No Remorse_A Manhunters Novel

by Skye Jordan

  She turned her head to look at him. “How could I possibly remind you of someone in the military?”

  Let her go. Let her go. Let her go.

  His mind screamed one thing, his body something entirely different.

  “The way you phrase things. Your agility and fitness. Other little things that are harder to explain.”

  “You are maddening.” She heaved a breath that ended in a growl. Then turned in his arms to face him. And, damn, all the places her body rubbed reacted, despite the cool water. “You’ve invaded my past, all but subjected me to a lie detector test, and praised me on my work with Bella. What do I have to do to earn your trust?”

  Austin wondered if this was more than healthy suspicion. If he was starting to see things that weren’t there. He’d never distrusted his instincts before, but he wondered now if they were off the mark.

  When he didn’t answer, she said, “Or is this more about the attraction between us? Maybe you think being an ass is a good way to kill it.”

  “Let’s not go there.”

  Her brows shot up. “Really? Is that all you’ve got? Because if what’s going on down south is any indication, your brain and your body are not on the same page.”

  The way his body responded to her was definitely a problem. He deflected with “And that. That confidence. That’s another thing.”

  “I’m so over your neurosis.” She turned and pushed from the pool. “I am who I am because of the way I’ve lived. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem.”

  Austin’s problem was that he liked it way too much. But he decided to leave their argument there and followed her out of the pool. Water streamed down his body and through his shoes. “Two more miles in wet shoes. If I get blisters, girl…”

  She pulled on her own shoes, balled her tank into one hand, and turned toward the trail. “My heart bleeds for you, soldier.”

  Austin gave her a head start to put some distance between them. When she was several yards down the trail, he pulled off his own shirt, wrung it out, and hung it around his neck before following.

  He swore the last mile and a half took as long as the first three. But Everly ate up the last leg of the run with even more fervor. She arrived back at the house well before him to Bella’s joyous greeting.

  When Austin crested the hill and hit the grass bordering the landscaped section of the yard, he found Everly and Bella walking inside, hand in hand. Decker wandered the pool deck, and Austin waved him over.

  “’Sup, boss?”

  He waited until Everly disappeared into her suite along with Bella, then he met Decker’s gaze deliberately. “I want an asset map on her.”

  One dark brow rose. “On Everly?”

  “I know I’m acting paranoid. But I won’t sleep well again until I know how to find her if she runs.”

  Decker shifted his weight. “She’s not going anywhere with Bella. The guys and I will make sure of that.”

  That was their mantra—failure was not an option.

  “I trust you, Decker. I trust the guys. You know that. But we also know that no matter how hard someone has been vetted, the unexpected can still happen. For reasons too convoluted and subtle to explain, I don’t trust her.”

  “Try me,” Decker said. “I’d like a better idea of where your head’s at.”

  He wiped a hand down his face, frustrated. Putting it into words made him feel childish and stupid. “She’s just too good to be true, man. She’s too fit, too savvy, too smart. Sometimes the things that come out of her mouth could have come out of yours. The more I get to know her, the more I wonder, why us? Why here? Something’s not right. We’re missing something, some chunk of her life that’s contributed to all her confidence, all her physical skills, her desire to take this job.”

  Decker lowered his gaze to the ground, thoughtful. “I have to admit, the hairs on the back of my neck lifted when she made me at the market. She never once looked over her shoulder. Never broke stride through the crowds. When she doubled back, I went three levels deep in evasion. When she turned the corner and trapped me, I was speechless.” He huffed. “Thought I was losing my touch. I feel a little better knowing you’re catching that vibe too.”

  Austin exhaled, also feeling the double-edged sword of identifying with Decker’s concern. “Tell Cooper to map anyone who would give her aid. Anyone in her past with contacts, power, or money. Track every penny of her cash. I want to know where it’s coming from. Make sure she doesn’t have any stashed away or a revenue stream we don’t know about. Dig into every electronic purchase over the last year. Every location she lived for any length of time, anywhere she would be comfortable living again.”

  “I got it,” Decker said. “I know how to map assets.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m on edge.”

  “Boss,” Decker said. “If you’re that worried, why don’t you just let her go?”

  Movement in the house drew Austin’s attention. Everly crossed the kitchen with Bella twirling like a ballerina at her side, holding Everly’s hand while Bella pirouetted beneath her arm, giggling.

  “Never mind,” Decker said. “Consider her mapped.” Before Austin could make his second request, Decker beat him to it. “And I’ll update Seaver’s map while I’m at it.”

  8

  Everly sat at the kitchen table with Bella, watching her struggle to follow the dashed lines with the fat pencil gripped between her tiny fingers.

  “B,” she said as she finished and moved on to the E in her name. The girl had her tongue at the corner of her mouth, her brow tight in concentration. “E.”

  The pencil slipped, and Bella fought to reposition it. Everly found this whole teaching thing excruciating. She’d definitely underestimated the strength and perseverance any child must have to get through the learning process. And now believed every teacher on earth should have a spot reserved in heaven.

  Austin came downstairs, talking into the headset he kept on his ear when he was working. “Let me check with my security team,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line.

  “Daddy,” Bella said, “look at me.”

  He paused as he passed through the kitchen to look over Bella’s shoulder. Smiling, he ran his hand over her hair. “Nice job, sweetie.” He pressed a kiss to his daughter’s head before his gaze connected with Everly’s, and he gave her a nod of approval. Then he walked outside and called to Decker. “Deck, can I have a minute?”

  A few hours had passed since their run, and even though they’d both showered and changed since, she could still pull up the feeling of his hard body against hers, the rumble of his voice in her ear, the spark in his eyes. He was a complicated man, and it seemed Everly was making his life even more complicated—causing his intuition and intelligence to clash.

  Under normal circumstances, no one would pick up on the subtle shadows of Everly’s life in the military. But Hix was no ordinary man. Nor had he been a typical soldier. He had that indefinable sharpness of the elite. The kind of soldier she’d once been. She knew he sensed it in her, but there was no way to hide every trace of a job, a way of life, a family, that had defined so much of her existence.

  Now, his discussions fluctuated between whoever he was talking to on the phone and Decker. He wore charcoal-gray cargo pants that looked like they were made of light all-weather material. His white, short-sleeved button-down exposed tanned, muscular arms and pulled against the width of his shoulders.

  The scrape of Bella’s pencil drew Everly’s gaze from Hix.

  “I no want this.” She dropped her pencil and rubbed her eyes.

  “You know what?” Everly stood and moved to the small kitchen desk and drew out a handful of different pens and pencils. “Let’s try something different.”

  On her way back to the table, Everly took a little detour and glanced up the stairs. She found the door to Hix’s office open, and a blip of adrenaline coursed through her belly.

  She sat next to Bella again and redirected the girl to try
different drawing instruments while trying to read the body language between Hix and Decker.

  “When I draw,” Everly told Bella, “I use all kinds of different pencils and colors. Keep trying until you find the one that’s right for you.”

  Bella quickly found a felt-tip marker, somewhere between a skinny pencil and the one Everly had bought for Bella online. One that had claimed to be “perfect for little hands.” And tracing the letters of her name suddenly became more joy than work.

  When Hix and Decker moved to a table outside and opened a notebook, Everly jumped into action.

  As Bella finished writing her name for the third time, Everly said, “Those are great, Bella. Let’s take a break.”

  She loved that idea. “Can we swim?”

  Everly smiled at the way Bella’s sentences had gained structure over the last week. “Daddy’s working outside. Let’s wait until he’s done. Do you ever play hide and seek?”

  “Sometimes, with Renalda.”

  Everly picked up the stuffed monkey Bella had named Pauli—short for the palliata species—and carried to the breakfast table that morning. “Let’s all play hide and seek. Why don’t you hide Pauli in Daddy’s office, then you hide in Daddy’s bedroom? And I’ll try to find you both.”

  Bella jumped from her chair and grabbed her monkey, then turned a comically serious look on Everly. “You close your eyes to count.”

  She covered her eyes and told Bella, “Go.”

  Everly left spaces between her fingers so she could watch Hix and Decker while Bella’s feet thumped up the stairs.

  “Four, five, six,” Everly counted slowly, waiting until Bella had hidden Pauli in the office, then ran across the hall into Hix’s bedroom. “Ten, eleven, twelve.” She stood from the table and called up the stairs. “Ready or not, here I come.”

  Neither man seemed to take any notice of the game or of Everly climbing the stairs into territory where she had no legitimate business at this time of day.

  She headed straight to the office and started with the file cabinet. Everly considered this a first pass to give her the lay of the land. Once she’d identified the key locations of valuable information, she’d come back for targeted searches.

  “Oh, Pauli,” she sang, her voice too soft to carry down the stairs but loud enough to keep Bella in her hiding spot. “Are you in here?”

  She opened the top file drawer and skimmed the file tab titles—finances.

  “Pauli, Pauli, where could you be?”

  Second drawer—human resources.

  “Pauli, are you here?”

  Third drawer—assets. She paused here to look deeper. Properties, vehicles, equipment— “Boat?” she murmured. “I haven’t seen a boat.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she pulled her phone from the back pocket of her shorts and flipped open folders, snapping an image of the first sheet in each. He had files on more than three properties. A quick glance at the locations showed Everly all the properties were beachfront and within Central America, four of eight she saw here in Costa Rica. The folders were named in a numbered theme. First Impression. On Second Thought. Next Best Thing. Last Resort. She was sure there was a method to his madness, but she didn’t have enough time to investigate the folders to figure it out.

  “Pauli, Pauli, you sneaky little monkey,” Everly said. “I know you’re here somewhere.”

  She left the filing cabinet to search the bookcase, documenting her progress by naming the titles Pauli wasn’t behind, the vases Pauli wasn’t inside, the propped photos Pauli wasn’t under. Pictures of Austin and his military buddies in the field, in dress blues receiving awards, posing with prominent members of the armed forces. One with the previous president.

  The sight made her pause. An honorable man like this doesn’t steal a kid because he didn’t get his way in court, her mind whispered. A man like this doesn’t circumvent the system. He fights for her using the system he’s spent his career serving and protecting.

  She stood behind his desk, her hand on the back of his chair, looking at the pictures of Bella covering the surface. From screaming at birth with her mother, to the present day, smiling on Hix’s shoulders.

  He’s not a bad guy.

  The idea washed over her with a surety that anchored Everly.

  “She’s everything to me,” he’d told her on day one. “This business, this house, the security, cooks, tutors, nannies, everything I do is for one main purpose: to keep Bella safe and happy. Nothing else matters.”

  This man had integrity. He lived and breathed his values every day. In her heart of hearts, Everly knew Bella was right where she belonged. But it was one thing to know it, another to prove it. Especially when people as powerful as the Seavers were working against the truth.

  “Pauli’s not on Daddy’s desk chair,” she called, surprised Bella had stayed put this long.

  Her gaze scanned a few open files on the desk. A combination of computer and handwritten notes filled the pages inside. She lifted a few folders and found more of the same. But in the file on the bottom, she found photos. Everly pulled them forward and instantly recognized an image of Paige Seaver at some kind of political event. She focused on the faces surrounding Seaver—her husband, a notable congressman, and the current first lady.

  When she glanced toward the hall and found it empty, Everly scanned the contents of the files. With her intuition counting down the seconds remaining to safely search his desk, Everly scanned the information—and quickly discovered all the hallmarks of asset mapping. She flipped through pages of the Seavers’ financial accounts, lists of political allies, diagrams of friends and family.

  She huffed a laugh. Everly was mapping Hix, while Hix was mapping Seaver.

  “How ironic is this?” she muttered.

  Without searching for specific information, Everly turned pages and took photos with her phone as quickly as she could. She was hungry to see all the intel he’d gathered but had only made it through one of the five folders when Hix’s voice echoed through the house. His tone made it sound like he was still talking on the phone, but before she could move, he turned up the stairs.

  Shit.

  Everly straightened the folders and dropped to her hands and knees, just before Hix stepped into the office. She crawled around the floor behind the desk, singing, “Pauli, come out, come out, wherever you are.”

  His gaze went razor sharp on Everly. A moment of shock transitioned into an I-finally-fucking-caught-you glint. “I have to call you back.” His voice was crisp, edged in anger. He tapped the button on the headset attached to one ear, then pulled it off and tossed it on his desk. “What in the hell—”

  “Here I am!” Bella ran into the office and grabbed Austin’s legs. “I here, Everyee.” Her baby teeth flashed with her smile. “Pauli hiding behind the chair.” She bopped that direction, crawled behind the chair, and lifted the stuffed monkey over the edge. “I right here!”

  Everly sat back on her heels and exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “I looked everywhere for you, Pauli.”

  Hix rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ladies,” he said with an irritated edge, “you can’t play in here.”

  Everly used the corner of his desk to pull herself to her feet. On the way up, her gaze caught on a barely visible imperfection along the side edge of the bookcase right at chest level.

  Hidden door.

  The idea lit up Everly’s brain like fireworks. She’d seen hidden compartments before—panic rooms, tunnels, entire wings of a building concealed behind walls or underneath floors. She was nearly giddy with the realization.

  As her mind spun with the idea of returning to investigate, Everly forced her gaze from what she believed was a release latch. “I’m sorry,” she told Hix. “I should have put more parameters on the game. We won’t come into your office again.”

  With her heart pounding, she rested a hand on Bella’s head. “You win. Ready to hit the pool?”

  “Yay!” Bella jumped and grabbe
d Everly’s hand.

  Austin never took his gaze off Everly, and he was processing all kinds of information in that sharp brain of his.

  Bella released her hand and ran ahead. Everly followed, picking up an unmistakable electric buzz suffusing the air around Hix. Just when she thought she’d escaped discovery, he wrapped his fingers around her forearm.

  Everly halted, swallowed her dread, and faced him. For a long moment, he simply looked at her. She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking, but his hold was gentle, his fingers warm.

  “That company I told you about?” A smile turned his lips. “They agreed to Turks and Caicos.”

  She gasped as if thrilled, but nerves tingled deep in her gut. Unless Everly could convince Roman that Hix wasn’t the devil Seaver claimed, her boss would want to take the girl when Hix’s security was low.

  “That’s awesome,” she lied. “When?”

  At least a week. Please say a week.

  “Day after tomorrow,” he said.

  Everly forced herself to hold her smile while she told Austin she’d have Bella ready to go, but she was sweating by the time she passed through the kitchen on her way to her suite.

  Bella was asking Lucia a dozen questions about what the woman was cooking for dinner. Everly ran her hand over Bella’s hair as she passed. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right out, honey.”

  Inside her room, she closed the door, turned to face it, and rested her head there. A day wasn’t enough time. She needed to get into those files, dig up more information to show Roman. Inside, she felt jumpy. She had the urge to try to convince Hix to postpone the trip, but he was too damned suspicious. Which left Roman, who was equally as hard to convince once his mind was made up.

  She found her mind wandering toward disobeying orders and circumventing the team to keep Bella with her father. And shit, when had her dedication to her job and her duty to her team come second? It was the whole reason she was here in the first place. Yet just the thought of the team grabbing Bella and the trauma that would cause the little girl and Hix tore at Everly’s heart.