Boomer took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, Ian called Keon to get us ID for her along with a death certificate.” The ID they could’ve gotten from one of their contacts who was a master forger, but the certificate was a little harder because of the raised stamp authenticating it. Besides, they were better off having documents officially forged by the FBI. “He’s also getting us the file on Volkov. We should be able to head to Norfolk tonight and be at the bank early tomorrow morning.” He shrugged. “Where we go from there depends on what’s in the box.”
Handing Katerina her coffee with milk, Rick nodded his agreement. “I’ll go with you.”
“No, you won’t.”
Boomer’s dad narrowed his eyes at him. “What do you mean ‘no’? You can’t do this alone. You need backup.”
“And I’ll have it, Pop. But I don’t know how long we’re going to be, and your birthday is Friday. Mom would kill both of us if you missed it.” Boomer wasn’t going to tell his dad that his mom had made special plans for his birthday. She’d gotten tickets for an intimate concert starring Rick’s favorite singer, Billy Joel. There were only one hundred tickets available and she’d won hers through a local radio station two months ago. Since the date of the event was the same as his birthday, she’d decided to make it a surprise.
“Ian will probably send Jake with me. We’ve got it covered.” Not wanting his dad to think he didn’t need or trust him to help out, he added, “After Friday, if this isn’t settled, you can cover my six if you want, but don’t get mom pissed at me again. She’s still mad that I won’t go out with her friend’s niece.”
Rick harrumphed, but then smiled. “You made the right choice there, son. I’ve met Diane’s niece and she gives new meaning to the word…uh, never mind. You’re just better off and leave it at that.” Boomer and Kat chuckled. It was evident Rick had forgotten she was in the room for a moment. “As for not going with you, fine. As long as someone from the team has your six. And promise me, if you need me, you’ll call no matter what.”
“Of course. There’s no one else I’d rather have covering my ass.” Boomer’s cell phone rang, so he stood and grabbed it from the counter. Glancing at the screen, he hit the call button. “Hey, Boss-man….uh-huh…okay. See you in thirty.”
He hung up, looking at Rick and then Kat. “Ian’s got info for us, so we’re heading to Trident. You have about fifteen minutes for a quick shower, if you want, and we’ll grab some breakfast on the way.”
Rick finished the last of his coffee and set the cup in the sink as Kat left the room to go shower. He gave Boomer a pat on the back before walking toward the front door. “I’ll run to the bagel place you all like and grab breakfast for everyone. This way you don’t have to stop. I’ll meet you at the compound.”
As he headed toward his own shower, Boomer glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks, Pop. Grab a few extra because I’m not sure how many of us will be there. See you in a few.”
* * *
As Kat lathered the shampoo into her hair, in her mind, she replayed the conversation she’d had with Benny the night before. After she’d thanked him for helping her, his response had been, ‘No problem. It’s what I do.’ It was close to what Tiny had said when she’d thanked the big man earlier.
Well, what did she expect Ben to say after all this time? She’d been ‘dead’ to him for longer than the seven years she’d been in his life. He had gone on to live without her. Now, she was just a girl he used to know who needed to hire him to keep her safe and help her get out of the mess she was in. Nothing more.
Rinsing her hair, she thought about how good he looked this morning after she’d recovered from the shock of seeing his dad again. He must have rolled out of bed a few minutes before she did. His dark brown hair was a little shaggy and sticking up in several places. His eyes were tired-looking, yet still the sexiest ones she’d ever seen. Her dreams of him over the years hadn’t done the man he was now justice. He was handsome as hell, with a body which would make a nun have dirty thoughts. She may still be a virgin, but it didn’t mean she was naïve about sex. In this day and age, it wasn’t possible. Sex was all over the TV and Internet. It was in the movies she saw, and in the books and newspapers she read on a daily basis.
The thought of Benny and sex had her aroused and she mentally calculated how much time she had before they left the condo. Taking her bottle of body gel, she squirted a small amount into the washcloth she’d found under the bathroom sink along with a few guest towels. She washed her entire body before sliding the lathered material between her legs. She gasped as it rasped over her clit and sent waves of desire through her. Dropping the cloth, she replaced it with her fingers and began to rub with earnest. She imagined her fingers were Benny’s and how he would arouse her further before replacing them with his lips and tongue. The daydream sent her over the edge faster than she expected and she bit her bottom lip to keep from yelling out her pleasure.
After she recovered, she picked up the washcloth again and wiped away the evidence of her masturbation. She pushed her wants and needs for Benny back into the furthest corner of her mind, shutting and locking the metaphorical door behind them. Now was not the time to think about him…about them…about how good she knew they would be together. Her life was in danger, and by him helping her, so was his. Sex and fantasies were out…logic and reality were in.
Damn.
When they walked out the condo front door a short while later, it was within the allotted time he’d given her. Waiting outside the door was a good-looking man who Ben introduced as Jake Donovan, a.k.a. Reverend, one of his teammates at Trident and in the SEALs. He was a few inches taller and older than Benny, but otherwise he had a similar physique—broad, hard and sinewy. His hair color was a shade somewhere between her own light brown and Benny’s dark brown, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses which only enhanced his Hollywood good looks.
He smiled and shook her outstretched hand before turning around and leading the way to the parking lot with Benny taking the position behind her. She realized they’d placed themselves to protect her like bodyguards would. Well, that’s what they are, you idiot. That’s why you came here—for protection and nothing more. At least not yet.
Benny drove her back to the Trident compound with Jake following him in his own vehicle. As she sat in the passenger seat of his Dodge Charger in silence, her stomach growled and her cheeks burned red when he chuckled at her.
“My dad is getting us breakfast, so we can go straight to Trident.”
“Okay.” She turned a bit in her seat so she could look at him without straining her neck. “If Ian has what we need, are we going to Norfolk?”
He checked his side and rearview mirrors then changed lanes before answering her. “Most likely. I wish I could leave you here and run up there myself, but I’m not sure what safeguards your father might have left. I may not be able to do it without you since you’re his next of kin.”
His words impaled her like a sword. ‘I wish I could leave you here…’ Whatever he’d said after that was a jumbled mess. She knew she’d been hoping for the impossible. He didn’t want to be near her. He’d rather do what needed to be done and kick her out of town when it was all over. When she didn’t say anything more, he glanced over. She kept her eyes downcast and took a ragged breath.
“Kat, what’s wrong?” She didn’t answer. “Damn it, Kat, look at me. What’s wrong?” A few seconds ticked by before he cursed. “Fuck!” She flinched, but refused to look at him. He slowed then stopped for a red traffic light. Reaching over, he tilted her chin up until her gaze met his. “Kat, I didn’t mean whatever you think I meant. When I said I wanted to go up there alone, it was from a tactical standpoint. It would be safer for you to stay at the compound. I don’t know what’ll be waiting for us in Norfolk and the last thing I want is you in a position of danger. That’s all.”
The driver behind Jake honked his horn and they both looked to see the light had turned green again. Taking his fo
ot off the brake, Benny accelerated and split his attention between her and the road. “Do you understand me?”
She nodded her head and adjusted her body so she was facing forward again. There was no way she was going to tell him his words had her thinking he wanted to get as far away from her as possible. She’d lost so many loved ones in her life, and she’d just reconnected with the only man she’d ever been in love with. Kat couldn’t give him up again. Not yet, and hopefully, not ever.
She’d made a few friends in Portland, but she never knew if she and her dad would need to move again, so it was easier to keep those friendships to a minimum. Her closest friends were her boss of over seven years and his wife. Jeremy and Eva Pierce owed the canine training facility where Kat had found a career she was good at which also afforded her some protection. Kat’s handler, Chris, and Jeremy had served in the army together and the latter now trained dogs for the law enforcement and private firms along with his retired police officer wife. When Kat had been greeted by Ian’s dog yesterday, she’d immediately recognized the dog’s training. While Beau hadn’t been one of J&E International K9’s dogs, the training was similar for the specialized dogs world-wide, and most of the U.S. dogs were trained in the German language.
Chris had never broken his non-disclosure oath about his safeguarding Kat and her father in the Witness Protection Program, but Jeremy wasn’t stupid. He knew who his friend worked for, the U.S. Marshals, and could figure things out from there. But the afternoon Jeremy had agreed to see if the young woman had it in her to be a canine trainer, he knew she had the right stuff. While she was shy around people, when it came to dogs she showed her alpha side, and the animals respected her as one of their pack leaders. At least when this was all over, she had a life to go back to if things didn’t work out with Benny.
* * *
They arrived back at the compound without saying another word to each other. Boomer got out of the car after he parked and went around to open Kat’s door for her. But he was too late. She was standing outside the vehicle and closing her door. His eyes narrowed, but he left it alone. Remember ass-hat, she’s not your submissive. His dick would like to rectify that, but his head told him ‘no’.
At least she let him hold the door to the office open for her and he followed her inside along with Jake. He introduced her to Colleen, their secretary, who’d just started her work day. The two women shook hands before he led her into the conference room where his life had changed a little more than fifteen hours ago. Ian and Devon were waiting for them and neither one looked happy.
Boomer held out a seat for Kat. “Katerina, this is Ian’s brother, Devon. He’s the co-owner of Trident. Dev, this is Katerina.”
She held out her hand to shake Devon’s before taking the offered seat. “It’s nice to meet you. Please call me Kat.”
Devon took the seat across from her with Jake sitting in the one next to him. “Kat it is. And it’s nice to meet you, too.” He glanced at Boomer. “Everything all right last night?”
Boomer sighed as he dropped into the seat next to Kat. “Yeah. Just forgot about Pop coming by this morning. He was as shocked as I was. He’s stopping for breakfast for everyone and should be here in a few minutes.” His gaze flicked between the Sawyer brothers. “What’s the scoop?”
Ian tossed him a few papers he’d printed from an email. Some were text, others were photos. “These are from Keon. Sergei ‘The Wolf’ Volkov was found murdered in an empty warehouse three weeks ago. Double tap and clean.” Meaning he’d taken one bullet to the head and another to the heart. No bullet casings were found. “No suspects, but the guy had lots of enemies, so it could have been anybody. But tell me what you think.”
Rick walked in as Boomer was studying the pictures of the crime scene photos. He looked at them over his son’s shoulder after handing a bag of egg sandwiches to Jake to distribute. Boomer suddenly zeroed in on what Ian wanted him to see. “It was someone he knew, someone close to him. The warehouse is empty. If he was killed there, and it looks like he was, he was meeting someone. He wouldn’t have gone there without at least one of his bodyguards.”
Ian nodded. “Exactly what I was thinking. Keon, too. The FBI has the case because he’s been on their watch list for years. Everyone they’ve interviewed in his inner circle has denied knowing what he was doing there. So the questions keep mounting, but the big one is…if Volkov is dead, who the hell is after Kat? And why?”
As Rick took the seat next to Boomer, the five men turned their attention to the bewildered woman. “I have no idea. All I know is what I’ve told you. My father was dying and high on morphine, so all I have is his mumblings and hearsay from twelve years ago.”
Boomer’s mind was spinning with details, none of which added up. “What did Keon say about Mr. Maier’s involvement from back then?”
Ian shook his head as he accepted the wrapped sandwich sliding across the table at him. He left it unopened. “Not much more than what Kat told us. Maier got himself in too deep to cut and run, and he ended up with information he should have never seen. Information which resulted in a price on his head.”
“So we head to the bank in Norfolk.” Boomer couldn’t think of anything else which would help them at this point.
“Yup. Jake, I want you to go with them and keep us updated every four hours. CC will be at the hanger at eleven-hundred to fly you all up there.” Conrad Chapman, otherwise known as CC, was a retired air force pilot Trident contracted to fly their jet wherever they needed to go. The small private airport they used was about twenty minutes from the compound. Ian directed his next statement to Boomer and Kat. “Keon will arrange for someone to meet you with ID and the death certificate. Kat is to stay hidden as much as possible. I don’t want the chance of someone from her past recognizing her.”
She frowned. “I doubt anyone would recognize me from twelve years ago, but you never know. I can get a wig or dye my hair if you want.”
Before Ian answered her, Boomer spoke up. “I can grab a wig from the club.”
He mentally kicked himself for mentioning The Covenant. The first building in the compound gave no indication it was a BDSM club. There was a small store on the top floor and it specialized in fetish wear and toys. Blonde wigs were popular and they had several in stock, but he’d have to run over there without Kat. There was no way he was letting her inside the club. He’d never been ashamed of his lifestyle, but at this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her about it. He thought back to the shy, little virgin she’d been twelve years ago and figured she would run to the hills if she knew about his kinks. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice his flub, and Jake sensed his predicament.
“I’ll grab one before we go.”
Boomer nodded his thanks, then said to the room in general, “Anything else?”
Ian and Devon looked at each other for confirmation and both shook their heads. Ian stood and picked up his egg sandwich. “At the moment, no. Brody and Marco are due back this afternoon. I’ll get Egghead on his computers to search for everything he can find on all the players in this.” Brody ‘Egghead’ Evans was their computer and tech specialist, and a world class hacker of the first degree. And Marco ‘Polo’ DeAngelis was their communications specialist and backup helicopter pilot. He was also Brody’s occasional ménage partner. “When you get to Norfolk, let me know where you’re staying, so I can have Keon’s man meet you with the paperwork.”
After Boomer acknowledged his order, Ian left the room as the others stood. Jake pointed to Rick. “Do you mind following them back to Boomer’s condo? I need to swing by my place to grab my go-to bag. It’s usually in my truck, but I was cleaning it out yesterday and didn’t have a chance to put it back together.”
“No problem at all,” the older man answered.
They all picked up their unopened egg sandwiches and headed for the door. They could eat on the way to grab their gear. As they passed Colleen’s desk, the secretary hand Boomer a piece of pink paper. She had t
aken a phone message for him while they were in their meeting. He glanced at the message before folding the paper twice and sticking it in his back pocket. He’d take care of it later.
As they headed back to his condo, with his father following him this time, Boomer turned his head toward Kat when he noticed she was rubbing her temples. “You all right?”
She winced. “It’s a headache. I’ve been getting them about twice a month for the last few years. I take over-the-counter migraine meds and they help, but I ran out of them. Can we stop at a pharmacy real quick?”
“Yeah. There’s one up ahead.” He grabbed his phone and dialed his father’s cell. Using the car’s Blue-tooth feature, he told Rick their plan to stop.
Pulling into a Walgreens, he waited for his dad to park next to him, get out, and approach the Dodge’s passenger door before exiting the car. Rick opened Kat’s door and extended his hand to assist her from the vehicle. When the two of them met Boomer on the walkway between the car and building, Kat swayed. He grabbed her around the waist before she could fall, and eyed her in alarm. “Kat? You all right? Are you going to pass out?”
Kat rested her arms on his broad shoulders and steadied. Boomer’s body reacted immediately to her close proximity and he inwardly cursed, fighting the urge to pull her flush against him.
“Uh, no, I’m okay. Just got a little light-headed. It happens when I get a migraine.”
After making sure she had her balance again, he forced himself to step back, but kept one hand at the small of her back as he escorted her into the store. Rick remained three steps behind them, his head swiveling from side to side, always on the lookout for danger. It was highly unlikely the people after Kat were lying in wait at a Florida Walgreens on the off chance she’d stop there, but one never knew.
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