Page 8