The same group of five moved across the screen, toward the empty cabin, systematically surrounding the building before one of the men crept up the steps and punched at the keypad.
The air left Wade’s lungs. “They’re trying to get in.”
“They do more than try.” Dutch barely glanced up at him before reaching out to stop the playback.
Wade grabbed his outstretched arm, holding firm as the video continued to play. He watched as the man shoved open the door and walked in.
“They knew the code.” Wade dropped Dutch’s arm as Brock kicked his feet from the table and jumped from his seat.
“What did you say?” He shoved in on the other side of Dutch, eyes narrowing on the screen as the man came out the back door and punched at the pad again. “Did that fucker lock the door behind him?”
“Seems like.” Dutch looked from Wade to Brock. “If they have the code to seven—”
“Shit.” Wade pulled Parker into his chest and moved from behind the desk. “Shit.” He wiped one hand down his face.
“How in the hell did they get the code?” Brock’s narrowed gaze turned to Dutch.
“Same way they found all our safe houses.” Dutch dropped back into the chair. “They hacked into our system.” He pulled one of the laptops closer and started typing again. “They hit the other two cabins right before this one so I haven’t had time to try to find how they got in, but if I’m looking for that it means I can’t be trying to find out who they fuck they are.”
“We need another man on this.” The words were barely out of Wade’s mouth when Shawn came into the office.
“I’ve got leads on a few specialists.” He flipped out a paper. “You got any preferences?”
Dutch didn’t even look up. “The best one.”
“Got it.” Shawn thumbed across the screen of his phone. “I’ll have them here tonight.”
“Get him here as fast as you can.” Dutch shook his head. “Until then I’ve got to lock everything down and go offline.”
“What’s that involve?” Brock stood back as Shawn stepped in to pass Dutch a large insulated cup.
“We’ve got to manually reset the codes on all the safe houses. Everyone has to ditch their phones and get new trash cells.” He pulled the ear piece out of his ear. “I gotta shut these off too. They run through the system.”
Brock’s gaze met Wade’s before moving to Shawn. “How long till we can have that hacker here?”
“Tonight at the earliest.”
“And then he has to find how they got in and figure out how to fix it.” Dutch shook his head. “We might not be back online for days.”
The room went quiet for a minute. Finally Dutch took a deep breath, eyes settling on Wade. “You gotta ask her what the fuck is going on, man. This can’t be just a pissed off ex.”
“He’s a senator’s son.” The explanation was weak at best. Even a senator’s son wouldn’t have access to a team like the one they were dealing with. “He thinks Parker is his.”
“Is he?” Shawn looked from the little boy to Wade.
Wade shook his head. “No.”
Shawn nodded. “The first thing we’re doing is getting proof of that. Then we’re sending it out to every-fucking-one involved. If by some chance this is her ex, maybe it will calm his tits a little.”
“Or it’ll piss him off more.” Brock propped one ass cheek on the desk beside where Dutch was completely focused on his computers.
“Good.” Shawn leaned against the door casing. “Maybe we can push him over the edge. Give us the opportunity to end this the easy way.”
Brock’s dark eyes moved to Wade. “She know what could happen?”
Wade nodded. “I made it pretty clear.”
His partner’s gaze didn’t waver. “She gonna look at you the same after you kill someone she knows?”
“As long as she’s safe she can look at me however she wants.” Wade turned to Shawn. “Get me a new phone and get one for Bess.” He glanced back at Dutch. “Find out where the fuck Chris is.” He was almost out the door when Brock’s voice stopped him.
“Find out what this is really about, Wade. It’s the only way we might be able to keep her safe.”
Wade barely nodded as he walked out of the office.
“I’m not hiding anything.”
He jumped back, spinning to find Bess sitting on the ground beside the office door. Her pale brows lifted. “What?”
“Why are you sitting on the floor?”
“Because no one ever looks down.” She pushed up from her spot. “Makes it easier to listen without being caught.”
“You could have come in.”
Bess shook her head. “You were right. They wouldn’t have said half of what they did if they knew I was listening.” She’d changed out of her pine-needle-littered pajamas and was now in a pair of fitted jeans and a bulky white sweater that seemed to swallow her up. “It has to be Chris.” Her hazel eyes searched his. “Right?”
She wanted him to tell her this was a danger she knew. One she was familiar with. One she could anticipate to a certain extent.
But he couldn’t lie to her. “How much money does he have at his disposal?”
Bessie’s brows came together. “I mean, a decent amount I guess.”
“Hundreds of thousands?” Wade stepped closer, feeling like she was too far away. “To spend on punishing you?”
“Hundreds of thousands?” The lines between her brows deepened. “What would—”
“There’s someone out there willing to spend that much to have you taken out, Bess.”
“Taken out?” Her skin paled.
“Those men weren’t shooting at you for fun. They had every intention of hitting you and anyone who got in the way.”
“But I was in that big coat. The hood was up. Maybe they thought I was one of you.” Her words came faster and faster as she tried to reason what happened away.
He shook his head. “We are trained to be positive before we shoot, Sweetheart. Those men were aiming for you.”
“What do you mean, we?” The words were hushed as if she could barely get them out her lips.
“Those men were trained to kill.” He took a breath, knowing what he said next could change everything. “Like me.”
Her whole body was still, eyes locked onto him. “You would do that?”
“No. We don’t take hit jobs.” Wade wanted to hold her. Explain all the ways he was different from the men trying to hurt her.
But the truth was the differences were few.
“Is that what you think that was? A hit?” Bess was surprisingly calm considering she was most likely the target of a well-trained team of hit men.
“We’re not sure what is going on just yet.” Shawn stepped out of the office. “Why don’t you come in and see if we can figure out what’s going on?” He stepped to one side, letting Bess pass him into the room. Before Wade could follow, Shawn blocked his path. “I think we need to talk to her without you.”
“Like hell.” Wade grabbed Shawn by the front of his shirt, fisting the fabric tight as he shoved him to one side, only to be blocked again. This time by Brock.
“He’s right.” Brock reached out to tickle Parker’s belly. “Why don’t you and little man here go have a snack or something?” Brock pulled the door most of the way closed. “I’ll take care of her. I promise. We need her to be honest and she might not tell you the whole truth.”
The accuracy of his statement stung.
He and Bess didn’t have the best track record when it came to telling each other the truth. “Fine.” Wade shoved a finger in his friend’s face. “But I swear to God if you upset her I will kick every ass in that room.”
“And I thought you were a pain in the ass before.” Brock shut the door.
Wade tried to twist the handle.
Locked.
Bastard locked him out.
“You’re not getting in until we’re done, Wade. Go play with your kid.” Brock’s
voice carried through the wood panel.
Wade glared at the door for a second before Parker started getting restless in his arms.
“Alright, Buddy.” Wade carefully set the toddler on his feet. “You wanna run around a little?”
Parker held up one hand, opening and closing his fingers. “Hep.”
Wade tucked his pointer and middle finger into Parker’s fist. “I’ll help you.” He walked behind, bent over, as Parker walked toward the kitchen where Tyson, Nate, and Abe were sitting around the island, a line of cells between them. Tyson glanced up. “How’s your arm?”
“Fine.” It was amazing how easy it was to forget you’d been shot. “What are you doing?”
“Setting up phones.” Abe thumbed across the screen of the cell in his hand. “Dutch usually does it, but he’s covered up.”
Wade grabbed the box of Cheerios off the counter and dumped some into a small plastic bowl before dropping Parker into his high-chair and setting the bowl on the tray. He sat on the stool next to him and grabbed a phone.
Nate slid a sheet of numbers his way. Each was labeled with one of their names. “Program those in. Sounds like we’re going old school, so this is all we’ve got for a while.”
“Who’s going to reset the codes on the cabins?”
Tyson glanced up from his phone. “We’re going out when we’re done with this. You comin’?”
Wade glanced at the door, then at Parker. “Maybe.”
CHAPTER 10
BESS GLANCED AT the door as it opened. Her heart picked up, expecting to see Wade.
Instead Tyson gave her a small smile when his eyes caught hers. One that looked a little like an apology.
Brock turned his back to her as the two men spoke low enough she couldn’t hear anything.
“Are you positive there isn’t anything else?”
Shawn was sitting across the large table, elbows leaned on the surface as he stared at her.
Bess pulled her attention from the men at the door. “There’s literally nothing else.” When she looked back at the door it was shut again and now Brock was gone too.
Leaving her alone with Shawn and Dutch, who hadn’t looked up from his computers once in the last hour.
“There has to be something, Bess.” It almost seemed like Shawn was pleading with her. “Nothing will leave this room. I swear.”
She focused on Shawn. He wasn’t bad looking. Tall and broad like the rest of the men filling the cabin, with blond hair and grey eyes. Most women probably fell all over themselves when his attention was focused on them.
Right now it was just pissing her off.
“Are you insinuating something?”
“No.” He blew out a breath. “No. I’m just saying you can and should tell me anything that might be relevant.”
“I feel like you think I’m hiding something because I don’t want Wade to find out.” She stared him down.
Shawn leaned closer, his gaze steady. “I think there’s a man in the other room who feels pretty sure his whole life changed. If there’s a chance it’s not true, I need to know.”
“Chris doesn’t care about Parker outside of the fact that he can use him against me.” Bess straightened in her seat. “As far as who Parker’s father is, there’s a slim chance it is Chris. I’ve never tried to hide that.” She narrowed her eyes on Shawn. “From anyone.”
He stared at her for a second before the corners of his mouth twitched. “I read the police reports, Bess.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So.”
Shawn leaned back in his seat. “You jumped onto a moving car to save your son.”
Bess lifted one shoulder. “I fell back off.”
He nodded slowly. “That didn’t stop you though, did it?”
“He had my son.” The memory of that day was enough to send her to her feet. “I want Parker. Where is he? Where’s Wade?” Bess rounded the table, shoving into Shawn as he tried to block her from leaving. “Get out of my way.”
“Parker is fine. He’s with Brock.” Shawn grabbed her arms.
“Brock?” Why would he be with Brock? Bess spun her arms inward, breaking the grip Shawn had on her. “Where’s Wade? He’s supposed to be with Wade.” She grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. “Wade?”
The cabin was quiet as she rushed into the great room. Brock sat on the floor with Parker, an array of toys scattered around them. He glanced up as she rushed in.
“Where’s Wade?” Bess scanned the space as she dropped to pick Parker up, pulling her wiggling son into a hug.
“He’ll be back soon.” Brock leaned back against the large sectional dominating the space.
She took a breath against Parker’s head, trying to soothe the panic building in her stomach. Parker was safe. He was here with her.
Except Parker’s safety wasn’t the only one she now had to worry about. “Where did he go?”
“He just had a couple errands to run.” Brock grabbed the remote off the coffee table and switched on the large-screened television. “He’ll be back in a little bit.”
“What errands is he running?”
Brock stared at the television. Ignoring her.
“Wade told you to tell me whatever I wanted to know, remember?”
“Shit.” Brock dropped his head back to the couch behind him. “I’m gonna kick his ass the next time I see him.”
“Liar.” She’d heard every man in the house threaten to kick someone’s ass in the past twenty-four hours and had yet to see any ass-kicking happen. “Where is he?”
“He’s helping reset the codes on the safe houses.” Shawn came into the room behind her.
She turned to face Shawn. “Why?”
“Because this is his job, Bess. It’s what he does.” Shawn stopped just in front of her. His gaze barely flicked to where she clutched Parker to her chest. “And I don’t think that’s going to change.”
She tipped her chin up. “If you think I’m the kind of girl who makes her choices based on what other people think, then you’re wrong.” Bess shot him one last glare before spinning away and marching into the master bedroom.
She needed some freaking space from the mounds of testosterone bleeding into her life. The slam of the door at her back felt better than it should.
Temper tantrums were ridiculous. They made it look like you didn’t have control over yourself or your life.
But right now she didn’t seem to have too much of either.
“I think your mommy’s going a little crazy, Park.” Bess stretched her little boy across the bed and went to work changing his diaper. It was a simple act, but one that had always been oddly soothing. Taking care of Parker was what got her through this past year. All her attention went to him. To his needs.
It kept her from thinking about her own.
About how alone she felt. How alone she was.
“Damn it.” Bess swiped her forearm under her nose.
Shawn might be right.
It was the reason Wade claimed he left her that night. Maybe he liked this life. Liked the rush he must get every time he did something like what he was doing now.
Maybe his whole plan was to do his job and move on. Prove Chris wasn’t Parker’s father. Right the chaos of her life.
And then disappear.
Again.
****
BESS SAT UPRIGHT in the bed, jerking awake in an instant. It only took a second to register the form of a man looming over the bed where she and Parker fell asleep. She grabbed Parker and rolled away from the man reaching for her, trying to get her son as far from his reach as she could.
“Bess, it’s me.” Wade grabbed her just as her body started to slide off the side of the mattress. He dragged her back across the bed, pulling her and Parker closer. “Be careful. You’re going to wake him up.” Wade’s voice was soft. “Brock said he just fell asleep.” One large hand settled onto Parker’s back, pausing a second before sliding up to rest against his head. “He feels hot.”
“I think he’s getting more teeth.” Bess had walked the floor with Parker, his fussiness working as a convenient excuse to pace, as she waited for Wade to come back. “Where were you?”
Wade’s hand moved from Parker to her, brushing the hair off her face with a gentle touch. Would he touch her like that if his intention was to let her go again?
Maybe.
“We had to reset all the codes on our cabins manually. I went with the team that did it so I could see if there was anything that might help us figure out who is involved in this besides Chris.” Wade eased down beside her, his movement sending the damp scent of fresh soap into the air between them. “This isn’t Chris, Bess.”
“It is.” They didn’t know her. She understood that, but in her whole life she’d only had one enemy.
One.
And so far he’d held her against her will, kidnapped her son, assaulted her, and stalked her. “It has to be him.”
Wade’s hand curved against the side of her face. “I’m not saying I think Chris is innocent.” He scooted a little closer, pulling her against him with Parker tucked safely between their bodies. “But there is more to this than a pissed off senator’s son.”
An odd sensation bubbled its way through her, sneaking up and out.
“Bess. Why are you laughing? I’m serious.”
“Because it’s ridiculous. You’re saying there’s not just one, but two people who want to kill me.” Bess wiped at one eye as it started to water. “I’m nobody. I’m some chick who lives in Oregon and works for her parents. I don’t go out. I don’t socialize. You can count the people who know me on your fingers.”
And how freaking depressing was that? Her night with Wade was the most exciting thing she’d ever done. The biggest risk she’d ever taken.
“Maybe it’s not about you then.” There was something off in Wade’s tone. He shifted off the bed. He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Go back to sleep.”
And then he was gone.
A-freaking-gain.
Whatever. She’d been alone for two years and would have been just fine if Chris hadn’t gone crazy.
She could be alone again.
It would be just fine.
Bess curled around her sleeping son’s little body, resting her lips against his sweaty head. If Wade wanted to fix this mess and then go on his way then so be it.
Loss Recovery (Alaskan Security: Team Rogue Book 1) Page 9
