by Dale Mayer
“I’d actually understand it more if he had taken her out. That’s the behavior of someone jealous to the point of blindness.”
“True. But jealous people are also all about their opponent paying for their wrongs. So who knows what he’s got planned for her,” Dane said as he took the ramp off the highway.
“The cops are at the warehouse,” Swede announced.
Mason clenched his jaw. He wanted to be there himself.
“You’d better ask her as soon as we find her,” Swede said, reminding him about the ring in his pocket. “Just in case she gets snatched again and you miss out.”
Said with humor, there was still an underlying seriousness to it. “Maybe I should throw a chain around her ankle and keep her at home,” Mason muttered, hating that she’d been taken.
Swede snickered. “Like that will work.”
Mason sighed. “She will always do what she thinks is right. And that means designing these programs to help us.”
“Thank God she is,” Dane said with a smile. “She’s saving our asses right now.”
“Now we just have to return the favor.”
They pulled into the warehouse parking lot and hit the brakes. A half dozen cop cars surrounded the entrance of a large gray two-story warehouse.
And the cops were out and crouched behind their vehicles, guns out.
Gunfire filled the air.
Chapter 7
She waited, her body tense. There was little she could do when she was on a catwalk with a gun to her head. Like how had this day gone into the shitter so fast? She groaned silently. “Damn Michelson.”
“Yeah, I’m of the same opinion. I’d be home relaxing about now if things had gone as planned.” Grant’s voice was distracted as if he was looking for a way out.
“Right, I wish. I also wish there was a shortage of guys like Michelson.”
“Guys like me, I presume?” He chuckled. “You weren’t supposed to get hurt, if that makes you feel any better.”
“I was though, wasn’t I?” She hated that a second team member was willing to risk his life to screw her over. “Michelson always planned for me to die in a very unpleasant way. There’s nothing nice about that.”
“True.” He pushed her to her knees. “Stay there.”
She froze as she heard him back up. Could she make a run for it? He’d have a clear shot on the ladder. She’d take one bullet in the back for sure. Maybe two and then a fall. Those odds sucked. She waited then twisted so she could see behind her. And found herself alone on the catwalk.
What?
How had he disappeared like that?
She peered over the railing. A hail of gunfire exploded below. With a shocked cry, she pulled back and crouched against the back wall. When the shooting stopped a smoky silence descended. She shuddered. There were several cops outside. She had to believe that some of them were alive and well. And that at least one bad guy had been taken down.
“Tesla?”
She straightened. Oh my God. That was Mason’s voice.
She peered over the railing to see him standing slightly hidden inside the entrance. But if she could see him, then so could the men outside. “Mason, what are you doing?” she hissed.
He frowned at her and pointed at her to get down. Ha. As if it were that easy.
She scrambled down the ladder. “Michelson. I’m down here if you want to kill me, come and do it yourself,” she snapped. “Leave those men alone.”
A shot fired and barely missed her. Mason dragged her to the side out of danger. “Or not,” she screamed. “Be a coward. That’s all you are. No way you’re military. You’re a yellow-bellied no-good asshole.”
More shots fired but she couldn’t respond as Mason kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his head and hung on tight. “Why do you always get into trouble when you’re alone?” he whispered, his hands gently running up and down her back. “Don’t you know how much I love you, how lost I’d be without you?”
She beamed up at him. “And I love you. Maybe we should…”
“There you are,” Swede said as he walked over. “Hawk has taken Michelson down. He’s injured but alive.”
“Good. I need to find out what the asshole did to my work.” She beamed up at Swede. Then she disentangled herself from Mason and threw her arms around his neck. “Thanks for riding to the rescue.”
“Hey,” Mason protested behind her. “Don’t I get a thank you?”
She laughed. “You’ll get more than a thank you.”
He grinned and tugged her back into his arms. “How about you just stay out of trouble for once?”
“But you do the white knight rescue so well,” she cried. “And I didn’t try to get into trouble.”
He walked her over to the truck and that’s when he noticed she was limping. “What happened?”
He helped her to sit on the front passenger seat so he could look it over. “You’ve sprained it.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m not sure when it happened,” she said, frowning as she stared at two dead men. “So many dead, and for what?”
“You tell me,” Swede said from behind them. “Was this Michelson’s doing?”
“Yes. Did you capture Grant?” she asked. “He’s the one who was hiring Michelson away from the military and delivering me here.”
“Grant?” Mason glanced up at Swede. “No, I didn’t see anyone else.”
She gave a brief description. Swede bolted toward Hawk who was handing over an injured Michelson to the cops. As she watched they both took off into the warehouse.
“He’s armed,” she cried out. “I need to talk to Michelson.” With Mason’s help, she slowly put her weight on her foot, and he helped her walk to where Michelson lay on the ground, two cops at his side.
“Why?” she said in a low voice, her gaze on the bloody shirt and the pool of blood beneath him. “And was it worth it?”
He groaned. “I didn’t want to have it go this far. But you ruined everything again.”
“I ruined everything?” she cried in anger. “I didn’t do anything to you.”
“My program was the one the military was looking to buy before you came along. It was worth millions. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in the service. I was going to retire with my fat bank account but you killed that,” he snarled then groaned as pain hit him. “Bitch.”
“And Grant?”
“What about him?” But his breath was weaker, almost panting.
“What did he want with the program?”
“It wasn’t your program he was getting, it was mine. I told him you needed to fix parts of the code that were missing a security measure. He believed me.” He managed a hateful grin. “Only you didn’t know the program and wouldn’t have been able to fix anything.”
“So I’d have been tortured to death,” she said in a low voice. “Thanks for nothing.”
She turned and hobbled away, Mason at her side.
There was an odd cough, then a second one was followed by an odder rattling sound. She stopped and bowed her head. She knew before she turned around that Michelson had died. As much as she hated what he’d done, she still hadn’t wished that for him.
*
Mason wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hurting for her. Betrayal was the worst. He’d never wish her enemies dead, but he couldn’t help wishing he’d had a few minutes alone with Michelson before this.
He helped her back up to the passenger side of Dane’s truck, then gave her a kiss. “Stay here.”
She nodded and he raced back to the cops to confirm Michelson was dead. He pulled out the man’s wallet, filling the police in about the other man who’d gotten away and Farrow’s murder. Michelson’s wallet revealed little new information. Mason did a quick search of the dead man’s pockets and found his car keys. He clicked the button to see a compact parked to the side. With one cop at his side, they opened up and searched the car.
The trunk was empty with the exception of a small overni
ght bag. Inside the driver’s side there was a coffee cup, a notebook and several loose pieces of paper. The suitcase yielded a small tablet.
Mason smiled. Now maybe they could find something worthwhile. Everyone’s lives were digital. He walked back to Tesla. Her face lit and she reached for the tablet.
“Any update from our friends inside?” she asked as she turned it on.
“No, not yet.” He studied her, seeing the ugly bruise on her cheek, the swelling around her face. The dirty tangled hair. But her attention was solely on the tablet. “How are you feeling?”
She glanced up in surprise. Saw his concern and smiled. “I’m fine. You rescued me again – just in time.”
“It’s the just in time part that is giving me nightmares,” he muttered. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. From stroking the side of her hair to her shoulder to clasping her hand and then patting her knee. As if he couldn’t quite believe she was safe even now.
She slipped her hand into his and tugged him forward so she could look him in the eye. “I’m okay.”
He dropped his forehead to lean on hers and closed his eyes. “You’re way more than just okay.”
Her lips pressed against his for a long moment then she said, “Go. I’m fine here. There are cops all around me. Find Grant. Then we will know this is over.”
With a hard kiss, he turned to join the search, his hand fingering the box in his pocket. Wondering…should he have asked her already? Then he buried himself in the hunt. Although the asshole was likely long gone, they still had to turn over every rock just in case. It was the only way to bring this to a close.
Tesla had seen his face. And men had died. That was a heavy prison charge to face. It would be much easier to kill the one woman who could identify him.
He clenched his jaw and vowed to take the bastard down before he had a chance to try again.
Chapter 8
She clicked through Michelson’s tablet searching for email access and hopefully notes of what he’d done and planned to do. Not that she thought he would have made it that easy, but who knew?
There was a lot of work ahead of her checking Michelson’s tracks, months of work. Just the thought of all he could have done made her queasy inside. And over what? Professional jealousy?
Trying to block out what was happening in front of her, she refocused on the tablet and checked out his programs and logins. There wasn’t much there. She needed his laptop. Some tablets were powerful computers but this was one far cry from what she’d expect him to be using. She had multiple devices and suspected he would too. But if there was nothing in his house or at work, and not in his car, what was the chance Grant had it?
And would he know what to do with the information on it?
If the US government had been considering Michelson’s project then it was at a high enough level to be of interest to Grant. He could always find others to fine-tune it. Chances were good he had a half dozen geeks already working for him. Add to that six months of Michelson working alongside her where she’d just started to open up about her work…and he’d had access to too much. He hadn’t needed to copy or steal anything. Given enough time he could recreate it all.
Thankfully he hadn’t had enough time.
But how much had he funneled to Grant? She wished they’d gotten answers before Michelson died.
Did he still think she was important to the success of the program? Or was he going to walk into the woodwork and disappear? Although he’d been the buyer and hadn’t killed any of the men here, he had returned police fire, so maybe that was a different story altogether.
And she’d seen him – in the shadows only and not clear enough for her to identify…except for his scars, but did he know that? And could he live with it?
Maybe not.
He looked like the kind of man to clean up behind him and to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
Unfortunately.
*
Mason peered around the back of the second warehouse. This section of the city block was massive and there were any number of places this guy could hide. There were dozens of police searching for the missing man, but they’d checked this area.
There was no sound from the inside of the huge building. The police had cleared the businesses of people early on, and now there was a large crowd standing behind the yellow ribbon far back. And he had to wonder if that wasn’t actually the best way to hide. It’s what he’d do. Slip into the crowd – blend in. Who’d ever know who he was?
His gaze swept over the crowd. He picked up his phone and contacted Shadow who’d just arrived and was walking toward Tesla. A smile played on his face as he watched the woman he loved throw her arms around Shadow and get a hug. Who knew so many different people could blend into a huge family like they had? It did his heart good.
“What’s wrong?” Shadow asked.
“Her cell phone is dead, so I can’t call her,” Mason said. “Have her search the audience. It’s a perfect place for the asshole to hide.” Mason hesitated then added, “And I know I don’t need to say this, but please don’t leave her side just in case he’s coming up from behind her.”
“I’ve got her covered,” Shadow growled. “But we should change places.”
“Mason,” Tesla called into Shadow’s phone. “I’m fine. Stop worrying.”
Shadow laughed. “Go. I’ll keep watch.”
Mason hung up and knew he’d done what he could do. There were few men as lethal as his friends. Dare that asshole come after Tesla again – he’d get the surprise of his life.
Something moved in the darkness behind him. Mason gave a feral grin and went on the hunt.
Chapter 9
“You don’t have to wait here with me, Shadow. You should be helping Mason find Grant.”
Shadow shot her a look but didn’t bother answering.
She sighed. “Right. You’re on guard duty.” She motioned to the police now surrounded by forensic vehicles. “This place is full of law enforcement right now. I’m safe.”
“And it’s a perfect opportunity for this man to find you. After all, who’d be looking for him this close?”
“A bold move on his part but possible.”
Shadow reached out and pulled the tablet from her hand and motioned at the gathered crowd. “Mason wants you to look these people over and make sure Grant isn’t hiding in the crowd.”
“Oh, I never thought of that.” She pivoted and studied the faces staring at her. “It’s weird to be gawked at like this,” she muttered. “And wouldn’t Grant have run away if he made it as far as the crowd?”
“Maybe, but maybe he’s still looking for a way to get at you.”
His words sent shivers down her spine and made her soul cringe. “He’s the type of guy who would hire someone to murder me,” she said. “And he’s got big money to do it.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s got one of those big fancy watches that looks like a computer in itself. I wanted to see it closer, but it wasn’t something I could really bring up.”
“Is that possible?” Shadow asked. “Not a whole computer surely.”
“No,” she said slowly. “But there are many advances in that field and it did appear to be cutting edge.” She frowned and thought about it more. “In fact, it’s very cutting edge as he likely was wearing a prototype.”
At that Shadow turned to stare at her. “How many companies would have that type of ability?”
“Around the world, maybe a dozen. In this country it’s hard to say as no one really knows what’s in development. It’s all tightly held secrets. But…” She considered the companies she knew about. “Maybe three or four.”
“Names. Let’s see what they are up to and if we can track this guy down.”
“We need his face.”
Dane walked over, a laptop in his hand. “Do you recognize this guy?”
She stared at the grainy image. “Yes, that’s him, at least the same looking hat and sunglasses and face s
hape,” she exclaimed in delight. “Where did you get that from?”
“The warehouse has security cameras.” Dane gave a nod of satisfaction. “Let’s get this out to all the airports, train and bus stations.”
“He can’t live far away as he mentioned that he should have been home already,” she added. “It’s possible he’ll try an alternative location, but he wasn’t about getting his hands dirty and neither is he about suffering.”
“So why was he here himself if that’s the case?” Shadow said. “Surely he’d have more men with him?”
She shrugged. “I think Farrow and Michelson were supposed to be his men here. Although there could be more around. There was a lot of gunfire,” she admitted. “But maybe this was a private deal he didn’t think would blow up. Michelson wasn’t the most stable, and once he shot Farrow I think Grant got a little desperate.”
“Neither did they plan on Tesla escaping, compounding the problems,” Dane added. “He could go anywhere.”
“I got the idea that California was home. Or maybe it was one home. But why stay if he has options? And one of his options changes his appearance.” Dane frowned at the image on the screen. “The hat and sunglasses don’t let us see much. Did you see him close up?”
She shook her head. “Not really. He was either in the distance or behind me. And when I did get to see him up close, I could only see his neck and chin as he’s so much taller than I am.”
“He’d look very different without the glasses and cap.” Her gaze turned to the crowd, still watching. “Which also means, I’d have no idea if he was there or not.”
“Except for the watch,” Shadow reminded her. “That’s not something he’d likely have thought about.”
“Unless it looks like anyone else’s watch…” Dane said. “Then it wouldn’t matter.”
“Well it does in a way, it’s a regular looking watch at first glance but with lots of added technology,” she said apologetically. “I was considering some development in that line myself so I recognized what he had on his wrist.”