The quiet clink of a seatbelt unlatching pulled him out of his morbid thoughts. Ellie opened the car door, and without a backward glance, walked quickly into the office supply store. He watched her disappear behind an aisle and then stepped out of the car himself and headed for the phone booths. One of them was out of service, but the other looked operable. Inserting several coins, he dialed Jackson’s number, added a few more quarters, and waited for him to answer. After several rings, he did.
“Asher, where are you?”
“A town called Keene,” he said. “New Hampshire.” He turned his back to the wall, gaze skimming over the parking lot, still watching for anything suspicious. “Ellie’s in an office store to look at computers. We’ll get ourselves another laptop. She has an idea. Got anything on your end?”
“A little bit. Tansy was able to do some superficial searching on this company without triggering any alarm bells, on the Guardian Knights. The CEO is a guy named Clay Mosby. He’s supposedly clean, runs a security company for contractors in the Middle East, mainly Qatar and Saudi Arabia.”
“Supposedly clean?”
“Squeaky. Which alerted my suspicions, of course. No one in this business is that neat and tidy. We both know their company doesn’t have the best reputation, especially . . .”
“Most of their employees are former military, just like us, Jackson.”
“Yeah, except that we all have honorable discharges.”
“Mercenaries, then? Find out anything else?”
“Not yet. You have a place to hunker down for the night or do you plan on driving until you hit the Canadian border?”
“I’ll find a place. I’m going to drive around some of the rural roads, try a secluded bed and breakfast or out-of-the-way motel somewhere where it’ll be easier to notice any unusual activity. But I’m afraid that any strangers, including us, might stick out like a sore thumb, especially with Massachusetts plates.”
“Got it,” Jackson said. “Gimme a minute.” The familiar sound of a tapping keyboard echoed down the phone line. “Okay, there’s a few car rental places along Main Street. You want to switch?”
“Yeah, something with four-wheel-drive if you don’t mind. That’ll help, especially in this country.”
“I’ll make a call. Give it thirty minutes. Problem is, if you’re using your real ID . . .”
“Anyone following us will find out real fast,” Asher filled in. “I haven’t seen anything yet, but that doesn’t mean they’re not back there. I’m doing my best to shake anyone, but I guess we won’t know for sure . . .” He didn’t finish the sentence. They wouldn’t know for sure unless something happened. Jackson didn’t finish the sentence, either. Asher changed the subject. “So this guy, Clay Mosby. Who is he?”
“On the surface, a retired Army colonel, West Point grad, exemplary service record, but we’re still digging.” He paused. “So, what was this idea that Ellie had?”
Asher swept his gaze across the parking lot. Ellie emerged from the office store giving him a thumbs-up and meandered her way toward him. “She was thinking about something like a Trojan horse. We go at it from one end and coordinate with you, while you go at them from another. It’s two breaches, so if they see both of them, they’ll be splitting their focus. Maybe give one of us a chance to find something concrete, something that we can take—”
“Got it,” Jackson said.
The phone made a noise and an automated operator came on the line telling him to deposit another fifty cents.
“Never mind,” Jackson said quickly. “Call me when you get settled in for the night. We’ll coordinate.”
With that, the call disconnected. Asher hung up the phone and turned to Ellie. “Find something?”
She nodded. “I did, but even with the bare bones and guts, it’s still gonna cost about five hundred bucks.”
“All right, let’s get it, and then go next door and get us a change of clothes and some personal hygiene items.” He grinned down at her. “We can’t have you running for your life with bad breath, can we?”
She grinned up at him and then turned around and headed back into the office store. He followed, smiling himself as he entered the store.
A half hour later, they climbed back into the car with a laptop and two plastic bags from the retail store. He was running short on cash, so tonight when he updated Jackson, he’d have to arrange to pick up some more. They each now had a change of clothes: jeans, T-shirts, lightweight windbreakers, underwear, toothpaste, deodorant . . . for the first time all day, Ellie seemed to shrug off the shroud of depression that had settled over her.
He understood. It was one thing to have your life turned upside down, but somehow, things didn’t seem so dire when you at least had a plan of action. At least, that’s how it felt.
“First thing we have to do is ditch this car and get another. Jack—my boss has already arranged it. We’ll be much less noticeable driving a car with New Hampshire plates.”
Within the hour, Asher smiled, driving a Jeep Wrangler out of the driveway of the rental place, much more satisfied with this vehicle than with the sedan. If they had to, they could disappear into the mountains in this thing.
“Hungry?” he turned to ask. She nodded. “Hope you’re not picky then. There’s a burger joint on the corner over there.”
“Fine with me.”
In a matter of minutes, loaded up with laptop, shopping, and now burgers, fries, and cokes, they left downtown Keene. Asher traversed several streets, taking a roundabout way through the outskirts, looking for the ubiquitous bed and breakfast locations as well as small, mom-and-pop owned motels scattered throughout the region.
“Motel or bed and breakfast?” he asked, the scent of French fries and cheeseburgers permeating the interior of the Jeep.
She seemed to give it some thought and then turned to him. “I think a motel, preferably one with separate cabins might be best . . . a bed and breakfast no . . . no, I don’t feel right about that.”
He glanced at her. Ellie’s smile had fallen away, replaced by a somber expression. He understood, as much as he wished he did not. It was part of the job. People were after them. Bad people who didn’t seem to care about collateral damage. Innocent people could die in a bed and breakfast, and while the same held true for motel, it seemed less risky.
“Got it,” he said. He made a U-turn, and they returned the way they had come down a winding rural road several miles north of downtown Keene. The woods closed in on the highway as approaching dusk cast long shadows across the road. An orange-yellow glow in the sky quickly morphed into a darker bluish-purple. At any other time, he might have found sunset in the north country beautiful. At that moment, he was focused on anything but.
They found a motel, and Ellie waited in the Jeep as he registered. He’d gotten lucky and found an older motel that had separate cabins, many of which rented out by the week or month. Probably for anglers and hunters during season. He had asked the manager for the most secluded cabin, gotten a sly wink and nod in return.
“You kids have fun now,” the manager grinned, handing over the key fob and a small brochure advertising several things to do and sights to see in the area.
It was probably just as well that the manager had come to the wrong impression. He turned to glance over his shoulder as he opened the heavy glass door. “I knew this was a perfect spot for a honeymoon. Thanks.”
He grinned and turned away, the sound of the manager’s soft chuckle abruptly cut off when the glass door closed. He sighed and made his way over to the Jeep, gaze skimming the trees nestled up close to the structures. The cabin they had been assigned had a medium-sized window that looked over the front parking lot a short distance away. A small dirt trail led from the parking lot to the cabin set close against the wood line. As they left the car carrying their things, their feet crunched against the dry pine needles and pine cones. Good. A natural alarm.
They entered the motel room and placed their purchases on the bed closes
t to the door. He turned, locked the door, and slid the chain into place. “By the way, we’re married.”
Ellie whipped her head around, eyes wide with surprise, mouth open. “What?”
He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. “The manager. He made a comment when I asked him for the most secluded cabin. I boosted his impressions, told him that we were on our honeymoon.” Ellie frowned, and he couldn’t resist a chuckle. “If anybody is following us, and if they check here, the manager might mention a couple, but maybe also mention the couple on their honeymoon . . .”
“Got it,” she sighed, grabbing the food and stepping over to the small, round table in the corner of the room in front of the window. She pulled the drapes and sat down while Asher brought the drink carrier now tilted precariously on the mattress over to the table as Ellie dug inside the bag, divvying up the food.
After scarfing half his hamburger in a few bites, he looked up at Ellie, in the process of devouring her hamburger as well, just not as fast. She glanced up at him just then, self-consciously paused, then offered a shrug.
“I don’t usually eat like a pig,” she said, mouth half full. “But I’m starving.”
He laughed again. “Not to worry. I’m the one inhaling my food.” He quickly took another huge bite, chewed, and then swallowed. “After we’re done eating, you go ahead and get onto the computer, tell me what you need me to do.” He glanced at the landline phone on the bedside table nestled between the double beds. “When you’re ready, I’ll make a call.”
She made a gesture with her hand, shaking her head. “First, I have to look around. Albeit quickly. There’s something I want to check first. After I have some basic information, which will only involve snooping around the perimeter of their database, we can coordinate with your guys.”
“What do you want to check?”
“I’m not sure if it’s connected to the Guardian Knights, and it might be completely coincidental and innocent, but—”
“Ellie, I don’t believe in coincidences.” He picked up several fries before looking back at her. “If you think there’s something we should be concerned about, spit it out.”
She sighed. “The last time I did some digging, I was able to hack into their email server. I only caught a glimpse, but I recognized a name.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “And?”
“And it belongs to a United States senator serving on the National Defense Committee.”
“Name?” Asher asked, dropping the fries down onto his hamburger wrapper. His heart thudded, and his appetite vanished. Maybe he would need to get hold of Jackson again sooner than he had planned.
“Nathan Chambers.”
Asher sighed and slowly set the remains of his hamburger down on the wrapper. He wiped his mouth on a napkin, stood, and walked toward the phone as Ellie watched him, wide-eyed with surprise.
Without caring that she could hear him this time, he picked up the phone, listened for the dial tone—and any telltale indication that someone else was listening in on the line. He punched the numbers for Jackson’s phone, waited while it rang once, and then was picked up.
“Got another name for you,” he said without preamble or creating. Before Jackson could even say anything, he spoke again. “Nathan Chambers.”
“Shit.”
“You got that right.”
Asher hung up.
16
Ellie
Ellie listened to the short, one-sided conversation. While she could understand its brevity, she had grown increasingly curious. Who the hell was Asher talking to? Who was his boss? What exactly was his organization up to? She wished she knew more. She wanted to know more, but even if she asked, Asher wasn’t likely to tell her. For her own safety, he would say. Or maybe something like only a need-to-know comment.
She sighed and reached for the laptop as he hung up the phone, taking it out of its box and wrapping. He watched her for several moments, and she finally looked up at him as she waited for the system to boot up. “What?”
“How long is this going to take?”
She frowned. “How long is what going to take?”
“You said you wanted to check on something. The senator guy. What is it you need to confirm before we can do this double attack, or whatever you want to call it?”
“Well, after the system boots up, I can . . . wait, they do offer Wi-Fi here, don’t they?”
Asher closed his eyes and leaned his head back before looking back at her. “I guess we’ll know in a few minutes, won’t we?”
She nodded. While most places did these days, they were out in the boonies here, nestled within the rolling hills, deep ravines, and mountains of New Hampshire. She glanced at the phone on the bedside table. Maybe that’s why they still had the landline phone. She waited several minutes while the system booted up, and then typed in some commands. She sighed with disappointment.
“No go,” she said. “Can’t jump on a signal out here.” She glared at the computer with disgust, then flung herself down on the bed beside it. “Any chance we can find a coffee shop, or maybe even park in the office store lot where you made that phone call? The office store will have Wi-Fi.” She glanced at the wall clock. “It should still be open unless they roll up the carpets and turn in around here at sundown. I can piggyback onto it from there.”
Asher groaned, muttering under his breath. God, she felt like such a burden. A pain in the ass. Once again, she was reminded of the danger she had put them both in. Risking his safety. Risking his life. Surely, he would rather be doing something else, just as she did. Which made her feel even worse.
She turned away, heaving another woeful sigh as she plucked at a piece of fuzz on the bedspread that looked like it came right out of the seventies. A knot grew in her throat, and she blinked back a sudden surge of warmth in her eyes. How could this have happened? When was it going to end? What if—
The mattress sank, and she turned to find Asher sitting down next to her. Close. So close she felt his heat. For a moment, he just sat there, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands dangling. A slight frown marred his brow. What was he doing—he suddenly straightened and placed his arm over her shoulder. She stiffened.
“Don’t cry, Ellie. Everything is going to be all right.”
“I’m not crying!” she stammered, only to feel the trickle of a tear trace its way down her cheek. With a grunt of frustration, she wiped it away.
She knew he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to. She knew he was going to touch her. She wanted him to. She tried to prepare herself for the feel of his arms around her, comforting her. Her body instantly ached for that sense of familiarity she’d experienced with his touch. Unable to stop herself, she slid her hands around his waist at the same moment he gently clutched her shoulders and pulled her closer. Her hands slipped under his shirt, reveling at his warmth, at his musculature. She felt the tug on her own shirt and didn’t need any further prompting.
His lips met hers, gently, encouraging her to open her mouth. Immediately, his warm tongue slipped inside. They broke off the kiss only to impatiently yank their shirts over their heads, and then their lips found one another again. Her heart pounded, her body thrumming with pleasure. Asher’s lips left hers and traced a trail down her neck, nibbling, licking, kissing. Her flesh flushed with his warm breath, the tenderness of his kisses against her skin. Her hands roamed his chest, his waist, his shoulders; all of him warm and strong and taut . . .
She looked up at him then and sucked in her breath at the look in his eyes as he swept his gaze from her face to her breasts. Her nipples puckered even through her bra. Liquid heat poured through her body, from her neck down to her pussy, now alert and pulsing with desire. His pupils dilated, his gaze everywhere at once; her eyes, her lips, her neck, her breasts . . . She reached her hand behind her back and unlatched the bra, shrugged her shoulders forward, and flung the bra to the floor.
Asher’s gaze followed every move she made, and when he looked at her ba
re breasts, she gasped as if she’d been touched. She ached for the touch, his fingers to cup her flesh and caress and gently squeeze her nipples, anxious for the electric stream of feeling that would race from her breasts and down to her core. Instead, his fingers lightly traced around her skin, his thumbs brushing casually over her nipples and then down to her waist, making her stomach muscles tense. It was entirely new, the thrill that only his touch had ever invoked in her.
He made a noise low in his throat as he grinned at her body’s response to his touch. Ellie shivered. His hard muscles pressed against the softness of her breasts and stomach as he pressed her back onto the bed. His burgeoning erection brushed against her mound.
“I love the way you feel,” he murmured, hand skimming over her breasts again.
He leaned closer to kiss her shoulder near the base of her ear. It was a slow kiss, a sensuous kiss, one not in any hurry. Those warm, moist lips made their way down her throat to the swell of her breasts. She couldn’t help herself. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and guided him closer, arching her back, desperate to feel his mouth closing around a nipple, the anticipation of his lips caressing and suckling. Fully aroused, her nipples hardened, urging his touch with a life of their own.
She lay on her back while Asher moved next to her on his side. One hand braced his head while the other casually roamed over her body. Her shoulder, the base of her throat, a breast, then down to her belly, which automatically tightened, and then skimming down a hip, her thigh, then back up again. Every place his hand touched left her body zinging with sensations. He teased her nipples and left her skin burning with increasing heat and hunger that took her breath away.
Dark Deception (DARC Ops Book 11) Page 12
