She lifted a hand to stop him from speaking. “No worries. Already called the insurance company, and I can take it in when I go to work on Monday. You won’t have to do a thing.” She rose on tiptoe to kiss him on the mouth; the first time in a while. It both surprised and calmed him.
“Handsome,” Sean Patrick said, walking back into the open and airy kitchen. “I think your ride is here.”
Setting the luggage down, Handsome moved through the dining room then to the living room. When he entered the foyer, he took in the house, which was warm and cozy. Robert noticed he then focused on Tessa who gave him one of her warning looks. This usually held a special kind of control over the kids. He wondered if she’d told the whole story but quickly dismissed it.
“Kids, come say goodbye to Handsome and thank him for driving us home on such slick roads,” Tessa encouraged.
The kids thundered to his side and thanked him like polite children should. The boys even shook hands with him. Heather used her index finger to motion for him to bend down so she could hug his neck.
“Thank you, Mr. Jones, for watching after my family. I’m sure Tessa will tell me all about it.” Robert slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side, which felt a little like marking his territory.
Tessa extended her hand, too. “Thanks again, Handsome. Take care. Oh, I think your friends are getting out of the car.”
Robert could see them through the glass door as they exited the nondescript black vehicle. The driver came around to stand next to his buddy as Tessa opened the front door and waved to them. They raised their chins in greeting then folded their arms across their chests as if they had no place else to go.
Together, Tessa and Robert stepped out onto the wraparound porch to see Handsome lumber down the steps then out toward the waiting car. Heather ran outside waving a colorful picture.
“This is for Handsome, Daddy.”
“I’ll take it to him, baby girl. Go inside. It’s cold.” He patted her on the head and shooed her inside.
She smiled and obeyed.
“Be right back, Tessa. Our child has a great future working at the welcome wagon.”
Tessa chuckled behind him as he ran down the steps and caught up with Handsome to gift him the picture, when he joined the two standing at the car. He froze when he identified the two men who had driven him back to his car in San Francisco the night before. Without their suits and ties, they resembled redneck brawlers.
“You!” he gulped.
A smirk played on the mouth of the one who had done most of the talking and threatening. The other straightened up, frowning down at him as if he might be used to picking guys like him out of his teeth on a regular basis.
“We meet again, Mr. Scott. Glad your family returned home safe and sound.”
Handsome cast one last glance at Tessa standing on the porch then to Robert. “You know these guys?”
“We’re old friends, aren’t we Robert?” He extended his hand and kept it there until Robert reluctantly took his grip, which hurt like the dickens. It took great restraint not to grimace at the squeeze.
“Get off my property before I call the police,” Robert growled under his breath.
The man almost grinned as he dropped Robert’s hand and walked around the car to the driver’s side. “Remember our little conversation last night, Robert, and you’ll be fine.”
Robert backed up as they slowly pulled around the circular drive then eased out onto the tree-lined street. He felt his body tense and wondered if he might be suffering a stroke.
When he walked back to the porch, he noticed Tessa staring after them, solemn, with a hint of skepticism plastered on her face. With arms folded across her chest and weight shifted to one hip, she chewed her bottom lip. This often meant she was about to tell him something he didn’t want to deal with. Suddenly, her attention shifted to him, and he swore it felt like laser beams boring into him.
As he walked up the steps, Tessa stepped forward and slipped her arms around his waist. “This is a nice surprise. I didn’t expect you until tonight. Did all go as expected in San Francisco?”
“So so. How was the skiing?” He really didn’t want to talk about his experience. “And tell me about this guy you spent the night with?”
Tessa jerked back. “What?”
“Handsome. I want to hear everything, Tessa. I have a feeling you have more to add to the story.” Robert loved feeling her warm body against his. They were getting reacquainted after her ordeal in Afghanistan. Maybe tonight would be the night to rekindle the flames between them. “You’re acting a little mischievous.”
Rubbing his back then letting her hand slide down to his buttocks, she kissed his lips tenderly. “I love you, Robert Scott.”
“Good to know,” he said leading her back inside the house. “Because I’m nothing without you. Remember that.”
“I’m not likely to forget,” she said, shutting the door with her toe. “Trust me.”
~~~
Several miles from the university, an industrial center, once vibrant and busy producing everything from ball bearings and lawnmower engines to shelving units and pencils, stood with rusted metal walls. A few boarded-up windows and weeds dared to survive in cracked concrete. It resembled a sad epitaph of Americans don’t make things anymore. Only the secure fences, electronic steel gates, and hidden cameras disguised as nests and lopsided debris suggested the four buildings had been repurposed for other interests. The few people who worked there also parked their cars inside through a back entry, hidden from the street.
Two of the buildings blocked the other two and held old equipment, cobwebs, and a few curious pigeons that had found their way inside to raise families. The other two buildings were used by Enigma from time to time to meet and set things in motion for an upcoming op. New polished concrete floors, tinted a pale blue, walls adorned with modern art, and skylights allowing light to filter in to keep the jungle of plants alive. Several platforms held work stations dressed with the latest high-tech equipment. Another area had been transformed into a gym.
The building included an open kitchen and enough seating to house twenty people at any one time. The furniture, although black leather, sported textured throw pillows of purple, green, and orange, as if someone wanted it to appear youthful. Wooden lockers on the back wall gave an almost industrial feel and housed a variety of weapons and equipment. A narrow hall led to four sparsely furnished bedrooms with their own en-suite bathroom. Another section of the building held interrogation and observation rooms, much like the one on the outskirts of San Francisco.
This is where Handsome Jones was brought by his new handlers.
“Help yourself to the fridge, Handsome.” Former Lieutenant Ken Montgomery shut the door behind them as First Sergeant Tom Cooper pointed to the kitchen area for their guests.
Both men were former military. Ken, a Ranger years earlier, had served with Captain Hunter. When his friend made the transition to Delta Force, they’d remained in touch.
Tom Cooper, a former Marine, met the captain on a training mission. Somewhere along the line, he’d been recruited to help Enigma. When it was time to reenlist, the quiet Marine decided to take advantage of Enigma’s offer to be permanently on staff.
The two men both had connections to Tessa Scott. Marine Tom Cooper had suffered a blow to the head when she’d tried to escape Enigma custody a couple of years earlier. She’d bested him with nothing more than a broomstick to land him in the hospital. Her escape attempts both embarrassed and impressed him. If she hadn’t already locked Captain Hunter in a cell, Tom would have been the butt of a great deal of harassment. He respected her bumbling attempts at courage and decided long ago she was one of the good guys.
Ken Montgomery felt more affection toward the Grass Valley housewife than his buddy since she’d saved him from a terrorist bullet. Although he’d taken a shot to the leg, which could be a killer on a rainy day, he could still remember the crazy-eyed glare of the man be
nding over him, ready to send him into the hereafter. Tessa, a scared little rabbit, took action to save him then promptly puked in a trash can at her actions. They’d worked together a couple times since then. She’d pulled her weight and then some, in spite of not knowing what the heck she’d gotten herself into. One thing for sure, trouble found her like a heat-seeking missile.
Having to scare the hell out of her husband the night before still rolled across Ken like a sudden hailstorm. Something about the man caught in his craw. He didn’t buy the story of why he’d brought a woman to his hotel room. Robert felt like a prickle at the nape of his neck. Trouble. That’s what it sounded like to him. In his mind, Tessa deserved better. Hell. They all did.
Now, the two former soldiers lived in this warehouse, transformed into a home of sorts. Neither one desired to live among normal people with normal lives since they’d left the military. They watched over the back door of Enigma, fought when called upon, broke the law when necessary, killed when no other option presented itself, and enjoyed the freedom this life offered to men who couldn’t assimilate into society. Their unwavering allegiance to God, country, and Enigma, provided all either needed to survive.
“Pick a room down the hall. I imagine the captain will want you to stick around a day or two to debrief and figure out what this is all about. You can clean up if you like.” Ken strolled to the refrigerator and pulled out three cold beers.
“A little early for drinking.” Handsome sniffed in distaste.
The former Marine nodded as he grabbed one of the bottles. “It most certainly is.” Ken held up his bottle and touched Tom’s, as if toasting some accomplishment.
“How do you know Mrs. Scott?” Handsome surveyed the room and walked around the space as if calculating a way out. The Enigma men had seen this behavior before.
When Ken and Tom explained their connections, Handsome grinned. “She’s kind of a whippersnapper, as my auntie used to say.”
“You have no idea,” the former Marine moaned as he touched the back of his head in memory of the concussion he’d received at her hands.
“I’m leaving.” Handsome moved toward the exit and rattled the locked door. His eyebrow arched and his mouth puckered when he looked back to his new jailors who smiled between sips of beer.
Ken flopped down on an overstuffed chair then propped his feet up on a coffee table. “Yeah, I thought you might feel that way. Even if you knock us senseless, you won’t be able to get out. So, I’d accept you’re going to be our guest for a bit. But, hey, go ahead and try to find a way out. We’re always trying to find out where our weak spots might be.”
Tom rested against the island. “Oh, and so you know, the fence outside is electrified, too, in case you get out. We’ve also released the dogs to patrol around. Since they don’t know your scent, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to mess with them. There are some doggie treats in the back if you want to try your luck.”
“The pups need a good workout, Handsome.” Ken belched then set his bottle down. “Not sure when the boss will get those two you captured at the cabin here or those other shady characters who seemed to be trying to find you. We’ve got some special accommodations ready for them. You might want to stick around and see what they have to say.”
Handsome lumbered back into the kitchen area. “What makes you think they’ll talk?”
Both men chuckled. Ken rubbed the stubble on his chin then addressed the question. “Oh, they’ll talk. Zoric has a gift for encouraging people to talk. In the meantime, I’m going to cook some breakfast. How many eggs you want?”
Chapter 14
“S o, are you going to tell Tessa about her cheating husband?” Samantha Cordova sat down at the warehouse table across from Chase. “I’d be happy to do it. Please.”
Chase ignored her and continued going through some notes taken on the interrogation of their prisoners. He saved Handsome for last and wanted to make sure the direction the conversation needed to go before confronting him. His agent continued to stare at him over the brim of her coffee cup, as curls of steam lifted in front of her hazel-green eyes. The woman resembled a cat about to pounce on some unexpected prey.
“We don’t know for sure if he was cheating,” he said offhandedly, but not sure he sounded convincing. “Maybe you could tell me why you went for his jugular when you thought he had?” Chase leveled a dangerous glare at her, hoping she’d drop the subject.
Samantha took another sip before setting the cup down then stood up. “I think I’ll go see if Zoric needs any help cleaning up the mess he made in the back.”
“Good idea,” he growled in his usual contemptuous fashion.
Chase tired of the bickering flaring up between the two women on a regular basis. Although Tessa seemed to take the most hits of revenge, she could hold her own on the insults and innuendo in the most innocent of ways. Sometimes he believed each of the two combatants actually admired the other but was too full of pride to admit it. Samantha pretended to want to do bodily harm to the Grass Valley housewife, and Tessa mocked her with an absurd show of fear that only tended to enrage the senior agent.
“You want to talk to me?” The deep, bass-drum voice of Handsome drew Chase’s eyes upward as the man towered over him. Something about his stance and doubled fists at his sides hinted at impending bodily harm.
Chase had to admit the man was intimidating enough to give him pause, so he slowly stood to demonstrate his own posturing. Handsome took a small step back. Since they’d tangled in Africa a few years earlier, Chase felt confident his prisoner wouldn’t challenge him right away.
“Have a seat.” Chase jerked his chin toward a nearby chair. Of course, the man chose a different seat, as he knew he would. “Need anything?”
“Your head on a chopping block,” Handsome said casually.
Chase offered a thin smile. “Still pissed over Tunisia, I see.”
Handsome remained stoic and silent, staring a hole into the leader of the Enigma team.
“Let’s get any misunderstanding out of the way before we move on to other things. You shot the place up, wounding the ambassador’s aide and his protection detail. A bomb exploded outside the hotel about the same time you and your band of misfits stormed in carrying automatic weapons. They were dressed like a bunch of ISIS wannabes yelling slogans typical of terrorists in North Africa—”
“What’s your point?” Handsome interrupted.
“My point?” Chase gave an exasperated chuckle as he sat down, rocking back in his squeaky chair. “If your CIA buddies had taken the time to give us a heads-up as to the intel and half-baked plan you concocted, to root out the real threat, I wouldn’t have hauled you in to the authorities. Not my fault they didn’t rush in to save the day. I guess they didn’t want to be connected with you, either. Who knew the agency would issue a burn notice on you.” Chase smiled ear to ear. “You should be thanking me. I was the one who got Enigma to see some value in you.”
Handsome’s nostrils flared, but his glare remained sullen. “And what value could someone like me have for the powerful consortium bankrolling the powerful lapdogs of the president?”
“No need to continue the half-witted ruse of being not much more than a part-time employee at a convenience market. What were you doing outside of Truckee when Mrs. Scott needed help?”
“You tell me.”
“This is what I know. Our houseguests in the back, who probably will require a few days of soft food and a transfusion, not to mention a change of clothes, indicated you were friends.”
“You were misinformed.” His body and composure remained icy calm. “They only wanted to take revenge on me because I caught them sneaking around then overpowered them. The ones who came after Mrs. Scott when you showed up seem to believe I owe them money.”
“From what they tell me, and these are their words, you owe them about a million dollars in uncut diamonds. Know anything about that?”
“Nothing. Does this mean I soon will need a change of
clothing? If so, let me write down my sizes for you to pick up a few things. I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything else.”
Chase took a deep breath. “I like you, Handsome. You never show fear.”
“Thank you. Unfortunately, the feeling is far from mutual.”
“You’re probably going to like me even less before this is all over.”
“You underestimate my feelings of contempt.” Handsome cocked his head and raised an eyebrow as his lips moved in and out. “As to the diamonds, it is more like three million. Some unprofessional diamond merchants were stealing from the good people of Botswana, and being of African descent, I thought it my duty to show them the error of their ways.” He smiled broadly. “You know, to honor my roots and all.”
“You’re full of crap, Handsome.”
The smile faded from his face as he stared into the distance again.
“Something you aren’t aware of,” Chase continued, “is a few of your friends lured Mrs. Scott’s husband to a hotel room last night. We aren’t sure of the intent, but it didn’t turn out so well.” He pulled out a picture of the dead woman on the floor. “Is this a friend of yours?”
Handsome’s eyes shifted to the picture then to Chase. “No.”
“So, you don’t know who this is?”
“I said she wasn’t a friend of mind. That doesn’t mean I don’t know who she was.”
Chase slammed his fist on the stainless-steel tabletop. “Stop playing games with me.”
“Are you telling me Mrs. Scott’s husband is dealing in illegal diamonds?”
“Right now, we think he is innocent of any wrongdoing except maybe trying to get a good deal on some diamonds for Tessa—I mean, Mrs. Scott.”
This brought Handsome’s gaze back to him. “I asked Mrs. Scott if the two of you were in some kind of relationship.”
“You are a bit nosey. She is my agent, nothing more than a periodic pain in the neck who has endeared herself to the president. Not much I can do to change his mind.”
The Enigma Series Boxed Set Page 112