A View to a Thrill (Masters and Mercenaries Book 7)

by Blake, Lexi

  “He is not my brother,” Case said, his ice blue eyes narrowing. “He’s just some dude who happens to share my DNA. He can bite me for all I care.”

  Oh, Ian wouldn’t just bite him. He would have the poor boy for lunch, and likely sooner than he thought. “Could we move on?”

  He wanted to get her alone. He needed to figure out how to handle her. Hell, he needed to figure out how to handle the whole situation. His intentions were pure. He wanted to get her away from Ten and protect her so Ian had time to figure out exactly what was going on, but how was he going to do that when his face was all over the evening news?

  It was something to think about, but more than that he had to ensure her loyalty to him and not to Ten. When the whole thing went to hell—and he was certain it would—he needed to make sure it was him Chelsea looked to to save her pretty ass. There was one way he knew of to gain a woman’s loyalty and that was treating her right in the bedroom. Chelsea was addicted to the pleasure he could give her. What if he showed her even more?

  Or perhaps he was just trying to come up with any excuse to get inside her. He no longer cared.

  “I started receiving some intelligence that certain factions within the group we call The Collective were looking up information on the shadowy figure known as The Broker. For those of you who haven’t read my memos—yes, Boomer, I write those for a reason and not for you to doodle on—the woman currently purring like a kitten in Weston’s lap is The Broker.”

  Chelsea sat back up. “I’m not purring.”

  Simon eased her back. She certainly had been. “My client refuses to confirm the identity of the person known only as The Broker. On advice of counsel, of course.”

  “You aren’t licensed to practice in the States, Weston,” Ten shot back.

  “I believe you’ll find I am.” Or he would be after Chelsea hacked the bar’s website and made him a member. “I’m Oxford trained. Certain companies find my experience in European law very useful.”

  “Malone Oil included,” Michael added. Or rather lied. He’d never worked a day for his uncle in a legal fashion. “But my cousin’s resume isn’t on trial here. Now I did read the memos, unlike Boomer, who doesn’t read anything that doesn’t involve sports scores.”

  Boomer frowned. “I got ADD.”

  Michael moved on. “So let’s just say that somehow this group, for whatever reason, decided that Chelsea here is The Broker. Why were they looking for her, and what does any of this have to do with the death of a federal judge?”

  Now Simon was the one sitting up a bit straighter. “Federal judge?”

  Ten held a hand up. “I didn’t send you the memo. All right, here’s how this went down. I’ve got an operative of my own in place at a corporation I know is in The Collective.”

  “Then why the hell don’t we shut the corporation down?” Jesse asked.

  Simon could answer that one. “We very likely don’t have enough proof and besides, I would bet anything that key politicians in several governments hold stock in the corporations.”

  “I’ve already proven that.” Chelsea sat up but kept an arm around Simon’s neck for balance. “After that douchebag Baz died, I got into his laptop and found some information on a couple of the companies. They have a firm grip on a bunch of American, British, and EU politicians, not to mention ties to several criminal organizations.”

  “And those are just two of the smaller companies,” Ten continued. “There’s no telling just how deeply entrenched The Collective is within our government, although it seems to me they haven’t managed to make great headway with the judicial branch if they’re doing what I suspect they’re doing.”

  “You think they’re assassinating judges who might find against them?” It wouldn’t be unheard of. Trials cost time and money, and a class action could cost a company everything. Even a large corporation would likely prefer to settle lawsuits rather than waste resources. “Why not settle?”

  “Because this was a case of patent infringement and there’s a couple billion on the line.” Ten’s fingers drummed against the desk. “This particular case involves crystal technology.”

  Chelsea squirmed a little, making his dick jump. “Seriously? Holy crap. I need to read that. I heard there was a breakthrough.”

  Theo leaned in. “What are you talking about? I get the feeling it’s not new-age crystals.”

  She was squirming again. He’d noticed when she got excited it was hard for her to stay still. Unfortunately, her excitement was doing amazing things for his cock. He had to hold it together so he didn’t end up making another mess of his trousers. “Quantum computers are the way of the future, but we don’t have the means to power them yet.”

  “Quantum computers are the ones that would use qubits versus bits, correct?” Case Taggart proved he didn’t have the same problems as Boomer.

  Chelsea nodded. “Yes. The computers we use today run on bits. 1s and 0s. So they operate in one of…you know what this is actually very mathematically interesting. Can I get a white board?”

  He had to reign her in or they would all get a lecture on quantum supposition. “Darling, let’s skip the mathematics and just say that any number of corporations would love to get their hands on the next evolution in computer technology. The crystal would replace the storage systems we use now. Quantum computers are so fast they tend to overheat and burn out very quickly, hence the ones in development now are kept in sub-zero temperatures.”

  Chelsea turned slightly to look at him. “You know about quantum computers?”

  He let his hand slip to her hip. Her face was the nicest shade of pink. “Of course. I try to keep up. Later, if you like, we can debate whether or not quantum computers disprove the Church-Turing thesis.”

  The sexiest little huff came out of her mouth. “Not in their current iteration but surely later they will. I can’t believe you know what that is.”

  He’d kept that in his back pocket. At first he’d simply wanted to understand her world, and now he realized he could get her hot just by proving he had a brain in his head. “I look forward to the debate.”

  “I think they’re having math sex,” Jesse whispered to Theo.

  Ten huffed. “Yeah, well, they need to have it on their own time. And it’s more than corporations that want that technology. The NSA is very intrigued and honestly they don’t care who comes up with the tech as long as they get their hands on it first.”

  “You believe the NSA is involved?” Simon asked. He didn’t want to have to deal with both the CIA and the National Security Agency. Their turf wars could get a man killed. Or a woman.

  “The NSA is always involved,” Ten replied. “And that’s what makes this a delicate operation. The judge in this case was a deep believer in intellectual property rights. He tended to side with whoever could prove they knew the property inside and out. It was a fairly good bet that in the case of Coleman vs. the Nieland Corporation, the little guy was probably going to win. Even if he hadn’t, the judge had put an injunction on any further development or use of the tech until the trial was over.”

  Simon could see the outcome of that particular order. “And Nieland’s stock took a hit.”

  “It plummeted. They lost roughly half a billion in a week.”

  That was enough to kill for. “How did the judge die?”

  Ten’s eyes tightened. “That’s my problem. The man had a heart attack.”

  “There are several poisons that could mimic or cause a heart attack.”

  “No. The toxicology reports are all clean.”

  “If The Collective can kill a judge, they can surely buy off a coroner and some lab techs,” Chelsea said. “I could try to find some connections if you would let me have a laptop.”

  “I bet you would find connections to all kinds of things.” Ten shook his head. “No. You can answer some questions for me though. My corporate mole ran across your name and a Dallas address in the same file as some notes on the court case. I can’t find the conne
ction, but I’m thinking you might. That wasn’t the first time they came after you. Weston wouldn’t have you in that sleazy motel if he’d had another option. Tell me something, why didn’t you call in Big Tag?”

  “Chelsea didn’t want to involve her sister,” Simon explained. It wasn’t the entire truth, but Ten didn’t need to know everything. “How did you find us?”

  “The minute I connected Chelsea’s name to the case, I had someone watching her.”

  The man they’d code named Ace held up his hand. He was a tad bit older than the rest, with a little gray at his temples, but he had a lean body corded with muscle. “That would be me. I got to follow you all over Dallas. You couldn’t have stopped somewhere for a sandwich or something? I got a little loopy from hunger. Next time think about your potential stalker and take a break.”

  He could buy that Chelsea wouldn’t notice a tail. She’d always relied on Charlotte for that and she’d had a rough morning that day. But she hadn’t been alone that night. “And you’re trying to tell me you tailed us to the motel?”

  Jesse leaned forward. “I can bust a tail. We didn’t have one that night. I would have known.”

  “Would you?” Ten asked. “I assure you, you had a tail and you should be damn glad you did or those boys would have mowed you down the next day.”

  Simon held his tongue but it didn’t completely make sense. If Ten had known where they were why would he wait to take them? Had he been watching them the whole time? Jesse would have felt it. Jesse always knew. He had a sixth sense about it. If Jesse said no one had been following them, then no one had physically been following them.

  Someone had been smart. Someone tagged Jesse’s car.

  And there was only one person who could have done that. Bloody hell. He would have to use that little piece of information for later. The last thing he wanted to do was tip off Ten that he was on to him.

  “What else do you have?” Simon asked. “This can’t be an isolated incident.”

  “I don’t think it is. I have four deaths I think might be linked. A US attorney, a whistle blower and two judges. Mostly cardiac incidents. One had a bad reaction to medication. Now all of these people were in their late forties through early sixties.”

  “That makes sense because they were at the top of their game and to get to that level in the federal court system, they’re going to be mature,” Ace said. “This could all be coincidental.”

  “Could be,” Ten allowed. “I don’t think so. They’d all been involved in cases that directly affected large corporations. I haven’t been able to link them to The Collective definitively, but the ties are there. I just have to find them.”

  “What does your guy on the inside say?” Jesse asked.

  “Who said it was a man?” Ten got a shit-eating grin on his face. “You a sexist, Murdoch? It doesn’t matter. My insider is working on it, but for now we need to figure out why they want Chelsea.”

  Chelsea sat back, curling her legs up and letting her face rest against his shoulder.

  It was a signal. She was letting him take control. He could tell Ten however much or little he wanted. She was ceding control.

  In this particular case, sharing information could only help him. Any information the CIA and Ten could gather would aid them in figuring out where this package of Albert Krum’s was. “Is the flow of information going to go both ways?”

  Ten tapped the folder in front of him. “I didn’t give you this information for my health. Yes. I’m offering to show my hand. You show me yours.”

  “Chelsea is acquaintances with a man named Albert Krum.” He knew the language to use in case Ten was taping this conversation. He wasn’t about to call Chelsea The Broker or place her in the crosshairs. “I believe she met him while she was living in Europe.”

  “I came across him on a dating site,” Chelsea said.

  Cheeky girl. He stroked her hair as he spoke, deeply enjoying having her close. He didn’t give a damn what the rest of the men thought. It seemed to be calming her down and it was definitely making him feel better. “Krum was a hacker, a very good one.”

  “Was?” Case asked.

  Chelsea’s arm tightened slightly around his neck, the only sign that the conversation was bothering her. This was what she was so good at. Anyone watching her would think she was barely listening. She looked bored, but Simon knew the truth. She felt everything deeply, but she’d learned to never show it. He had to make her understand that it was safe to share those fears and feelings with him. He let his hand slide along her spine, firm pressure because she reacted so well to it. She relaxed against him.

  “It’s our belief that Mr. Krum was killed by The Collective. The night she was sent the bomb, they called her.”

  Theo held a hand up. “I’ve been monitoring Dallas Police bandwidths and that bomb was a dud. It was meant to scare the holy hell out of her, but it wouldn’t have gone off. The one on her car actually had a message on it. Some sort of code.”

  Chelsea was up on her feet. “Can I see it?”

  Ten nodded.

  Theo passed her a piece of paper.

  “While she’s looking at that report, you can tell me what happened with Krum,” Ten said.

  “They called and put Mr. Krum on the line. He claims to have sent Chelsea a package, though she didn’t receive anything.” He watched her as her eyes ate up that report. Ian was wrong. She needed to work and she needed to be important. He understood why he’d placed her on the sidelines, only using her when Adam was out of pocket, but Chelsea needed more.

  “She’d been in Europe,” Ten mused. “Have we checked her apartment complex? Did they receive her mail?”

  “Al didn’t have that address,” Chelsea stated. “And this isn’t a code. This is another address. A Deep Web addy. I need a computer and I need Internet.” She frowned Ten’s way. “Come on. No one is going to do this better than me. You can stand over me and watch me, but let me put my hands on this sucker.”

  Simon leaned forward. “This is about her. She should have some say in what goes on.”

  “Hutch, give her yours and watch her. I don’t want to tip anyone off as to where we are.” Ten nodded the big guy’s way. “Hutch is our communications specialist.”

  Hutch stood up, gripping his backpack and zipping it open to slide out a sleek-looking laptop. He was no more than twenty-five and had the kind of rugged good looks that screamed all-American. He grinned as he flipped open the top and powered it up. “Hutch is damn glad to get to see a master at work. The others might not know who you are but I do. Well, I know who some people think you are—allegedly, counselor. You want me to ping this signal around for you?”

  Chelsea’s eyes lit up the minute that computer was in front of her. She was an addict, but it didn’t have to be a bad thing. She would always need the power she felt when she was hacking, but he could turn her just the right way so she was doing it for good instead of just doing it. She simply needed a firm and loving hand. And he needed one, too. He’d just started to recognize it. He needed her to give him a reason to get up in the morning, to color his bland world.

  “I can handle it, Hutch,” Chelsea said, her hands already flying across the keys.

  Boomer held up a hand like he was still in grade school. “Uhm, I’m going to get called a dummy for asking this, I’m sure, but what’s a Deep Web?”

  Chelsea never looked up even as she answered the question. “Think of the Internet as being a massive piece of property and the web addresses are real estate they sell. The www is a part of town that’s easy to get to, safe for the most part until you add in a couple of words like anal hotties or free movies. Then it gets a little skeevy and someone’s coming out of it with a virus.”

  “Don’t all sites have a www?” Theo asked. He sat next to his brother, and Simon had to stare from time to time. They weren’t exactly twins to Ian and Sean, but it was easy to mistake them on a casual glance.

  “Nope. Not at all,” Hutch replied. “Th
e Deep Web is off the beaten path, so to speak. These are sites that can’t be indexed by normal search engines. You can’t type in a name for these sites and find them. You have to know the very specific address. It’s kind of like a speakeasy. You better know the code word to get in or you’re on your own.”

  “Like Silk Road?” Case asked.

  Chelsea’s brows rose and he loved how cute she was when she was serious. “Yes, like Silk Road. Which despite reports, I had nothing to do with. Nothing. Mostly.”

  “How about my client declines to answer on the grounds that every little sound she makes tends to incriminate her,” Simon offered, giving her a warning glare. Ten didn’t need ammunition.

  “Fine.” Chelsea went back to concentrating on the screen in front of her.

  Ten stood and walked around the table so he had a view of what Chelsea was doing. “So Krum found something that incriminated The Collective and he mailed it to her? Are we sure we’re talking about snail mail here? Why wouldn’t he just send it to her digitally? I thought all the hackers avoided the post office.”

  Simon was fairly certain. “He said he sent her a hard copy.”

  Chelsea sighed a little. “I just don’t know where he would have sent it to. He knew how often Charlotte and I moved and we haven’t talked much since Satan took over my life.” Her eyes strayed to Case. “That’s my name for your big brother, and he could so kick your ass. Hey, does the smaller one cook?”

  Theo stared at her, obviously offended. “I’m not exactly small. I’m six foot three for god sakes. He’s only got an inch or two on me. And for your information, I’m pretty good. I’m not chef quality or anything, but I had to learn because our mom worked so much and Case there can burn an egg just by thinking about it.”

  “Yep, Little Tag Two,” she said under her breath as she went back to work. “I got it. I’m going in. There’s no way anyone can trace this signal. I’ll get in, download whatever it is they want us to see, and get back out before they even know it.”

  “How did they find us the first time?” Simon wondered.