Dangerous in Motion

by Sidney Bristol

Instinct said to turn around and oversee the move himself, but he couldn’t keep micromanaging everything. That was the point the boss had driven home during their last, long visit.

  Léo leaned back and sucked down a deep breath.

  He needed to think. To relax a little.

  The Peru lab was blown. Nothing he could do would fix that. The best thing for him right now was to see the Buenos Aires job through to the end. A well executed plan would go a long way in helping reestablish their credibility on the black market. Léo had to be there personally to select the contamination zone, vectors and ensure it was done properly. He couldn’t trust the others to do it.

  The South American team could manage moving the equipment. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this. Outside of the American lab, these were their most dedicated people. He could trust them.

  “We’re going to need some extra back-up in Argentina,” Léo said.

  “I can call Julie. I know she’s available,” Crane replied.

  Fuck.

  Julie was on Léo’s short list of least favorite people. She’d drank the boss’ kool-aid to the point she’d become a fanatic which made her hard to work with. Still, she was damn good with a gun at any distance and loyal to the boss, which was what Léo needed right now.

  “Fine. Have her meet us there,” he said.

  He scrolled down through his contacts to his boss’ number. He could wait awhile and see if the security team found Heidi. No, it was best to keep the boss abreast of every development.

  He jabbed the call button and waited.

  “What is it, son?”

  “Good afternoon—”

  “Son, I’m busy. If this is a social call—”

  “I’m afraid the Peru lab has been compromised, and the virologist is gone.”

  “I know. I heard. It’s unfortunate.”

  “You heard?” Léo swallowed, not sure what he was most shocked about, how well the boss was taking this, or that someone in the lab was running to the boss over Léo’s head.

  “Yes, I know a team was sent after her. It couldn’t be helped. If I’d tried to stop them or warn you, it would expose me. We’re in a delicate situation here. Moving the lab is an annoyance, but it was time. I’ll handle the virologist. You stay focused on work.”

  “Yes—”

  The line clicked, going dead.

  He peered at the screen and grit his teeth. This was how all conversations went lately. Short, cut off and abbreviated. Léo knew it was because they were all under a great deal of stress, but if he couldn’t talk to the boss he couldn’t help.

  “Everything okay, sir?” Crane asked.

  “Yes.” Léo placed his hand on the cooler next to him. “Everything is going according to plan.”

  The boss always had a plan in place. It’d been years since those plans had failed, but Léo recalled a few close scrapes that had almost ended both of them. The others would know nothing about that period or the boss’ history, but Léo did. He knew every sordid detail from the very beginning. It still didn’t change the cardinal rule:

  Always trust the boss.

  FRIDAY. CHINCHA ALTA, Peru.

  Adam turned the Jeep into the hotel they’d booked into earlier in the day. Cindy and John had been left alone out of necessity. With such a small team they didn’t have the manpower to leave a guy behind to act as a body guard. Adam pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine. He turned and his gaze snagged on the top of Heidi’s head. Her hair was still fascinating, the way it glistened with so many shades of red. The last time he saw her it wasn’t quite this dark There’d been more red.

  Heidi glanced sideways at him, then snapped her head back into place. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since they’d scooped her up. Almost an hour in the Jeep and she still couldn’t look at him. That did not bode well for the future.

  “Adam, get Heidi inside. We’re going to swap the Jeep out for a different vehicle, then meet in your room to figure out our next step. Good?” Kyle asked.

  He was trying to throw Adam a bone. A few moments alone with Heidi before they switched into problem solving mode. He wasn’t convinced that was a great idea right now.

  Adam got out and circled the vehicle to the passenger’s side. He opened the door, and Heidi slid out, wavering a bit on her feet. The other guys didn’t offer further comment.

  What did he say to a woman he hadn’t seen in almost ten years?

  Heidi glanced up at him, but their gazes never met.

  “Where, to?” Her voice was a little tight, the pitch too high.

  It’d been a long time since he heard that tone, and it had never been directed at him. Hearing it now cut him. What did she think he’d do to her?

  Then again, maybe she was nervous about being alone with him as he was her. He’d take nerves over fear.

  “This way,” he said.

  Adam took the lead, setting his sights on the royal blue structure slightly apart from the rest of the hotel. Typically Aegis Group booked a private residence for security reasons. Given that they hadn’t known where they were going once they touched down in Lima, they’d been taking what they could get when it came to accommodations.

  Kyle and Riley loaded back into the Jeep while Grant headed for the hotel, probably to touch base with Cindy and John now that they were back. They still didn’t have a grasp on what was going on and the open Jeep wasn’t good for conversation.

  Adam unlocked the suite and entered first. He scanned the room, but nothing was out of place, not even the crumpled napkins left on the coffee table. He shut and locked the door behind Heidi. They couldn’t be too careful. Though they’d prevented anyone from following them, whoever these people were could still locate them.

  Heidi walked a couple steps into the room and stopped, shifting her weight to her left foot, hands down by her side. She still favored boots and cargo pants with enough pockets to hold all her odds and ends. Purses tied up her hands. She’d never been one to carry anything she didn’t have to, even when they’d dressed up for a proper date. That was what his pockets had been for. He wouldn’t even begin to count the number of times he’d accidentally washed her lip gloss in his pocket.

  Heidi turned to face him. That wrinkle in her brow was back, the one she got when she was particularly frustrated.

  “Nothing? Not a word?” She planted her hands on her hips, ready for a fight.

  Adam’s shoulders slumped, and he wondered yet again where things had gone wrong. All this time apart and the first thing she wanted to do was fight with him. She’d always been prickly. He assumed it was a byproduct of having been picked on for so long. She wanted to draw blood before someone hurt her, but it’d been different between them. Or so he’d thought.

  He picked up the bracelet they’d left on the kitchen counter and held it out to her.

  “Tracking device, in case anything happens. Wear this and we’ll be able to find you.”

  “You aren’t speaking to me? Is that it?” She snatched the bracelet from his fingers.

  “What do you want me to say?” he asked.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Her voice softened, and she shoved a hand through her hair.

  “Saving you. That’s what you meant to happen, isn’t it?”

  She glanced away and didn’t answer that question.

  Bingo.

  Heidi didn’t want to speak or have anything to do with him, but he was supposed to be there when she needed him. During the time since his boss had spilled the news to him and now, Adam had a lot of time to think about why Heidi would have kept him as her emergency contact. It made sense once he’d set their complicated past aside.

  He was her safety net. Her insurance. She knew that, no matter their history, he’d pull her ass out of trouble.They’d been best friends before they dated. He knew her pretty damn well, and one thing Heidi had always figured out was how to take care of herself. She was a product of her parent’s negligence, but she’d thrived. Because she
was brilliant and amazing when she wanted to be, but this was cruel. Through all of their on-again-off-again days, there’d never been any malicious intent.

  This had nothing to do with them and everything to do about her being irresponsible and jumping into danger.

  “When did you change?” He’d blinked and missed the evolution of the girl he grew up with to this woman he didn’t know.

  “I’m not the one who changed.” She lifted her chin and stared back at him. There was hurt shining back from the depths of her eyes.

  He’d hurt her? How? When? She’d been gone when he came home. No note, no number or address, just gone. How was it he was the one who’d hurt her?

  A rhythmic knock at the door broke the moment.

  Heidi turned away from him and walked to the sliding glass doors.

  It was going to take a lot longer than a few minutes for them to work through their problems.

  “Don’t open those,” he said. If she needed to get away from him, he could leave. She had to stay safe and out of sight.

  Adam checked the peephole as a formality.

  Grant, Cindy and John waited outside. The things Adam and Heidi had to say to each other would have to wait until later. They’d already waited years, what was another hour or two?

  He opened the door, and the others filed in.

  “Kyle called to say they’re picking up dinner and will be back in a few minutes,” Grant said.

  “Heidi—you’re okay?” Cindy stopped just inside the door and gaped at the other woman.

  “Thank God.” John rushed over to Heidi and looped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a brief squeeze.

  Adam bit his tongue. Heidi winced, no doubt feeling the fall from earlier. He glanced away and swallowed down the surge of jealousy. It wasn’t John, specifically. The old guy was probably closer in age to their parents. What rubbed at Adam was that Heidi accepted this man’s comfort when she could barely speak to her own husband.

  All these years he’d honored his vow to his wife, and now he was wondering why? Why keep up the farce that they were anything to each other? He’d just saved her life and she couldn’t talk to him.

  Adam opened the door and stepped out onto the stoop. He breathed in a deep breath and listened to kids splashing in the nearby pool. Someone not that far away was grilling something, and music played on a stereo.

  The job was more or less done. He could escort Heidi home and turn her over to be someone else’s problem, with any luck.

  An SUV pulled into the small parking lot and Riley climbed out, bags of food in hand.

  “What are you doing out here?” Riley strolled toward him.

  Adam tapped on the door and pushed it open, choosing to not answer the question.

  The smell of food reminded Adam that he hadn’t eaten since the early morning hours when they’d struck off to check out the old refinery on the off chance the rumors they’d heard were the tip they were looking for. He couldn’t eat right now, not with the way his nerves were wound so tight.

  Kyle followed slower, juggling food and his phone. Adam crossed the lot to lend a hand, which earned him a stare from Kyle.

  “Guess it didn’t go well?” he asked.

  Adam shrugged.

  He’d come here to rescue Heidi. Now that she was safe, they could go their separate ways again. All this time, he’d harbored ideas what being reunited with her might be like. He’d never imagined this.

  3.

  FRIDAY. CHINCHA ALTA, Peru.

  Heidi stared at Adam’s stupid shoulders. He wouldn’t look at her. He’d said hardly a single word directly to her during the whole drive here. She’d held out some hope that when they were alone, he might have something to say to her—but no. Still, nothing. Which brought her to now, with them on either side of the room ignoring each other. Why had he even come?

  John nudged her. She glanced at him and he nodded at Adam. She jerked her head, not ready for this conversation. John had recently divorced wife number four. Or was it five? He was a serial monogamist who fell in and out of love depending on which way the breeze went. He liked to dispense relationship advice, which was why during a moment of weakness Heidi had spilled the beans about Adam to him when few others knew she was married.

  Things weren’t simple between her and Adam. They never had been. He was capable of swooping into her life, turning her inside out, and leaving without any idea the havoc he’d left in his wake. When she’d agreed to the crazy marriage idea, she’d thought—finally, he’d be there for her. They were married, right? But he still left, and he didn’t call. He never told her how to communicate with him. Other wives were baffled by the arrangement and Heidi couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t right.

  After her parents killed each other, she’d spun out of control. Agreeing to marry Adam was only one of several bad ideas she’d made during that period of her life, and the one that continued to haunt her today.

  “I hope you don’t mind if we eat and talk.” The sandy haired man perched on the edge of the coffee table, his gaze locked on her.

  Kyle. His name was Kyle, and he worked with Adam. The others had been introduced as well, but she couldn’t focus much beyond Adam’s brooding silence.

  “What?” Heidi cradled the plate in her lap.

  “We’ve got the tablet you brought back with you charging.” Kyle gestured at a wall outlet where the tablet was plugged in. “We need to figure out our next step.”

  “Did you see anyone you recognized?” John asked.

  “No. There were a few people I interacted with, but not many of them spoke English around me.” Heidi swallowed and launched into her story, tracing her journey from the village outside of Lima to shimmying out of a window.

  “They’re creating designer viruses?” Cindy stared at her, eyes large.

  “That’s what it appears to be. When I said I wouldn’t help, they stopped telling me what I was working with.” She could only guess without some form of test or equipment.

  Adam hadn’t picked up the remaining plate, but he had turned to listen while she spoke. She hated the urge telling her to go to him, hug him, that everything would be okay in his arms because it was a lie. Getting to be okay took work, and that had always been their weakness.

  “Okay, so what do we know?” Kyle glanced at the others.

  “This Léo guy knew who Heidi was and what she was doing.” The man with the southern drawl ticked both points off on his fingers.

  “We think this man, this Léo, his group is behind the outbreaks in the village and elsewhere,” John said.

  “The police are going to check out that factory, see what’s there and call in everyone. CDC is going to learn about that refinery lab and head straight for us.” Cindy crossed her arms over her chest. She still hated the idea they were even doing this. Heidi was actually surprised Cindy had gone along with this mad plan.

  “I’m going to get our people remoted into the tablet, see if they can’t work some magic that way,” Kyle said.

  “What does this all matter?” Heidi stared around the room. “They’re going to move the lab, the patients—everything. It’s probably already gone. Someone at the CDC is working with them.” Heidi’s fingers went cold. The idea of someone she worked with doing this, committing a crime like this, terrified her.

  “We don’t know that,” Cindy said.

  “We have a pretty damn good guess.” Heidi set her plate down on the coffee table a touch too hard. “They’re going to infect another town and another and another. How do you stop that kind of thing?”

  “Stop the flow of cash,” the man with the accent said.

  “How?” She stared at him, willing a miracle answer from his lips.

  “Our job is getting you home safe,” Kyle said.

  “I can’t go home.” Heidi swallowed.

  “Okay, we can take you wherever you want, then.”

  “No, you don’t get it. They know where I live, where I work, everything about me. Léo
knew it all. I’ve got to...I don’t know.” Heidi wanted to fight this, to stop these people, but how could she if she couldn’t trust the very people she worked with? If she went home Léo might just show up again and kidnap her, or make her a vector in this mad plan of his.

  “How about I make some calls home and we figure out the next steps? Given the sensitive nature of this op and what they had you doing, our standard operating procedure might have changed. Hang tight and I’ll have more for you later, okay?” Kyle’s warm smile made her want to trust his words, that she had no problems that couldn’t be fixed. She’d fallen for a smile like that from Adam. “Guys? Why don’t we gave Heidi and Adam some time together?”

  Kyle and the other two men Heidi couldn’t put names to got up, collected the tablet and headed for the door. Kyle paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder.

  John turned and stared at her profile. She could feel him willing her to say no, or something.

  This had to happen. She needed to clear the air with Adam so she could move on That was all there was to it.

  They were leaving her with Adam. She didn't want to be alone with him. What was she going to say to him? She hadn’t seen him since their wedding day. In all that time what could she have to say to him now? She watched the door closed behind the others, and though she could have asked for John to come back, she didn’t. Eventually they had to have it out. For several long moments Heidi continued to stare at the door while her attention focused on the man still in the room with her. He was her husband. Why was it so hard to look at him?

  Heidi could only worry about one thing. Either she tried to fix her marriage, or she tried to stop people from dying. There was no option where both were possible. What she’d had with Adam, it was over. That much was obvious by the frosty reception. It hurt to think that the boy she’d grown up with, the young man she’d fallen in love with, was not the person here with her today. He was a stranger. It was time she stopped caring about what Adam thought about her. It was time that she stopped giving him emotional power over her.

  Heidi turned to face Adam and stopped. He stared at her, those same brown eyes of his boring into her soul. The breath in her lungs stuttered to a stop. All the air felt sucked out of her. One look at him, and her heart hurt. How is she going to face him? How was she going to have this conversation? Where did they even begin?