by Katie Reus
“Makes sense. The room she was in was the one targeted. Which meant he was pretty positive of her location.” Burkhart was silent for a long moment as Cade waited for him to ask the question he’d known was coming. “Why wasn’t she in her room?”
Cade met that hard stare, unflinching. “She was in mine.”
Burkhart’s gaze flicked to where she sat on the edge of the ambulance’s rear deck. “I figured, since she’s just wearing one of your shirts.” There was a note of censure in his boss’s voice.
If this had been a typical occurrence—though if it was, he’d be out of a job—or anyone else other than Maria, Cade might have felt guilty. “Say what you need to say.”
Burkhart lifted his shoulders. “I’ve never known you to get involved with an asset.” When Cade didn’t respond, just tightened his jaw, his boss continued. “She’s been through a lot. She’s vulnerable right now.”
At that, Cade swallowed hard. He already knew that. But he’d fallen so damn hard for her. He looked away, his eyes automatically seeking Maria out. She was nodding politely at something the female paramedic said. “She’s more than an asset and I didn’t take advantage of her.” Would never, could never.
“I know you wouldn’t. Just . . . be careful,” Burkhart said softly, the tone out of character. “And answer me honestly. If it was anyone else, I’d pull them, but you’ve got one of the best records. Will this compromise your ability to do your job?”
Cade shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t do that to her.” If he thought his judgment was skewed enough to put Maria in danger, Burkhart wouldn’t have to pull him, because he’d do it himself.
Burkhart just gave him a long look before he tapped his earpiece. And Cade let out a sigh of relief. While his boss gave one-word answers to whoever was on the other end, Cade headed to the ambulance. As he arrived at the back, another paramedic strode up with a folded pair of light blue scrubs: pants and a top. He handed them to Maria before he and the other woman walked away, giving them privacy.
“How are you feeling?” Cade asked, even though it was a stupid question.
Her amber eyes widened as she clutched the clothes to her chest. “Me? You shot someone. How are you?”
“It’s not the first time. Seriously, are you . . .” Words felt so inadequate. Her mother had been buried the afternoon before and then they’d just barely survived a very violent hit.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what I am. It’s all too surreal. I feel like I’m watching someone else’s life. Or an action movie. I know I’ll crash later and have to deal with all this, but more than anything, I’m just glad we’re both alive.”
His throat tightened. He could have lost her. That was unacceptable. If Burkhart got a lead on where these fuckers were, Cade was going to be part of the team that brought them down. Even though he didn’t want to leave her side, things had gotten very personal after this attack.
“Moran was in the backyard. He’s dead.” He hadn’t told her about the other body yet because he’d wanted to wait after what she’d told him about Moran. A tech had used one of the NSA’s handheld fingerprint scanners and identified him almost immediately. Burkhart might be pissed that he’d told her, because he hated sharing information with civilians, but she had a right to know.
She sucked in a sharp breath, and uncaring about appearances, he closed the last few inches between them. He slid his hand behind her head, holding her possessively as he wrapped his other arm around her and held her tight. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured against the top of her head.
She wrapped both hands around him tightly, letting the scrubs fall to her lap. Resting her head against his chest, she let out a shaky breath. “I know what I heard, but I thought maybe . . . I was wrong. He was friends with my parents. I don’t understand why he’d be involved with those guys or why he’d come here.” She suddenly pulled back, a frown playing across her face. “I didn’t hear any more gunfire.”
“I didn’t kill him and neither did anyone else here. They’ll still have to run the ballistics, but it looks as if the man I took down killed Moran.”
“I’m not sad he’s dead, but why? From what I remember overhearing, he was working with those guys.”
Cade shrugged. “I can’t say for sure and we might not ever know, but he likely outlived his usefulness. It’s usually how things like this work. Moran wasn’t part of their crew. He’s obviously been helping them with something, but since he wasn’t one of them, it could be as simple as Mihails and Oto tying up loose ends.” He’d tell her everything Burkhart had told him later, but for now he didn’t want to bog her down with even more information about a man she’d trusted. Not to mention that he wasn’t even sure if he could tell her about Moran’s motives just yet.
She shivered and though he wanted to pull her back into another embrace, he took the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and completely unfolded it before holding it up. “You can change here if you want.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, her expression full of exhaustion and contemplation.
He glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention, even though she was completely blocked with the blanket. Some primal part of him didn’t want anyone to see what he considered his.
His.
He nearly snorted at the thought. She might be for now, but when she learned the truth of what had happened to her brother, she could very well hate him. But a small, stupidly hopeful part of him had started to wonder if maybe she could forgive him. Maybe even . . . yeah, not going there.
“I’m done, thanks.”
When he looked back, she was neatly folding his shirt. A smile tugged at his mouth, catching him by surprise as he watched her. It smelled like smoke and was dirty, yet she folded it with such precision and care.
“So, what happens now?” As she met his gaze again, he could see the exhaustion lines around her eyes.
He started to respond when she stiffened, looking past him. He turned to find Burkhart striding toward them.
“We’ve found three abandoned cars in the area,” he said to Cade after a polite nod at Maria, then focused solely on Cade. “One a block from here and it has Moran’s prints on it. So far there’s nothing useful inside, but one of the analysts dumped the contents of the burner phone he had on him. One of the only two numbers from the call history is sending out a signal right now. A very isolated area. No CCTVs or . . .” He trailed off, not about to give any more details, and Cade knew his boss wouldn’t in front of Maria.
His heart rate accelerated at the news. It could be nothing or it could be the break they’d been waiting for. Mihails Balodis had been caught on facial-recognition software programs when he entered the country and when he entered Florida, but that was months ago, and until yesterday at the marina, the man had been practically a ghost. There were ways to screw up the program and maybe he’d been doing that to stay off the grid. Or he’d just been lying incredibly low. An isolated base of operations would certainly help with that.
“I’m setting up a team now. I want you as lead. I have a place we can take her—completely off the books.” Burkhart wasn’t ordering him, something Cade appreciated.
He didn’t want to leave Maria, but a big threat to her had just been eliminated and if he could help bring down the bastard who had killed her mother— He had to do this for her. “Give us a sec?”
His boss nodded, already tapping his earpiece again as he left them to talk.
“You want to go.” Maria’s voice was soft as she wrapped her arms around herself.
He nodded, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her close. He didn’t want anything between them, even imaginary barriers, and he couldn’t tell if she was putting them up. At this point he didn’t give a shit about propriety as he cupped her cheek. “I don’t have to.”
She laid gentle hands on his chest, her expression wry. �
��Yes, you do. And I don’t want to hold you back.” The worry in her eyes was stark, but she meant what she was saying.
It made him love her even more. He almost jerked at the thought.
Love.
Shit. Yeah, he did. He’d been fighting the truth to himself, knowing it was too soon and just plain stupid. “They need to pay for what they’ve done.” And he needed to atone for previous sins. Maybe he could do that by bringing down the men who’d killed her mother. Maybe then she’d forgive him once she learned the truth about him.
“What will happen to me now?” Now a shot of fear crept into her expression.
After the NSA and local cops had shown up, she told Cade everything she remembered from the night of the Westwood explosion. Now they had covert operatives watching over the locations she’d heard specifically mentioned. The NSA and FBI were also following up on a ton of other avenues—including trying to locate the suddenly missing owners of the Opulen Hotel—but they were taking Maria’s statement very seriously. After the attempts on her life, they’d be stupid not to.
“You’ll still be protected.” Frowning, he turned to find Burkhart still talking. From his angle, Cade couldn’t see his earpiece but knew his boss had it on. He probably slept with the damn thing. Cade looked back at her and dropped a quick kiss on her head. “Just give me a sec.” No matter how badly he wanted to bring the terrorists to justice, he had to know for sure who would be watching over Maria. Otherwise he couldn’t leave her.
As he approached, his boss tapped his earpiece off immediately. Before Cade could ask the two questions he needed to know—where would Maria be staying and who would be watching her?—Burkhart motioned toward the fire truck with his head. “Come on.”
Rounding the front of the truck with Burkhart, Cade saw a black SUV right behind the sectioned-off area across the street. It was next to the curb, the parking lights on as it idled. All the neighbors had been ordered back into their houses, so there weren’t any civilians around and the SUV didn’t have government plates. “Who’s in there?” he asked when it was clear Burkhart was heading straight for the vehicle.
His boss just grunted. As they reached it, he rapped his knuckles on the driver’s-side window.
When it rolled down, Cade didn’t bother to hide his shock. “Holy shit.”
Jack Stone, a man he’d worked with in the past—a deadly fucking operative who’d retired a year ago—gave him a small nod. His pale eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. “Been a while, O’Reilly.”
“Yeah.” He glanced back toward the ambulance to see two armed agents hovering protectively near Maria before he turned back. “I thought you retired.”
“I did. I’m in Miami for personal reasons.” Of course no further explanations.
Cade looked at Burkhart, who shrugged. “I knew he was in the area, so I called him as soon as you contacted me about this.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Ms. Cervantes will be safer with him than with anyone else.”
That was probably true, but . . . “Where will you be staying?”
Jack gave him an assessing look, then finally spoke. “I’m in town because my wife, Sophie, wanted to see her best friend after the Westwood bombing. Her friend’s parents were supposed to have been there.” His jaw tightened at that. “We’re staying at her friend’s parents’ home. It’s well secured, so in a few hours, once the sun is up, Sophie and I will take Ms. Cervantes over there. The residence has no ties to her or the agency. She can’t bring anything personal with her, including her cell phone.”
It had been destroyed in the blast, so that wasn’t a problem.
“She can use mine in case of an emergency or just to contact her family or you,” Stone added.
It was a good plan to keep her safe, and being sure of her security was the only way Cade would be able to do his job. Since they still weren’t positive how they’d been tracked to the current safe house, he was more apt to let Maria leave with someone who had no ties to the agency. Not to mention that Stone was lethally efficient. And as long as he had a way to contact her, Cade could live with it. “Okay. Let me go over everything with her first.”
Mouth pulled into a grim line, Burkhart nodded.
• • •
Levi rolled down the window of the rented SUV as he pulled up to the guard’s station at Alexander Lopez’s mansion. The arms dealer was cautious and actually likable, for a criminal. Unlike so many men and women Levi had been forced to work with over the past decade, Lopez had a moral code of sorts. He didn’t run drugs or people and he wouldn’t deal with those who did. The world wasn’t black and white and Levi could deal with Lopez’s shades of gray.
An armed guard stepped from the guardhouse, looked him and the woman in the passenger seat over, then nodded as someone spoke into his earpiece. Levi couldn’t hear what the individual had said, but the guard was clearly listening to someone.
“You’re clear,” the man said before stepping back into the small structure, which Levi knew had bullet-resistant windows.
Levi also knew he and his companion would be searched for weapons as soon as they parked. Just standard procedure.
Lopez often acted as a go-between for parties who wanted to conduct business. His home was considered neutral ground, and most people in their line of business respected that. Well, Levi wasn’t in anyone’s business. Right now this was all a job to him whether he worked for the NSA anymore or not. For almost a year and a half he’d been following one lead after another, picking up one thread when another hit a dead end. It was seemingly never ending, but he was getting closer to finding out why his wife had been murdered.
And who was behind it.
He swore he could taste how close he was.
“I’ve been here before. Who are you meeting with?” the woman sitting next to him asked.
Despite his earlier decision not to use her, he’d decided to hire this woman again. She went by the name Jasmine, but he knew her real name was Allison. Even though he’d tried digging deeper into her past, he hadn’t been able to find out how the hell she’d ended up in the escort business. Sadly, there weren’t that many options to choose from: bad family life, bad boyfriend talked her into it, she needed the money to eat—he guessed it was one of those three choices. At twenty-four, she was smart, exquisitely beautiful, and shouldn’t be selling her body for money. Hell, no one should. He wanted to remain unaffected by her, but before he left town he wanted to talk to her about getting out of the business. “You know Lopez?” he asked, ignoring her question.
She shrugged, the action casual. “Not really. I’ve serviced some of his clients before.”
“What do you think of him?” He slowly steered the vehicle down the long winding drive, wanting to draw out this conversation if she had any information on Lopez.
“He’s not so bad. I know what he does but he doesn’t hurt women.” That right there said it all. It was probably how she gauged whether someone was “not so bad” or not.
“What about Paul Hill? Do you know him?” The man Levi was supposed to meet at Lopez’s house. They’d been supposed to meet at the Opulen, but after the shit storm earlier, Hill had canceled.
It was subtle, but her expression tightened ever so slightly. “I’ve never met him.”
A nice, vague answer.
“But you know of him?” he asked as he parked the SUV.
“I know that many women in a line of work similar to mine go into his hotel and never come out.” Her voice was icy, her expression remote.
His eyebrows rose as he filed the information away. If that was true, he was surprised Lopez was letting the man onto his property. Levi didn’t respond and she didn’t speak again as armed guards opened their doors.
After they were thoroughly checked for weapons, including his vehicle, they were shown into the marbled entryway of Lopez’s home. Well, one of his homes. An oversized
, gaudy sculpture of a nude woman cupping one of her breasts with one hand while the other was between her legs was the first thing they saw upon entry.
“So classy,” Allison/Jasmine murmured, and despite himself, he smiled.
“No accounting for tastes.” He kept his voice just as low.
Moments later, Alexander strode out wearing a brightly colored Hawaiian button-down shirt, khaki pants, and flip-flops. He nodded politely at Levi’s escort, then looked at Levi—though Lopez knew him as Isaiah Moore. “Hill isn’t coming.”
Levi tensed, annoyance filtering through him, but he kept his stance casual. “Why not?”
The other man glanced at the two guards standing at two of the entrances. Then he looked at Levi’s companion. “Sweetheart, why don’t you escort my men to the terrace? There’s a beautiful view and a full bar.” It wasn’t a suggestion.
Levi didn’t look at her but kept his gaze on Lopez, his expression deadly. “No one touches her.”
Lopez rolled his eyes as if the thought was absurd. Once they were alone, he motioned that they should head up the marble stairway behind him. A minute later Levi found himself sitting on a long leather Chesterfield couch in the other man’s office. He accepted a scotch to be polite, but it remained untouched on the table next to him.
Lopez leaned against the front of his desk, his arms crossed over his chest in the first gesture of nervousness Levi had ever seen from the man.
That was when he realized he needed to start the conversation. “Why isn’t Hill meeting us and why didn’t you just contact me to let me know the meeting was canceled?” He didn’t like wasting his time.
“Hill is into dirty shit. I didn’t realize it until yesterday when . . . a concerned party informed me that it would be beneficial to my life span if I didn’t do business with him anymore.”
“Dirty shit?”
“He’s apparently selling people, among other things, and I don’t touch that. But . . . he’s also on a hit list. He actually canceled on me first, but it was right after I heard that he’s being hunted. My guess is, he’s gone into hiding.”