Seconds to Sunrise

by Nico Rosso

  Hayley muttered, impressed, over her coffee, “You do know your business.”

  James’s eyes narrowed. He thought about it and scratched his jaw through his beard. “Library’s too populated.”

  Raker leaned back in his chair. “You can draw them away. Give them time to scramble toward the target, then head them off somewhere.”

  “The freeway.” Art leaned his elbows on the table. “He shows, you split, lead him to the freeway and we’re in business.”

  James’s energy built. “It can’t be too close to your home.”

  “Oceanside?” Hayley ventured.

  “That’s good,” Art agreed.

  April asked her, “Do you have a laptop?” Hayley stood and went into the living room while the men continued to stare into the distance and strategize. She came back with a laptop and set it in front of April. The library in Oceanside was easy enough to find, and she zoomed in on the map. “Here it is.”

  The men huddled behind her and pointed out ingress and egress routes. Freeway options and lookout points. They identified choke points and dead ends. She watched James memorize it all. “Bloody brilliant,” he murmured close to her. His appreciation of her brought a comfortable blush across her chest and up her neck.

  “When do we do it?” she asked, wishing she could just soak in his admiration and not face the hazards of the mission again. But part of her was ready to take it on, knowing he’d be fighting at her side the whole way.

  “Today,” he answered, standing tall. “Now.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  She’d left Phoenix in fear. Driving up to Oceanside, April flexed her muscles and steeled herself for a fight. She wanted it. She wanted to scare Hathaway and his men off on the way to ending the hackers’ control over her.

  James drove and discussed the rules of engagement. Raker and Art were the primary shooters. James and April were merely planted to draw the enemy out. His job was to keep her safe throughout, not to go after the mercenaries. His dedication to her didn’t go unnoticed. She knew how strongly he felt about Hathaway and understood it must’ve taken a lot of self-control to not place himself at the front of the hunting party.

  It had been difficult to leave Art and Hayley’s house behind. That spot had been such a center of community, more than she’d felt with more than one person in the same room in a long time. Art and Raker had argued about who was going to drive, with Art winning out because he knew the territory.

  Hayley had said her goodbyes with April and somberly wished her good luck. April knew this woman had been thrown into similar circumstances and told her she’d like to hear her story sometime.

  “When you come back.” Hayley squeezed her hand.

  “I’ll come back.” April said it for Hayley and to convince herself. She had to return, safe and whole and with James.

  Whatever Hayley and Art spoke about was unheard as they’d huddled close before the group embarked on the next stage of the mission. Within a block of driving away from the house, April lost sight of Art and Raker’s car. They never reappeared on the freeway, but she knew they hovered within striking distance.

  Off the freeway and into the medium-sized city of Oceanside, she quieted and watched. James navigated them to the library without a map. His eyes didn’t rest, registering everything as they approached and passed. She tried to do the same, tracking the best way back to the freeway and noting which streets seemed more congested than others.

  They were on the south side of the Marine Camp Pendleton. Men and women in BDUs walked on the sidewalks and got in and out of cars, going about their business. Seeing the uniforms only reinforced the idea that the town wasn’t a normal place. It was her warzone.

  James parked the car and turned to her, solemn. “There’s a ritual Raker and I have before we rope in. He puts his hand on my crotch, gives it a squeeze, then I kiss him on the mouth.”

  She was shocked into a laugh that loosened some of her nerves. “Well, I can’t jinx the operation.” She teased her hand up the inside of his thigh and rested it on his groin. He leaned to her and they kissed with a simple promise that they were there for each other.

  The kiss parted, and she steeled herself.

  James smiled like a predator. “Let’s fuck them up.”

  Shivers of fear diminished into her own thirst for revenge. They got out of the car and walked to the library. Inside, she was surrounded by normal life. Children tried to keep their voices down in the kids’ reading area, people walked the stacks, while others spread out newspapers and magazines on the central tables. Along one wall was a long counter with the computers.

  She angled James toward the customer service area next to the circulation desk. “We’ll need a library card.”

  “Simon can take care of that.” He pulled his wallet and the fake ID. Within a few minutes with the helpful library staff member, they had a card and instructions for how to get started on the computers. They picked the one farthest from any of the other patrons, where both of them could sit in the heavy institutional chairs.

  She used the new card to open the computer terminal, then browsed to her email client. “Here we go.” She logged in and watched her old life populate in front of her. Online shopping advertisements racked up. Political emails. And some personal ones, friends checking in or venting about their trials. Her mom had written twice and her father once. All the emails had come through her phone once they’d hit the road, but she’d ignored them, knowing to answer would leave a dangerous breadcrumb. “My parents are worried.”

  “Can you check in with them without telling them too much?” James split his attention between the computer and keeping an eye on the rest of the room.

  “I think.” Her mother had a way of reading between the lines and drawing her out if she was being obtuse, but she’d try not to give her the chance this time. She wrote an email to both of them, explaining that she’d gone on a road trip with some out-of-town friends who came to get her. The cell phone reception had been spotty, making this her first chance to email back. She sent it, and a realization sank into her. “I might not ever tell them the truth.”

  “It keeps them safer.” James leaned his shoulder into hers. He was strong and he was also willing to trust her. “Sometimes, the more people who carry a secret, the heavier it is.”

  “You told Raker.” The two men hadn’t been in Art and Hayley’s backyard for long.

  “He wasn’t as surprised as you’d think.” James smirked. “None of us would’ve joined unless we were trying to fix something somewhere.”

  She pushed back with her shoulder. “I’m glad you joined.”

  “I’m glad I got out of the car before Raker in the supermarket parking lot.” He smiled warmly.

  “That’s all it took? Coincidence?” It felt like much stronger forces had been at play.

  He mulled the question. “We would’ve met, one way or the other.” He scanned across the library, then brought his gaze back to her. “I can’t imagine not having met you.”

  She blushed as he regarded her. But the flames couldn’t burn her down. They were fuel. She reached forward, brave and open, curled her hand in the collar of his zipped-up jacket and tugged him into a blistering kiss. They parted, breathless.

  James collected himself and refocused on the computer. “Was that enough to lure them?”

  “Not yet.” At no point had her email been compromised, so she couldn’t be sure they’d ping off her latest activity. She opened another tab and searched for news on the incident outside the Phoenix high school.

  “Anything new?” James read over her shoulder.

  “No. But if the hackers are set up to ping off these searches, they’ll see this one.” She dove deeper and went to her forum website. At the top right was a small “Admin” link. “And this will set off all their a
larms.” She entered her user name and password, opening the dashboard of the website.

  James tensed. “I thought that would get them past your encryption.”

  She clicked to the control panel for the forum, where a secondary login was necessary. “This is what stopped those fuckers.”

  He whispered reverently, “Sexy.”

  “It’s as far as I can go.” She logged out of the site and the internet and pushed her chair away from the computer. James stood and headed toward the closest unoccupied table by the door. The earbud connected to his phone threaded up through his jacket and was barely noticeable. There’d been no communication with the others since they’d left San Diego.

  They sat on opposite sides of one corner of the table, both of them facing the exit. He muttered under his breath as he drew a discarded magazine toward him. “Now we learn one of the most important skills of soldiering: being more ready than the enemy after a long wait.”

  * * *

  James watched the strain rise and fall in April and wished he could do more to help her through this stage of the mission. They both flipped aimlessly through magazines and day-old newspapers, occasionally pointing out an interesting photo or ridiculous advertisement. Her nerves would rise when the front doors opened, then she’d breathe again after scrutinizing whoever entered.

  He reassured her, “Art and Raker will see them long before they get in the door.”

  “Right.” She tipped her head from side to side to stretch the tension from her neck. “I’m not used to being bait.”

  “You’re the hunter now.” He had his own difficulty waiting while Hathaway was out there, searching for her. But he reined it in, funneled it into productive anger that would help him in the fight. “He thinks it’s going to be easy, but you’re laying the trap that’s going to end him.”

  She sneered with the power. Mean and ready.

  “That’s the look.” A flare of awareness gathered in his cock. There were a lot of possibilities with April. Later, when they had the time to discover more of each other. He was reassured, too, when the feral expression dimmed from her face. She had enough of it in her to survive, but it wasn’t in her nature. And that made her that much more beautiful.

  He picked her hand up from the table and kissed the back of her wrist. A blush stained her cheeks, and a deeper heat showed in her eyes. “More soldiering?” she whispered.

  “You’re remarkable.” He wished he knew all the words to describe her. He wished he could communicate everything without having to talk at all.

  “Good Lord.” Raker groaned in James’s earpiece. “Ain’t that a little thick?”

  “Learn from that man,” Art interjected. “He knows what he’s doing.”

  James laughed, and April cocked her head to question it. He surreptitiously pointed at his earbud.

  Raker didn’t let it go. “I’ve already got a wife.”

  “Is she happy?” James muttered, blocking his mouth with his arm.

  “I’ll say,” Raker replied.

  “What does she say?” Art pressed.

  “She says,” Raker drawled, “‘Mr. Raker, I like you.’ Then I tell her I like her and we’re all squared away. Nothing unnecessary like our verbose British friend here.”

  James brought his cheek to April’s and whispered, “Tell me, April, do you like the words I say to you?” He leaned the earpiece close to her mouth.

  She smiled, knowing his intent. Her husky murmur sent a shiver down his spine. “I do, James. You’re quite a man.”

  Art laughed on the other end of the line.

  Raker chirped with mock reproof, “Do you two know you’re in a library?”

  “You should see what we’re reading.” James kept his voice down and made it seem like he was still speaking to April lowly. “I’m translating the Kama Sutra for her.”

  She chuckled. “Did you invent that, too?”

  “Of course.” He pretended to brush dust from his shoulder. Their antics drew a couple of glances from the other patrons, but nothing sharp enough from the staff to warrant them coming over. The radio chatter died down, but it had helped to break up the waiting and he and April sat a little more comfortably at the table.

  She tipped her chin up and stared at the ceiling. Her finger tapped quickly, then she retrieved a small pad and pen from her purse. “Some ideas for Hayley and Art’s website.” She sketched diagrams, accompanied by cryptic symbols he couldn’t decipher. When she was finished, she put the pen down with a look of satisfaction. Her finger no longer tapped. Her brows came together in a question when she looked at him. “Do you need a website?”

  “Not at all.” He’d never thought about it.

  She started hesitantly, “What...what do you do when you’re not doing...this?”

  “I help out a couple of auto shops I know, doing electrical work for cars.”

  Her brows lifted. “So Simon’s kind of real.”

  “The less you lie, the easier it is to keep the stories straight.” But he had no more secrets to keep from her. “You ever need an in-dash entertainment system, I can hook you up.”

  “I’ll let you know.” She kept staring at him with a question. “That takes up all your time?”

  “We’re in the field a lot.” It seemed like at least once a month he was in another city, planning an op, hitting the target. “Or I’ll be at the gym. An MMA place I can walk to.”

  She lit up. “I’d like to learn some of that.”

  “You’ve got cardio. That’s a good start.”

  She burned him with a glare. “Of course, you know that because you were trailing me.”

  “Doing my job.” He wouldn’t apologize. “Just like we’re doing now.”

  Her eyes sharpened and addressed each person in the library. “I don’t see anything strange,” she reported.

  “Just me.” He held up his arm to display the line of glue that held the sleeve together.

  “You could use a shower, too.” She ran her fingers over his hair.

  “The both of us.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And lunch.”

  She leaned back in her chair and put her hands on her stomach. “Why’d you have to say that? Now I’m thinking about food. And Hayley’s cookies.” A delicious groan came from the back of her throat.

  Art broke radio silence. “Probable targets inbound.” James tensed and put his hand around April’s arm. She looked at him, nerves rising, and waited. Art continued, “I count two cars. Four men visible. Lead car has a man in green M65 jacket, buzz cut.”

  Hathaway. “That’s them,” James announced.

  “Three blocks out.” Art sounded like he was moving. “I’m on foot, tracking to rendezvous with Raker.”

  “Just picked them up,” Raker jumped in.

  James stood, April with him. “We’re moving out.” He hated the strain of fear in her eyes and wanted to stay and take care of Hathaway himself, but he couldn’t lead her into that much danger.

  They walked quickly for the doors, and even though Raker tracked, “Two blocks,” James pictured Hathaway bursting into the library any second.

  “That was fast.” April’s voice wavered, tight. “Why were they so close?”

  Chilly ocean mist hazed the sunlight outside. James and April rushed to the car. He had the motor started before they’d closed the doors and buckled themselves in.

  “One block.” Raker maintained his battlefield cool. “Art has rendezvoused, and we’re at full force.”

  James peeled out of the parking lot. April tugged on her seat belt and helped him with his. Her question bit him. There was no way Hathaway could’ve tracked them to California. He and April had been airtight.

  Into the city, the traffic grew thicker. He reported on the radio, “On the move. Freeway bound.”
<
br />   Art updated, “Two black SUVs. Livery markings, so they’re probably custom, maybe bulletproof.”

  James glanced one block parallel and saw the two target cars hurrying toward the library. “Eyes on.” Then he lost sight.

  “They saw you, too.” Raker grew excited. “Illegal U-turns across traffic. They’re coming in hot.”

  James tried to keep his tone even when he caught April up. “Two black SUVs. They’ve spotted us.”

  She turned and watched out the back. “I see them.” Her breath rushed. “Weaving through traffic. They’re not being subtle.”

  One block until the freeway on-ramp.

  Art gritted, frustrated, “We’re following, but are getting caught up in the wake of their fucked-up driving.”

  James hit the on-ramp and floored the car, blowing through the traffic signal at the end of it and merging hard onto the freeway. A few seconds behind, the SUVs charged on after them. He figured out how they’d been so quick to respond to the bait. “Hathaway wasn’t hunting after Phoenix,” he told April and the radio. “The bastard pulled back. He was on guard duty.”

  April’s eyes were wide with understanding. “The hackers...”

  “They must be within a couple of hours of here.” There was no indication of where, and the territory in California was vast, but even a single spot of blood on the trail could keep him on the hunt. “The hackers are close.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  She’d never been in a car going this fast. Even as a teenager, when everyone else thought they were immortal, she’d been very aware of the limits of life. She gripped anything she could in the car and hoped she didn’t test those limits now. James dodged through light traffic, jaw clenched, mouth tight. The SUVs continued their pursuit about ten car lengths behind.

  “They were afraid.” She was, too, and couldn’t look at the speedometer.

  James showed his teeth. “They don’t know fear yet.”