“Only temporarily.” She smiled as she pushed off from the wall and stepped over the piles of clothing to stand in front of him. “Why are you walking around mostly naked?”
“Should I be all naked? Because that is my preference around you.”
“Actually, yes.” She went up on tiptoes and wound her arms around his neck.
He had to kiss her then. Long and deep, the kind of kiss you broke off then started again because it’s never quite enough.
When his body revved up again and his erection pressed against her stomach, he pulled back and spat out his planned cover story. “Food.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What?”
As far as covers went, this one had significant roots in the truth. “I never had dinner.”
Even in the mostly dark room, understanding showed in her eyes. “You poor thing. I can make—”
“No.” The heat from her body seeped into his and his priorities shifted. “It can wait.”
Without thinking, his fingers found the tie holding her robe together. The silk slipped through his hands as he undid the knot. Opening the edges, he slid his hands around her trim waist to her bare back.
“This,” she said between kisses. “This is the sort of thing that caused you to miss dinner in the first place.”
The need built inside him again, fast and clean and so focused that his brain shut off to anything else. “You trump food.”
“Isn’t that sweet.”
“There is nothing sweet happening in my mind.” X-rated and hot, but not sweet.
Her hand found his hair. “Tell me about it.”
“We’ll start with me licking you.” He kissed his way down her neck. “Then move on to touching you.” He dipped his head and trailed his tongue over the top of her breast as his fingers touched the very heat of her and found her wetness all over again. “Here.”
“Keep going.”
“You’ll be grabbing the sheets and begging me to fuck you.” The game backfired when the words fueled his need.
Her fingers tightened in his hair. “Do it now.”
“Say it.”
“Fuck me.” She whispered the words against his lips.
Yes. “Until you scream my name.”
15
FORD STARED across the small conference room table at Matt Claymore. He had two doctorates and enough ego to fuel a dictator. Despite being brought in the back of a van to the room adjacent to the Warehouse and led through long halls to the bowels of Liberty Crossing, the guy acted like he was doing them a favor by coming in for questioning.
If he was intimidated by the way West, Lucas, and Reid stood around the room, leaning against the walls with weapons on display, Matt didn’t show it. His only reaction when he’d been shown into the dark-gray-painted room holding the conference table and two chairs, was to frown.
Arrogance hung over the head of the Center for Scientific Research. He used three words when one would do and seemed to hold the mistaken belief he couldn’t be touched, as if he held his position until death like some damn king.
In sum, Matt was a total dick. But that didn’t make him Trent’s partner or a terrorist friend of the mysterious Benton. Unfortunately, Ford met the type all the time and had the same reaction every time: back away and ignore. He couldn’t write the guy off this time. Ford needed answers and had to go through him to get them.
Ford pulled out the chair, letting the metal legs drag against the cement floor in a long scraping sound. “Okay, Matt. Let’s have a little discussion about your office oversight.”
He sat across from Ford and tugged on the bottom of his suit jacket. Next came a brush of his hand over his lapel, as if he’d stepped into an unsterile environment and faced a germ attack. “I’d prefer if you called me Dr. Claymore.”
“I’m sure you would.” Ford used the first name on purpose because guys like Claymore viewed it as a sign of disrespect. To be fair, in this case it was. This guy was in charge of top secret Department of Defense labs, and no matter how much dodging and weaving he did, the final responsibility for the toxin getting out rested on him.
“Anything you want to share with the room?” Pearce asked the question from his position directly behind Ford.
Questioning usually occurred one-on-one, but Pearce had a history with Matt. Ward and Harlan thought that could make a difference in how much the guy talked. Ford would bet West’s size would have more of an impact.
“Actually, we don’t care if you want to share or not.” Ford put his hand on the file in front of him. He had no idea what was inside because he’d just grabbed the first stack of papers he saw purely for effect. “Just do it.”
Matt’s eyes narrowed as he did a visual sweep over Ford and made a face that suggested he wasn’t very impressed with whatever he saw. “I don’t like your tone.”
“No one does,” Reid said.
“I also don’t appreciate being put in a defensive position. There are ways to handle these situations, through channels and appropriate department reviews.” Matt leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, acting as if he were in charge.
West snorted. “Who the hell talks like that?”
“Educated people.”
From his smirk, Ford guessed Matt believed he’d landed some sort of verbal punch. Not even close. “You don’t actually think you can hurt my feelings, do you?”
“And just so you know, we prefer shooting things,” West pointed out.
“Who are you all again? I didn’t see badges.” Matt’s gaze traveled over the room, hesitating on Lucas then coming back to Ford. If possible, his voice dripped with even more disdain than before.
“Matt, listen.” Pearce pushed forward and rested his palms against the table as he leaned in. “We don’t really have the time for tact and briefings. The toxin is out there.”
“I am aware of that.”
Every sentence this guy uttered added to Ford’s fury. “Are you aware how that happened?”
Adrenaline shot through him as the need to get out there and solve this overran common-sense caution. This was about more than Shay and the guilt that pummeled him whenever they were together. This was about death on a massive scale. About a security failure that shouldn’t have happened and no one could explain.
Matt shifted in his chair. The first sign of discomfort. “Trent Creighton.”
A convenient answer but not the full answer. “We know about the kid. How did he get through your security?”
“Trent’s IQ is—”
“Not something I care about at the moment.” Ford had just about enough of hearing about how smart Trent was. Seemed pretty damn dumb to Ford to steal a toxin and wave it around in the open.
“You asked, I answered.”
This guy had an annoying response for everything. “I assume the people who set up the security system at your building were pretty smart, too, so try again.”
Matt’s leg began to swing back and forth. “We’re looking into it.”
“They’re looking into it.” Reid glanced at Lucas. “Hear that, we’re fine because they’re looking into it.”
West shrugged. “I feel better.”
With a shake of his head and an exaggerated move to rebutton his jacket in what looked like four separate steps, Matt stood up. “Unless you have something else—”
The pounding in Ford’s temples ratcheted up and his temper exploded. “Sit the fuck down.”
“Excuse me?”
That sounded a lot like Fuck you to Ford. Maybe that’s how hoity people said it.
Pearce put a hand on Ford’s arm. “We should—”
“No, enough of this.” Ford decided it was time for threats and innuendos. The head scientist needed to sweat. “You, Matt Claymore, have a huge problem. Your employee smuggled your toxin out o
f your building.”
“I know—”
Ford talked right over the other man. “Instead of helping, you’re offering excuses about how this isn’t your fault and giving government-speak about vague investigations. It’s bullshit and you know it.”
“You know what that smells like, Matt?” Reid asked.
Lucas kept his arms folded across his chest and his gaze locked on Matt. “A cover-up.” Matt sat back down and scooted his chair up to the table as he struggled to make eye contact with Pearce. “Jake, you know me.”
Lucas stood closest to Matt now, hovering right over him. He used that to his advantage when he stretched out his leg and moved Matt’s chair with a grinding screech across the floor. “And he works with us.”
The explosives expert usually took of a more wait-and-see strategy. Sometimes charmed with that British accent. Seeing him take the shot reinforced Ford’s frustration. He wasn’t alone in needing to race through this.
Ford balled his hands into fists. “So, let’s try this again.”
The small movement had Matt’s gaze dropping to the table then over to Lucas. “I told you what I know.”
“Don’t look at the Brit. Even though he sounds like the queen, he’s as likely to cut off your arm as we are.” More like he would wire a bomb and blow the guy up, but Ford figured the threat got the job done.
Lucas smacked his lips together as he nodded. “Very true.”
“I want my attorney.”
“Not an option,” West said.
Reid joined in, starting as soon as West finished, the two of them in a practiced back-and-forth rhythm that sounded genuine and shored up the ganging-up-on-Matt vibe they had going. “If you don’t stop ducking soon, you’re not even leaving this building. And by that I mean ever.”
“You can’t do that.” Sweat broke out at the edge of Matt’s receding hairline as he flipped his head from side to side. All jittery and a second away from bouncing in his hard metal chair, he was in a full-fledged panic now.
It didn’t take much to get him there. Then again, Ford never thought it would. This guy had a small sphere of impressive power. His employees obeyed and he strutted around as if his security clearance gave him a personality. Breaking that type tended to go fast.
Ford drove the point home. “We are in the process of yanking your security clearance. You will no longer be welcome in the agency you run.”
Reid held his hands behind his back and tapped a palm against the wall. “By the end of the day you won’t be able to get in there to deliver mail.”
“You don’t have the authority to impact my position.” Matt made a grab for the file in front of Ford.
Pearce pulled it out of reach. “Yeah, they do.”
“You mean to tell me some amateur kill squad filled with—”
West came off the wall and took a threatening step forward. “Amateur?”
“I’d be careful with my words there, Matt,” Lucas said after a loud exhale.
“They have a say in my job?” Matt looked around and pointed and didn’t keep the pleading out of his voice as he stared at Pearce. “How is that possible?”
“Matt, look . . .” Pearce hesitated long enough to produce a silence that only the buzz of the lights overhead filled. “I know this is all rolling back on you and it sucks, but we have a potential disaster here.”
Ford’s already waning patience snapped. “So talk and do it now or I unleash West. He’s the big Marine in the corner, in case you’re wondering.”
“The security guards have been interviewed. Our security protocols have been reviewed.” Matt let out a tsk-tsking sound. “I have cooperated as much as I can under the circumstances.”
Ford had no idea what that nonanswer meant. It was as if the guy wanted to be punched in the throat. “How did Trent get out of the building?”
“The same way most employees do, through the garage.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “And to get in the garage he had to do what? Go through a scanner or get a pat-down from a guard? Spill it.”
Maybe it was the way they all crowded in on him or the combination of the small room and angry men, but Matt’s shoulders fell. He rubbed his hands together as he bowed his head and he talked to the floor. “There is a missing guard.”
It took a second for the words to register in Ford’s brain. When they did, a hot seething rage poured through him. He had to grab onto the edge of the conference table as he battled back the temptation to flip the damn thing.
“You waited until now to tell us this fact?” That meant lost time and blown leads. Trails went cold fast, and Trent’s would be icy. The guard could be anywhere.
“How did you manage to cover that up?” West asked.
“He left for another position two days after Trent’s last day.” Matt didn’t hold back now. He rushed through the explanation without taking a breath. “The paperwork was in order and I received confirmation that he’d been transferred to another secure facility.”
West hadn’t blinked in two minutes. “Confirmation from whom?”
“That’s just it. During the investigation and all the questioning, I figured out the paperwork wasn’t authentic.”
Interesting how the guy didn’t bother to share that information with anyone until now. He’d be lucky to avoid being shipped to a quiet cell somewhere without a trial. “I’ve read the file,” Ford said. “You said all of the guards on duty that day and in the lab still worked there, and that you presented them for questioning.”
“In other words, you falsified the records.” Pearce hesitated over each word.
Ford didn’t blame Pearce for his shocked reaction. He’d vouched for Matt. Now it looked like Matt had blocked all attempts to resolve this right away. His actions raised questions. The kind that guaranteed he’d lose his prized access forever.
“More telling, he had to fix the electronic logs to cover up his lies.” Reid swore under his breath as he paced over to the door to the hallway. “You’ve been poking around and checking and I’m wondering how that wasn’t detected.”
“Covering his ass.” West joined Reid, forming a wall of pissed-off team members.
“No, I thought I could track the guard down and get an explanation.”
From a guard who was likely a killer. By Ford’s way of thinking, Matt wasn’t really as smart as he thought he was. He’d basically broken the law, ignored protocol, and put a target on his back. A true genius.
“No way do you get that security clearance back.” Ford put a voice to the reality in everyone’s minds. Hell, he’d volunteer to go to an internal hearing to make sure Matt never worked anywhere again, let alone on complex security issues.
Red washed over Matt’s cheeks. “You don’t get a say.”
“Maybe you don’t understand me.” This guy was not getting the picture at all. “You’re not leaving this building.”
“That’s not—”
Matt moved as if to stand, and West slammed him back in the chair with a hand on his shoulder. “Sit.”
“Okay.” Pearce held up both hands and signaled for everyone to take a step back. “Matt, hold still for a second.”
“Or forever,” Lucas said.
“Gentlemen?” Pearce gestured toward the door. “Let’s step outside.”
Taking a break might be the answer, but Ford didn’t like it. Energy pinged around inside him. His nerves rode the edge as adrenaline washed over him. Every instinct screamed to keep pushing Matt until he broke. This could be a case of covering his ass because of his job, but it also could be something more sinister. Ford wanted to know which one.
Forcing his questions back, he slipped into the hall and kept going until he reached the room next door. Ward and Josiah stood there, manning the video monitors. Matt’s likeness showed on the screen with
tiny jumping lines underneath.
Little did the guy know they’d monitored him the whole time he spoke. Taped everything for later assessment. Matt had basically just admitted to interfering with a federal investigation and a whole host of other crimes. Ford couldn’t muster one ounce of sympathy for him.
Ward stood with his arms crossed on his chest and his attention focused on Matt’s as he squirmed in his chair. “That went well.”
“Got more out of him in ten minutes than anyone else did in two days of questioning.” Ford wondered how much more they’d have by the end of the day. A few hours without food or counsel and this guy might spill something really big.
West shrugged. “And we didn’t even get to torture him.”
With that, Ward broke eye contact with the screen and scowled at West. “Let’s not joke about that, okay?”
“You two were watching?” Pearce asked as his gaze went from Ward to Josiah.
Josiah nodded. “Every second.”
“Are you sure we can’t shoot this pontificating idiot?” Reid stepped closer to the screen and the desk under it. He picked up the file on top of the stack.
Ward didn’t hesitate, probably because he knew the team viewed silence as approval. “You can’t kill him.”
“The word you’re looking for is ‘shouldn’t.’ ” West took up his usual position, slightly away from the group and leaning against the wall. “I really could do it.”
As far as Ford was concerned, there had been enough chitchat. Time ticked by and Trent stayed hidden. None of those factors qualified as a good sign. “Now what?”
“We take his story apart, piece by piece,” Ward said.
About time. Ford headed for the door and a second round. “Fine, let’s go.”
“Josiah will do it.”
Silence descended in the room as Ford’s steps slammed to a stop. He turned to face Ward, ready for an epic verbal battle that would bring security running. “How do you figure that? The guy already hates me. I can use that.”
“Yeah, I picked up on the hate.”
That settled the question is Ford’s mind. “Then?”
Playing Dirty Page 15