“That’s his life, man,” Shadow replied. “Bobby, I just want to help get him out of the house so he can have some fun before his ball-and-chain makes him take her last name.”
“Yeah, man, what can I do to help?” Bobby asked, fully engaged in the conspiracy.
“I need to get this microphone inside his pizza box. All I want to do is hide it where the cardboard folds. After he takes it inside, I’m going to yell at him to get the hell out of the house. He’ll think I’m in the front yard. When he comes out to confront me, I’m going to sneak in the back door, lock the front door, and our friends are going to make him go out with us one last time,” Shadow lied. “Can you help me out? This is my last shot at talking some sense into him before he makes the worst mistake of his life.”
“Yeah, man, of course. Sounds like your friend has already surrendered his man-card. You definitely gotta help him get it back,” Bobby replied as he opened the cardboard box.
“That’s the damn truth, Bobby,” Shadow replied. “Listen, if this works, we’ll be at Club La Viva later tonight. You should stop by.”
“I’m not old enough to get in yet,” he replied.
“Aww, man, that’s too bad,” Shadow replied. “Thanks for your help, though. I really appreciate it.”
Shadow gave Bobby a large tip and a manly handshake before he strolled back to his vehicle. He turned and looked at Bobby again. “Don’t tell him what I’m planning now,” he warned with a smile.
“Wouldn’t dare,” Bobby replied with a laugh. “Have fun for me, too, tonight.”
“You know it.” Shadow climbed into his car and waved at Bobby as he drove away. “Thanks, kid. You have no idea how much you just helped your country.”
11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Turan took the pizza box from the same kid who delivered it every time and absently handed him a tip to make him go away. A slow-moving cable van on the street in front of his rented house caught his eye. He chucked the pizza box on the counter and removed the first slice as he sat back down at his homemade network. His enemies had grown smarter since they’d locked him out of controlling their cars and phones. Noah’s security system was virtually impenetrable, and Turan’s frustration was growing daily.
The cable van gave him a new idea. The Steele Security family most definitely had cable. “Every greedy, entitled American family has cable television to waste their time, addle their brains, and avoid doing anything remotely constructive,” Ali muttered as he clicked away on his laptop.
Once he’d gained access to the cable provider’s website, he quickly found Noah’s and Bull’s accounts. Laughing maniacally, he changed their programming options so that every channel displayed the exact same one. While he worked on his grand scheme, every possible aggravation he could add to their lives was well worth the extra time and effort.
His laptop rang and he answered the Internet call. “Yes.”
“Have you accomplished today’s tasks?” the older male voice asked.
“Yes, I have. You don’t have to call every day to ask that,” Turan retorted.
“You know that I do,” the voice replied. “Your focus on your assigned tasks has been lacking of late.”
“I’ve accomplished my goals and more,” Turan argued.
“Do you have the codes?”
“You know I can’t go straight to those or it’ll trigger an internal alarm,” he replied, exasperation lacing his voice as he’d explained this same fact too many times before. “I have to break it down one layer at a time.”
“Are you still on schedule?”
“Of course,” he replied indignantly.
“Until tomorrow then,” the voice replied and promptly disconnected.
Turan released a litany of curse words in Farsi, flung his chair back from his desk, and jumped up to begin pacing the room to expel some of his pent-up frustration. “Fucking bastard,” he yelled. “When this is over, I will make sure you get what’s coming to you, too.”
He grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drank half of it as he stalked back and forth, his agitation too high for him to sit still. Drawing his arm back, he hurled the bottle across the room and watched with a modicum of satisfaction as the remaining water splattered across the wall. “My talents aren’t being used like they should be. I have much more potential than you give me credit for,” he yelled at his computer.
“I’m tired of waiting. It’s time I show more initiative. I’ll never ask for forgiveness, but I won’t wait for permission from anyone ever again. My rewards await me, and they’re long overdue.”
Turan took his seat and began typing furiously on his laptop. He talked to himself as he worked his way into the secure network his counterpart had questioned him about. “If you want to speed things up, we’ll speed them up. But you won’t like the consequences,” he muttered.
“What is that stupid American saying?” He stopped typing, straightened his back, and stared blankly at the wall. A wicked smile covered his face when he recalled the phrase. “Oh, yes. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
His need to be in charge, to be in control of his destiny, and to exact his revenge on his own timetable began to consume him. A few keystrokes later, part one of his newly developed plan was underway.
“This should keep them busy for a while.”
* * *
“Hear that?” Shadow asked the room.
“Sure did,” Noah confirmed. “Brad, can you get a trace on where the call to Turan originated from?”
“Running it now. It’s another labyrinth of networks, so it’ll take a while to figure it out,” Brad replied.
“The tracking device is in place on his car. He’ll never find it, even if he looked right at it,” Bull said. “If he leaves in that car, we’ll know exactly where he goes.”
“Can we remote into his computer?” Shadow asked.
“Not without him knowing. I’ve been combing through it, trying to find a back door, though.” Brad replied. “I have to give him credit—he knows how to build electronic safeguards. He has a huge server solely dedicated to his computer network. Most medium-sized businesses don’t even use a server that big.”
“Why would he need one that big?” Noah asked.
“An individual wouldn’t. That server has an enormous database that’s housed on multiple hard drives. If one fails, the others will keep working without it,” Brad explained. “He’s either overcompensating for something, or he needs to access a lot of data within a split second.”
A musical tone rang through the house, alerting the team that visitors had arrived at the Steele house. Noah glanced at the monitor and saw Bill, Joe, Landry, and Daniels waiting for admittance at the gate. He rolled his eyes and huffed loudly before letting them in. “Just when I thought we were getting somewhere, these clowns have to show back up.”
“Remember when Chaise said he’s trying to send us back into the Stone Age?” Bull asked. “Apparently our assigned agents and I had the same thought when she said that. He’s a computer genius, a hardware master, a software nerd, but he also has a job to carry out and he wants revenge on us for some reason.
“Through all the harassment, he has shown us what he can do with a laptop and an Internet connection. What if his grand finale is to take away all the modern conveniences that we rely on? Phones, Internet, cars—everything we communicate with and our modes of travel. I don’t mean just for the four of us, either. If he’s a part of a bigger group, they could be working together to cripple multiple major cities at once.” Bull leaned over, placed his hands flat on the table, and waited as his team considered his theory.
“Amazing that you’ve come to that conclusion,” Bill stated dryly from the doorway. “Where did you get your intel?”
Bull drew up to his full height and turned to face him before he responded. “Gathering intel is my specialty. Do you have anything to share with us?”
Joe, Landry, and Daniels walked into the
tension-filled room, their eyes shifting from one man to another as they read between the lines.
“Sorry to interrupt your meeting, fellows,” Landry spoke first. “Daniels and I just got a judge to sign a warrant for a roving wiretap, and we have a team of guys discreetly gaining access to his computers.”
“How are you doing that?” Brad asked.
“We have a few techy tricks up our sleeve that haven’t been released to the public yet.” Landry smiled.
“You called a friend at the NSA,” Brad replied dryly.
“Well, there’s that, too. Whatever it takes,” Landry laughed. “We’re also installing video and audio surveillance in his rental house.”
“You know where he is?” Noah asked.
“Yeah…” Joe hesitated. “We know. We’re watching his house.”
“Oh, yeah?” Bull asked. “I guess you saw me there earlier then, huh?” The dumbfounded look the four agents gave him made Bull laugh out loud. “I’ll take that as a no, then. Guess I’m not slipping as much as I thought was.”
“We’re not moving on him now,” Noah stated. “We don’t know what he’s planning yet.”
“We agree on that,” Joe replied. “We’ve intercepted chatter that it’s big, whatever it is. We can’t wait much longer, though. If we can take him out and stop the attack in at least one area, we have to do it.”
“How much time are we talking?” Noah asked.
“Impossible to say. We’ve located another potential person of interest, but it’s more of a gut feeling than anything. If he starts making similar preparations, we’ll have to move immediately,” Joe answered.
“Speaking of,” Brianna interjected. “We need to move immediately, Noah, if we’re going to make our appointment time.”
“Ready when you are, babe,” Noah replied. He continued to speak and directed his statement to the others. “We’ll be back later.”
When they reached the doctor’s office, Noah drove through the parking lot several times to check every car, every potential hiding place, and scanned surrounding businesses for anything suspicious. Satisfied that Brianna was safe, he parked and quickly escorted her inside.
“You know, people stare at me like they’re trying to figure out if I’m a celebrity or something,” Brianna said after they signed in for her appointment.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you act like you’re my bodyguard, walking so close and hiding me from everyone,” Brianna laughed. “I need to buy a pair of huge sunglasses to complete the look.”
He reached over, took her left hand, and stroked her wedding band with his thumb. He dropped his voice an octave and spoke slowly, seductively. “You belong to me. You’re mine to love, protect, and cherish. To have, anytime I want to have you.”
Brianna lovingly stroked the stubble growing on his face, although he’d shaved only hours before. “I’m all yours, Noah. Nothing and no one can tear us apart. And you definitely can have me anytime you want me.”
“Brianna Steele,” the nurse called from the doorway. “Are you ready?”
“I’m definitely ready,” she replied, but she kept her eyes glued to Noah’s.
Noah stood, extended his hand, and helped Brianna to her feet. “Keep it up, babe. We’ll both get arrested for lewd conduct in public.”
“We’ll have to keep the ‘Busted’ paper for our baby book,” she quipped as she stood.
Noah swatted her ass playfully. “Get back there and show me my baby, woman.”
“Whatever you say, my caveman.”
After Karrie, the ultrasound technician, explained the protocol, she left Brianna to change into the paper gown. Noah approached her with an unmistakable look of desire. His fingers gripped the hem of her shirt. He slowly pulled it over her head before tossing it into the empty chair. He hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of her skirt and pushed it down over her hips. His fingers skimmed across the sensitive skin of her thighs until he fully knelt in front of her.
Her skirt fell in a pile at her feet as he felt his way back up her legs to repeat the same path to remove her panties. She stepped out of them and he tossed them into the chair with her shirt. As he rose, he intentionally brushed his face against her sex. His tongue darted out and connected with her clit, instantly eliciting a needful moan deep in her chest.
“Mmm, you taste so good,” he murmured against her. “Does that door lock?”
“No. Dammit,” she complained, her voice thick with desire.
“That’s too bad,” he replied, purposely allowing his lips to brush against her as he spoke. “Maybe we won’t get caught.”
“You’re killing me. You know I can’t resist you,” she purred and grasped his hair.
“I know, and I fucking love it,” he replied. He quickly stood, grabbed the paper gown, and grinned wickedly. “Better get this on you before she comes back.”
Fire lit her eyes, but she reluctantly agreed because she knew he was right. The tech would be back any minute. “Fine,” she spat out. “But you’ll pay for this later.”
“Oh, I’m counting on that,” he laughed. “I can hardly wait.”
The rap on the door kicked Brianna into high gear to get her gown on before the door opened. Noah’s laughter echoed through the room, but he did manage to call out to the nurse through the door. “Just a minute, please.”
Brianna narrowed her eyes at him in mock anger. “You can let her in now.”
Noah opened the door and let Karrie in while wearing a suspiciously pleased smile on his face. She stopped in their tracks, did a double take, and continued into the room. “Ready to see that baby now?”
“Yes,” Brianna replied excitedly. “I can’t wait. Can I just take that machine home with me?”
Karrie laughed. “You’d be surprised how many times I’m asked that question. I’m afraid not. This one is fairly high-tech so we can see finer details.”
“Are we taking bets on the sex of the baby?” she asked. “We couldn’t get a good view in the previous ultrasound, right?”
“That’s right,” Brianna replied. “I say it’s a girl, but she’s being stubborn like her daddy.”
“I say it doesn’t matter to me what sex the baby is. All I care about is that we have a healthy baby and a healthy momma,” Noah added.
“Awww, you’re going to be such a good daddy,” Karrie cooed at him.
Brianna rolled her eyes at both of them. Not because she didn’t agree—she knew Noah would be the best daddy to their children. She’d seen too many women virtually fall at his feet when he flashed his killer smile at them. Picturing the strong, hulking man cradling a baby would definitely cause every woman’s ovaries to burst into flames.
“Pregnant woman who hasn’t peed in a very long time over here,” Brianna reminded them.
“Well, let’s press on your stomach and see that baby then,” Karrie laughed.
When the lifelike image of their baby illuminated the screen, Brianna’s eyes immediately filled with tears. Little hands floated up toward its face before little fingers fanned out to brush against its brow. The corners of the tiny mouth lifted slightly, teasing Mommy and Daddy, before a beautiful smile covered the baby’s entire face.
Noah laced his fingers with Brianna’s and leaned into her until their cheeks were pressed together. “That’s you and me, Bri. That’s our love,” he whispered, amazement and wonder filling his voice. “Look how beautiful our love is.” He gingerly wiped the tears from her face and left soft kisses in their place.
“Everything looks really good.” Karrie smiled. “All of the baby measurements are tracking right on target. Do you want to know the sex today?”
“Yes,” they both replied simultaneously.
Karrie moved the wand around Brianna’s stomach, spreading the gel to perfectly align the view on the screen. “Congratulations, Mom and Dad. You’re having a baby girl.”
“A girl?” Noah asked, even though he seemed dazed.
“We’re
having a girl?” Brianna repeated.
Karrie printed out individual pictures while the video continued to record. She knew from experience that once the shock wore off, the parents would naturally want to examine the image more closely for themselves. She turned with a warm smile and handed them each a picture of the defining moment.
“Noah,” Brianna whispered. “We’re having a baby girl.”
Though he held firm to his tough-guy persona, the mist that covered his eyes was unmistakable. “I think it’s really hitting me that we’re going to be parents. We’ll be responsible for another human life, a life that we created. Her every joy and pain, her fears and dreams… They’ll all be ours to the millionth degree.”
“My mom always said I’d never fully understand a parent’s love until I had a child of my own,” Brianna sniffled. “She was so right. It’s a completely different kind of love.”
Karrie continued to move the wand to give them as many views of their baby girl as she possibly could. “Okay, that’s all for today,” she said as she cleaned the wand. “Here’s your recording of the ultrasound. I’m sure you both have plenty of people who want to get their hands on that video.”
“Our parents, siblings, friends,” Noah chuckled. “We’ll be lucky if we get to watch it again before she’s born.”
“Better hide it for a while.” Karrie grinned. “Family and friends have ways of taking over babies. Will this be the first grandbaby?”
“Yes, on both sides. First niece, too. And between her daddy and all her uncles, she’ll never be allowed to date.” Brianna beamed.
Brianna stood to get dressed when Karrie left the room. Like magnets undeniably drawn together, she and Noah embraced in a moment of overwhelming emotion. His arms wrapped around her and held her securely against his body. She nestled into his body, closed her eyes, and inhaled the all-male scent that enveloped her. It was the scent that she associated with home, safety, and love, and it was unique to Noah.
“I know your job has always been dangerous,” she said softly. “But please be extra careful. We need you, Noah… I can’t do this without you.”
Wicked Nights Page 11