by Elle James
Jane nodded. “I did.” She couldn’t vouch for Gus, since he’d slept on the floor with her in his arms. This, she didn’t share with her benefactor. In this case, less information was better.
“Cole and Jonah have been up and working the computer since six this morning.” Declan nodded toward a man Jane hadn’t met. “Jonah, Jane. Jane, Jonah Spradlin, Charlie’s tech guy.”
A younger man with blond hair and gray eyes nodded in her direction. “Hey.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jane’s pulse quickened as she faced Cole and Jonah. “And? Did you find anything?”
Cole shook his head. “We’ve used all the passwords Jonah knew when he worked with Mr. Halverson, but haven’t cracked the secret databases yet.”
“We’re working on it,” Jonah said, “but it might take a little more time to hack in. He had it locked down pretty tight.”
Jane didn’t know whether to be frustrated or glad that they didn’t know anything yet. She leaned toward frustrated. If the news was bad, she’d deal with it. Who she was in the past didn’t set the course for who she could be in the future. Unless she ended up in jail. Jail put a damper on planning for a future. Still, she couldn’t borrow trouble. She’d cross whatever bridge she came to, when she reached it.
Mustang arrived as they gathered around the table.
“Where’s Snow and Mack?” Mustang asked as he set a plate on the table, pulled up a chair and sat.
“They’re going to meet with one of my CIA contacts at Langley,” Charlie said as she scooped scrambled eggs onto her plate. “They’re going to check into Syria and see if they can find a connection to a woman fitting Jane’s description.”
“Do you happen to recall the name of the town you were held captive in?”
Jane shook her head. “I have no idea. I was too worried about getting out of it to stop and ask.”
Charlie gave her a gentle smile. “Not to worry. They’ll get whatever intel they can and bring it back here for us to sift through.”
Jane found it difficult to breathe. Her chest was so tight, air didn’t seem to want to move in or out. She stared down at the food on her plate for a long moment, vivid images of her cell, the explosion, the rubble and the back of the truck carrying marijuana all flashing through her mind at once. How long would it take for them to fade into dull memories?
A large hand settled on her left knee and squeezed.
She looked up into Gus’s face, glad he was next to her. His strength and determination gave her hope for a future of her own choosing. If a seven-year-old boy could overcome a difficult upbringing, Jane would work through her flashbacks until they no longer consumed her.
Forcing a deep breath into her lungs, she resumed regular breathing and attacked the meal in front of her. If her situation got bad, she might be back out on the street. She’d need her strength to keep going.
“Charlie.” Jane set her fork beside her plate, having eaten every last bite. “Do you mind if I ask, what happened to your husband?”
Charlie shook her head. “I don’t mind your asking.” She took a deep breath and let it out before answering. “He was murdered.”
Jane’s heart contracted. She’d known he was deceased, but murdered? “I’m so sorry. Did they get who did it?”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “No. There was no evidence to go on. He was shot leaving his office building. There were no witnesses and the security cameras showed nothing. The police suspect a highly trained sniper pulled the trigger. I hired a private investigator to look for the man who killed John. We found nothing.”
“So, the murderer is still running free.”
Charlie nodded. “When someone tried to kidnap me, I was fortunate enough that Declan was nearby and saved me from my kidnappers. That’s when I decided to employ Declan and his team of marines. Too much gets by the police. I wanted a way to help others so they didn’t have to go through what I’ve endured.”
“We’re lucky to be here.” Declan tipped his head toward Charlie.
“I’m lucky to have you and your team on my side.” Her brow wrinkled. “Something that keeps surfacing in the situations we’ve encountered are references to Trinity.” She tipped her head toward Jane. “Like the symbol on your wrist. We’ve seen it now several times. We aren’t sure what it has to do with what’s happening and why all these events seem to tie together.”
Declan shook his head. “That’s something I asked Mack and Snow to check into while they’re visiting your contact at the CIA. Maybe they can come up with the connection or an explanation of what the Trinity symbol stands for in this situation.”
Jane rubbed the tattoo on her wrist. It had been the only thing she’d had to go on when searching for her identity.
“I’ve been thinking we should bring Cole or Jonah with us to my husband’s office,” Charlie said. “If we need to get onto his desktop computer, we’ll need someone who knows his way around.”
“I can continue to work on getting into John’s computer here at the house,” Jonah said. “If I find anything, I’ll notify you immediately.”
“Thank you.” Charlie’s gaze swept the room. “I can be ready in ten minutes.”
“I’ll pull the vehicles around to the front,” Arnold said.
Charlie turned and left the room.
“Ten minutes,” Declan said. He and Grace rose and started to gather plates from the table.
“Don’t worry about the dishes.” Carl waved them away. “I’ll take care of them. You have more important things to do.”
“Thanks, Carl,” Declan said. “And thanks for breakfast. You always feed us well.”
“Yes. Thanks, Carl,” Jane said. “The meals are truly delicious.”
Carl beamed. “I do my best. Can’t ask for a better job.”
Jane almost envied the chef. To know who he was and enjoy the job he performed had to be satisfying. What kind of job had she had before she lost her memory? What kinds of jobs took a woman to Syria? She spoke a few languages and she had fighting skills. Could she be a member of the CIA? Maybe she should be going to Langley with Mack and Snow. But if she were a double agent, working for the Russians or Syrian rebels, going to Langley could get her in hot water.
Letting Mack and Snow take on that task seemed to be the right answer for Jane. She didn’t want to end up being interrogated by the US government any more than she had been interrogated by her Russian captors in a Syrian village.
She glanced toward Gus. He might be her guard to protect his team and Charlie from anything she might throw their way, but he’d actually become her protector, as well. She found comfort knowing he was there, and he was strong and a capable fighter. If she were attacked, he would help her to escape. At least, she hoped he would.
Just as Charlie had said, they met ten minutes later in front of the mansion where three vehicles were lined up. Instead of the limousine, Arnold would be driving a luxurious town car.
“Grace and I will ride with Charlie and Arnold,” Declan said. “Cole will take the lead SUV and Gus will follow in the SUV with Jane.”
They climbed into their assigned vehicles and the convoy drove out of the Halverson estate and into DC.
“Does Charlie always have lead and trailing vehicles when she goes places?” Jane asked.
“She’s been attacked twice since we’ve known her,” Gus said. “It makes sense to provide her with as much security as we can.”
“She’s a generous woman.” Jane frowned. “Why would anyone want to hurt her?”
“Her husband was equally generous from all accounts I’ve heard. Why would someone want to kill him?”
“Charlie said he had secret activities he was involved in. Perhaps that was what got him killed.”
Gus nodded. “That’s our bet. I hope we learn what those activities were sooner than later. I have a feeling they are th
e reason someone has tried to take Charlie twice now.”
“They might think she knows more than she does.”
“Could be. Let’s hope Cole is more successful getting into her husband’s computer at his office than he’s been on John’s home desktop.”
Jane sat in the passenger seat, staring at the car ahead of them carrying the woman who’d opened her home to a stranger who could prove to be a danger to her. Charlie might have put her trust in the wrong person when she invited Jane into her home.
Jane clenched her hands into fists. No matter who she had been in her past, she refused to harm one hair on Charlie’s head in the future. The woman had a heart of gold. She treated the people around her like family. Anyone would be lucky to be a part of Charlotte Halverson’s family.
* * *
THEY ARRIVED AT Halverson International Headquarters in downtown DC. The five-story Georgian-style white building with its tall columns and huge entry doors stood on a corner and stretched for an entire block.
Gus was thankful they had no more problems than the usual stop-and-go traffic getting into downtown DC. No one tried to run them off the road or hijack Charlie’s car. When they arrived, they drove right into the reserved parking lot beneath the Halverson building.
Charlie led the way inside.
Security guards snapped to attention and ushered her and her entourage through to the information desk where her guests were given lanyards with temporary passes attached. One by one they scanned their passes through the turnstiles and were finally through to the interior.
Charlie used her ID card inside the elevator, taking them to the top floor.
When she stepped out of the elevator, a mature woman in a gray skirt suit, with faded red hair combed into a neat French twist, met her there. “Mrs. Halverson. It’s so nice to see you. Can I get you and your guests something to drink?”
Charlie turned to the group who’d followed her into her husband’s office. “This is Margaret Rollins. If you want to know where anything is, ask her. She was my husband’s assistant. She knows as much, if not more, than my husband did about this business.”
Margaret nodded. “Thank you.”
Charlie gave her a brief smile. “I’ll be conducting a meeting with my guests in my husband’s office. I’d appreciate it if we were not disturbed.”
“Of course, Mrs. Halverson. Please, come this way.” The woman led the way down a long hallway to a massive wooden door at the end. She pushed through into a spacious office suite with a reception desk guarding another office behind it.
“Would you prefer to be in Mr. Halverson’s conference room, or his office?” Margaret asked.
“His office, please,” Charlie said. “If I recall, he had sufficient seating for all of us.”
“Yes, ma’am. Nothing’s changed since...” She stumbled on her words for a moment and then seemed to get a grip. “Since your husband’s passing.”
Charlie touched the woman’s arm. “That’s nice to hear.”
“It’s really good to see you here,” Margaret added.
“I should have come sooner. It’s just hard to come here and not see John sitting at his desk.” Charlie gave her husband’s executive assistant a weak smile.
“I understand,” Margaret said. “I had a hard time coming back to work knowing he wouldn’t be here.” She sighed. “I’m thinking about retiring at the end of the month. But I’m glad I got to see you again before I leave.”
Charlie took the woman’s hands in hers. “I’ll be sorry to see you go. I know I should have stepped in sooner to take over. I just couldn’t. But I’m here now.”
“I’m glad you are. You and Mr. Halverson will always have a place in my heart. You’ve been so good to me.”
“He couldn’t have done the job without you, Margaret.” Charlie looked past her to her husband’s office and her bottom lip trembled.
Margaret squeezed her hands. “Go on in. It’s just as he left it.”
Gus could see Charlie’s hesitancy. Except for a few brief meetings in the office building, she never went there. He sensed it was too painful.
Grace hooked Charlie’s elbow on one side and Declan on the other.
Charlie shot them a grateful smile, took a deep breath and moved forward into the office where her husband had successfully led his company for more than three decades.
Gus, Jane and Cole followed, giving the widow a little distance to come to grips again with her loss.
John Halverson’s office took up the entire corner of the building, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking downtown DC and many historic buildings and landmarks. He even had a shiny brass telescope positioned to overlook the Washington Monument.
Charlie walked to his desk in the center of the room. It appeared to be only a desk without a computer or monitor.
Gus looked around for the computer. Had someone taken the desktop computer out of his office when he’d passed? The secretary had indicated his office was just as he’d left it.
Charlie gave a small smile. “He was so proud of the work he’d done, building his business in international trade to what it is today. I never begrudged him the time he spent late into the evenings working so hard. Often I’d bring dinner to him and we’d have a picnic here in his office with the night skyline shining through the windows.”
No one said a word, allowing Charlie to remember the good times she shared with her husband.
She drew in a deep breath and pressed her finger into the desk. A computer monitor popped up from a panel in the surface.
Charlie looked up at Cole. “You’ll want to sit at his desk to access his computer.” She laid a slip of paper beside the monitor. “These are the passwords he used when he was alive. I don’t know if they’ve been reset.”
Cole grinned and hurried forward. “I was beginning to wonder where it was hiding.” He sat in the leather executive office chair and pulled it forward. Within seconds, he had the computer booted and was keying away, using the passwords provided.
Charlie walked to a credenza against the far wall and pressed her thumb against a fingerprint scanner and a door slid open exposing a file cabinet. “We can go through these paper files while Cole looks through the digital ones.” She moved over several feet to another fingerprint scanner and pressed her thumb there. Another door opened to reveal yet another file cabinet. “My husband kept a lot of records over the years. Before he died, he must have known he might meet an early demise. He had me come in one evening and gave me access to the files only he had access to. He had my thumbprint and my eye scanned. And he gave me a list of his passwords, telling me not to share them with anyone I didn’t trust completely.” She shot Cole a glance. “I trust Declan’s Defenders with my life. I guess that’s as completely as you can get. Until now, I didn’t see a need for you to go through my husband’s information.”
Cole nodded. “Your secrets are safe with me, Charlie.”
“And me,” Declan echoed.
“As well as with me,” Gus said.
“And me,” Grace added.
Which left Jane. She held up her hand. “Charlie, I know it’s too early for you to put full trust in me, but I swear on my life, your secrets are safe with me, too.”
Charlie smiled. “Thank you.”
They went to work going through every file in every cabinet, spreading them out on the small conference table in one corner of John’s office. After an hour, a voice sounded over the phone intercom.
“Mrs. Halverson, Quincy Phishburn, the acting CEO, would like to have a word with you.”
“Could you schedule him for an hour from now?” Charlie asked.
“He said he only has a small window of opportunity to meet with you between other meetings. He’d like to see you now.”
Charlie glanced around at the file folders spread out over the conference table. �
�Where?”
“In John’s office,” Margaret said.
Charlie pressed a button on the phone. “I have it on mute.”
“We can set things to rights in under a minute,” Grace said. She nodded to Declan, who grabbed up a stack of files and carried them to the cabinet. Grace, Gus and Jane carried the files they’d been working through and placed them in the cabinets. Moments later, the cabinet doors were closed.
While they had restored the files to their proper places, Cole shut down the computer and the monitor disappeared into the slot on the desk.
Charlie looked around at the neat room and pressed a button on the phone. “Please, show Mr. Phishburn in, Margaret.”
Cole joined Gus, Jane, Grace and Declan at the small conference table as the door opened and a man with graying temples, wearing a charcoal-gray pinstripe suit, entered the office and crossed the room quickly toward Charlie.
Gus, Cole and Declan were halfway out of their seats to intervene when Charlie raised a hand and gave a little shake of her head.
Phishburn took Charlie’s hands in his. “Mrs. Halverson. What a pleasure it is to see you here.”
She smiled at the man. “Thank you, Quincy. It’s been too long.”
“We understand. Losing a loved one is never easy.” He released her hands and turned to the people gathered around the table and frowned. “I trust everything is all right?”
“Quite,” Charlie said. “I’m only here because I needed a place to meet with my team on a project I’m working on.”
“And what project is that?”
“Nothing that concerns the corporation,” Charlie said. “And I’ll be coming to the office more frequently. So, you can expect to see me more often.”
Quincy’s attention jumped back to Charlie. “Are you concerned about the corporation or my performance?”
“Not at all. I’m an owner in this business and I need to be as involved as my husband was.”
“Mrs. Halverson, there’s no need for you to feel as if you have to fill your husband’s shoes. He hired a team of employees to run the business. We’re all quite capable.”
