“You did what you needed to do,” he told her fiercely.
She’d avoided Samuel’s hug by sliding in next to him. Let him kiss her on the cheek as they sat toward the back of the crowded restaurant.
Even out in full view of the public, she still didn’t feel safe. Had pretty much given up on the idea that she ever would.
But the gun tucked in her bag went a long way toward helping. “He asked me how I was holding up. Told me I looked really good.”
“Bastard,” Kell muttered.
“I said that I needed to stay with him for a while, that I couldn’t go back into hiding,” she said. “He told me he didn’t think that was possible, but he’d see if he could find me a place. The look on his face … like he’d be setting me up to be his mistress or something.”
And then she’d caught sight of the men and froze, but only for a moment. “I couldn’t back down … I knew it was literally my last chance. If I was going to go down, I’d do it fighting.”
“Sounds like you did.”
“I got behind him, grabbed him around the throat and put the gun to his head. The men—to anyone else, they were just a group of men walking into a restaurant for a meal—but I knew. And then everyone started screaming, because of me. And I backed up and headed to the rear exit and the men followed. I shot Samuel to distract them—I pushed him forward and shot him in the arm and then I shot at the biggest man.”
“You were firing in self-defense at a man you were hiding from in witness protection. You gave the marshals the pictures you took of the mercs, and you still have the one you kept. You can put them in Khartoum the day of the murders. You’re an eyewitness.”
“But I shot Samuel—I grabbed him,” she said. “If I can’t prove that he’s guilty, I’m going to be sent to prison in Mexico. God, I can’t do this.”
Kell gathered her up before she lost it. “I won’t let that happen.”
“I shot people.”
“Self-defense,” he repeated. “We’ll prove it.” But they’d never have to if he and Reid got to Chambers first—and Reid was halfway to taking care of it. “Once Reid and I get through fixing things, no one will have any doubts that Chambers was in on the murder of your father and the kidnapping scheme from the beginning.”
“I never thought this would happen. All those secrets …”
“Secrets are never good.”
“I wish I’d been able to talk to my mother about this before she died. I just wanted to know why, but then she was sick and I just couldn’t. I hope she didn’t know what a bad man Samuel was. Because if she did …”
She regretted not telling her parents about Samuel’s attack, regretted her refusal to burden her father after her mother died. And so she’d stayed away from her father for far too long and he’d stopped asking when she was coming to visit.
She’d gone home reluctantly that next summer, because he finally did ask, and she discovered her father had found someone new.
They were already married, her new stepmother already pregnant with twins and her father appeared happy again.
That was what mattered. She hadn’t cared that she hadn’t been asked to go to the wedding. She’d understood, because she probably wouldn’t have been able to watch it happen anyway.
“What about your happiness?” Kell asked, and she wondered why she’d let the story spill so easily with him when she’d stuffed it down for so long.
“Mine?”
“When you were traveling, doing the photography, did you find what you needed?”
“I was happy. I thought I was.” She paused to consider. “Maybe I was just still running.”
She sagged under the weight of that realization, but Kell was there to catch her—he held her, stroked her hair, told her that it would be all right.
Despite the battering storm, she believed him.
Grier was most definitely interested in more than just getting intel, and Reid was as well, and way too much for a situation like this.
Of course he knew where Teddie was. But he could pass a lie detector test while lying, so no matter what, he was in the clear here. Now he just needed to get that address to Chambers, who would head there after the storm was over, right into Kell’s trap.
The longneck beer was cool against his palm and he watched Grier shift nearly imperceptibly under his gaze. There was a slight flush on her chest where her shirt was unbuttoned, showing her tanned skin.
Before he could say anything else, his phone buzzed in his pocket. “ ‘Scuse me—I’ve gotta take this.”
She nodded and continued eating as he stood, pulled his phone out, noted the number was blocked and answered it, keeping her in view.
“Nice to finally chat with you, Reid.” The voice was icy. In control.
Crystal. Had to be. His hand tightened on the phone, his anger shot through the roof but he bit it all back. He was going to reel this fish in. “Who is this?” he asked, kept his voice purposely sounding like he was bored as shit.
“Don’t tell me Dylan doesn’t talk about me. That’ll hurt my feelings.”
“Dude, I do not have time for games.”
“Name’s Crystal. But you knew that. What you don’t know is that I’m going to kill you.”
Well, that was direct. “Good luck with that. Any particular reason?”
“Because you like playing with fire.” A pause and then, “That pretty little marshal … a shame she won’t live to see the end of the week.”
Reid could barely breathe but he held it together. “What did she do?”
“She got involved with you.”
When the phone clicked off, Reid wanted to smash it to shit, but he knew he needed to try to get a trace.
If the guy had been trailing him all this time, he was good.
It was time for Reid to be better.
Because Reid had a feeling Crystal wasn’t tailing him as much as he’d been tailing Grier. She’d gotten into Reid’s mess but good. She was in trouble because of him. And although before this Reid’s only goal had been to keep her off Kell’s trail long enough for him and Teddie to get away, now he’d involved an innocent.
Reid couldn’t stomach that. Even though he and Grier were working opposite sides of this mission, he’d have to find a way to keep her from harm’s reach.
“I thought maybe we could trade a little intel,” he said after he sat down and ordered a second beer.
“What happened during that phone call to make you suddenly want to trade intel?”
“I got a call from the man who I think’s been feeding you information,” he said. “If I’m right, he’s the one who gave you the tip about me and Kell in the first place.”
She didn’t deny it. “There was someone who came into the office in Texas and offered up a lead on where Teddie was and who she was staying with. Why is he contacting you?”
“To let me know he plans to kill me.” Reid bit into a soft taco like he hadn’t just announced there was a death sentence attached to him.
He couldn’t be that desensitized to violence, could he? “Why is that?”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and crumpled it in his fist. “Anything you can give me would be great.”
“You need my help?”
“Not really. But I figured you’d be happy if you thought we could trade intel.”
That grin again. In the space of a single second, she wanted to both kiss and strangle him. “You’re really going to give me info on Teddie’s location?”
“She’s safe from Chambers for now. But he wants her dead.”
“You’re not going to tell me how you know this?”
“It’s the truth, Grier. And I’ll get you proof.”
She paused and then pulled a picture out of her pocket, the one the security cameras had captured of the blond man who was her informant. “This is the guy who gave me the information on you and Teddie. You’re positive it’s the same man who called yo
u just now?”
“If I can keep this, I’ll send it to someone who’ll know for sure,” Reid said, studying the picture. From the way he appeared to commit the face to memory, she could tell it was the first time he’d seen the man. “What did he tell you?”
“He knew your name and Kell’s. Said you were military. He knew the address of the house in Mexico. He also knew about the bomb and that you crossed the border.”
Reid’s face hardened. “He knew about the bomb because he put it there. Why hasn’t Teddie’s father’s murder been investigated more thoroughly? Didn’t anyone believe Teddie when she showed them the pictures of American mercenaries?”
Grier cocked her head and stared at him. “That’s the reason she was taken into custody. Although the evidence collected indicates that Teddie’s father was the mastermind behind the kidnapping-for-ransom schemes—the authorities found money transfers into several offshore accounts that corresponded with the release of the hostages over the years. The mercs are being pursued, but it’s believed that they murdered Teddie’s father because he screwed them out of money, and so Teddie was put into hiding because her life is in danger until they’re caught. Samuel Chambers was investigated but we never had a connection between him and the kidnappings and murders. We still don’t.”
“Did Teddie tell the authorities—or the marshals—that she believed Chambers had something to do with it?”
“She never said that. She just insisted her father was innocent. No one could prove that. There’s still an active investigation into the three men from the pictures she took the day of the killings.” She paused. “Did Teddie tell you she believes Chambers’s involved?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sure that’s what her father wanted her to believe.” She took a sip of her beer and pointed to the pocket where Reid had put the picture. “Why didn’t she tell us?”
“Why do you think?”
Because she was planning on doing the job herself.
Grier could understand the need for personal vengeance. She’d sat through the sentencing of the men who’d killed her sister and realized that no amount of time would be enough. She’d wanted justice—wanted them dead, the way her sister was. “She took a shot at Chambers for what seems like no reason. It wasn’t a shot to kill—she wanted him alive.”
“She wants him to confess. Otherwise, she’d have killed her only witness.”
Grier couldn’t deny the truth of that statement. “What’s the guy’s name who’s been feeding me information?”
“John Crystal. Former military. Merc. Spy. Very dangerous and out for only himself.”
“And he’s after you and Kell—and you have Teddie. She’s in danger.”
“Teddie’s safe. You’ll have a chance to question her when this is all over.”
“Reid, my job doesn’t work like this.”
“There’s no way you have the resources to keep her safe.”
“You don’t get to make that decision.”
“It’s already been made. And I’m not jerking you around.” No, he was trying to help a friend decide on his own goddamned feelings.
“I’m going to lock you up until you tell me where she is.”
“That leaves you unprotected.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You think you’re protecting me?”
“I know I am.” He paused. “You’re tied to me through all this. Your life’s in as much danger as mine is.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Stating a fact.” He stared at her. “Crystal told me you’d be dead in the space of a week. This week. That doesn’t leave more than two days’ worth of time.”
“So what are you saying? I should stop investigating and go hide?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. You have no idea what this man is capable of. I know you’ve seen some tough men, dealt with them, but you’ve never seen anything like this one.”
“I’ve never run from a fight.”
“You should run from this one. Go back to Texas. I’ll get Teddie to you.”
“Nice try. You’ve been playing me for a fool.”
“I’m not the one playing you for a fool, Grier. Crystal’s been doing a hell of a job of it all on his own.” He stood and threw some money on the table, enough to cover their tab. “I can protect you from Crystal, but you’ll have to let me. You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
Reid left before she could sputter out a curse or a question or both, and yeah, he’d left Grier abruptly, but he’d given her a lot of information as well. Probably more than he should have, but when someone’s life is on the line, he felt they had a right to know.
It was a quiet walk to his motel, and Grier didn’t come after him. About ten minutes before he got there, he got the call he’d been waiting for from Chambers.
“Reid here,” he said when he picked up the phone, and Chambers wasted no time.
“You hurt one of my men badly.”
“Wish I could say I was sorry, but he jumped me. Fair is fair.”
“I called your references.”
“I trust it all checked out.”
“You’ve led an interesting life,” Chambers commented. “It’s about to get more so.”
“That means you have a job for me?”
“I’ll need your information first.”
“Doesn’t work like that. Job first, then I’ll give you the intel.”
Chambers was silent for so long, Reid thought he’d either hung up or the connection was lost. But finally, he heard the man sigh. Reid continued walking, keeping an eye out for anyone tailing him.
“Be at Mariano Escobedo Airport at nine tomorrow evening. You’ll be looking for a couple—American—you’ll be their chauffeur. Their last name is Moorehill.”
“I didn’t sign up to be a driver.”
“You’re not going to take them where they want to go, Mr. Cormier,” Chambers said. “You’ll get more information when you arrive. Now, I’m assuming you have some for me as well.”
Yes, plenty. He rattled off the address of Riley’s place in Florida and Chambers repeated it and then hung up. Reid stared at his phone, checked it to make sure the conversation had been recorded.
You’re going down, Chambers, straight to hell, and I’m going to be the one driving.
He emailed Dylan to give him the pickup time. According to plan, the Moorehills would be intercepted and federal agent decoys would take their place, wrapping up Chambers’s kidnapping business nicely. Then Dylan would contact Kell on Riley’s sat-phone.
Satisfied, he shoved his phone in his pocket as he got to the motel parking lot … and that’s where the assault began. Reid knew it was Crystal, that he’d been lying in wait for him, judging from the blow he took across his back—not so much the force of the hit, but the style was Special Forces all the way.
According to Dylan, Crystal was in his mid-forties, but for a well-trained man, age meant relatively little. It was a good shot and Reid mentally cursed himself for getting caught off guard, for being too wrapped up in Grier’s safety to remember most of his own rules.
He opened his eyes and got up off the fucking pavement quickly, turned to see the man who’d promised to personally make all their lives miserable.
Crystal stood about five feet from him, his stance a fighting one. And then, in a move that surprised Reid, who thought he could never be surprised by much in combat, Crystal smiled.
Smiled. Asshole.
Reid took the moment to recoup, stared at Crystal and realized that he looked a lot like Reid himself would in fifteen years. Probably charmed his way into a hell of a lot of places, the way Reid had his whole life.
Fighting yourself. Excellent.
What the hell, he’d been doing it for years anyway.
“Hey, Reid.” Crystal’s voice was a loud boom and he didn’t bother to lower it. Not that anyone was really around, and certainly no one likely to help either of them.
/> Crystal would be the one who needed medical attention—or the morgue—when Reid was done. Or maybe he’d just send the fucker to prison.
“Hell of a greeting,” Reid growled.
“Wanted to see what you can handle.” He spouted off Reid’s PT scores, starting with goddamned boot camp and then detailed a few of his other accomplishments that were deemed classified, much like the rundown the men in the alley had given Kell. Crystal was impressive as hell and Reid could appreciate the merits of that despite the fact that he wanted to kill him for having fucked with Dylan.
Granted, Dylan had given as good as he’d got. It was something you risked when you worked jobs like this.
“You’ll get a taste of what I can do.”
“This won’t end here, I promise you that,” Crystal told him. “I just needed to see what you’re made of. Then again, I know what drives you—not being able to save your family still eats at you.”
Reid wanted to tell the man to fuck off, but he channeled the anger back inside, because it made a hell of a fuel, and instead stood calmly, staring at his would-be opponent.
“Am I boring you?” Crystal asked.
“Yes. I’ve got a lot more important things to do, so let’s get this over with.”
Crystal laughed, like Reid had just told him the best joke in the world, and then he pulled out a wicked-looking small knife. “Have at it.”
Reid always preferred fighting one-on-one barehanded. It was a more intimate way of fighting—and an easier way to get a feel for one’s opponent. While he understood the need to bring a knife to a gun-fight—or any fight—he felt fighting with no weapons showed who the better warrior was.
It would be him this time, no question about it. Because this fight wasn’t just for him—it was for Kell and Dylan and all the other men and women he called family. They were worth fighting for.
They circled each other and Reid thought about Dylan, about how his friend would never forgive himself if Reid didn’t extricate himself from this situation.
Night Moves: A Shadow Force Novel Page 19
