Bella put aside her laptop and bent her knees to rest her legs on the sofa. “Of course,” she rasped out with a slight smile.
Alisha sat on the opposite end of the sofa. She brought her feet up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “How are you feeling?” She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. She didn’t want to pry, but she knew it would be good for Bella to talk about it.
Bella inhaled, flinching at the pinch of pain in her ribs. “I’m okay. The drugs are keeping the pain at bay.”
“Do you want anything? Water? Soda?” She pointed to the laptop. “I could pop some popcorn to go with whatever you’re watching.”
“No, I’m sure they’ll order something later.” Dinner time was quickly approaching.
“Okay.” Alisha licked her lips and barreled ahead. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Bella’s eyes teared, but she fought for control over her emotions. She remembered how helpless she’d felt when she was trying to be supportive of Alisha. She hadn’t known what to say, and now that she was the survivor too, a kaleidoscope of emotions blinded her to logic.
“I feel like a fool,” Bella mumbled. “I believed every lie he whispered in my ear. And what’s worse, I made an idiot out of myself in front of the guys.” She pointed her hand in the direction of the conference room. Maybe going through life like an automaton was the way to go.
Alisha tilted her head and scooted closer to Bella. “You can’t think like that. None of this is your fault, and no one thinks you’re a fool. Look at Logan. He’s lucky to be alive.” She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Truth told, so was Bella.
Bella snorted, “I know how he feels.” She nervously dug her fingernail under her other nails. “Eric would have killed me if Jack hadn’t,” she suddenly stopped talking. She wasn’t sure how much to say.
“If Jack what?” Alisha asked. She knew she’d only heard the bare minimum regarding the situation. She knew Jack had found Bella, but she wondered what they hadn’t told her. Mike had been tight-lipped about sharing information with her.
Bella’s brain sizzled as she tried to rescue herself. She didn’t know how much Alisha had been told by Mike. She just knew that she hadn’t mentioned much to Alisha. “Jack found me. I was unconscious. He saved my life.” She opened and closed her hand, letting her nails bite into her palm. The subtle sensation of pain distracted her from the fear that flooded her.
Alisha’s mouth gaped. “I heard that Jack shot him, but I didn’t realize that you were unconscious.”
“Yeah,” she replied flatly. Just coming to terms with that fact was hard to grasp. She’d be dead right now, on a coroner’s table somewhere or on ice in the morgue, if it wasn’t for Jack.
“Wow,” Alisha started. “I bet Jack wants to get his hands on Eric. If the jerk is smart, he’ll stay hidden, because if Jack finds him, I have a feeling that Eric would disappear forever.”
Bella tilted her head, making eye contact with Alisha. “Why would you say that?” Did Alisha know about Jack’s crush? Had she been the only one to not see it?
Alisha grinned, the corners of her mouth quirking up. “Well,” she paused for a moment, “Jack likes you,” she said hesitantly. “I hadn’t realized it until the night of the Christmas party when you brought Eric to the restaurant. I’d never seen Jack so irritated. When Mike and I got home, I asked him about it. After several rounds of questions, he finally admitted that Jack’s liked you for a while.” She gave a small shrug. “Did you really not have any clue?”
The room spun. Bella hadn’t seen Jack’s jealousy that night. She’d been too caught up in Eric’s con, but she had noticed Jack’s extreme reaction to Eric. She’d thought that Jack had been rude because Eric wasn’t a manly-man like him. At the time, it had never crossed her mind that Jack had romantic feelings for her. She’d been so blinded by her prejudice towards Jack, thinking he didn’t like her because she voiced an opinion concerning Alisha’s protection, that she hadn’t seen the lust in his eyes. She should have known better. Jack was not a man to be intimidated by differing opinions. Even if he didn’t agree with someone, he’d always respect the person for having the courage to voice their opinion.
“So,” Alisha started, “what are you going to do about it? I heard you’re staying with him.” She couldn’t help but smile at the way Bella’s eyes grew at her words.
Staying with him? Bella was shocked that that information had already made the rounds. She hadn’t truly agreed to that anyway, but then again, Jack had designated himself her protector until this thing was resolved. “Alisha,” Bella said, rubbing her fingertips over her forehead as she thought. “I don’t know. I’m so confused. The guy I was dating tried to kill me, and Jack saved my life. Right now, I look at Jack and want to throw myself at him in gratitude, but that’s not me. I work with him. Things could get weird.” She didn’t want to make things awkward at work. This was the best place she’d ever worked. “He’s been nothing but respectful so far. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to take it slow.”
Alisha couldn’t help but snicker. “Yeah, we’ll see,” she said with a smirk and a head nod that demonstrated her opinion on the subject. “I hope you two get together. We could double date.”
Bella snorted. “Let me get through this nightmare, and then I’ll worry about dating.”
15
Cole scrubbed his hand over his face and stared at the team seated around the conference room table. “Logan’s in the lab. He’s working on his own special project. I’ll brief him later about our meeting. Anyway, we’ve received more intel. It will just be the six of us on this.” He glanced at the men: Mike, Ryan, Tyson and Jack. He knew Jack wouldn’t sit on the sidelines, but he’d watch him carefully to make sure he was thinking with logic rather than emotions. “Mike and Jack, I’ve handed your Trellis work off to Ethan. Ryan and Tyson, Zach will compile your findings on the security at O’Donnell Brewery and present our recommendations to them. And Logan will assist with the tech side of things. Thankfully, with the Christmas holiday, the companies are practically shut down or working with skeleton crews, so nothing must be done immediately.”
“Except find the bastards that are gunning for us,” Jack said. It pissed him off that someone was coming at them. He understood their logic, hating them for their past deeds that destroyed their network of terror, but he didn’t like not knowing who they were up against. They were usually the ones with the advantage. The anonymity of the group coming for them frustrated him.
Tyson cleared his throat, “What are we telling the others?”
Cole nodded his head and then began, “I’ve spoken with everyone. They know the basics. Bella was attacked by Eric. He fled after Jack shot him, and the police are looking for him. Logan was targeted by a terrorist cell, and the woman killed herself in his home. They know to be alert and that we are working with the assumption that we are still under attack until we clean up this cell.”
Tyson liked that. The others needed to know the danger that they were in and be on guard. “What do we know so far?”
Cole tapped open a file on his computer and displayed it on the SMART board behind him. “Despite his theatrics when first captured, Eric has indeed talked and been very helpful. We’ve confirmed that he was working with Aditya, who we now know was the Black Widow. She and Eric wanted revenge for our part in Operation Recluse. Riya, who just happened to be Aditya’s sister and Eric’s wife, and other members of Eric’s cell were killed that night. Other than the Riya connection, Aditya and Eric hated each other. We now know that Eric had at least one other partner whom he met with for planning the attack on us.” Cole clicked on a file, and a driver’s license popped up.
“This is Adeel Shah.” Cole pointed to the image on the board. The photo revealed a middle-aged man with more salt than pepper in his hair. The wavy curls on his head blended in with his bushy eyebrows and the graying beard that covered his face. With the dark bags und
er his brown eyes, he resembled a butt-ugly Wookie.
“Adeel works at the local home supply store on Carris Lane. He is married to Amani Shah,” Cole continued. With another click, a photo of Amani popped up. She was middle-aged and wore a head scarf. Crow’s feet etched her brown skin near her caramel eyes. Wrinkles creased an otherwise attractive face. She’d obviously been pretty in her youth. “Amani is a housewife. They have two kids who are in college. Tyson and Ryan,” Cole glanced at them, “you will go to their house and talk with them. If they aren’t home, see what you can find.”
Cole clicked open a new file and another license popped up. “Meet Suliman Shah, Adeel’s brother.” Another middle-aged man stared blankly in the photo with a tight smile and bulbous nose. Gray hair ringed his head, leaving him bald on top. Wrinkles fanned out from his dark brown eyes. Cole rested his hands on his hips as he continued, “Mike and Jack, you’re going to check out Sultan’s Feast Restaurant. Suliman owns the restaurant. According to Eric, that’s where he met with Adeel and Aditya. Right now, we don’t know how Suliman is involved. Eric maintains that he didn’t have much contact with Suliman.”
Cole clicked open another file. “This is Mariam Shah, Suliman’s wife.” A middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a head scarf was shown. Her smooth complexion was medium toned. She could easily pass for European. “Right now, there is no reason to suspect her involvement, but she may be at the restaurant. Consider Suliman a threat until you know otherwise.”
Mike spoke, “Do we make contact with Suliman or just observe?”
Cole tapped his finger on the table. “I have no idea what you’ll find there. Use your own judgment.”
The men around the table nodded at Cole’s words. Then he began again, “I’ve sent you the information that we’ve gathered so far. Take a moment to look over the rest of it before you leave.” Cole closed the open folders on the laptop. “Also, as you know, Logan’s computer was bugged. He’s researching that technology right now in the lab. Let’s go.” Cole tossed a thumb over his shoulder. The men closed their laptops and scooted away from the table to follow Cole to the lab.
16
After finding the bug, Logan had rushed to Savage Securities to study it. He had a microscope at home, but nothing as powerful as the digital compound microscope at work. Plus, with the large monitor to display what was on the slide, when he needed to debrief his teammates, they would be able to see for themselves what he was talking about.
Logan was hunched over at the microscope table adjusting a slide when Cole rapped on the lab door and entered. “Hey,” Logan said, straightening and looking at the men as they filed into the lab behind Cole.
The men grunted their responses and circled around the table where Logan sat. Cole stopped beside Logan’s chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “How’s it going?” Cole asked, jutting his chin towards the monitor.
Logan swirled around on the chair and faced the men. “I’ve got a mystery here.” He lifted one prepared slide and couldn’t help but smile. He’d never seen anything like this before.
Tyson leaned forward and squinted at the slide. “What’s the joke? It looks like a grain of rice?” He tossed his hands out in question.
“No joke,” Logan replied. “This is the bug that Aditya planted in my computer.” He set the slide on the stage of the microscope. The image was magnified on the monitor. Turning to the monitor, he pointed at the image on the screen. A whitish oval made of metal was magnified. It had the basic look of a bug, but it was a fraction of the size of any of the smallest bugs they’d ever used.
Ryan pointed to the screen. “That’s the bug?” It was unlike anything he’d ever seen. “How does it work? What powers something that small?”
Logan wasn’t sure if he was excited about this or scared shitless. “Good question. This stuff is not available on the open market. This is high-end, cutting edge technology. Someone with some serious connections gave this to Aditya.”
Tyson shifted his weight, spreading his legs and crossing his arms, taking a defensive stance. “You thinking government sponsor?” They’d been involved in various countries rooting out terrorism, and not all the countries had been happy about their presence.
Cole carefully picked up a slide from the table.
“Be careful with that,” Logan said. If Cole dropped the slide, it could take hours to find the battery again.
Cole steadied his grip and studied the slide. “Is this something? I don’t see anything.” That didn’t sit right in his gut.
“That’s right, you don’t.” Logan shook his head. “Once I put the bug under the microscope, I was able to find the power source.” He pointed to the slide in Cole’s hand. “On that slide is a Nano battery.”
The acid in Jack’s stomach erupted. He rubbed his fist over his chest. Who the hell was after them? Not your average thug bent on killing innocent people. “Will you be able to figure out where it came from?” What countries would have access to that kind of technology? Why give it to Aditya?
Cole handed the slide to Logan, who then slid it under the microscope. The Nano battery was magnified and displayed on the monitor. Cole had never seen anything like it, and he’d seen some awesome stuff during his time in the military. “Logan, you focus on tracing where that thing came from,” Cole said. They needed more information, and they needed it now. “The pizza delivery should be here any minute. After eating, the rest of you start your assignments. We need to figure out who’s coming at us and shut them down fast.”
17
Wednesday Evening
Mike pulled open the door to Sultan’s Feast and immediately noticed the din of multiple languages spoken by the late dinner crowd. He wasn’t fluent in the languages of the Middle East, but with his time immersed in the culture, he did recognize many of the words and phrases. The patrons ranged from couples to families. Most of the patrons wore American style clothes, while a few wore the traditional clothes of their homeland.
As he took in the restaurant, Mike spotted a big man seated in a booth in the corner. The man glared at him, but Mike didn’t hold his stare. Instead, he quickly glanced at the man so that it would appear as if he hadn’t noticed the guy.
Jack also spotted the man in the corner as soon as his boots hit the aged linoleum. Letting the door close behind him, he noticed an open table in the opposite corner of the restaurant from the man, and he pointed it out to Mike.
They strolled over to the table, one of them on each side and immediately spotted the little hallway that led to the restrooms and kitchen. Mike studied the big man in his peripheral vision. He didn’t like the vibe the man gave off. His bulky body was squeezed tight into the booth while his meaty arms took up a good portion of the table.
A waitress in Western clothes and a headscarf, stopped at the man’s table and picked up the dirty plate. Omar Zafar nodded at her in thanks, but withheld a smile. She scurried off and grabbed a couple menus.
Melina never spoke to Omar beyond what was required of her as his waitress. And she never smiled or did anything that could be interpreted as flirting with him. Although she’d never seen him do anything, she’d heard stories about his type. Omar scared her.
Noticing the two men who’d sat in the corner, Melina headed for their table with the menus. “Welcome,” her voice was soft and feminine. Her hazel eyes darted between Jack and Mike. She’d never seen them before in the restaurant. They looked powerful, just as powerful as Omar. She wasn’t sure what to think of the two Americans who reminded her of body-builders.
Mike and Jack accepted the menus from the waitress. Jack noted her nametag and set the menu on the table in front of him. Giving her a smile, he asked, “What do you recommend?”
Melina tilted her head and took in both men. They looked tough, but for some reason she trusted them more than she trusted Omar, and he was a regular. There was a light in their eyes that Omar’s eyes lacked.
“The Sultan’s Feast Platter has a variety of options,�
� she began. “It’s basically a tasting platter of our most popular items. It has both beef and chicken. The meats are spiced differently, so you’ll notice different flavors. They come with rice and pita bread.”
Mike nodded at her, giving her a smile. “Sounds good. I’ll take that.” He wasn’t that hungry since he’d just eaten pizza, but he had to order something.
Jack handed his menu back to the waitress, “You’ve convinced me.”
“Wonderful,” Melina said and tapped the menus on the table to align them. Then she walked away and placed their order. Fetching a pitcher of water, she stopped by Omar’s table to set down his bill and then made her way back to Mike and Jack. After giving them a quick smile, she filled their glasses and then made her way around to the other tables.
Mike was pleased to see the bulky man in the corner set his credit card on the bill. Melina took the payment and headed to the cash register. From what he saw of Melina’s body language, she was afraid of the man.
Retrieving his cell from his pocket, Mike pulled up the camera app and subtly snapped a picture of the man as he searched up a late-night comedian act. He’d be sure to send the photo to Logan so he could run a search on the man. He chuckled and pointed at the screen, then made a show of handing his cell to Jack.
Jack laughed as he watched the comedian rip on politicians on Mike’s cell. He purposely avoided looking at the man in the corner. He didn’t want to alert him, but he knew that Mike had an eye on him.
Melina’s heart raced as she neared Omar’s table. There were rumors that Omar was involved in some anti-American groups. She didn’t know for sure, but she didn’t doubt it. He never smiled, not even when her boss, the owner, spoke to him. She would swear that Suliman Shah was afraid of the man too. She wished he would discourage Omar’s patronage, but she knew that would never happen. It was better not to cross some men, and Omar was one of those men.
Coveted Kiss (Savage Security Book 3) Page 8
