by Cara Carnes
“Definitely,” Rhea said. “And suicidal. I mean, have you seen her brothers? That’s like poking a whole pride of lions.”
Mary had showered and changed when she got back to the compound. Riley had, too, and was now pacing the other side of the room, muttering to herself. Things with her brothers hadn’t gone well. The entire compound had heard the seven-way shouting match an hour ago.
Dylan and his brothers had headed out for parts unknown, probably to shoot guns or do something else manly to get rid of the brotherly protectiveness riding them hard.
“I think it’s sweet how protective they are. It’s obvious how much they love you,” Mary commented. “I always wanted a big brother.”
“Yeah, which one do you want? I know, you can have Marshall. Arrogant ass.” Riley paced. “The dumbasses actually thought I shouldn’t have let the two stupid idiots kidnap me. I should’ve made my stand at the bar. Sure, I could’ve kept myself secure, especially with a bar full of people to help, but what would we have learned? Nothing! I mean, have they completely forgotten someone’s out to get you, Mary?”
“Why you? Why not me?” Vi asked.
“Best I can surmise, I’m the perceived weakness. I had the most unstable home life and will have the most emotional fallout as a result. It’s a numbers game,” Mary replied. “Whoever hired them called me the ugly, mousy brunette. Mousy. That implies familiarity, right? To identify me as such so easily.”
“You know that’s not true, right sweetie?” Bree asked gently.
“I couldn’t care less what the people trying to kidnap me think,” she argued.
“Still. It’s not true,” Rhea replied. “And you are so not mousy. Who even uses that word anymore?”
“Mousy. Nervous, shy, or timid; lacking in presence or charisma,” Mary said. “That’s who they think I am. There’s a clue in there, right? I mean, who do I come across to as shy and timid at Hive?”
“You’re assuming this is Hive. What if it’s not?” Addy asked. “What if it’s someone else?”
“Who though? It’s not like Mary and I have a life outside Hive. We’ve lived and breathed work so long it’s instinctual. The only other thing we’ve lived more is HERA, and no one even knows about her except you all, Fallon, and The Arsenal crew now.” Vi punched the pillow in her lap. “You’re right, Mary. That has to be a clue. We need a white board.”
“Oh no. No, no, no.” Addy rose. “We are not going down the geek trail. You four brainiacs white board everything. I’m not doing this. Fuck, how did I get stuck on babysitting duty? I should’ve gone with Dylan and his brothers. I’m not cut out for this shit.”
“Ads, you know you wanna,” Rhea singsonged with a smile.
“What’s a white board, and why is she all red-faced?” Riley asked.
“Any time we have a problem we can’t easily solve, we chart known facts, apply logical causes to gain the effects present. It’s quite scientific,” Bree explained.
“And so geeky. I’d rather be butting heads with the assholes who took Riles here.”
“Riley. Only my brothers are stupid enough to call me Riles, and they only get by with it ’cause they’re bigger and meaner than me.” The little blonde looked Addy up and down. “You, I can probably take. So stick with Riley.”
Mary chuckled. Dylan’s sister was awesome. She fit perfectly with the group, her friends. They’d swooped in the moment she’d arrived at the ranch.
“Okay, let’s do this white boarding thing, but kick ass style, not the geek way, okay?” Riley asked. “I’ll grab the booze and mixers. What do you need?”
“Well, a white board and dry erase markers should work,” Bree replied.
“This is way more involved. Colored string and magnetic pins, or push pins. Post it notes, tape.” Vi started listing things on the notepad she always carried.
“Okay, follow me. Stay quiet, though.” Riley charged out of the compound quarters they’d taken over and down the hall. She shoved through an exit they’d never taken and crouched low as they headed down a sidewalk with a low wall along both sides. Bree and Rhea matched the woman’s stance.
Addy’s gaze darted around nervously when they left the building. Vi chewed on her lower lip. Mary ignored the unease in her belly. Leaving the compound quarters was probably not a good idea.
But Riley entered the operation’s building by keying in a code. Mary didn’t think the woman had access, which meant she’d somehow learned one of her brother’s codes. Wouldn’t that make Dylan and his brothers happy? She chuckled. Riley was awesome.
They passed the operational theater and went into a long, winding corridor. Riley opened the door on the far left. Motion activated overhead lights flickered on when they entered.
“Holy shit,” Bree whispered.
“Wow,” Rhea commented.
“Perfect,” Vi whispered.
“Fuck, they’re never gonna leave,” Addy growled. “How’d you know about this?”
“I may have looked around a bit. Call it little sister curiosity.” Riley shrugged. “It took a few tests on the keypad. I’m a bit ashamed my birth date wasn’t the first set of numbers I tried, but that seemed a bit egotistical, you know?”
“One of your brothers, who has access to everything at The Arsenal, is using your birth date as their pass code?” Mary asked. Geez, talk about a stupid move.
First thing tomorrow, she and Vi were overhauling their security protocols for their own good. She had to admit the room was perfect in every conceivable way. All four walls were clear, interactive interfaces on two of them. Markers, magnetic pegs, and every possible supply were in bins along the far wall. The table in the middle of the room was a standing style with a computerized interface inside glass. Top of the line.
“Computer. We’ll need HERA,” Vi commented.
“On it,” Rhea said.
“No, geeks stay here where you’re secure. I’ll get HERA and the supplies and help Riley with the booze. If I’m sitting through another of these white boarding sessions, I’m gonna get loaded.” Addy looked around. “If any of you so much as crack that door open, your ass is mine. Got it?”
Bree, Rhea, and Vi nodded, their saucer-eyed expression noting they wouldn’t move at all. Mary smirked, but nodded. Addy had a unique intimidation factor with them, one which didn’t work quite as well on her.
“I mean it, Mary. This shit is intense, and we shouldn’t have left the quarters. You know that,” Addy explained.
“I’m not going anywhere. I want answers. You laugh at the white board method, but it’s never failed us. Hurry back. Bring snacks.”
She waited until Addy and Riley were gone before she turned her focus to the walls of available space and her three cohorts. They’d solved many problems with way less than what the room offered. The interactive interface would let them sync HERA’s capabilities with the data points of the white board, thereby providing critical, decision-making data real-time. This was perfect.
And the perfect test for the new feature she’d added to HERA a few months ago, one they’d yet to test. The gleam in Vi’s gaze signaled her BFF had thought the same thing. “Okay girls, let’s get to work.”
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND. This always works.” Bree tumbled onto the blowup mattress and took a hefty swig of her rum runner. “Why didn’t it work?”
“For the tenth time, it did,” Addy said, her hands waving at the filled walls. “Every single data point of this FUBAR shit leads there. To that one common point.”
“But who is it?” Rhea asked. “We’ve yet to establish an identity. That’s beyond strange.”
“It is,” Vi admitted. Her gaze swept to Mary. “We’re missing something.”
“All this info is the missions you’ve assisted with, the Hive operatives you’ve worked and interacted with, right?” Riley asked.
“Yes, this is everything,” Mary admitted.
“No, it’s everything from when you started at Hive, and only at Hive. Your lives before then and outside
of work aren’t even represented anywhere. I’m not a geek, and I’m totally loaded, but that seems like a lot of stuff missing.” Riley grabbed the full blender of rum runner. “Anyone else want a refill?”
“She’s right. This is only one dimension. We need them all. The answer must be on another plane,” Rhea whispered as she rose. “We need them all.”
“Thank fuck neither of you have an active sex life or we’d never leave this room,” Addy muttered.
“Erm, we need it all. As in all of us. We don’t know how far back or deep this is,” Bree reasoned. “That means we all need to be represented up there. All the way back. Just because this is focused around Mary doesn’t mean she’s where it started.”
“Fuck.” Addy took another drink.
“Okay, we’ll all take a color. Make three lists on your data pads. Family and close associations up to the point we met at MIT. Dates, names, anything you can remember to help CJ. List two will be all friends, interest groups, activities, enemies, and perceived threats. Again, names, dates, anything you can give HERA.” Mary sighed heavily as she looked around the room. Addy was right. They’d be here forever. “And the last is love interests. Names, dates, how it ended. Include anyone, even if it wasn’t a romantic relationship. This could be a whack job stalker for all we know.”
The girls grabbed colors as Vi plugged in HERA. She’d try and run point on this even though they both knew it needed to be Mary. While Vi was great at background checks, Mary would have more time and was better at digging.
Mary chose orange for her color and made quick work of her lists. She sat beside Vi and motioned for her friend to turn over HERA. “I’ll take over.”
“Are you sure? I can...”
“I’m already done, more or less. I’ve got to look up a couple things and do a deeper background on Dean Strickland. Then I’ll be free to start diving into everything.”
“Mary, talk to me. I know this is a lot to process, and you’ve been so quiet. I’m worried,” Vi whispered. “They are, too, you know.”
“I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about. We’re safe. Dylan and his brothers were a good choice. They’ve kept us secured.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I know what you mean, Vi. I can’t go there, not now.”
“Will you ever? Seriously, Mary. You can’t shove this into wherever you put shit when it goes down and expect it to go away. You were kidnapped, tortured.” Her voice softened. “They hurt you.”
“Yeah, they did. Before tonight, before they had the balls to scoop Riley up to get me back, I was hurt and scared. I cowered, exactly like the asshole wanted, whoever he is. Driggs isn’t behind this. I know that now. He doesn’t have the balls to go against The Arsenal.” She typed in her password and activated HERA.
Emotion clogged her throat, but she forced the words out. “He targeted me, made me think they had you. Whoever this is, it’s personal. And deep.”
“Someone we all know,” Vi replied.
“Not necessarily, but there’s history. An in deep enough for him to know my background made me the weak link, the one who’d do what they wanted. I can’t explain why, but I think they wanted me contacting The Arsenal. This sick bastard wanted me running to them to get you out. And a few missions aside, there’s only one strong connection between Hive and The Arsenal.”
“Peter,” Vi whispered. “You...” She looked around nervously. “You think this is about his murder.”
“It’s related, has to be. Whatever clue we find with this exercise is going to be in Addy’s timeline. Hurting me cuts her off at the knees. Hell, she’s practically surrendered Hive entirely. Driggs is out of the picture, as good as dead when Graves tracks him down. Someone wins if she walks away. This isn’t about me, or you. It’s about all of us. HERA, our strength as a cohesive unit.”
“You’re the glue. You keep Addy connected to us. You’re our glue. They break you, they get us all.” Vi’s eyes widened. “It worked. We’re all together. We haven’t taken that risk since...”
“Since we built HERA.”
“We were led here, to The Arsenal for a reason. They herded us like cattle and used me to do it.” Mary pounded on the keyboard. “I won’t let this bastard hurt the only good thing I have going for me.”
“Mary, we’re okay. We’re safe.” Vi squeezed her hand. “It’s okay to let someone else lead the charge, you know. I’m so used to it being you and me at the helm, steering the intelligence gathering, I forgot we’re not alone in this. I know a certain handsome cowboy turned kick ass operative who’d gladly take over. Let’s go get him, have them help us. If they’re connected somehow, they need to be on the board.”
“They will be.” After she’d processed the facts, prepared herself for their part in whatever this roller coaster was. “I played right into this bastard’s hands, Vi. I replay that night in my head a thousand times, the desperation and terror. I just knew they had you. I can still hear your screams.”
Mary tensed when Vi wrapped her arms around her. Tears burned her eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” her friend whispered.
“I’m glad you weren’t there. I’m glad they didn’t get you.”
“I wish I’d been there, with you.” Tears tumbled down Vi’s cheeks.
“Don’t ever say that.” Mary blinked back the tears. “It’s done, and I’m out. Free. Now we make them pay.”
“Then we’d better get busy. Those badass brothers aren’t going to let us get by with this for long. Let’s get as far down the trail as we can before we’re drowning in testosterone.” Vi stood up. “I’ll get my line into the system, then work with Addy.”
Excellent. They had a plan, a list of things to accomplish. The list alone would keep Mary’s mind off the dark trail she’d headed down just now. She wouldn’t breathe life into that ghost, not yet.
One by one, her friends finished their lists and passed out, trusting her with the lives they’d spilled out to help sort the mess, the chaos threatening everyone. Addy was the only one still awake, still making lists. The woman was a fierce operative, one who did anything necessary in the field. That left long lists of potentials. Mary admired her ability to cage the ghosts of the ops she’d kicked ass on. She’d never failed a mission. So much like her older brother it was a little freaky.
Addy sat and offered the last list, longer than Mary expected. Then again, she had an active personal life. Mary flipped through the list, and her gut sank into her shoes. “Addy.”
“Don’t. Vi doesn’t need to see that shit unless there’s a reason, okay? I do what I’ve gotta do. Compartmentalize and move on. That’s how we survive.”
She nodded and got to work as Addy stretched out on the inflatable mattress beside Vi. Sooner or later, she’d have to talk to them about Peter. Her fingers ached. Though she could type a little with her bum one, the primary work was one-handed. Fortunately, the system scanned and transcribed most of the lists, leaving much less for me to manually key.
She pushed a few more buttons, establishing the parameters, and let HERA handle the rest. Weariness dragged her eyelids shut. Head against the back of the leather chair, she rested and hoped the system she and Vi designed would find the answer to who wanted her so badly and why.
DYLAN ENTERED THE SITUATION room and stepped over Rhea, then Bree. Mary had her head on her hand on the other side of the table. A beep registered from the computer, but none of the women stirred.
“What the hell?” Marshall muttered as he entered.
“Gage tracked them down a couple hours ago, found them like this,” he replied. “No clue what all this is.”
All this was four walls of data strung about the room in a tapestry of color, handwriting, images, and computerized data uploaded to the overheads. He tracked the logical progression of bullet-pointed magnetic markers around the room.
Names. Dates. Pictures.
Marshall followed him as they worked their way around the room, delving into t
he private lives of the women under their protection. Every facet of their lives was there. He couldn’t imagine how long they’d been at it, how complicated the analysis had been. Mary needed rest, not intense investigative work into her friends’ personal lives.
But the attack on Riley sent a message—whoever this asshole was knew they were here. Dylan had been right. Their presence at The Arsenal was intentional for some reason only known to the madman after Mary. The blue ink covered the walls, so vast there was almost not enough room. Addy had been a very busy woman, a phenomenal operative.
“She’s good. Her brother taught her,” Marshall commented.
The last wall held more questions than answers. Names in three colors with the same image beside each. Peter’s picture and autopsy report flashed above them.
“Damn,” he mumbled. “This isn’t good.”
“No, it’s not,” Mary whispered as she approached. “I took it as far as I could, but we need data. You knew Peter, Marshall. I’m hoping you can help guide some of the work into his background. Addy won’t remember much from when he was in the service. It’s someone in his past behind all of this.”
“And this guy?” Dylan pointed at the picture with three names. “Who’s he?”
“A pawn, a plant. A bastard.” She looked away. “I knew him as Dean Strickland. Before that he was Roger Ramsey with Addy and Dylan Winn with Vi. Neither of them let him get very close. I was the one he worked the longest.”
“To what end?” Marshall asked.
“I’m not sure yet. I suspect he wanted an in with Bree and Rhea, either for the power source or the weaponization components. Maybe both.” Mary crossed her arms and shrank away. “The timing of everything—I should’ve seen it before.”
“Seen what?” Dylan prodded.
“I got Peter killed,” she whispered.
Pain filled her voice as she leaned against him. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her soft curves.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Put me down.”
The longer Dylan ignored Mary, the more focused she became on the anger seeping into her grief, guilt. He’d taken an exit from the building she hadn’t noticed earlier and hoofed it across the grass and straight toward what she thought of as the barracks building.
