“Send it. We need this soon. Iaso’s CEO announced to shareholders that the company is expecting an announcement from the FDA advisory committee within the next few weeks.”
“Well, this could help her along a little bit.” Digging through the files, Justin pulled up a Word document that was simply titled “Notes.” With it pulled up on the screen, he sat back and allowed Gabriel to skim over it as he had. The farther along he got, the more the hand on his shoulder squeezed. He felt the same excitement.
“This is good,” Gabriel whispered.
Dr. Weiss had left a little trail of breadcrumbs for the next person to follow. It wasn’t much. Just dates and a series of brief notes where he started noticing discrepancies in the data and problems with the dead patients’ kidneys, problems that had never been noticed in any of the trial tests.
“It doesn’t give us a smoking gun in the hand of Elba or Hamilton, but it gives Brianna a place to start when she’s digging in the data. Might save us a few days. She might also spot something pointing to Elba or Hamilton that we haven’t seen yet.”
Gabriel took a deep breath and loosened his hold on Justin’s shoulder. “It’s about time we got a break.”
“I’ll bundle this all together and ship it off to Bri. She knows to expect it and I’ll be sure to call attention to the notes.”
Gabriel walked into the kitchen and pulled down a glass from the cabinet. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he watched the man move. It was more than the fact that he was smooth and graceful. It was how he was at complete ease within Justin’s kitchen as he filled his glass with ice and water. He then placed it on the counter and turned back to the fridge, where he pulled out a beer and set it in front of Justin.
“How many more of your little cameras do you have, particularly with the ability to shoot at night?”
Justin stopped in the middle of reaching for the beer and lifted one eyebrow at him. “A few. What do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking that hacking a place like Iaso has got to be close to impossible. But not everywhere is going to have the same level of security. And some of those companies with not so strong security could also have access to Iaso.”
“You know, you’re really sexy when you talk hacking mumbo jumbo.”
Gabriel glared at him and Justin grinned wide. It was getting really hard not to grab Gabriel and kiss him while pinning him against the nearest hard surface.
“I’ve been trying that,” Justin admitted while managing to keep his hands to himself. “I got the name of the company that does their window cleaning and water delivery. No luck yet.”
“I thought we could have a little outing now that we’re not being actively hunted. Put up a few cameras close to the entrance to the place. See if we can grab the names of some companies that provide services. Give you a few more avenues to attack.” Gabriel stepped around the breakfast bar so that he was beside Justin. “Your friend Brianna might dig up the truth about the cancer medication, but we need inside Iaso if we’re going to find out who ordered the hit on Weiss and Jones.”
“Well then, Mr. Prescott, I suggest you change into some sneaking clothes while I contact Bri.”
“Sneaking after dinner,” Gabriel said firmly.
“After dinner?”
Gabriel leaned close, brushing his lips across Justin’s parted ones. “After. It’s too bright out right now, and you promised me coq au vin.”
Before he could actually get a real kiss, Gabriel stepped away and walked back into the living room. He stopped long enough to grab the book he’d been reading and then disappeared up the stairs, where Justin assumed he was getting changed for their evening out.
Gabriel stood in the deep shadows of the woods surrounding the Iaso Health complex, staring up at Justin’s tight ass as he shimmied up a tree. This job was turning out to have its perks. Not only was the sex amazing, but he was also enjoying the scenery. And the food was spectacular. When Justin had boasted that he knew how to make some rather difficult and vintage French dishes, Gabriel had been prepared to call the man out on his bullshit.
But he’d sat at the breakfast bar for the entire three hours it had taken Justin to prepare the meal, talking to him while he sipped his Bordeaux. Justin was proving to be an endless fountain of crazy stories. He wasn’t entirely sure which ones were true and which ones were utter fabrications, but they were all entertaining. And in each story, he was able to see a little glimmer of the real man beneath it all.
There was no doubt in his mind that Justin was former military. There was something in his bearing still that screamed to Gabriel that he was likely a Marine. And if he’d followed the traditional route of mercenaries from Marine to CIA or FBI, then Justin had been in the special forces. Marine recon. Gabriel had a few encounters with their ilk over the years and they were a group to be approached carefully.
Justin was more, though. More than the chameleon he presented himself as.
His questions the night before when they were lying in his bed. The Marines and CIA might have trained him to be an efficient killer, but he was one with a quick brain and unyielding moral compass. He might have found ways around the compass for a bit, but time and too many years in their business had worn him down.
Gabriel knew that soul-weary fatigue all too well. It was the reason he could no longer meet his own gaze in the mirror most mornings. He didn’t want to face the man he’d become. The blinding fury that had consumed him the first few years after his lover’s murder had become a twisted, cold bitterness. Where Justin struggled with pulling the trigger and holding onto the goodness he still believed in, Gabriel struggled with the knowledge that pulling the trigger was too easy, and he didn’t want to be that person.
But for now, Justin’s ass in a pair of black jeans stretched tight as he climbed over a tree limb to get into position to place the final camera was a perfect distraction from the bigger questions rattling around in his brain.
The storm that had passed through the area the night before had left behind even thicker, heavier air. The day’s heat refused to dissipate, and Gabriel could already feel his long-sleeve black shirt sticking to his arms and chest. He’d opted for black cargo pants so he could potentially help carry things for Justin, but the man was prepared with a slim black sling bag that held a handful of cameras, a miniature drill, and a variety of other tools and wires for the job. He shouldn’t have been surprised. The man had been doing this job for a while.
A short whistle drew Gabriel from his thoughts. He looked up to see Justin hold up one finger, then point toward the east. Gabriel carefully edged around the trunk of the tree Justin was currently in to see the steady bob and sweep of a bright white light as it looked like a security guard did an actual physical sweep of the grounds. That was…surprising. He had been confident that all of Iaso’s security measures outside the grounds would be electronic in the form of cameras and motion sensors. A guard actually walking rounds felt archaic.
But archaic or not, Gabriel couldn’t allow him to get too close to where Justin was working, or others might be tempted to look for more evidence that someone had been there, possibly spying. They’d spent the past three hours setting up three other cameras. This was their last one, giving them a good view of the entrance and exit of the parking garage. Justin believed he could use it to pull license plate numbers and maybe target some of the employees directly.
Dipping low so that the majority of his body was masked by the thick undergrowth, Gabriel moved slowly and carefully toward the guard. He swept wide, aiming to come up behind him. It was slow going. The wooded area was heavy with old leaves and broken branches so that it was nearly impossible to move without making noise. His only hope was that the guard couldn’t hear him over the noise he was making as he moved through the underbrush.
As he drew close to his target, Gabriel knelt down behind a tree while the bright light slashed to the left and then back to the right. The guard was a large brute of a man
with a bald head that glistened with sweat in the light. A gun was nestled in its holster on his side, and there was the soft jingle of keys as he trudged through the old dried leaves. Gabriel frowned. There was a small reflection in the center of his chest, as if from glass. Likely a body camera. Lovely. That device limited his options for attack and sharply cut down Justin’s time to work.
When the guard was a half-dozen steps in front of Gabriel, he leapt out from his hiding place and onto his back. The guard managed a surprised yelp before Gabriel got his arm wrapped around his neck, locking in the chokehold. The guard twisted and tore at Gabriel’s arm, trying desperately to pull it free, but Gabriel was willing to snap his own arm before releasing this man. Releasing him meant killing him. For now, he was content to simply knock him unconscious.
A few muffled choking noises came from the guard as he fought for air. He gave up on trying to pull Gabriel’s arm free and stumbled over to the closest large tree. Gabriel swallowed back a curse as the guard rammed his back against the tree, crushing Gabriel between his sizable girth and the hard bole of the tree. Gabriel hissed and clenched his teeth. The air rushed out of his lungs and pain shot through both his spine and ribs, but he refused to loosen his hold. The bastard rammed the tree twice more, but each time with a little less force.
The guard stepped forward, ready to ram the tree a fourth time, when his knees buckled. Gabriel held him upright, still blocking both the air to his lungs and the blood to his brain. He counted to five and then released him completely, allowing the guard to fall onto his face in the dirt. He nearly turned him on his back but stopped. Turning him over would be exposing the body camera and it was safer if that stayed obscured. After one last quick check to make sure the man had a pulse and was breathing on his own, Gabriel rushed back to where Justin was working in the tree.
“Out of time,” he softly called up to him.
“Guard?”
“Unconscious, but I’m sure he’s got friends.”
“Coming down,” Justin said, right before he adjusted his bag and quickly descended the tree. Gabriel stepped back out of the way but remained close enough that he could lend a hand if Justin needed it in the darkness.
When Justin was on the ground again, he smirked at Gabriel. “Any problems?”
“Just one large guard. Though I think he cracked my ribs.” Gabriel reached up and rubbed the ribs on his right. He was also pretty sure his back was bleeding from where the bark had torn through his shirt and scratched along his spine. “How are we going to keep them from investigating the woods?”
“I’ve got a plan for just that problem.”
Opening his sling bag, he pulled out two cans of beer. He handed one over to Gabriel and then cracked the other one open himself. “Where’s the guard?”
Gabriel led him over to the man’s unconscious body while cracking open his own can. Just a few feet away from the guard, Justin proceeded to pour his beer all over the surrounding ground. He motioned for Gabriel to do the same. When the cans were empty, they crushed them up a bit and then dropped them in the brush. Justin followed his lead and then they hurried back across the woods to a nearby neighborhood where they’d parked Gabriel’s rental car.
“What was the point of the beer?” Gabriel asked when they were safely in the car and starting back toward Justin’s house.
“There’s a high school less than half a mile from those woods. It would be a prime place for teenagers to sneak off, drink beer, and generally goof off,” Justin explained with a grin. “When they find the guard, they’re going to smell the beer and see the cans. They’ll think he just got jumped by some stupid, drunk kids. And it’s likely the guard isn’t going to remember much from being knocked out. The cameras should be safe for at least a few days if not longer.”
Gabriel grunted as they drove down the road. The windows were rolled down and the cooler wind felt good through his sweaty hair. He was already looking forward to a cool shower and sleep.
“Really? A grunt? That’s all you’ve got.”
“What can I say? I was more impressed with your cooking.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Justin’s glare in the ambient light from the dashboard.
“Better watch it, G Love. You’ve got dinner duty tomorrow night, and I might be feeling like beef wellington or maybe a rack of lamb.”
Gabriel couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his lips or the warmth that rose up in his chest. It wasn’t the nickname that had reluctantly grown on him, but the fact that Justin was planning ahead to tomorrow. That they had a rhythm where they so easily worked together. He didn’t want to look too closely at why it meant so much to him or think about how temporary it was. Even if it was only for one more night, Gabriel would enjoy every second of it while he could.
Chapter Sixteen
Gabriel looked up from where he was studying a copy of the blueprints for the Iaso main office building to glance over at Justin. He was stretched out in the chair with his feet on the ottoman and his ever-present laptop on his legs. Two weeks of digging, watching, researching, and hacking had finally given them the opening they needed in the form of a small, local landscaping company. Every Tuesday, workers showed up early in the morning to cut the grass and trim all the trees and bushes. And every Wednesday evening, after all the other employees had left, a worker arrived to water the plants inside the office building.
Justin had nearly hurt himself in the rush to tell Gabriel of his discovery. It was the perfect window to sneak into the building. While Justin focused on hacking into the company’s computers, Gabriel put all his energy toward following the workers and casing the company’s headquarters. They needed to know everything they could about Mary’s Garden. Gabriel acquired copies of their uniform, logos, and other equipment. He also spent a pretty penny getting a copy of Iaso’s blueprints from the original architect. The building was less than five years old, and he was hopeful that the places marked for the chairman’s and Elba’s offices were still in the same place.
Security was tight for the firm, with keycards needed for doors leading to every office and lab. If they broke in through an Iaso worker, there was a good chance they would encounter limitations. But a landscaper watering plants at night would need to be able to enter every office, conference room, and common area. It was the perfect cover to get them to the two main offices they needed.
Finally, they had the break they needed.
But the tension in the house was growing thicker by the day. Gabriel had thought it was the number of hours they were spending together. Neither was accustomed to working with a partner any longer. Justin had stopped retreating to the basement after the discovery of the landscaping company, preferring to work in the living room or at the breakfast bar — areas that Gabriel had claimed after moving into Justin’s house.
During the day, they argued about how to get the evidence they needed, how to get all the necessary supplies for the break in, whether or not to simply kill both men and call the job done. But at night, after they finally stopped working, their arguments were forgotten. Once, Justin climbed into the shower with Gabriel and they jerked each other off. Another time, Gabriel tackled Justin down on the couch, where they tore off each other’s clothes and rubbed against each other until they came.
Gabriel couldn’t get enough of Justin. When they weren’t worn down by the contract or the fact that they were running out of time, their stolen moments together were amazing. Even after their lust was temporarily sated, they’d lie stretched out, talking about nothing at all, and it was so damn comfortable. Gabriel couldn’t remember ever being so comfortable around another person…not even Ian.
But a heavy weight was hanging over their moments. Time was running out.
They were still waiting to hear from Brianna. Justin had sent the information over to her with the request that she get back to them within two weeks. She immediately called him back and bitched him out for demanding the impossible. Gabriel had spent some time flipping
through the reams of data, only to shut it down and walk away. It was a ridiculous amount of information for her to go through in a short amount of time. Dr. Weiss’s notes had seemed helpful when they looked at them, but if the data wasn’t there to support his suspicions, then Brianna was stuck at square one, looking for that needle in a haystack.
A sharp snap brought Gabriel’s eyes back to Justin. He’d closed his laptop and was now scrubbing his hands over his face. They’d been pulling a lot of long days, inching closer to their goal. Nerves were frayed, and they were restless after being stuck inside for so long. They’d largely stuck to the house, except for trips to scout the landscaping company. Justin had suggested that they stay away from Iaso rather than risk being spotted. Gabriel hadn’t wanted to agree, but the man had a point. No reason to blow their element of surprise.
“My brain is fried,” Justin groaned.
“Your brain is slow because your body is using all its energy to digest that loaf of garlic bread you consumed.” Dinner had been an easy meal of spaghetti with meatballs. Gabriel had also made garlic bread with three kinds of cheese melted over it, and Justin had inhaled it.
Smiling, Justin rubbed his flat stomach. “I think I’m growing a little carb baby in my belly.”
Gabriel snorted. “We could always go jogging tonight.” So far, Gabriel had made do each morning with Justin’s collection of free weights and his treadmill, but he missed some of the machines he used in various gyms as he traveled, and he preferred to go running outside where he could feel the wind and the unevenness of the road under his running shoes.
Justin put the laptop on the floor next to his chair and lowered his feet from the ottoman. “I’ve got a different suggestion if you’re interested in burning some calories,” Justin offered as he leaned toward Gabriel, a decided leer tilting up his lips.
Lifting one eyebrow, Gabriel struggled to keep from snickering at Justin. “That is not going to burn as many calories as you think.”
The Exit Strategy Bundle Page 18