“I didn’t realize you’d been successful fighting the Recovery Team agents.” John made a show of brushing something off his charcoal dress pants. “From what I remember, every time you’ve gone against Recovery you’ve had to make up a story about an accident in training exercises and call your men’s next of kin. That’s not exactly a stellar history either, now, is it?”
Not that Trevor needed a reminder of that fact. His losses had been high enough for him to enter into an informal deal with Luke Hathaway, Recovery’s leader: Trevor would leave Recovery alone and vice versa. After all, there were only so many men on his payroll qualified and trustworthy enough to do the dirty off-the-books job and he was running low.
But John didn’t know any of that and Trevor was not about to fill him in. “I am smart enough not to full-on fight with Recovery, but if I did I assure you I would most definitely succeed.”
John smiled. “I wonder if your brother counted on that fact.”
Trevor curled his fingers into fists to keep from reaching for the gun taped under his desk. “Leave Bram out of this.”
“Why? The Recovery agents killed him.” John smacked his lips together in mock concern. “I still don’t understand why you’ve refrained from seeking revenge.”
“Because I am civilized?”
“You could have unloaded. Bram was, after all, a highly respected congressman. At least in the public’s view. Though we know better, don’t we?”
Trevor had kept the real circumstances of Bram’s death quiet to preserve his brother’s legacy. Trevor hoped the Walters brothers’ involvement with the WitSec money-for-information scheme would end at Bram’s grave.
It might have if John hadn’t gotten his hands on the tape that changed Trevor’s life. That made him a target instead of a leader. “Maybe you should focus your attention on keeping your moneymaking plan quiet instead of on my private life.”
“But that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
John never did have grasp of the obvious. “You happen to be in my office.”
“This time.” John’s mouth twisted in a snarl as he said the words. “I won’t tolerate being ordered around again.”
But he would. Trevor would make John do it over and over until Trevor got bored with the cat-and-mouse game.
“I will do what I have to do until you realize you do not own me.”
“But I do…unless you want a certain tape to go public.”
Trevor mentally pledged to redouble his efforts to get that tape. If he couldn’t find it, he’d do things the hard way. Maybe start with John’s pretty little wife.
Trevor would have a file on her by morning. “It is interesting how a man who has sold out WitSec particpants’ locations for cash is trying to use blackmail and threats of public-image destruction to get his way.”
“Nothing in those deaths points to me. Since the identities were secret, the deaths aren’t even public knowledge. No one knows to investigate the losses, such as they are.”
“Interesting.”
It appeared John was not smart enough to realize every conversation in the office was recorded. Even his underling Russell Ambrose got that, and Russell was dumb enough to get himself killed at the Recovery agents’ feet.
The public didn’t know why Russell died in a shoot-out for fear the news of a witness handler selling information would upend the program, but powerful people in government now knew. A top-secret investigation into WitSec was all but assured, which Trevor assumed was why John wanted the loose ends tied and tucked.
“I will concede the men I sent to retrieve Ms. Timmons failed in their quest,” John said.
“Apparently.”
John leaned forward, his smarmy self-satisfaction abandoned in favor of fevered whispers. “We cannot afford to have her welcomed into the protective bosom of the Recovery Project.”
“We?”
“She is with one of their agents.”
Adam Wright. Trevor knew all about him. About all the agents. “I have read the intel on your failed mission. I know the facts.”
“Then you know we are at a turning point.”
Trevor could smell the desperation on the other man. The weakness disgusted him. “Meaning?”
“You need to step up and play your part.”
Trevor shifted in his chair. The leather felt comfortable again now that he was back in control and his unwanted guest was squirming. “This conversation would work better if you would stop talking in wild generalities and asking rhetorical questions.”
“You need to terminate Adam Wright and Maddie Timmons.”
“That will just bring the entire Recovery team to my doorstep. No, thank you.”
“Then kill them all.”
Just when Trevor thought John could not get more reckless, he did. “I think law enforcement would notice a mass murder within the D.C. metro area.”
“Then you better be careful in how you do it. I’d suggest a gas explosion.”
“Subtle.”
“Something believable that will take them all out.”
Trevor exhaled to show his displeasure with the ridiculous conversation. “The Recovery team is made up of law enforcement officers of sorts. Former military, maybe, but still, they have friends in high places.”
John jumped to his feet. “Then you pick something. Just get it done.”
MADDIE RECHARGED BY THE TIME Adam drove through the thick metal gate surrounding the beat-up beige warehouse. The thought of being locked inside the premises sent a rush of panic through every cell and pore in her body. Her innate tendency to run to safety and ask questions later kicked into gear. It took all her control to sit there and let Adam usher her into the unknown.
She figured if he wanted her dead he would have killed her by now. She repeated the refrain until it took hold and she started to believe it.
“I don’t want to kill you,” Adam said in what could only be described as a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding tone.
She had to smile. “I guess I said that out loud, huh?”
He threw her a sidelong glance. “Yeah.”
“Can you blame me?”
“No.”
She expected him to defend his position and argue his case. By agreeing, he sucked the heat right out of her. Still, she needed to follow protocol. Her handlers had drummed the plan into her head until it played in her dreams. Get to a safe place and call. She couldn’t promise on the first, but she could make the second happen.
Let Adam explain to the U.S. Marshals Service why she was safer with him when they broke down the doors to rescue her. She just needed to stay safe. She’d fought too hard, sacrificed too much, to risk it all over a sexy man with an even sexier dimple.
Adam parked and nearly broke a speed record coming around to her side of the truck to open the door. He likely thought she would bolt. Since he’d driven into a secure and brightly lit garage, a place with few obvious exits, he didn’t have to worry. Even she wouldn’t try to break her way through a metal wall.
“How are you feeling?” His voice dipped low as he asked the question.
The sexy vibration made her insides jump around in excitement. “Fine.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Maddie.”
She rolled her eyes. “The shoulder and the back hurt.”
“We can get you some medical attention.”
“You won’t call the police but you’ll call an ambulance?”
“I think he means me.” A guy slipped in behind Adam. “Hey, man. Have a nice time in West Virginia?”
She tensed but Adam smiled. “Maddie, this is Caleb Mattern.”
“I work with Adam,” Caleb explained as he held out his hand toward her.
She shook the man’s hand and then pulled hers back fast. She wasn’t even out of the truck and she had to battle two of them.
And what exactly did these guys eat? Caleb stood over six feet, with broad shoulders, light brown hair and the most soothing blue-green eyes she’d ever seen
. He had that handsome mussed look that reminded her of blue jeans and football on Sunday afternoons. The relaxed style matched his welcoming smile. The only surprise was the shiny gold wedding band.
Attractive or not, she didn’t trust Caleb one inch more than she trusted Adam. Well, that wasn’t true. She reluctantly believed Adam wanted to help her. She didn’t know why or if her radar was off, but she was willing to go along for now. But only with Adam.
“I hear you got banged up,” Caleb said.
She’d been with Adam every single minute since the attackers came. He hadn’t made a call. She’d know, since she’d been watching for a cell phone so she could steal it. “Who told you that?”
“It’s on the radio.” Adam frowned at her in a way that said he thought she was clueless. “How do you think? I did.”
“When?”
Adam waved her off then reached up to drag her out of the truck. “Don’t worry about it.”
She wasn’t in the mood to be placated or manhandled. She pulled out of his reach and ignored Caleb’s half cough, half laugh as she did. “You want me to trust you but you’re keeping information from me. How is that fair?”
Caleb crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s got you there, man.”
“Don’t help.”
Caleb’s smile grew wider. “Can’t seem to stop.”
“She can fight her own battles.”
Caleb nodded. “I get it. I’ve been there.”
“Where?” Maddie asked.
Adam glared as his teammate for about ten seconds before turning back to her. “I used my watch.”
Maddie didn’t follow. Maybe she did need a bed and an aspirin before she could function again. “What does that mean?”
Adam held out his wrist to her. “It works like a telephone only better.”
The black face looked like most other watches but bigger. She could see a series of buttons and when Adam hit one, the face switched to an image of the garage.
Caleb pointed around the space. “Cameras. You’re almost never alone here.”
She was more interested in the phone part. “Where can I get one of those?”
“Adam designed this one. We all wear them.”
With all the gunfire and running, she’d almost forgotten about the other side of him. “So, the computer-geek thing is real.”
“I prefer the word genius.”
Adam exhaled. “I’m sure you do.”
Caleb didn’t try to hide his laugh that time. “Let’s take this discussion inside.”
He reached in the cab to bring her out. Instinctively, she shrank back, wedging her body into the seat. When Caleb stared at her with a she’s-nuts-and-getting-crazier-by-the-second look all men did so well, she sat back up.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
Caleb winked. “It takes more than that to offend me, but I do want to make sure you’re okay.”
She didn’t want to like them, either of them. Caleb made her feel comfortable. Adam made her all tingly. She didn’t care for either reaction.
“You’re a doctor?” she asked.
“I’m the forensics and science guy on the team. We all have emergency training, but mine is a bit more extensive.”
Yeah, no, thanks. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t have a choice, Maddie. I insist.”
When Adam said things like that, got all dictatorial and grumpy, she didn’t like him much at all. “Insist?”
“We are done running and hiding, and you need someone to look you over. It can either be Caleb or me. Choose.”
She dug her nails into her palms. “Oh, really.”
“You’re safe here, and that’s the last time I’m going to tell you that.”
Caleb cleared his throat. “It might be more believable if you weren’t yelling at her.”
Adam’s voice got louder. “I tried being nice—”
That was news to her. “When?”
“We have questions and she’s going to answer them.” Adam put his hand under her elbow. The gentle touch contrasted with his gruff words.
She slid out of the seat and glanced up at Caleb’s smiling face. “Do you have another team member I can talk to?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
Adam talked over both of them. “Nice try, but you’re stuck with me.”
That’s exactly what had her worried.
Chapter Five
Trevor called in the one person he knew he could trust. With his position, that list was short. Everyone wanted something from him but would abandon him for a better deal if offered.
His vice presidents were loyal to the company so long as their paychecks kept coming. Trevor was not simple enough to confuse career security with friendship. The men he employed to work those “special” side jobs were even more of a question mark. They stuck around for the adrenaline high and consistent wire transfers. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t sell him out if it meant their freedom versus his.
His confidants used to include his wife until she dumped their marriage without warning and waited until they’d divided their property to threaten to take their son away. She had money thanks to their divorce and counted on his need to keep her happy and quiet. She knew enough to make her a serious threat.
Despite their custody agreement, she’d run to the media and questioned his competency to co-parent and his influence on their child. That was when he made the biggest mistake of his life.
He asked the wrong person the wrong question about getting rid of a wife. Russell Ambrose. And Ambrose took advantage of the situation to drag Bram and Trevor into the WitSec disaster. Now John had the evidence, the blackmail fodder and a mistaken belief he could control the situation.
Well, that soon would end.
“Did you need to see me?” Sela Andrews, his young and very capable assistant, peeked around the door.
He waved to her. “Come in.”
“Of course.” With a notepad in her hands, she shut the door and walked across the carpeted office to stand on the opposite side of his desk.
He took in her tight skirt and long legs. If the tape was his dumbest move all year then she was his smartest. She had wavy blond hair and a smile, both sexy and sweet, that sent even his strongest competitor into a babbling tailspin.
She’d fallen on hard times early in her business career, before Trevor rushed in and picked her up. He gave her a purpose and she repaid him with unquestioning loyalty.
“I need some information,” he said.
She flipped through a few pages. “For which contract?”
“This is a personal issue.”
“I see.”
“We know the Recovery Project is back in business and the general location of its new headquarters. The search of tax and real-estate records hasn’t uncovered the exact address.” Once again Trevor had to tip his hat to Luke Hathaway. The man was a worthy adversary. “Luke hid this one well. Probably had some technical help from Adam and possibly assistance from old government contacts who think Recovery got a raw deal.”
“We just need a street address?”
“We need to narrow it down to the building, get a schematic and some idea of the firepower and technical abilities they have there.” When she didn’t balk or show any reaction except interest, he continued. “Security, alarms, I need everything I can get, but it all starts with an address.”
“Should I ask the Technical Department—”
“No one knows about the particulars of this one but us.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m going to set up a private meeting with Luke.” Sela knew all about the Recovery Project. She was the only one other than Trevor to touch the paperwork and see the files he had on the Project. “I need someone tracking him from that point forward. Eventually he’ll lead us to the right building. I’ll take it from there.”
Trevor usually stuck to administration, but he would make an exception. He hadn’t built the business by sitt
ing on his butt. He could shoot and conduct surveillance. Nowadays he had the luxury of delegating, but he hadn’t lost the skills.
“But that means I have to tell someone to get started,” she said.
“True.” He wrote a name down on a piece of paper. His second-in-command of security and a guy who understood the importance of a dollar and not asking questions. “Call him on his private line. He will not need to know why he’s following Luke. Just get him photos of the agents, tell him to keep his distance and call me with a report.”
“Right.” She turned back to the door.
“And, Sela?”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“He can’t get caught.”
ADAM LOOKED AROUND the table at his friends, the men he trusted more than anyone else in the world. They worked together, laughed together, drank together and suffered together.
He wanted to punch them.
Every single one of them had worn a stupid grin since he’d brought Maddie in. He knew what was happening. One by one they’d peeled off and gotten married, or in Holden’s case, engaged. Zach remained single, but it was hard to imagine a guy who barely spoke finding a woman who would tolerate him forever.
But the woman thing was like an infectious disease with this group. Once one of them walked down the aisle, some silent torch was passed, and Adam had no interest in taking a turn.
Not that he didn’t love women. He loved them in general and specifically he loved Claire, Mia and Avery for what they brought into the lives of Luke, Holden and Caleb. But that didn’t mean he intended to take his own fall. He’d been there and was still recovering from the fallout of Robyn’s death five years ago. Losing one girlfriend in such a shocking and sudden way was all he would ever accept.
He stood behind Maddie’s chair now and pointed around the conference table, adding a glare with each introduction. “Luke Hathaway, weapons expert and leader. Holden Price, tactics and strategy. And Caleb you met. He’s not worth a second round of hellos.”
Locked and Loaded Page 4
