by Paige Tyler
“Dammit, Holden. That’s the point! You don’t need to handle this on your own. If you got yourself in trouble because of me, I’m going to be there to get you out.”
“I know that.” His teammate flashed him a quick smile before turning his attention back to the grill. “You ever hear from those CIA agents who questioned us at JASCO? One of them said they’d let us know when they figured out what those Chinese spec op guys were after.”
Clearly, they’d reached the end of the conversation on whatever shady crap Holden had gotten himself involved in.
“Hell, no. Not that I thought I would,” Dalton said. “But Chasen talked to Charlie Shaw, that CIA operative Nash and I worked with down in Mexico. He dug around a little and found out that chip the Chinese wanted was some kind of advanced processor for networking smart weapons.”
Holden looked at him in confusion. “I have no idea what that even means. What, the chip lets you download Netflix on your M4?”
Dalton chuckled. “Not that kind of weapon. Munitions like bombs and missiles. The chip lets the ordnance communicate with the aircraft that launches it, even after the plane releases them. The pilot—or someone in a plane a hundred miles away—can change the target or direct a low-level attack angle. The chip will even let munitions talk to each other so they can autonomously coordinate their strike. It’s supposed to be the next big thing in weapons, which is likely why the Chinese were so eager to get their hands on them.”
Holden looked dubious. “Probably, but the whole thing sounds creepy to me. Isn’t this how Skynet started in the Terminator Series? Somebody thinking it would be a good idea to let machines think for themselves?”
Dalton couldn’t necessarily disagree with that logic.
“Not to change the subject, but I couldn’t help noticing you and Kimber look good together,” Holden said as he moved the burgers off the heat, then loaded the top level of the grill with the buns so they could toast up a bit. “Is this going anywhere or are you just messing around?”
Holden was always direct, even if the question had come out of nowhere, so Dalton wasn’t offended. The truth was, most of his SEAL teammates were the same. Getting shot at all the time made the idea of sugarcoating the silly shit seem like a waste of time, so why do it?
Dalton glanced over to see what Emma was up to. He smiled when he saw she was back over with Wes and her grandfather, playing with the stuffed toys he’d bought her. He’d been worried the cookout with Kimber’s parents would be awkward, but it hadn’t been like that at all. Her mother and father had welcomed him and his buddies like they were family. Her mother, Jessica, had given each of them a hug and thanked them for saving her granddaughter, while her father, Matt, had talked about sports like they were old friends. Neither one had asked a single question about what was going on between him and their daughter.
Which was a good thing, since Dalton didn’t really know.
“I know this is going to sound lame,” he said after giving his friend’s question some serious thought, “but I don’t have a friggin’ clue where Kimber and I are going. I mean, I just found out a couple days ago that I’m the father of an amazing little girl. I guess I’m still processing it all.”
Holden threw him a curious look. “Okay, forget for a minute that you have a kid, as difficult as that is to do, and focus on Kimber. Where do you want this thing with her to go? Do you want to get back together?”
Dalton opened his mouth to say he wasn’t sure about that, either, but then he stopped because that wasn’t true. He knew what he wanted, only he wasn’t sure if it was possible.
“Kimber is amazing,” he said. “She always was. In some ways, she’s even more incredible now. The lengths she’s willing to go to for Emma takes my breath away.”
“She sounds like an awesome mother,” Holden agreed. “But that wasn’t the question I asked. I wanted to know if you want a future with her as a woman, not merely as the mother of your child.”
Dalton chuckled. “When did you turn all Dr. Phil on my ass? Should I be lying down on a couch while you finish those burgers?”
Holden didn’t laugh. “You still haven’t answered the question.”
Dalton sighed. No, he hadn’t. “I like being with Kimber…a lot. I’m not exactly the introspective type, but lately I’ve started being honest with myself, and it’s forced me to realize I’ve spent a good part of the past five years trying to replace her. I went through a lot of women, every one of them tall, blond, and athletic just like her.”
He expected Holden to say something snarky, but his friend only regarded him thoughtfully. “That explains why you’ve been so cynical about Nash and the other guys getting into long-term relationships.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just that at some level you’re a little jealous of them.”
Dalton’s first instinct was to say he wasn’t jealous about any of the other guys on the team finding someone. On the contrary, he was happy for them. But then he realized that would be a lie. Damn, how many of the other guys on the Team had noticed.
“I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “Pretty shitty of me, huh?”
Holden shrugged. “Not really. You had something good with Kimber. You lost it and that affected you. Nobody is going to hold it against you. Besides, none of that matters now.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No,” Holden said firmly. “Because you’ve been given a second chance with her. Which once again brings me back to the same question. Do you want to get back together with Kimber?”
“Yeah,” he said without hesitation. “I mean, when we’re together, it’s kind of amazing how easy it all seems to work. We just click.”
“That sounds like a good start,” Holden said. “Next question. Do you think Kimber would be willing to move down to San Diego with you?”
Dalton considered that. “I don’t know. She has a good job and an even better support system with her parents around to help raise Emma. I’m not sure she’d want to move.”
“Would you be okay with the long-distance thing?”
The honest answer was that he wouldn’t like it at all. To him, a relationship meant seeing each other all the time. Making love. Being there for each other…and for Emma. He couldn’t see the San-Diego-to-San-Francisco thing working out, but he might not have a lot of say in the situation.
“It wouldn’t be my first option, but if that was the only way Kimber would agree to let me into their lives, then that’s the way it would have to be, I guess.”
Holden transferred the burgers, dogs, and buns off the grill, loading up a big tray with them. “It sounds like you and Kimber have some serious talking to do.”
All Dalton could do was nod, wishing he had a clue exactly how he’d tackle that conversation.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I DIDN’T EXPECT to see you here this morning,” Dennis said when Kimber stopped at the security gate in front of the JASCO parking lot. Looking around at all the empty spaces, he sighed. “To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again, or anybody, for that matter. This place has been on total lockdown since you broke in and stole those chips. I didn’t have a clue about when we might open back up.”
Kimber grimaced at hearing her friend put it so bluntly. But that was exactly what she’d done, even if she had a good reason. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I hope you and the other guys in security aren’t in too much trouble over the whole thing.”
Dennis shook his head. “None of us lowly grunts are, but Henry is about to shit bricks. The fact that you and your friends were able to slip in and walk out with those chips like you did doesn’t make his security program look too good. He’s been stomping around in a seriously pissed off mood for days. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with him. It would suck to be stuck in a room with him for more than thirty seconds.”
That was a heartwarming thought, especially since that was exactly why she was at JASCO that morning. Kimber would hav
e much rather stayed home and spent the day hanging out with Dalton and Emma at the apartment, watching TV and goofing off. But Henry had called saying he needed to talk to her about the break-in, and that her continued employment at JASCO might very well depend on how their discussion went.
Yeah, Jasper had said he’d do everything he could to help her, but if the head of company security made a big enough stink, the boss would have to distance himself from her to save himself.
None of which boded well for her.
“You okay, Kimber?” Dennis asked, jerking her out of the gloomy thoughts of impending unemployment. “I swear your face turned ten shades of green all of a sudden.”
She grimaced. “Probably because I have to be stuck in a room with Henry when I go inside, likely for way more than thirty seconds. He wants to talk about the break-in, and I’m definitely not looking forward to that conversation.”
It was Dennis’ turn to wince. “I don’t blame you. But remember, the worst he can do is kill you. He can’t eat you.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Not really, I guess. Wish I had something better for you, but that’s all I got. Good luck.”
Giving him a wave, she drove across the empty parking lot and pulled into her normal space, wondering if maybe she should walk in and tell Henry she quit. Would that look any worse on her resumé than getting fired?
But by the time Kimber reached the main security office, she realized it would be more prudent to see where the meeting went before deciding whether to quit or not. This was a good job and she’d prefer not giving it up if she could help it.
It helped that Henry didn’t start ranting the moment she walked into his office. Instead, he asked her to take a seat in the chair in front of his desk before slipping into his own and smiling at her.
“Is Emma doing okay?”
“Um…yeah.” The question caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected a guy who’d always seemed like a jackass to her would ask about her daughter. “She was really scared the whole time those men were holding her, but she’s young, and stuff like that fades quickly for them.”
Henry nodded. “That’s good. Speaking of that, by any chance, did your daughter ever mention any of the conversation she overheard while those men were holding her?”
She blinked. “You realize my daughter is five, right? And that the men holding her only spoke Chinese the entire time?”
Henry looked disappointed. “I know. I was hoping that maybe something had slipped out that she understood. Something that might explain this whole thing, because truthfully, none of this crap makes any sense at all.”
Kimber frowned. “What doesn’t make sense? The kidnappers wanted those particular chips, so they found a way to blackmail me into getting them.”
Henry regarded her intently for a long time. Finally, he leaned forward, his expression curious. “I’m sure you asked yourself at some point why those men took your daughter in particular, right?”
Of course, Kimber had wondered that. “I spent the entire first night beating myself up over that exact question. I wondered if they’d grabbed my daughter because I’d done something wrong. Ultimately, I decided it had to be random chance.”
Henry shook his head. “I find that difficult to believe. These people who took your daughter were trained by their government to do this kind of stuff. They knew exactly which processor chips they were after, right down to the product code. There was no guesswork in any of this. They took your daughter because you were their target all along.”
Kimber stared at him. “That’s impossible. Why would anyone ever think I could steal those chips? I ultimately did it because I used to date a SEAL. But wouldn’t it have made more sense to target someone who already worked in the secured side of the company?”
Henry sat back, his expression thoughtful. “I have to admit, those are the same thoughts that have been eating at me from the beginning. I find it difficult to believe that anybody, even these Chinese agents, could have predicted you’d ask for help from a team of Navy SEALs when you hadn’t seen Dalton Jennings in five years.”
Up to that point, Kimber hadn’t been sure how much of the story Henry had been privy to. But if he knew about her prior relationship with Dalton, she guessed he knew everything. All she could do was shrug. “I can’t begin to guess how they knew since I didn’t know myself until minutes before I jumped on a plane to San Diego. Before that, I’d rarely thought much about Dalton.”
That wasn’t quite true of course, but she wasn’t going to admit to the head of company security how often thoughts of Dalton—and how she’d walked out on him—had crept into her mind every day. There was no reason for her to admit that.
“I’d thought as much,” Henry said. “But if they didn’t know about your connection to the SEALs, that suggests they intended for you to go after the chips completely on your own.”
“That’s insane.” She shook her head. “I would never have gotten into the secure side of the facility. Hell, I’m lucky if I could have gotten into the building at all. I would have gotten caught in five minutes flat.”
Henry seemed to consider that. “Yeah, you would have gotten caught, if not by a roving guard, then by a camera or movement sensor. The people who sent you in there would have known that, too.”
“Maybe we’re giving those Chinese agents way too much credit,” she said. “Maybe they simply grabbed my daughter and hoped for the best.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Henry said. “Everything else was handled too perfectly, right down to going after a woman who would have tried to rob JASCO on her own, even if there hadn’t been any SEALs around to help. They wanted you to go into that building, and they knew exactly what buttons to push to make you do it. I just don’t know why.”
Kimber sighed, not sure where this conversation was going. It was like Henry was thinking out loud. “Maybe they wanted me to get caught.”
Although, that was stupid.
She expected Henry to say as much, but he didn’t. Instead, he sat back in his chair, his expression even more thoughtful. A moment later, he sat bolt upright. “Damn, maybe it is just that simple.”
“It is?” she asked, completely confused.
“Yes.” His eyes were slightly unfocused as the gears in his head began to work through some theory she wasn’t seeing. “Now that you said it, it’s obvious. So obvious that I can’t believe I didn’t see it until now.”
“Well, it’s not so obvious to me,” she said in frustration. “So, maybe you could clue me into what you’re talking about?”
Henry turned his gaze her way, but she could tell that he was still somewhere far away, still working through some kind of possibilities. “I don’t think the people behind this ever intended for you to get to the chips from that classified program. I think they wanted to make it look like those chips were in danger.”
“Why would they want that?” She frowned. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”
“It does if you’re aware of the security protocols put into place by the Department of Defense when we started doing their weapon programs,” Henry said. “They require all classified projects in the facility to be packaged up and transferred to an alternate holding facility in the event of an attempted security intrusion.”
It took a few moments for the implications of those words to filter through. Then it hit her. “Wait a minute. You mean that someone trying to break in to steal something would have been enough to get those chips transferred to some other location?”
“Not just those chips, but every other piece of classified material in our labs. We’re talking nearly two dozen different DOD projects, all packaged up together for shipment to the alternate storage location. And that’s where they’d stay until the government felt it was safe to bring them back.”
She considered that. “Is this other location easier to break into? Is that why they wanted everything moved out of JASCO?”
Henry shook
his head. “Not really. The facility is about the same from a security perspective. But in reality, it would be harder to get into because everyone would be on guard.”
She’d thought she was tracking with Henry’s logic before, but apparently not. “Then what would the kidnappers gain by prompting the transfer?”
“The chips,” Henry said. “While it would be tough to get them after they were in the new storage location, it wouldn’t be too difficult to grab them while they were en route, especially if you knew exactly when the DOD was moving them and how they were getting them there.”
Kimber stared at him in shock. “You think kidnapping my daughter and trying to get me to break in and steal those chips was all some convoluted plan designed to get our DOD projects out on the road where the Chinese could grab everything?”
Henry nodded. “That’s exactly what I think. It’s convoluted, but brilliant. And it would have gone perfectly, except you and your Navy SEALs actually stole the chips they sent you after. But they’re probably okay with that because the security protocols have been activated anyway.”
“They have?”
“Yeah. Everything is slated to move out later this afternoon.”
“Can you stop the transfer?” Kimber asked
Her stomach knotted at the thought of foreign spies getting their hands on all that classified material. She couldn’t even begin to grasp how damaging that would be to national security. And how much more danger Dalton and his SEAL team would be in if the Chinese got their hands on all that JASCO technology.
Henry pushed back his chair. “I can’t, but Jasper can. We’re going to have to be careful, though. The only way someone could have come up with a scheme like this is if they were intimately familiar with our security protocols. There aren’t a lot of people at JASCO who fit that bill, but there are dozens in the DOD who could have done it.”
Kimber was on her feet and following Henry out of his office when the full weight of what he’d said hit her. Crap. They weren’t only dealing with a team of foreign spies. There was an American traitor involved as well, if not at JASCO, then in the DOD itself.