“You know her better than I do.”
“She wanted me to come to the pool house that day for some reason.” Allie rummaged through the desk contents and found nothing. “Can you get into that computer?”
He wiggled the mouse. “You have the password?”
“No, but I do have a flash drive.” She handed it to him. “Can Annie work her magic once more?”
“Can’t hurt to try.” He stood guard at the door while he put the call in to Annie. She answered in spite of the late hour. “Are you at home?” he asked.
“Yes. What do you need?”
“I’ve got that flash drive that allows you to do crazy things with a computer. Can you get into this one?”
“Sure. Hold on. I just need to get to my computer.”
“This is your night off, huh?”
“Night off? What’s that?”
Linc chuckled. “Exactly. You need a vacation.”
“And you don’t?”
“Hmm.”
The keyboard clicked. “All right,” she said, “what am I looking for?”
“Security footage that’s been downloaded from a camera.”
“Okay, that narrows it down a bit. I’m going to copy the hard drive and do some searching.”
“Anything on the other laptop Allie found in Nevsky’s office?”
Silence.
“Annie?” A huff from the other end reached him. He frowned. “Annie?”
“No,” she finally said. “And I’m embarrassed about that.”
“About what?”
“That I haven’t found anything!”
“Annie?”
“What?”
“If you haven’t found anything, then there’s probably nothing to find.” More silence. “Right?”
“Yes. That’s the conclusion that I’ve come to,” she said in a rush. “But I know what Allie risked to get the information off that computer, and I thought for sure there’d be something on there and . . . there’s not. I mean, I keep checking, trying different things, but there’s nothing.”
“Then we’ll find something somewhere else. Examine this one and see what turns up.”
“Getting access right now. I’ll keep you updated.”
He hung up and turned to find Allie with her hands on her hips and her brow raised. “Nothing on Nevsky’s office computer?”
“No.”
“How is that possible?”
“He’s a very smart man. Even though he keeps his office locked up, I can see that he wouldn’t take a chance and leave things on a laptop that could incriminate him.” He shrugged. “We knew it was a long shot.”
She rubbed her eyes. “This computer isn’t going to be any different, is it?”
“Probably not. Unless you’re right about Daria wanting to show you something on it.”
“Well, while Annie’s working on that end, let’s finish up in here.”
They worked in silence before Linc stopped to examine one of the paintings on the wall. The name in the bottom right-hand corner lifted his brow. “Daria? Wow. She’s talented.”
“Very.” Allie looked up from her search of the sideboard behind the dining table.
“This seems to indicate that Nevsky is proud of her,” Linc said. “That doesn’t jibe with the man who wants to kill her.”
“Those were done when her mother was alive. She hung them.”
“Ah. What happened to her mother?”
“Car wreck two years ago.”
“That’s right. It was ruled an accident?”
“That’s what the report said.” Allie stood and joined him to study the painting. “She was married to Nevsky, so who knows?” She sighed. “How are we on the game?”
“I’ll check.” He slipped to the window and glanced through the parted blinds. “Looks like it might be wrapping up,” he said.
“Do you want to watch the door while I search upstairs?” she asked. “There are two bedrooms and two baths. It shouldn’t take long.”
“I’m right behind you. It’ll go faster if we’re both looking. And besides, we’ll hear if someone comes in.”
She led the way and quickly had their search of the second floor turn up void. Back on the first floor in the kitchen area, Allie frowned. “Nothing.”
“What if she had it with her at the office building and Nevsky already got it?” Linc asked.
“She didn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she hadn’t been tortured and she was still alive.”
True.
“I think we got there before Nevsky did,” Allie said. “I know she’d been there at least a day before I got her text message. I think Nevsky was letting her sweat it out, using psychological warfare, so to speak. She knows what he’s capable of and he was letting her think about that.”
“Then we got her out just in time.”
“Yes, but if he gets his hands on her again, he won’t hesitate to start right in with the physical stuff.”
“And we can’t let that happen.”
“Right. We’re going to have to slip into the main house and into Daria’s bedroom.”
“That’s going to be tough. No one’s looked at us twice out here, but inside . . .” He blew out a low breath.
“I know.”
He nodded. “I’ve got your back.”
“Do we have a plan?” Allie murmured.
“To not get killed.”
“I’m good with that.”
Instead of a plan, they had an opportunity and were going to go with it. It wouldn’t be the first time. From the pool house, they made their way around the edge of the sparkling aqua water, nodding and smiling as though they were supposed to be there. Allie snitched a glass of champagne from one of the trays and lifted it in a toast to the couple next to her. They grinned and did the same, then sipped.
Without taking her eyes from the milling people, Allie set her glass on the edge of the table and grasped Linc’s hand, her heart still trembling from the kiss and ear nuzzling, no matter how much she tried to act unaffected. She missed him. Missed sharing laughter, movies, and pizza nights. Missed their in-depth conversations about faith and God. He always made her think.
But . . . she had to do what she was meant to do. Take down Nevsky and find the one who’d murdered her family.
Linc gripped her fingers and pulled her toward the open door that led to the game room. Inside, the crowd thickened, if that was even possible, but Allie was grateful. Sweat dripped from her brow and she dabbed at it, hoping it didn’t run through the heavy foundation base she’d applied.
He put an arm around her shoulders. “So, which way?”
“Up the stairs to the next floor, then up the next set. At least we don’t have to worry about the alarm.”
Linc dropped his arm and took her hand, threading through the crowd.
Allie led them up the stairs, and as they reached the first floor, just off the kitchen, she heard treading on the steps behind them. A quick glance back gave her a glimpse of black clothing.
“Behind us.” She dove for the pantry door and yanked Linc inside with her.
He swung the door closed and pulled her toward him. “Ready for another kiss?”
“Wha—?”
And then he was kissing her. She was going to have a hard time sticking to her resolution that she was completely wrong for him if they didn’t stop with the kissing.
The door opened.
Lips still connected with Linc’s, Allie glanced up to find James Killian, the bodyguard she’d seen the most while employed as Nevsky’s cook. His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second before she dropped her lids and slid her hand to her Glock sitting snugly in her shoulder holster. Linc reached for his as well, his hand grazing her hip as he wrapped his fingers around the grip.
Killian was still lasering them with his dark gaze.
Linc lifted his head and pressed Allie’s face against his shoulder.
“Get a ro
om,” Killian muttered. “You’re not supposed to be up here. The party’s at the pool and in the game room only.”
“Right,” Linc said. Allie stood still, her weapon snug against her palm, waiting, ready to act if Killian decided to play rough. “Give us a minute and we’ll be right down.”
“You’ve got sixty seconds,” Killian said. “I’ll be looking for you. If you’re not there, I’ll find you and escort you off the property myself—and it won’t be pleasant if you make me do that.” Confident that they would obey him, he shoved the door wide open and spun around.
“He’s an arrogant one, isn’t he?” Linc whispered.
“Yes.” When Killian had disappeared down to the game room again, Allie stepped back and sucked in a lungful of air. “Hurry,” she urged.
“That was James Killian,” Linc said. One of Nevsky’s most trusted bodyguards and suspected assassins.
“I recognized him.” She stepped into the kitchen and motioned for Linc to follow.
“Did he recognize you?”
“No. At least I don’t think so. He makes my teeth itch, though.”
He shut the door behind them.
Allie led the way through the familiar kitchen. Three of the caterers were working at the island, their movements efficient and well rehearsed. They earned a glance from each of the workers before being dismissed as no one important—or no one they should speak to. She motioned for Linc to follow into the living area.
And stopped. One entire side of the room was windows that faced the pool. She turned to Linc. “If we keep going,” she whispered, “we’re going to be completely exposed in front of those windows. If Killian’s out there, he may see us. And I don’t trust him not to just shoot through the windows. It’s not like anyone here would say a word about it.”
“Is there another way to the second floor?”
“Not without passing a lot of windows.”
Linc glanced around the column. “Yeah, I see him. He’s got his eyes on the game room door.” Which was right below the windows they needed to pass to reach the stairs. “We’ll have to wait for him to turn his back. I’ll go first.”
“Why? So you can draw fire if Killian’s watching?”
He darted across the room and was on the other side near the stairs before she could blink. “You rat,” she whispered. He held up a hand, palm facing her while he watched the windows from behind the cover of the large recliner. Seconds ticked past. Sounds from the kitchen intensified as her adrenaline made her nerves hum. Then Linc motioned to her with a flick of his hand.
She mimicked his example, ducking low and keeping as many pieces of the heavy furniture between her and the windows as possible. When she reached him, she looked up at him and found his gaze on the windows, weapon aimed.
“Killian’s out there and he’s facing this way.”
“Did he see us?”
“I don’t think so.”
She punched his biceps and he frowned. “Hey, what was that for?”
“You went first.”
“The opportunity presented itself and I took it.”
“Always the protector, aren’t you?” She refused to admit there was no heat in her words.
His eyes softened. “For you? As long as there’s breath in my body—even if I am still mad that you and Henry let me think you were dead.”
Allie ignored the last part of his statement and silently admitted she couldn’t get angry about his protective instincts. She knew he trusted her skills as an agent, but as a man who believed himself in love with her, he saw it as his duty to protect her as well.
Having had a protector once upon a time—and then been betrayed by him—she’d set out to never need protecting. Ever. However, Linc had worked his way under her skin—and into her heart, if she was honest—and now she wasn’t sure what to do with him. The truth was, she found the whole thing unsettling.
And comforting.
Which could prove to be a deadly distraction for him. And her.
She drew in a deep breath and led the way up the steps, gun still pulled, safety off. Now that they were out of the area where the party was, there was no telling who was in the house. With cautious steps, she rounded the corner at the top of the staircase.
And saw nothing and no one.
On silent feet, she slipped into Daria’s room and Linc followed, shutting the door behind them. “What are we looking for?” he asked.
“Anything that could be used to store information from a security system. A flash drive, an SD card, a laptop?” She paused.
“What is it?”
“She had her laptop with her when we rescued her. Before she disappeared.”
“You think she’d keep the evidence on there?”
“Unlikely. But even if she did, I think she’d have a backup somewhere. She’s smart and thinks like an agent.”
“Or someone used to living with a man she knows is a murderer,” Linc said.
“Or that.”
Allie picked up the picture she’d noticed that last day here. Daria’s face still held the same smile, but Allie’s attention zeroed in on the cabin in the background. And she knew. A laugh escaped her.
“What is it?” Linc asked.
“I know where she’d go,” she said softly.
11
The door burst in.
Instinct sent Allie diving for cover behind the bed.
Less than a second behind Allie, Linc hunkered down as a spate of bullets hit the wall behind them.
“You think I don’t know who you are?” the shooter spat. “FBI Special Agent Linc St. John? You think you can hide behind some makeup and glasses?”
Another round of bullets flew over the bed and slammed into the wall behind them and the mattress in front of them.
Rolling, Linc swung his weapon around the end of the bed and fired back. Over the ringing in his ears, he heard a grunt, then running footsteps.
Allie beat him out the door by a nanosecond. He snagged her arm and pulled her back inside, slammed and locked the door. She yanked away from him. “What are you doing?”
“We’re outnumbered and outgunned. We’re not going after him.”
“Right. So letting them trap us in here is a better idea?”
“You got out once, we can do it again the same way.”
“True. This way.” Allie went to the window and shoved it up. Just like when she’d been with Daria, she climbed out and pulled herself up on the roof. Linc followed and she placed a hand on his arm and motioned for him to sit beside her.
His phone buzzed and he realized it had been going off for quite a while. “Brady and Izzy are on the way in.”
“Tell them to stay back unless they’ve got help. They’ll get slaughtered.”
He tapped in the text and pushed send. Allie walked up the roof, déjà vu hitting her hard. When she reached the top, she looked out. “Whoa.”
Linc crested the roof. “What is it?”
“Come look.”
He made his way to her and drew in a deep breath. “Well, I should have known this might happen.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t answer my texts.”
“Your brother and sister called in the reinforcements?”
“Yep.”
Flashing blue lights from more vehicles than she could count lit up the night. Partiers, realizing their good time was coming to an abrupt ending, scattered. Only to be stopped by the advancing army of law enforcement who’d drawn their weapons and were yelling orders.
“Well, this didn’t go as well as I’d hoped,” Allie muttered, watching the scene play out.
“This was an off-the-charts no-no. We’re going to be in so much trouble,” he said.
“We? You mean you. Not me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m dead, remember? I believe that makes me exempt.”
Linc rolled his eyes, then narrowed them, focusing on the scene below. “The shooter’s still around somewhere.”
“With an automatic weapon.”
“I’m going after him.”
“The officers know he’s still here. They’ll be looking for him.”
“I’m going to help. Stay here until I let you know it’s safe for you to come down without anyone seeing you.”
He started down and she caught his forearm. “I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?” she asked when he met her gaze. “Staying dead is very deceptive, and while I get why Henry wants me to do it, I . . . I . . .”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s bothering me about it.”
“You know what bothers me?”
“What?”
“We never did see Nevsky tonight.”
She nodded. “I noticed that. I also noticed that Killian recognized you but didn’t seem to know who I was.”
“He might suspect.”
“Even though he thinks I’m dead?” She shook her head. “I doubt it. I’m safe for now. But you’re not. Nevsky’s going to come looking for you for sure now.”
Linc rubbed a hand over his chin. “No, not if we get to Killian first and keep him from talking. He’s probably still around here, because I think I managed to wing him with my shot.”
“How are we going to keep him from talking to Nevsky? He could have already sent him a message or called him.”
“Only one way to find out.” Linc nodded to the chaos down below. “The place is surrounded. A few people might have managed to slip away, but not many. I’m going to see if Killian was rounded up.”
“If you hit him, he’s going to look for a place to lay low until everything dies down. He won’t head to the hospital.”
“No, he’ll go dark. He may even be hiding in the house somewhere. Any ideas where? A hidden room or passage?”
“No, nothing like that. At least nothing that I ever saw.”
Linc gave a low sigh. “We need to find him. I know what he looks like. I’m going to see if I can spot him, but I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m going to sit up here and observe. Just don’t let Killian spot you first.”
“Yeah.” He paused.
“What is it?” she asked.
He glanced around, then shook his head. “The next time I’m part of a raid, remind me to check the roof first.”
Vow of Justice Page 10