by Alexa Davis
"We're not going to find it," I whispered. Cece rolled her eyes and kept looking. She wasn't one to give up so easily.
I kept my eye on the time. Once the program was loaded, I needed to run a check of the system. I crawled back into the front office and started the test file I'd created, and once I was sure that the information Dr. Powell was sending would be re-routed to my new account, I closed the laptop and disconnected it.
"Cece!" I called as quietly as I could. "We need to get out of here. Now!"
"Coming," she said as she quickly crawled out of Dr. Powell's office and joined me under the desk.
"Now the hard part," I said. "We have to get out of here without being seen."
"Oh, that's simple," Cece said snapping her fingers. "I know exactly how we're going to do that."
"Oh? Do tell," I said. Cece gestured for me to follow her. She stuck her head out into the hallway and looked both ways before leading me toward the utility closet where she grabbed a large blue trash bin on wheels and a mop and broom. She pointed to the bin and said, "Get in."
"What?"
"Chica, we don't have time to discuss how you feel about sitting inside a trash bin," she scolded. "Those office workers are gonna be back up here any second! Get in and sit still!"
I climbed into the bin and clutched my bag to my chest as Cece looked down into the bin one more time before closing the lid and tilting it up on its wheels. My stomach lurched from the combination of the movement and knowing that I was sitting in a dirty bin that had collected who knew what kind of trash. I heard the elevator ding and then voices emerging from the cars as workers flooded the office.
"Eh? No hablo ingles," Cece said as someone asked her why she was up here. I felt the wheels bump as she loaded me into the elevator car and then the car began to descend. Cece whispered, "Just keep quiet, and we'll get out of here alive, chica."
I held my breath and waited for Cece to guide me out of the darkness.
#
When Cece and I returned to Nemo's, Mando was waiting at the front door with a frown on his face and his cell phone in his hand.
"Why didn't you answer me when I texted you?" he demanded. Cece smiled and patted him on the head, which only served to make him angrier.
"Big Brother, do not get all protective on me," she scolded as she walked back to the kitchen and dished up a couple of plates of food for each of us. My stomach rumbled as I watched her slapping beans and rice with cheese and sour cream into fresh corn tortillas and then topping them with salsa and lettuce.
"You are not allowed to just disappear without telling me where you're going!" Mando shouted. "I depend on you to set a good example for the wait staff and this is not it!"
"Mando, listen to me," I began.
"No, stop it, Echo," Cece said holding up a hand as she stepped into her brother's personal space. She lowered her voice to what I recognized as the danger zone as she spoke to him, "Listen to me, brother. I am not your servant nor am I your employee. We own this place together, and there are times I need to take care of business that does not involve you. This was one of those times, and if you know what is good for you, you will step down and let me eat some lunch."
Mando stared at her, but didn't say a word. I followed Cece out into the restaurant and sat down across from her at a table in the corner. She grabbed the bottle of Tabasco and began pouring it on her tacos as she silently fumed. I didn't know what do say, so I picked up a taco off of my plate and bit into it.
"I'm sorry," Mando said as he came to the table and set two cold beers down in front of us. "It's just that after mom and pop, I worry. Can you understand that?"
Cece's face softened as she looked up at him and chewed. She nodded slightly and then took another big bite of her taco. Mando nodded and then turned and walked back to the kitchen.
"You guys going to be okay?" I asked worried that our adventure had driven a wedge between them.
"Oh yeah, we're fine," she laughed. "He's just too bossy for his own good, so every once in a while I have to put him in his place."
"Oh good," I sighed.
"Chica," Cece said shaking her head. "If you're ever gonna land that Navy SEAL, you're gonna have to learn to stand your ground and not back down!"
"What are you talking about?" I asked trying to play innocent.
"Oh please, do not bullshit me," she laughed as she scooped up what had fallen out of her taco with her fingers and stuffed it in her mouth. "The two of you are so head over heels in lust that it's painful to watch."
"Oh God, is it that obvious?" I whispered mortified that I wasn't maintaining a poker face where Ryan was concerned.
"More than obvious," Cece said. "Look, there's nothing wrong with the two of you hooking up. You're young and single, and holy moly, he's a hottie!"
"Well, I thought we were going to hook up the other night," I confided. "But then he's maintained a distance that makes me think he's not actually interested."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
I told her about how I'd sat with his head in my lap until he fell asleep and how he'd spent the night on the couch without taking things any further. I also told her about his nightmares and the way he and the other SEALs pounded their Tridents into the casket.
"So, he's got issues," she shrugged. "Who doesn't? Give him time and space and let him work it out. Oh, you're worried because he disappeared this morning, aren't you?"
"Yeah, what if he's not coming back?"
"His note says he is, doesn't it?" she asked knowing that it did. "Give him space, chica. He'll come back, believe me. They always do."
Once we finished lunch, I hugged Cece tightly and thanked her before heading up to my apartment to see if Dr. Powell had sent another email and to wait to see if Ryan contacted me and let know what was going on.
#
I spent the weekend waiting for another message from Dr. Powell and worrying about Ryan. I'd texted him once, but gotten no response, so I did what Cece had suggested and gave him space. The problem was that I didn't want space. I wanted Ryan back in my apartment, preferably in my bed.
I couldn't stop wishing that he'd touched me and thinking how badly I wanted him to do more than just fall asleep. I wanted more; so much more, but all of that was going to have to wait until Ryan turned up. So, I shifted my focus and tried to figure out what Dr. Powell's messages meant. I'd done what he'd asked and downloaded the files before transferring them onto a hard drive for safekeeping, but I had no idea who the files should be turned over to or what he wanted done with them.
The next message arrived on Sunday evening, but this time it contained encrypted files that I was unable to open and more detailed instructions about what needed to happen next.
Dear Ms. Frost,
By now it is probably fairly certain that I am not going to be returning to TriCorp anytime soon. This set of files contains essential elements in my research project and, as a result, I have encrypted them so that they cannot be read or accessed without the hard drive in my lab.
If you are receiving this note, then you will need to get to the seventeenth floor and use the keys I've left you to access my lab. I know that I never allowed you to see my lab, and this is one of my biggest regrets; however, you will have to overcome the lack of familiarity with my lab and find the drive so you can deliver these documents to the proper people when the time comes.
I cannot tell you exactly where the hard drive will be because by the time you get this, I will have moved it again. However, I have faith that your eagle eyes will have little trouble narrowing down the field in which the drive resides.
Be cautious as you explore the lab, and do not let Julian Baines know what you are doing or have access to the key!
Regards,
Dr. Alan Powell
"Great, just great," I muttered as I tried to open the files and found them securely locked. I kept talking to myself as I tapped the keyboard and tried to find a way around the security, "Now we're going to ha
ve to figure out how to get back into the building, find the lab keys and then get into the lab so we can find a hard drive with all the files on it! Could this be any more difficult or complicated?"
I texted Ryan again telling him that it was imperative that he head back to my apartment, but I didn't want to say anything that would give away any information. I was growing more wary of the TriCorp team leader every day, and now I really wondered if Julian Baines had had Dr. Powell murdered. The only problem was that I couldn't come up with a valid reason why he would have wanted to kill him. However, I knew that if I could translate these files and get them into the right hands, chances were good that I'd probably understand what had happened.
"Ryan, where are you?" I said out loud as I sat back and stared at the computer. "How am I going to break into TriCorp and do what your father asked?"
When there was no reply to my question, I got up and walked to the kitchen, pulled a beer out of the fridge and walked out to the balcony where I sat and drank until the stars came out over 13th Street.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ryan
In the early hours of Monday morning, I quietly slipped back into Echo's apartment without waking her. It had been a long weekend spent doing surveillance on several people associated with TriCorp, not the least of which was Eva, but she'd somehow managed to slip away on Saturday afternoon and I'd spent the rest of the day trying to figure out where she'd gone without luck.
I headed over to the funeral home where Eva had said my father was being kept before we buried him, but the funeral director had no record of him being transferred from the morgue, and when I visited the morgue, the doctor in charge refused to answer any questions without proof that I was the executor of my father's estate. Everything about this felt wrong, but I couldn't find any evidence of anything and it was frustrating.
I sat heavily on the couch and leaned forward as I dropped my head in my hands. It had been forty-eight hours since I'd last slept and I was exhausted from being constantly on the move, but it felt good to be doing what I'd been trained to do instead of sitting around doing nothing. I wanted answers, but I wasn't sure how I was going to get them when the people who had them refused to talk.
"I'm just going to have to go see Julian," I mumbled as I rubbed my head and thought about taking a shower before I laid down.
"No, don't do that," Echo said quietly. I looked up and saw her descending the staircase with a frown on her beautiful face. She was wearing a long white robe and it floated in the breeze from the open balcony door as she crossed the room and sat down next to me asking, “Where have you been, Ryan?"
"You don't want to know," I said rubbing my eyes.
"Actually, I do," she said as she took my hand and looked into my eyes. "I think we need to start being completely honest with each other."
"Yeah, sure we do," I said looking away as I pulled my hand back. "You go first."
"Don't hide, Ryan," she said softly. "It's like you let out a little before you pull back and hide."
"Me? Hiding?" I retorted. "Ha! That's a good one."
"Don't hide, Ryan," she repeated.
"I'm not," I grumbled.
"So, where have you been?" she asked as she took my hand. I could smell her flowery scent and I tried to banish the image of her naked body laying in front of me. Her voice broke through the silence, "Ryan?"
"Huh?" I said as I realized she had moved closer enough to touch my arm as she spoke. "Oh, sorry. What was the question?"
"Where have you been?" she asked. All I could feel was the warmth of her fingers as she rested her hand on my arm. I shifted to try and cover the bulge in my pants as I fought to keep from pulling her onto my lap and kissing her hard. "I just want to know where you've been."
"I was tailing my stepmother," I blurted out as I shifted away from her hand.
Echo's face was completely serene as she stared into my eyes. It unnerved me how calm she was, so I kept talking, "There's something going with her, but I can't figure out what it is."
"What do you mean?" Echo asked as she reached out again and rested her hand on my thigh. "She's grieving the loss of her husband, and she's just been evicted from her home. I'd say that she's a woman with a lot on her mind."
"Maybe, but I have the nagging feeling that there's something else going on with her," I said swallowing hard to try and keep my voice from cracking as she slowly stroked my thigh. "Though, it could be the fact that I haven't trusted her from day one, so there's that."
"Where did she go, Ryan?" Echo asked as she pressed her own thigh against mine as she slid her hand between my legs, and I knew that if she kept going, I was not going to have the power to stop her.
"Echo..." I said as I looked down at her intending to ask her to stop tempting me, but those blue eyes drew me in and I couldn't look away. She closed the gap between us and pressed her lips to mine as she stood up long enough to turn and straddle my lap.
"Tell me where she went," she whispered. One knee was pressing against the outside of my thigh, while the other rested snugly between my legs. I could feel the heat between her legs radiating outward as she leaned in and pressed her body against me.
"The gym, the...salon, and the..." I groaned as she ran her fingers through my hair and when she urged my lips apart with her tongue, I gave in and wrapped my arms around her as I returned her kiss. Our tongues probed and teased as we let our hands roam free over each other's bodies. I could feel her leg pressing against my stiff shaft as she rubbed her barely covered breasts against my chest.
She pulled back a bit, let go of her grip on me and quickly pulled her nightgown over her head exposing every inch of her soft warm skin. I groaned as I leaned forward and gently licked a circle around one of her already erect nipples. She moaned softly and sunk her fingers back into my hair as she pulled me against her breast. I looked up at her as I closed my lips around her nipple and began sucking.
"Yes, oh yes, that's it," she whispered as she looked into my eyes. I gently nipped at the hard nub and smiled when she groaned with pleasure. I let go and traced a line across her chest with my tongue before giving the same attention to her other breast. I could feel her rocking her hips as she pressed down against my thigh.
"Ryan," she moaned softly as she slipped her hand between us and unzipped my jeans. I knew I should stop her, but I didn't want to and it was obvious that she didn't want to stop either. She quickly stood up and I braced my feet on the floor so I could lift my hips as she yanked my jeans down and off.
"Wait, wait..." I breathed heavily as I grabbed my pants and pulled a condom out of the back pocket. I quickly rolled it on before grabbing her and pulling her back down to straddle my lap. She looked like an erotic fantasy kneeling above me as I slid the tip of my shaft between her lips coating it with her wetness.
"Ah yes, that's it," she smiled as I found her sensitive opening and teased her a bit. She leaned forward and kissed me, moaning into my lips, “All the way. Please, all the way."
"Are you sure?" I panted knowing that it was unlikely I was going to be able to control myself once I slid inside her warm wetness.
"Never been more sure of anything," she whispered as she lowered herself so that I no longer had a choice in the matter. I could feel her taking me inside and I let out a long low growl as I felt my entire length buried deep.
"Oh God," I groaned as she began slowly rocking.
"That feels so good," she said breathlessly as she leaned down and kissed me again. I followed her lead and tried to hold back, but when she pushed herself up and braced her hands on my shoulders so that she could slowly pull herself up leaving just the tip of my rock hard erection inside of her, I shot her a pleading look.
"I can't, Echo," I groaned as she quickly dropped back down taking me all the way inside again. "I can't..."
"Then don't," she urged me as she rose up again and dropped down. That was all the urging I needed, and I slipped my hands under her thighs as I lifted her enough to be able
to pull back before slamming my hips upward. She cried out as slipped my thumb down and stroked her clit as she rode me hard and fast.
I watched her as she threw her head back and pushed her hips down to meet my upward thrusts. I felt the sweat dripping down my face as I slammed up into her pushing closer and closer to the edge as I felt her begin to spasm around me.
"Ryan, Ryan!" she cried as I stroked her harder and faster. She was grinding down on me with an urgency that told me she was close to orgasm. I was far to close myself and I clenched my teeth as I fought to hold on long enough to get her there first. And then, in an instant, I felt the wave begin and her muscles contracting around me as I continued pulling back and pushing up.
She cried out and I felt her wetness flowing onto my thighs as she ground down harder onto me, and an instant later I felt the surge begin and I let go and joined her in the release.
"You feel so good," she murmured as she kissed me again.
"Oh God, you feel amazing," I groaned as I reached out for her and suddenly found myself with my arms wrapped around a corpse. I shouted, "What the fuck!"
I pushed it away only to find myself lying on a sandy hillside next to a SEAL aiming an automatic rifle at the buildings down below.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" I screamed. "Stand down, SEAL! STAND DOWN!"
I heard my name being called from somewhere inside the compound. It was a woman's voice, and it was familiar.
"Stand down, SEAL!" I shouted as gunfire erupted and I watched person after person being mowed down outside the compound. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
And then I heard it, clear and loud, "RYAN! WAKE UP!"
I felt hands shaking me as I rose up out of the depths of sleep.
"Ryan, Ryan! It's me, Echo. Can you hear me? Wake up!" she called.
"Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw the wood floor and wondered how I was hanging in mid-air.