Deadly Alliances

by Candle Sutton

  “Hey yourself. Haven’t seen you out here for a while.”

  “Family’s been keeping me pretty busy.” Time to divert his attention. “Did you get some good shots tonight?”

  He lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. “Nothing special, but I just uploaded some from the other night and there are a few that show a lot of promise. I was thinking I’d print them off tomorrow morning.”

  “You should bring them with you sometime. I’d like to see them.” It’d provide some good, solid confirmation that he was who he claimed to be.

  “Sure. Maybe over a pizza tomorrow night?”

  Whoa. He must’ve misunderstood. Well, she’d set the record straight right now.

  Or maybe she should say yes.

  She could get to know him better, cross him off her suspect list once and for all. And once he was no longer a suspect, well, with their common ground, he could become a really good friend.

  “Unless of course your boyfriend has a problem with it.”

  “Boyfriend?” It took her a minute to make the connection, but when she did, she chuckled. “You mean Branden? He’s just an old friend, so it doesn’t matter what he’d think. But I don’t know what my family has planned for tomorrow.”

  Even though she wasn’t technically on duty, instinct had her scanning the area.

  The man and dog had traveled much further down the beach and the family was drawing near to one of the motels. The only people remaining in the area were the volleyball players, whom she suspected would be packing up soon, and Nate.

  “Okay, okay, I get it.” He held up his hands and grinned. “But you can say no. You don’t have to make excuses.”

  She’d hurt him.

  Oh, he tried to hide it behind a smile, but she’d caught the flicker in his eyes. Not to mention that his teasing sounded forced.

  “No, it’s not that at all. Really.” There had to be a way to make him understand without revealing the truth. “My family has some, um, unusual circumstances. Getting away isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

  “You manage to make it out here almost every night.”

  “For a brief window of time. When someone else takes over the responsibility of watching out for my brother.”

  “What, like babysitting him? I thought you said he was older…” He smacked his forehead. “He’s disabled, isn’t he? Man, I’m a jerk.”

  “You couldn’t have known.” Besides, she was the jerk for letting him believe the lie. She hated being a party to half-truths, even when it was necessary.

  “So you’re his primary caregiver? No one can fill in for you to take a night off?”

  “Evening is seriously the worst time for me to get away.”

  “Okay, how about lunch? I promise I’m not an axe murderer or anything.”

  She laughed. “Because that would’ve been my first thought.”

  “You never can tell these days. So is that a yes?”

  Why was he being so persistent?

  Could he be the shooter? Maybe she’d accidentally said something that had raised his suspicions.

  Then again, why would an assassin waste time flirting with a jogger when he should be out targeting his prey? Especially considering his previous failed attempt.

  Unless he’d seen her that night. Or heard her voice and recognized it.

  No, if that were the case, he’d simply lay low and try to follow her back to the hotel.

  “You still there?”

  She blinked him into focus. “Sorry. Just running through tomorrow’s schedule to see if I can get away.”

  Part of her really wanted to say yes.

  She could justify it by saying it was to eliminate her suspicions of him, but the bottom line was that he was good company. More than that, he understood her in a way no one else did.

  Taking an hour off wouldn’t be a problem; everyone else on her team had used some of their free time to explore the town. And Alex had already made it clear how she felt about the idea.

  “Look out!”

  She whipped around. A volleyball filled her vision. She wrenched left.

  The world tilted. She tried to regain her balance, failed, felt herself falling backward.

  Nate’s hand closed over the still tender gunshot wound. Clamping the inside of her lip between her teeth, she swallowed the cry that clogged her throat.

  The cry almost broke free as he eased her back to her feet.

  Pain blazed through her arm. Tears pricked her eyes and she fought to hold them back.

  She would not cry.

  Nate had only wanted to help and he’d tried to be gentle; there was no way he could’ve known that even a pillow would hurt right now.

  A shaggy-haired guy jogged over, his cheeks rivaling the fiery sun as it lowered into the ocean. “Sorry ‘bout that. You okay?”

  She pasted on a smile. “Fine. Thanks for the heads-up.”

  The guy retrieved the ball. “I didn’t mean to smash it so hard. Sorry.”

  He jogged back to where his friends stood laughing. One of the guys shook his head. “Dude, you have got to find a better way to meet chicks.”

  He appeared to ignore the comment. “It’s dark. Let’s head out.”

  A dull ache replaced the burning and she gingerly felt her arm. If she had to guess, she’d say the wound was bleeding again.

  Great. Now she’d have to ask Alex or Reilly to look at the wound to make sure more damage hadn’t been done. Worse, she’d have no choice but to sit through the lecture that would accompany changing the bandage.

  “You okay?” Nate’s words broke through the pain clouding her mind.

  She’d almost forgotten he was there. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for helping.”

  “Did I hurt you?” Concern darkened the eyes scanning her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

  “It wasn’t you. Really. I scraped this arm the other day and it’s still pretty sore.” Dropping her hand, she concentrated on keeping the pain off her face as she moved her arm. “See, better already.”

  Shafts of pain shot up her arm. She stilled. Okay, so moving obviously wasn’t her smartest plan.

  “You call that better, huh? I’d hate to see your definition of worse.”

  “It’ll be fine.” Eventually.

  “If you say so. But now I definitely owe you lunch. What do you say?”

  All she wanted was to get back to the hotel and pop a handful of painkillers. Or break down for a good cry.

  Maybe both.

  She had to get rid of Nate quickly. “I don’t know.”

  The pain subsided to a pertinacious throbbing that hurt her entire arm. Dang. Hopefully it wasn’t as bad as it felt or Alex would send her to the ER.

  Wait – had Nate said something?

  The expectant gaze locked on her said he had. But what?

  Admitting she hadn’t heard him might clue him in to the depth of her pain.

  Given their previous conversation, she could probably guess what he’d asked. “I don’t think so.”

  A smile split his face. “Great! Then they shouldn’t mind if I steal you for an hour or two, right?”

  Whoa, whoa, whoa! What’d just happened?

  “How ‘bout if I meet you at the pizza place by that big motel, do you know which one I’m talking about?”

  Darn it. He must’ve asked if she had other plans for tomorrow, not if she thought she could make it. That’s what she got for assuming. “Yes–”

  “Good. 1:30 work for you?”

  Not good.

  Now to get herself out of this mess. “Just a sec. I think we’re on two separate pages here.”

  His smile slipped. “Uh, what do you mean?”

  The excitement and hope she’d seen in his face evaporated and his eyes held the sadness of one who’d been let down many times before. Why did she feel like she was kicking a cowering child?

  “I can’t just…”

  What she couldn’t do was say no.

&nb
sp; A sigh slipped out. “I’ll have to check.”

  “Sounds reasonable. If you aren’t there by 1:45, I’ll know you couldn’t get away.”

  “I’ll try. That’s all I can promise.”

  “That’s good enough for me.”

  Years of training screamed at her to give him a firm no, but something inside, she thought it might be the Holy Spirit, kept her from saying it. But why would God care if she had lunch with Nate tomorrow?

  The now-empty beach, not to mention the receding light, confirmed she’d been out too long. Way too long. “I’m sorry–”

  “But you need to be getting back. I’ll walk you.”

  “Only if you can keep up. I won’t be walking.”

  “Maybe I’ll pass. Running with this thing,” he held up his camera, “isn’t the most comfortable. Are you sure it’s safe for you to be out here alone?”

  “I have belts in Karate, Ju-Jitsu, and Tai Kwan Do. I can take care of myself.”

  He blinked. “Remind me not to get on your bad side. On that note, I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.”

  “Maybe.”

  Ignoring her hesitation, he shot her a smile before heading down the beach.

  She jogged a short distance, but the jarring on her arm only aggravated the pain. Well, at least she’d been able to ditch him while still remaining truthful. A glance back found Nate as little more than a speck in the darkness. She cut across the sand and approached the hotel.

  To keep her mind off the pain, she focused on Nate.

  Life had handed him a lot of disappointment. She hoped she didn’t become one of them.

  The thought was followed by a more pressing concern. Why did she care?

  No answer had surfaced by the time she reached the suite. Alex let her in, a sly grin on her face.

  “So, run into anyone interesting out there?” Before she could answer, Alex’s smile slid into a grim line. “What’s wrong?”

  “What makes you think–”

  “I’ve seen corpses with more color.”

  So much for keeping things quiet.

  Reilly glanced up from the book he was reading, but his blank expression indicated he’d heard none of their conversation. She planned to keep it that way.

  Dropping her voice, she turned her face away from him so he wouldn’t see anything he shouldn’t. “I think we need to put on a new bandage.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “Later. Can you look at it now?”

  “Sure.” Alex led her to the bathroom and flicked on the light.

  While Alex removed first aid supplies, Lana unzipped her jacket.

  Ugh. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. Too bad there wasn’t a way to get the sleeve off without moving her arm. She slid her uninjured arm out and maneuvered the sleeve down her other arm.

  Okay, not too bad.

  Alex peeled off the bandage. “You okay?”

  Not trusting her voice, Lana simply nodded.

  “Liar.” Alex leaned in to examine the wound.

  “How does it look?”

  “Ugly, but it’s not bleeding too badly.” Alex gently dabbed at the wound. “Now will you tell me what happened?”

  The story took little time to relate and she finished just as Alex opened a fresh gauze pad.

  “So he asked you out, huh?”

  Of everything she’d said, why’d Alex have to zero in on that?

  Maybe she should’ve censored that part of the story. “I’m not going. I should’ve told him no, but my arm was hurting and I was distracted and not thinking as clearly as–”

  “Good. You’re going.”

  “What?”

  “Look, this is the perfect chance to pump him for information. Find out if he really is a threat.” Alex ripped off a strip of medical tape and adhered it to the bandage. “Besides, you need to get out of this place more often than you do.”

  Stinging rippled down her arm as Alex pressed the bandage over the wound. She pulled in a sharp breath. “What I need is to make sure Reilly is safe.”

  “And I’ll do that.” Alex dropped her voice. “Look, I get that you have some reservations about the team. Frankly, I’m not sure how I feel. But you trust me, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then I’m telling you I’ll stay so close he’ll think he has a second shadow. He’ll be fine.” After gently pressing down the final piece of tape, Alex stepped back. “Done. And for the record, I’m ordering you to go. Got it?”

  “Oh, yeah? And what about Geoff?” Stupid! Why had she said that? The last thing she needed was to get Alex started on the topic of her brother again.

  Alex waved her hand. “We’ll deal with Geoff when we get back to Florida. Besides, we both know you’re not gonna fall in love with this guy, so one date’s not going to hurt anything. If anything, it’ll help you see what a catch Geoff is when you guys go out.”

  “There is no when.”

  Cool it. No need to take her frustrations out on Alex.

  She worked at softening her tone. “I shouldn’t have brought him up. I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t see why you’re so resistant. You haven’t even met him.”

  Not a conversation she wanted to have, now or ever, but Alex stood between her and the exit. “It’s just not a good idea.”

  “Give me a reason.”

  “If things didn’t work out between me and your brother, it could impact our friendship. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”

  “Please. We’re not in high school.”

  “No. We’re in a high-stress environment every single day where lives are at stake.” She rubbed her forehead. It was bad enough that her arm was killing her; now her head had to get in on the act. “I think I need about half a bottle of pain pills.”

  The hint worked.

  Alex turned and led the way out of the bathroom, but not before getting in the last word. “I say you’re overthinking this. At least consider the option, okay?”

  “Fine.” Considered… and rejected.

  Geoff, like Alex, was agnostic, which was reason enough for her.

  Not that she could bring up that topic. Past experience told her it would lead to an argument about religion, not to mention accusations of thinking she was better than everyone else.

  When and if she found someone, she wanted someone who was her spiritual equal.

  Something that Nate clearly was not either. Ugh. Yet another reason she should’ve turned him down.

  What a night. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and shut out the world.

  Too bad she still had a job to do. And an assassin to stop.

  Thirteen

  Rain drummed a steady beat on the roof of the car as Lana slid her phone from her pocket. The lighted display showed 1:25. Five minutes until she was due inside the pizza place in front of her to meet Nate for lunch.

  Plenty of time to call Barker.

  If Alex wasn’t going to do anything about a possible mole in their midst, then she’d do it herself. She hated going behind Alex’s back, but her brother’s life was at stake and Alex might be too close to the situation to think objectively.

  “Barker.”

  “It’s Milana Tanner.”

  “Tanner? How’s it going out there?”

  Loaded question. “Did you hear what happened?”

  He grunted. “How would I have heard anything?”

  Of course he hadn’t heard. What did she think? That there was a “What’s happening in WITSEC” newsletter that circulated the offices?

  She recapped the shooting, leaving out the fact that she’d been hit, but highlighting every reason she had for suspecting an inside man.

  Silence lingered for several heartbeats after she finished.

  “And Deputy Hill shrugged off your concerns?”

  Oh boy. The last thing she wanted was to get Alex in any kind of trouble. “No, sir. But she’s worked with this team for a while and is having trouble believing one of them might be i
n on it. I thought maybe you could do a little digging.”

  “I’ll do some digging, all right.” The words growled across the line. “I can’t believe you were ordered to stay in that town after an incident with a shooter.”

  Frankly, neither could she.

  Barker didn’t seem to expect a reply. “Stay alert. I’ll see what I can find out and keep you posted.”

  ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪

  “You made it.”

  Lana slid across the bench opposite Nate. Yeah, she’d made it. In spite of her protests. If Alex hadn’t threatened to have Rodriguez push her out of the suite, she likely wouldn’t have come.

  Why was it that she could walk calmly into a dangerous situation, but froze when it came to something as simple as socializing?

  She shook off the thought. “I was able to get away. How are you?”

  A grin swallowed his face. “Can’t complain.”

  “How’d your pictures come out?”

  “Hit and miss. That’s the way it goes. How’s the arm?”

  “Better.”

  “You guys decided yet?” The waitress, a pretty brunette who couldn’t be any older than twenty, snuck a glance at Nate, interest painted in her eyes.

  A smile twitched the corners of Lana’s mouth, but she fought it back.

  It was easy to see what might attract the waitress to him. Funny thing was, Nate seemed oblivious to the attention.

  “Wanna split a large?” Nate looked up at her innocently.

  “Sure.”

  They ordered a large deep dish with grilled chicken, olives, and peppers on her half, but only cheese on his.

  “Just cheese?” she teased as the waitress walked away.

  “Guess I’m a man of simple tastes.” Reaching under the table, Nate retrieved a manila envelope. “Here’re the pictures you asked to see.”

  “Good thinking. I’d hate to leave greasy fingerprints.” She opened the envelope and slid out a small stack of 5x7 photos.

  Gorgeous sunsets displaying every imaginable shade of orange and purple met her eyes. She recognized some of the well-known coastal landmarks such as Haystack Rock and the Devil’s Punchbowl, but many showcased deserted beaches with waves pounding the shore.