“I think we may have figured out a way to separate him fromthat woman and the so-called wonder dog and leave him exposed. If the federalagents get hold of him…if there’s a trial and he gets to testify aboutthis…we’re all dead.”
“But won’t killing him just raise more eyebrows?” Zarifeprotested.
“Not at all. As we speak I’m planning to plant some anonymoustips that he was behind this whole thing, that he cheated the people he soldthe weapons to and they’re hunting him.”
“But that will throw suspicion on us,” Zarife cried. InAllah’s name please help me.
“So what? You’ve got your shipment and you’re halfway hometo reclaiming your territory. Just set off a few more bombs, kill a few morecoalition soldiers and no one will touch you.”
“Easy for you to say.” Zarife couldn’t keep the bitternessfrom his voice. “All you have to do is sit in your office like nothing’s wronguntil this blows over and you come out completely clean and millions of dollarsricher.”
“Brains, Zarife. That’s what I get the big bucks for. Nowget hold of your father and tell him to call me ASAP.”
* * * * *
Penobscot County sheriff Link Cabot was easy to spot whenMike pulled down the driveway to the farm. He’d flashed his Phoenix credentialsat the two deputies stationed out at the road and after some radio discussionwith their boss they had waved him on through. Cabot was standing at the edgeof the clearing where the house had been, his tall, thick body outlined by thestill flickering flames. Two self-contained fire trucks were pumping water asfast as they could but it was obvious to anyone they were just killing thefire. Both the house and kennel were completely destroyed.
“Mike.” Cabot nodded a tight-lipped greeting. “Someonedidn’t want Miss Monroe to have a home to come back to.”
“I’d say that’s pretty obvious,” Mike agreed. “Any idea yetwhat caused it?”
Cabot’s face tightened. “I’ve got the arson team startingtheir workup but it’s pretty obvious incendiary devices were used. More thanone. These were well-placed, timed explosions, geared to do the most damage.It’s a good thing that little girl wasn’t here when it happened.”
Mike swallowed a grin at hearing anyone refer to Kelly as a“little girl” but pushed ahead with his questions.
“You didn’t find any bodies, did you? When Kelly called meshe said her two assistants were on vacation so there shouldn’t have beenanyone there.”
“Nope. No bodies. Thank God.” He sighed, a weary sound.“Whoever did this knew exactly what he was doing. This was no amateuractivity.”
“If I watch where I step, is it okay if I take a quick lookaround?”
“Sure. Just stay outside the taped areas.”
The more he walked around and the more he saw, the sickerMike got. Cabot was right. This was a professional job. Someone had been ableto breach the security system, plant the devices and get away without leaving atrace. And the devices had been placed in such a way as to level both thekennels and the house.
He took his cell phone out of his pocket, punched the camerabutton and began shooting pictures. Much as he was going to hate showing themto her, he knew Kelly would insist on seeing for herself. Since they couldn’tallow her down here, he figured he’d better get plenty of shots.
When he headed back toward the front of the area, he sawCabot waving him over.
“Got something you might want to see.” The sheriff held up aclear plastic evidence bag containing a torn sheet of paper.
“What’s that?” Mike squinted at it.
“One of my guys found it right by the gate in the cyclonefence. Held down by a rock and far enough away that it didn’t get burned.”
“Whoever left it took quite a chance. Someone else couldhave kicked the rock over and picked it up.”
“Nah. He chose his place pretty carefully. Read what itsays.”
Although portable lights had been set up around theperimeter, reading was still difficult, so Mike pulled out his penlight flashand scanned it over the paper.
“Next time it will be you. Don’t get killed over RickLatrobe. He’s a crook and he’s going to jail.”
“Pretty much says it all.”
“Do you know this Rick Latrobe?” Cabot narrowed his eyes atMike.
“Yeah, I do. But I can’t imagine what he has to do withthis,” he fudged.
Cabot studied his face. “You’d tell me if there wassomething I needed to know, wouldn’t you, Mike?”
His face a bland mask, Mike said, “Sure. You bet.” He handedthe envelope back to Cabot. “I know you need to test it but you think if I comeby tomorrow, I can get a copy?”
“Sure. Just give me a call first.”
“Okay. Meantime, let me just shoot it with my phone.” Hetook the picture and then stuck the cell back in his pocket. “Okay. I got whatI came for. I’ll take another look around tomorrow when it’s light.”
“I hope Kelly’s somewhere safe,” Cabot told him. “Someone’ssure after her hide.”
“I promise you, she’s well taken care of.”
The two men shook hands and Mike climbed back into the jeep.He wasn’t looking forward to giving his report to Kelly. Lucky for him, when hereturned to the cabin it was to find the kitchen table covered with pages ofnotes and the door to Rick’s bedroom firmly closed, Xena planted stolidly infront of it.
Mike winked at her. “I get the message.”
Lying on the bed in the other bedroom, he tried to blank hismind and fall asleep. Morning would come far too soon for him.
* * * * *
“Father, please tell me you’ve made the properarrangements,” Zarife pleaded. “I don’t want this man calling again.”
“All is as it should be,” his father said. “I have contactedthe right people and set things in motion.”
“The man says Latrobe must be killed and evidence deliveredto place all the blame on him or we will all be in trouble.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” the elder al-Dulami assuredhim. “All will be taken care of. With Latrobe’s death the case will be closed.Even now we are planting the seeds.”
“Can you tell me what?”
But Zarife could almost see his father shaking his head.“No, my son. It is not good for you to know. You must be totally clear ofanything that happens.”
“And the campaign you are waging?”
Al-Dulami chuckled. “To counteract the setback we had andnot bring either the coalition troops down on our heads or face attacks byother insurgent groups, we have constructed a multi-prong plan. In two weeks wewill be ready to strike again and all will be ours again. No one will dare toask us questions or even chance crossing the borders of our territory.”
“And then I may come home?”
Al-Dulami hesitated only a moment. “And then you may comehome.”
* * * * *
“God damn it, Dan.”
Charlie Grainger had tried to storm his way past securityand bull his way into Dan’s office. Building security guards had escorted himup from the lobby after first calling Dan but they weren’t going anywherewithout the head honcho’s okay.
“We’re fine,” he told them.
“If it’s all the same to you, Mr. Romeo,” the older onesaid. “We’ll just hang around in the corner until you’re through with yourmeeting. Our replacements are already in the lobby.”
Dan swallowed a smile of satisfaction. He and Mike hadhandpicked the entire security staff for the building, paid them a more thansufficient salary and given extraordinary training. They dressed in dark suitsrather than uniforms, could kill with one blow and were intensely loyal totheir employers.
“That’s fine,” he told them, then turned to Charlie, whoseface once again was an unhealthy purple. “If you don’t get hold of yourselfyou’re going to have a stroke.”
“I just might anyway.” The big man dropped an armload ofpapers on the polished surface of the desk. “Have you seen these?” He stabbedthe pile with a thick
forefinger.
“I’d have to be blind not to.” Dan kept his voicedeliberately mild.
“Well, do something.” Charlie dropped heavily into one ofthe armchairs. “My office is crawling with government agents. My lawyer isspending all his time fighting subpoenas. There’s a lock on our governmentcontracts. And every source tells me Rick Latrobe is the guilty party and theDOJ is just minutes away from arresting him.” He banged his fist on the arm ofthe chair. “I wish I could be calm like Matt. He just rolls with it all andrefuses to let anyone rattle him.”
“That’s why the two of you make good partners,” Dan pointedout. “You balance each other.”
“By the way.” Charlie’s voice softened slightly. “Thanks forsending someone over to Iraq to straighten out the security situation so wearen’t just standing around picking our noses.”
Dan shrugged. He’d picked Ken Murphy, his Beta Team leader,to step into the mess. Ken had been one of the first Phoenix employees when thepartners decided they needed more manpower. Their client list had grown andthey needed more men to handle training and also to teach corporate security.Dan had found Ken through a longtime friend and he’d never regretted it for oneminute.
“You pay us to do a job. One way or the other we get itdone.” He opened the single folder that was sitting on his desk. “The heavyweapons might be gone but you’re got enough small arms and rifles for your immediateneeds. We don’t have the Humvees to ride shotgun to each work site but the menwe have there have figured out a way around that.”
“And who is still there? How many guards do we have?”
Dan flipped to another sheet of paper. “All the ones webrought from the States are still good to go. We lost most of the locals butthe ones we kept are reliable. Several of the men we sent speak Arabic so theycan keep everyone in shape. And there’s no down time for the guards. When theday shift is sleeping, we’ve got a full complement on watch at night. More thanwe had before.”
“Matt tells me with your help we’re actually moving forwardwith the projects.” Charlie’s tone was grudging. “That’s good but I want toknow what you’re going to do about Latrobe.”
Dan sat watching the man for a long moment. Finally he putdown the pen he’d been playing with. “Rick Latrobe has yet to be proven guiltyof anything. The media is very good at speculating and yes, he was the frontman on this project. At your request, I might point out.”
Charlie huffed a breath. “We’ve worked with Rick for a longtime. I sure would never have figured him for anything like this.”
“Then don’t figure him. Wait for proof. Don’t let him bejudged and tried in the media. Charlie, whatever this is, we’ll make it right.You know that.”
“Damn straight you will. So what do I tell people in themeantime?”
“In the meantime you let your attorneys handle theinquiries, let your public relations department handle the media and you andMatt take care of your projects.”
“I thought we were going to lose a bunch of contracts atfirst,” Charlie admitted. “But I turned Matt loose on them and we’re still a goon most of them. Balancing on the wire but doing it.” He pushed up from hischair. “You can tell your pit bulls out there I’m just going back down in theelevator. I’ll try to keep my shouting to a minimum but you damn well betterfind Latrobe for me. I won’t draw a steady breath until I talk to him myself.”
“That’s going to be a while, Charlie. In the meantime, I’m herewhen you need me.” He opened the door and signaled to the men in the receptionarea. “Our guest is looking to head back downstairs, gentlemen. There may bereporters outside. Please see that he gets safely to his car.”
They nodded and fell in behind Charlie.
Dan sat back down at his desk, propped his feet on thesurface and picked up his pen, rolling it back and forth between his fingers.Something in the conversation with Charlie had tickled at his brain and hecouldn’t quite catch it. But he’d picked up a general feeling of unease thatwas more than just the current crisis. Something was wrong and he’d have tofigure out what it was.
* * * * *
Kelly felt sluggish as she pried her eyelids open, nudgedawake by Xena’s cold nose.
“Oh, ugh,” she groaned, rolled over and found Rick’s blueeyes blazing at her. She giggled. “I didn’t mean you.”
“Better not, Red.” He brushed her hair away from her face.“Don’t worry about Xena the Warrior over there. I heard Mike let her out whenhe came back, then she tried to knock the bedroom door down so he let her inhere.”
Kelly was suddenly aware of the fact that the covers on herside had slid down and her nightshirt was up around her waist. “Ohmigod.” Sheslapped her forehead. “Did he see me like this?”
“Don’t worry, sugar. I made sure you were decent.”
“I feel like we just got into bed,” she complained.
“We almost did.” He pulled the covers all the way back andran his hand over her thigh and the curve of her hip. “A shower will fix us up.Come on.”
“You want us to shower together? I know you. Where’s allthis energy coming from? Last night when Mike came back you looked like youwere two steps away from the morgue.”
“I have amazing powers of recuperation.” He winked and gaveher a light tap on her bottom. “Let’s go. Save water. Shower with a friend.”
She let him coax her into it although she knew the wickedgleam in his eyes meant they would end up doing more than just bathe. Sureenough, the minute the water temperature and spray were adjusted, he pulled herinto the shower with him and captured her mouth in a blistering kiss. He tookher so deep she could only hang onto his shoulders and hope her knees didn’tbuckle.
When he finally lifted his mouth, tracing the outline of herlips with the tip of his tongue, she could barely drag air into her lungs.
“You’re going to kill yourself.” She was amazed she couldeven speak. “All this activity can’t be good for you.”
Even as his touch aroused her body, her eyes focused on theangry red scar on his chest and her desire screeched to a halt. Tentatively shetraced the thick ridge with her fingertip, her breath hissing between herteeth.
His hand came up and trapped hers. “Don’t. You don’t have tolook at it. I know what it looks like.”
Her eyes traveled up the length of him until they met his,now a stormy blue, beads of water dripping from the thick golden lashes. “Isthat what you think? That it disgusts me? Oh, Rick. You are so far from thetruth. It scares me to think of how close you came to dying. That we mightnever have…”
He touched a forefinger to her lips. ”Sssh. I didn’t and wedid. I’ll only die if I can’t be with you. Touch you. Make love to you.” Hedrew a line along the rim of her ear with his tongue, sending shiversskittering through her.
Kelly was having trouble concentrating but she had to try tobe the sensible one here. He was still recuperating.
“Rick, yesterday was a very long day and I know you were inpain last night. I don’t even know how you… How we… That is…”
His mouth turned up in that devil’s grin. “Yes, we did. Andwe’re going to do it again. Don’t worry. I’m going to let you do all the work.Now come on. I do a killer job with soap in the shower.”
She watched him reach for the bottle of liquid soap, poursome into one hand and work up a rich lather. The minute he touched her skinshe felt heat bloom inside her and the pulse at her core beat like a jungledrum. His slick hands moved over her shoulders, down her arms, across the lineof her ribs and up to her breasts, which he paid careful attention to. Hisslippery fingers tweaked her nipples and tugged on them until they were harderthan diamonds.
“God,” she breathed.
“No,” he said in a thick voice. “Just Rick. But I’ve beentold my touch is heavenly.”
Adding more soap to the mix, he worked his way down hertummy, teasing at her navel with the tip of one finger, until he found the seamof flesh between her legs and worked it gently until she widened her stance andopened for
him. When his fingers slid inside her she shuddered from head totoe, gripping his arms to hold herself steady.
Gently he worked the hard knot of nerves, bracing her withone arm around her, until her breathing quickened and her hips began a rockingmotion.
“More?” he asked in a velvet voice.
“More,” she begged. “Don’t stop.”
“Tell me we belong together, Red. Say you’ll marry me whenthis is all over. I told you I’d wait for your answer but I’m a very impatientman.”
“M-Marry?” Whatever air she still had trapped in her lungsdisappeared. “Oh, Rick. I don’t… I want…”
“Yesterday made me realize even more how precious each dayis, how fleeting life can be. I don’t want to waste another minute of it. Thisis meant to be. We’re meant to be.” He put his mouth close to her ear.“Besides, Xena told me. In a dream.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide, trying to focus. “A dream?”
“Yeah. Just like the ones you have. She says the three of ushave to stay together.”
Kelly closed her eyes and rocked into the movement of hishand. Marry him. Oh, God. The rightness of it flooded her with intense feeling,centering her in a way nothing else ever had. “I-I guess my answer has to beyes.”
“We’ll do it just as soon as this is over.” He breathed thewords into her mouth, his lips against hers.
When his fingers slid from the grip of her muscles, her eyesflew open.
“What…”
“Just hold on a minute, Red. Don’t move. It’ll be worth it.I promise.” His own breathing was as rocky as hers. Sliding the shower dooropen, he snaked his arm out to the vanity drawer and pulled out a condom. Helowered himself to the built-in seat, rolled the latex into place andpositioned her until she was straddling him. “Remember, I said you get to doall the work here.”
He slid into her with one smooth stroke and she realizedhe’d been right. He was guiding her but letting her do all the work. With hishands grasping her hips, he set the pace for them, holding her as she rode himwith intense ferocity. When they climaxed together, Kelly felt as if a cyclonehad picked her up and tumbled her through space. She felt him pulsing insideher as her aftershocks continued to grip him.
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