by Dana Volney
“He’s a defense contractor. They have to know his hands are dirty,” Rife said. She’d forgotten he was in the room, which was almost comical given his size.
“We’re agreed that Rodney has been brought in to clean up any shady loose ends,” Able answered. “But I don’t get the sense Rodney is working alone. We’ve seen some amateur things happening, but it reeks of a team effort. He’s sacrificing the rookies, but for an attack of this scale, he has to have some heavy hitters with him.”
There was more to this than her. There were much bigger issues at play. That should make her feel better, but it didn’t really. This, whatever they were going to do, wasn’t going to be easy or small. They were getting ready for a bigger battle. Her throat constricted. She couldn’t freak out; she hadn’t even been called upon to do anything.
Rife scratched his scruff and pulled at the top of his shirt. “When I did the job overseas, it was for the boss and I don’t think it was related to the company.”
“What was it?” The silence that followed Able’s question was thick.
That must be a no-no question.
“Standard wet work. About a year ago.” Rife’s cutie-pie lips were pressed together, but there was no change in his tone or cadence as he extended his long arm on the back of the couch.
“That makes sense.” Teagan got caught up in the moment and forgot she wanted to stay in the shadows. “Tabitha said that she started seeing the wounds on the soldiers about a year ago. She didn’t think anything of it at first but then the injuries were so similar and from weapons that shouldn’t have been used on the other side.”
Tabitha had worked in the army. She was a medic, often sent over for long stints to care for wounded soldiers. It made sense she’d figured out the weapons issues. She was the best at identifying the type of wound and became quickly skilled in identifying which type of weapon made which type of holes. The gunshots the soldiers were coming in with on a regular basis were from guns the rebels weren’t supposed to have in their hands. If Tabitha just would’ve filed a report or alerted her supervisor instead of taking it upon herself to solve the mystery, she still might be alive. Just like Teagan wouldn’t be a wanted fugitive if she’d just reported the issue and let the professionals investigate. Apparently do-goodery ran in the family. And they were all terrible at it.
“Who’s Tabitha?” Milo asked.
“My sister.” Teagan looked him straight in his cool, green eyes. “She was murdered six months ago. I believe because she was investigating Hume Corp. They were selling weapons to the terrorists that were then turning around and using them against our troops.”
Rife sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Fuck that guy. He’s dead.” He stood and Teagan moved her head up with him—he was even bigger and taller than she’d first thought. The man was a Roman gladiator.
“And because of the new contract and Wyatt’s sister’s inquiries, Hugh’s paranoid and cleaning up everything that could look bad on him and cost him money,” Able said.
“Hume’s at the head and he’s well aware of everything going on at his company. He shouldn’t get away with murder.” Teagan felt the heat in her cheeks rise. Hopefully, she wasn’t turning bright red. “And now you’re all targets, too?”
“Anyone who’s done work for him. Ever, I’d imagine.” Able had a grim set to his lips.
“How did you find all this out? How did you find me?” she asked.
“Three associates have been killed in the last two weeks,” Able informed her. “We followed Rodney to the alley. He was the one who picked off the FBI agent.”
“Rodney and his merry band of dicks came after our boy there.” Sabene winked. “That’s what led us to you.”
Teagan stood by him on the couch, reaching her hand out to his shoulder. “They tried to kill you?”
“A futile effort. And he paid for his sins.” Able didn’t bristle away from her touch, but he felt stiff.
The bottom fell out of Teagan’s stomach. Able was in real danger, too. And had killed the guy who came after him. Ended someone’s life. That case was justifiable. Kill or be killed, but she didn’t know if she could pull the trigger if it came down to that situation. She wanted to deal with HC through the legal system. This group didn’t do legal.
They were all alive, though, and so was she. When it came to the hard line of good versus evil, she knew she was on the right side, but were they?
“Our play here is to act like Wyatt had a back-up of the information proving Hugh was selling to the other side and blackmail him with it.” Able’s suggestion was an order to the troop.
“But that was the only copy I made.” Teagan had barely made one copy, let alone had the mindset to make another one for herself.
“He doesn’t know that.” Able turned his head up to her, his chocolate stare boring into her. “My guess is that he wanted you framed for the murder so that no one would believe you if the information did get out. And if you didn’t have an extra copy then he had a fall guy for the agent so the investigation would close quickly.”
She wanted to be alive at the end of this. Able and his friends probably wanted to stay six feet up, too. But she wasn’t stopping now. Hume Corp. was going down. She couldn’t run and let them keep going. Tabitha wouldn’t have wanted that. Neither did she.
“Why me? Because of the information?” She’d not thought of this consequence when she’d made the decision to steal the information and turn it over to the authorities. She’d greatly underestimated HC’s propensity to kill to solve a problem.
“It doesn’t have to be complicated for people like Hugh to take action.” Able rubbed his index finger under his bottom lip, pulling her attention away for a moment.
“How do we get him to believe we have the copy?”
“You call him and tell him you have it.” Able made it sound so simple.
“I what?” Teagan sat hard on the edge of the couch, her arm brushing Able’s. She was the worst liar on the planet.
“You looked at it, right? You can tell him what’s on there to prove it if he asks you.” Able’s expectations were clear, but that didn’t mean that was what was going to happen.
“Yeah, but what do I do when he wants to see the information?” Her mind spiraled.
“For the first meeting it won’t get that far. It’ll be the first step in the negotiation. You want a payday.” Able must’ve done this a million times. Which, sure, was dandy and all, but she’d never done anything like this. Hell, even stealing the information at HC in the first place had nearly given her a heart attack.
“Hold on.” She stood with a rush. “I have to meet this guy face to face?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know he’s not going to kill me?” Her voice rose and her weakness showed, but she didn’t care. Better now than later.
“We’ll have you covered.”
She barely trusted Able. Now she had to put her life in his hands? He’d had chances to kill her and didn’t take them, but could he really prevent her from dying?
“No.” She shook her head and took a step back. “I can’t.” She wasn’t a brave person. The only reason she’d stolen the information in the first place was for her sister, not because she was some crusader. She wanted to help, but she didn’t know enough to make a difference. She wanted to disappear into the shadows. She was better just observing. Not participating.
Able was up and in front of her before her eyes could focus. His palms wrapped around her upper arms, and she refused to wince at the bruises left by the cop last night as she gazed up at him. Strong. Sure of himself. She needed even an ounce of Able’s confidence.
“You can do this.” He spoke carefully, a sense of assurance in his stare. “I know you want to. We’ll be right here to help you. If we can get Hugh on the hook, we can get to everyone he’s hired.”
“To kill them.” She hated that she was becoming resigned to the fact this was probably the only way to keep any of them safe.
“To get
to them before they get to us.” He didn’t waver. “To you.”
Shit. He had a point. She was in this now no matter what. The impossible seemed to be exactly what they were after, but she had to try or she’d forever be looking over her shoulder until the day they got to her. Which would probably be fairly quickly since she didn’t have any of the tricks the team had.
“I’ll do my best.” She didn’t make eye contact with Able. She didn’t want him to see what a disaster she thought her best was going to bring.
“Good girl.” A flash of unmistakable heat in his eyes sent a ping all the way to her core. She could feel her nerves trying to jump out of her skin as it was. Yeah, she remembered last night just like he did. A repeat about now wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
“You’re going to call him and set up the meet,” Able continued, his palms still around her, his entire essence surrounding her. “We’ll scope it out.” His voice lowered, “I’ll be right there with you.”
Her gaze dropped to his delicious lips. He wasn’t someone created for a long-term relationship, and that certainly wasn’t what she was looking for. She didn’t need a “rest of her life” commitment right now. She just needed the contact—she could get through her right now with him.
She could give into her pleasures; she needed that relaxation he was so good at giving her to block out thoughts about the future—that was the beauty of Able.
* * *
Fuck, he hated being in the limelight. And that’s exactly what Hume had done to him. Able lived in the shadows and he died in the light. This guy, Rodney, and whoever else was on their side had to go. Pronto.
He removed his hands from Teagan; he’d kept them there too long. And he didn’t want to give the others the impression there was something more going on between them. He needed their trust, and if they thought he’d been compromised with feelings for Teagan, they might not believe he had the team’s goal front and center.
Sabene gave Teagan a burner cell with Hume’s personal number tapped in. “I’m recording it. We’ll record everything between you two in hopes of getting something the FBI can use.”
“I appreciate that.” Teagan smiled at Sabene. “What do I say?”
“Be a little vague.” Sabene crossed her legs and Arkham’s ears went up. “Like, you know what he’s been up to and that you made a copy of the information. He’ll probably play dumb. You tell him that you want a payoff for your troubles.”
“I’m in a movie,” she whispered as she focused on the black phone in her palm.
“Then act like you’re in a movie.” Able shrugged. Whatever got her through this or whoever she felt she needed to pretend to be was exactly who he needed her to be. “As long as it sounds like you know what you’re doing.” He should probably give better advice than that, but the only time he dealt with inexperienced people in these types of matters was when they were in his crosshairs.
Teagan pressed the “send” button and backed up from him. He watched her soft features harden.
“Hello,” an older male’s polished voice answered. Sabene had somehow routed the call to his earbud so Able could hear both sides of the conversation. He glanced around the room—they all could.
“Hugh Hume?” She started pacing. “My name is Teagan Wyatt and your men did a bad job of silencing me.”
Whoa. That was one way to start the conversation.
“I don’t know who you think you’re calling, but—”
“I know exactly who I’m speaking with. The CEO of Hume Corporation. The defense contractor who is committing treason for profit.”
“Listen here—”
“No,” her clipped voice rose. “You lost that right when you shot at me and framed me for attempted murder of an FBI agent. I made a copy of the files. Your guy didn’t steal the original. I want to meet with you. Hear you apologize for the inconveniences you’ve caused me, and I want cash. Bags of it. Or I turn this copy into the FBI for real.”
“Even if I believed these false, outrageous claims, what assurances would I have that you haven’t already gone to the authorities with the other copy?”
“You made it a little difficult for me to be believed now that I’m a fugitive.”
“I did hear about your jail break. How’d you manage that?”
“I’m resourceful,” she deadpanned.
“I heard you had help.” Hume didn’t hide his interest. Rodney would know that Able was involved, but the rest of the people he’d recruited to help him were hopefully still a mystery.
“I’ll leave my help at home if you leave yours.”
“Very well, young lady. Let’s meet.”
“I mean it. I have a safeguard in place. I even see someone looking at me suspiciously then this goes straight to the cops.” Her tone was strong. He’d even believe that threat.
Teagan was going a little too far, but it was convincing that she’d be scared enough to involve another person for a back-up plan. She had been smart enough to find the information and get it out of Hume’s doors, after all. The reason Able’s plan was so beautiful was because he wanted to bring Rodney out from the shadows. The others understood that. He didn’t want to tell Teagan though because then she’d know she’d be in a bit of danger. It was better if she didn’t know there would be people other than his team lurking in the shadows.
She named a park that ran along the Potomac River he’d only been to twice, and he internally cringed. It wasn’t a great strategic choice for the set-up he’d been planning. He should’ve given her a location before the call. She hung up, the red in her cheeks spilled half way down her neck.
“Good?” She rubbed her forehead.
“Perfect.” He turned to Sabene. “Get her an earbud.”
Sabene opened her bag and produced one, giving Teagan the same instructions they’d all received last night. Then she handed another to him and dispersed them to the others.
“Give Samson’s and Claire’s to Milo.” He turned to the smug kid, who might end up being useful after all. “Meet up with them and then go scope out the area. Be diligent.”
“I’m going to head over there as well.” Sabene packed up her gear and handed Teagan a folded piece of white paper. “I’ll be closer but not at the park and monitor traffic cams. If we can’t get Rodney and his team today, I want to be able to better track him.” She commanded Arkham with “bo” and he followed by her side.
Bo meant “come.” So she had trained him in Hebrew. Good to know.
The meet wasn’t for another hour and a half, but Samson, Claire, and Milo needed to get into position now; if Hume’s next call was to Rodney, he was already on his way over to scout.
“We’ll head over in a bit.” He put one hand in his pocket. “I’ll hang back and make my way to Samson when I’m there.”
“Roger.” Sabene and Arkham disappeared down the stairs and the door chimed.
“When you are there,” he caught Teagan’s eye, “you didn’t bring the information. You came to show him you’re serious and negotiate the money drop in person.”
“I have a lead I’m going to go check out and then I’ll meet you over there.” Rife left—for such a big man he sure moved as quietly as a cat.
Teagan didn’t say anything. She barely acknowledged Rife leaving. Able waited to say anything until the downstairs door clicked shut.
“It’s going to be okay. I promise.” His gaze trailed down the side of her neck to the v of her shirt before noticing her arms squeezed in tightly. Her creamy skin was losing its color. How did a woman who’d infiltrated a company she clearly hated and stolen documents to turn them over to the government get so nervous now about continuing with her original plan, just in a different way?
Wispy hairs around her face floated back as she stepped toward him. Heat rolled down his abs and settled in his gut. He wouldn’t reject another one of her steamy kisses. She rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, her arms still clenched in front of her.
His body wanted hers, reacted strongly to her, wanted to feel her lips on his again, but his mind screamed to stop. The road he was headed down wasn’t appropriate or useful for either of them. He’d seen what happened when business and pleasure were mixed so freely, and it wasn’t ever good. Bad decisions, broken hearts, death, and despair. They all led to consequences. He wouldn’t let that happen.
“Teagan,” he whispered and she sank farther into his arms.
Able felt more than heard her deep breaths. With each one, his heart aligned to her silent plight. But he couldn’t let her back down. She had to meet with Hugh Hume. This was the only play they had. She needed strength. He’d give her all he had.
“I just need … a minute.” Her hushed tone was loud in the silence of the wide open office space. Sunlight streamed through the windows by the kitchen and caught her dark blonde hair, turning it golden.
“Take all the time you need.” He matched her tenderness, placing a kiss on the top of her head, taking in the sweetness of her scent.
Death and money. That was the whole of his world. He had pleasures, sure, but in the last couple of years, he’d lost sight of living life. He’d kept his focus on the job. He was the job. He wasn’t about to change his profession or become someone else, especially not over a blip on the radar that was Rodney, but maybe that fun-in-the-sun vacation he’d planned on taking should come sooner rather than later. Samson could use a more R&R after seeing Claire again, too.
Teagan unwrapped her arms and slid them around his waist, pressing her luscious softness into him, her cheek now over his heart. Fuck. His dick was at attention like he was going to be sliding into her wetness momentarily. His mind started to haze, his mouth watering at the thought of her nipple in between his teeth.
Then she took her heat from him, pulling back to look up at him, straight into his eyes. No words. He had no words of encouragement, no words to speak at all. He didn’t want to use his words to comfort. He wanted to use his lips and his hands and his cock.
The charged air swirled around them. He couldn’t take it. He lowered his head and kissed her. For a moment he held his breath, not sure if she’d bend or not. Then her lips softened and she yielded to him, her mouth open, accepting, her hips pressed against him, rubbing and yearning.
