by Becky McGraw
MacDonald wasn’t her friend—he was her enemy—one who could totally destroy what she’d worked for during the last seven years. If he made an arrest before she did, Jules would be headed right back to the white-collar crime task force. She was not going to let that happen. White collar criminals had not killed her parents and by osmosis, her brother.
With a huffed breath, she loaded the drinks Frank handed her onto her tray and turned to go deliver them. Her face planted in the center of a man’s chest and she barely saved her tray when she bounced back.
“I need you to do me a favor,” MacDonald said, his hands holding her shoulders.
“Why in the hell would you think I’d help you with anything?” she asked with a snort. “Help yourself, buddy—I have work to do.” She tried to step back, but he held her tighter and leaned closer to her ear.
“I need you to find out what Candi’s boyfriend and that guy with him are talking about, because I can’t do that.” His hot breath scorched the shell of her ear and she tried to suppress her shiver but failed.
Okay, so Blane must be on his suspect list, she thought.
Why in the hell wasn’t he on hers, too? What did MacDonald know that she didn’t? Blane seemed harmless when he came in here to drop Candi off—and so did the guy who always came in to talk to him. She never even thought about adding him to her list.
“I’m not doing it unless you tell me everything you know about him. If you want that information, we’ll trade for it when we get off.”
“Fine—” he hissed, standing to run a hand through his hair. “Just find out what they’re talking about before his partner leaves. It’s important.”
His partner? Yeah, Blane was definitely on SEAL Boy’s radar. That made her feel like the FNG that she was. Give her a white-collar criminal and she could run him to ground in a heartbeat. This was a whole new arena for her, but she was determined to be successful.
Jules went back to the bar to grab a towel, then stopped and dropped off the drinks on her way to the stage. Blane and his friend were sitting at the far end, so she had to discreetly work her way over there, wiping tables. If she didn’t hurry, the stage seats would be filled so she wouldn’t be able to casually wipe down the bar there. She worked her way table by table to within hearing range, then set about scrubbing a spot on the closest one.
Blane slid his hand across the space between them and lifted his hand. Her heart stopped when she saw a yellow USB drive, which the other man quickly palmed and put into his pants pocket.
“Drop off the same?’ Blane asked.
“Yes, it’s in the locker. Khal says this better be more than last time.”
“Oh, it’s more. Last time was a fluke. I almost got busted, so I didn’t get everything,” Blane replied, then cleared his throat and leaned closer to the man. “Remember Leap Frog.”
“Got it—Leap Frog. Later.” The man pushed back his stool and stood. Jules quickly swiped her rag over the table, put it on the tray then scurried away.
God, she wished she had her phone with her, because she’d have gotten a photo of the guy with Blane. He had on a knit beanie cap, so she didn’t get a great look at him. Only the three-inch scar on his left cheek above his scraggly beard stood out in his olive complexion.
Jules didn’t head toward Keegan, because she was worried she’d be seen. She stopped and wiped several more tables and took a few drink orders on her way back to the bar. When she stopped at the serving window, he stepped up beside her and waited while she rattled the orders off to Frank.
“Flash drive, locker somewhere and Leap Frog,” she said, under her breath.
“Thanks. I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to the apartment,” he said, and then leaned over the serving window. “Frank, I need to leave. Montezuma’s Revenge. Ate some bad Mexican food last night.” Keegan added a moan, and puffed out his cheeks.
Jules bit back a laugh as she loaded the first drink Frank handed her on her tray. The man had better hope he was a good secret agent, because his acting skills left a lot to be desired.
“Well, shit—what am I supposed to do for a bouncer now?” Frank asked, his face flushed. “I should’ve never fired Trace.” He jerked the towel from his shoulder and dried off a glass, before filling it with the soda hose. “If you’re not back here tomorrow, you’re fired. And don’t be late—don’t think I didn’t notice.”
“Yes, sir,” Keegan said, and nudged her with his elbow as he hurried toward the side door. Jules knew why. He was going to follow Blane when he left, and she wished she could go with him. All she knew was he better be at home tonight so he could fulfill his promise to her or there would be hell to pay.
Jules watched him leave and turned to make the rounds at the new tables, but stopped when she saw Ari walk in the front door with a man she’d never seen before. The music cued the first dancer, the lights dimmed and she lost him. She would just about bet he was going to find Ruby in the changing room.
She turned and walked back to the bar. “I’m going to deliver this drink, then I need to go to the restroom, Frankie. Have Delores cover my tables for a few minutes.”
He grumbled something, but Jules didn’t wait around to figure out what he said. She set her tray down and headed backstage. Maybe Boris didn’t know everything, she thought, with excitement buzzing through her as she worked her way through the crowd. Her suspect Ari was here with someone new, on a Tuesday, which was out of the norm for him.
Jules had a feeling something was about to break loose and she was going to find out what that was. Maybe by the time MacDonald got home from his wild goose chase, he would be the one who was beat to the punch on this investigation.
CHAPTER TWELVE
By three a.m. Keegan was more than ready to find a bed and lay his head down, but he was in the back lot at the bar waiting to give Jules a ride to the apartment. Since the traitorous leaker and his partner were now both in federal custody, he had no idea why he came back to give her a ride, because except for the indictment and his testimony, the case was over. He could go back to Virginia Beach tonight, if he wanted to, and he did.
Keegan was kidding himself, though. He knew exactly why he was here instead of heading home. He knew Jules would be upset when her boss told her tomorrow the case was resolved, so he wanted to be the one to tell her tonight. He also wanted to thank her and say goodbye, because he might never see her again after this.
His heart took a dive to his stomach, but he forced it right back where it belonged. This was business, and that feeling had no place in the mix.
The information his unexpected partner gathered had been critical to the success he had tonight and he made sure the arresting FBI agents and the Commander knew that. With her help, he’d been able to find the thug at the bus stop, catch up with the red corvette at the nearest bus station, where he felt sure the locker was located, and nail Joel Craddock with his payoff in hand. Operation Leap Frog, and the SEALs who were being deployed overseas for that critical mission, were now safe, thanks to her.
The bus provided a good description of the thug, turned radical sympathizer, and his drop off point. When he related that information to the FBI agents who arrested Craddock, Keegan was so pissed by their response, he had to leave the station or throat punch them.
They knew exactly who the thug was and where to find him, because he had been on their watchlist for two years. If they had acted instead of sitting on their thumbs and watching him, this whole situation might have been averted and his brothers’ lives saved.
Keegan’s eyes drifted lower, his body relaxed and he caught his chin just before it hit his chest. Jules better hurry up, because he might just fall asleep on his bike. He glanced at his watch and it was oh-three-thirty. Twenty-one hours since he’d had shut-eye.
The back door of the bar opened and Keegan reached up to unsnap his chin strap so he could give her his helmet, but a man came out, butt first. The door bounced as he fought to drag something outside. The hair on the
back of Keegan’s neck stood at attention and he bent to pull his pistol from his boot holster.
Jules’ blonde head suddenly appeared between two men and she fought like a wildcat. One of them grabbed her hair and they managed to drag her across the lot. Adrenaline made him dizzy as he flew off of his bike, and glanced around for cover, but there was none. His only cover would be going down the row, behind the parked cars.
Crouching low, he ran across the lot watching which direction they went. They stopped at the tenth car and he did, too. Peering around the end of the car, he watched as they opened the back door of an SUV. He waited until both men were visible, then leaned around the end of the car to train his weapon on the forehead of the one who held Jules.
“Let her go, now,” he growled and both men’s bodies jerked. With a moan, Jules took off running toward him and they reached inside their coats. “Don’t go there, or I promise you’ll be dead before you have it in your hands.”
The men froze, Jules ran behind him and Keegan had no idea how they’d get from behind this car to his bike without a bullet in their backs.
“Give me your pistol and go get the bike,” Jules said, breathing hard as she crouched behind him. Give her his pistol? Was she out of her freaking mind?
“I don’t think so, Natasha,” he replied, his mind grasping for an alternative.
“I set a class record for the combined shooting course at Quantico,” she informed, with a frustrated sigh. “Just give me the damned weapon and get the bike!”
Keegan turned his head to look at her, which was a mistake. A bullet pinged into the side of the metal car, and he was thankful he’d chosen an older model to hide behind or Jules might be dead. He swung back toward the SUV and fired twice, but his only target was one of the tango’s legs before the door shut. The yelp told him he’d probably hit the driver, but the other guy was already inside the vehicle.
His eyes streaked to the license plate but he couldn’t get the last three digits from the dented metal. The engine revved, sending exhaust plumes to choke him, but he managed to pop off a round into the back tire on the driver’s side before the SUV fishtailed across the lot.
The tire shredded as they headed for the exit. That was dumb, MacDonald. You wanted them to get away, not stop in the freaking lot. He breathed again when they didn’t let that stop them from pulling out onto the road on the rim.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, as he took off running toward the bike.
Jules, surprisingly, kept up with him and was there to climb on back after he straddled the bike. Instead of turning toward the apartment, because he had no idea if the tangos knew where she lived, he headed for Virginia Beach.
She hugged his waist tight, plastered her body to his back and Keegan pushed the bike for everything it had. He glanced in the mirror every five minutes to make sure the SUV wasn’t on their tail. Twenty minutes later, he finally relaxed and put his tired brain on autopilot to guide them to the shop.
When he stopped the bike in the back lot, his legs felt like electrified noodles as he waited for her to dismount. He turned off the engine and pushed the bike onto the stand but waited until he was sure they’d support him. Staggering to the trailer steps, he opened the door and went inside and Jules followed, shutting the door behind her.
“Nice digs, Boris,” she said with a derisive snort. “They must not pay SEALs very well because they spend it all on training.”
“God pays better than the military, but this suits me fine,” he growled, plopping down at the small table which converted to his bed. “If you don’t like it, leave.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s cozy, but not what I expected,” she said with a grin.
“Just give me the short version of why those men were trying stuff you in that Range Rover and don’t give me any bullshit.”
“Tell me what happened with Blane first,” she countered, dropping her bag on the opposite bench.
“He’s in jail and so is his contact. That’s all I’m saying for now. Tell me why you almost died tonight, since the investigation is over.”
“Yours might be over but mine has just begun,” she replied smugly, as she sat on the bench across from him. “I overheard Ari and Ruby with a man I’d never seen before in the private room tonight. Something bigger is going on.”
“How did you manage that?” Keegan asked, frowning. Was more going on? Did he miss something because his focus was on Blane?
“I hid in a broom closet that I found behind the private room. There’s a peephole in the corner, which I’m sure is not accidental. If I hadn’t been overheard calling my boss to fill him in, I wouldn’t have been in trouble.”
“You called him from the broom closet?! If you could hear them, they could hear you too!” Keegan shouted, because that was just about the most bonehead move he’d ever heard.
“Of course not. I had to get my phone from my locker and Ruby overheard me in the shower talking to him,” Jules corrected angrily.
“You should’ve waited until you were somewhere secure to call,” Keegan replied.
“I couldn’t. They mentioned a ship in Baltimore leaving Friday morning,” she said, shaking her head. “You know how slow the government works. I wanted to make sure I had backup, but my damned boss blew me off. He may live to regret that.”
“What, exactly, did you overhear?” Keegan asked, trying not to side with her boss. Was she just trying to save face by creating a situation where none existed?
She dragged her eyes to her hand and thrummed her fingers on the table. “They talked about a big gesture that would impress everyone on the east coast. The guy who met with them tonight, Abdel, is obviously a leader of some kind. They were very deferential to him and I got freaked out when they ended the meeting with Allah Akbar.” She sighed, and met his eyes again. “I probably jumped the gun calling Brand, but I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. There were signs before 9-11 but nobody took action—I wasn’t going to be one of those people because I know the cost.”
“Well, Brand could be pissed that he had egg on his face because of me. I’m sure he got a call from on high as soon as the arrests were made.” The name she mentioned soaked into Keegan’s exhausted brain and a shot of adrenaline woke him up fast. “Abdel Nour?” he asked, his blood freezing in his veins.
Fuck, while he’d been off chasing a squirrel, had Godzilla gone into that strip club tonight?
“I don’t know—they just called him Abdel a couple of times and Imam once. Why?” she asked, her brows crashing together.
“Abdel Nour is an Iranian Al Qaeda leader, an Imam, and number eight on the government’s top ten most wanted terrorist list.” Keegan pulled out his phone and found his most recent list. He opened the photo for Nour and held it out to her. “Is this who you saw?”
She took the phone and studied it for a long minute, while he ground his teeth. When she handed it back to him, she met his eyes.
“It looks like him, but in that photo he’s wearing robes, a turban, and has a beard, so I’m not sure. This man was clean shaven and looked like a regular American businessman last night. Polo shirt and khakis.”
Keegan didn’t want to ask, because his eyes felt like they were lined with sandpaper right then and this wasn’t in his mission orders, but knew he had to find out. Especially if it was Godzilla they were talking about.
“What did they say exactly? What ship were they talking about?” he asked.
“He will be on the Radiant Sun to pay for the shipment and their friends will be escorting the package back to Baltimore for the party at the end of next week,” she replied.
“How do you know they were talking about a terrorist event?” he asked, because he still wasn’t convinced. Her information was so thin, he wondered why in the heck she thought that.
“I don’t, but if I don’t at least check it out, considering what I overheard, if something happens, I will never be able to live with knowing I could’ve prevented it.”
“You seem very determined for a woman with very little evidence to suggest your suspicion has merit,” Keegan said, scrubbing hand over his face.
“I wish someone had taken that precaution without black and white evidence before 9-11, because my parents and brother might still be alive. I’m going to Baltimore with or without you. I know your case is over, so I’ll just rent a car if you can give me a ride to the rental agency when the sun comes up.”
Keegan’s heart crashed to the pit of his stomach as he watched her eyes tear up and his burned, too. God, he couldn’t imagine what she must’ve gone through. She had to have been very young when her parents died. He wanted to find out more about it from her, but now was not the time.
That explained why she was so determined to follow up on this wild goose chase, and why he was going to help her settle her mind.
“No, I’m not letting you go alone, but we both need some rest.”
Because wild goose chases took energy which he didn’t have at the moment. If she was right, though, Godzilla hunting would take even more effort.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jules stared at Keegan MacDonald’s handsome face, stunned, but relieved that he was going to help her. The situation at the bar had been a close call. If he hadn’t shown up to help her when he did, she wasn’t entirely sure she would be alive right now.
She knew, without his help she could very well find herself in the same position if she went on this fishing expedition alone too. Despite what she said about not softening toward him, she felt like a marshmallow inside at the moment.
Even though he was no longer a SEAL, this man was a hero right down to his core, which was sexy as hell. The fact he was helping her with blind faith in her upped the hero factor. Right then Jules even forgave him for stealing her arrest, because she knew he did it with a good heart, not to spite her.
“Thank you for showing up tonight, and for agreeing to help me,” she said, her voice not entirely steady as emotion swirled inside her body.
