“Because I was afraid. I was afraid after Sage discovered what he did, and I was afraid when Edward did the same.” He returned his gaze to Odie. “I never wanted anyone to die. Please understand that.”
“You’re the reason they’re dead,” Odie said. How could he ask her to understand? “You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself on all three of them. Frasier, too.”
He lowered his head, a defeated man. “I’m sorry.” Then slowly he looked at her again. “When this started I had no idea it would grow into what it’s become. It’s more than Hersch. There are others who’ll kill me.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. You’re going to prison. You’ll be safe there.” She didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm from her tone. “And I know all about Dharr.”
Luis looked surprised.
“Bitch,” Hersch hissed.
She turned to him. “And you won’t have time to warn him.”
The sound of sirens grew louder.
Luis glanced that way and then once again met Odie’s eyes. “I’m sorry.” With that, he lifted the gun and put it to his head.
“Luis!”
But he pulled the trigger.
The sound of his body slumping to the floor would forever be imprinted on her mind.
Chapter 12
“Late last night police were called to the scene of an apparent suicide in a warehouse at Defense Initiatives, an arms broker with U.S. government contracts,” the newswoman began at the top of the hour. Odie looked up from dumping her toiletries into her bag. “Luis Raybourne, a senator on the U.S Senate Arms Committee, was found shot in the head just after ten last night. Tom McNeery is reporting.”
The screen went to a sunny morning in front of the loading dock at Defense Initiatives, where Tom McNeery stood a few yards from where yellow crime scene tape barred the warehouse entrance. He was the reporter who’d followed Odie, and he’d caught up to them after the police had let them go last night. She and Jag hadn’t revealed anything that couldn’t be in the press, but she was still nervous about what he’d say.
“Thanks, Nancy,” Tom turned to look at the closed door of the warehouse. “Beyond that door is what I’m told is where some of Defense Initiative’s military orders for arms are packaged and shipped. The company recently obtained a multimillion-dollar contract with the U.S. government to provide arms to Afghanistan. As of this morning, that contract has been suspended…” He introduced Odie as an ex-army captain, and Jag as her partner. He explained Nigel Hersch’s ties to Senator Raybourne and Odie’s relationship to him.
A picture of Odie appeared on the upper right of the screen.
She tossed her hairbrush into the bag and folded her arms, giving all her attention to the television.
“Here we go,” Jag said, and only then did she realize he’d emerged from the hotel room bathroom to stand beside her.
The reporter talked about her and Cullen and speculated on the reason she’d been looking into Darby’s murder. He detailed the links to her father and Sage—all leading up to Raybourne’s suicide.
A picture of Jag appeared next to Odie’s. “While Ms. Frank is ex-army operations captain, her partner began his career as a Navy SEAL. Sources say he moved on to paramilitary work with the CIA up until about three months ago.”
“What the hell?” Jag exclaimed.
Odie silently echoed the sentiment. This could get bad for TES, especially if the reporter followed them to Roaring Creek. They absolutely could not allow that.
The reporter went on to include Calan Friese’s background as a major with the army up until a few years ago, after which he disappeared.
“We need to get out of here,” Jag said.
“Although there’s no obvious signs that Frank is still working intelligence with McQueen, her close ties to ex-Delta types—some who’ve turned up dead—makes you wonder.” He paused. “Tom McNeery reporting from Washington, D.C.”
“Thank you, Tom. It certainly does seem like something clandestine is going on there. But maybe we’ll never know for sure.” The anchorwoman turned toward another camera. “Up next, what’s in store for people in the south Caribbean with the approach of Hurricane Al…”
Odie looked at Jag. “Good thing Cullen insisted on a private jet to take us home. We’ll have to be careful we aren’t followed to the airport, though.”
“Yeah. Would have done that anyway.”
Odie finished packing. She was afraid she’d have to take a vacation for a while. Cullen wouldn’t want her anywhere near RC Mountaineering after this. She wasn’t ready to leave her intel work behind, but a little time off wouldn’t kill her.
“Maybe we should skip going home and just take a trip to the Caribbean or something,” Jag said, mirroring her own thoughts.
The idea of staying with him crept up on her. She hadn’t thought about how she’d handle them once they got home. But going to a place like the Caribbean with him was…intimate and came with a sense of permanence. How did she feel about that?
“Or not,” Jag said.
Her hesitation must have cued him to her uncertainty. But he didn’t seem offended.
She just needed time to sort out her feelings. It was a big step for her to get involved with another man after walking away from the last one on the altar. And Jag was an operative like Sage.
“We have to meet with Cullen first,” she hedged.
“Yeah, I know.” He picked up his bag and headed for the door. She picked up her own and followed.
In the hall, she caught his tense profile.
“Jag, where do you see this going?”
“Why don’t you ask yourself that question?” he said.
They stopped at the elevator. Where did she see them going? A jumble of mixed emotions assaulted her. Anxiety. Dread. Lamentation. Nothing scared her more than falling in love. For so long she’d adhered to her principle of steering clear of men who reminded her of Sage, believing it was best for her. But now she’d spent time with Jag and the way he made her feel had her questioning that for the first time.
She didn’t know how to tell him how she felt when she didn’t fully understand it herself. He wanted to pursue what they’d started. Butterflies tumbled around her stomach. She broke into a cold sweat.
And yet…she didn’t like imagining giving him up.
The elevator doors opened and she followed him inside. Another woman was standing there, thin and average height with straight light red hair and wearing a light green-and-pink-colored sundress.
Odie would rather be alone with Jag right now. She eyed the woman before saying in a low tone, “Sage…you don’t understand.”
Jag swung his eyes toward her, and she realized her blunder.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay.” He cut her off. Disbelief changed to resolve. He understood where her confusion stemmed from.
This was all new ground for her. She needed time to sort it out.
And she realized she had. It stunned her. “Oh my God. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”
The redhead in the elevator pretended not to be listening, but Odie knew better. She waited until the doors opened and they entered the hotel atrium.
“Sage.”
Jag sent her another incredulous look and just kept walking toward the exit.
Damn it, she’d done it again! “I’m so sorry. I’m just a little mixed up right now.”
“You think?” He pushed the door open harder than necessary and they stepped outside into the humid air.
Absurdly, she felt like laughing. “I’m not confusing you with Sage.”
He said nothing.
“I’m not. Jag, I haven’t felt this way since him.”
That got to him. He faced her in front of the hotel and searched her eyes. Finally the tension eased from his eyes and he nodded. “Take all the time you need.”
Was that goodbye, or was it his way of saying he’d wait for her? An ache expanded in her
core.
Jag flagged them a cab and Odie resigned herself to an awkward trip home. At least Calan would be on the plane, too. They were going to need the distraction.
Back at TES headquarters, Odie looked over at Jag as he leaned against the wall with one ankle crossed over the other. She had a hard time keeping up with the teleconference Cullen had just begun. Jag caught her gaze, indifferent, just like he’d been when they’d first met. He kept his distance, but he was cordial. It hurt her. Sadly, she didn’t have a clue what to do about it. In her intel work she was never at a loss for an action plan or something smart to say, but what happened with Jag had a way of sucking all that out of her. All that was left were her feelings for him, and right now, a yawning confusion prevailed that she didn’t know how to unravel.
“Odie?”
She looked over at Cullen, who sat two chairs away. He pointed to the secure phone with the jab of his finger. Calan sat across the conference-room table from her and she saw him look away when she caught him watching her.
Berating herself for not paying attention, she listened to Roth.
“If we could have talked to Raybourne, we might have a better lead on Dharr,” he was saying.
“We know about the Albanian export company. I say we start there,” Jag said.
“It’s the only place to start,” Cullen said. “Hersch isn’t going to talk. He’ll be indicted and go to trial, but what does the government really have on him? Attempted kidnapping and fraud? He might get slapped for a little time, but nothing that’ll hold.”
“It isn’t Hersch we should be concentrating on,” Calan argued. “It’s Dharr. The export company might lead us to him, since we know Hersch was helping him get his hands on arms.”
“I agree. We don’t know where to find him,” Cullen said. “He moves around too much.”
“It would help if we knew what Edward uncovered,” Jag said.
“And Sage,” Cullen added.
“I’ll search his computer and do some digging where I can,” Odie said. “I never thought to check them for anything unusual. After he died, I looked for pictures and other things like sentimental emails. Maybe he kept something of use.”
“Good,” Cullen said. “But you’ll do it somewhere else.”
He was still angry with her for not following orders. But his declaration stirred apprehension.
“You know that reporter is going to end up here one of these days. I can’t have him seeing you anywhere near this building. I can’t even have him knowing you live in the same town.”
She rented her house and paid all her utilities and other bills under a false name so there were no records that would tie her to him.
“The media lost interest the last time we went through this,” she said. “I’ll disappear for a while and come back after it’s safe.”
“We’ve decided to open a satellite office, Odie.” This came from Colonel Roth.
Odie looked down at the phone, numb with the knowledge that Cullen didn’t want her here anymore, even though it should come as no surprise.
“You’ll spearhead the opening. You’ll be a sort of intel hub for the rest of the organization. Our soldiers will come to you for information instead of the Roaring Creek headquarters. It’s safer that way, really. Diverts the attention away from Cullen. You’ll still get your orders from him and he’ll run the organization and all its missions in every other aspect. We just think it’s a good idea that we separate our intelligence unit from our operations unit.”
Odie couldn’t argue. “What about Jag and Calan? The reporter saw them, too.”
“They’re in operations. It’s easier for them to stay invisible. All they have to do is leave for their next mission. No one will be the wiser. And they don’t have to come to TES to get their orders. They can go through our new satellite office.”
“TES-O, and TES-I,” Cullen said. “TES Operations, and TES Intel.”
“And you want me to do the start-up for this…satellite office.” Odie looked at Cullen, mourning their separation.
“You never liked it here anyway, Odie,” he said, his tone friendly as it had been before she and Jag had gone to Roth behind his back. “And I was thinking of doing this regardless of the media storm. It’s time. TES has grown enough to warrant another office.”
“And it’ll grow even more,” Roth said. “Our people are very pleased with how you and Jag handled Hersch, especially the way you took out Raybourne. Not much leaked to the press. Had anything more gotten out about Raybourne, we would have been taken down. But everybody’s safe and business can go on as usual.”
The way he talked about Luis cued Odie that there was more to Roth’s relationships to him than friendship. “You knew Raybourne pretty well, didn’t you?” she asked.
“We were friends.”
“More than that.” She looked at Cullen as it all came together. “He was behind TES, too, wasn’t he?”
Several seconds of silence stretched.
“You’re as sharp as Cullen always says,” Roth said. “Yes, he and I conceived of the idea of an organization like TES, but somewhere along the line he deviated to the wrong side.”
“That’s why Frasier was afraid to go back to you after he learned what Calan knew. He found out the two of you were friends. Calan said he met Kate at one of your barbecues and Raybourne was there.”
“Clever girl,” Cullen said. “I’m sure going to miss you.”
“Stop it or you’re going to make me want to give you a hug.”
She’d worked with him for such a long time. He’d saved her after Sage died and given her purpose in life again. She was going to miss him. A lot. The realization stopped her for a second.
“Oh, my God,” she said, gaping at Cullen. “I think I actually care about you.”
Cullen’s brow lifted.
“You actually mean something to me,” she added with the same flare.
He chuckled. “I sense the Odie I know and love returning.”
“You’re like a damn brother to me.” She made a disgusted sound. “When did that happen?”
“Probably right after you started teasing me mercilessly about Sabine.” His eyes twinkled with a smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll still see each other. Just not for a couple of years.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “No wonder you’ve always been so irresistible.”
Glancing at Jag, she wondered why he was so quiet. Just like when they first met…
“Just do a good job and don’t make me have to close TES-I.”
She turned back to Cullen. By doing something stupid like going to see Roth? “I won’t. You know that.”
His eyes softened, humor fading. “Yes. I do. Now that your father’s murder is solved, you can put it all behind you.”
She wasn’t so sure about that. Sage had been murdered, too. She looked over at Jag again. And now there was Jag.
“We have one more matter to address,” Roth said.
“Yes.” Cullen looked across the table at Calan. “If it wasn’t for you, we may have never caught on to Raybourne.”
Calan shrugged. “It was only a matter of pooling our resources.”
“Exactly,” Cullen said. “I just have one question I need cleared up.”
“What’s that?” he seemed genuinely curious.
“Why did you quit Delta?”
“I got tired of doing what I was supposed to do and never seeing progress. I guess I felt too restricted.”
“Delta isn’t all that restricted.”
“When it gets down to the Dharrs of the world, any restriction is too much. I want to be able to pull the trigger without having to ask please.”
Cullen smiled. Odie knew that smile.
Rolling her eyes, she groaned in teasing annoyance. “Oh, please. Not another one.”
Cullen only laughed. “Calan, you’re a perfect fit for TES. How would you like to come and work for me?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“What my next assignment will be.”
“Going after Dharr, of course. Don’t ask stupid questions around here. I’ve got a pilot ready to take you home to get packed. Then you’re going to Albania.”
“I haven’t even agreed to take the job yet.”
“Yes, you have.”
And Calan smiled. “I’m going to like working for you.”
“Just don’t get killed. I fire anyone who gets killed.”
“Duly noted.”
Cullen looked up at Jag. “You take a vacation like we discussed. In six months, once the media dies down, let’s talk.”
Jag nodded.
Odie looked from him to Cullen. When had they talked?
“This meeting is over,” Cullen said before she could ask. “And for the record, nobody says the name Roth or goes to see him ever again, got that?” He met each and every one of their eyes.
“Yes,” Odie said, while Calan nodded and Jag turned to go.
Why had he and Cullen talked? Was it just vacation plans or was there more?
Outside, Odie caught up to Jag before he reached his rental. He was leaving.
“Jag.”
He stopped and turned.
“Where are you going?”
“You heard the boss. Vacation.”
She tried to read behind his green eyes, but he was too good at shutting off his emotions—or was he shutting her out?
Her uncertainty hurt him. Did that mean he had feelings for her? The urge to throw her arms around him and start kissing him burgeoned up in her. But it was such a huge step for her. She felt confident it was the right step, but…
She watched him take in her hesitation and draw his own conclusion.
“Take care of yourself, Odie.” And with that he got into his rental and drove away.
Odie stared at the disappearing car until it vanished around a curve in the mountain road. Her heart began breaking apart. And tears burned her eyes. What the hell?
“Yep, it was like that for me, too.”
Blinking ferociously, she glowered at Cullen.
“You don’t want to believe it, but it’s right there staring you in the face.”
Special Ops Affair Page 17
