“The personal case?”
“Her brother…he was investigating some software his company held the patent on that was being sold without a license. He was killed in a car accident that Megan now thinks was not an accident.”
“You think that’s connected?”
“Two men who were key to her investigation were arrested on suspicion of terrorism in connection with the attacks in Paris at the end of the year.”
“Seems like too much of a coincidence.”
“Yeah.”
He seemed bothered by something. I ran my hand slowly over his neck, rubbing his shoulder lightly. He reached around me and clicked the mouse on the computer, moving to another page of the notes Emily had kept. I laid my head on his shoulder and tried to read what was on the screen, but I was just a high school English teacher. I didn’t really understand what I was looking at.
After a while, he pushed the computer away and buried his face against my neck.
“I say we take a break and have some breakfast. I don’t think either of us has had a decent meal in days.”
“I think that’s a brilliant idea.”
He lifted me up and carried me into the bathroom, sitting me on the edge of the sink while he turned on the shower.
“Are you joining me?”
“Of course.”
He leaned into me, kissing me with that same explosively possessiveness that he’d always touched me with. I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting the sheet fall away. His hands were immediately on my skin, his palms pressed against my nipples in a deliciously lovely bit of friction. Despite the length of time we’d spent tangled in each other’s arms last night, I felt like I couldn’t get enough. I wanted him again and again, this little piece of me afraid that he would disappear from my life, and I would never experience this ever again.
He extracted himself long enough to undress, a show that was quite delicious all on its own, and then he lifted me into his arms and stepped into the shower. We kissed under the stream of water, the warm water just background to the dance we were performing. He slid inside of me as easy as if he was always meant to be there, as if his absence was unusual. As though our bodies were always meant to be connected.
Two halves of a whole.
We dressed in silence, both of us lost in thought. I sat on the edge of the bed to slide on my shoes, my eyes moving to the phone sitting on the nightstand.
“I need to call my parents. Let them know I’m okay.”
“Not from here. It’d be too easy to trace.”
“Then where?”
“We’ll borrow a phone somewhere, away from here.”
“Okay.”
He was lost in thought over breakfast, his mind clearly elsewhere. I wanted to know what he was thinking about, but I was afraid to ask. I’d never been afraid to ask him anything before, but I didn’t know what he had back in Houston. I didn’t know whom he might have back in Houston. And I didn’t want to know.
There was a young couple in the booth behind us at the restaurant. When we were just about finished, Dominic leaned over the back of his bench and smiled at the pretty young woman.
“Do you suppose we could borrow your cellphone? It’s a local call.”
The girl took one look at Dominic and handed it over. Disappointment was almost palpable when she watched him hand it over to me.
I dialed my parents’ number quickly and pressed the phone to my ear, my finger pressed against my other ear so that I could hear over the din of the busy diner.
“Mom?” I sighed when I heard her voice on the other end of the line. “It’s Amy. I want you to know I’m okay.”
“Amy? Where are you?”
“I’m safe. Dominic is taking care of me.”
“You’re okay? He didn’t hurt you?”
“No, Momma. He’s protecting me.”
“From what?”
I glanced up at Dominic just as he reached across and took the phone back. He disconnected the call, smiling politely at the girl it belonged to as he handed it back. Then he tossed a couple of bills on the table and took my arm, leading the way out.
“Why did you do that? I wanted to talk to my dad, too!”
“They can trace a call, even a cell call. I didn’t want the cops descending on the diner before we could get out.”
“Aren’t you being a little paranoid?”
“It’s all over the news, Ames. They say I kidnapped you at gunpoint.”
“I could explain it to my parents. Make them understand.”
“That wouldn’t help. It’s beyond your father calling me a kidnapper.”
He pushed me into the car and ran around to the other side, pulling out of the parking lot in an obvious hurry. He sped across town in the direction of the airport, both hands gripping the steering wheel almost in a strangle hold.
“What now?”
He didn’t answer. We were pulling into the motel parking lot, but it became clear that he’d seen something, something that made him reach under the seat and grab the gun that always seemed to be just within his reach.
“Stay here,” he demanded, as he threw the car into park and jumped out.
The door to our room was open. Dominic cautiously approached, the gun down at his side, just out of sight of whoever might be in the room. I leaned forward and watched as he ducked inside. I bit my lip, wondering if I should run for help or follow him inside. How could I just sit here, some weak damsel in distress, while he put his life at risk? I slipped out of the car, my eyes darting all around, taking in the dark SUV parked in the space we’d been parked in all night, the family coming out of the room three doors down. My heart was pounding, as I slowly approached the open door of our room, scared of what I’d find when I walked inside.
Dominic was standing by the table, staring at the computer, the gun still dangling from his hand.
“What?”
He looked up, his eyes narrowing.
“I told you to stay in the car.”
“And I chose not to listen.”
“Amy…”
I moved up behind him and read the words on the open word processing page.
Back off or a warrant for kidnapping and murder will be the least of your problems.
A chill ran down the length of my back.
“Grab your stuff,” Dominic said. “We’re out of here.”
I turned and then jumped when this huge boom sent vibrations through the room. I turned to find Dominic had thrown the computer against the wall.
“What did you do that for?”
“They could have put a bug on it to track us.”
I started to ask if he was paranoid much, but then realized that a little paranoia might have served my sister well. I quickly grabbed my things, shoving them back into the Walmart bags they’d come from. Rather than take the stolen car, Dominic scouted out a couple of cars in the parking lot, letting himself into a Prius parked in a solitary little corner around the back of the building. We took off before anyone noticed, a gun once again slipped under the driver’s side seat. This time I was almost glad for it.
“Emily’s thumb drive?”
Dominic patted a pocket. “I took it with me when we left.”
“Do you think they found anything?”
“No. I was careful not to leave anything on the computer.”
“What now?”
He glanced at me. “Now I introduce you to Dragon Security.”
Chapter 10
Megan
Sam tapped on my door, sticking her head in.
“Do you have a minute?”
I’d just set down the phone after talking to my lawyer, trying to see if we could block the warrant that cop was sure to come back with. He explained that our hands were essentially tied and that we should cooperate as best as we could. That wasn’t really the answer I wanted.
“What’s up?”
“The hard drive from your brother’s computer. I know this isn’t the best time—”
“No, it’s fine. Did you get something off of it?”
I’d taken a hard drive from my brother, Peter’s, work computer from his office at our family business, Bradford Telecommunications. Peter was killed in a car accident more than eighteen months ago, an accident that I now had reason to believe wasn’t as much of an accident as the police thought it was. But we’d hit a bunch of dead ends over the seven months we’d been investigating. The hard drive was one of our last leads.
Sam came into the room and closed the door. Then she handed me a sheaf of papers.
There were numbers and dates, some of them corrupted and jumbled. There were lists of names. There were graphs that must have had something to do with what Peter did at Bradford Telecommunications.
“Do you know what any of this is?”
Sam came around my desk and shuffled through the papers, pointing to a few lines here and there. “This looks like notes on the software he was tracing. I think maybe he was tracing places where it was used. And this”—she pulled out another piece of paper—“looks like a list of phone numbers. Maybe the phones the illegal sold software was used on.”
“Were any of these in that envelope he left with Amber before he died?”
“No. But there was a file name. I think it was listed on some of those papers.”
“Then he was telling us where to find this information. He knew how important it was.”
“I think he knew what he was getting himself into, Megan. I think he gave those papers to Amber because he knew someone was following him.”
I leaned back in my chair and studied Sam’s face. “You think—?”
“I think you’re on the right track. I’m just not sure how deep all this goes.”
“Keep working on the hard drive.”
She nodded. “Will do.”
The door opened suddenly, Hayden sticking his head in.
“Boss lady? Got a minute?”
Sam looked at him, a blush beginning to bloom on her pretty face. She started for the door, clearly intent on going around him. But then she stumbled, tripping over nothing in the middle of the floor. Hayden grabbed her, catching her before she could face plant right in front of him.
“Sam!”
I jumped out of my chair and went to her, fear slicing through me. This wasn’t the first time she’d had a dizzy spell in my office. It’d happened once before, a few weeks ago. She promised then that she’d go to a doctor, but she clearly hadn’t.
Hayden lifted her into his arms and carried her to a chair, sitting her down and kneeling in front of her, taking her hands in his. She looked absolutely woozy, her head unsteady on her neck.
“Do I need to call an ambulance?” I demanded.
“No,” Sam muttered. “I just…I forgot to eat this morning.”
“That was stupid,” Hayden said, that familiar charm oozing from his voice. “You’re too smart for that.”
“Yeah? I thought grandmas were forgetful.”
He smiled, his handsome face lighting up with it. “Not grandmas as beautiful and young as you.”
She focused on him, this warmth coming into her expression that belied the paleness of her skin. “I’m not a grandma, you know. Not even a mom.”
“I know. But you certainly dress like one.” He touched a ruffle on the front of her oversized blouse. “I think my great-grandmother has a shirt like this one.”
She brushed his hand away. “I’ll have you know that my mom bought me this shirt. She said I look like an angel in it.”
“An angel ready for the retirement home.”
She hit him square on the shoulder, making him fall back a little, grabbing the spot and moaning softly.
“Baby,” she said.
“I’d rather be a baby than a grandma.” She hit him again, and he laughed. “That’s more like it.”
He stood and winked at me. “I think she’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah, I think so.”
He touched my arm as he moved passed me to leave the room. He never said what it was he wanted. But I was more concerned with Sam than him.
“Don’t do that,” I said, leaning against the front of my desk as I studied her, the paleness that persisted in her face. “You scared the shit out of me!”
“I’m fine,” she said, running her fingers through her hair. “I just…he picked me up like I weighed no more than a feather.”
“You don’t.”
She smiled. “I wish.”
“Is that what’s going on? You just wanted to get Hayden’s attention?”
“Maybe.”
I smacked her thigh. “Don’t go scaring me like that! We’ve known each other too long for you to play games like that with me.”
“I won’t.”
She got up slowly, moving just as slowly to the door. “I’ll keep working on that hard drive.” She was about to leave when she looked back. “There’s been no word from Dominic?”
“No. But I’m hoping he’ll call soon.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I watched her go, worry lingering. Then I pulled out my personal cellphone and dialed a familiar number.
“Cole? I think we might have something…”
Chapter 11
Dominic
The four hours to Houston seemed longer with every mile the car ate up. I caught myself leaning forward a few times, as though I was urging the car to go faster with the weight of my body. Amy reached over and rested a hand on my knee, clearly trying to help me relax. Or maybe trying to help ease her own tension.
“Do you think they’re following us?”
I glanced at her. “I don’t know.”
She nodded. “Do you think you’ll find him? The one who killed Emily?”
“Yes. But first I need to get you somewhere safe.”
“What?” She shifted in her seat so that she could look me in the face. Or at least, my profile. “You’re not leaving me.”
“I can’t put you in harm’s way.”
“We’re both already in harm’s way. What different does it make?”
“It makes a huge difference. I don’t want you getting caught in the cross fire.”
“I won’t leave you.”
I glanced over at her, sliding my hand over her leg. “You won’t be. You’ll simply be staying with a few friends for a couple of hours.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Not yet. But I’ll find him.”
“Then why are you in a hurry to get rid of me?”
I squeezed her inner thigh, as I pressed the gas to the floor of the tiny car. We needed to get to Houston; we needed to get somewhere where she wouldn’t be in the line of fire. The message on the computer back at the motel was not a game. I didn’t want Amy ending up in the same place as Emily.
How did I explain that to her?
“Do you remember the weekend we moved in together? Your parents drove down, and they were watching us, judging us.”
“They were worried about me. They thought I was moving too fast.”
“I can understand that. My mom wasn’t sure it was a good idea, either.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged, remembering my mom’s voice over the phone.
What if you move in together, sign a lease, and then realize you really can’t stand her? What if she complains about you leaving the toilet seat up or putting the milk carton back in the fridge with only a swallow of milk in it? Are you going to be able to put up with that until the lease is over?
“They didn’t understand how much we loved each other.”
She was quiet for a minute, chewing her bottom lip as if she was really thinking it over. “They thought we were too young to know what love was.”
“But they didn’t know what was really going on between us.”
“Did we?”
I slid my hand a little further up her thigh, squeezing again. She sighed softly, resting her hand on the top of mine. I glanced at her again, more e
xcited than I could explain to see her there without the handcuffs, without the anger that had consumed her over the last few days. There was still something there, something different. But it was slowly dissolving as we moved toward the place where we’d once been.
“You have to trust me, Amy. This is a complicated situation that requires a lot of finesse. I don’t want you getting caught in the middle.”
“Have you called all your other girlfriends and let them know I’m coming home with you?”
“Not yet. But I will.”
She shook her head, but the smile on her full lips told me that she wasn’t nearly as upset as her body language suggested.
We pulled into a small diner just outside of a little town called Ada a little after three. I needed to make phone calls—not to girlfriends, but to Megan—and she needed to stretch. I watched her disappear into the diner’s bathroom through the windows of the diner, aware of the way the men at the counter were looking at her. There was a thin line between pride and jealousy. I bit them both back and turned away, dialing the first call.
“Dominic?”
“We’re on our way to Houston.”
“We?” Megan asked, caution in her voice.
“I have a companion. And I might need a little help once we arrive. Is there a safe house we could use for a day or two?”
“Is this the girl the police claim you’ve kidnapped?”
I closed my eyes, a little embarrassed to have my boss ask me such a question. I nodded even though I knew she couldn’t see me.
“It’s complicated.”
“You’ll need to answer a few questions when you get to town.” She was quiet for a second. “The police are watching our offices. Probably your apartment, too. You should go to Sam’s. Do you know where that is?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll meet you there.”
“They’ll probably tail you.”
“I know. We’ll be careful.”
“Thanks, Megan. I really appreciate this.”
“You’re a Dragon,” she said. “Be careful, Crow.”
I hung up, frowning a little. She’d used my code name after telling me not to use it. Was that some sort of message? Was there someone there with her?
DOMINIC (Dragon Security Book 3) Page 8
