Athena Force: Books 1-6

by Justine Davis, Amy J. Fetzer, Katherine Garbera, Meredith Fletcher, Catherine Mann

  “Yes.”

  “What happened? Did you get fired on?” Tory wasn’t sure she wanted to believe that the government would knowingly send an entire platoon of SEALs to their death and then leave King to be tortured and starved for six months.

  “No. I put down a distance from the camp. I let McKinley and his companion off.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “They left and returned a little over an hour later.”

  “What did the men discuss on the way back?”

  “Nothing. I took them back to the city and returned to my base camp.”

  “When did you leave?”

  “Almost immediately. That was my last flight in Puerto Isla. I left the army to come back home and work with my dad.”

  Tory remembered some basic military information from her time at Athena, but it had been more than a few years. And this situation wasn’t a normal military operation. Maybe Ben would be able to lend his military expertise to what she’d found out.

  Tory tried to assimilate everything he’d said. Unless she was really off the mark, it sounded as if someone in military intelligence was involved.

  “Thanks for speaking to me, Ruben.”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

  Ruben walked away. Tory waited a few seconds before heading back toward Ben and the waiting car.

  She slid into the car and Ben glanced over at her. “Did you find out anything new?”

  “Does he work for you?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Just curious.”

  “If he worked for me, he wouldn’t be allowed to talk to you.”

  “Did you know that army intelligence was making trips to the interior of Puerto Isla on a regular basis?”

  “No. But I have been asking a few questions back at base.”

  “And?”

  “And Ruben’s name turned up.”

  “I’m really getting angry about this entire mess. Every question I ask leads to more questions. Do you think Addler would know more about this?”

  “The embassy and the military work closely together, but I’m not sure what Addler would know.”

  “I wonder if he’ll talk to me again. I want to shake him up.”

  “Should I drive you there?”

  “Ben, I’m a journalist, not an enforcer.”

  “I’ll be your enforcer, babe.”

  “Don’t call me babe. And you’ve got to do something about those cornball lines.”

  “It’s part of my charm.” And he was charming. She realized she was seeing the real Ben, not the suave man who moved through the sophisticated circles of the upper crust. He wasn’t wooing her or playing any games with her. And that warmed her deep inside.

  Tory warned herself not to fall for it. Ben might be pursuing her with all the intensity of a heat-seeking missile, but he’d lose interest in her soon enough. He was used to the cream of the crop. “Is that how you woo heiresses and heads of state?”

  “No. That’s all an act that I learned at my mother’s knee.”

  “So what’s this?” She gestured to the two of them.

  He reached across the space and took her hand in his. “This is the real Ben. Not many people get to see him.”

  “I’m honored,” she said. And deep inside she was.

  The light changed and Ben lifted his head. In his eyes she saw the same questions she was battling when it came to this attraction between them. She ran her finger over her bottom lip, not sure what to say. God, the one time she really needed to have words, she didn’t.

  She fell back as she always did on her career. This story was turning into more than her big break at the UBC. She felt it in her bones. She was uncovering a conspiracy here that was bigger than anyone would believe. The organization of this many different groups.

  That meant someone high up, where orders were given that wouldn’t be questioned. With the military that meant a high-level officer. But Addler wasn’t military and he wasn’t talking. So Tory added the diplomatic corps to the mix. And Derrick had been shut down at the DEA.

  “Would you drop me off at the network? I want to run these names through our database and see what comes up. And I need to look at a piece of film I shot earlier.”

  He sighed but let her change the subject. “I’ll help you.”

  “I work better on my own.” Which was, strictly speaking, the truth. But she knew she wanted distance from Ben.

  “Suit yourself,” he said. He was silent the rest of the drive to the studio, and Tory had the insane impulse to apologize.

  “I didn’t interfere on Puerto Isla when you were giving directions.”

  Ben pulled the car into a vacant parking lot and put it in Park. He twisted in the seat to face her, one arm resting on the back of the seat, the other bent on the steering wheel. In the shadowed interior of the car, his features were hawklike. She had a feeling that she wouldn’t survive a battle with him. He was a warrior now. Not the suave, sophisticated playboy who was at home in Savile Row suits. This was the military expert who’d gotten Tom King off Puerto Isla alive.

  A shiver of pure excitement ran down her spine. Going toe-to-toe with him like this…she craved it.

  “Like hell you didn’t. And I was smart enough to use you and your Athena Academy skills. Even the Amazons teamed up with males once in a while.”

  “I don’t think I’m an Amazon.” But she liked that he thought she was. Ben wasn’t like other guys she’d been involved with in the past. He came from a family of wealth, privilege and intelligence. She wasn’t like the women he socialized with, but she could go toe-to-toe with him on matters like this one.

  “I do. And I respect you for that, Tory. I’m not trying to crowd you, but I have as much at stake here as you do.”

  “How do you figure?” she asked.

  “Someone betrayed a special-ops team—I need to avenge that.”

  “Turning vigilante on me?”

  “Not on your life. But we take care of our own problems at LASER.”

  “What if this isn’t a LASER problem?”

  “If it concerns any branch of the military, it is. Now, can I come in? Or do you want me to pick you up later?”

  “I need you to keep this quiet—can you do that? Let me get the facts and do the story before you go off half-cocked looking for justice.”

  “First of all, I never go off half-cocked. And second, it depends on what we find. If no one else will be put in danger, I can wait.”

  “Park in the garage.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The network studios weren’t that busy. Tory and Ben signed in at the security desk and made their way through the darkened maze of cubicles to the back wall and the one that Tory was using.

  “Why don’t you use one of the other computers and start searching for information from a year ago forward?” Tory powered up the computer on her desk.

  “Why only a year?” Ben asked. He leaned in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. The blue Oxford shirt he wore under his sport coat that made his eyes even bluer than normal.

  “How far back do you think this goes?” she asked after a second. Stop drooling, girl. You’re here to do a job, not lust after Ben.

  He shrugged and tipped his head to the side. “I’m not sure, but I’m betting for more than a year.”

  “Okay, five years?” she suggested. She didn’t care when he searched as long as he left her alone so she could get to work. Concentrating on Puerto Isla, drug lords and Tom King instead of remembering how it felt to have Ben’s big, strong body close to hers.

  “Sounds good.”

  “Did Ruben tell you about McKinely?” she asked, after a minute. She suspected Ruben worked with Ben.

  “Yes.”

  “Does Ruben know who else was with him?”

  “Not by name.”

  “Why didn’t you just give me that information?” She didn’t know for sure if Ben was working with her or making sure she didn’t uncov
er something that would hurt the image of the military and the U.S. government. And his comments in the car made her wonder whom he’d choose if push came to shove—her or his country.

  “Because you notice things that I don’t.”

  “I didn’t this time.”

  “Sure, you did. I wouldn’t have connected it to Addler.”

  “I spoke to Addler this afternoon, and the man was definitely not telling me all he knows.”

  “That must have ticked you off.”

  “Ha ha. I don’t get ticked off. I just get more curious. I’m not sure Addler’s involved with whatever’s going on, but he does know more about the hostage incident.”

  “I’ll work him from my end and see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks, Ben.”

  “Anything for you.”

  “Do you mean that?”

  “Sure, I do.”

  “You scare me.”

  “I know better, Athena girl. Nothing scares you.”

  He left her alone in the office. Tory turned back to the screen. How little Ben understood about her. Everything scared her. She was afraid she’d endanger someone else with her questions.

  Afraid she’d jump into something with Ben that she wasn’t ready for.

  Chapter 15

  Ben pulled into the parking garage at her hotel three hours later. Tory stared at him across the darkened expanse of the front seat. Excitement buzzed through her veins.

  She’d called McKinley’s office, and she had been informed that McKinley had no comment to the press—especially about Tom King and the SEAL platoon on Puerto Isla. She’d been directed to the army public-affairs office.

  “No one in McKinley’s office will talk to me,” she said to Ben.

  “Are you asking me to help out?” he asked.

  “Do I really have to ask? You’ve been butting in since we met on Puerto Isla.”

  “I thought I was helping.”

  She sighed. “You have been.”

  Ben watched her for a minute, then took out his cell phone and made a series of calls. Tory didn’t listen in on his conversations. She knew there were some things in Ben’s life she was better off not knowing. He’d invited her to join him at a political dinner the next evening with Washington, D.C., insiders who he’d said would probably be able to shed some light on her investigation. Formal dress, lousy food but slow dancing, he’d said. And she was contemplating it.

  Idiot, she thought. Once she was seen in public with Ben she could forget about keeping her relationship private. She’d have to call Alex before Alex called her. She didn’t want to talk to Alex about Ben. And she didn’t want to even contemplate running into Veronica, Ben and Alex’s mother. From what she’d heard through Alex, Veronica was a barracuda when it came to the waters of the social dating game. And Tory wasn’t sure she was the kind of woman Veronica would want in Ben’s life.

  “I’m going to meet a McKinley aide for coffee tomorrow morning. I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks, Ben.”

  “You’re welcome. I love it when you ask me for things.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Want to come up for a drink?” she asked. They’d been together the better part of the day, and he’d been on her mind.

  “Maybe.”

  She wasn’t in the mood to play games. She opened her door and got out of the car. She was out of her element with him. Give her a reluctant interviewee and she was golden, but one-on-one with this man…she didn’t know how to react. Mostly because he never reacted the way he should.

  “Hey, where are you going?” he asked.

  Tory stood there with the car door open talking into the car. “Up to my room.”

  “We’re in the middle of a conversation.”

  “No, Ben. We were in the middle of some kind of game. I’m not really interested in playing.”

  He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He was tired. She was, too. And though she’d never admit it, she’d be happy to just lie in Ben’s arms for a few hours.

  “We need to talk before I come back to your room,” he said at last.

  “I asked you in for a drink,” she said, knowing she’d offered more. “We can go to the bar.”

  “I want to come up to your room. God, Tory, I want you.”

  “So what’s stopping you?” she asked.

  “I think this is more than a few nights of sex here and there.”

  She wanted it to be more. But with Ben she was afraid to risk caring. He wasn’t a guy like Perry who worked in her industry or had any other normal job. Ben did something few men would and he risked his life daily.

  “Let’s go to the bar. I’m buying.”

  Ben took her hand and laced their fingers together. Shivers moved up her arm, spreading throughout her body. Once they were in the elevator, she pushed him back against the wall and leaned up against him.

  “I don’t really want to talk.”

  She cut off his reply with her mouth against his. He moaned deep in his throat. Sensing victory, she thrust her tongue past his teeth and tasted him. God, he tasted good.

  She tunneled her fingers through his thick hair and held his head still. She ravaged his mouth, taking what she wanted without asking.

  The door opened and she stepped back. Ben watched her for a moment. When she led him off the elevator across the plush lobby of the hotel to the elevators leading to the guest rooms, he came with her.

  “I know I’m going to regret this,” he said.

  “I promise you won’t.”

  He gave her a half smile that made her heartbeat speed up. “There’s regret and then there’s regret.”

  “Don’t,” she said, covering his lips with her gloved fingers. “Please don’t make this into more than…”

  “Something physical?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go on up. I need to make a purchase.”

  She nodded. “Don’t be too long.”

  “I won’t be.”

  She watched him walk away. The elevator car arrived and Tory stepped on. It stopped on the eighth floor and a tall, thin man got on. Tory fixed her on-air smile on her face.

  He smiled back at her and the doors to the car closed. Tory glanced down through the glass elevators at the lobby.

  He crowded close to her in the car, and Tory tried to back away, but he pulled her back against his body, holding a knife to her throat.

  She lifted her foot to kick him, but he tightened his hand on her windpipe and stars danced in front of her eyes. “Be still.”

  His voice was gruff and barely a whisper. Tory stopped struggling. Her mind shifted through possibilities. She could pretend to faint and pull him off balance then attack him.

  She closed her eyes to focus on what she’d do. In her head she visualized the man she’d seen.

  “Leave the Puerto Isla matter alone. This is your last warning.”

  The elevator car stopped again. The man released her and walked off the elevator. Tory started after him, but the doors closed before she could get off the car.

  Tory wasn’t in her room five minutes before there was a knock on the door. She approached the door, cautiously aware that someone could fire through it and kill her.

  “It’s Ben.”

  She checked the peephole and then opened the door. His coat was torn, his eye was starting to turn black and his nose was bloodied. “What happened to you?”

  “Got in a little tussle with some friends of yours,” he said with a cocky grin that said he’d gotten the best of his opponent.

  He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Tory pulled him into the room and closed the door. This was getting out of hand. She needed to finish this story so that she could get back to living a normal life. So that the people who she came in contact with were no longer in danger.

  “Go sit down. I had a warning also.”

  She wet one of the washcloths with cold water and brought another one with her.
She wrapped some ice in the dry cloth. “Hold this on the back of your neck.”

  He looked skeptical. “My nose is bleeding, Tory.”

  She forced his hand against the back of his neck. “I know. But this works. My brother used to get nosebleeds when we were kids. Mom always put ice on the back of his neck.”

  He tilted his head to one side. “I don’t know anything about your family, but your mom sounds a whole lot different from mine.”

  “I think it’s safe to say she is. She’s a ranch wife, so she’s very practical and down-to-earth.”

  “Are you close?”

  Tory thought about it for a minute. She talked to her mom practically every day. “Yes, we are. She’s just wise and supportive. And she doesn’t nag or say ‘I told you so.’”

  “Like my grandfather.”

  “How does he feel about you ‘wasting your life’?”

  “He understands.”

  “How could he? He was the director of the CIA, Ben. The man has to want you to do more with your life.” Tory couldn’t imagine having to live up to a man like Charles Forsythe. He was bigger than life. A millionaire many times over, but also a man of integrity and honor.

  “Trust me, Tory. He’s not upset with me.”

  “Why not?” she asked. She was probably right to suspect that his grandfather knew the truth about Ben.

  “Let it go,” he said.

  “I can’t. You got the journalist in me stirred up.” She thought about Alex and Ben’s dad, who’d died when they were young. Alex didn’t often speak of her father, but Tory pulled the memory of a long-ago chat. Alex’s dad had died overseas on a business trip. Overseas in a dangerous area, Tory remembered, because they’d been studying hot spots around the world and how the State Department decided which countries to warn American citizens against traveling to. “Does it have something to do with your dad?”

  Ben stiffened. “How the hell did you do that?”

  She smiled. She was good at connecting the dots. “Let’s see. He ran an import-export business and died on a business trip in…Turkey?”

  “Yes.”

  “He was CIA like your grandfather, right?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think so.”