Alex photocopied the notebook and her translations. As a backup, Casey used Jamie’s computer setup to scan in the documents. Each page was transmitted back to Jacquelyn. If the worst case scenario played out and they were all killed, the Bureau would still be able to follow through and put an end to the blackmail ring.
Matt and John visited a rent-a-wreck where they picked up a van. The next step required rigging the vehicle with the equipment that would make it their mobile base of operations.
An array of equipment was spread around the office, ready to be tested. The only way someone would be with Alex was via a two-way transmitter. Ryan picked up a tiny earpiece and called to her.
She looked up from the copier and his gut tied into a knot of longing. When she’d volunteered the information about her past, he’d nearly shouted his relief. She’d taken the risk, revealed her vulnerability to the team and proved herself worthy of their trust. The others maybe weren’t completely convinced, but he was.
She’d been less aloof since then, and he used every opportunity to continue eroding her defenses against him. He wanted to regain the closeness he’d barely tasted when they’d made love. He wanted to protect her. He couldn’t put her in danger. She’d been through too much already.
As she walked toward him, every fiber of his being refused to accept that he had to use her on this mission. Every fiber except those few brain cells that insisted on functioning in agent mode.
They needed her or the operation was guaranteed to fail. He had to use her. He knew it and it was killing him.
“Casey has the last pages for scanning.” Alex stood in front of him. “What’s next?”
A number of suggestions played through his imagination. Most required getting as far from here as possible. Right boyo. As if running away has ever been an option.
He held out his hand, the earpiece nestled in his palm. “Next is trying this on for size.”
He brushed her hair behind one ear and instructed her in the proper placement. It took a few adjustments and every second of being so close to her was sweet torture. Finally, she had the piece securely in place.
“This will be your only contact with us. It’s a two-way receiver. I’ll be able to hear everything you say and you’ll hear me.”
“Got it.” She sounded a little breathless. “Let’s give it a whirl.”
Ryan slipped on his headset. Before she reached the far side of the room, he flipped the switch and whispered in the microphone. “Okay, baby. You should be able to hear me inside your head.”
She turned and looked at him, her eyes rounding in surprise. “That is a very strange sensation.”
He’d had a similar reaction the first time he used this particular bit of technology. It had left him with a peculiar sense of intimacy with the person speaking to him. “I know. It’s kind of like I’m inside you.”
She blushed and the secondary meaning of his words hit him with a tidal wave of heat. Inside her. He pushed that thought away. As much as he might want to carry her back to the guest cottage and lose himself in making love with her, that would have to wait until later. Provided they had a later.
He cleared his throat. “Keep walking. Head out to the patio and tell me what you see.”
For the next hour they tested the equipment, made adjustments and retested. Matt and John finished rigging the van and another round of testing began. There weren’t any redundant systems, and Ryan was determined to make damn sure everything worked properly before putting anyone in the field.
While they worked on the equipment, Jamie kept busy cooking for them. Ryan insisted he join them at the dinner table. Jamie’d been around enough operations and had the security clearance to be included in the discussions. Plus, any fresh insights he might be able to provide wouldn’t hurt.
They settled into the now common routine of reviewing what they knew. The gravel-voiced man who’d roughed up Kimo was Sam Walker, a police detective. Pela was FBI. Each had recruited additional members for the blackmail ring. Ryan and Alex had followed one of them the first day.
“The building you tailed him to belongs to a shadow corporation.” Casey flipped through sheets of paper as she verified the details. “Which belongs to a holding company which is a subsidiary of another company. After a lot of digging, the trail of ownership led back to Pela and Walker.” She frowned. “If Sullivan is involved, he’s hidden it very well.”
“There has to be another person higher up?” Jamie set a small tea service next to Alex and poured her a cup of tea. He then moved around the table with a coffeepot, filling everyone’s cup with a fragrant brew.
John pushed his empty plate away. “An organization like this, with two leaders, would have imploded long before now.”
“My mama always said if you play with pigs, the stink’s gonna stick to you. We just need to find the sty this Sullivan has been hiding in.”
“Based on what?” Alex’s teacup rattled against the saucer. “All you have is a book decoded by me and my less-than-stellar memory.”
“Sugar, once we get everyone into custody, somebody’ll roll over and spill.”
Alex shook her head. “He’ll get away somehow.”
“There’s no place he can go that we won’t find him.” John’s slight grin hinted at how much he’d enjoy the chase.
“So,” Matt chimed in, “we just need to make sure this Sullivan character shows.”
“Do we really think he’ll come when he’s been so careful to keep separate from the ring?” Casey sipped from her coffee cup. “We can’t prove his involvement.”
“No, we can’t. Not yet.” John’s eyes glittered with deadly cold intent. “But he doesn’t know that. By the time he realizes what’s happening, it’ll be too late, because we’ll have the goods on him.”
“Will a tape of our conversation be enough?” Alex leaned back in her chair, massaging at her temples.
“It’ll be enough to start.” John’s tone commanded attention. “You’re our ace, in more ways than one. Without you, we have no case and a snowball’s chance of making one.”
“There’s really only one question.” He turned to face her, looking her straight in the eye. “Can you do it, Alex? Will you help us take down the people responsible for killing Justin and David?”
Fear flashed through her. Could she? She didn’t know. All this time she’d been insisting that she be involved. When it came to the critical point, would she be strong enough?
She swallowed, nearly choking on the bitter taste of her doubts. Ryan and his team were ready to put their lives on the line all because of information she’d provided. They deserved her honesty.
“I don’t know.” She folded her napkin and placed it on the table as she stood. “But I have to try.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ryan found her near the water’s edge, tracing lines in the damp sand with her bare toes. A soft ocean breeze lifted strands of her hair, giving the illusion of living ropes of silk dancing in the night sky. He stopped beside her. Much as he wanted to, he didn’t touch her.
“You don’t have to do this, you know.”
Alex nodded, but didn’t answer.
He tilted his head to get a better look at her face. “Are you sure?”
She turned away from him and nodded again.
“No, you’re not. But you’re going to try anyway, aren’t you?” He made no effort to hide the resignation in his tone.
She nodded a third time.
“Why?”
“Because I have to.” The waves nearly drowned out her quiet words. He leaned closer to hear. “They believed in me. I have to prove they were right, that David and Justin didn’t waste their time when they came to get me.”
“Do you believe in you?”
She finally looked at him. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I don’t know. From everything I’ve remembered so far, I don’t exactly have a great history of making the right decisions when I’m left on my own.”
“You won�
��t be alone. I’ll be with you, talking you through the whole process. The whole team will be behind you.”
“I’m sure they’re thrilled with that, too, aren’t they? They get pulled in cold, and the success or failure of the entire case, all their efforts, rests with someone they don’t know and have no reason to trust.”
“I trust you. That’s reason enough for them.”
“Why? Why do you trust me? You’ve known me for barely a week. Most of that time I didn’t even know myself. So how can you be so sure I’m worth trusting?”
“Because I got to know the real you when you weren’t loaded down with a lot of history.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “That’s a pretty rare opportunity. David and Justin knew the real you. They knew you were worth any amount of effort it took to bring you back.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because it’s what I’d do.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, cupping her head, forcing her to meet his eyes. He needed her to understand what he was trying to say. If his words didn’t do the job, he hoped she could see the truth in his eyes. “I’d storm the gates of hell if that’s what it took to save you. To do anything less would be…” His voice broke. He couldn’t complete the thought, much less say the words.
Tears spilled over her lashes, leaving silvery moonlit trails across her cheeks. “I’m not worth that. No one is.”
“Some people are. For me, you are.”
He kissed her eyes shut. The taste of her, the salt of her tears mingling with the salt of the ocean air, filled his senses. He pulled her into the shelter of his arms, molding her close enough he could feel each breath she took.
Her arms threaded around his waist, warm and strong, sending shafts of want and hunger deep. The part of him he’d buried as a little boy stirred to life.
This was different. This woman…the mix of her strength and vulnerability called to his deepest need, answered some unasked question he’d never allowed himself to voice.
Hunger took over and for a brief moment he allowed the world to fade to nothing but the feel, the taste, the warmth of the woman in his arms.
She pulled away enough to look in his eyes. “If things go wrong tomorrow—”
“They won’t.” He willed her to believe him. He needed to believe it himself. Because, if things went wrong, someone was likely to end up dead.
“But, if they do, don’t risk the team for me.”
He tried to protest but she wouldn’t let him interrupt her. “You have the book and the translation. If things go wrong, you’ll also have Pela and the others on whatever charges you can bring if they…if anything happens to me.”
Fear for her slid through his veins. “This isn’t a suicide mission. You can’t go in there believing—if you think that’s how this is going down, you’re not ready to take this on. I don’t care what John said. I’m not putting you at risk.”
“It’s not your choice, Ryan. I have to do this. Breaking this ring was important to Justin and David and it cost both of them their lives.”
“So you’re going to sacrifice yourself for them.”
“Whatever it takes. Their sense of justice drove them after Frank Sullivan. I won’t let them die for nothing.”
“I’ll go in with you, then.”
“You can’t. Pela knows who you are.”
“I don’t want you to be alone.”
“I won’t be.” She tapped her ear. “You’ll be inside, talking me through the whole thing. Remember?”
He remembered all right. He pulled her back into his arms. “It’s not enough. I want to be more than just a voice in your ear.”
“You are.” She wound her arms around his neck, hanging on as though the last thing she wanted was to ever let him go. “I know I won’t be alone tomorrow. I know you’ll be with me every step of the way. Tonight…”
He rubbed his cheek against the midnight silk of her hair, brushed a kiss to her temple. “What about tonight?” he whispered, daring to hope.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“I know, baby, I know.” He dragged in a deep, shuddering breath. His arms tightened, drawing her closer. “I don’t, either.”
She turned her head, stretching up to get closer, fitting her soft curves to his aching hardness. Their lips met and he lost himself in the need.
His.
Hers.
It was all the same.
Whatever happened tomorrow, he needed her tonight. They needed each other. He scooped her into his arms and headed for the guest cottage.
For tonight, need would be enough.
RYAN SETTLED INTO the dim interior of the van and flipped a switch on the control panel in front of him. “Sit rep.” The request for the team members to report in with their status went out over the mission frequency.
Everyone except Alex wore miniature wireless headsets with microphones, allowing constant communication. Since the signal wasn’t scrambled or secure, they’d agreed to use code names for the duration of the mission.
“Tweety’s in the clear. Nice day for bird-watching, but no action yet.” Casey reported in first. She sat at a nearby coffee shop, looking like one of a dozen other patrons hooked to the virtual world via a laptop. Matt had rigged her headset to pass as a cell phone headset.
Her position put her across the street from Island Visions, a former warehouse converted into an art gallery. Kimo had filled in the details of the gallery staging Alex’s upcoming show. While Ryan would have preferred a more controlled setting for the meet, the gallery provided their best option on short notice.
The gallery owner had happily provided a key and free access to the building when Alex called with a “wealthy patron” interested in a private showing. The possibility of a healthy commission during the downtime had proved irresistible.
From her sidewalk table at the coffee shop, Casey had a clear view of the street and partway into the gallery. Her position had her close enough to observe any people entering or leaving the gallery, but far enough away that she wouldn’t attract undue attention for loitering.
Matt’s position had him on the low rooftop across the alley from the gallery’s back door. He’d be guarding their six with his handy sniper rifle. His soft voice came through the headset next. “Eagle has landed.”
Casey groaned. “He just loves saying that. I think that’s the whole reason he does what he does.”
“Condor would be more appropriate, don’t you think?” John asked.
Under normal circumstances Ryan would have joined in the banter. But this was far from normal. Worry about Alex dampened any desire to share the humor. “Cut the chatter. Tracker, where are you?”
“In position.” John’s response came over the headset. He watched the estate Casey had found listed to Frank Sullivan. “There’s some activity indoors, but our friend hasn’t left yet. I’ll report in when he moves.”
“Copy.” Ryan opened the switch to Alex’s receiver. “Sugar, where are you?” He had done his best to ease Alex’s nerves before he left that morning. But several hours had passed since then. There was no guarantee she’d maintained any level of calm.
“I’m just hitting the city.” Alex’s voice sounded even enough. Maybe she tended to settle down once business started. He didn’t know, not for sure. Of all the variables they were dealing with, Alex and how she’d react held the biggest unknown. Having your key player also be your biggest question mark fell far below ideal.
Nothing about this mission approached ideal. They were shorthanded, underequipped and unrehearsed. Too late to do anything about that now. Just get on with it, boyo, and get the job done.
He stretched back in his chair in a vain effort to relax tensed muscles. He should be out there, closer to the action rather than stuck in an alley blocks away. The tight confines of their makeshift control center seemed tighter by the minute. The darkened van windows gave the illusion of twilight, a fitting atmosphere for the forebo
ding chill crawling up his spine.
Watch your back, Jamie had warned him more than once in the past week. His back didn’t worry him. Alex was the one out there all alone. Casey’s position put her closest to the action, but a lot could happen in the few seconds it would take any of them to respond if Alex raised the alarm.
The mission clock, red numbers glowing in the gloom, ticked off another minute. T minus forty minutes before the scheduled meet. An eternity before he could expect to see any action.
All he could do was sit there, rerunning all the scenarios in his mind. And wait.
ALEX KEPT CHECKING the rearview mirror, half expecting to see a dark sedan on her tail. If anyone followed her, they were more skillful than she. Which wouldn’t take much. They must be crazy to think I can do this. “I must be crazy.”
“No one’s crazy, sugar.” Ryan’s voice came through her earpiece. Heat raced up her neck and over her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to speak out loud. At least she was on a closed circuit with Ryan so the others hadn’t heard her slip.
“Everything will be fine.” Ryan’s calm tone continued. “Just stick to the plan.”
How could he sound so relaxed? If she wasn’t already sitting, she’d have collapsed from nerves. “He scares me, Ryan. You don’t know Sullivan.”
“I know his type. Ruthless, controlling, manipulative.”
“He’s that and more. Justin and David aren’t the only ones he’s killed. Promise me he won’t get away.”
“I promise you, we’ll stop Sullivan, no matter what it takes. Everyone’s in place, ready to do their bit.”
“Now if I can do mine…”
“You’ll do fine, sugar. Don’t worry none.”
Sugar. Ryan had reverted to his original endearment for the mission. He tended to call any woman sugar. The impersonal term meant nothing to him. She was the only one he’d referred to as baby.
She’d barely been aware of his shift in endearment. It hadn’t been until she caught a silent exchange passing between Casey and Matt that the significance registered.
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