Edge of Honor: An EDGE Security Novel

by Loye, Trish

  He laughed. “Because we’ve only just begun, doctor. I’ll be in touch.”

  The image went black.

  “No!” She threw the laptop. It crashed against the wall and then clattered on the floor. She stared at the shattered screen for a moment before her breath whooshed out of her and her head fell forward as if weighted.

  “I’m so sorry, Bua,” she whispered. Why had she thought they’d be safe? “This is my fault.” Because she wanted to play at being an operator.

  “No,” Jack said roughly. “It’s his fault. Not yours. He’s the psychopath.”

  She became aware that he stood directly behind her. He must have come up to her at some point. His strong hands rested on her upper arms, not restraining, just there. His presence a buffer against the insanity she’d watched.

  She turned in his arms. He might have decided that he didn’t want to start anything with her, but right at this moment she needed someone, anyone, to lean on.

  “Jack,” she whispered, her throat as raw as if she’d been the one screaming and not her aunt. “What am I going to do?”

  His hands tightened on her shoulders for a second before he pulled her into his arms. “We are going to do whatever it takes, Charlie. We’ll do our best to get her back.”

  The logical part of her brain approved of the fact that he didn’t make any false promises, but her inner child whimpered at the thought of the woman who’d raised her being held by a sadistic criminal.

  She slipped her arms around Jack’s waist and leaned her forehead on his chest. Her hands fisted in the back of his shirt, and she breathed in his scent. Mild sweat overlaid with cotton and an earthy spice that might be left over from his shaving cream. She took a few more deep breaths, calming her heart rate and her thoughts.

  Her aunt needed her. She couldn’t fall apart. As an EDGE scientist, she’d had some of the same training as the operators. She had enough of a skillset, if not the experience, to do this. She would not fail her aunt.

  She pulled back from Jack and wiped her eyes. It was time to be strong. “We need to get out of here.”

  He studied her. “We’ll do everything we can to get her back,” he said again.

  She nodded but didn’t respond, her throat too tight to speak. She grabbed her metal briefcase and pulled one of the micro-bugs from it, hating the technology she’d been so proud of earlier. This was what had caused such anguish to her aunt? These stupid bits of metal and wires?

  She swallowed a scream and shoved down her rage. Now was not the time.

  Now, she had to find a way to free her aunt from this nightmare.

  13

  Jack stood beside Charlie on the pavement outside the building. As soon as they’d handed off the briefcase, Tom had handed them a plain brown envelope and drove off leaving Jack and Charlie in front of the building. Jack had left Charlie for a brief moment to do a quick recce back inside the building.

  “Empty,” he told her, “except for a bit of office furniture. No clues about the identity of Spider.”

  She nodded. “Thanks for looking, but he’s too smart for that. We need to get back to the hotel.”

  They left the alley and he hailed a black cab. Charlie didn’t say anything, but she scooted across the leather seat until she leaned against him and he put his arm around her, drawing her close. Just for a bit. Just until she got over the shock of what she’d seen.

  He used the moment to study her. She was paler than normal, her breathing a touch fast, and she didn’t speak, but she held together. No tears or hysterics for his Sherlock. She stared straight ahead and he could almost see the wheels of her brain turning faster and faster. It was obvious she was a fighter who would never roll over and just take whatever was dished out to her. She would make someone a brilliant partner.

  Images of her skittered through his thoughts. Her waking up beside him in his bed, smiling at him in his kitchen, reading a book beside him while he watched a game on the telly. Images of a happy couple.

  He shook his head. Had he gone completely witless? Even if they weren’t tracking down an insane terrorist, there was no way a woman like Charlie would have a relationship with him. No matter how much she melted when he kissed her. The reality of his life would drive them apart. Being dishonorably discharged had made the possibility of finding a decent job close to zero.

  Besides the huge factor that she lived in Canada, only a whole fucking ocean away.

  He straightened in his seat. Way past time to put any thoughts of them as a couple away.

  The cab pulled up in front of the hotel and he pulled out some pound notes to pay while Charlie climbed out and hurried inside.

  “Charlie,” he called, but she didn’t slow. He strode after her and overtook her easily. He leaned over as they walked and tapped the envelope. “Did you look?”

  “Yes.” She moved right to the elevator and punched the button.

  She must have looked inside while he’d done a quick search of the building. “Are you going to tell me about it?”

  “No.”

  Aha. So this was why she was so quiet in the cab. She was cutting him out of the loop. “I can help.”

  “No,” she said tightly, still not looking at him.

  Bollocks. “You’re going to try to do this on your own?”

  “Yes.” She blew out a breath. “No.” She punched the elevator button again. “Maybe.”

  The elevator doors pinged open and she almost leapt inside. He followed her in. A man and woman in their early twenties moved to follow them.

  Jack bared his teeth and let all his frustration from the morning show. “Get another ride.”

  Their eyes widened and they stepped back. The doors closed on their surprised faces.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Charlie said, jamming the button for her floor. “And you don’t have to follow me anymore. You should get out while you can.”

  “Yes, I did. Yes, I do. And there’s no fucking way I’m leaving you to deal with this by yourself,” he said. “What kind of man do you think I am?”

  “You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” she said.

  He tried to temper his tone, even as she scowled at him. “Actually, I do,” he said.

  That stopped her. “You do?”

  “You must have read my file—you know what happened in Iraq?” Charlie nodded, mute. “I think he was the one who laid a trap for my unit that night. So trust me, I want this guy just as much as you do. I can help.”

  “Like you helped this morning?”

  He clenched his jaw against the verbal strike. Was she really blaming him? The elevators dinged open and she strode down the hall and into her room. He followed, but she whirled on him as soon as he entered.

  “Get out,” she said. “I don’t need you.”

  He stared at the infuriated woman before him. And he knew. The anger drained out of him, even as he saw hers skyrocketing. The events of the morning were catching up to her. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she stared at him. “Everything went wrong the minute you showed up.”

  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “You’re right,” he said. “If I hadn’t followed you, then maybe they wouldn’t have punished your aunt.” He swallowed hard and said something that went against every instinct he had telling him to protect this woman. “Do you want to handle this on your own? Do you want me to leave?”

  She stared at him, breathing deeply, and he wondered what she saw. Was it the same fucked-up ex-soldier he saw staring back at him in the mirror every morning? If so, no wonder she didn’t want him on her team. Fuck. Maybe he really had screwed up by following her.

  No. If I hadn’t gone, her aunt still would have lost her finger.

  But he didn’t say that out loud. He wouldn’t do that to her. If she really needed to blame someone to get away from the guilt, she could blame him.

  Charlie closed her eyes. “A voice inside me keeps whispering that if you hadn’t shown up, my aunt would be with me now
,” she said and then shook her head, opening her eyes. “But I know better. It wasn’t your fault.”

  The tightness in his chest loosened with her words. “Do you want my help?”

  Her lips compressed, and he felt he walked a tightrope over a chasm. Just because she realized it wasn’t his fault didn’t mean she wanted him close.

  “Two brains are better than one,” she said.

  No one had ever really wanted him for his brain, but he didn’t mention that, either. He was a tough, experienced SAS soldier. He was usually wanted for his strength, his weapons’ skills, or his knowledge of military tactics and survival skills. He wasn’t sure he was up for whatever his Sherlock was going to throw at them.

  But he’d do his best.

  “Let’s get to work, then,” he said. “What’s in the envelope?”

  She dumped it on the bed. A glossy photo of a man slid out, along with a piece of white paper with black writing scrawled on it.

  Dr. Peter Anderson. Get the blueprints to his EMP device by nine.

  The man in the photo looked to be in his mid-thirties, light brown hair that flopped over the forehead of an earnest face with green eyes.

  He frowned. “I’ve seen him somewhere. Do you know him?” he asked.

  She shook her head, and tears welled in her eyes. She blinked fast and he knew she was on the edge. He crossed the room to her and pulled her into his arms. Not to kiss her but to comfort. She held herself stiffly.

  “We will do everything we can. Believe in that.”

  She melted and leaned against him, her breath shuddering out of her. He squeezed tighter, lowering his head and breathing in the scent of her hair. Vanilla and some kind of flower. A light scent, yet it pulled at him.

  She needed comfort, not his desire, he reminded himself. He lifted his head and loosened his arms. He was here to help only.

  “Let’s get to work,” he said.

  She pulled back and scrubbed at her face. “You’re right. We don’t have much time.” She went to her suitcase and dug around, pulling out a black metal box with an antenna. She extended the antenna and flipped a switch. “My room has been bugged. This is an RF jammer. It should stop the transmission to those assholes,” she said. “Can you find the bugs?”

  “Of course. Is your micro-bug online?”

  She pulled the little bit of metal out of her fleece pocket and tossed it carelessly on the desk. “I don’t think so. I made them so they have no lights and minimal sound when they’re activated. I’m sure the assholes will move it when they activate it.”

  Jack began a systematic sweep of the room while Charlie opened her laptop and began typing. He found a bug under the bedside table. A tiny camera in the fire alarm. And another bug in the desk lamp.

  “Check the bathroom too, please,” Charlie said when he was finished. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, not looking away from the screen. He wanted to ask what she’d found—if anything—but she would talk when she was ready.

  After a few moments, he came out of the washroom with a bug in his hand. “It was in the light above the mirror.”

  “Fucking assholes,” she muttered.

  “Want me to flush them?”

  She stopped typing and turned to him. “What do you think?”

  He walked to the bedside table and put the four tiny electronic devices in the drawer. “They’re fine here for now.”

  She grinned when he turned around, and something inside him lightened to see her dark eyes spark.

  Within seconds the micro-bug on the desk lifted into the air. Jack growled under his breath as they watched it circle them from up high.

  “Can it hear us?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bollocks.”

  “Yes.”

  The bug settled on the desk near Charlie, and the urge to smash it proved almost irresistible. “Fucking witless wankers,” he muttered.

  “Yes. That. Exactly,” Charlie said.

  It seemed like they had a moment where his skillset wasn’t needed. “I’m going to grab a quick shower,” he said.

  “I should be okay here,” Charlie said.

  He snorted. “There’s no way I’m leaving you alone. I’m using your bathroom. Don’t leave or do anything without me.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “I’m serious, Sherlock. Say it.”

  She gave a long sigh. “Fine. I won’t go anywhere without you.”

  “Good.” But he’d take the fastest shower possible just in case.

  It was only a minute into his shower when he heard raised voices. He shut off the water and grabbed a towel. It sounded like Charlie’s friend Cat. And the woman was pissed. He cracked the bathroom door and glanced out.

  Cat stood scowling with her back to him, a tinfoil sandwich bag on the bed beside a phone and a wire. “What the fuck kind of game are you playing, Q?” she demanded.

  * * *

  Charlie stared at her phone and the wire she’d placed in the foiled sandwich bag. They lay on the bed where Cat had thrown them.

  “What the hell, Charlie? Gears and I have been going insane looking for you. You deliberately took off your wire.”

  “Yes,” she said quietly, avoiding Cat’s eyes and standing so the micro-bug wouldn’t have a good view of Cat. She couldn’t let her know what was going on. But she also didn’t want to make her friend a target, too.

  Charlie crossed her arms and tried to bluff. “The threat has passed. It’s not really necessary for me to wear a wire. I’m not some little kid who’s going to get lost.”

  Cat’s eyes narrowed and Charlie could see her brain calculating. Her mouth went dry. She needed her to back off.

  “That’s it?” Cat crossed her arms and her voice got quiet. “Explain to me why I shouldn’t report you and get you pulled back to HQ.”

  Charlie’s heart raced at what she was about to do. If she went through with this, chances were she would lose the job she loved at EDGE. She’d never work for the government or military again, if she didn’t end up in jail or a fugitive.

  But her aunt’s life was on the line.

  “Go ahead and report me,” she said, crossing her arms and mimicking Cat’s stance. She lifted her chin. “Nothing is going on here.”

  “Really,” Cat said in a flat voice. “Where’s your tech? You checked it out this morning to show someone over a fictitious breakfast. Where is it now?”

  Her eyes widened and then she made her face calm. She couldn’t show any reactions to Cat. She thought quickly. “I had my aunt bring it home. I don’t need it anymore and she decided to take an early flight.”

  “Because of your father.”

  Crap. She’d forgotten that lie. “Yes, of course.”

  Cat’s head tilted as she studied her. Charlie met her gaze and put all the arrogance she could muster into it.

  “Tell me the real reason you took off your wire and ditched your phone,” Cat said quietly.

  Charlie fought to keep her face from betraying her. Why had she ditched her gear? What possible excuse could she give them?

  The door to the bathroom opened and Jack strolled out wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.

  “We wanted some privacy,” Jack said.

  Cat whirled on him. “What?” Her eyes widened as she took him in.

  Charlie almost echoed Cat. What was Jack saying?

  Jack walked up to her and slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He’d missed a few water droplets drying off. They slid down his muscled chest. Her heart beat harder and she had to curl her fingers so they wouldn’t follow the same path as the droplet.

  “You know what I mean,” Jack was saying. “We wanted a bit of privacy. No one listening in and no one the wiser.”

  Charlie’s eyes snapped away from Jack’s chest. Her cheeks heated and she cringed inside at seeing the look of disappointment Cat aimed at her.

  “You were supposed to be working,” Cat said to her softly. “I thought that meant something
to you. We thought we could count on you.” She surveyed Jack. “Why would you jeopardize everything for him?”

  Jack stiffened beside her but didn’t respond.

  Charlie stepped in front of him when he didn’t defend himself. Jack had done nothing wrong and he didn’t deserve Cat’s lack of respect. “Be careful what you say, Cat.”

  Cat sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “If you ditch the job, then I get to ask the reason why.” She shook her head. “I’ll let Gears and HQ know you’re okay. Will you keep up the surveillance for the rest of the conference, or will you two lovebirds be taking the whole day off?”

  Charlie swallowed hard. She needed the day to work on Spider’s demands, but she knew that would mean she’d be fired. She couldn’t seem to say the words.

  Jack hugged her tighter against his side. “I think we’re gonna need a bit more time.”

  She wanted to throw his arm off and deny it, but she couldn’t. Would Cat actually believe it?

  Cat stared at her. “I’m disappointed, Charlie.” She strode out, and the door clicked quietly behind her. Charlie almost wished Cat had slammed it, showing anger instead of just disappointed acceptance.

  She sat on the bed and put her head in her hands. “Holy shit. Can I get a redo on this day?”

  Jack sat beside her, but she refused to look at him. He put a finger beneath her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “You can handle this,” he said softly. “You’re an incredibly strong woman. We need to focus so we can get your aunt back.”

  And stop these assholes.

  He didn’t say it out loud, but she read it in his eyes. It was what was in her mind, too.

  Well, that and the searing image of his naked, muscled, wet chest. She swallowed hard and kept her gaze focused on his. She’d appreciated his coming to her rescue, but now he needed a shirt.

  And pants. Mustn’t forget those.

  “The first step,” he said, not knowing her mind had just wandered into forbidden territory, “is to figure out where Dr. Anderson is.”

  “No. The first step is to get you dressed.”

  A smile lit his face and he spoke in a low near-growl. “Why, Sherlock? Are you having trouble concentrating?”