by Leslie North
“Hmm.” Everly frowned. Now that he put it that way, it made sense. “What does Loki think I should do then, repost the car for sale?”
“Yep. Except I told him no. I won’t have you used as bait.” Cam reached over and took her hand. “If anyone’s going to post it, it’ll be me. That way my butt’s on the line, not yours.”
“What about all the security stuff?” Concerned, she laced her fingers with his atop the sheets. “You’re the best at what you do. I’ve seen it. I’d hate for someone else to get hurt because of this, especially you.”
“I’ll be fine. And like I told Loki, I’m so good, I can teach someone else to do what I do. Hunter’s not bad on a computer. He can do what I tell him and run it all behind the scenes.”
“Okay. So, how do you plan to get word out that the Aeon’s on the market again?”
“Dark web.” He shrugged. “I figure this person, whoever they are, has the financial means to monitor all channels of communication. If I put it out there, word travels fast. All we need to do is get the car to a familiar spot I can easily defend and schedule a meeting.”
“Where?”
“Not sure yet. Can’t be too open. Don’t want to run the risk of outside collateral damage. Can’t be random private property either. Don’t want anyone asking too many questions about what we’re doing. Needs to have an easy escape route too, in case things go bad and we need to run.”
“Huh.” Everly grinned. “You know you just described my dad’s garage, right?”
Cam frowned. “I never thought about it, but it is kind of perfect, isn’t it? Any chance you can break us back in there without anyone noticing later tonight?”
She snorted. “Piece of cake. Place is usually a graveyard on Tuesday nights anyway.”
He winced at her choice of words and she laughed.
“Sorry.” Everly scooted out of bed, grabbing her sweatshirt and tugging it on before pulling on the enormous sweatpants he’d given her the night before. Even tied as tight as possible, she still had to roll them up three times at the waist to keep from tripping over them. “This is great. We can spend the day planning out our attack and you can get your post up on the dark web and then tonight we can head over to my dad’s garage and—”
“Wait a minute.” Cam stood too and walked around the bed toward her, in all his naked glory. And damn, but he was glorious—all chiseled muscle and sexy sinew. “I don’t remember saying you were coming with me to the meeting.”
“Of course, I’m coming with you. I won’t let you face this alone.”
“Let’s see how things play out today first.” He stepped closer and slipped his arms around her waist, his warm hands sliding beneath her sweatshirt to stroke her bare skin, making her shiver. “Right now, I need a shower.” Before she could protest, he swept her up into his arms and headed toward the bathroom. “And so do you. We’ll take one together, unless you protest.”
“No protests here.” She giggled, kissing his neck. “Bring on the water, baby.”
He jammed on the shower then turned to her, his expression serious. “I mean it, Everly. I don’t want to see you get hurt. If anything happened to you, I don’t think I could bear it.”
She hugged him tight, the warmth inside her bursting into fireworks of something more. “I feel the same. That’s why I want to do this meeting together. We’ve already proven we make a pretty good team and I know you have my back. There’s no one I trust more at this point.”
“Agreed.” He kissed the top of her head, then stripped off her sweats before leading her into the steamy tile shower. “For now, let’s see about getting you cleaned up.”
“Aw, darn.” She pressed him back against the tile wall, her slow smile increasing at the feel of his hard length pulsing hot and heavy against her hip. “I was hoping we’d get down and dirty again.”
13
“You sure you want to do this?” Cam asked Everly for the umpteenth time. They were crouched outside her father’s garage in DC, the Aeon parked in the driveway outside the open bay door. The place appeared deserted, at least for now. That would change as soon as their mysterious new buyer, GL574, showed up. If Cam’s hunches were correct this would be the drug dealer’s head honcho. He didn’t like putting Everly in harm’s way, but she’d already gotten them into the locked garage and turned off the security system. No going back now. Still, if there was any way to keep her from danger, he’d do it. “Look, I can probably handle both things myself and—”
“Which part of Hell. No. didn’t you understand, baby?” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Besides, I’ll be fine. I know how to take care of myself, don’t worry. And you’ll have enough on your hands hacking into my father’s computer system in the shop.”
He wanted to argue, but she was right. In order to pull off what he planned to pull off, he’d need all his brainpower focused on coding. First, he had to bust through her father’s firewalls, then he needed to establish a secure connection to the mainframe at Norse Security—with Hunter’s help—then, if all went well, he could download the software he needed directly through the Aeon’s onboard Wi-Fi, allowing him to manually control the car without actually being inside it.
Everly checked her watch then nodded. “I should get in there. The buyer should arrive any minute. I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Hey,” he said, grabbing her arm before she could walk away. “If things go south, I just want you to know that I really enjoyed our time together last night. I like you a lot and I’d like to spend more time with you when all this is over. If you want—”
The rest of his words were cut off by Everly kissing him. When she pulled away, her sunny smile could’ve lit the dark night around them for years to come. “I like you too, baby. A lot. And I’d love to see you again.” A car approached and she pushed away from him. “But first, we’ve got some bad guys to catch.”
Cam watched her walk safely inside the brightly lit garage then pressed his back to the cold outer wall of the building as a black sedan swerved to a stop beside the Aeon in the driveway. Considering everything that car had been through over the past seventy-two hours, it looked pretty damned good, but he knew Loki was still going to lose his shit when he saw it. Their mission had been to return the vehicle in the same condition as when it had been stolen—perfect. Now, there were several bullet holes through the trunk, a smashed taillight, numerous scratches and dings to the paint, and a weird smell permeating the inside that Cam could only assume had something to do with the drugs that had been held inside there.
At any rate, he’d learned his lesson. Tech was his home, where he belonged. He’d had enough of these outside adventures to last him a lifetime. If he could get out of this alive, with Everly by his side and the Aeon relatively intact, he’d consider it a success. He’d deal with Loki’s tirades later.
The drivers’ side door on the black sedan opened and out stepped one of the two hulking thugs who’d originally shown up at the garage that first night. The guy walked to the back door and opened it. Another man emerged, older, grizzled, with black eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. Maybe five-ten, with a hooked nose and thin lips. He looked familiar, but Cam couldn’t quite place him. As quietly as he could, Cam pulled out his cell phone and snapped a quick pic of the man as he eyeballed the Aeon, then sent it through to the database back at Norse Securities. Within seconds, he had a hit. Benedicto Girrelli, a rival mob boss from outside DC, near the Alexandria area.
Great. Just what they needed around here. More mobsters.
A quick Internet search showed he was an enemy of the current DC boss and had recently paid off a huge civil suit settlement to keep the charges hush-hush regarding a new set of larceny, possession, and racketeering charges. Cam sighed and clicked off his phone before shoving it back into his pocket. Now that he knew who they were up against here, he wanted to get inside Everly’s father’s office and into his computer as quickly as possible. He peeked around the corner of
the building again and saw Girelli and his guard head through the open bay door and into the garage where Evelry was waiting. His chest tightened and adrenaline seared through his blood like lit gasoline. After a quick check of his weapon, Cam sidled around the corner and over to the edge of the cargo bay door. A glance inside showed the two men standing near a beat-up old Toyota Camry, staring down at Everly’s legs visible from beneath the car.
Good girl.
While she kept them occupied, he slipped inside and hid behind a nearby rack of tires stacked full to the ceiling. As Everly slid out from under the Toyota and stood to face Girelli, Cam weaved through the piles of parts and debris in the garage, keeping his eye on the darkened glass of the doorway to the office in the far corner of the room. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. Probably Hunter, wondering why he wasn’t in position yet.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Girelli, but the price isn’t up for negotiation,” Everly said, snippets of conversation reaching him through the racks of tools and equipment and over the pounding of blood in his head. “I don’t care what kind of arrangement you had with my father before this. I’m in charge of this sale now.”
Distracted, Cam kicked a stray wrench laying on the floor with the toe of his boot and sent it skittering across the concrete. He froze, his breath unnaturally loud in his ears. Through a set of tires beside him, he peered through to where Everly and the men stood, all staring now in his direction.
Everly, quick on her feet as always, did her best to cover. “Rats. The whole place is crawling with them. Need to get an exterminator in here next week to handle the problem.”
Girelli narrowed his onyx gaze on the rack behind which Cam was hiding and gestured to his guard. The thug walked over and Cam hid in the shadows, breath held, praying he wouldn’t be seen. Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck, his fingers twitching at his sides, ready to pull his gun if needed, but hoping like hell he wouldn’t have to. A shootout indoors would be too dangerous. What if Everly got shot? What if she… He stopped himself before completing that thought, eyes squeezed shut.
The thug looked through the tires on the rack, even stuck his head around behind it, but thankfully didn’t see Cam in the dim light of the corner. He strode back to where Girelli and Evelry stood waiting, and Cam finally inhaled again. Right. Best get his ass to the office and fast.
While Evelry continued to stand firm on their asking price with the buyer, Cam eventually reached the office door and managed to duck inside. It was super quiet in here, nothing but the sound of the air vents above blowing lightly through the papers on the desk. Cam couldn’t afford to turn on any lights—the glow from the desktop would be enough of a problem. He managed to move the monitor so it faced away from the door and booted up the computer, waiting impatiently while it ran through its diagnostics before powering up fully. Not exactly cutting-edge technology, but as long as there were network capabilities, he would make do. Once on, he dimmed the screen to its lowest settings, then got to work, opening up a coding screen and logging into the dark web. From there, he pinged the mainframe at Norse Security and waited for Hunter’s response. Seconds ticked by like hours and he carefully pulled out his phone from his back pocket to thumb in a quick text. Where the hell are you, H?
Within seconds, a small window appeared on the computer screen asking for his password from Norse Security. With a quick thank you to the gods, he signed in and accessed the files he needed to download. As the transfer ran, his phone buzzed again with a response from Hunter.
Could ask you the same thing, dude. You’re late. Everything okay?
Cam chuckled.
Fine. Busy. We’ll talk soon.
A beep sounded as the last file completed downloading and Cam got to work unpacking the zip files and feeding them into the Aeon’s onboard system. He’d know when it was done by a celebratory honk of the Aeon’s horn. Not exactly subtle, but by that point he didn’t care. Ducking, he walked over to the door and peered outside to see Girelli and his goon advancing on Everly. Seemed her stall tactics were running out of effectiveness. The thug grabbed Everly’s arm and jerked her hard to the side, while Girelli pulled a gun from the pocket of his black blazer. It took every ounce of willpower for Cam to stay put and not bust out there for some serious ass whooping. Still, Evelry held her own, proving she was every bit as capable of taking care of herself as she’d said. She twisted fast and jammed her elbow straight into the thug’s groin, causing him to let her go as he doubled over in agony. Girelli, however, anticipated her moves and simply raised his gun, pointing the barrel directly between her eyes. The office was soundproof—a feature Cam was sure Everly’s crooked father used to full effect in his dirty business dealings—which prevented him from hearing what the other man said. His hand was on the door handle, ready to crack it open so he could rush to Evelry’s defense, when the computer behind him beeped again. At the same time, Girelli turned suddenly to stare at the Aeon behind him.
Cam was in.
Just in time too, thank the gods. He rushed behind the desk and typed in a flurry of coded instructions then hit send. By the time he was back at the door and had it open, the Aeon was revving its engine, high beams glaring directly at Girelli. Like a machine possessed, the car peeled out, barreling directly ahead toward a frozen Girelli. Cam ran over and grabbed a stunned Evelry, tugging her out of harm’s way, and the Aeon sped forward in a squeal of tires and burning rubber.
The thug went down first, still keeled over by the jab to his nuts. The Aeon clipped him with the corner of its bumper, sending him sprawling face-first down on the concrete, his head smacking against the metal bars of one of the tire racks. He didn’t move afterward.
Girelli fired a few shots, but they bounced off the car’s exterior. He backed up, tried to run, tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. A sickening thud sounded, followed by a bone-smashing crack as Girelli’s body was thrown into the air then landed on the pavement hard. The gun clattered away, useless.
Cam yanked out his phone and quickly typed a stop command into the Aeon’s programming. Unfortunately, it didn’t receive it until after it had crashed into the back wall of the garage, leaving the once pristine hood of the car crumpled and steaming as water from the radiator hissed.
Yeah, Loki was not going to be happy about that at all.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Cam said, leaning back to cup Everly’s cheeks. “Okay?”
She nodded, staring around at the carnage of the garage. “Better than this place. My dad’s going to have a cow when he sees this.”
“No worse than Loki’s going to freak when he sees the Aeon. I can safely predict they won’t be letting me out in the field again any time soon, if ever.” He snorted. “Just as well. I think I learned my lesson.”
“You did?” She slipped her arms around his waist and stared up at him, an emotion he wasn’t quite ready to name yet warming her dark eyes. “And what was that?”
“That sticking with what you’re good at is the best idea.”
“Huh.” She looked around then back at him. “Then I guess it’s a good thing you kept me around. I can work out the body damage in the Aeon. No problem.”
“Right.” Cam let her go to pull out his phone and send a quick text to Hunter, letting him know it was all over and the Aeon was secure, if not quite in perfect condition. Seconds later a response came through, not from Hunter, but from Loki. On our way. Cam turned off his phone and returned it to his pocket, then slipped his arm around Everly and led her toward the still-open cargo bay door. “Glad to hear that. I’ll let you talk to my boss then when he gets here and explain how you’ll get that car back to new again.”
“Piece of cake.” Everly laughed. “I’m used to handling mobsters and thugs on a daily basis. One grumpy security guy shouldn’t be a problem.”
As they walked outside into the cool, dark night, Cam snuggled her closer into his side, feeling lighter and happier than he had in years, despite the mess they’d left insi
de and the explanations that lay ahead. “Did I mention Loki isn’t exactly a typical security guy? He’s an ex-SEAL too.”
Everly scoffed. “Well, I handled you just fine, didn’t I?”
Beneath the soft yellow glow of a nearby streetlight, Cam turned to face her, pulling her closer in his arms. “That you did, sweetheart. That you did.”
14
Six months later…
Cam pulled his Camry into the parking lot of the industrial park where the Norse Security offices were located. Instead of pulling into his assigned spot near the door, however, he continued on around the building to a more industrial section of the complex and one metal warehouse-style building in particular.
A large sign had been hung over the two cargo bay doors at the front. Everly’s Garage and Body Shop, it proclaimed in bold, red block letters, with the phone number and website listed underneath. The website had been his idea. He’d designed it, of course, with all the latest features and the best SEO money could buy to draw in customers to his girlfriend’s business.
In the end, Loki hadn’t been nearly as pissed as Cam had expected about the shredded Aeon, perhaps in part due to Everly’s reassurances that she could repair all the damage done. Sure enough, she had—or would—once he finished with reinstalling the software that had been stripped along with all the damaged processors during the rebuild process. That’s why he was here today, in fact.
Well, that, and to bring his sweetheart lunch.
He parked and got out, reaching back inside to grab the bag of fast food he’d picked up on his way in and also a very special present he hoped he was brave enough to give her today.