by Rebecca Deel
He walked to his bedroom closet and pressed two spots on his mirror wall. A click, and the mirror moved away from the wall and revealed a steel door. Adam keyed a code into the security panel and opened the door.
The room lit up at their entrance, revealing four security screens which showed Adam’s house inside and out from every angle. Veronica’s eyes widened. Incredible.
He crossed the room to another steel door. Again, he keyed in a security code. This time, she saw his weapons stash. “Oh, man. Look at this. Do you get to use these on missions?”
Adam flashed her an amused glance. “Not on every mission, but I have used them.”
Veronica entered the room and scanned the weapons. Nice. Really nice. Her own weapons collection wasn’t as extensive as his. She didn’t have his salary, either. She found another Sig and picked up the weapon, checked to make sure the chamber was empty. “May I borrow this one?”
“Sure.” He opened a cabinet and handed her a couple magazines along with a box of ammunition. “Anything else?”
She shook her head. “Thank you.”
“You need to rest.” He led her from the safe room and closet. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave.” Adam kissed Veronica and nudged her inside her bedroom.
Veronica toed off her shoes and lay back on the bed with a sigh. Later, a tap on her door woke her. Adam stood in the doorway.
“It’s time, Vonnie.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Remy parked his SUV a block from Norton’s home and turned off the engine. In the back seat, Adam opened his Go bag and removed the comm system Fortress issued to its operatives.
He handed Veronica his backup system and showed her how to attach the webbing.
“This is much better than what we use,” she said.
“Maddox keeps us supplied with the best equipment he can find.” Lily smiled over her shoulder.
Adam attached his own comm system. “Everybody ready?” After receiving positive responses, he said, “Let’s find out what your wannabe boyfriend knows, Vonnie.”
They approached the house from the rear, climbed over the fence and hugged the shadows of the bushes and trees in Norton’s yard. Adam held up his fist, signaling the others to wait while he checked the garage for the agent’s vehicle.
He peered through the window. The moonlight gleamed on a truck parked inside. He retraced his steps. “Dark-colored pickup is there.”
“That’s his vehicle,” Veronica said.
So the target was home. Good. “Remy, Lily, wait for my signal.”
The two operatives ran in a crouch for the back of the house along with Adam and Veronica. Adam motioned for them to disable the alarm. When they returned, he slipped around the side of the house and approached the porch with Veronica where they would call the agent sleeping inside. Remy and Lily were to pick the lock and slip inside when Graham Norton opened the front door. Adam wasn’t taking a chance with Veronica’s safety.
Once Remy confirmed the alarm was disabled and the back door was unlocked, Adam motioned for Veronica to call Norton with the phone on speaker. A moment later, a sleep-thickened voice answered.
“Graham, it’s Veronica.”
“Nica, where are you? I’ve been worried.”
“I’m at your front door. Can we talk?”
“I’ll be right there.”
She slid her phone into her pocket and eyed Adam. “I want this resolved, but I don’t want a friend to be guilty.”
“You’re strong. You’ll handle whatever is thrown at you.” Adam palmed his weapon and held the Sig by his side. “Remy, Lily, be ready.”
“Copy.”
Inside the house, a low light turned on and Norton fumbled with the lock. A tall, broad-shouldered man softening around the middle flung open the door, his dark hair mussed from sleep. He squinted to see Veronica better on the darkened porch. Adam had unscrewed the lightbulb to give them a few seconds to see whether or not the agent arrived with a gun drawn. Norton was empty handed, a surprise to Adam. He would have been armed if awakened in the middle of the night.
“Nica, where have you been?”
When the agent reached to grasp Veronica’s arm, Adam stepped into view and nudged Norton’s hand aside.
Veronica’s co-worker scowled. “Who are you?”
“Graham, let’s go inside,” Veronica said. “I’ll explain everything.”
Not taking his gaze from Adam, Norton backed up, clearing the doorway for them to enter.
Adam indicated for Veronica to precede him. Remy and Lily were in the house, weapons trained on the DEA agent in case he made a move on her.
“Nica, what’s going on?” Norton demanded. When Veronica turned toward him, fury burned in his gaze. “Who hurt you?” He glared at Adam. “Did this clown put his hands on you?”
“No, Graham. Adam would never hurt me. Please, can we sit down?”
He motioned for them to take the couch. “What happened? Have you reported the assault?”
“Dane sent me to Mexico. Los Diablos captured and interrogated me.”
He dropped into the recliner, his jaw slack. “You’re lucky they didn’t kill you. What did they want to know?”
Veronica summarized her time in the hands of the cartel. “I need your help. Someone in our office is framing me for Dane’s death.”
“What? That’s crazy. He was our friend.”
“Has anyone asked questions about Veronica the past two weeks?” Adam asked.
“Before I answer your questions, how about answering some of mine. Who are you?”
“Adam Walker.”
Norton stilled. “Walker? The operative Nica helped rescue last year?”
“That’s right.”
His attention shifted to Veronica. “Why are you with Walker?”
“He and his friends returned the favor by rescuing me in Mexico.”
The agent frowned. “None of us knew you were in trouble. Why didn’t Dane send us in? We would have gotten you out of there.”
“He asked Fortress to go after Veronica,” Adam said. “There’s a leak in your office, Norton.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no leak.”
“How else would Los Diablos have known about our missions and the agents involved in them?” Veronica asked. “Plus, Dane has documents that implicate me as the leak.”
“I don’t understand any of this.” Norton jumped to his feet and paced. “How do you know about the documents?”
“I have a friend with computer skills,” Adam said. What an understatement. Zane was a top-notch hacker, one the government would pay big bucks to have in their employ. Unfortunately for them, Z wasn’t a fan of having the government watch over his shoulder.
“This is unbelievable.” He rounded on Adam and Veronica. “Why didn’t you call me or Carol, Nica? We would have helped you.”
She sighed. “I did contact Carol and now she’s in the hospital.”
Norton grimaced. “Yeah, I tried to see her, but she has a guard on her door. No one except Forrest got inside to talk to her.”
“The bodyguard is with Fortress,” Adam said. “If someone inside your organization is involved in what’s happening to Veronica, we can’t trust the DEA or anyone from another law enforcement agency in that room alone with her while she’s vulnerable. You’re not safe, either.”
“Why am I at risk?”
“Because you’re my friend,” Veronica said. “You and Carol were the most likely people aside from Dane who wouldn’t rest until you found out where I was and why I was accused of selling out the DEA. You are the most dangerous now that Carol is unreachable. You’re a target, Graham. I shouldn’t have contacted Carol, but I wanted to tell her to be careful. Now I’m telling you the same thing. Be careful. They almost killed Carol. I don’t want you to be next.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” He studied her face a moment. “Are you really okay, Nica?”
“Los Diablos w
eren’t kind to me, but I will heal. Adam is taking good care of me.”
“You could have come to me. I would do anything you needed.” He sighed. “But you’ve always been hung up on this guy, haven’t you?”
“I never meant to hurt you, Graham.”
He held up his hand. “I know. You’ve been honest about how you felt from the beginning. What do you need from me? I’ll do anything I can to help.”
Over the comm system, Remy said, “Company in front.”
Adam turned off the light.
“What’s happening?” Norton stepped to the side of the picture window.
“You expecting anyone else?”
A snort. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“You have a bulletproof vest in the house?”
He nodded.
“Get it and your weapon. There are two SUVs out front, four men in each.” Adam glanced over his shoulder. “Remy, you and Lily circle around. Approach from both sides.”
“Copy that.”
“How many more people are in my house?” Norton demanded.
“Just the four of us.” Adam returned his attention to the front of the house. “Veronica’s safety means more to me than worrying about you feeling violated because I brought two other operatives. It’s good I brought backup.”
“You disabled my alarm.”
“We planned to bring it back online before we left.”
“I could arrest you right now.”
“You won’t. We want to catch at least one of these clowns to question him. Unless you’ve been advertising your address to people who want you dead, this is connected to Veronica and maybe Dane.”
“So how did they end up here? Did you check your vehicle for trackers?”
“Of course. We weren’t followed to your doorstep. So what about you, Norton? Have you been asking too many questions around the office about Veronica?”
He blew out a breath. “Yeah, a bunch. She was missing and Dane was dead. So sue me. I care about Nica.” A wry smile curved his lips. “More than she cares for me.”
Ignoring that last statement, Adam said, “So you moved higher on the troublemaker list.”
“In position,” Lily murmured.
“Remy?” Adam asked.
“In position.”
“Wait for my signal.”
“Copy.”
Adam glanced at Norton. “You have a safe room?”
“Adam,” Veronica snapped.
“Are you kidding?” Norton gave a short laugh. “Not on my salary.”
“Bullet-resistant glass?”
“I wish.”
He’d been afraid of that. “Get your gear, Norton.”
The agent dashed to the back of the house and returned strapping on his vest. He’d dragged on a shirt and stuffed his feet into boots. “Any movement?”
Adam turned back as the doors of each vehicle opened. “Here they come. Vonnie, cover the back.”
She raced to the back door and a second later, Adam heard the lock click into place.
At the front, the group of eight split up. Two raised their weapons and started firing into the house, shattering windows. Two targets raced to the left side to breach the house through the garage. Two others went to the right side toward the bedrooms. The remaining pair of men stayed behind the steering wheels for a fast getaway.
“Fire.” Adam squeezed off a shot and while his target staggered, he didn’t go down. Crap. “Body armor.”
“One target down,” Remy said. “Going after the second.”
Adam reacquired his target and squeezed off a round to the shoulder. That shooter dropped, writhing in pain. Seconds later, the other shooter in the front dropped. He wouldn’t be getting up. Norton had taken him down with a head shot.
“Two targets down,” Lily said.
Before he could respond, a crash in the kitchen had him spinning on his heel. “Norton, Lily, watch the drivers.” He moved toward the back of the house and Veronica, weapon raised and ready.
“Two new targets breached the house from the back,” Remy snapped. “My last target is down. Moving to assist.”
Adam eased around a corner and fired at the man preparing to shoot Veronica as she battled his teammate. The wannabe shooter dropped to the floor. Remy raced through the back door and used zip ties to restrain the unconscious man.
On the ground, Veronica slammed her elbow against her assailant’s temple and he went limp with a groan. Adam reached down, yanked him off Veronica, and dropped him. After securing him and tossing aside the man’s weapon, he held out his hand to Veronica. “Nice job, Vonnie.”
She grinned, breathing fast. “Thanks.”
“Cops are coming,” Lily said over the comm. “Do you want me to detain the drivers?”
He signaled Remy to go, knowing the operative wanted to aid his mate. “Roger that. Remy’s on his way. Secure them and wait. I’m sending out Norton. He’ll handle the local law enforcement.”
“Copy.”
Adam raised his voice. “Norton, Lily and Remy will detain the drivers, then stand down. Make sure your cop buddies don’t shoot my teammates.”
“You got it.”
He slid his weapon into his holster and cupped Veronica’s cheeks. “You okay?”
“I feel great.”
Adam chuckled. “You might not in a few hours. Looks like he got in a few licks.”
“I got in more.”
He kissed her lightly as the sirens cut off abruptly. Knowing he had maybe two minutes before the police were inside the house, Adam grabbed his phone and took pictures of the men’s faces, then sent their prints to Fortress. Slipping outside, he did the same to the thug Remy had restrained at the back door. He would have to wait for the police to identify the rest of them. He planned to ask Zane to check the police reports in a few hours. If he was free to talk to his brother-in-law. He and the others would have to answer questions.
Adam returned to the kitchen seconds ahead of two cops with their weapons drawn. He made sure his hands were visible as did Veronica. “I’m Adam Walker. This is Veronica Miles. You’ll need to take my weapon for testing.” He turned to the side so the closest officer could confiscate his Sig. “I want a receipt for that.” Fat chance he’d be reclaiming the weapon anytime soon. The officer secured Adam’s Sig and the one Veronica carried.
“Do you have other weapons?” the second officer asked.
Adam and Veronica glanced at each other and smiled. The police removed the backup weapons and Adam’s two knives and Veronica’s knife.
The first officer whistled softly before dragging his attention from the small pile of hardware and instructed them to wait out front on the porch with Remy and Lily.
Adam wrapped his hand around Veronica’s and walked to the porch with the second officer trailing behind them. Remy had dragged the two chairs on the porch to the darkest corner. Lily occupied one while the other remained empty.
He nudged Veronica to the chair and stood beside Remy as they watched Norton talk to two other officers. “Problems?” he murmured to Remy.
“Not unless you count feeling naked without my weapons,” he grumbled. “They’re waiting for a detective and the crime scene team.”
“I sent off pictures and prints to Fortress on three.”
“Same with the drivers and the four we took down. That leaves the two clowns in front.”
“Zane will find what we need.”
Thirty minutes later, a nondescript car pulled up in front of the house just as the two ambulances were leaving, and two men climbed from the vehicle. When one of the men passed under the glare of the street light, Adam nudged Remy.
“About time we caught a break,” Remy muttered.
The detective glanced up, his gaze automatically going to the darkened corner where the four of them waited. He said something to his partner and strode up the driveway and the porch stairs. “I should have known. Can’t you stay out of trouble, Doucet?”
“Hey, th
ey fired first. We were protecting our principal.”
Detective Cal Taylor’s gaze locked on Veronica. He held out his hand. “Detective Cal Taylor, homicide.”
“Veronica Miles, DEA.”
“Ah.” A small smile curved his mouth. “That explains your presence here, Walker. So what’s the story?”
Adam gave him a rundown of events in rapid-fire fashion.
“Any of you need the ER?” Taylor asked. When the response was negative, he shook his head. “Of course not. Don’t know why I bothered to ask. I need you to go through this again, individually. Going through the crime scene will take me some time.”
“I need Veronica in a more secure location,” Adam murmured. “And your buddies confiscated our weapons. You also need to keep an eye on Norton. He’s a target as well.”
“Copy that. Go to Fortress headquarters. I’ll meet you after I finish here.” Taylor waved his partner over and explained that he was sending the operatives and Veronica ahead to Fortress for security reasons, then indicated for them to go.
During the ride to Fortress, the computer tech on duty sent Adam an email with the results of the print and facial recognition scans. The results made his blood run cold.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Veronica glanced at Adam. Whatever he read on his phone had upset him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as close as he could in the confines of the SUV. She noticed Remy and Lily exchanging puzzled looks.
Since he wasn’t ready to talk, Veronica relaxed against Adam and hoped he would take comfort from her presence. Perhaps he would tell her what was troubling him when they were alone.
When they reached Fortress, they returned to the conference room. As they walked through the building, she noticed the place wasn’t quiet. She could hear people talking, a copier running, and telephones ringing. No surprise, she supposed. Nights were busy for the DEA, too.
Inside the room, Adam dimmed the lights and went to the wall of windows in silence. Remy turned to Veronica, his eyebrow raised in silent inquiry. She shook her head, not having an answer to his unspoken question. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she wanted to find out.
Remy held out his hand to Lily. “Come on. Let’s find some water and soft drinks. We’ll be in this room a while.”