“Anytime, Quinn Ross.”
She stood and left. And Wyatt was already looking forward to the next morning, when he would receive the next piece of the Quinn Ross puzzle.
Chapter 2
Quinn shot a glance at the sign that welcomed her to Tyler, Texas. She’d been driving for over four hours and oh lordy, did her butt know it.
She’d lost track of the number of times she’d considered pulling over and stretching her legs. Not stopping had been a mental battle. But she’d won. Not one stop.
Because even though her butt would have thanked her, she didn’t have the time. And that was entirely her fault.
She should have left earlier. A lot earlier. That was easier said than done. Tearing herself away from the witty and oh-so-beautiful Wyatt was no easy feat.
Hell, she could stay and talk to the man all day. Not just talk—stare at, laugh with, swoon over.
Every morning for the last week, she’d joined him for coffee. And each day their time together grew longer. At this rate, they’d be spending entire days together. Maybe then she’d be able to find a flaw in the guy.
So far, she’d found he had a hot bod—check. He was easy to talk to—check. And whenever he smiled, there were these lines around his eyes that crinkled and turned her insides to mush—check, check.
God. She was losing it. Obsessing over her new neighbor. How cliché was that? They barely even knew each other. Their topics of conversation were as far from the important stuff as it got.
Not that she was complaining. Wyatt was an escape from her real life. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her job loss, the story she couldn’t finish, or her quickly depleting bank account.
Shaking her head, she darted her eyes to the GPS. She was damn glad Mason had a car he’d let her use. Otherwise, this trip wouldn’t be possible. She was a street away from The Diner. The place was actually called “The Diner.” Maya had chosen the meeting location.
Over the last week, Quinn and Maya had been emailing back and forth. It was only a few days ago that Quinn had discovered Maya’s location. And she could not believe her luck. Tyler, Texas!
Not only was that the same state as Quinn, it was also within driving distance. Yes, the travel there and back would take all day, but she wouldn’t have been able to afford a flight anywhere, and she always preferred to speak to a witness in person.
The fact that the other woman had disclosed her location could be good or bad. Good, because it meant she trusted Quinn. Or bad, because she was drawing her to Tyler for a reason.
It was a chance Quinn was willing to take to acquire the information she needed.
Quinn had discovered early on in her career that there were two ways to learn more about a person’s story. The first was over the phone. Some people enjoyed the anonymity and could open up more without the added pressure of meeting.
The other way, and Quinn’s personal preference, was hearing a person’s story face-to-face. Mostly because she could read their body language. Catch the micro expressions that crossed the other persons’ face before they had a chance to hide them.
Turning onto Broadway Avenue, Quinn spotted the eatery. Her gaze flicked to the clock. Five minutes early. It wasn’t the twenty minutes she’d planned for, but early was early. And it was a whole lot better than late.
Being late wasn’t an option. From their email exchanges, Maya seemed flighty. Scared. Who the heck wouldn’t be after what she’d seen? That meant if Maya arrived at the diner first, and didn’t spot Quinn, there was a chance the other woman might just turn around and walk back out. And that was something Quinn didn’t want to risk.
Pulling into a parking lot beside the diner, Quinn grabbed her bag. There was a notepad inside but she wouldn’t be using it. People were a lot more open when there was no pen and paper. They were more relaxed when they felt like they were just having a conversation with a friend.
Climbing out of the car, Quinn headed to the entrance. She knew what the other woman looked like because she’d looked her up. Her picture had been connected to an academic paper she’d written.
Late twenties, soft features, light brown hair and eyes.
The moment she stepped inside, her eyes scanned the place. Booths and tables sat to the left, with a long counter to the right.
No sign of Maya.
Choosing a booth in the corner, Quinn sat so that she had a good view of the entrance.
As she waited, Quinn tried to stop the nervous tapping of her foot. She hated to admit it, but she was tense. This story was important. She needed to know why pursuing it had cost her a job.
Maya was her only lead. Every other witness was dead. The only other people who had any information were law enforcement, and they wouldn’t tell her diddly-squat.
When a young woman with light brown colored hair and intelligent eyes stepped inside the diner, Quinn straightened. It was her. She could feel it.
Maya’s gaze immediately went to Quinn, but the other woman didn’t move. She looked anxious. For a moment, Quinn thought she might turn and leave again.
Quinn’s hand went to her bag, ready to jump up and chase.
Just before Quinn stood, Maya began walking forward, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings.
Taking the seat opposite Quinn, Maya’s chest rose and fell in quick succession. Like she was trying to calm herself. Dark circles shadowed her eyes and her skin was pale.
Quinn smiled, wanting to appear as friendly as possible. “Hi, Maya, I’m Quinn Ross. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
Maya studied Quinn’s face. It almost seemed like she was searching for something. What, exactly, Quinn wasn’t sure.
“I can’t stay long. I’m trying to remain off the grid. I only came because you said you may be able to publish my story. I want everyone to know what happened. I don’t want more lab technicians dying.”
She sure hoped she could publish the story. She wasn’t an employee for The New York Times anymore, but there were other newspapers that may publish it.
“Is that why you left New York? Because you felt like you needed to hide from someone?”
“I couldn’t stay there. I didn’t feel safe. I needed to leave. Disappear.”
She could understand why Maya would feel that way. She’d seen multiple murders. Was the only living witness. Quinn was surprised she hadn’t been placed in some kind of government protection facility.
“Will you tell me about what you saw?”
Before Maya could respond, the waitress came to the table. “What can I get you ladies today?”
Maya shrank back, remaining silent.
“Two coffees and an order of fries, please.” Quinn looked across at Maya. “Did you want anything else?”
Maya shook her head, avoiding eye contact.
Jeez. Maya was in worse condition than Quinn had thought she’d be.
The waitress nodded. It wasn’t until they were alone again that Maya spoke softly. “How did you find out about all this?”
Sheer luck. At first, Quinn thought stumbling across the story had been good luck. So far, it had brought nothing but problems.
Quinn wouldn’t turn back time, though. There was a reason she’d discovered this story. And she needed to work out what that reason was.
“I lived in an apartment in New York. On my walk to work, I used to pass the pharmaceutical company you worked for, Novac. I’m an early riser, so it became a habit to get to work early.” Quinn leaned forward. “Like, before-the-sun-comes-up kind of early, because I’m a bit of a nutter.”
Maya didn’t even crack a smile.
“Just over a month ago, I noticed the building was cordoned off. Police and paramedics were out front. There were also bodies being rolled out with sheets over them. I tried speaking to the police, but no one would give me any information about what was going on. So, the moment I got to my office, I began researching the company. I couldn’t find anything that would raise an alarm.”
That hadn’t stopped Quinn. She’d felt in her gut that this was something she should be looking into.
“I widened my search. Looked at pharmaceutical companies across the country. Employees of pharmaceutical companies. That’s when I found a lab technician in Alabama who’d died less than two months earlier. When I dug deeper, I found three more had died that same day, in the exact same town. And do you know where they all worked? Briar’s Pharmaceuticals.”
Maya was now watching Quinn closely.
“You wrote to me and told me that your colleagues, the other lab technicians, were killed right in front of you. That excipient and active pharmaceutical ingredients were stolen. I don’t think it was the first time. And the thing is, it should be newsworthy. Heck, it deserves at least a small online article. But there’s nothing. Absolutely no story anywhere. No one has reported on what happened in Alabama, just like no one reported on what happened in New York.”
And Quinn wanted to know why. No, she needed to know why.
Maya’s chest expanded as she took a deep breath. “Now you want to be the one to write the story and publish it in The New York Times?”
She had. Quinn hadn’t told Maya about losing her job.
“That’s what I wanted to do,” Quinn corrected. “My boss told me to drop the story. When I didn’t, when I kept digging, he fired me.”
Which told Quinn that there was something going on here. Something bigger than a few petty thugs, stealing materials to sell on the streets.
Maya frowned. “You lost your job over the story and you’re still researching it?”
Yes. Absolutely, yes. “Maya, I write about the news because I believe in freedom of information. I believe that everyone should have access to all the facts. If, for example, you had known about the break-in in Alabama, that a workplace very similar to yours was raided and lab technicians were murdered, you would have been able to make an informed decision about whether to keep working for a pharmaceutical company. And so, too, would your colleagues who didn’t survive.”
Tears gathered in Maya’s eyes. “That’s true. They were good people. Smart. They had lives. Families. And they were murdered right in front of me. Like their lives meant nothing.”
Quinn reached her hand across the table and placed it on top of hers. “Tell me.”
Maya hung her head but didn’t pull her hand away. “There were six of us on shift. These men just walked in. Huge men. The doors were locked, so they shouldn’t have been able to access us.” She looked up with so much anguish in her eyes it almost caused Quinn pain. “Steve was closest to them. They walked up to him and snapped his neck like it was a twig. Josie turned to run. She’d only taken one step when one of the men appeared in front of her. He ran so fast, no one saw him move.”
Goose bumps rose on Quinn’s arms. “Are you sure that’s what you saw?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it. I thought I was in a nightmare. But it happened right in front of me. The man lifted Josie by the neck like she weighed nothing and choked the life out of her. This man was strong. Inhumanly strong.”
Maya paused as the coffees were placed in front of them.
When the waitress moved away from the table, a tear slid down Maya’s cheek. “I just stood there as the life left Josie’s eyes. Too terrified to move.”
Quinn was already shaking her head. “You wouldn’t have been able to stop him if you did move. You would have just gotten yourself killed.”
“One of the men moved around the lab and filled sacks with materials, and the other two killed my team one by one. At one point, a man commented on being able to hear a person’s heart. He was laughing about the fact that he could hear when it stopped beating.”
Maya moved her hands to the coffee. Her fingers were visibly shaking.
“Why are you still alive, Maya?” Because it sounded like the criminals had wanted every person in the room dead and were more than capable of achieving it.
“I was the farthest from the door, so I was last. The man grabbed my arm and threw me against the far wall. When I hit the ground, I was barely conscious. I was waiting for him to come and finish me off…but he didn’t. They seemed to get distracted by the sound of police coming. Of an ambulance siren.”
“I don’t understand. Why would they leave you alive?” If the man was as fast and strong as Maya described, it would have taken two seconds for him to snap her neck like he had her colleagues’.
“I think it’s because of my congenital heart condition. It’s called atrial septal defect. Basically, I have a hole in my heart. One of the side effects is that my heart can skip a beat. The only thing I can think is that, after they threw me, my heart skipped a beat right before they left in a hurry.” Maya gave a sad smile. “I know the odds of my heart skipping a beat at exactly the right moment are a million to one. I’ve gone over it so many times in my head, and that’s the only thing I can think of that may have saved me.”
Quinn didn’t know what to say. That was one hell of a story.
“I know you probably won’t believe any of this,” Maya continued. “Even I struggle with it, and I was there.”
Quinn couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “I believe you. And I’m going to try and help you.”
“I don’t want anyone’s help.” There was desperation to Maya’s words. “I just want to disappear. I only agreed to come today because I don’t want anyone else to experience what I went through. I’m leaving it with you so you can get this story out there.”
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I’m going to find out what’s going on, and I’m going to warn people. But, I also want to help you.”
The other woman didn’t look convinced. If anything, Quinn seemed to upset her further. “You didn’t see these guys. They weren’t men. They were something else. Unstoppable. Killers without a conscience. Maybe I shouldn’t have come today. The only thing I can do to save myself is vanish.”
Maya stood abruptly. Throwing money on the table, she began walking toward the door.
Quinn scrambled to do the same and follow. “Maya, wait!”
Maya was halfway across the parking lot when Quinn grabbed her arm. The other woman turned but didn’t make eye contact.
“I know you’re scared. I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I’m being honest when I say that I’m going to try to help you. I don’t know how yet, but I will. Just please, don’t drop off the face of the Earth. Email me. Call me. You have my number. I know you must need a friend. I want to be that friend. Anything you need.”
She felt a level of responsibility for Maya’s safety. Maybe because she’d trusted Quinn enough to meet. Or maybe because it looked like she had no one else.
“If you care about your safety, you’ll leave this alone.”
Quinn shrugged. “I can’t. I’m too invested.” She had to follow through. There was no way she was walking away now. “Please. Promise me you’ll stay in contact.”
Another beat of silence passed before Maya nodded. “Okay.”
Yes. At least the guilt of not helping and not knowing if Maya survived wouldn’t suffocate her.
“Thank you. And thank you for meeting me today and telling me your story.”
“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Chapter 3
Mrs. Potter’s Bakehouse was the most loved bakery in Marble Falls. Wyatt doubted there was a single local who didn’t rave about the place. Everything Mrs. Potter baked turned to gold.
Today was no different. He’d devoured his apple crumble, while Luca and Bodie had finished their slices in record time.
Heck, even the coffee was amazing. His second coffee of the day. He hadn’t finished the first. It had gone cold. All because he’d spent too damn long staring into those deep blue eyes of Quinn’s.
Keeping his eyes off her was a problem.
He hadn’t told his brothers about his mornings with Quinn. He hadn’t told anyone. Mason had even called a week ago,
letting him know his sister had moved into his old apartment. Wyatt hadn’t mentioned a thing about meeting her. Had yet to mention he’d been meeting her each and every morning.
He needed to figure out where their friendship was going first. He had an idea but needed to be sure before he broached the topic with his friend and business partner.
“I’m going to propose to Evie.”
Wyatt’s gaze flew to Luca.
Bodie threw his head back and his arms in the air. “Hallelujah! It’s about damn time.”
Hell yeah, it was. The couple was the epitome of the perfect pair.
Leaning forward, Wyatt clamped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Congratulations. That’s awesome news.”
Luca smiled ear to ear. “I would have done it sooner, but with everything that’s happened…”
Luca didn’t need to explain. Wyatt got it. “Everything” was the constant threat of their enemies.
Before they were business owners, Wyatt and his friends were Navy SEALs. That’s when their commander signed them up for Project Arma. A program that was supposed to make them better soldiers.
It did a lot more than that. The people running the project had their own agenda. The drugs administered to Wyatt’s team had permanently altered their DNA. The moment the true purpose of the project was uncovered, the government tried to shut it down, but the people behind the program went underground. Wyatt’s team had been hunting them for years.
Bodie’s expression hardened. “At least now that the commander has had his main facility raided, it should be a hell of a lot safer. He’s lost the majority of his guards, his scientists…the guy’s even lost his lab materials.”
Less than a month ago, they’d finally had a breakthrough. They’d found the location Hylar was working from and raided it, killing dozens of genetically altered guards in the process, as well as freeing prisoners and ensuring lab technicians were arrested.
Wyatt: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 5) Page 2
