“Thanks, Julia. I’ll think about it.” He glanced at Selena, noting how her expression hadn’t changed.
She’d never invited him to the weekly family dinners, and frankly, he didn’t know how he felt about going. He liked and cared about her, but didn’t know if his feelings were strong enough to signal to her family that they may have a future. The thought had him looking at Adam, whose cool expression conveyed his own thoughts better than any spoken words. Linc had a good deal of thinking and explaining to do. Selena’s reaction would determine if they had a future beyond their growing friendship and passionate nights.
******
Linc walked her to the front door, having every intention of cutting their night short and returning to his office. When she opened the door, grabbed his hand, and pulled him inside, wrapping her arms around him, his plan disintegrated.
Drawing him toward her, Selena moved her lips against his. His arms tightened around her as he deepened the kiss, taking control.
“I can’t stay,” he breathed out, his voice growing husky.
“No?” she whispered against his mouth, already moving her hands to the buttons of his shirt. He didn’t stop her as she pushed the fabric out of the way, placing her hands on his chest.
Groaning, he tugged her closer before sweeping her into his arms. “Maybe I can stay for a little bit.”
Snuggling her face into his neck, she breathed in the scent so unique to Linc. “I think that’s a wise decision.”
His deep chuckle preceded him placing her in the center of the bed.
“You have too many clothes on.” She sat up on her knees, reaching for his belt.
He didn’t move as she lowered the zipper and pushed his pants to the ground. As soon as he kicked them off, he wrapped his hands around her wrists. “My turn.”
Moments later, he looked at her naked body, his breath catching as it always did when he took in her beauty. “I don’t know what you do to me, Selena, but I hope it never ends.” He trailed his fingers down her neck to her shoulders, then opened his hand, his warm palm continuing the journey over the curve of her hips, down thighs that quivered at his touch. Stretching out, he wrapped his arms around her, lowering his mouth to capture hers.
All she could do was feel as their tongues tangled, creating ripples of pleasure to spread through her body. The feel of his rough hands caressing her back, then smoothing down her sides to the swell of her hips had her gasping in anticipation.
“I can’t wait any longer.”
“Then you won’t have to.” He moved over her, taking it slow until he’d given them both what they wanted.
Chapter Eight
“Anything new?” Linc stepped into Matt’s office. He shrugged off his jacket and took a seat, pushing thoughts of his past, and Selena, out of his mind.
After the passionate time in her bed, he’d been reluctant to leave, yet he couldn’t put his duties off any longer. Holding her in his arms afterwards, he’d almost given in to Adam’s suggestion of disclosing his past marriage. Instead, he’d let his own excuses rule, deciding it might be best to leave the past where it belonged—in the past.
Her immediate understanding about his need to leave triggered a pang of guilt about his decision to keep a marriage of less than a few months to himself. The annulment came while he participated in an extraction mission in Afghanistan. Only his team, family, and a few close friends knew about Valerie and their brief union. As he had driven the dark, winding road to his office, he thought through the pros and cons of telling Selena, deciding to keep the mistake in his past. Despite Adam’s warning, he saw no reason to explain his brief error in judgment to her. Valerie was a mistake. Nothing more.
“No. Phreaker is continuing to monitor and trace.” Matt shot a look at Linc. “It may be that stopping the threat is the best we can do. Identifying the source may not be the best use of our resources.”
Linc had been considering the same. He knew of no one better than Tomás Vega at stopping imminent cyber threats, but he was still just one man. “We may need to hire someone to work with him.”
“He won’t like it,” Matt smirked.
“He’ll get used to it. Have any of the clients contacted us?” Linc stood, pacing to the window to look out at a clear night sky filled with stars.
“We’ve only had two affected, Bennington Technology and Caro Systems, and neither is aware of the attempts. Shane called them on the pretense of asking about our customer service. Each responded positively and appreciated him contacting them.” Matt’s solemn expression didn’t show the relief he felt at the feedback Shane’s call provided. “We dodged a bullet.”
“For now.” Linc turned from the window. “I want to go ahead with our conference call with Vega tomorrow. I’ll broach the subject of adding a person to help him.”
“Do you have someone in mind?”
“There’s a guy I’ve met from another SEAL team who discharged out a few months ago. He’s a tech whiz, like Phreaker, with some serious hostage rescue experience.” He picked up his jacket and headed for the door. “That’s what might play for Phreaker. We bring the new man on for our rescue division, but make him available on the tech side for special situations such as the one we have now. I’ll have all his specifics by our meeting tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
As Linc left the office, Matt turned his attention back to a computer screen showing real-time monitoring of client accounts. TSR had a spotless record. No one had been able to hack their clients’ systems, even though numerous attempts had been made.
Employees scanned the monitoring equipment twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Linc stopped outside the operations center, watching through the glass windows as the evening crew kept watch on client activity for both divisions. Half the room monitored clients using TSR for computer and systems security. The other half kept track of their rescue service clients.
He stepped aside as the doors pushed open, a young woman dashing out toward Matt’s office. Looking up, she stopped.
“Oh, good evening, Mr. Caldwell.” She bounced on the balls of her feet, indicating the urgency she felt.
Linc leaned against the doorframe, cocking a brow. “Tina, I’ve asked you to call me Linc.” He remembered she’d left the Army a few months before and still stood on military formalities. She hired on to work in their client rescue division after dual roles in the Army handling public relations and logistics.
“Yes, sir…I mean, Linc.”
“Where are you off to in such a rush?”
She glanced at the document in her hand, holding it out to him. “To see Matt. We have a situation.”
He quickly scanned it. “Come with me.” Taking long strides down the hall, he opened Shane’s door. “Meet me in 77C.” He moved to Matt’s office and said the same. When Tina turned to leave, he stopped her. “You’re coming with me.”
Her eyes went wide as she followed him through a door to a long hall ending at a conference room reserved for the top executives. Few in the company had ever been in 77C, a room reserved for crises management and operations deployment. The sight caused her breath to hitch. The walls were covered with large monitors focusing on different regions around the globe, while computers and other sophisticated equipment took up most of the desk space.
“What is it?” Matt asked, nodding at Tina as he moved to Linc’s side. Shane walked up beside them a moment later, then took a seat in front of a computer.
“An executive with Caro, plus several members of her team, were abducted after a business meeting in Jakarta. The company contacted the U. S. State Department, got nowhere, and then called us.” Disgust laced Linc’s voice, his jaw set. Caro was one of the two companies Phreaker had spotted with hacking attempts. He didn’t like the connection.
Shane muttered a curse as he pulled up a screen showing a detailed map of Jakarta. “They should’ve called us first.”
“Matt, get Phreaker on this. We need Intel yesterday,”
Linc barked out, never taking his eyes off the monitor. “Shane, contact our associates. See who has a team ready to roll as soon as we get the Intel needed.”
“Done,” Shane answered.
“Tina, I want you to lead the project management on this. Be our voice with the client and any press who snoop around.” When she didn’t respond, Linc swiveled to see her shocked expression. “Tina, you with me?”
Her gaze snapped to his. “Yes, sir. I’ll call the client right away and get every piece of information they have on the hostages.” She started to leave.
“You’ll work in here with us, Tina.” Linc pointed to a seat near Shane. “He’ll help with any questions.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Phreaker’s all over it, Linc.” Matt stepped next to him, holding out his phone. “Social media is already blowing up over this.”
Linc nodded. “Tina, make sure the client has someone experienced handling the media so their executives can work with us without being sidetracked.”
“Yes, sir.”
Linc pinched the bridge of his nose, a nagging sensation tugging at him. “Shane, don’t you have a contact in Jakarta?”
“I’ve already reached out to him, Linc. He’s with the local police in their gangs division. He’ll be able to get us the local insight, and even help with logistics if we have to send in a team.”
In the rescue industry niche, TSR held a unique position, working with a group of closely connected, yet independent security firms specializing in difficult extractions and hostage rescue.
“Linc, one of our associates has a team finishing up a joint training session in Perth, Australia. They can be ready to roll within hours.” Shane continued to type as he spoke, never looking away from the screen. “Hold up,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ve got my contact from Jakarta on the line. He says the police are already on it, suspecting a local gang of the kidnapping. He recommends we hold off sending anyone in until they have more time to evaluate.”
“That concurs with the chatter Phreaker is seeing. Let me put him on speaker.” Matt reached to a control panel, punching a button, then turning up the volume.
“Phreaker, tell us what you’re finding.” Linc moved closer to a series of screens showing media coverage of the kidnappings.
“Social media is burning up on this, Linc. The interesting part is what I’m finding out about the movements of Jakarta law enforcement. What I see concurs with Shane’s contact. They’re targeting a specific gang.”
“You hacked their system?” Matt groaned.
“I’m not answering that.” There was a pause before Phreaker came back on the line. “Linc, I gotta remind you that Jakarta police do not play nice in the sandbox. Sending our own people in could be a monumental mistake.”
Linc scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling the longer than normal stubble scrape his fingers, recalling the same incident as Phreaker. Without prior consent of the Indonesian government, their team had been dropped into a hot zone. Thinking they had the support of the local Jakarta police, the SEAL team had continued their mission. The fallout had been swift and the extraction quick. It had been a miracle they’d gotten out of the area with only minor injuries, as well as their target.
“I hear you, man. We’ll hold off any action on our end until we know more.” Linc glanced to his side. “Tina, get in touch with the client. Give them an update, let them know we are still gathering information, and we have a team ready if the locals come up empty.”
Tina glanced up at him, her expression neutral. “Will do, but they’re pushing hard for us to do more than talk to them.”
“Set up a private call between their CEO and me within the next ten minutes. I’ll wait in my office.” Linc glanced around the room, taking one more look at the monitors before stepping into the hall. Pulling his phone from a pocket, he checked his messages, surprised to see one from a man he hadn’t heard from in years. Someone he’d rather keep in his past. Ignoring his unease at how the man had gotten his private cell number, Linc slid the phone into his pocket. Getting back to the man would have to wait until the current crisis was resolved.
******
Linc rubbed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. The last twenty hours had been difficult. The Intel TSR provided to the Caro CEO had been clear—the local police weren’t prepared to deliver a successful rescue. They needed the resources TSR could provide, but several offers of assistance had been refused. The CEO told Linc to hold off, wanting to give the locals a chance to diffuse the situation. Both decisions turned out to be poor choices.
Linc cursed at the latest information flashing across a large monitor in room 77C. He didn’t expect to hear from Caro’s CEO for a while, knowing he and the rest of his company would be dealing with the deaths of their friends. Of the six taken, four were killed and two severely injured when the police raided the compound where they were held. Twelve gang members had been killed or injured. The police seemed pleased with the outcome.
Glancing at his watch, he felt the familiar sense of fatigue envelope him. His team had been up for over forty-eight hours.
At six o’clock the following evening, it was time to close down and send them home.
“We did all we could. It’s time for you all to head out and get some sleep.” Linc pursed his lips, his gaze darting among the others. “Thank you for your hard work on this.”
“You know we would’ve stayed no matter how long it took.” Shane drew a weary hand over his face, still reeling from the news of the bungled rescue.
“I’d invite everyone to grab a beer, but I’m too tired to make it any further than my place.” Matt checked the backup system before shutting down the monitors. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
Linc clasped him on the shoulder as Matt opened the door to the hall, stopping when another employee stood ready to knock.
“I heard you were here, Linc.” The young man glanced at the others before handing him a note. “I’m sorry to give you another issue, but there’s a man standing out front. He’s demanding to speak with you and says he won’t leave until he does.”
Linc let out a deep sigh when he read the man’s name. Douglas Bergman, the same man who’d sent him an urgent message almost a day before. Whatever Douglas had to say couldn’t be put off any longer. It had to be important if his ex-father-in-law had traveled across the country to see him.
“Escort him to the visitor room and tell him I’ll be right there.”
“Can’t you put him off until you’ve gotten some sleep?” Matt asked, then looked at the note Linc held out to him. Muttering a curse, he motioned for Shane to take a look.
“Valerie’s father?” Shane’s eyes widened as his brows shot up.
“The same. He left me a message about the time we learned of the kidnappings. I can’t put him off any longer.”
“I’ll bring coffee into the visitor room for both of you.” Tina didn’t wait for an answer as she walked down the hall, drawing the attention of the three men.
“You did good hiring her, Matt. I wasn’t sold on her background, but she did well during this latest crisis.” Linc let out a deep breath, rolling his shoulders, then stretching his arms above his head. “Guess I’d better see what Valerie’s father has to say. It had better be worth it.”
******
“He hasn’t contacted you since after dinner at my place? Isn’t that a little odd?” Julia asked as she and Selena walked to their cars. It had been a long day of meetings, including one with the mayor, who presented her with an anonymous message mentioning some disturbing news about TSR. Julia wouldn’t mention it to Selena, but she did want to discuss the allegations with Linc.
Selena pulled a key fob from her pocket, the lights on her car flashing when she pressed the button. “It is,” she sighed, setting her computer inside. “There’s no reason he has to stay in touch. After all, we’ve only been seeing each other a few weeks and he hasn’t made any kind of commitment.”
Julia snorted. “Right. If you believe that, you’re deluding yourself. From what I’ve seen, you’re both chin deep in a relationship.” Seeing Selena’s face still, she touched her arm. “Are you two having problems?”
Selena shook her head, her tired gaze sweeping the parking lot. “No. It’s just…I’m not sure. Something feels off.”
“Look, Adam is working late tonight. Why don’t we have dinner and talk?”
“I don’t want to mess up your evening, Julia. It’s probably nothing more than my insecurities reaching out to bite me.”
“First, you won’t be messing up my evening, and second, you’ve always had good instincts. If something seems off with Linc, maybe it is.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’d like to head straight home. I’m not very hungry and I have some paperwork to finish up.”
“No problem. Call me if you want to talk.” Julia hugged her before walking to her own car.
Driving home, Selena thought again of the last conversation between her and Linc. They’d sat in his car outside her home after dinner with Julia and Adam. She knew something weighed on him, deciding to wait until he opened up. He’d stayed silent, escorting her inside, then allowing himself to be drawn into a round of lovemaking. Afterwards, he’d held her. She could sense the tension rolling off him and felt certain whatever bothered him had something to do with her. Reaching up, she’d stroked a finger down his cheek, asking if anything troubled him. Shaking his head, Linc had given her a brief kiss, then crawled from her bed.
Almost two days later, she still hadn’t heard from him, which bothered her more than she cared to admit. For weeks, he’d reached out to her two or three times a day, and they’d shared a bed more nights than not. Maybe it had become too familiar for him, she worried, walking into her home and locking the door behind her.
Julia was right. Selena’s instincts had often saved her from business mistakes and relationship blunders. This time, the problem was she didn’t want to consider maybe his feelings were cooling. Not when hers were escalating at a pace she couldn’t control. Her heart told her Linc was the one for her, the soul mate she’d always sought. Alas, her intuition warned her otherwise.
Our Kind of Love Page 8
