Desperate Play (Off the Grid: FBI Series Book 3)

by Barbara Freethy

  "Where's Avery?"

  "I told her to stay at Nova Star, but I haven't talked to her in a few hours. I've been busy trying to figure out how to get you out of there before Joanna had you transferred to a real jail cell."

  "You are a badass, Bree. I can't thank you enough."

  "You'd do the same for me. Who do you think set you up?"

  "Probably the real traitor at Nova Star. Although, I have to admit I started thinking about what you said about Vincent Rowland. Whoever set me up certainly had the ability to get the information to the right person at the FBI, someone who was willing to do the most damage to my game."

  "I agree, but I could be wrong about Vincent. My feelings could be colored by his attitude toward me. I don't want to be like Joanna. I don't want to let my emotions cloud my brain."

  "Well, it's something to keep in mind. While he might hate me, I don't see him selling out his friend's company. He also doesn't have access to proprietary information. But at the moment, who set me up is the least of my concerns." He paused. "Where are we going?"

  "There's a rental car place near here. You're going to need some wheels."

  "I need to get to Avery."

  "And I need you to let me do that. You won't be able to get anywhere near Nova Star, Wyatt."

  As much as it pained him not to rush to Avery's side immediately, he knew she was right. "True."

  "You should meet up with Flynn. I have his new address." She handed him a prepaid phone. "I put it on here as well as a new number for me."

  "All right, but I'm going to make a stop on the way."

  "Why? You need to stay out of sight."

  "There aren't any cameras where I'm going. I want to talk to Carter Hayes. I tried to get in to see him earlier today at Nova Star, but he'd taken the day off."

  "He's a minor player at best. Why waste time on him?"

  "Because he's panicked, hanging on by his fingertips. I'm going to remind him that it's always the little fish who get caught up in the net first. With the launch tomorrow, Carter is our best chance to break open a lead."

  "Joanna was going to speak to him, too. I hope you don't run into her." She pulled over to the side of the road, just down the block from the rental agency.

  "I hope not, either." He put his hand on the door, then paused. "Take care of Avery, Bree. She's…special."

  She gave him a knowing smile. "I know. And, by the way, she likes you, too."

  "I sincerely doubt that."

  "Have I ever lied to you?"

  He shut the door on Bree's question, because he couldn't let himself hope for even a second that he might get another chance with Avery. That would only set him up for another fall.

  * * *

  After picking up the cheapest rental car he could find, Wyatt drove to Carter's apartment. He parked at the end of the block behind a large van and barely in sight of the townhouse and took his time making his way to the front door. It was quite possible that the building was under FBI surveillance, but he didn't see any of the usual signs, no cars with random people sitting inside, no dog walkers strolling the street, no repair vans used in stakeouts.

  It was a risk going out in the open. The last thing he wanted to do was end up back in the interrogation room or in jail. But he had to find a way to crack open the case before it was too late.

  He stepped under the overhang by Carter's front door, but as he reached for the bell, he saw that the lock had been broken.

  He heard a thud and pushed the door open, readying his gun for whatever he might be facing. Carter was on the floor, writhing in pain, and an Asian man with a gun was standing by the balcony.

  The next shot came in his direction, but he was able to jump out of the way. When he moved back to take his own shot, the man was already vaulting over the balcony railing. He ran across the room and out onto the deck, seeing the man disappear around the corner of the next building. There was no way he was going to catch him.

  Going back inside, he grabbed a sweatshirt off the couch and knelt down by Carter, who had been shot in the right side of his chest.

  He pressed the towel against his wound. "Who was that?"

  "I don't know," Carter moaned, practically crying.

  "You do know. Why did he shoot you?"

  "Gotta call 911, man," Carter pleaded.

  "As soon as you tell me what's going on." Judging by the location of Carter's wound, he didn't believe the wound was fatal, but Carter didn't know that. "Unless you want to die. Who are you working with?"

  "Bickmore. He said I could get a promotion, money. All I had to do was pass some things along."

  "What kind of things?"

  "Envelopes, flash drives, money, whatever. Didn't always know. Dropped them at the funhouse."

  Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. "Did Noelle make the drop for you on Friday?"

  "Supposed to be Saturday. I didn't realize Noelle knew anything, but she must have been watching me. Asked me some weird questions about Bickmore. Must have been on to him. Must have figured out how I set the meet and moved it up. Didn't know she'd stolen the drive from me until that night."

  Was that what Carter had been looking for in Noelle's desk? "Why did she take the drive? Why cut you out?"

  "Needed money for her mom, I guess. But she didn't give them the drive. Told them it was over. Said she turned the information over to Hamilton, and they needed to leave me alone. They stabbed her to death." He groaned. "I can't do this. Help me. I'll tell you everything later."

  "Who would you meet in the funhouse?" he said, ignoring Carter's plea, but he did keep pressure on the wound.

  "Different guys, never the same one, mostly Asian men."

  "Noelle didn't give Hamilton anything. Was she bluffing?"

  "Yes. Bickmore says Hamilton knows nothing. Thinks Avery has it. Wasn't at Noelle's place," he gasped.

  "Who else is working with Bickmore? Is he the top?"

  "No. One of the Tremaine kids, I think."

  "Why would they sell out their own company?"

  "No idea, but Bickmore said everything is out of control." He sucked in a breath, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "God, I think I'm dying."

  "You're not dying. Keep pressure on this," he said, putting Carter's left hand on the towel, as he pulled out his phone. He punched in 911 but before he connected the call, he said, "You're going to say you've been shot and give them your address. You speak my name, and I'll kill you before anyone gets here. Understand?"

  Connor gave a weak nod.

  Wyatt punched in the numbers and held the phone near Carter's mouth.

  "Help," Carter said, "I've been shot. 442 Trenton Way." He paused as the dispatcher asked him if the shooter was still in the house. "He's gone. I'm alone. Please hurry."

  Wyatt hung up the call as the dispatcher asked for more info. "Do you know who set me up?"

  "Set you up?" Carter echoed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

  "Bank accounts—Caymans."

  Carter gave him a blank look. "Don't know."

  "What about Noelle's missing phone? What's the story? Where is it?"

  "Don't know. It’s not here. But it doesn't matter. Everything is on the drive."

  "Okay. Listen up. I was never here. You understand me, Carter? I'm your best chance at surviving this, but not if you talk."

  "Won't talk. Need a guard. They'll come back to kill me."

  "You'll get one at the hospital. No one is coming back now."

  He got to his feet, looking around Carter's apartment, making sure he wasn't leaving any sign of his presence behind, but he hadn't touched anything but the now bloody sweatshirt.

  He quickly left the townhome, staying in the shadows as he made his way down the long block to his car. As he started the engine, an ambulance came racing down the street, stopping in front of Carter's home. A police car arrived a second later. A couple of neighbors came outside at the commotion. He waited until the responders had gone inside, the
n pulled into a driveway, turned around and went in the opposite direction.

  Carter would survive this, but Avery was still in danger. Whoever had tried to take Carter out would be going after her next—if he hadn't done so already.

  That terrifying thought sent him straight to his phone. He punched in Bree's number.

  "I was just going to call you," she said, a dark note in her voice.

  His heart stopped. "What's wrong? Do you have Avery?"

  "No. She's not at work. Her coworker told me that she left the building with her father a few hours ago."

  His gut twisted as he remembered Carter saying Bickmore was working with someone big, possibly one of the Tremaines. Brett Caldwell wasn't a Tremaine, but he had access to the inner family circle and he also had connections with China.

  Avery couldn't be in danger from her own dad, could she?

  "Where would he take her?" Bree asked.

  "I'm guessing his house in Calabasas. But I'm shocked she left work."

  "She was shaken after your arrest. I'm sorry I left her hanging. I was working on getting you out."

  "It's not your fault."

  "She's with her dad. He's not going to hurt her."

  He knew Bree wanted her words to be comforting, but they'd both seen parents do terrible things to their kids. "I hope not."

  "What happened with Carter?"

  "I got there just in time. He took a shot in the chest, not life-threatening. The shooter got away—Asian man in his early thirties. I'm guessing it's the same man who shot at me from the hotel restaurant roof—Ran Ding. He's probably for hire. You need to get Flynn and the team down to the hospital. Carter needs a guard and I'm sure he has more information to give. He was working for Bickmore, making drops at the funhouse on a regular basis. He said Noelle must have gotten wind of the operation. She stole a flash drive from him and changed the time of the meet. But she didn't hand over the drive and was stabbed to death."

  "So, everyone is looking for the drive."

  "And killing anyone who knows about it." He got on the freeway as he ended that sentence, heading for Calabasas. "I'm going to get Avery."

  "I'll take care of everything else."

  He set his phone down, as he pressed his foot on the gas. He wanted to gun it. He wanted to drive as fast as possible to Caldwell's house, but he couldn't risk getting pulled over by the cops. He just had to hope that Avery would be safe with her father.

  Twenty-Four

  "You slept for a long time," her father commented as Avery walked into his study a little past six in the evening. It was already dark outside, and the warm light from the desk lamp lit the room.

  "I didn't intend to," she said, giving him a still tired smile. "I guess everything just caught up to me."

  After leaving Nova Star, they'd stopped at Tommy's Burgers on the way to Calabasas and then eaten their chili cheeseburgers and fries by the pool. Then she'd gone upstairs to freshen up in one of the guestrooms. After changing out of her work clothes, she'd put on comfy leggings and a long-sleeve T-shirt, stretched out on the bed for a second and had fallen asleep. That had been hours ago.

  "Are you writing?" she asked, taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk. He had his monitor on, and she could see text on the screen.

  "Playing around with my next book idea."

  "What's it going to be about?"

  "Not sure yet."

  "You never like to talk about your books while you're writing them."

  "Because they can always change."

  "But you discuss them with Whitney. She was going on about your new project at dinner the other night."

  "She only knows the general topic. She brags too much about me."

  She smiled at that self-deprecating comment. "Come on, you like it."

  He returned her smile. "Well, perhaps a little bit." He sat back in his chair, pressing his fingers together as he gave her a thoughtful glance. "You look better. Coming here was a good idea, wasn't it? Sometimes you can let your dear old dad take care of you."

  She could have said it had never been her choice for him to stop taking care of her, but she didn't want to mess up the peace between them. Plus, he was right. She did feel better. But now that her brain was starting to work again, she realized she'd disappeared on Bree and she hadn't checked her phone since she'd left Nova Star.

  "I should get my phone," she said. "I must have left it upstairs."

  "Hang on," her dad said, before she could get up. "Talk to me, Avery. Tell me what's happening. I only have bits and pieces, and I think there is a lot going on I don't know about."

  "There's probably a lot going on neither one of us knows about."

  "Like what?"

  "I think Noelle was involved in some sort of conspiracy at Nova Star. I'm not sure what her role was or who else is involved."

  "And this conspiracy is about what?"

  "Secrets, technology, proprietary information. It's possible someone is trying to sabotage the launch or the satellite itself."

  "Then why hasn't Hamilton shut down the launch?"

  "Because he thinks he has the situation under control. Or at least he thought that yesterday. I don't know what he thinks now since Wyatt was arrested. Have you spoken to him?"

  "Not since I saw him earlier. I have talked to Whitney. She said her father is livid, that he thinks Wyatt betrayed him, that he came into the company under the guise of helping to find a traitor when he was there to steal from the inside."

  She wondered if Hamilton had figured out that Wyatt was FBI or if he just believed he was a spy.

  "I have to say, Avery," her father continued. "The FBI must have had some damning evidence on Wyatt to arrest him the day before the launch. He's Nova Star's top security guy. They left the company scrambling."

  "I know. I've been thinking the same thing, but Wyatt isn't guilty. He's not a thief or a traitor."

  "How do you know?"

  It was a simple question, and, in reality, there was a simple answer. "Because I know what kind of person he is. I trust him." She realized how true the words were as soon as they came out of her mouth.

  "Do you also love him?"

  She hesitated at the blunt question. "Does love feel terrifying and wonderful at the same time?"

  He gave her a faint smile. "That's a good description of it."

  "I've always been a little afraid to love. When it ends, it hurts so much. I've wondered if it's worth the pain."

  Shadows crossed his face. "That's because of me. I let you down. I hurt you."

  "You did," she agreed, too tired not to be honest. "But it wasn't just that you left. It was that you and Mom were so happy together and then you weren't. I didn't know how you went from love to hate so quickly. How could I trust that my feelings about someone or their feelings for me wouldn't change just as fast?"

  "Love and hate are two sides of the same coin," he said quietly. "Sometimes the love you have for someone doesn't last forever. That's not the fairy tale, but it's real life."

  "Do you love Whitney? Will she last forever?"

  He sucked in a breath. "I don't know, Avery. I don't have a crystal ball."

  "But you have experience, and you know how you feel."

  "I do love Whitney. She's more like me than anyone I've ever met. We understand each other."

  She tilted her head, wondering about the odd note in his voice. "It sounds like there's a but coming…"

  "But," he said with a smile. "I'm a lot older than her. She might wake up and wonder what she's doing with an old man when she could have a young stud."

  "The age difference doesn't seem to bother her."

  "I just hope she isn't using me to fill the hole in her heart."

  "What do you mean?" she asked, surprised by his words.

  "She adored her mother and her loss a year ago still haunts Whitney. She's not as close with her dad as she was with her mother. I think she often feels like the odd man out in the family, because she doesn't work at
the company, isn't caught up in the space race as her father and brothers are. She only went to her dad's house tonight, because it's a celebration of her mother's life. She couldn't care less about the launch tomorrow."

  "I guess I can understand that."

  "I want to give Whitney what she needs. I'm happy to fill the empty places in her heart; I just don't want to heal her and then watch her walk away."

  "It's a risk," she agreed, thinking that even when her dad was being open and honest, his ego still showed through. He had spoken of healing Whitney, as if he alone had that power, but that wasn't the way it worked. "I don't think you can give Whitney the peace she needs. Ultimately, that has to come from herself. Isn't that what you teach in your books and your seminars?"

  "Some version of that," he admitted. "Have you read any of my books?"

  "I might have skimmed through one," she admitted.

  He smiled. "Good to know. I like that you wrote a book, too. I like to believe you got something from me."

  "I guess I did."

  His expression changed, his eyes turning somber. He looked like he wanted to say something else but couldn't quite get the words out.

  "What?" she asked. "What are you thinking?"

  "That I wish I hadn't waited so long to come back into your life."

  "Me, too," she said. "But as you said earlier, we can't change the past."

  "I'm glad we're speaking freely now. I know that you don't love that I'm involved with Whitney and the Tremaines. This was your world, and I broke right into the middle of it."

  "It has been awkward."

  "I probably should have backed off in the beginning."

  "But you didn't, because you wanted in with the Tremaines."

  He looked a little surprised by her candor. "Is that what you think?"

  "Yes," she said, not backing down. "I sometimes wonder if you reconnected with me just because you realized I could get you into their world."