by Dawn Ryder
Hell, it was the little things in life that counted … right?
“We’re going to give you some pain medication, Ms. Magnus…”
The plunger was already being pushed as the doctor spoke. She looked up from where a glove-covered hand was holding the IV port stuck in her arm to see a doctor peering intently at the monitors above her.
“Right. Let’s get her up to surgery.”
Her thoughts went fuzzy as the bed started down the hallway. The iridescent lights above her looked like some kind of roller-coaster track. Bram poked his head in again as she felt herself being carried away on the wings of the drug. Behind him, she thought she saw Mercer, but wasn’t really sure. Her vision was blurry, her grasp on facts slipping.
It didn’t matter. He was waiting in her dreams for her. The nightmarish moments in Roni’s condo replaying over and over again as she was held powerless by the pain medication to escape back into consciousness.
* * *
“This isn’t over.”
Saxon was kneeling on the floor of Roni’s condo, taking in the scene. Vitus hunkered down near him, tracing the tracks of the bullets. There were little numbered flags dotting the area now. Flashes were still going off from cameras as evidence was collected. Tim’s body lay where he’d drawn his last breath, his limbs contorted. The blood covering his chin was darkening. Time was dulling the facts.
“Why do you say that?” Kagan asked.
Vitus and Saxon pushed back up to their feet to greet their supervisor. Kagan was attired in his standard suit that covered his chest harness. Saxon and Vitus were still wearing their civilian jeans and T-shirts. Saxon had his badge clipped to his belt. Vitus had a SPECIAL AGENT sticker slapped onto his back to allow him into the crime scene. The uniformed police were stuck outside doing traffic duty as the term classified was used to keep them from getting a look at the scene.
“You know why,” Saxon responded.
Kagan gave him a crusty laugh. “Just trying to compare notes. You might be brighter than I am.”
“Some things don’t change,” Vitus observed, earning a raised eyebrow from Kagan. “You still play stupid when you want to know what someone else is thinking.”
Kagan flashed him a grin. “Maybe I’m just humble.”
“The word that comes to mind is … calculating,” Vitus said.
His onetime superior enjoyed the compliment. His eyes brightened for a moment before he looked at Saxon, his thoughts back on the case. Kagan nodded at the scene. “What do you see?”
Saxon pointed at the corner Tim had taken refuge in. “This was never about that hard drive. Tim used it as a way to get Zoe in play.”
“It was shit anyway,” Vitus said. “Old data.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t being sold,” Kagan said. “I’d rather catch my bad guys with false bait than risk losing control of critical intel.”
“True,” Saxon agreed. “Bad data is still classified data. But that doesn’t explain the body armor and the sniper. The perfect setting in the corner by the heat source. Bait placed in the open area.”
“This was a cross-fire kill zone,” Vitus confirmed.
“It is.” Kagan agreed. “Tight and almost effective. Tyler wanted a whole lot of bodies on the ground. No other reason for him to make Tim think he wanted in on the deal. Tyler knew he could never touch that money, it would be too simple to trace.”
“And he assigned the case to me,” Saxon concluded in an ominous tone.
Kagan nodded. “I’d say it’s a solid bet he had an arrangement with the good Congressman Jeb Ryland.”
“Can you prove it?” Vitus asked.
Kagan shook his head. “But I’ve got Tyler alive. Let’s see if anyone comes to his rescue.”
“Ryland wouldn’t be that stupid,” Saxon said.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Kagan replied. “Tyler isn’t wet behind the ears. You can bet he’s got some deets on Ryland. Things that might really soil the man’s dreams of getting to the White House.”
Kagan exchanged a hard look with Vitus.
The three men stood silent, surveying the evidence for a moment longer. Kagan slowly nodded. He pulled something out of his suit jacket and offered it to Vitus. The afternoon light reflected off the badge. Vitus hesitated, his eyes narrowing as his jaw tightened. He tightened his grip on his belt while Kagan considered his response.
“I never agreed a hundred percent with Tyler’s handling of your case. Even if I did, I’d have to revisit the matter since he proved to be a rat’s-assed traitor. Take your shield.”
“Maybe I don’t want it back,” Vitus argued.
Kagan snorted. “You just don’t want to reach for it. Don’t blame you any for being a little steamed, either.” He sobered. “Take your shield, man. We might all know Tyler was working for Ryland, but we’re not going to take the good congressman down with our opinions. You need the resources the department can give you to keep yourselves alive. This isn’t over.”
Vitus took the badge and shook the hand Kagan offered him.
“Now, I know you’ve been working hard, but I need you to get up to the hospital and sit on Bryan Magnus’s daughter. Can’t have her getting smothered in her hospital bed.”
“Mercer is up there,” Saxon supplied.
“So is her brother,” Vitus added.
“Bet that’s a combustible combination. Sorry I won’t get to see it.” Kagan choked on a laugh. He offered them both a two-finger salute before disappearing through the kitchen of the condo.
Saxon took another look around the room.
“What are you thinking, brother?” Vitus asked.
“That we are going to have to deal with Ryland. As Kagan hinted.”
Vitus declined to answer but that didn’t change how much he agreed with his brother. “Well, today’s challenge is keeping Zoe Magnus from getting smothered while Mercer is dealing with her brother.”
“Why do you think I sent Greer and Maddox up there already?” Saxon supplied. “I’ve got enough paperwork to fill out without having to bail those two out of city jail.”
Vitus clipped the shield to his belt and put his gun on his belt now that he was licensed to open-carry again. “In that case, let’s get a move on it before we miss the fun.”
* * *
The ICU nurses were accustomed to high emotions.
But they were getting nervous as Bram and Mercer took turns standing at Zoe’s bedside. They changed places every fourteen and a half minutes, in strict accordance with the fifteen-minute visitation rule. It was those thirty seconds when they were passing each other that the air tightened and the nurses kept their hands hovering over the security panic button.
“We’re going to talk,” Bram said as he passed Mercer.
“You can count on that.”
Bram pushed through the doors into the hallway and sent Greer a look warning the agent to clear the path. But that left him facing a ravishing female. She lifted her eyelids and flashed him a look that captivated him. A second later he was tripping over his own feet, his boot soles skidding on the polished tile floor. Disengaged from her stare, he shook off the fascination that had gripped him, giving him enough clear thought to realize what an idiot he’d just been.
“Agent Thais Sinclair.” She was holding her hand out when he looked back at her.
Bram squelched the urge to take her hand and hold it like … well, like he was going to kiss the back of it. But shaking it felt wrong. He finished after two short pumps and was pretty certain he caught a glint of amusement in her dark eyes. She oozed feminine … something or other. It was a hazy, undefined sort of awareness. He felt like he was about fourteen, at the first school dance and getting his first glance at dresses that reveled what school uniforms had been hiding.
“I was on the team assigned to your sister.”
Mentioning Zoe cleared up his thinking instantly. “Really?”
“Of course,” Thais responded in a tone that wa
s honey-coated. The agent didn’t appear to be attempting to cajole him, which made her seductiveness that much more effective. There was something about her that was a pure shot of captivation.
“An all-male team would have been inappropriate.”
“You can leave off, Thais,” Saxon said as he came around the hallway corner.
Agent Sinclair turned and considered her team leader but her attention shifted to the man walking beside him and the badge clipped to his belt.
“Very interesting,” she said in that drawl before she turned and made her way down to the waiting room.
Bram felt his collar tightening as he watched her body move. Heat touched his cheeks when he shifted his attention back to Saxon and caught the man watching him with a knowing look in his eyes.
Which only flipped the switch of his temper.
“What kind of team do you run anyway, Hale?” Bram demanded.
“An effective one,” was the cool reply.
Bram fought to keep his voice even. “So I’ve heard.” He bit the words out, making it clear how much he wanted to smash his fist into Saxon’s jaw.
“If you want to fight, I’m your man,” Mercer said from behind him.
Bram twisted around, his fingers tightening into a fist.
“Zoe is worth it,” Mercer said. “I’m not defending what I did and I’m not disappearing, either. So we might as well get the tension dealt with.”
“We need to talk…” Saxon interrupted, stepping between the two men. “And get our professional back on.”
Mercer stared at his team leader. “I held the line on the professional part of the operation. There is a personal part. One I mean to explore.”
“Vitus … talk some sense into him.”
Vitus only hooked his hands into his belt and considered Mercer for a long moment. He slowly shook his head. “Pointless. Besides, it’s really up to the girl.” He cast a look at Bram. “Do you clear your girlfriend choices through your sister?”
Bram’s body tightened. “This isn’t about me.”
“No, it isn’t,” Mercer agreed. “I’m here to stay. Get used to it.”
“Only if she’ll have you,” Bram fired back at him.
Mercer stood up to his hard glare before letting Saxon turn him away.
If she’ll have you …
Yeah, that was the real problem.
He had no idea if she would.
* * *
“You can’t touch me,” Tyler said smugly. It was ballsy, considering he was handcuffed to the center of the table in the interrogation room, sealed inside a complex that officially did not exist. He was guarded by men who had orders to shoot first if the person didn’t have the proper identification. They never asked questions. because knowing too much was the main reason prisoners ended up in the complex. People disappeared all the time inside the concrete-block walls. There was a chill in the air that was more than weather. It was the temperature of ice-cold orders being given out.
“That so?” Kagan asked softly.
Tyler shook his head. “You’re not going to bait me into spilling my guts. You forget, I’ve seen you in action too many times.”
“And now I’ve seen you in action,” Kagan continued as he moved into the room and sat down opposite Tyler. “Rather interesting, too. Tell me, is it Decains? I wouldn’t have fingered him but it makes sense. A man with his kind of rank wouldn’t have to worry so much about taking a hit when the intel made it onto the black market.”
Tyler stared back at him.
“The Hale brothers, then?” Kagan leaned forward, propping his elbows on the tabletop. “Did you really sell out one of your teams? Not that I haven’t heard of it. Who’s pissed at them? I can figure out a short list but I’d really like to know what kind of a price you’re getting to wax one of your own. That carries a stink. One that clings to a man. Forever.”
“You have your orders,” Tyler said softly. “I know you do.”
“Got that much faith in your contacts?” Kagan asked.
“I do,” Tyler confirmed. “You were given explicit orders to not pursue this matter any further, and someone else has been read into this operation. If I disappear, your shield will be on the table.”
He was sure, because he’d sold his soul for that sort of connection. Tyler refused to feel guilty about it. Every man chooses a side. Kagan was just trying to squeeze him into squealing so Kagan could get a slice of the pie.
“Maybe I care more about justice than a shield. Some of us are actually in this business because we believe in doing the right thing.” He leaned across the table. “Take a good look at me. I am one of those men, and scum like you are the reason I put my neck on the line.”
The cuffs chinked as Tyler moved his hands. It was just a tiny motion, but it betrayed how nervous he truly was. He was looking at Kagan and what he saw rattled him. His face went gray, his lips going bloodless.
“Lose your shield and your ass will be flapping in the wind with a target on it. You’ve got plenty of enemies. And I have powerful connections.”
“But you’ll be just as dead, and with your demise I’ll have one less person to look for on my six,” Kagan said with a touch of mirth.
“Then do it,” Tyler goaded him. “It might be worth it to know you’re going to be living in the gutter, like a fucking mutt, while you try to stay one step ahead of the hit man.” He chuckled and swept Kagan with a knowing look. “You’ll be eating out of Dumpsters and sleeping under piss-covered bushes, rubbing elbows with homeless meth addicts. All to keep drawing breath for one more night. There won’t be a dingy motel you can crawl to that won’t flag your location. Reach out to a contact, and their ass will be painted red, too. This world isn’t the one our predecessors lived in. There are too many cameras, no way to hide for long. You’ll get made and my contacts will make sure you watch everyone you care about die before they wax you. Welcome to the new age, Kagan. Make the powerful happy or get steamrolled when they don’t get what they want.” He flattened his hands on the table. “I’ve made my choice. Unlock me. I know you’ve been ordered to let me walk out of here.”
Kagan slowly grinned. “Guess you’re right. I can’t touch you.” Victory shone in Tyler’s eyes but it turned to worry when Kagan rapped on the door for it to be opened.
“Unlock me,” Tyler demanded. “You have orders to unlock me.”
“Can’t touch you,” Kagan said ruefully. “My orders are to not touch you. Guess you can just sit there and wait for your connections to come and get you. I’ve been told to forget you exist.” He tapped his temple. “Going … going … gone.”
The door popped open, a guard standing back two feet with a high-powered machine gun trained on the open entrance. Kagan shot Tyler one last look before he left. “I can’t wait to see who shows up to get you.”
“Sure you want to know?” Tyler warned.
Kagan slowly smiled in response.
“You’ll regret this,” Tyler informed him.
“I already do,” Kagan agreed. “But for a different reason than you’re thinking.”
Colonel Decains was still in the hallway, listening. The door shut, sealing Tyler inside the interrogation room.
“What’s your reason?”
Kagan flashed Decains a somber look. “For my regret? Simple. I’m sorry I’m too much of a coward to put a bullet through that bastard’s head. Dying for my principles I can do. Putting everyone who’s ever cared about me in harm’s way, I can’t.”
Decains nodded. “It’s a hell of a world we work in. It sure isn’t as simple as right and wrong.”
“No, it isn’t.”
* * *
Harley squawked. This was followed by a series of mumblings from her father’s prized companion, before she heard someone cuss.
“Don’t touch him. He’s going to bite … you,” Zoe called out. She forced her eyes open with the aid of knowing that Harley was making ready to take a chomp out of whoever was being foolish enough to
not respect his warning.
“No kidding.” Mercer appeared in the doorway with Harley wrapped in a beach towel. The parrot glared at her and snapped his beak.
“He was warning you…” she said as she tried to recognize where she was.
“I respectfully disagree.” Mercer came into the room. “He was trying to claim my boot as his new chew toy and cussed me out for not letting him have it.”
She looked down and realized that Mercer’s feet were bare and that he looked more laid-back than she’d ever seen him in a pair of shorts and T-shirt.
“I’m taking some personal time. With you.” Harley squirmed. “And … Harley.”
He unwrapped Harley and placed him on the perch that was in the room. The parrot climbed up, happy to be higher than everyone else. His dominant position reclaimed, he began to groom himself.
“What are you doing here?” The words slipped out as her brain started working. “Where’s Roni?”
She bolted upright as the memory of her friend with silver duct tape over her mouth filled her thoughts. Mercer was suddenly there on the side of the bed, gripping her body when a jolt of pain pierced her from the too-quick motion.
She ended up gasping in his arms, unable to do anything but let him support her while she tried to force her lungs to work.
“Easy…” He was stroking her back, the firm touch of his hand so soothing, she felt tears burning her eyes.
“Roni…” She tried to focus her mind on her friend. She was such a rotten person for being so easily distracted by a simple touch.
Mercer has always affected me like that …
“She’s fine.” Mercer pulled back from her then reached behind her to stack up a bunch of pillows. Once she was settled he picked up a tablet and brought it to life with a sweep of his fingers. A picture of her friend was already loaded.
“I want to talk to her.”
Mercer nodded. He pushed an icon on the tablet, and it started buzzing. The picture changed to a live one as her friend came onto the line.