Dangerous Games (Aegis Group, #3)

by Sidney Bristol

  “Thanks.” Max sipped the coffee Crystal slid across to him. “I’ll get to it—Kevin and Patricia...their stories don’t match.”

  “How so?” Zain asked.

  “Well, Kevin keeps saying Cliff hired him. That Cliff said to use his cousin’s house, gave Kevin all sorts of access to the girl’s information but...” Max shook his head. “When I talk to Patricia, her stories are different. It’s the details that aren’t matching. She only knows of Cliff because of you, Crystal. Patricia said Kevin wanted her to keep tabs on you, that he’d pay her for what she could give him. Here’s the thing, she said when she spoke to Kevin last, when she warned him Andrea was in contact with us, that someone else was there. Kevin kept talking to another man, but she didn’t know who it was.”

  “Another accomplice?” Zain asked.

  “Maybe.” Max shrugged.

  “Or...it could be the person trying to make Cliff take the fall.” Andrea swallowed. If that was true...then she’d been in the same house with them. Whoever had betrayed her had been one floor above her.

  “Dude. Guys.” Crystal stared at her phone. “I just got a text from one of the guys at the office. Miranda’s in today. She’s working.”

  “What? No, she had a thing.” Andrea reached for Crystal’s phone and read the text.

  Miranda’s here. U coming in?

  It was from one of the other graphics guys.

  That wasn’t right. Andrea had changed her flight to be on Miranda’s when things got hairy. Safety in numbers and all that jazz. So why was Miranda back early?

  Max grimaced. “I don’t like how things are going. I’m going to have to bring Cliff in for questioning. My boss is pushing for an arrest already. I need something else to go on or else my hands are tied. Evidence is evidence.”

  “No, you can’t arrest Cliff,” Andrea blurted.

  “Sorry, I know you don’t think he’s involved, but there’s too many coincidences.” Max spread his hands.

  “Can you just...I mean if you have to, can you do it quietly? We’ve already created so much negative press for the company.” Despite everything Kevin said, Andrea couldn’t believe Cliff was behind any of it. He wasn’t her favorite person, she didn’t particularly care for him, but he had supported their concept for D7.

  “Well, hold on.” Zain leaned forward. “If you do arrest Cliff, make it a big, public thing, that might give whoever is really behind all of this a false sense of security. If the cops are looking at Cliff, he—or she—might make a move.”

  “Has anyone spoken to Cliff?” Crystal crossed her arms over her chest. “It seems to me, especially if he’s innocent, that he’s going to want to help however he can. Don’t get me wrong, Cliff creeps me the fuck out sometimes, but I don’t see him doing this stuff. I mean, he barely knows our names.”

  “I’ll put in a call to Cliff. See if he’ll play ball.” Max checked his phone again. “I’ve got to hit the road. Thanks for the coffee. Let me know if you hear anything, and I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  “Thanks for keeping us informed.” Zain stood, shook Max’s hand and saw him to the door.

  Andrea stared at the marble counter top, not ready to process so much information. The nightmare wasn’t over yet. Her kidnapping was just the beginning. How far was this going to go?

  “I’m calling Miranda,” Andrea announced.

  “I’ve tried her several times. She’s not answering,” Crystal said.

  Andrea pulled out her phone and scrolled to her boss’ cell phone. She needed to try it for herself.

  The line rang. And rang.

  “Andrea.” Miranda sounded...surprised.

  “Hey, I, uh...thought I should check in.”

  “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

  “You...told me to check in with you.”

  “Yeah I just...I don’t know...I thought you’d be busy.”

  Andrea glanced from Zain to Crystal, both watching her. Her kidnapping wasn’t public. The last she’d talked to Miranda, she’d been cleaning up her apartment. So what did Miranda think she was doing?

  “I just chatted with Detective Bowman. You remember Crystal and I talking about him?”

  “Yeah? What did he say?” Miranda’s voice wasn’t right. It was too high. Too strained.

  “Nothing much, still no leads or whatever. Hey, I heard you were in the office. I thought you had something going on today at the con, though.” Andrea jammed the phone between her shoulder and ear.

  “It fell through, and I thought—what with all the good press we got— that I would get in the office and work on a few things.”

  “Oh. Well...I just want to, I don’t know. Warn you, I guess.”

  “Warn me? About what?”

  “I think the cops want to talk to Cliff about everything that’s happened.”

  “Cliff? Why Cliff?”

  “Just some questions. Would you pass that along? Maybe warn him he might get a call or something?”

  “I can, but are you sure they need to talk to him?”

  “That’s just what M—Detective Bowman said.” Something about Miranda’s tone was off. She couldn’t put her finger on it.

  “All right. I can do that. When are you coming in?”

  Andrea glanced at Crystal then Zain.

  “I don’t know yet. With...everything, it’s a lot to sort out.”

  “Totally understand. Take as much time as you need. Maybe work from...well, I’d say work from home but that’s the problem. Foot in mouth. I’m so sorry, Andrea.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Hey, I gotta go. I’ll check in later.”

  Andrea ended the call and stared at the screen.

  “Well? What’d she say?” Crystal asked.

  “She sounded...weird. Like, voice too high, too perky, too...weird.” Andrea slid her phone across the counter.

  “Did she know about last night?” Zain asked.

  “I don’t know. She was vague, I couldn’t tell.”

  “You don’t really think Miranda’s involved.” Crystal’s face twisted up.

  “We don’t know who is involved, do we?” Andrea looked up at Zain. “Cliff is a too obvious scapegoat. What did you say to me? Follow the money? Grunge is a lot more profitable now than when Dark Matter bought it. Wouldn’t Miranda wants to take it back?”

  “That’s one way to look at it,” Zain said.

  “No way. Miranda wouldn’t do that.” Crystal’s eyes were wide, full of disbelief.

  “On the other hand, Miranda was very concerned about your safety. It wasn’t an act,” Zain said. He glanced at his phone and his frowned deepened. “It’s my boss. I’m going to take this upstairs.”

  “She was really great at the con.” Andrea cradled her chin in her hands and looked at Crystal as Zain took the stairs two at a time. “This sucks. I don’t know who I can trust, besides you guys.”

  And that was the worst of it. Anyone could be the mastermind.

  “Admiral—”

  “Lloyd, what the hell is going on? I thought you were on vacation.”

  Zain swallowed. Admiral Crawford’s Louisiana accent only got this thick when he was really pissed.

  “I am still technically on vacation, sir.” Zain pulled the blinds in the room he’d shared with Andrea and peered out onto the well-manicured lawn.

  “Then why do I have a new job on my desk? For you, of all people. And why are you working Gavin round the clock? That damn boy slept here last night.”

  “There was a situation during the convention. I saw an opportunity—”

  “Don’t give me that bullshit. You and your cousin are nothing but trouble.” Crawford grumbled something uncomplimentary under his breath.

  “I’ll pay for whatever this is costing us.” Saying those words made Zain a little—a lot—sick to his stomach. But he’d do it. And Andrea would never have to know.

  “You bet you will. What exactly have you gotten yourself into?”

  Zain kept to the barest of
details. The Admiral wasn’t a man who liked anyone to waste his time and he wouldn’t care about anything besides the facts. How Zain felt about the matter, morally or emotionally, were not important to Crawford.

  “So they caught the guy behind this circus? Jesus, Zain, what the hell?” Zain could imagine Crawford sitting at his desk, shaking his head. Despite his tough, no nonsense approach, the Admiral was someone Zain would follow into hell if he had to.

  “No, not yet. There’s a fall guy, for sure, but they don’t know who’s really behind it all.”

  “Wrap this up and get your ass home. We’ve got work to do.”

  “As soon as I can, sir.”

  “Soon. Hear me?”

  “I do.”

  Zain hung up, no longer hungry for the breakfast he’d barely had a chance to touch. Crawford probably thought Zain would be back in a day or two. Zain...wasn’t so sure. Even when they sorted out who’d really hired Kevin, Andrea would need to set her life back up. She’d need a shoulder to lean on, and someone to help move furniture. He didn’t know if he could leave her so soon. It was all still so new...but his boss wouldn’t care.

  Could Zain give up everything for...a girl he’d just met?

  His heart said yes.

  His head said no.

  He watched a gardener stroll the line of hedges, a rake in one hand, pruning shears in another.

  When he’d seen Andrea in that elevator, he’d had more than a minute of fan-boy admiration. Andrea was a hard working young woman in an industry that wasn’t all that friendly to her gender. Yet, she was sweet, kind, and infinitely patient. He’d watched how she’d handled even the most awkward of D7’s fans at the booth. It was part of the reason why she and Crystal worked so well in their vlogs. They balanced each other out.

  What did he have in common with her?

  They liked the same shows. They both nerded out over made-up languages. Their tastes in games was slightly different—she favored story, while he just wanted to kill things. She didn’t get bent out of shape over Star Trek versus Star Wars. Vegging out and watching Firefly or Doctor Who totally de-stressed them.

  But was it enough?

  Sure, they could nerd together, but could they live together? Because if he left Aegis, if that’s what it came to, he’d be starting over completely. And as a self-educated tech...he was at a great disadvantage. Not to mention the bias that came with being a vet and an amputee. Maybe it was a good dose of fear, too. He’d left the SEALs and gone straight into working for Crawford, which was a familiar environment. He’d never truly been a civilian, even after leaving the Navy.

  Could he give all that up for a chance at a life with someone?

  His cousin had found a balance. Hannah expected Mason to continue working for Aegis. There was no doubt there. But then there were the guys like Travis. Some people thought he’d never leave, but Zain had seen the signs. The way Bliss looked at Travis from time to time when they thought no one else was watching. Travis was not long for their world, that was for sure.

  Zain’s phone vibrated with an incoming text from Andrea. He chuckled. They were in the same damn house and she was texting him.

  Everything ok? We’re thinking of starting Firefly back up. U in?

  He read the words in her voice.

  There was no point in hashing out the future when the present was uncertain. He’d given up the idea of a family and a life outside of what they did a long time ago. Until Andrea was safe, there was no reason to rehash that, and ultimately that choice wasn’t up to him.

  He shoved his phone in his pocket and headed downstairs.

  Whatever happened, he’d always have these moments, so he might as well make the most of them.

  Andrea didn’t want to move, but she really had to pee. Not that she thought Zain wouldn’t let her cuddle up next to him again. She was rather certain he liked her well enough for that. It was the whole getting up part of it.

  The last episode’s credits began to roll.

  Crystal had fallen asleep on the loveseat at some point, her soft snores melding together with the louder-than-should-be-possible sound of one cat sawing logs right along with her.

  “I need to get up.” Andrea squeezed Zain a little bit.

  “No, you don’t.” He stroked her back.

  “I have to pee.”

  “Then that is a problem.”

  She didn’t even try to move.

  It was so warm and nice snuggled up next to Zain. Moving would be a crime. But she’d also never live down peeing her pants to stay on the couch.

  “Fine. I’m going. We starting Serenity, or what?” She pushed up and swung her legs over the side of the couch.

  “You want to watch that?” He checked the time. “It’s a little past midnight.”

  “Maybe? I don’t know. I can’t think, I have to pee.” She stood and shuffled into the powder room down the hall.

  Andrea pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket and set it on the vanity to avoid another soaked phone. She’d replaced God only knew how many to random accidents like dropping them in the toilet. The screen flashed once, a line of notifications marching down the preview.

  Shit.

  What was going on?

  Pee first, check the phone second.

  She hurried through washing her hands, the curiosity eating her up. She swiped through the messages with still-wet fingers, not even waiting until she was back in the living room.

  “Ho-ly-crap.” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull reading the snippets of texts, the email previews. “Zain?”

  Andrea jerked the bathroom door open and rushed back into the small living room. Crystal was sitting up, rubbing her eyes and Zain was at his laptop, face grim.

  He knew.

  “You saw?” she asked, finding it hard to breathe around the knot in her throat.

  “What’s going on?” Crystal blinked at them then her smart phone. “I’m blowing up.”

  “They issued a warrant for Cliff’s arrest. He just turned himself in,” Zain said.

  “How do you know?” Andrea crossed to peer over Zain’s shoulder.

  “He posted this before he went in.” Zain clicked the casting icon and gestured at the TV.

  Cliff’s face filled the flat screen TV. The picture was bad, the background was dark. If Andrea had to guess, he’d recorded this in the backseat of his Uber car.

  “In the interest of heading off rumors, I wanted to take the chance to put it out there first. I, Cliff Barnes, am on my way to the Seattle PD to turn myself in. Someone out there has been harassing and even attacked one of my employees, and someone is saying I hired them. I never—and would never—do that. I am innocent. Prove me guilty if you can. To everyone who works for Dark Matter, thank you for your support. You’ll get more information in the morning.” Cliff flashed a peace sign and the screen went dark.

  “Wow.” Andrea exhaled and leaned against the counter.

  “That’s...I can’t believe he did that.” Crystal stood and stretched. “Well, I can, but to put it out there like that? Go Cliff.”

  “What does this mean?” Andrea turned to Zain. “I thought Max was going to update us.”

  “This might have gone over his head. Or he might have cut us out of the loop.” Zain frowned at his phone. “My guess?”

  “Please?” She sat on the stool. Her knees felt weak. Her boss was being arrested because of her. Was she even going to have a job when this was all over?

  “Either Max decided to arrest Cliff, or his Chief did. I’d be willing to bet Max got a hold of Cliff to get him to come in for questioning at least, probably before the warrant. And this is just my take, that Cliff is going in under some idea that this’ll keep you safe, make him look innocent. The guy’s got money. You’re both convinced he’s not involved, and I’m inclined to agree. He’ll make bail with a good lawyer.”

  “I’ve got an email from Doug co-signed with Miranda,” Crystal said.

  Andrea snatched her phone
and tapped the email icon.

  “Doug, that’s the Dark Matter VP, right?” Zain leaned over her shoulder.

  “They want everyone in the office tomorrow.” Andrea scrunched her nose up. “They mean the main office. That’s going to be, like, a two-hour commute in the morning.”

  “Oh, shut up.” Crystal rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling. “I’m using the driver. Riding with?”

  “Um, yes, please?” Again, Andrea wasn’t going to begrudge the perks of having Crystal’s parents staff help them out. “Oh—it’s a mid-morning meeting, see the footnote?”

  “Still. Yuck.” Crystal wandered into the kitchen and stood across from them.

  “This is all my fault.” Andrea set her phone on the bar.

  “No. I seriously doubt it’s any of your fault.” Crystal shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I can English. Zain. Tell her.”

  “They’re putting everyone in one room,” he said.

  “Yeah, and?” Andrea studied his face, the calm way he stared at the marble counter. He was thinking. Drawing a connection she couldn’t see.

  “I want to go with you,” he said. “Whoever is behind this will be in that room.”

  “You think so?” Andrea swallowed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Hey, we’ll both be there. And I’ll bring my Taser.” Crystal grinned.

  “Let’s go to bed. We can watch Serenity later.” Zain squeezed her hand.

  “I’m taking a sleeping pill. It’s the only way I’ll get any rest. Want one?” Crystal pulled two drawers open before she found the bottle of blue, over the counter sleep-aids.

  “Please.” Andrea held out her hand. At this rate, she needed the thing to stop her brain from creating worst case scenarios.

  They spent a few minutes hashing out when they needed to get up versus being on the road and finished with synchronizing their alarms. Crystal shambled off across the house to check on her diabetic cat and another that’d been quarantined for undisclosed reasons. Andrea hadn’t even thought to ask about October, the missing cat, but she’d try to remember later.

  “You coming to bed?” she asked Zain. He continued to stare at his laptop, flipping through emails.

  “I need to do some work. I don’t want to keep you up.”