by Lucy Monroe
“I’m probably going to leave the agency.” She hadn’t planned to say it but realized there was no use going around the subject. She loved being an agent for TGP, but she had no desire to take a position in the R&D lab.
Like Alan had said, it just wasn’t her.
“And do what?” Chantal asked.
“I’ve still got my security consulting business.”
“Would you consider moving the headquarters here? I know Mat would be really happy if you were living in California again.”
Elle smiled. She knew that, but hearing Chantal say it made her feel good. Man, she really had been away from her family too long. “I’ve thought about it.”
“You have?” Chantal asked with unmasked delight. “That’s wonderful!”
“We’ve considered having a second base of operations,” Josie said casually.
“Really?”
“Yes. The guys were talking about how much they admire your agency when the call came to help you on this case. Do you think you might consider a partnership? I think you’d bring a skill set that is invaluable to the company and it wouldn’t hurt for you to have backup, especially once you’re no longer moonlighting as a government agent.”
“I always thought the moonlighting was the other way around.”
“Well, now you know differently.”
Incredibly, Elle laughed. It should hurt, but she appreciated the irony and Josie’s offer made her feel really good. “I think I might be interested in talking to you all, once this case is over.”
“Fantastic.” Josie grabbed her phone, and seconds later she was telling Nitro that Elle was considering the offer.
The enthusiasm warmed Elle. There was a small part of her that couldn’t help feeling the sting of rejection from being sidelined at her agency. Knowing there were others out there in her line of work, people she admired hugely, who were truly interested in having her on their team soothed some of that sting.
“Ask him if he finished the install of surveillance,” Elle said.
Josie listened to Nitro talk and then nodded. “He’ll tell you all about it when we get back, but he’s got it covered.”
“Perfect.”
Josie told her husband she loved him before she disconnected the call, and Elle smiled. “Between you and Nitro and my brother and Chantal, I’m surrounded by lovebirds.”
“What do you call you and Beau? Crows?”
“We’re not in love.”
“Aren’t you?”
Elle didn’t have an answer for that. Because she wasn’t at all sure anymore that the feelings she had for Beau were anything less than full-out, soul-deep love. And wasn’t that just more terrifying than jumping out of an airplane with a ten-year-old parachute.
Luckily for her sanity, between the case and contemplation of where her career was going, over the next few days, Elle didn’t have time to dwell on the love thing ad nauseam. Not that she didn’t think about it at all, but she had some success with redirecting her thoughts, and for that she was grateful.
There was just too much coming at her at once and she still hadn’t had that chat with Mama.
Chapter 19
Friday came and everyone was on edge. Beau had created a set of fake plans that looked nearly identical to the originals. The difference was these didn’t work at all, and because of that, there was no dangerous electromagnetic discharge. Elle had taken pictures of them and put the images on a thumb drive for Josie to pass off as the plans.
Nitro’s surveillance showed that the two smugglers hadn’t left the hotel all morning, and Chantal’s phone did not ring. Of course, the smugglers had told her to have the plans ready tonight. Nitro was in place to follow them when they did leave to meet Josie masquerading as Chantal.
Elle would be following Josie as backup. Chantal was to be sequestered in ETRD until the trap had closed on the smugglers. Mat had insisted on staying with her, and Elle hadn’t put up even a token resistance. He would be safer in the secured building.
Not that he was technically at risk, but still.
It was a good plan. Elle knew it. However, she kept going over it again and again in her mind. That wasn’t unusual, but she wanted a break from thinking about it. Maybe it was time for that call with her mother.
She dialed the cell phone and Mama picked up on the second ring. “Hello? Elle?”
“Yes, Mama, it’s me.”
“Are you coming for dinner this weekend? Maybe bring that nice Dr. Ruston with you.”
Elle huffed out a laugh. Some things never changed and she was glad. “That’s kind of why I’m calling.”
“I remember this tone of voice,” her mother said, an edge of joy lacing her words. “You had it when you told me you were in love with Kyle. Such a nice boy. He should not have died so young, but life isn’t so black-and-white, is it? Bad things happen and we have to survive. Baba has always said this. She should know. Life wasn’t always kind to my mother.”
Mama’s words buzzed in Elle’s head like a droning bee as Elle sucked in a shocked breath. She felt like she’d been sucker punched, and that didn’t happen often. But how could her mom know she loved Beau when she herself was just coming to terms with the possibility?
“I’m scared, Mama,” she blurted over a well-known story about her baba’s life as a young woman.
“Ah, yes. I thought you might be.”
“It’s hard.”
“Because Kyle died.”
“He’s gone, Mama. He left me alone.”
“It was his time, miy amúr, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your life by yourself. It is time for you to live again—to come back to your family.”
Was the woman psychic? “I’m thinking of moving back to California.”
“Good. Where you live now is filled with crooks and people who lie for a living. You come home.” Her mother’s opinion of politicians hadn’t improved any over the last few years.
“What if Beau doesn’t love me?” What if he did, but ended up leaving—through death, or simply them growing apart, as Elle had come to realize she and Kyle had been doing before he was killed.
Her mother tutted in disbelief. “Of course he loves you. I saw the way he looked at you.”
“I think that was lust.”
“What do you think comes first for a man? You think they start off considering what a wonderful wife and mother a woman would be? No, they think how well the woman would warm their bed. Your father was the same.”
“Ew! Mama, I didn’t need to hear that.”
“What, you thought we never had sex? We had five children, Elle. You girls nowadays, so squeamish about life.”
“You’re my mother. I don’t want to think of you having sex.”
“No one said you had to think about it.” Mama made a sound of disgust. “I’m just giving you advice. Like my own mother gave me.”
Picturing her baba talking about sex to Mama was not a pretty mental landscape. “Okay, okay…just…stop….”
“Bah, never mind that. Elle, daughter, loving is scary. It’s a risk. What if you love someone and they die like Kyle? Or stop loving you? Or move away three thousand miles and take your heart with them?” Elle had a feeling her mother wasn’t talking about romantic love with that last one. “That’s the risk you take loving, but it’s a bigger risk to hide from it. Loneliness can be like a living death. I’ve seen it with elderly neighbors; their children never come to see them. Or young people so wrapped up in work, they forget the heart wasn’t meant to be ignored like that until they wake up one day and realize they have no one to call their own.”
Elle thought that last comment might have been aimed at her as well. “I’ve missed you all. I don’t want to go away again.”
“We’ve missed you as well, miy amúr. More than you can know. I am glad your heart came out of hiding before it was too late to spend time with the people you love.”
Like her baba, who was old and would not live forever. “
I was grieving.”
“Yes, and maybe you needed some distance. A little independence to become the woman you wanted to be and not the woman we expected.”
“I…”
“I’m not blind to your feelings, daughter. I never have been. Maybe I should have been more accepting, but we all must follow our own paths in life.”
“Yes, Mama.”
“I’m proud of you, Elle. Whatever you think. Your papa and Baba are too.”
“Thank you.” Damn, she could feel tears clogging her throat, but Elle never cried. “I think I love Beau,” she admitted in a shakier voice than she’d used in a long time. “But we’ve known each other such a short while.”
“I knew your father two days before I knew he was the one. He is still the one, my precious girl.”
Elle smiled at that. Yes, her parents were still very much in love. “Beau likes the family.”
“Of course. We are likable.”
“He even likes Mat.”
“Why should he not? He’s my son, isn’t he?”
Elle laughed, but then she sobered. “I don’t know if Beau wants more—I mean anything lasting.”
“You will not know until you ask.”
So much for her mother expecting her to be a traditional, demure woman. “And if he says no?”
“If he is worth fighting for, you fight. If not, you let me fix you up with Mrs. Niedleson’s son. He’s a heart surgeon and has the sweetest little boy.”
“Mama!”
“What? I’m only saying Beau, as handsome, smart and kind as he might be, isn’t the only fish in the sea.”
“He’s the only fish I want.”
“Then reel him in, miy amúr. What are you waiting for?”
A brief knock sounded on Elle’s office door and then Beau walked in.
“I need to go, Mama.”
“Okay. Come for dinner on Sunday. Baba will cook.”
“We’ll be there.” She was speaking for Beau too, but the worst he could do would be say no. And then her mother would call Mrs. Niedleson. Oy.
Was Elle sure she wanted to move back to California?
She put her phone down on the desk.
“How’s your mom doing?” Beau asked, with a smile.
“Good. She wants us to come for dinner on Sunday.”
He rubbed his belly. “Yum.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Definitely.”
“Good.”
“Are you nervous about tonight?” Leaning against her desk, he rearranged the things on top.
“Nervous? No. Obsessing over every little detail? Unfortunately, yes.”
“That’s what makes you so good.” He grimaced. “I’m on pins and needles myself.”
“We’ve got it covered. Sound surveillance of their room confirms they believe Chantal is cooperating, but they’ve made mention of a backup plan—they called it their insurance—that I wish they’d elucidate on.”
“Too bad you can’t dictate the conversation of those you spy on.”
“Isn’t it?”
“I’ll be glad when this is over.”
“Me too. I want to know Chantal is safe.”
“Definitely, but I can’t wait to see the back of Archer Sandstone either.”
“He’s got a rude awakening come Monday morning.”
“Frank is positively gleeful about it. Archer really made him mad with the bug in his office.”
“Is he still going to press charges for stalking?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That kind of behavior can spiral downward pretty quickly and get dangerous.”
Beau’s gorgeous brown eyes turned serious. “So can emotions.”
“Come again.”
“It’s not just sex.”
Oh, man. Was she ready for this? “Is this the right venue for this discussion?”
“Does it matter where we talk about it?”
“I can’t help wondering why you didn’t bring it up last night…in bed.”
He shrugged. “We were busy and then you were asleep. Talking to you about serious stuff when you are naked isn’t something that’s going to be feasible for a while—maybe ever.”
“I see. So I can look forward to a lifetime of personal discussions in the workplace?” She was asking so much with that one question.
His expression told her he recognized that fact. “Yes.”
“I…”
Her phone buzzed. It was Mat. She stared between Beau and the phone, torn for the first time ever between personal issues and doing her job.
Beau smiled. “Get it. We’ll finish this later.”
“We will.” She grabbed the cell.
The perps had called early. They’d given Chantal instructions on where to drop the plans. They didn’t want a face-to-face meet, which was good for the Josie-Chantal switch.
This time, Chantal had been prepared with a way to record the call. With the recording of the phone call and video footage of the two men picking up the thumb drive with the false plans on it, they’d be dead to rights on charges of piracy and blackmail.
Josie, wearing the blond wig and looking eerily like Chantal, made the drop and then fell back to position. She and Elle watched for the pickup. It came an hour later. Only one of the smugglers showed, though.
“Nitro, where’s Perp Two?”
“Still in the car.”
Elle got the video of Perp One picking up the thumb drive and making a quick call. She wanted to take him down so badly, but that wasn’t the way TGP worked. Unless they had no choice, they left the collar for someone else.
Elle called Whit. “I’ve got the video.”
“The FBI is set to move in once they return to the hotel.”
“Perp One and Two leaving the parking lot,” Nitro announced over the headset.
“They’re on the move,” Elle told Whit.
“Good.”
She disconnected the call. “Nitro?” she asked.
All she got was static. “Let’s get back to the car,” she said to Josie. “You want to connect with Nitro on the cell?”
“I’m already on it.”
They met back at the Spider. Josie pulled off the wig as she listened to whatever Nitro was saying on the phone.
She turned to Elle. “They’re not headed to the hotel.”
“Where are they?”
Josie relayed the coordinates and Elle executed a perfect U-turn, accelerating the powerful V10 engine. She continued to follow the directions from Nitro until Josie verified she had the SUV in her sights through the small field binoculars she was using.
“I can see Daniel too. He has a car between him and the perps and he’s hanging back,” Josie said.
“Good.”
They took another couple of turns and Elle started suspecting their direction. “I think we’re headed to ETRD.”
Josie was still keeping visual contact with the smugglers via the binoculars. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. They think they already have the plans, why risk exposure at the facility?” Maybe they were going after Chantal to eliminate the link back to them.
Elle called Mat with her handless Bluetooth.
“What’s up, sis? Did the drop go as planned?”
“Yes, but the smugglers didn’t go directly back to their hotel like I expected. They could be headed toward a small airport north of ETRD, but they’re definitely headed in your direction. Keep Chantal inside the building; your office would be even better. If she gets any visitors, instruct security not to allow them access to the building and don’t let her go to the lobby for anything.”
“You’ve got it,” her brother growled, and the phone went dead in her ear.
She then called security herself to tell them not to allow any visitors at all into the building for the next thirty minutes. The head of security balked and said she didn’t have the authority to make that kind of call.
“I assure you, I do. Call
Frank and verify it if you need to, but if I find out you let anyone in when I arrive at the facility, I’ll stick my Gabriella Rochas so far up your ass that you’ll be walking funny for the next month. Do we understand each other?” she said in a voice that could have frozen anything in range.
“Uh…yeah…I’ll just put a hold on visitor passes while I track down Frank.”
“Good idea. Now, tell me who has checked in as a visitor in the last hour.” They couldn’t be sure the two smugglers were working alone.
The list was short and on the face of it innocuous. Nevertheless, she instructed him to text the names to her and she forwarded the text to Alan with instructions to do quick-and-dirty background checks on the four names.
She got a call from Whit saying the FBI agents who had been waiting to do the pickup of the perps at the hotel were on their way.
Groggy and his vision blurry, Beau shook his head to clear it, immediately regretting the action when it sent spiking pain behind his left eye. Damn, that felt like a migraine. He’d only ever had one once before, when he’d been injured on the football field and given a narcotic for the pain that didn’t agree with him.
He hadn’t been shooting up painkillers in the lab, though.
But he couldn’t be in the lab unless this sensation of being in a chair very different from his lab stool was another aspect to the headache. His lids cracked open only to make him wince in pain again at the light. He didn’t shut his eyes again, though.
Because he wasn’t in his lab.
He wasn’t in ETRD at all. He was buckled into a plush leather airplane seat next to the window on what looked like a private jet. The tinted windows didn’t entirely block the California sunshine, but no doubt blocked view of him from the outside. His hands were tied with a plastic tie in front of him, but his feet were free.
The sound of small planes droned intermittently from outside.
How the hell had he gotten here?
He thought about it while trying to unbuckle his seat belt with his constricted hands.
