Puppeteer

by Schultz, Tamsen

  Drew picked up the folder, flicked through it, and put it down. Confirming what Ty suspected, the director didn't need to study the information—he already had it.

  “Thanks, Ty. I'll hand that to Cotter,” Drew responded with a nod to the documents. “Thanks again for showing us those sites. Dani and Cotter have already set up shop. We wouldn't have known about them if you hadn't offered.”

  It was an interesting compliment. A bit forced—as if he wouldn't have bothered had Ty been part of his team, but he was trying to play nice.

  “Oh, hi Ty,” Dani said, entering the room.

  “Dani,” he acknowledged. She gave him a second, curious look, then frowned. He wasn't quite at peace with the fact she, and her team, were keeping things from him.

  Breaking the awkward moment, Marmie's voice carried across the room. “We've got movement.” Her eyes stayed locked on her computer screen as all three moved toward her.

  Other team members materialized as Marmie's fingers flew across the keyboard. The text scrolled so fast that Ty had to look away for a second. “Sonny's headed for,” she paused, hit a few more keys and then announced. “He's headed for Miami.”

  The team began moving into action but Marmie stopped them by adding, “And Savendra is headed home to San Diego. Both are scheduled for flights leaving tomorrow.”

  Everyone paused and Ty watched as all eyes swiveled to Drew. After a split second of clear concentration, he turned to Adam. “Adam, you'll go to Miami. Dani, you're going to San Diego. Cotter, Spanky, get them what they need. Marmie, arrange the transport.”

  “Done,” Marmie answered.

  “Done,” echoed Spanky and Cotter, already halfway out the door.

  “Drew, Adam's never been in the field. Savendra is going home. Sonny is being sent somewhere he has no known ties. Let me go to Miami,” Dani spoke in a quiet measured tone.

  “Adam's been in the field, just not as much as you. He needs the experience,” Drew responded. Even Ty could see Drew's patience was running thin.

  “Let me go to Miami, please. I'll blend in better than Adam, and you know it.”

  Dani had added a ‘please,’ but her jaw was set and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. And, Drew didn't care.

  “Dani, get your ass on the plane to San Diego,” he snapped. Then giving her a level look, he added, “Do not even think about breaking rank on this one.”

  And Ty sensed if she broke rank Drew would do more than toss her nice little behind to the wolves—he would serve it up himself. Why Drew was so set and why Dani so insistent, Ty wasn't sure, but he suspected it might have something to do with why they were masquerading as DEA in the first place.

  After a long, still moment, with the tension still high in the room, Dani conceded. Her body rigid and her movements jerky, she gave Ty a look, daring him to say something, then left. Ty turned his attention to Drew who slammed a file on the desk and planted a fist on his hip. Running a hand through his hair, the team director let out a litany of curses. Ty's lips tilted into a smile—no wonder everyone else vacated the room as soon as Drew first issued his order.

  “Anything I can do, sir?” Ty asked. He should have kept the half smile to himself but he couldn't help it. It's not that the situation was funny, but the way Dani could set Drew off was comical—from the outside. Maybe it was a good thing they hadn't brought him into their little circle.

  Drew whipped his head up, ready for a fight, and glared at Ty. When Ty didn't so much as bat an eyelash or twitch a muscle, Drew's shoulders sagged and he took a deep breath. “I swear to god, if this job doesn't kill her, one of these days I will,” he said with a rueful shake of his head. “But I imagine you have a good idea of how difficult Dani can be,” he added with a glance at Ty.

  Ty opted not to respond. “Let me know if there is anything I can do,” he offered again, as he reached for his files.

  “Yeah, go make sure she gets on the plane to San Diego, will you?” Drew responded. Ty stilled, mid-reach. Was Drew kidding?

  “And if you tell her I sent you, you'll regret it. Trust me,” Drew gave him a pointed look.

  Well, shit. He wasn't kidding. Drew wanted him to ‘handle’ Dani. He studied Drew's face, wondering if he'd done this before, if he'd asked any of her lovers—not that he fit that profile at the moment—to ‘handle’ her. Something about the bald honesty in Drew's expression answered his question. No, Drew had never asked anyone else to do something like this. That he thought Ty would be able to was an interesting development.

  Ty nodded, dropped the file and headed to Dani's room.

  * * *

  Dani grabbed her duffel and tossed it on her bed. Flinging open her closet door, she took out her frustration on the clothes she grabbed at random and threw on the bed. Damn him. While everything Drew said about Adam was true, he did have field experience, good field experience, she also knew that wasn't the reason Adam was going to Miami. Adam was going to Miami because Drew didn't want to send her.

  Rummaging through the pile of clothes, Dani grabbed a few t-shirts and shoved them into her bag. She wanted to throw something—something more substantial than a pair of pants. It was the second time in the past two days that Drew had hinted she might screw up the investigation. First with Ty and now with not letting her go to Miami to follow Sonny—the man she believed might, just might, be able to give her a lead on who killed her parents.

  She grabbed a book off the bedside table and a photo slid to the ground. Bending to pick it up, she glanced at the scene. It was familiar. Too familiar.

  It was a photo taken of Sonny's father. The man had been shot execution-style and was lying face down on a blood-stained carpet. Dani sank onto her bed and stared at the photo. The picture was gruesome but it wasn't the picture that made Dani deflate—it was the memories it conjured.

  What would she do if Sonny was the link to her own past? What would she do if she went to Miami and found out Sonny knew the man who killed her parents, the man she believed also killed Sonny's father? What would she do if she saw him?

  Christ, she realized Drew was right and her heart slammed in her chest at the thought. She'd be down there with no backup, no support. It would be bad, not for the investigation but for her. Drew was protecting her. Like he always did. Since those days when she'd relived her parents' murders, crying on Drew's shoulder, he'd always looked out for her. It should bug her; she knew she should insist she could take care of everything, but Dani wasn't one to lie to herself. If she saw the man again, she didn't know how she would react, how she would hold up. It wasn't worth it to her or the investigation to risk it.

  Calmer now, Dani stood and went back to packing. Drew was right, she knew it—she didn't have to like it, but she couldn't disagree.

  “Come in,” she called, expecting Drew when a knock sounded at the door. She was feeling better but still wasn't over her pique. To her surprise, Ty entered, shutting the door behind him.

  “Hand me your cell phone,” he said moving toward her.

  “My what?” she asked.

  “Your cell,” he repeated.

  Dani arched her brow, debating whether or not to ask why. Deciding against it, she picked it up from the bedside table, entered her password, and tossed it to him. He caught it one-handed and began entering numbers.

  “My contact info,” he said in explanation. “In case you get bored or need to bitch about your boss,” he added with a smile. Turning the phone off, he tossed it back to her.

  She shook her head and gave him a conciliatory look. “Drew's right,” she said on a sigh as she tucked a skirt into the bag.

  “Doesn't mean you have to like it though,” Ty responded and moved closer to her.

  “No, I don't,” she agreed. “What are you doing up here?”

  “At the risk of losing my cojones, Drew sent me. Although I would have come up anyway. He wants me to make sure you get on the plane. The right plane, to San Diego,” he added.

  Dani glanced at him. H
is honesty surprised her, as did his easy tone. He also didn't look all that concerned about her temper. “I have to say this is the first time Drew has willingly sent a man to my room to handle me,” she responded with a self-deprecating smile.

  “Has he unwillingly sent a man to your room?” Ty asked, his brow arched in interest, even as he took a step toward her.

  “Ha ha, you know what I mean,” she rolled her eyes and turned toward her closet.

  “Is he trying to protect your virtue?” Ty teased, reaching her. His hands made contact with her shoulders and she turned to face him.

  “He may be trying to protect someone but it sure isn't me,” Dani answered. They were standing less than a foot apart and his hands had moved from her shoulders to her neck, with one making its way gently into her hair. His expression had changed again to a more familiar one. And she breathed a small sigh of relief. Whatever had been bothering him earlier, when she'd seen him talking to Drew, wasn't bothering him now.

  “I wouldn't be so sure about that,” Ty said before he kissed her.

  She responded and accepted his contact. Her hands came up to his chest and he deepened the kiss. Just as she started to curl her fists into his clothes and lean into him he pulled back enough to look at her.

  Dani blinked, bringing herself back into the here and now. “What was that for?” And why did you stop? Even she heard the yearning in her own voice. She wanted more. Maybe not the whole thing quite yet, but more.

  He smiled. “It's a tradition between people who like each other and aren't going to see each for a few days. It's called a goodbye kiss. I'm sure you've heard of them.”

  She looked at him from beneath her eyelashes, letting him know what she thought of that reasoning, but stepped back and resumed packing. “You kiss everyone goodbye like that?”

  “Just you, sweetheart.” He moved away making it easier for her to focus.

  “So, tell me the plan then,” Dani prompted switching back to work mode.

  “Marmie gave me the details before I came up. There's a military transport leaving at around noon.”

  That would explain his stepping away, Dani acknowledged. Her flight left in less than an hour.

  “It will get you to San Diego before four,” he continued. “I'll check out the potential sites Savendra might go to and find a hotel somewhere convenient. We'll call you when you land and give you the details.”

  “That's right, it's your old stomping ground,” Dani commented, remembering the SEAL training facility in San Diego. “As long as the hotel doesn't have fleas, I'll be happy,” she added, shoving one more pair of shoes into her bag and zipping it shut.

  “We'll find you something nice. I might even toss in a couple of good food recommendations,” he offered as she hefted her bag over her shoulder.

  “Ah,” she sighed. “A man after my own heart.” And, as she said it, she wondered if there was more truth to it than even she would credit.

  Chapter 12

  SHE KNEW SHE WAS BIASED, but Savendra felt wrong. Even his friends were unremarkable. There was just nothing. And that was what Dani couldn't wrap her mind around. Dani was feeling grumpy. If Savendra stuck to his usual haunts and friends, her trip to San Diego would be extremely uneventful.

  The wheels hit the tarmac and she gathered her things. She needed to remember her primary objectives. The weapons and the drugs. Not Sonny Carlyle. If Smythe was involved in arms dealing, they'd be due for some very long paperwork when this whole thing wrapped up. And if Eagle's Wing got ahold of the arsenal they believed Getz had stored in his seaside fortress—well, ugly wouldn't even begin to cover what it would be like.

  Knowing how the drugs were coming into the country, and through whom, would make it easier to build the case against Getz once the bust was over. And the more they had against Getz, the more he might give up about the weapons. But maybe when Sonny was in custody, just maybe, she could get some answers.

  Her phone rang as she walked down the stairs onto the tarmac and into the hot Southern California spring air.

  “Williamson,” she said.

  “It's me,” Ty's voice responded.

  “Good timing, I just stepped out of the plane. Christ, it's hot. Hold on, I need to take my jacket off.” Dani moved the phone away without waiting for an answer.

  “Can I help you with your bag ma'am?” a young soldier appeared.

  “Thanks, I have a car in the parking lot,” she said. “I do have a car in the parking lot, right?” she asked Ty, bringing the phone back to her ear. He told her the make, model, and color, which she repeated to the young man who headed off to find it for her. It would have been chivalrous, but Dani knew it was more about security than anything else.

  “Who was that?” Ty asked.

  “Some sweet, young soldier. A cutie, too,” she couldn't help but add.

  “How young?” Ty asked, a tad more interested.

  “It's quite possible he's still nursing,” she answered. “God, I hate flying into military bases. It makes me realize how old I am,” she added, following the young man at enough distance so he couldn't hear her.

  “I'm not old, and you're younger than me,” Ty responded.

  “Yeah, well I feel old when I come to these places.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, you don't look old.”

  Dani could hear the smile in Ty's voice. “So says the man I'm having sex with,” she responded.

  “We had sex one night, I'm not sure that qualifies me as the man you're ‘having sex with.’”

  Dani stopped mid-step. “Please tell me you didn't just say that in front of anyone,” she demanded. She knew it was her fault, she'd baited him. But that was before she'd remembered he wasn't the kind of guy to refrain from responding just because he was surrounded by colleagues. Even if they were her colleagues. Of course, very little got by any of her teammates, and while she'd like to think she and Ty weren't obvious about whatever was going on between them, some things were too hard, if not impossible, to hide completely. She would have preferred it if Ty hadn't announced their personal connection, but in all honesty, she doubted he'd said anything that shocked anyone.

  “Marmie's here, doing her best to pretend she's not listening. She's not doing a very good job of hiding her laughter though,” he added, not at all contrite. “Oh, and Spanky is here, too. What's that Spanky?” he asked, and Dani could hear her colleague saying something. Ty let out a bark of laughter. “Spanky wants to know if you're going to come through the phone and emasculate me now, or if you're going to wait until you get back here? Either way, he wants a heads up so he can take bets.”

  “Later. Definitely later,” she muttered as she reached the car. The keys were inside and she popped the trunk. The soldier placed her duffel in the back, closed it, and gave her one last look. He was very cute, in an Opie Taylor kind of way.

  “Stop smiling at the private, you'll make him blush,” Ty commanded.

  “Too late,” Dani answered, as the young man murmured his goodbye, blushed, and walked away.

  “You in the car now?” Ty asked, bringing her back to the task at hand.

  “Yes, now you can give me the specs.”

  And he did. Ty rattled off the name of the hotel they'd reserved for her, the names of local DEA agents she'd be working with for the next few days, and a few pieces of intelligence that had come in during her flight. The only surprise was the fact that Sonny's trip to Miami had been delayed by four days. He'd leave the militia compound the same day Savendra was scheduled to return. Maybe they didn't like too many people to be off the compound at the same time.

  “So, what's the plan?” Ty asked when he finished giving her the details.

  “I'll go to the regional office, meet the agents, and then scout the area. Savendra doesn't come in until this time tomorrow, so I have plenty of time to check things out.”

  “Go to Mamarita's for dinner, if you have a chance,” Ty suggested. “It's the best Mexican in town.”


  As far as Dani was concerned, good Mexican food was the best thing Southern California had to offer.

  “What's the address?”

  “It's in your email already,” he answered. “Marmie told me how much you like Mexican food—figured we'd toss it in the reports we sent.”

  “I have high standards, so don't get offended if I don't like it.” She was only partly teasing. After spending a couple of months in Mexico on three separate occasions, her standards were high. But, outside of Mexico, she was pretty easy to please.

  “Well then, when this is all over, I'll take you to a little place near my parents' place in Taos. You'll love it.”

  Dani almost drove off the road.

  “Ty,” she half-warned.

  “Gotta go, Drew's giving me the stink eye. I think I blew my chance to give you any more updates. I'll talk to you later.” Ty ended the call. Dani pulled the phone from her ear, looked at like it might bite her, sighed, and tossed it onto the empty seat.

  * * *

  An hour and a half later, most of which was spent in traffic, Dani was sitting across from Agent Alicia Gordon in the San Diego field office of the DEA. Both women were watching the figure of Agent Jeffery Diamond disappear down the hallway in a huff.

  “Whose puppy did you kick to get him for a partner?” Dani asked.

  “Just another day on the life of a pregnant DEA agent,” Agent Gordon replied with good-humored resignation—which was more than Dani would have been able to muster.

  Dani turned her attention back to the woman sitting at the table. Agent Gordon was a few years older than her, and about six months pregnant. True, Dani wouldn't want her on a high-risk stake out or other physically demanding assignment, but Agent Gordon's attractive face held eyes that were intelligent and sharp. Dani would bet, hands down, that even six months pregnant, Alicia Gordon was the better agent.

  “I'm not sure about the wisdom of partnering up a misogynistic SOB with a pregnant woman. What did they think that would accomplish?” Dani asked. Agent Diamond had done nothing but insult her intelligence and ogle her breasts for the past thirty minutes. Well, to be fair, he also ogled her legs. She wished Ty was there. It would be funny to watch Ty do his he-man thing.