JT frowned. Donovan had told her Peck killed his partner. Unless Peck was there, had a part in it. "Peck?"
Dan nodded. "Peck and Raven were together on the hit. I was their target. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I just happened to be conscious enough to watch Gessler fire off two shots, both hitting Raven. Peck returned fire, pumping six into him. Gessler may have been able to survive the slice to his throat, but not the gunshots. He was dead on the first shot, but that bastard Peck just kept firing. That's his trademark. The first shot kills, the rest thrills. That's what he used to say."
JT wanted to touch him, to comfort him, but he was in a trance. He needed to get this out. It was probably the first time he'd ever told the story since it happened. She couldn't imagine the Hell he went through that night. Losing the woman he loved. His best friend, killed by the woman he loved. JT shuddered.
"Did Raven die?"
"I don't know. I blacked out after that, woke up in the hospital two days later. Whenever Peck pops up, he's alone. My guess is she died, which explains Peck's personal vendetta against NASSD, and against me."
"Against you?"
"He's killing off everybody I ever cared about. Our old unit. My friends." His face hardened. "And he isn't done. As long as there are members of my team left, he won't stop. Not until he finishes with me." He turned to her. "Once we take out Mercado, I'm going after him."
"I'm going with you."
"No!" Dan shouted at her. "This, I take care of alone."
JT went to him, rested her hands on his shoulders and looked up into his eyes. "No, Dan. I won't let you take this on alone. You need a partner. You need backup. You need me."
He searched her eyes. "You'd be risking your career. NASSD doesn't exactly approve of my plan."
"Good thing I have a hard time with authority. Their words, not mine. Now kiss me."
He did, sealing their pact.
Chapter 15
Dan couldn't go down to the bar and retrieve his clothes, not dressed like a spy. He'd just have to call down to the bar and hope Snyder answered.
A knock on the door stopped him mid-stride to the phone.
"Who's that?" JT asked after walking back into the room through the door adjoining his with hers, now wearing her jeans. Her not wearing anything on her lower half during their talk proved very convenient. After he spilled his heart to her, he spilled his life into her. Several times. Thank God NASSD agents were always prepared, and always protected. He didn't need little NASSD agents running around after this all ended.
She pulled her hair behind her and tied it in a knot. She then grabbed a pen off the desk and shoved it through the middle of the knot to hold it in place. Dan shouldn't have noticed it as much as he did. But he did. Even after making love more times than he could count, he still pondered at the thought of having her again.
"I don't know. Get back into the other room." As she did, Dan grabbed his pistol and moved toward the door. He peeked through the peephole and cursed, uncocked his gun. Throwing open the door, Dan pulled Snyder inside and looked out in the hall before slamming the door.
"Good morning," he sang and threw Dan's clothes at him. "Figured you could use these. Dry and everything. I'm guessing NASSD didn't deliver the clothes, right?"
Dan gave him a glare and set the gun back onto the table, started toward the bathroom to change. "Anything new to report?" When he didn't answer, Dan looked back over his shoulder.
Snyder smiled that damned charming smile as he spied JT walk back into the room. With her form-fitting t-shirt and jeans, she looked delectable. Noticing how Snyder traced her frame with his gaze, Dan tensed. No man had the right to look at her like that except him.
"I liked the spandex better," Snyder commented, the irritating flirt. "They fit you like a second skin."
JT's face grew to a bright crimson. "Yes, well. I like my first skin better, thank you."
"You and me, both." Snyder flashed his goddamn teeth. In turn, JT flashed her eyes at him.
Dan hid his smile. Any minute now JT would walk over and bust the guy's nose for talking to her like that.
Just as predicted, she started toward him, that look in her eyes. She was going to split his lip, break his nose, and probably knock him unconscious. Dan jumped between them, stopping JT with his hands on her shoulders. As much as he'd love to see Snyder go down for so much as thinking about JT's skin, they needed him, and needed him conscious.
Dan stared her down. "How about you order us all some food? I'm going to get back into some normal clothes."
Her eyes softened as she looked up at him. "Oh, darn. No more Spiderman?"
"Spiderman's outfit is red and blue," Snyder offered. JT's eyes started to narrow. Dan shook his head to have her let it go. She nodded once, but he could tell she had no intention of letting it go.
Dan stepped aside and went into the bathroom before he heard JT's response. He could only help Snyder so much. If the guy kept opening his mouth and insulting her like that, JT would make it difficult for him to open his mouth at all.
He hurried into his clothes, fully prepared to sweep whatever was left of Snyder up off the floor. When he opened the door, they were sitting and talking with each other. Hell, he even had her laughing.
The bastard.
Dan went and sat down between them on the couch. "What have you got for us?"
Snyder finally peeled his eyes away from JT to look at Dan. "We've got serious issues, dude."
Dan and JT exchanged glances. No looks, no personal feelings. Agent to agent. Dan leaned forward. "Talk."
"Our little visit to Mercado's compound last night upped his paranoia. He's doubled his guards and now has a twenty-four hour watch on the fences. And all ports. According to the tequila-drinking trio, once they found those guards' bodies, Mercado freaked."
"Shit." Dan shook his head. "We'll never get back in there now." He glanced at JT. She returned his look. They were going to have to send her in.
"His men are downstairs right now, drowning their worries. Mercado keeps promising something big, but they tell me they don't know what it is. Not even with a fifth of Cuervo in their system."
Dan glanced at his watch. "At nine in the morning?"
"Tequila runs like water down here, mi amigo." Snyder looked over at JT. "Weber wasn't too hard on you, was he?"
JT's eyes widened. She stole a glance at Dan before looking back at Snyder.
He smiled, flashing a perfect set of teeth. "Last night? Running for your life? Ring a bell?"
Dan grunted, relieved that was all he meant. Another comment like that and he'd break Snyder's nose. "Get used to it. Turner has made running for her life a daily occurrence. Anything else?"
Snyder nodded. "Pedro contacted me. He's trying to reach you."
"Since when?"
"Since about an hour ago."
Dan glanced over at the satcom. "Why didn't he just use the uplink? It came from him, so he knows the frequency."
"He said he tried. Three times." Snyder eyed them both, and Dan knew exactly what the man was thinking. "Must not have heard it, huh?"
Saved by a knock on the door. "That was quick," Dan commented.
" I offered them extra if they made it here in fifteen minutes or less." JT stood. She opened the door and started talking with the man holding the giant silver tray, stumbling through what little Spanish she knew.
Snyder leaned over to Dan. "Way to go, Weber. She's way hotter than Donovan's wife."
"She's a federal agent." His mood veered sharply toward anger. Snyder was very close to losing the ability to speak, because Dan was this close to ripping out his tongue if he said another word about JT.
Snyder pulled back. "Sorry, man. No disrespect. I didn't know you and her were involved."
"We aren't."
"Sure." He wiggled his brows and Dan gave him the finger.
JT rejoined them, setting the tray on the table in front of them. "Can you believe our sandwiches only came to a hundred p
esos? That's good, right? He said he wasn't making lunch, since it is only nine in the morning. But after I offered him one of the 500 peso notes, he seemed eager to please." She grabbed the biggest one and took a bite. Both Snyder and Dan looked at her. "What?"
"You just gave that man a fifty dollar tip. That's enough to live on for a week down here." Dan pointed out.
She didn't stop chewing. In fact, the news didn't seem to faze her in the least. "Oh. Well, he makes good sandwiches." She took another bite.
Dan didn't even want to know how fast they'd go through their money if JT kept tipping everyone like that. He decided to get back to the mission. "What did Pedro need?"
Snyder took a bite and swallowed. "He said he worked night and day for you, señor." He did a pathetic attempt at Pedro's accent. "He's got your stuff."
So soon? Dan really liked it when people were eager to please. "I'll head over there after we're done here."
JT picked at her sandwich bread. "Who's Pedro?"
"The Gadget Master," Snyder commented and took another bite of his sandwich. "He's the one you have to thank for all those nifty doo-hickies we get to use."
"Is that all?" Dan asked after finishing his sandwich. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a long swig to wash it down.
"I was hoping you could come up with a plan to get us back in there now that every inch of the place will be crawling with hired guns." Snyder grabbed another water bottle and took a drink. "Unless we tunnel our way in underground, we're screwed."
Underground . Pedro's brother. "I'll come up with something."
"And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" JT asked.
Dan rested his eyes on her. "You wait for me this time."
* * * *
JT rested her chin on her hand, and her elbow on the arm of the small couch. This sucked. She hated waiting. Mercado couldn't have gotten too many men this soon. If they went after him now, they'd still have a chance. She just knew it.
"Stop pouting," Dan ordered gruffly. He slipped on his other boot and tied it. "We'll get him."
"Then why can't we go get him now?"
The satcom link buzzed. Dan stood and answered the line. "Weber."
He turned and looked back at JT, the oddest shadow behind his eyes. She took a breath to ask him who it was, but he turned his back to her.
"Man is it good to hear your voice. How did you get this link?" He paused. "You were always the smartest one. You received the package? Then you know what to do. You heard about the others? Fish. Sandman. Doughboy. He was? No, I hadn't heard. That's too bad. Gameboy was a good man. I guess that leaves you and me. Yes, and him."
He nodded. "Yes, she's here with me. I'll bet." He looked at her again. "You have my word." He stiffened. "Are you nuts? No, I don't. No. That isn't a good idea. Jesus Christ, man."
Dan colored and slumped his shoulders. "Sorry. Yes, I'll apologize to her. No, I don't usually talk like that around her." He growled and motioned to her with the receiver. "Someone to talk to you."
JT furrowed her brow and walked over. She accepted the receiver and brought it up to her ear. "Turner."
"Hi, Jessica. How's my baby girl?"
JT's mouth went dry. Her blood slowed. She knew his voice, prayed he'd one day talk to her again. Like he used to. "U-Uncle Charlie?"
"Guess I have some explaining to do." The line clicked a few times before his voice sounded again. "Are you okay down there?"
She swallowed as her eyes swelled with tears. This time she didn't bother to hold them back. Dan started pacing. He went by the window, stopping every few seconds to glare outside, then back at her.
"You're talking?" She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. Her uncle. The one man who competed for the pedestal she'd placed her father on. And when she started in Gahanna , she'd placed Dan Weber on his very own pedestal. She didn't know whether his pedestal was higher or lower than Uncle Charlie's.
And now, she had a deep foreboding growing inside her brain. The disabled didn't simply jump up one day and declare themselves healed.
"Listen to me, sweetheart. I'm not sick, never was. I wish I had more time to explain."
"More time?" JT's stunned silence and tears were replaced with an unbridled anger and feelings of overwhelming betrayal.
"Jessica, sweetheart."
"What about the last two years? What about the endless nights I stayed up to take care of you before I put you in that home? What about the day I dropped you off and you called me Trinity?"
"Everything I did, I did for you. For your protection. You have no idea what kind of men you are dealing with when it comes to LEON . They will stop at nothing. I had to do it. For the job. For you. They would have killed me like they've killed the others. I would no longer be able to protect you."
"Like you have for the past two years?" She was hurt, and damn angry. How could he do this to her? He put her through an emotional Hell. He almost broke her financially with her footing the bill for the home he now lived. Every last dime she had she sent to him. She'd lost twenty pounds worrying about him. For the first six months she couldn't sleep, the guilt eating her alive that she'd given up on him by placing him in the home. Now she realized he was the one who gave up.
"I wish there was some way for you to understand."
"You could have tried confiding in me."
"I couldn't. I had to play the part to convince everyone I wasn't a threat. I have no idea how deep this goes."
"Does HQ know?"
"They do now. I contacted Donovan as soon as I received the package."
"What package?"
"Now's not the time."
JT was so sick of hearing that excuse from people who were trying to hide something. She shot a sideways glare at Dan. He looked back at her and quickly lowered his eyes.
The snake. He knew about this. He knew her uncle wasn't sick and never said anything. She wanted to throw something at him. Sharp and hard.
"Jessica, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into. Please, sweetheart. Turn back now. Please."
"I can't. I'm doing this for the job." She threw his words back at him. "You of all people should understand that."
Uncle Charlie sighed and JT closed her eyes to regroup. How did everything get so damned complicated? She longed for the days when she was back at Gahanna , shooting at sand-filled burlap sacks. Beating out the instructors for the flag during trainings.
"I was afraid of that. I raised you too much like me, little girl."
"I'm not that little girl anymore."
Dan made a noise, catching her attention. She glanced at him to see him nodding his head in agreement. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You win. But please listen to everything Hollywood says."
" Hollywood ?" JT whipped her head around and looked over at Dan. He stared back at her, his face expressionless. "You're Hollywood ? You're the last member of the LEON project?"
He turned away and went back to pacing by the window. "Finish. Then we'll talk."
JT's head started to hurt. Under the circumstances, that was the least of her problems.
"Was there anything else?" JT snapped off.
"You may not believe me, but I do love you. If playing invalid for a few years kept you safe, then I have no regrets."
"That makes one of us."
His tone changed. "You listen to me, Jessica Trinity Turner. You will not show disrespect. I raised you better than that. What I did, I did to keep the family safe."
"What family? I'm the only one you have."
"Exactly."
She got it. It hit her like a ton of bricks falling from the top of the Empire State Building . The other agents protecting LEON were being murdered, one by one. They didn't have wives. They didn't have any kids. If they had, Peck might have taken them out as well.
He was going to wait to go after Dan until he'd taken out the rest. Not to intimidate him, but to punish him. JT heard Dan when he mentioned something about Gameboy. Bruce Aims. Another one gone
. That left Dan.
And Uncle Charlie.
JT lost her breath. He'd already contacted HQ. If, God forbid, there still was a leak in HQ feeding Peck the location of the other agents, that meant Peck could already be on his way to Uncle Charlie. Oh no. No!
"Uncle Charlie, listen to me." She hurried her words out. "You have to get out of there."
"What are you talking about, sweetheart? No one but HQ knows the truth."
"I still think there is a leak in HQ. Please, Uncle Charlie."
"All right. If it makes you feel better, I'll pack up and go under for a while."
She could finally breathe again. "Thank you."
"Put Hollywood back on. But remember, listen to him. He's been doing this a long time. He knows how the game works. And no matter what happens, know I love you very much. I wish we had more time."
So did she. "Goodbye, Uncle Charlie." Her eyes filled with fresh tears and she quickly swallowed them back down. She'd have time to come to terms with this after the mission. Right now, she had a target to wipe out. One last breath to regroup and bury the numbness that almost consumed her, and she'd be ready. Okay. One more breath. There.
She held up the receiver and waved it at Dan. "Oh, Hollywood ." He hurried back over and held out his hand. Irritation replaced her numbness as she looked up at him. She slammed the receiver into his open palm, the smack as it hit his flesh sounding through the room. His expression was a cross between a wince and smile.
"Thanks." He brought the receiver to his ear. "See? I told you it wasn't a good idea. Yes, your little Jessica is all grown up." His eyes softened as he rested his gaze on her face. "I promise. I'll keep her close."
He turned away. "Listen Papabear, I—what was that? Papabear? What was that noise? Are you there? Charlie? Fuck!"
He shouted out another series of curses as he slammed the receiver down, hesitating for only a moment before picking it back up and punching in a set of numbers. He turned and looked at her, and JT didn't like what she saw in his eyes.
Worry. Fear. The same he had when he looked at her back in the car. Suddenly she felt it, too. "Are you calling him back?" He ignored her. "Dan, what's going on? Damn it! Talk to me."
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