Barrel Proof (Agents Irish and Whiskey)

by Layla Reyne

  “My apologies for him,” Jamie said. “He left his manners back in Boston.”

  Grace rolled her eyes in a perfect imitation of Aidan. “He fits right in. I swear, this family.”

  This family.

  She said it like Jamie belonged already, like Cam was included in the invitation too. Her smile said the same, though her eyes were worried. Letting go of Katie’s hand, he pulled Grace into a hug with a muffled, “Thank you. And we’ll get him back.”

  “I know you will.”

  Katie giggled at Cam, who was kneeling in front of her, making Mr. Potato Head faces. “You’re funny.”

  He stretched his Boston accent and his face. “Who you callin’ funny?”

  Katie laughed again, until a yawn interrupted her fun.

  “I think it’s past someone’s bedtime.” Grace picked up her daughter and rested her on a hip. “Say good-night.”

  Cam leaned close, tapping his cheek with a finger. “Put it here, sweetheart.”

  Katie gave him a wet smooch. “Night, Cam.”

  Jamie ruffled her curls as they passed by. “Night, Katie-girl.”

  She kissed his cheek too. “Night, Uncle Jamie.”

  He was still working to swallow the lump in his throat, watching Katie and Grace disappear down the hall, when Cam draped an arm over his shoulders. “You feel better now?”

  “Yes, thank you.” For being here, when he needed him most. For looking after him. For having his back. He didn’t say those things, that damn lump back in his throat, but Cam understood, his hold sure. “I need to know what’s going on. Tell me I didn’t just lie to Grace.”

  “We’re holding steady.” Cam steered them toward the inner courtyard where Mel, Lauren and Nic were huddled around one table end. Danny sat alone at the other, a glass and a bottle of Jameson at his side.

  Four heads looked up when they hit the patio. Jamie glanced at each of them, a nod of thanks for giving him a breather. Nic’s gaze held the longest, before shifting to Cam and following him around the table. Jurisdictional pissing contest? Or had Cam gone into overprotective best friend mode? But those two had worked together before without incident. Whatever was said, Jamie trusted them to act like professionals, for Aidan’s sake.

  He slid into the chair next to Cam. “Tell me where we’re at.”

  “We think they’re local,” Mel said. “No sight of them at bus or train stations.

  “And no one fitting their descriptions at local airports,” Lauren added. “TSA is on alert.”

  “You told them about Oscar?” he asked Cam, who confirmed.

  “According to his clearances,” Nic said, “Agent Torres left the Bureau in December.”

  “That’s right,” Jamie said. “He told me and Aidan he had a private security gig lined up. Aidan didn’t believe him.”

  “I checked with the local field office and the private security firm,” Mel said. “There was a private security job, but Torres never showed up.”

  “Because he got a better deal from Westley and Renaud.” Jamie propped his elbows on the table, scrubbing his hands over his face.

  “Hey.” Cam clasped his shoulder. “Torres fooled me and Aidan too. We let him into your computer. This is on all of us.”

  Jamie nodded, then asked Lauren, “Is the kill switch holding?”

  “Yes, and trades have stopped.”

  “One good thing at least.” But the bad things were adding up. “Oscar said he sent an incriminating email.” He looked to Mel and Nic. “Any word from on high?”

  “Not from the US Attorney’s office,” Nic said.

  “And nothing from our interim AD,” Mel added.

  Two hours and while the bleeding had been stemmed, not much progress had been made. He saw only one solution. The longer they waited, the more risk to his partner and Kevin.

  “I have to trade myself,” he said.

  “Let’s not go nuclear yet,” Cam said.

  “He’s got Aidan. And Kevin. Nuclear’s all I got.”

  “Like Mel said, they’re still local. We’ve got time.”

  “How much?” Jamie pushed out of his chair and paced behind the table, racking his brain for other ways to find them. “Are we sure none of the renters at Wald’s address are Renaud in disguise? Or that there’s a basement?”

  “I pulled the ownership records and the plans on file with City Planning,” Nic said. “Wald sold the house eighteen months ago. And there’s no subfloor.”

  Jamie glanced at Lauren, whose eyes were riveted on her laptop, monitoring market and message activity. He recalled the question she kept coming back to last night and gave voice to it again. “Do we have any idea why?” He turned his gaze on Danny. “What more did Tori give you on his background?”

  “Connors, Renaud, whatever his name is, predicted the dot com crash, but no one believed him.” He paused to sip his whiskey. “They forced him out of Seven Oaks. He lost almost everything.”

  “Almost?”

  “He had some money stashed,” Danny said. “Unfortunately, his wife killed herself before he had a chance to tell her.”

  “Shit.” Jamie rested back against a trellis pillar. “So this is revenge?”

  “Looks like it,” Mel said. “And he’s got nothing left to lose.”

  Whereas they had everything to lose. He pushed off the pillar, took one step, two, then froze when Lauren cursed.

  “What is it?” Jamie said.

  “I think I know why they have Kevin.” She glanced up from the computer. “He hacked the kill switch.”

  “Fuck.” He made his way around the table and peered over her shoulder. “Financial mainframes are Kevin’s specialty.”

  “Aurora messages are starting again, but wait...” She opened more windows. “It’s only a partial hack. Only messages from Aidan’s log-in.”

  “Or that look like they’re from Aidan’s log-in.”

  “No, these are originating from Aidan. No scrubbing or switching. And they’re from Aidan to my Aurora alias.”

  On her other side, Nic squinted at the screen, brow furrowed. “Those aren’t real companies, at least none I’ve heard of.”

  Danny set his glass aside. “Read ’em off to me.”

  Nic recited the list, and Danny shook his head after each. “He’s right. None of those ring a bell.”

  “They’re clues,” Jamie said, hope flickering for the first time in hours.

  “Your boy’s using your own tricks to communicate,” Cam said, catching on.

  “Clues, what clues?” Lauren said.

  “When I was kidnapped,” Jamie explained, “I coded the suspects’ names and my location as bets in the software program we were investigating.”

  “So we’re thinking location here?” Nic said.

  “Location, maybe more,” Jamie said. “Can you crack it?” he asked Lauren.

  She gave Mel and Nic a quick glance. “Earmuffs, please.” Mel rolled her eyes, Nic waved his hand, and Lauren shrugged. “Just giving you the out.” She looked back at Jamie. “I’ve got some secret software too.” She typed furiously, until two minutes of Jamie pacing later, her rapid keystrokes stopped.

  “You got it?” he asked.

  “Moffett. The repeated letters made it easy to crack.”

  “The federal airfield down 101?” Cam said.

  “Easy in for Oscar,” Mel said. “Even easier out for Renaud.”

  “And it’s right next to Pearl,” Jamie added. “Did you check that airfield?”

  Lauren shook her head. “No, it’s private and federally secured.”

  Danny stood. “I’ll be right back.” He stepped into the kitchen, and Jamie sat at the head of the table, thumbs tapping the weathered wood.

  “What are you
thinking?” Mel said.

  “I trade myself.”

  Cam shook his head. “We’ve been through this.”

  Jamie held up a hand. “Decoy. I pretend to trade myself, and then the cavalry arrives.” He motioned around the table.

  “We can make that work,” Mel said.

  Danny rejoined them, a new determination in his step. “Private jet from Houston’s been in Hangar Two since yesterday.”

  The flicker of hope flared, filling Jamie’s chest with warmth. They had a location. They knew where Aidan and Kevin were. And Renaud and Oscar. He could rescue Kevin and bring Aidan home. Tonight.

  “All right—” he started, then stopped when sirens and flashing lights cut through the dark night, shining through the archway from the driveway.

  “Oscar’s email,” Jamie said, as everyone around the table got to their feet.

  Car doors opened, slammed shut, and gravel crunched under heavy steps. US Attorney Bowers, Nic’s boss, and two police officers came charging through the archway from the driveway. “Agent Jameson Walker.”

  Danny moved next to him, and Nic stepped in front of them. “What’s this about?”

  “We have a warrant for Agent Walker’s arrest.”

  “What for?”

  Bowers handed Nic the folded paper. “Assaulting a suspect.”

  Jamie swallowed his relieved breath. It was about Westley, not any email Oscar may or may not have sent regarding his illegal software.

  Illegal software.

  His eyes darted to Lauren, who’d wisely snapped her laptop shut.

  Cam moved next to Nic, shoulder to shoulder. “I was there. Jamie was provoked.”

  “He can plead his case downtown.”

  Mel stepped to Nic’s other side, a solid wall protecting Jamie. “Agent Walker is involved in a time-sensitive operation. I need him tonight.”

  “To recover Agent Aidan Talley?” Bowers withdrew another folded paper from his suit coat. “I’ve got a warrant for his arrest too. Financial fraud and treason.”

  Hope flickered out and died.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It’d been at least an hour since Aidan’s confrontation with Renaud. If Kevin was half as good as Jamie said he was, he’d have embedded the hidden code by now. How quickly would Jamie recognize it? Aidan had wasted an entire morning when it’d been Jamie leaving clues in North Carolina. He’d only pieced it together when Byrne arrived and told him to think like Jamie.

  Now he needed Jamie to think like Jamie, despite his bum leg, frayed emotions, little sleep and too much caffeine. Byrne would help him; Aidan had heard Torres speak to Jamie’s best friend on the phone. Together, with Nic’s financial background, Danny’s connections and Hall’s analysis, Jamie and Byrne would solve the clues and Mel would take charge of the rescue.

  This would all be over soon. Renaud, Westley and Torres behind bars. Kevin safe. Aidan’s family safe. Jamie safe. They would go to Jamie’s house, the place Aidan wanted to call home too, and they’d start their life together, as they should have six weeks ago. It was time to move on. Time to live. Maybe ask the question he couldn’t get out of his mind since Katie had put it there last night.

  They were so close to the end of this.

  The door swung open and a guard pushed Kevin into the room. Stumbling, Kevin threw out an arm and caught himself on the adjacent wall.

  Aidan checked him over for cuts or bruises. None that he could see. He grabbed the chair and swung it around, gesturing for Kevin to sit. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, fine. I sidestepped the kill switch and sent the messages, just like you said.” Eyes downcast, he bit his bottom lip and snapped his bracelets.

  Remembering what Jamie had taught him about dealing with anti-authority hackers, Aidan backed off and rested against the far wall, giving Kevin space. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to look as nonthreatening as possible. Kevin had had enough of that already today. “Anything else happen?”

  “I heard something.”

  Aidan forced himself to stay plastered to the wall. “What’d you hear?”

  “Oscar was talking on the phone with someone. Jamie’s been arrested and there’s an arrest warrant out for you too.”

  “Fucking hell.” The warrant on him was easy—the Aurora messages. On Jamie, God only knew. Hacking. Illegal software. Hair-trigger temper when on edge. Aidan bent at the waist, hand on his knees, feeling sick. Jamie could lose the job he loved, one he’d given up a dream coaching job for, because of a mess he’d never be in if not for Aidan. If they hadn’t been partnered. If they hadn’t become more.

  But Aidan couldn’t worry about the future now. He had to focus on the present. On getting himself and Kevin out of here. Had Jamie seen the embedded clues before his arrest? Even if he had, the team would be delayed now. Which meant Aidan had to get them out on his own.

  Good thing he’d also planned for that possibility. “Did you get what else I asked for?”

  Standing, Kevin pulled a USB cable out of his pocket. “You need to get to the wire, right?” Kevin bent it at the prong. “This one was already fraying. Easier to strip.”

  “Perfect.” Using his teeth, Aidan stripped the white plastic away from the inside bundle of wires. “What’s the setup out there?” he asked, as he continued to work the wire free. “Where are the computers? Any additional guards? Flight crew?” He turned over the metal chair, unscrewed a leg, and used the ridged edge of the screw to cut through the wire.

  “Man,” Kevin said. “That’s some MacGyver-level shit.”

  “Jamie’s not the only one with tricks up his sleeve.” Aidan bent the wire into shape and knelt in front of the doorknob, inserting it into the lock and testing the mechanism. Not enough to unlock it. Just a little recon to feel it out. “Setup, Kevin?”

  “Right, sorry. Didn’t see any flight crew. Just Renaud, Oscar, the guy who threw me in here, and one more like him.”

  “The guards, where exactly are they and how often do they move?”

  Kevin tilted his head at the door. “One stays outside there.”

  Aidan snatched the wire out of the lock and glared over his shoulder. “You couldn’t have told me that before I started fiddling with the lock?”

  Kevin shrugged, insolent, like Aidan remembered him in Galveston. The hacking had restored some of the younger man’s confidence.

  Back to the wall, Aidan sat on the floor and braided the shredded plastic from the wire. “What about the other one?”

  “At the hangar entrance. He’s a pacer, like you. He can’t see our door when he’s in front of the plane.” Kevin positioned his hands, giving Aidan the basic layout of the hangar.

  “Computers are on the plane?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Anything else here in the hangar?”

  “Typical garage-type stuff, and construction materials along the outer edge. Like they pushed it aside for the plane to come in.”

  That made sense. All the old Moffett hangars were being renovated, and without a full hangar setup, Torres and Renaud would need to stay on the plane to monitor the stock market and investigation. Aidan tapped his thumbs on his knees, a plan forming. “Okay, this is what we’re gonna do. If I’ve got the time right, a second cargo plane should arrive soon. That’s when I’ll pick the lock, so the guard outside won’t hear it.”

  “He’ll still be there when we open the door.”

  Aidan snapped the braided wire tight, holding the ends as if to strangle someone. Kevin gulped. “Only to disarm him,” Aidan said. “You stay behind me, and when I tell you to run, you run. I know you can do that.”

  “Run where?”

  “Around the opposite side of the plane, away from the other guard and out of the hangar. Head to the flight tower, give them my ba
dge number and call SAC Melissa Cruz for help. She’s my boss, and sister-in-law.”

  He gave Kevin his badge number and Mel’s cell, making him repeat it back twice. When he asked him to repeat it a third time, Kevin flipped him off. “For fuck’s sake, I’m a hacker and a MD-PhD student. I can remember fucking number sequences. I got it.”

  Before Aidan could gripe back, the door knob began to rotate, and Aidan scrambled to his feet, shoving the wire and plastic braid into his pocket.

  Torres opened the door, grin smug. “What was that about Jamie not cooperating?”

  Aidan’s world tilted. “No,” he whispered.

  “Just a matter of time now. I look forward to the end of your careers.”

  Torres shut the door and Aidan fell back against the wall, head bowed, insides rioting. This was not the end he wanted.

  * * *

  Jamie rubbed his thumbs over the gold and emerald cufflinks as precious minutes ticked away. He was back in San Francisco, the opposite direction of Moffett Field, sitting in the same holding room Westley had occupied earlier. They’d seized his badge and gun, and his phone was back at the Talley estate. Distracted by Katie, he’d left it in the room where he’d slept. Before Bowers hauled him away, Jamie had mumbled to Cam to make sure Lauren got it, in case Aidan or Oscar sent any messages, encrypted or otherwise.

  His good leg bounced, worst-case scenarios likewise bouncing around his brain. Aidan hurt. Kevin hurt. Aidan trying to protect Kevin. Trying to escape since their FBI team was delayed. Thinking they hadn’t solved the riddle of his clues. Renaud and Oscar taking off with Aidan and Kevin, destination unknown. The team going ahead without him.

  Jamie had been benched again, foul-trouble, this rest involuntarily. And anything but restful. He couldn’t sit here on the sidelines as those he cared about most risked their lives. He glanced at the door; no lock. If there was a guard outside, he could take him. His leg was holding up. But could he get down eleven flights of stairs without it giving out? Could he get out of a building where all the guards knew him? Fuck him and his Southern-bred manners, always greeting everyone.

  Shit.