“Yeah? Doing a job that will make me five grand? No thanks.”
“I can give you your life back,” he said as I turned for the door.
I paused. It was a tempting offer, but you didn’t just get your life back after a court martial. I knew the way the rest of my life was going, the same way a convict knew what he was facing when he was released from prison. There was only one way that I could ever hope to get my life back, and there was no way that I had the kind of pull to make that happen.
“Nice try. I appreciate the effort you’re putting into this little speech, but we both know that there’s no way I’m getting my life back.”
He stood and walked toward me slowly, his movements slick and practiced. “I know exactly where you’ve been. I was out on my own, and I had no one to rely on but myself. If I was ever caught, I would have been in Leavenworth for the rest of my life. But I met Cap and he turned shit around for me. I have a wife and kids now. I have a new identity. I have friends that have put it all on the line for me. Can you say that you’ll ever have that again?”
“Well, I’m not getting a new identity. I’m not ashamed of the man I am.”
“Neither was I, but it was the only way to keep my wife and the life I was building with her. What I’m offering you isn’t anything like the deal I got. There’s no going back for me. I’m not redeemable in any way. But you? I’ve read your files. You got screwed. You need an order that comes from the top.”
“Yeah, and I have a lot of contacts with the President,” I chuckled.
“Not you, no, but what if I told you that if you pull off this job, and we figure out what the fuck is really going on, I could get you what you need?”
“I’d say you’re full of shit.”
He walked toward me, pressing a file against my chest. “Think about it. That’s a little teaser for you.” He glanced around the room and then back at me. “You could have your entire life back. Let me know what you decide.”
I stared at the file in my hand as he headed for the door. I had to admit, I was a little curious as to why he wanted my help. He worked for a company that I knew had the resources to find out anything they wanted.
“Wait,” I shouted, catching his attention. “Why me?”
He smirked, “Meet me back at your apartment and I’ll tell you why.”
He was gone before I could say anything else. I stared down at the file again, and then it hit me, he knew where I lived. Shit. I snatched my bag and hurried for the door. I hated anyone knowing where I lived. I liked my privacy and the last thing I wanted was someone spying on me.
I ran out to my truck and headed back to my apartment, pulling into the dark parking lot. It wasn’t much. In fact, it was about the shittiest place I had ever lived, but I was saving money for the day that I could buy a piece of land to call my own. I hopped out of the truck and looked around the lot. I didn’t see any unfamiliar vehicles and thought about waiting for Knight down here, but ultimately decided against it. I wasn’t even sure I wanted the fucking job, let alone to hear him out.
I climbed the stairs to my apartment and slid the key in the lock, then shoved the door open and immediately dropped my bag when I felt someone in the room. I didn’t have a gun on me. It was too dangerous for me to carry. If I got caught with an illegal weapon, I was headed to jail. Still, I was trained, I knew how to fight, as I had proven multiple times over the last six months. Not that it would matter if I encountered a gun.
“Sit down. I’m not gonna fucking shoot you.”
The tension leeched some from my body when I recognized Knight’s voice, not that it being him made me feel any better. I flicked on the light and glared at him.
“Do you often break into other people’s houses?”
He shrugged slightly. “When it’s necessary.”
“And why was it necessary now?”
“I wasn’t about to wait outside and get shivved.”
“Right, because I could see someone getting the drop on you.”
“Well, you get unlucky from time to time,” he shrugged.
“Maybe others do. I’d like to know one time that you got unlucky.”
“Well, I was stabbed in the chest once. That felt pretty fucking unlucky.”
“And yet you’re still alive,” I said, walking over to the chair opposite and sitting down. “So, what is it you were going to tell me?”
“You’re the one with the questions. So fucking ask.”
I watched him for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly this guy was hiding and what he would tell me. “What did you mean that you were once like me? Who were you running from?”
“Everyone.”
“Why?”
“Because I did bad things.”
“Wow. You know, you’re a real fountain of information.”
“I had to do a lot to hide certain things about who I was. I’m not about to spill all that shit to you, not when I have no fucking idea if I can trust you.”
“If you can’t trust me, then why would you ask me to go do this job for you?” I asked, holding up the file he gave me.
“There’s a difference between asking someone to gather information and trusting someone with your secrets. It’s not just my life that would be affected if anyone found out my true identity.”
I nodded in understanding. That answer was good enough for me. I couldn’t really blame him. If I were in his position, I would keep that shit to myself also. “So, why me?”
“I read your file. You were a good soldier, and you got fucked over. You didn’t stand a chance against the fuckers that set you up. Let’s say that this is your chance for revenge.”
“By digging into some senator? I hardly see how that’ll get me revenge.”
He ran his finger over his top lip as he considered me. I knew there was more to the story. The question was, how much would he really tell me?
“I’ve dealt with a lot of dirty politicians in my life, and I can smell one here. But this isn’t just about taking bribes or pathetic shit like that. This is something bigger. There was a senator that I ran into a while back. He was as dirty as they come. Only he didn’t actually do any of the dirty work. He left that up to others, but he always collected evidence on those he was using.” He nodded to my hand. “That was some of the evidence he had collected. It references a job that was put into place last year. It says that the job will be in full swing by this spring.”
“Then it’s already in motion. What are you hoping to find out or stop for that matter?”
“I want to know what the job is. Senator Cortez is mentioned in one of the documents. If he’s involved, I want to know whatever he knows.”
“And what makes you think that he just has that information laying around?”
He smirked at me. “There are three types of politicians in this world. The first is naive and thinks the world is a good place that can be saved. He’s the crusader that would do anything for his constituents, but eventually ends up on the wrong side of the law, hoping to make a difference. The second is cocky. He thinks he’s untouchable because of the power he’s amassed. You can see it in his demeanor, the way he walks and talks. And because he thinks he’s untouchable, he doesn’t take the necessary precautions to ensure that no one will ever find out about all his illegal activities. The third, he’s slick. He puts on the right face for his constituents and his colleagues. He appears to be a good man, all the while pulling the strings that control everyone else. And he’s truly untouchable because he knows how to cover his tracks. He never lets anything lead back to him, so he can never be prosecuted for his crimes.”
“Okay, so you’re saying that Cortez is the second.”
“Exactly.”
“But he’s not the one pulling the strings. So, even if you get what you need on him, how does that help you take down whoever’s in charge?”
“It doesn’t.” He stood and headed for the door.
“Wait! What are you going to do when you
find out whoever is behind…whatever this shit is?”
“I’m going to kill him.”
He turned for the door again.
“You didn’t tell me why me.”
He turned around again with a sigh. “The senator lives in Fox Chapel, just northeast of Pittsburgh, and I promised my wife that I wouldn’t leave her again. I need someone that can do the investigating for me.”
“So, you’re not willing to go back on your word to your wife about leaving to go do some investigating, but you’re willing to kill the guy behind whatever this is.”
“I never said I was perfect.”
Chapter Five
Blake
From my position in the back yard, I could see the senator moving around his office, shuffling paperwork and stuffing some in his wall safe. The man was way too cocky. He didn’t have any high tech security yet, probably because he thought as a junior senator that no one would be interested in him. Plus, the wall safe he was using was ancient. It probably came with the house that was at least fifty years old. He had done updates, but that was one thing that hadn’t been updated. Not only that, but it was the typical safe that was hidden behind a large picture on the wall. It was like he watched every bad spy movie and decided to make all the same mistakes he saw in the movie.
I watched through my binoculars as he moved to the front of the house. From my position, I couldn’t make out what he was doing anymore, so I moved around to a better position. I watched as he snatched his car keys and headed out the front door. Looking back at the wall by the front door, I grinned when I saw that he hadn’t engaged his alarm, which meant that he wasn’t in the habit of setting it to begin with. After he pulled out of the driveway, I hurried across the lawn to the side door of the garage. Making it through that door, I grinned at the realization that I was just seconds from entering his house. Most people didn’t lock the door that led from the garage into the house, and he was no different.
Quietly, I slipped into the house and made my way to his study. The moonlight cast enough of a glow throughout the house that I could see where I was going without having to use my flashlight. Once in the study, I went immediately to the safe, and pulled out the equipment that I needed. I was inside the safe just a few minutes later, pulling out all of his paperwork to go through. I didn’t have time to look through all of it now, and taking it would only notify him that someone was in his home and looking into him. I quickly snapped photos of everything and then ran over to his desk to start going through all his drawers.
The top drawer was locked, so I moved on to the others, finding typical things you’d find in a desk, but nothing of interest. That top drawer, though, that really nagged at me. If it was locked, there was a reason for it. I pulled out a lock pick set and got to work, just getting it open when I thought I heard a creak in the house. My head snapped up and I paused, listening for any other sounds. Another creak down the hall had me slowly opening the drawer. I needed to find out what was in there and get out. I slid the drawer open, finding only a small key inside. Without thinking twice, I snatched the key from the drawer and moved silently to the door. Peeking into the hallway, I caught a shadow moving through the house.
Shit. I glanced around the room and decided that my best option was leaving through the window. I ran over and unlocked the window, popping the screen out with a quick shove. Once the window was shut, I laid low and watched for a few seconds. When no one showed, I popped the screen back into place and took off across the yard. When I hit the tree line, I hid behind a tree and pulled out my binoculars to see who was inside. A man stood at the window, staring straight at me. I couldn’t make out his features, but hard eyes seemed to look right through me. I jerked back with a gasp, not expecting him to have seen me. But when I put the binoculars back to my eyes, the man was gone.
I kept an eye out the entire way back to the motel, but I didn’t see anyone following me. Still, I couldn’t get those eyes out of my mind. I could tell that the man was built. He was definitely strong and I could see his muscles bulging through the black shirt he had on. I licked my lips as I thought back to the way his pants hugged his thighs. Tingles shot through me, making me shiver and clench my thighs together.
I shook my head, irritated with myself that I was turned on by a man that was obviously at the house when he shouldn’t have been. Then I laughed at myself because I had been at the house, and I had no right to be. As I pulled into the motel, I checked the rearview mirror one last time. It was clear, so I pulled into the back of the lot and walked around to my door. Slipping the key in the lock, I felt a prickle of unease shoot through me. I glanced around at the darkness one last time, but I couldn’t see anything that would set me on edge. I shoved inside and locked the door behind me. I pulled the curtains closed and watched from the side of the curtain for a good ten minutes before huffing in irritation and walking away. I was way too paranoid for my own good.
I slid the key out of my pocket, staring at it for just a second, trying to figure out what it belonged to. It wasn’t the size of a regular key, so I would guess some kind of security box at a bank. I tossed it on the table and stripped out of my clothes, tossing them on top of my bag.
The door burst in behind me and I spun around, getting in a fighting stance immediately. Shock spiraled through me when I saw the man from the window standing in my door. It had to be. He was the same build and he was the only one that would come bursting through my door so soon after I broke into a senator’s house. How did he get here? I had watched for a tail and I didn’t have one.
He charged at me, tackling me to the floor. I was so shocked that he was here that it took me a moment to respond. When fight or flight kicked in, I maneuvered underneath him, flicking my legs up into the air and wrapping them around his neck. I jerked my legs, flinging him off me as I kept my legs wrapped around him. In the next second, he had me off him and was tossing me across the room. I slammed into the wall, my head bouncing painfully off the cheap drywall. I felt the dust fall down around my face as I shook off the stunned feeling.
He came at me again, but this time I waited until he was right in front of me before I spun away, slamming my knee into his chest. He moved quickly, dodging the worst of the blow and grabbing my leg. I twisted away and used the bed as leverage, pushing off it as I kicked him in the face, sending him back into the nightstand and sending the lamp crashing to the floor. I ran for my bag to grab my gun, but he was on me again, taking me down just before I reached it. I slammed my elbow back into his gut and rolled, using my momentum to bounce to my feet and fling myself forward. A boot to the back sent me sprawling into the TV, sending it crashing to the floor. I picked it up and threw it at him, catching him in the shoulder.
I snatched the mirror that was on the wall behind the TV and slammed it down on his head as he ran at me again. But he didn’t stop, and crashed into me, slamming me into the wall. The air was knocked from my lungs and someone pounded on the other side of the wall, yelling at me to be quiet.
I saw the moment his eyes flicked down to the key. His eyes came back to mine just as he turned and dove for it. I slammed into him from behind, digging my fingers into his eyes as I let out a yell. He slammed his elbow back into my ribs, but I didn’t let go. He spun around, trying to fling me off his back, but I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on for dear life. I saw him reaching for the key, so I jerked his head back, gritting my teeth when I heard his cry of pain. I wasn’t letting go, no matter how much I hated to hurt the sexy man.
He was finally able to break my hold on him and flung me across the room again. I cried out in pain when my back slammed into the nightstand. I moved agonizingly slow when I saw him snatch the key and head toward the door. Pulling from deep down within, I shoved myself up and ran full force at him, not even stopping when I saw the large window right in front of us. We crashed through it, him flopping through the window and me flipping over the top of him and landing on my back outside.
I heaved
in large gulps of air as I stared up at the night sky. I heard a groan and a muted fuck. I slowly rolled over, feeling the glass bite into my side, and gaped at the man still lying over the window sill. I saw the blood dripping down the wall and shot into action. I had never intended to kill the guy. As I tried to see where the blood was coming from, I noticed the key in his hand and grabbed it, shoving it into the cup of my bra. I vaguely heard the door next door open, but I didn’t have time to deal with neighbors right now.
“Where are you bleeding?” I asked urgently.
“Fuck off,” he groaned, pushing himself up from the windowsill. My eyes bugged out when I saw the large shard of glass sticking out of his side.
“Holy shit. Oh God, oh God, oh God.”
“Parker,” he grumbled.
“What?”
“Parker, not God,” he mumbled before his legs slid out from under him and he slumped against the wall inside the room. I rushed through the door and ran over to him, trying to figure out what the hell to do.
“Okay, okay. Uh…Pull out the glass or don’t pull out the glass?”
“Car,” he grumbled, reaching out for my hand.
“Uh… hospital, right.”
“No hospital. Car.”
I glanced out at my car and debated whether or not to listen to him. I didn’t really want him dying in my car, but if he said no hospital, it was because he didn’t want to be found by the police. And even though I was FBI, well, I was FBI, the other part of me wanted to help this man.
“Fine.” I ran over to the bathroom and grabbed a few towels off the bar, then rushed back over to the man. “Okay, I’m going to pull out the glass-”
“No, leave it.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded in a roundabout way and held out his hand again. I pulled him to his feet, wincing when he gritted his teeth and made some animalistic noise under his breath. I walked slowly with him to the door, only then realizing that I didn’t have my keys on me.
Parker: A Reed Security Romance Page 4