Dangerous Secrets

by Sidney Bristol

  “Good.” Ryan shoved his hand through his hair.

  Things were moving. He didn’t know if he made the right or wrong call, but at least they weren’t at the mercy of people who wanted to use Carson.

  CARSON COULDN’T HELP but feel like this whole scenario was to get her out of the main room so Ryan and the others could talk.

  They weren’t telling her everything, for which she was grateful. She knew her limits, and that she was in over her head. Ryan was saving her, and all she’d done was hurt him.

  She didn’t deserve this.

  But she couldn’t help the frustration gnawing at her. Decisions were being made without her input.

  “How about...this one?” Merida clicked another button.

  Carson leaned forward and studied the man’s face. His cheeks were gaunt, his eyes lifeless.

  “Maybe?” She’d said that about three other potential men, but she couldn’t be sure. “I only saw them for a second. Are you sure there weren’t security cameras or anything?”

  “The cameras in the garage are at the entrance and exit.”

  “I thought I was safe there.” Carson shuddered.

  “Safe is a relative word. For the average person who wants to be able to sleep and feel safe against home invasion or burglary? It is. This is just a different level.”

  How had this happen to her?

  What had Carson done to be assigned Ben? What kind of karma was this?

  “Carson? Hey.” Merida placed her hand on Carson’s arm. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this.”

  “No, you’re great. It’s me.” She pushed to her feet and paced across the room, then back again.

  “Let’s take a break.” Merida pushed the keyboard and mouse away from her.

  “That won’t help me find my family.” Carson turned and strode to the far wall, pacing the longest part of the room.

  “If you’re upset you aren’t thinking clearly. To find them, we need a clear head. Taking a break isn’t a bad thing.”

  “How did you get into this?” Carson could understand how Ryan and the others shifted into this field, but Merida? What was her story?

  “I was an admin in the navy. My career had mostly run its course when Zain approached me to come here.”

  “Shit. Does everyone have some kind of army history?”

  “I was Navy, but close enough. Having that history makes this job easier, but not everyone was enlisted. Vito wasn’t.” Merida leaned back in the tall, leather chair.

  “What did I do wrong?” Carson stopped and prayed Merida had an answer for her.

  “You haven’t done anything wrong,” she replied.

  “But I did. Somewhere. Should I have gone to the police? A lawyer?”

  “Ask yourself this, if you’d done something different, would it have led you to this same place only without friends? Carson, there’s a time and place to evaluate our mistakes, but when you’re in the trenches? That’s not the time. You’re distracted and getting worked up about things you can’t change.”

  That sounded right.

  Carson nodded and continued to pace.

  “How’d you meet Ryan?” Merida asked.

  That question.

  Her cheeks heated.

  “You don’t know?” She dropped into one of the chairs across the desk from Merida.

  “No.”

  “We met at a bar, we flirted, then my best friend slept with him.”

  “Oh.” Merida blinked a few times.

  Carson was going to owe her crimes.

  “I told him he slept with me, I was pregnant and thought I’d just be there a few days. Now...look where we are?” She gestured at the computer.

  “Well...that’s life.” Merida shrugged. “Messy, complicated and rarely predictable.”

  “I don’t know why you’re all helping me. I don’t deserve it.”

  “If the world ran on who deserved what, it would be a much different place. There are a lot of good things that have happened for bad people. In this instance? Right place right time.” Merida smiled, her brown eyes warming. “You know why I took Zain up on this offer?”

  “Why?”

  “Because Aegis Group is different. There are a lot of firms out there that focus on security, body guards or anything that could be lumped under the heading of mercenary work—not all of which is bad, mind you. What set this place and these people apart for me was that they always try to do the right thing even if it costs a little extra. And we always take care of our own.”

  Carson nodded. She didn’t really understand, her world was too small for this kind of logic, but she got the gist.

  “A year and a half ago one of our teams was doing a standard rescue op. Kidnappers, ransom, the whole thing. They didn’t expect a woman to be there, but they rescued her, too. Next summer she and one of our men are getting married in South Africa. Just about the whole company is going. There are a lot of firms like ours who would have left her. Our guys might not be perfect, but they’re good.”

  Carson sighed. That story? That made sense to her. The girl left behind, that could have been her as a kid when CPS had to make the decision, did they listen to Carson or her mother? Some unknown, kind soul had helped her out of her hellish existence and on to a better life.

  “There you are,” an unfamiliar male voice said.

  Carson twisted to look over her shoulder.

  “Elias, this is Carson.”

  The man’s wide smile captured her attention more than the wheel chair. He had one of those larger than life, taking up the whole room, personalities.

  “Carson, hi. Elias Wood. Nice to meet you.” He maneuvered the chair to her side and presented his hand to her.

  “Hi.”

  “Elias is our head of sales and marketing,” Merida said.

  “I’m paid to spend money. Not a bad gig, am I right?” He leaned toward Carson, but his gaze was on Merida.

  “Don’t even try.” Merida glared across the desk at him. “She’s taken.”

  “The pretty ones always are.” Elias winked at Merida then glanced at Carson. “Well, now that I know who all the hush-hush is about, I’ll take myself back to my office. Merida, I’ll be out most of the afternoon if you need me.”

  He pivoted the chair and was gone.

  “I should also have mentioned that we only hire good and crazy.” Merida shook her head.

  Carson chuckled.

  Ryan had to be more than a little out of his mind to jump in like this and help her. She still didn’t understand how he could have feelings for her or even look at her. But here he was.

  “You okay?” Merida asked.

  “Yeah. Or I will be.” Carson swallowed the lump lodged in her throat.

  He’d told her he loved her last night. This whole situation had her overwhelmed. She couldn’t sort her own emotions like he could, but she also wasn’t accustomed to situations like this. But for him, this was his life, and he knew himself better than she did. Everything she’d learned about Ryan made her believe that he was the good kind of guy, probably the very best. She felt things for him, things that might even be called love, but she wanted to be positive before she opened her mouth. She’d already taken back one admission, she didn’t want to do it again.

  “You like him, don’t you?” Merida asked.

  “Yes.” Carson stared at the wall.

  A door down the hall opened and the sound of voices drifted toward them.

  “That’s the SCIF room.”

  “The what?”

  “Secure room.”

  “Carson?” Ryan called out.

  Her heart responded, beating against her ribs.

  “She’s in here,” Merida answered.

  Carson listened to the thump of his feet on the floor. She felt his presence like a magnet, pulling her closer.

  “Hey.” Ryan stepped into the doorway, his gaze locking with hers.

  Carson shivered.

  “What is it?”

  �
��I think we figured out a way to get your family back and give the FBI their guys.” Ryan turned the other chair to face her then sat on the edge, leaning toward her. “We’re working on the FBI, but if they fall through, I think we’ve got a reasonable chance that the Seattle PD will loan us enough fake bills to carry through with the exchange. We make the swap and as soon as you’re clear the FBI can have them.”

  “They’re expecting a wire transfer though...”

  “Are they? What did they tell you they wanted?”

  “Their money...”

  “We’re going to give them money, it’s just very good counterfeit.”

  “I don’t know...”

  Was Carson willing to gamble with her family’s life like this?

  “What other option can you think of? We’ve got our best guys looking for a digital footprint, some kind of trail, but these guys are virtually unknown to every source we have. Even the intel we have on them is suspect. All we know is that they have your family and they’re not exactly new to this, which tells me their threat is very real.”

  “I—I don’t know.” Carson glanced at Merida whose expression was just as grim as Ryan’s.

  “It’s your family, your call.” Ryan reached out and took her hand.

  “What are our other options?”

  “Pray for a miracle?”

  Did she trust Ryan to steer her right?

  Yes, she did. More than she trusted herself.

  THE SOUND OF A PHONE ringing echoed down the metal halls of the nearly empty freight ship.

  Kawa turned his head toward the sound.

  That couldn’t be his, could it?

  He got up from the bunk and crossed the hall into the room they’d set up as their general gathering area. The others were still scoping out the ship and making nice with their hosts.

  Kawa stared at the Unknown Number.

  The phone was encrypted and supposedly untraceable.

  He pressed the answer button and held it to his ear, not saying a word.

  Someone breathed into the line.

  The silence stretched on.

  “Hello? Is anyone there? Kawa?” The woman’s voice was strained, fearful.

  “I am here,” he said.

  “I wasn’t able to make the wire transfer happen.”

  “Then your family is—”

  “I have cash.”

  Physical money would be more difficult to move, not to mention turn into something he could transport back to Syria to pay for the op. But money was money. Someone would take it. And he was running out of time. If the senator didn’t get his sister back Akkadia’s part in the Aerospace investigation would come out and then no one at the United Nations would back their bid for independence.

  It was a gamble Kawa had to take.

  “I’ll meet you at my parent’s house,” she said.

  “No.” He might be new at these international deals but he had plenty of experience dealing with hostile people.

  “Where then? I’m not walking into some dark building.”

  “Your family’s lives mean that little to you?”

  “What? No.”

  “Money can be replaced. Family cannot.”

  “Where do you want to meet?”

  There it was, the sound of a desperate woman.

  “I’ll send you an address. I need to think this deal over first.”

  He ended the call and stared out of a window onto the water as the sun began to set. He wasn’t dealing with just any woman. She was part of Ben Grewing’s business. She’d helped him broker deals for all kinds of people. She was not innocent, and she was not without friends.

  Kawa could not underestimate this woman. If he did, it would be both of their lives.

  Chapter 16

  Ryan hit send on the text and watched Zain’s office door. Carson had held herself together all during planning and the call, but she was beginning to break. Merida had spirited Carson away before she began crying in earnest, but the fractures were there.

  The door opened and Merida stepped out.

  “How is she?” he asked.

  “Better.” Merida crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin up. “What are you doing with her?”

  “What am I—? Helping her.” Ryan frowned.

  “No, I mean with her.” She gestured at the office door and pitched her voice lower. “Ryan, I know you. I know how you are. I’m not judging, but—”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “You’ve dragged everyone into this situation.” Merida pointed her finger at him, her tightly controlled temper burning in her eyes. “You made it our business and that girl in there—”

  “I love her. Is that what you want to hear? She lied to me, and I don’t care. Maybe I am a fool and you’re all idiots for following me into this, but that’s the truth. I love her and I’m going to do this with or without the team.” Every time he said it the words felt more right. He’d gone from being the guy who wouldn’t see a girl more than twice to wanting to keep Carson with him forever.

  Merida’s mouth worked silently.

  Ryan had no further answer for her. He knew it was crazy and maybe stupid. He’d bought into this idea of him and Carson to the point that even her lies didn’t matter. Maybe she’d break his heart someday, and he’d be left with nothing but memories and regrets, but he wasn’t a fortune teller. He didn’t know what might happen, only what the deal was right now.

  “Satisfied?” he asked.

  “Okay then.” Merida blinked at him.

  “I’ve got Carson’s dinner in the bunkroom. I thought she might want to avoid a lot of people for now.” And selfishly he wanted her to himself.

  “That’s a good idea,” Merida said slowly.

  “If you don’t mind?” He gestured at the door behind her.

  Merida side-stepped out of his way.

  He crossed to the door and tapped on it with his knuckles before turning the knob. He pasted a smile on his face because someone had to be the strong one and Carson was already carrying too much weight.

  She twisted in the guest chair to look up at him. Her eyes were a little red, her face a touch pale and her hair was up in that messy bun, but she still looked good to him.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “Not really. I don’t think.” She rubbed her hand across her face.

  “Will you come with me?” He held out his hand.

  “Sure.” He’d convince her to eat something even if he had to trick her into it.

  She took his hand, the world settling into a momentary sense of rightness.

  Maybe he was a fool being taken for a ride by a pretty girl. He wouldn’t be the first man, but he wasn’t going to miss out on something that felt this good just because of how they’d been thrown together.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “I thought we could eat in here, away from the others. If you’re not hungry you could watch some TV?” He opened the door to the bunkroom and held it for her.

  Ryan glanced up and down the hall. The others were in the command room watching the phone for any update. There wasn’t a lot more they could do without instructions or some kind of cooperation with the FBI. For now, their best bet was to do whatever kept them sane.

  The need to comfort and protect Carson was driving him into new territory on all levels. He’d never felt something like this before and he didn’t exactly know what to do with it.

  He closed the door behind him and locked it. Even though the others had vowed to keep away unless it was an emergency, he wasn’t going to trust them from being dicks.

  “Do you guys sleep here?” Carson stared around the room.

  “Sometimes if we have a tight turn around or if someone needs a place to crash for the night before they can get home, yeah.”

  Six could sleep here on bunk beds, then there was the sectional sofa that could sleep two in a pinch. The bags under the beds were a testament to the others having stayed here ra
ther than their house last night.

  “Come over here.” Ryan sat down on the sofa and patted the cushion next to him. “We ordered take out, so I got what you ordered at my place. I also brought your purse and planner in here. Thought that you might like that.”

  “Thanks.” A ghost of a smile curled her lips.

  He got her a fork and napkins for her before touching his own food. She picked at her noodles, showing little interest in it while he wolfed his down.

  If there was something he could do or say to put her at ease, he’d have done it. He hated this powerless feeling. Even doing everything he could think of wasn’t enough.

  “Is it not good?” He set his empty container down on the coffee table.

  “I was just wondering—are they giving Mom and Dad dinner? What about Frankie? She gets grumpy when she hasn’t eaten.” She held tight to her composure, but he knew she hurt.

  Ryan took her barely eaten meal from her and set it next to his. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, cradling her.

  “We’re going to get them back,” he said. He wished he could promise her a happy ending, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even bring himself to tell her that her family might not be alive when they got them back.

  “Thank you for doing all of this.” She sat back and wiped at her face. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

  “Don’t think about it. I’m here.” He placed his hand on her knee and prayed that if this didn’t work out, if they couldn’t bring everyone home alive, that she didn’t hate him. “Come here.”

  Ryan wrapped his arm around her and tucked her in close to his side. When he’d walked into the house and saw her he had no idea how much she’d change him in a week. And maybe they were going about it in the wrong way, but he wasn’t going to lose a good thing.

  “You know you’re going to have to tell me more about your parents so I don’t put my foot in my mouth when I meet them?”

  Carson chuckled. “Frankie’s the one you’ll have to impress.”

  “Little sister’s a tough nut?”

  “Sometimes I wonder if she even likes me.”

  “Of course she likes you. At least we don’t have to tell them the other story.” He’d much rather worry about just being the boyfriend instead of the boyfriend and baby daddy.