by Adams,Claire
"Great, just great," I muttered as I tried to open the files and found them securely locked. I kept talking to myself as I tapped the keyboard and tried to find a way around the security, "Now we're going to have to figure out how to get back into the building, find the lab keys and then get into the lab so we can find a hard drive with all the files on it! Could this be any more difficult or complicated?"
I texted Ryan again telling him that it was imperative that he head back to my apartment, but I didn't want to say anything that would give away any information. I was growing more wary of the TriCorp team leader every day, and now I really wondered if Julian Baines had had Dr. Powell murdered. The only problem was that I couldn't come up with a valid reason why he would have wanted to kill him. However, I knew that if I could translate these files and get them into the right hands, chances were good that I'd probably understand what had happened.
"Ryan, where are you?" I said out loud as I sat back and stared at the computer. "How am I going to break into TriCorp and do what your father asked?"
When there was no reply to my question, I got up and walked to the kitchen, pulled a beer out of the fridge and walked out to the balcony where I sat and drank until the stars came out over 13th Street.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ryan
In the early hours of Monday morning, I quietly slipped back into Echo's apartment without waking her. It had been a long weekend spent doing surveillance on several people associated with TriCorp, not the least of which was Eva, but she'd somehow managed to slip away on Saturday afternoon and I'd spent the rest of the day trying to figure out where she'd gone without luck.
I headed over to the funeral home where Eva had said my father was being kept before we buried him, but the funeral director had no record of him being transferred from the morgue, and when I visited the morgue, the doctor in charge refused to answer any questions without proof that I was the executor of my father's estate. Everything about this felt wrong, but I couldn't find any evidence of anything and it was frustrating.
I sat heavily on the couch and leaned forward as I dropped my head in my hands. It had been forty-eight hours since I'd last slept and I was exhausted from being constantly on the move, but it felt good to be doing what I'd been trained to do instead of sitting around doing nothing. I wanted answers, but I wasn't sure how I was going to get them when the people who had them refused to talk.
"I'm just going to have to go see Julian," I mumbled as I rubbed my head and thought about taking a shower before I laid down.
"No, don't do that," Echo said quietly. I looked up and saw her descending the staircase with a frown on her beautiful face. She was wearing a long white robe and it floated in the breeze from the open balcony door as she crossed the room and sat down next to me asking, “Where have you been, Ryan?"
"You don't want to know," I said rubbing my eyes.
"Actually, I do," she said as she took my hand and looked into my eyes. "I think we need to start being completely honest with each other."
"Yeah, sure we do," I said looking away as I pulled my hand back. "You go first."
"Don't hide, Ryan," she said softly. "It's like you let out a little before you pull back and hide."
"Me? Hiding?" I retorted. "Ha! That's a good one."
"Don't hide, Ryan," she repeated.
"I'm not," I grumbled.
"So, where have you been?" she asked as she took my hand. I could smell her flowery scent and I tried to banish the image of her naked body laying in front of me. Her voice broke through the silence, "Ryan?"
"Huh?" I said as I realized she had moved closer enough to touch my arm as she spoke. "Oh, sorry. What was the question?"
"Where have you been?" she asked. All I could feel was the warmth of her fingers as she rested her hand on my arm. I shifted to try and cover the bulge in my pants as I fought to keep from pulling her onto my lap and kissing her hard. "I just want to know where you've been."
"I was tailing my stepmother," I blurted out as I shifted away from her hand.
Echo's face was completely serene as she stared into my eyes. It unnerved me how calm she was, so I kept talking, "There's something going with her, but I can't figure out what it is."
"What do you mean?" Echo asked as she reached out again and rested her hand on my thigh. "She's grieving the loss of her husband, and she's just been evicted from her home. I'd say that she's a woman with a lot on her mind."
"Maybe, but I have the nagging feeling that there's something else going on with her," I said swallowing hard to try and keep my voice from cracking as she slowly stroked my thigh. "Though, it could be the fact that I haven't trusted her from day one, so there's that."
"Where did she go, Ryan?" Echo asked as she pressed her own thigh against mine as she slid her hand between my legs, and I knew that if she kept going, I was not going to have the power to stop her.
"Echo..." I said as I looked down at her intending to ask her to stop tempting me, but those blue eyes drew me in and I couldn't look away. She closed the gap between us and pressed her lips to mine as she stood up long enough to turn and straddle my lap.
"Tell me where she went," she whispered. One knee was pressing against the outside of my thigh, while the other rested snugly between my legs. I could feel the heat between her legs radiating outward as she leaned in and pressed her body against me.
"The gym, the...salon, and the..." I groaned as she ran her fingers through my hair and when she urged my lips apart with her tongue, I gave in and wrapped my arms around her as I returned her kiss. Our tongues probed and teased as we let our hands roam free over each other's bodies. I could feel her leg pressing against my stiff shaft as she rubbed her barely covered breasts against my chest.
She pulled back a bit, let go of her grip on me and quickly pulled her nightgown over her head exposing every inch of her soft warm skin. I groaned as I leaned forward and gently licked a circle around one of her already erect nipples. She moaned softly and sunk her fingers back into my hair as she pulled me against her breast. I looked up at her as I closed my lips around her nipple and began sucking.
"Yes, oh yes, that's it," she whispered as she looked into my eyes. I gently nipped at the hard nub and smiled when she groaned with pleasure. I let go and traced a line across her chest with my tongue before giving the same attention to her other breast. I could feel her rocking her hips as she pressed down against my thigh.
"Ryan," she moaned softly as she slipped her hand between us and unzipped my jeans. I knew I should stop her, but I didn't want to and it was obvious that she didn't want to stop either. She quickly stood up and I braced my feet on the floor so I could lift my hips as she yanked my jeans down and off.
"Wait, wait..." I breathed heavily as I grabbed my pants and pulled a condom out of the back pocket. I quickly rolled it on before grabbing her and pulling her back down to straddle my lap. She looked like an erotic fantasy kneeling above me as I slid the tip of my shaft between her lips coating it with her wetness.
"Ah yes, that's it," she smiled as I found her sensitive opening and teased her a bit. She leaned forward and kissed me, moaning into my lips, “All the way. Please, all the way."
"Are you sure?" I panted knowing that it was unlikely I was going to be able to control myself once I slid inside her warm wetness.
"Never been more sure of anything," she whispered as she lowered herself so that I no longer had a choice in the matter. I could feel her taking me inside and I let out a long low growl as I felt my entire length buried deep.
"Oh God," I groaned as she began slowly rocking.
"That feels so good," she said breathlessly as she leaned down and kissed me again. I followed her lead and tried to hold back, but when she pushed herself up and braced her hands on my shoulders so that she could slowly pull herself up leaving just the tip of my rock hard erection inside of her, I shot her a pleading look.
"I can't, Echo," I groaned as she quickly dropped back down taking me all the way inside ag
ain. "I can't..."
"Then don't," she urged me as she rose up again and dropped down. That was all the urging I needed, and I slipped my hands under her thighs as I lifted her enough to be able to pull back before slamming my hips upward. She cried out as slipped my thumb down and stroked her clit as she rode me hard and fast.
I watched her as she threw her head back and pushed her hips down to meet my upward thrusts. I felt the sweat dripping down my face as I slammed up into her pushing closer and closer to the edge as I felt her begin to spasm around me.
"Ryan, Ryan!" she cried as I stroked her harder and faster. She was grinding down on me with an urgency that told me she was close to orgasm. I was far to close myself and I clenched my teeth as I fought to hold on long enough to get her there first. And then, in an instant, I felt the wave begin and her muscles contracting around me as I continued pulling back and pushing up.
She cried out and I felt her wetness flowing onto my thighs as she ground down harder onto me, and an instant later I felt the surge begin and I let go and joined her in the release.
"You feel so good," she murmured as she kissed me again.
"Oh God, you feel amazing," I groaned as I reached out for her and suddenly found myself with my arms wrapped around a corpse. I shouted, "What the fuck!"
I pushed it away only to find myself lying on a sandy hillside next to a SEAL aiming an automatic rifle at the buildings down below.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" I screamed. "Stand down, SEAL! STAND DOWN!"
I heard my name being called from somewhere inside the compound. It was a woman's voice, and it was familiar.
"Stand down, SEAL!" I shouted as gunfire erupted and I watched person after person being mowed down outside the compound. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
And then I heard it, clear and loud, "RYAN! WAKE UP!"
I felt hands shaking me as I rose up out of the depths of sleep.
"Ryan, Ryan! It's me, Echo. Can you hear me? Wake up!" she called.
"Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw the wood floor and wondered how I was hanging in mid-air.
"Ryan? Sit back," Echo said as she lifted me up from the pretzel position I'd bent myself into. She laughed lightly, "How did you fall asleep like that?"
"Huh?" I said, slowly unbending myself and wincing as I felt my muscles stretch. I mumbled, "I've slept in far weirder positions in the field."
"I can only imagine," she said as she helped me straighten up and then perched on the edge of he couch as I tried to get my bearings. She looked at me with great concern, "Where have you been?"
"Watch out, loaded question," I grinned.
"Why is that?" she asked confused. She reached out to touch me, but I pulled away not wanting to feel the softness of her touch and be tempted, again.
"Never mind," I said shaking my head. "Long weekend. It's all good. Is there anything to eat? I'm starving."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Echo
"How about some breakfast?" I called from the kitchen after I'd pulled Ryan back from yet another nightmare.
"Just coffee," he replied through the bathroom door.
I wanted to press him for details about where he'd been and why he was acting so skittish, but something told me that if I did, it would drive him further away and I'd never figure out what was going on. So, instead I decided to focus on Dr. Powell's emails and try to figure out how to find the lab keys so that we could enter his lab, find the cypher and get the research files into the hands of someone who would know what to do with them.
I started the coffee brewing and then stood at the counter and opened my laptop. I pulled up the email account into which all of Dr. Powell's emails were being filtered and saw that a new message had arrived. I clicked on it and gasped.
The message in my inbox read:
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS BLOCKED. This IP address is not authorized to receive messages from the source indicated. Your access to this information has been blocked. Please see an Administrator for further explanation.
"Shit!" I cursed as I slammed my fist on the counter. "They found everything!"
"What's going on?" Ryan asked as he emerged from the steam-filled bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. For a moment I was torn between what was going on with my email account and the urge to pull off my nightgown and feel his clean bare skin pressed against me. His body was a sight to behold, not only because his muscles were lean and tight, but also because the tattoos covering his upper torso gave him an air of danger even though I knew he was one of the good guys. Too good, in fact.
"They found the bug and the program I installed," I said as my brain won the battle.
"Wait, what?" he said as he looked from me to the computer.
"Cece and I broke into TriCorp two days ago and I installed a program I'd written to bypass the server and get your father's email," I said. "They found it."
"You went into TriCorp without me?" he asked.
"Yes, that's what I just said," I replied in an exasperated tone. "Your father told me that they keys to his lab were in his office and that it was the only way we could access his lab. I texted you all weekend trying to get your attention, but you were too busy to reply. "
"I was trying to gather intel," he said defensively.
"Yeah, well, I was trying to figure out a way to follow your father's directions," I shot back irritated that he didn't quite understand the importance of what Cece and I had done.
"How in the hell did you get in there?" he asked.
"Cece pulled the fire alarm and we snuck in," I shrugged.
"What if Julian would have caught you?" he countered. "What then?"
"We would have dealt with it," I said angrily. "You really don't get it, do you? I have a message from your father telling me that there is a cypher for the files in his lab, but that I've got to get in there and get it!"
"There's a key?" he repeated.
"God, you are so wound up in your own issues that you can't think straight, Lieutenant," I sighed as I grabbed the hard drive from my bag and pulled up the message I'd saved. I showed him the email. "Someone is going to come for the information, but we've got to have it ready with the cypher when they do and in order to get it we need to find the keys to the lab."
"Holy shit," he said as he read the message again. "I have to break into the lab and get the key."
"Slow down, genius," I said shaking my head. "You're not going in there without me. I'm the one who is going to know where the cypher is. Your father said so."
"I'm not taking you into the lab with me," he shook his head. "You have no idea how dangerous this could be."
"Don't you think you're being a tiny bit dramatic about all of this?" I said raising my eyebrow as I stared at him. "I think you've been away from SEAL duties a little too long and you're itching for a fight."
"That's bullshit!" he shouted. "I've been trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and you've got messages from my father that clearly warn you to steer clear of Julian Baines!"
"Yeah, well, I'm not afraid of him," I said with a little more confidence than I felt as I remembered how scared Cece and I had been hiding under my desk. "We need to get the cypher and turn over the files to someone who knows what to do with them, Ryan. Plus, I know the building, you don't."
"I don't want to risk your safety," he muttered. "And you're not trained in this kind of mission, so you going along would risk the safety of the entire team."
"Oh please," I laughed. "You're treating this like it's a life or death security matter."
"It might be," he said walking over to the coffee maker and turning his back to me while he poured two cups.
"You want to tell me what happened while you were out on your little reconnaissance mission?" I asked.
"Don't mock me, lady," he said as he turned and handed me a steaming hot cup of coffee.
"I'm not mocking you," I replied accepting the cup. "I'm frustrated because you keep shutting me out, and you can't do this one alone."
"I can if you let me do my job," he said stubbornly.
"You really are a piece of work, Powell," I said as I sipped from my cup. "Look, I'm not trying to take over your mission or whatever you think it is I'm trying to do, but you'd better get on board with the fact that I'm going to be going with you because I'm not going to back down."
"Why are you so hard headed?" he shouted as he slammed his cup down spilling hot coffee across the counter and quickly grabbing a dishtowel to stop the flow before it hit the laptop.
"Because I cared about your father!" I shouted. "And I want to help figure out how he died!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" he said looking genuinely confused.
"C'mon, don't tell me that it hasn't occurred to you that your father didn't just drop dead of a heart attack," I scolded. "I can't be the only one who feels like there's something really wrong about all of this."
"Shit," he muttered as he stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door.
"Ryan?" I called, but there was no response from behind the closed door. I was completely confused until he emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed, with his hands raised in surrender.
"Okay, look, there's a lot going on that I haven't told you, but I didn't want to drag you into this mess," he said quietly.
"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm already into it up to my eyeballs," I smiled as I looked up into his amber eyes and tried force the memory of looking down into them while I straddled him out of my mind. "Just tell me what you know. I've already told you everything I know."
For the next half hour, Ryan filled me in on his visit to Eva's and his run in with Julian at the Manhattan Club. As I listened, I started trying to fill in the missing pieces, but there was still too much missing for me to be able to make sense of it all.
"Where's the corner's report?" I asked.
"That's what's still missing," he said. "Eva said they'd have it out today or tomorrow, but now I'm wondering if she even requested it."
"She could have," I said trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. "It takes a long time for those kinds of reports to work their way through the system."
