Elias’s stride faltered. He froze for half a step.
Torres paused whatever he was saying to turn.
“Is there a bathroom on this floor I can use?” Elias asked.
“Sure, just around this corner here.” Torres gestured ahead of them.
What the hell was this about?
They rounded the corner and Elias entered the men’s restroom at the same moment Torres’ phone went off with an incoming call. He stepped away the moment the bathroom door closed to answer it, leaving Isaac alone.
“Isaac? Get in here.” Elias’s disembodied voice coming through the comm had Isaac jumping again.
“What the hell?” he muttered and pulled the bathroom door open.
It was a normal office bathroom done in gray tile and white marble. Elias paced the length of the space.
“We’re alone,” he said, and stopped with his hands in his pockets.
“Okay, and?” Isaac shrugged.
Elias stared back at him. The guy could make a stone nervous with a stare like that. “And I saw one of the guys from this morning wearing a janitor uniform. The other team is here.”
“Shit. Do you know which one?” Jo asked.
Sweat broke out all over Isaac’s body.
God damn it. Dion. It had to be Dion. He knew to keep his head down. What the hell was he doing?
“We have to do this now, before they get to it,” Elias said. “Isaac, stay in here. I’ll make an excuse for you. Let Jo in that first floor north entrance. There isn’t a camera on it. Jo? Make sure you wear something over your clothes you can take off. Use the east stair to access the second floor. The server room you want should be there. Use the code breaker to get in, but keep your head down.”
“On it,” she said.
“Good. Keep me updated.” Elias nodded and turned on his heel like a fucking general commanding his troops.
What an asshole.
Isaac waited until the door closed to begin his own pacing.
“Hey, I’m headed your way now,” Jo said through the comms.
He didn’t respond.
What the fuck was he going to do? What the ever loving fuck? How was he going to cover his ass on this one?
God damn Giovanni for putting him in this position.
Elias’s voice started up, droning on with his conversation with Torres, providing a constant layer of noise to Isaac’s thoughts.
He should go. Run now. Get out while he still could and leave these two lovebirds to figure it out themselves.
Fuckity fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He blew out a breath.
This place was a security company. They had to have enough security to stop this mad plan. Right? And in the grand scheme of things, he’d rather deal with building security over anything Giovanni would throw at him. These people worked within the bounds of the law. Giovanni did not.
“Almost there, Isaac,” Jo said.
He shook his head and stalked toward the door.
If he bailed, Giovanni would find him. Isaac needed to have faith in the plan.
The hall was clear of people. One good thing about the holidays was that there weren’t a lot of employees putting in hours. He didn’t run into more than one girl, too busy staring at her phone to notice him on his way downstairs.
He briefly considered walking out the front door again, but if he did that he could also risk angering Giovanni that way.
Isaac was screwed. If he followed directions and stuck close to Jo and she was FBI, he could become a pawn in her game. If he looked after his own hide, he could run afoul of Giovanni, and contrary to what a lot of people liked to think, the man was not lenient. His jovial personality was an act. He was a cruel, ruthless bastard formed by the two families who’d birthed him.
“This fucking sucks,” Isaac muttered as he opened the north exit.
A lumpy form darted inside.
“Took you long enough,” Jo snapped back.
He frowned and watched her shrug out of the coat. She wore slacks and a blouse with her hair tied up. Dressed like that, she almost looked like an employee.
“East stair?” She dropped the puffy coat on the ground.
“Uh, this way.”
“Elias’ really good at this,” she said softly.
Isaac grunted.
The guy knew how to spin his wheels. So what?
“Here, look at this.” Jo opened a notebook and showed him a blank page as they walked.
“Uh, what am I looking at?” he asked.
She flashed him a smile. “A prop.”
“Okay...”
“Have you seen them? Dion, I mean?” She glanced over her shoulder as they reached the stair.
“No, Elias did.”
“Shoot. Okay.”
They didn’t speak as they climbed the stairs, which was fine for him. He was still wondering how this would play out.
“This is us,” he said and reluctantly opened the door to the second floor.
“Move. Quick. Dion might be ahead of us.”
“We can’t run,” he said, trying to sound logical.
Why him?
He dragged his feet the fifteen or so yards to the server room entrance, praying that any second they’d get caught. But they didn’t.
Jo pressed the end of the code breaker to the display and it began the cycle. Unlike movies and TV, the process wasn’t instantaneous.
“This darn door,” Jo fussed, still playing into her role.
Isaac shoved his hands in his pockets. If Dion caught up to them, would he take this morning out on Isaac? Why had they moved in so fast like that? Weren’t they supposed to hang back?
“Got it,” Jo said in a triumphant whisper.
She opened the door to the server room.
Inwardly Isaac groaned.
THURSDAY. EAGLE TECH, Seattle, Washington.
Jo could hardly believe they’d gotten this far without incident. The whole plan had sounded far too good to be true. But here they were, in the damn server room. She was going to owe Elias so big after this. He was the rock star that made it all happen. There was no way they’d have gotten this far without him.
She hovered behind Isaac as he picked away at the keyboard.
“Find it yet?” she asked, anxious to be out of here. From what she could hear of Elias’ side of the conversation, he was starting to scrape the bottom of the bucket to keep Torres talking.
“I’m working on it,” Isaac snapped.
She bit back her own unhelpful reply. Instead, she crossed to the door and peered out of the little glass window.
“I’m running out of material, guys,” Elias whispered into her ear.
These comms were something else. So small most people wouldn’t even notice them.
“Isaac is working on it. I don’t know how long it’ll take,” she said.
“Work faster,” Elias said.
“How much time do you think we have?” Isaac asked.
“Not much. Focus.”
Jo was starting to wonder where the hell Dion was. Did he have a better handle on where the virtual bomb code might be? Had they already extracted it? Were they gone? Was that why Isaac was taking so long? Or had Elias seen Dion at all?
She didn’t want to consider that last question.
After Elias’s injuries, she knew he’d stayed away from all combat roles. His jobs had been desk work out of the eye. And then there was this morning. She was used to his cool-under-pressure attitude, but this morning he’d been like ice. Inhuman and cold. It made her worried for him.
Was she asking too much? Could this whole thing be damaging to him?
She bit her lip and struggled with the guilt.
“My assistant had to run to do a pickup. Would you mind if I waited for him in the lobby?” Elias asked.
No more cards to play.
She turned and crossed to Isaac’s side.
“You’ve got to give us something. Do you think you’re close? Do you have any idea?�
� she asked.
“Thanks so much. It’s kind of you to let me wait in your office,” Elias said.
Isaac mashed the keys hard.
“Come on, tell me anything,” she pleaded.
He whirled to face her, eyes wide and jaw clenched. His hands balled into fists.
“There is no bomb,” he said.
“What? Dion got here first?” She shouldered him aside and grabbed the keyboard.
“No. I mean, there never was a virtual bomb. It was made up.” Isaac threw his hands up in the air. “It was a trap.”
Her body went cold. She pivoted to face him as chilly rage pumped through her.
“What?” she asked.
Isaac’s nostrils flared. “Giovanni knows he has a rat. Someone is snitching. So he set up a trap, and we’re in it.”
“What do you mean a trap?” She glanced over her shoulder, as if she expected the so-called trap to snap shut.
Isaac held his hand up, fingers pinched together. “You’re on his short list of rats. He dangled the bait, and you took it.”
She watched his hand sway from side to side as her mind scrambled.
“Who the fuck do you think is a fed?” Elias’s voice took on a cocky note. “In case you didn’t realize it, Isaac, I’m a mercenary. I work with mercenaries.”
Jo shook her head and shoved the panic down.
Thank goodness Elias reacted faster than she did. He was right. She hadn’t exposed herself. Other than their conversation behind closed, reinforced doors last night, she hadn’t put a foot wrong.
“Cut the act.” Isaac rolled his eyes. “I heard you last night tell him everything. All about how you’ve been undercover, so don’t give me that shit. There is no bomb. This is a trap.”
Jo’s body went cold. He’d been listening to them? In their private moments?
She reached under her blazer and grabbed her gun, pointing it at Isaac. Her whole body went cold. So much work down the drain because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Elias was her weakness. “Then I guess we don’t need you anymore, do we?”
Isaac’s eyes widened, and he backed up, seeming to realize his mistake.
She narrowed her gaze. “Here’s the thing, Isaac, I only needed you because I didn’t know what I was looking for. If you’re going to tell me all you are is a plant? Well, I guess it’s time to prune.”
A single, high pitch chime sounded throughout the building. Jo kept her gaze on Isaac, who jumped.
“What was that?” he demanded.
“Turn around,” she said. “Isaac, you are under arrest.”
She’d properly Mirandize him later. When there was time.
Isaac’s face became a twisted mask of rage. He reached under his jacket.
She smirked as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at her. “Go ahead.”
He squeezed the trigger in a dramatic fashion.
Nothing happened.
“Elias took the bullets out of your gun earlier,” she said as sweetly as possible.
Isaac lunged at her. She side-stepped, letting him dive through empty space. One kick and he went sprawling.
Easiest arrest ever.
She came down on top of him, using her weight to keep him pinned as she grabbed one wrist and then the other. He struggled, but it was a token effort. Isaac wasn’t a physical man. He delivered drinks, took notes and let other people do the dirty work. Regardless of what he’d done as a teen to set him on this path, he wasn’t a killer.
“Jo? You okay?” The concern in Elias’s voice was touching.
“Yeah, fine.”
“We need to get out of here.” That wasn’t concern, he was worried.
“What’s going on?” She slapped the cuffs from her pocket around Isaac’s wrists.
“The office door is locked and there are people moving around. I think they know something is up.”
“Shit,” she muttered. “I can always flash my badge?”
“Like hell they’ll listen,” Isaac said.
“Why?” she demanded.
“Because...” He turned his head and glared up at her. “Eagle Tech is owned by one of Giovanni’s father’s companies. It’s a Russian owned and operated front.”
“Shit,” Elias muttered.
Jo got up, leaving Isaac where he was. She went to the terminal and began typing. Isaac had gotten them past the security, so she had access to the building’s inner workings.
Things like security cameras...
“I’ve got the security cameras, Elias. Can you get out of the office?” she asked.
“I’ll try, but you get out of here if you can. I can talk my way out if need be.”
“I’m not leaving you behind.” Figures decked out in body armor passed by one camera.
Fuck...
THURSDAY. EAGLE TECH, Seattle, Washington.
Elias stared around the office. Was there anything he could use to get out of here? Kicking down a door from the inside would be harder. Obviously everything was on some kind of system to allow for the doors to lock like this. It stood to reason that if he tried to get out, it would send out some kind of alert. Then again, so long as they still believed him to be a wealthy potential client, he might get away with it.
What the hell was he thinking? He had to get to Jo now. There were armed guards closing in. Where had those come from? Torres hadn’t mentioned a small, mobile army. Or was this tied into the mafia connection?
Shit to figure out later.
Jo’s voice was so sweet in his ear, if he ignored her dire words. “Okay, Elias, they’re doing a sweep of the building. I don’t think they know where we are or they’d have come straight to us.”
Elias blew out a breath. “Get out of there. They must have been waiting for you to come in here. I’m guessing Isaac there told them our plan. This was a trap for you all along.”
“Not without you,” she said.
“They don’t’ want me, Jo. You are what they want. You have to get out of here. Go,” he snapped.
“Not without trying something first.”
God, he wanted to hug and strangle this stubborn woman.
Instead, Elias took two long strides and kicked the wooden office door.
It rattled, but didn’t budge.
This wasn’t going to work, but he had to try. For Jo, because she wouldn’t leave him behind. He couldn’t let her risk her life on his account.
He hauled back and kicked again, trying a different spot on the door.
The damn thing was sturdy as hell.
“What are you doing?” Isaac said with all the exasperation of a toddler.
Rage seethed through Elias. He hauled back and pounded his fist on the door.
A digital device chirped, and he paused, just in time for the door to swing inward and bash against the toe of his shoe.
Torres stuck his head in the opening, eyes wide. Was that fear?
“Thank God, you’re still here,” he said.
“Who is that?” Jo asked.
“What are you doing here, Torres? What’s going on?” Elias asked.
“Torres?” Jo gasped. “Be careful.”
“I don’t... I mean, I’m not sure.” The young man shoved a hand through his hair. “Look, I thought I recognized you earlier, but I didn’t say anything. Something fucked up is happening and I don’t understand.” Torres locked his dark eyes on Elias. “Are you...do you work for Aegis Group?”
“Shit. Get out of there, Elias. Go, now!” Jo ordered.
Elias took in the young man’s wide eyes, the glances at the door and the glistening sweat on his brow.
Torres was afraid. Not of Elias, but of what was happening out there.
“Do you want me to work for Aegis Group?” Elias crossed his arms over his chest. They were clearly out of their element and needed more information. He could practically hear Zain’s voice in his head demanding more intel so they could make more informed decisions.
“Damn it, yes or no?” Torres begged.
Good for him.
The world didn’t necessarily need more of Elias’s ilk.
“Yes, I work for Aegis Group, but I’m not here for my company,” he said.
“Elias,” Jo snapped.
Where was Isaac? Why wasn’t he chiming in? What was the guy up to?
Torres’ shoulders dropped. “Oh thank God.”
“What’s really going on here?” Elias asked.
“I don’t know. Honestly. They activated security protocol five, which secures all doors in the building, unless you have a master key.”
“You have a master key?” He found that hard to believe. A sales rep holding something that powerful?
Torres glanced away. “There was a mix up when I was hired. Another new guy made a mistake. I... I like to go into the executive break room and get a coffee on Monday mornings, okay? Sue me.”
Elias had never been more grateful for typical human greed in his life. “Let’s see it. Can we get out of here using it?”
“Maybe we could have if I were here when they implemented protocol five, but...they’ve sent out,” he lifted his hands and used his fingers to do air quotes, “the special division.”
“Elias, those armed guys are going floor by floor. We’ve got to do something soon,” Jo said.
“What other security protocols are there?” Elias took a step toward Torres.
“Just seven, which locks down the choke points on each floor and access between floors. It’s supposed to help if there’s a fire or break-in—”
“I’m familiar with the theory. Jo, look for security protocol seven and activate it. Then see what you can do to lock admin access. Can you do that?”
“Maybe? Barely? I don’t know.” Jo’s voice was frantic and he could hear keystrokes in the back.
“Jo?” Torres parroted.
“I can do that,” Isaac said out of nowhere.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. I’m not trusting you,” Jo said.
“Your assistant?” Torres asked.
Elias held up his hand to stall Torres from speaking.
“Jo, hold a gun on him. If you don’t like what he’s doing, shoot him. Or let the special division shoot him. They don’t look friendly.” Elias focused on Torres and blocked out the back and forth between Jo and Isaac. “I’ve got two people with me. They’re going to get us a way out of here. But I need more from you. What’s the special division for?”
Mind of Danger (Body of Danger, #3) Page 8