He might need to pull in a few of the trust-with-my-life team leaders on this one. Mitch, aka Mr. Responsible, who spent his life trying to make everything right for others. Joey, the tech guru, better known as Props in a sticky situation. Kent, who volunteered for everything. Cat, the steeled estrogen of the leaders. And Stealth— No, Stealth was going on two years in deep cover South America.
They might all rank as OPAQUE leads for other teams, but, just like him, these agents would come at a moment’s notice if they could work around their own assignments.
Looked like Drake’s recent take-downs of CT personnel was hitting their intended target. Evidently, he was narrowing in on one or more of the leaders in CT. Just like her dad had been. Right before Josh’s father sold his soul for a boatload of money. Right before the plane crash.
Chapter Thirteen
Macki had watched the last ten minutes tick past on the laptop in Josh’s bedroom. There’d been no more emails, so his thanks-for-the-clue message must have hit a nerve.
His open expression had etched into a chiseled line of concentration. His footsteps had changed into forceful plods of determination.
He’d contacted OPAQUE with an update, letting her listen to everything being said. Then, he’d rummaged in a box and come up with a scrambler device he said should take out anything within the perimeter of the penthouse, balcony, and guest hallway.
Assured they’d be safe and unnoticed for the time being, Josh had searched room by room, culling each one out of what he referred to as camera potential.
She stayed off to the side or trailed behind him. “What’s the third?”
“Third? Third what?” He kept moving, kept looking. Stepping onto the balcony, he did the same.
Standing in the doorway from the living room, she wondered how much longer the Midwest heat wave would last. “A while ago, you talked in terms of first and second on why CT was targeting me after all these years. Usually, when a person lists a statement, there are three items. So, what’s the third?”
Josh turned to face her, and the corner of his eye twitched. His throat moved with a heavy swallow. “In my way of thinking, they don’t really want you. They want what you can get them.”
“Drake?”
“Sure. My guess is that they’d like to consolidate CT and OPAQUE, but have everyone believe OPAQUE is still on the law enforcement side of things.” The corner of his mouth quirked upward. “They’d need Drake to get on board with that or…”
“Or take him out like my dad?” she asked.
Nodding, Josh stared into the distance, his eyelids half closed as if he were deep in thought. “Some of the other agents and I don’t plan for that to happen.”
“Others in OPAQUE?”
“Yeah. There’s a close-knit group of us who watch each other’s backs. We’ve got Drake’s back, too. He just doesn’t know it.” Josh grinned. “We call ourselves Team Shades. Dark whiskey. Dark nights. Dark shades.”
“Shades?”
“You know.” He pressed his thumb against his index finger then moved them up and down next to his eye.
“Oh! Sunglasses. You all wear sunglasses.”
Even as serious as this scenario was turning out to be, she couldn’t help but enjoy the vision of a bunch of alpha agents coming up with a name for their group. And a slogan. “Sounds like something a bunch of guys having a fun night came up with. Probably had one too many shots of whiskey.”
“Wrong on two counts.” His semi-smirk semi-grin of contentment said she was in for a lesson on Team Shades. “Most OPAQUE agents are men, but there are women agents, too. Cat leads her own team most of the time. She’s also a member of Team Shades.”
“Cat for Catherine?”
“Nope. Her real name is Shauna. We nicknamed her Cat because she’s got the quietest movement of any agent in OPAQUE.” While pulling the drapes back over the patio door, he shook his head, his expression tense with frustration.
Female agents…good to know. Macki planned to talk her uncle into at least allowing her to try out for the agency. From what she’d seen and heard, only the best became OPAQUE agents, and she planned to be one of them.
“Two?”
His smile disappeared. “Yeah, we’d probably had one too many, but not for fun. You see, we’d buried one of our own that day. Lost him on one hard-ass mission.” He double checked the drapes were drawn. “Gave his life saving one of us. Sometimes that’s even harder to accept.”
With everything inside her, she wanted to take Josh in her arms. Let him know she understood the power of death. Even the threat of death. How it could burrow deep inside until it reached the final bit of steel a person had left, until either you let it burn through, or you climbed out of that hole and took a step forward. But she didn’t reach out to him. What she was feeling wasn’t in the realm of the girl she’d been years ago. What she felt was here and now and the man—that scared the hell out of her.
“I’m sorry you lost someone in that fight,” she said.
“Let it go. Let it go.” The words and tone were final.
In that moment, she realized there wasn’t a third item on this list. She also realized she’d never be a member of Team Shades. She’d love to meet all of them. Party with them. Listen to them bullshit. Be their friend. But the elite of the elite were too tough for her to join. They carried too heavy a load. Being an OPAQUE agent would be enough for her.
“Just for the record, I saw your calculating look. The ways your eyes brightened for a moment when I mentioned women agents.” He rolled his hands in circles, fast and forward, as his tone revved into lecture overdrive. “That mind of yours going a mile a minute. Making a plan. Chucking away your vision of the future.” He leaned into her space. “There’s no way in hell Drake will let you join OPAQUE.”
Macki leaned in to take up most of the space left between them, then winked, then smiled. “Don’t bet your life savings on it, bucko.”
Sighing heavy, with a groan attached, Josh held his ground. After a few seconds, he turned back to his search.
She watched him complete his search and security-scan every room of the penthouse including the guest hallway leading from the hotel elevator. Plus, windows, balconies, and, with the help of a special device, he even zeroed in on some of the buildings in the surrounding area. So far, nothing had shown up.
“Maybe if you tell me what clues you got from the email, I can help.” She ventured toward him with a glass of ice water.
“The first email told us he could see you.” Josh gulped down the liquid and shoved the glass back in her direction. “He knew you had on a green top.”
She rolled the cool glass across her forehead. “He knew we kissed.”
“Right. Plus, that I’d moved the desk.”
Josh programmed a different setting in the security scanner, then started around the room again. “The email back in the bedroom filled in that he had no idea where we had gone. Tells me his camera is in this area.” Josh spread his arms as if taking in the living room, kitchen, balcony.
“So why did you search the other rooms and outside before this area?”
“Never hurts to cover the long shots.” Josh appeared to focus on where he’d moved the desk from and to, plus where the two of them had kissed.
She followed his movements from afar. This search was different than the one thirty minutes ago. This one was defined. Almost like he’d gridded a map in his mind. Step by step, he was working backward from the desk and sofa.
“Do you think he can hear us?” she asked.
“No. He’d have said something in the email to flaunt his power.” Josh stepped out her front door into the hallway he’d secured earlier.
She stood at the open doorway, watching him stare at the painting hung on the wall opposite the bookcases in her penthouse. Slow and steady, he lifted the Monet-type landscape picture from the hanger, letting it slide through his palms to the floor. He swiped the scanner around the edges, then stopped, motioni
ng her to his side. She glanced down to where he pointed. A long slender strip lay along the edge of the gold frame, barely visible if you weren’t looking for something.
“Transmitter?” A cold shiver trickled across Mackenzie’s shoulders.
“High-tech one, from what I can tell.” Josh shoved the scanner back in his pocket. “That means CT paid you a visit before I installed my own equipment.”
Striving to push off the panic that came with knowing how close someone from Coercion Ten had been to her, she stared at the boats floating on the serene print of smudgy pastels. What would have happened if they’d come inside while she slept? If they could override her hotel elevator system, what was to stop them from coming through her door?
“You okay?” Josh pulled her into a shoulder hold, easing her close to his side. “You don’t look so good.”
Finding her center, Mackenzie exhaled, willing the chill on her cheeks aside. She straightened out of his arm, ready to face the moment. “I’m okay. What have we got?”
After lifting the transmitter strip from the frame, he shrugged as they went back into the penthouse. “For now, it’s scrambled. Once I deactivate it, I’ll ship it off to OPAQUE. See what they can get from—”
She jumped at the ring of her own cell phone.
He stood still as stone. “Who is it?”
“Blocked ID.” Heart racing, she deeply inhaled as she pressed the speaker button. “Hello.”
“Hey, Macki, it’s Lieutenant Grey. How you doing?”
She exhaled with relief and turned to walk to the kitchen. Josh kept pace with her, leaning to hear the conversation. Finally, he stopped her and pulled the phone between them, rolling his other hand for her to continue the conversation.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“That’s good.” Grey cleared his throat. “I know you were pretty shook up at the hospital.”
Josh’s brow furrowed along with the questioning gaze he shot her.
“I didn’t think you were at the police sub-station, Lieutenant Grey.” She understood Josh’s reaction, and made sure to emphasize his name.
“Wasn’t. And Detective Cummings didn’t mention you when he initially contacted me about Mr. Slater being detained.”
“Why’d he contact you?”
“Needed my permission to release him. Once I verified information and realized Mr. Slater had rushed you to the hospital, I authorized his release. Seriously, though, are you sure you’re okay?”
“No need to worry. It was only a bump on my forehead.” She touched the still-swollen spot. “Is there something you need?”
“Sounds like you’re in a rush. Got one of those ritzy events to get to?”
Cringing at the same words he’d used for years, Mackenzie realized that though her world might be falling apart, at least a few things could be counted on to stay the same. Like Grey always insinuating she was some kind of wealthy diva. Never mind the condescending tone he used with her most of the time.
“Or maybe the guy with you at the station is still around and—”
“Hello, Lieutenant Grey. Josh Slater here.” He straightened, pulling the phone out of her hand. “Remember me from high school years ago?”
“I remember.” Grey’s voice went from considerate to cold. “You were the kid hanging around after football games. Trying to get Macki and my daughter to stay out past curfew.”
“That was me. Guess I owe you an apology for being such a young punk.”
The sound of a door slamming on Grey’s end echoed through the phone. “The only person you owe an apology is Macki. You walked out on her when she needed you most.”
Josh glanced in her direction. “Well, we’ve decided to let bygones be bygones. She offered me a place to stay while I’m in town. Looks like I’ll be around for a while.”
Silence enveloped the three of them. A long silence.
Ready for this conversation to end, Mackenzie took her phone back. “Was there something you needed, Lieutenant Grey?”
“There’s a terrible echo with your speaker phone. Shut it off.” Grey spoke like someone giving orders.
Josh nodded and stepped up close to her side.
“Sorry.” She pushed the speaker off then tilted the phone between their ears. “Is this okay?”
“The reason I called is to invite you to my barbeque tomorrow. Starts about two. Lasts until the beer runs out.”
Josh shook his head no.
She nodded yes.
Josh shook his head along with a quick jerk of his hand this time.
“Maybe I can sweeten the pot.” Grey cleared his throat. “Cummings said he might stop by.”
“You call that sweetening the pot? How many times do I have to tell you that Cummings and I have nothing in common?” She struggled to leave Josh’s side, but he tugged her back.
“Blake Ransom.” Grey’s somber tone accentuated the word. “You’ve got Blake in common.”
“A dead man is not something to base a relationship on.” She jerked away from Josh and crossed the room. “I’m sorry, but I’ll need to turn down your barbeque offer. Maybe another time. Tell everyone—”
“Barbeque!” Josh shouted from his side of the great room. “You can’t turn down a barbeque, Macki.”
What the hell? Why would he change his mind? He’d barely let her leave his sight since he’d gotten to town. After what had happened with the emails today, she figured lock and key scrutiny would be next on his list. Why the sudden change?
Grey’s laughter resounded through the phone. “The man’s right. Nobody in their right mind turns down a barbeque.”
Josh pointed to his chest and to her, made the walking sign with his fingers and then pointed to the phone. She should have known.
Mackenzie clicked the speaker back on. “Okay. I guess I’ll come… On one condition.”
“Anything.” The lieutenant smoothed his tone.
“I bring Josh.”
“Sure. Nothing I’d like better than to be part of the return of the prodigal…punk. See you tomorrow.”
Josh’s expression flattened before the line went dead.
“I don’t think Lieutenant Grey likes you,” Mackenzie ventured.
“Most people don’t.” He shrugged. “He’s just one more.”
They stared into each other’s eyes as if they could penetrate a barrier to the other’s soul. She might have a few secrets, but none worth hiding forever. But Josh? The blockade in his look said his secrets ran deep. Very deep and very dark.
She blinked. “Doesn’t it bother you?”
“I like it that way. Means I’ve got the edge.”
Inside, her cop instincts smiled. “You’ve never, in your entire career, let a case become emotional?”
“Nope.”
“What about your personal life? Got any emotions there?”
…
Josh had to admit Macki played the questioning just right. Lured him in…let him think he’d gotten away…then went for the kill-question. She did good. He did better. What was her simple question compared to being interrogated by bastards who didn’t care if he lived or died? The best way to counter her interest was to ignore the question.
“Time to zero in on the camera.” Since he’d found the transmitter on the picture hanging in the hallway, that meant the receiver was probably fairly close.
Focusing on the bookcase between the balcony windows and the front door, he noticed one item that seemed strange in the room’s decor. A pinkish-colored hunk of crystal. He tumbled the stone in his hand, weighed the piece in his palm. Seemed off for the size of the piece, so he stepped onto the balcony to get a better look at the consistency in sunlight.
Macki came up behind him, and he bumped into her as he turned around. The crystal tumbled from his hand and hit the concrete with a crackling sound. A tiny, barely audible whine pierced the air then stopped.
Click…click…click…his scanner screen flashed to bright green.
“Bingo.�
�� He picked up the piece and walked back inside. “What is this?”
“I was told it’s a good luck stone for healing. For the powers to work, it has to stay in the same location as the first time you put it in your house.” Her brow pinched as she sucked in a breath.
“Don’t think so.” He pulled the knife from his leg holster. Scraped it around the edges, but didn’t find a nick for the blade to slide into. He’d bet his next paycheck the stone wasn’t a solid crystal. “Where’d you buy this?”
“It was a gift.” She twined her fingers together then twisted.
He was picking up on each little tell from Macki. She was nervous or confused or afraid of something. “From who?”
“Roxy.”
“Mama Roxy down on D Street?” He’d done a little investigating of his own since he’d gotten to town. The lady had been there longer than almost anyone else, and she seemed to wield the most power besides the pimps. Sometimes more. Plus, she had a rap sheet varied enough to get her some time, but no time showed up.
Macki nodded. “Yes, Mama Roxy.”
“She wasn’t on your list of people who’ve been here. How many other people did you forget?” He slipped his knife back in its holster then grabbed a ball-peen hammer from the tool chest OPAQUE had shipped to him.
Holding up her hand as if to stop his questions, she followed him to the kitchen island. “Roxy wasn’t on the list because she’s never been in my home.”
He spread a towel on the granite counter then set the piece on top. Motioning for her to be quiet, he tapped the rock with the hammer. Tapped again. Nothing indicated it was anything more than a solid rock. “I’m gonna owe you a new whatever you want to replace this thing.”
He angled the piece tighter into his hold and pulled the towel taut. Times like this, his black belt in karate came in handy for focus and power. Moving only his wrist, he popped the hammer up and down in the blink of an eye. Peeling back the cloth, a small square section dangled from the crystal. And, with one solid pop of his hand, a miniscule camera fell onto the granite countertop.
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