Winter Black Box Set 2

by Mary Stone

  Very carefully, he levered an arm under Natalie’s head and pulled her up until she was lying in his arms.

  Not all of their visits had been terrible, he remembered. It was almost like a black veil of bad times had been laid over the good. But looking in Natalie’s face, he smiled a bittersweet smile at the memories.

  “Remember when we played Pictionary and you thought the car I’d drawn was a dick?”

  God, they’d laughed as only children could each time a body part was a topic of discussion.

  “And what had we been thinking when we filled that stupid balloon with deodorant spray, put it in a bucket and lit it on fire.” He smiled. “It took months for my eyebrows to grow back.”

  She groaned, the lids flickering again. He willed her to open them, then smiled when they did.

  “No…ah.” His name was just a whisper of breath.

  “Yeah, Nat, it’s me. Hang in there, okay? We’ve got help on the way.”

  “Ja…Jon.”

  He didn’t allow himself to glance at the decaying man on the other side of the room.

  “We’re going to take care of him too, okay? Don’t worry about anything except fighting, you hear me?”

  He remembered the times they danced in the living room.

  He remembered the food fight that had been worth getting grounded.

  Yeah…they’d had a few good times tossed in with the bad.

  “D-d-dad?”

  Anger was like a fist around his heart. Their bastard of a father was the cause of all of this.

  “He’s fine. He’s been worried about you. You need to get better so you can kick his ass.”

  Her pale tongue darted out to lick at her dry lips. “Lo…lo…love. I…”

  Noah waited for her to finish. Watched her take in a shuddering breath.

  Then…nothing.

  He waited a minute. Longer.

  There, on the floor of a dirty warehouse, the sister he barely knew grew still as her heart beat its last.

  He shouldn’t have felt anything. He knew that he shouldn’t. They were strangers. She was just another victim.

  But he did. An ache of anger and grief that hit him unexpectedly.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling Natalie against his chest.

  For what, he wasn’t sure.

  Noah didn’t know why he was here. He didn’t know what had compelled him to seek out Eric to personally deliver the news of Natalie’s passing, but here he was.

  He’d held Winter’s hand on the flight, and she’d let him, her head resting on his arm.

  She’d given him strength to do what he needed—no, had been driven—to do next.

  For the past four hours, Eric had been tucked away in an interview room in the heart of the Richmond field office. He’d given a full, detailed statement to Miguel Vasquez.

  Not long afterwards, he’d been read his rights and officially arrested. Vasquez would transfer him to a holding cell for the rest of the night. Then, at the start of the next business day, Eric would start down the well-traveled path of the criminal justice system.

  With a deep breath to steady himself, Noah smiled at Winter, who leaned on the wall before he shoved open the door to the interview room. Eric’s weary gaze jerked over to the doorway at the sudden disturbance.

  “Did you find her?”

  Noah expected to see a glimmer of naïve hope in his eyes, but in its place was only misery. Maybe Eric wasn’t as stupid as Noah had initially assumed.

  “Yeah.” He pulled out a chair and dropped down to sit with a long sigh. All the fight had gone out of him. Sure, he could be angry, but what good would that do? “We found her.”

  Though the color drained from Eric’s cheeks, his expression changed little.

  He’d been prepared for the news.

  He’d finally learned who he had been dealing with. Finally learned the extent of the Russians’ callousness. Finally recognized just how foolish he’d been.

  Reluctantly, Noah met Eric’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but she didn’t make it.”

  The overhead fluorescence glinted off the first tear as it streaked down Eric’s bearded face.

  For the first time in his life, Noah felt a twinge of sympathy for the man.

  In a week, he’d lost virtually everything important in his life. His daughter, his son-in-law, his job, his freedom, and possibly even his marriage.

  All it took was one bad decision, and Eric had been left with nothing.

  As Bree settled into her spot on the couch, she blew on the hot cup of tea. To Bree’s side, Shelby reached out to touch her shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?” Shelby asked.

  “They got the guys.” Bree was surprised her voice didn’t crack. In the past thirty minutes, ever since she’d gotten the call from Max Osbourne himself to advise that the suspects involved in Drew’s murder were in federal custody, she’d been assailed by a host of feelings she could only assume she’d kept at bay for the last few days.

  Shelby nodded. “Good. I hope they rot.”

  Bree took a tentative sip from the mug. “I still can’t believe he’s gone. It’s not like we saw one another all the time, but I knew he was always there, you know. I’d check Facebook or whatever, and there’d be pictures of him and his wife and daughter.”

  “Drew was a low-maintenance friend.” Shelby squeezed her shoulder and offered a wistful smile.

  With a shaky sigh, Bree nodded. “Yeah. He was. I just hope Amelia and Emma are doing okay.”

  Shelby turned to face her more fully. “Why don’t we go visit with them? We can each take a little time off work and make sure they’re doing okay.”

  Bree’s sinuses burned at the thought, but she smiled as tears filled her eyes. “That’s a good idea. Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll talk to Max about it when I’m back in the office next.”

  She knew there was nothing she or Shelby could do to ease the pain of Drew’s passing for Amelia and her daughter, but the least they could do was remind the pair that they weren’t alone.

  And maybe, somewhere along the way, Bree wouldn’t feel so alone, either.

  38

  After Autumn dropped her off at her apartment, all Winter wanted to do was flop facefirst onto her bed and sleep for the next week. She estimated that she’d managed about three and a half hours of sleep the night before—a far cry from the state of hibernation she had hoped to achieve.

  But now that she was home, her thoughts weren’t any less scattered. The case was behind them now. Alek faced a life sentence with no possibility for parole, Sergei had been transferred to a different state with his family, and Tony Johansson was cooperating with the US Attorney in their pursuit to add more to the pending RICO case.

  Though he’d been arrested, Winter doubted Eric Dalton would serve much, if any, jail time. The man had lost enough already, anyway. Winter still thought the man was a colossal asshole, but she couldn’t help the twinge of sympathy she felt when her thoughts drifted to what had happened to his family.

  Even now, the Dalton family wasn’t out of the figurative woods. Like Sergei, Eric would be moved to a different part of the country to keep him out of the Russians’ crosshairs. His wife and son would be provided with new identities and shipped off to another state where they’d start their lives from scratch. Winter still didn’t know if Eric would be in the same location as his wife and son or not.

  But when it was all said and done, three people had lost their lives because of one man’s poor decision.

  On the drive back to her apartment, Winter had told Autumn to be especially cautious in the coming weeks.

  Autumn was already paranoid enough, but Winter couldn’t keep the information from her friend. As much as she doubted the Russians would have a reason to seek Autumn out, she wasn’t about to leave her friend’s welfare to chance.

  With a groan, Winter flopped onto her back. She’d spent another full day at the Baltimore office, and now, at ten-thirty, she was finally home. And,
of course, she had to go to work tomorrow.

  Without turning, she groped at the surface of the nightstand until she felt her smartphone. Squinting at the bright screen, she typed out a text message to ask if Noah was still awake.

  His response was almost immediate. Unfortunately, yeah. I’m awake.

  Winter pushed herself to sit. Was she really about to schedule a booty call? I can be there in a couple minutes??

  In reply, he sent a couple smiling cat emojis.

  After a languid stretch, Winter flicked off the lights, stepped into a pair of flip-flops, and grabbed her keys.

  For the short walk to Noah’s apartment, she glanced around the shadowy parking lot. She was on the lookout for any anomaly, any person or vehicle that even seemed remotely like it didn’t belong.

  But the scene was still.

  Disgusted with herself, she raised a hand to rap her knuckles against the familiar door. After a light click, the door swung inward. Despite his disheveled hair and wrinkled t-shirt and gym shorts, Noah’s green eyes were alert. Apparently, Winter wasn’t the only one who had become paranoid.

  With a slight smile, he stepped to the side so she could enter. “Hey.”

  She returned the expression as well as she could manage. “Hey.”

  A hint of concern flitted over his face as he closed and locked the door. “I heard about your interview with that detective, Tony Johansson.”

  Winter blinked a couple times. She didn’t want to talk about work, but she could tell by the worry in his eyes that this was important. “What about it?”

  Combing a hand through his hair, he shrugged. “Bobby was wondering about how you knew so much. Said he thought he must’ve missed something important since he stopped by his room to take a shower. I wasn’t really sure what the hell he was talking about, so I lied like a giant dog and told him that I’d told you about the 911 call and stuff.”

  Winter’s mouth went dry. The pace of the investigation had been so chaotic, she’d been forced to give little consideration to the fallout after she’d spouted off about old cold cases during the interview with Tony Johansson. “Did he believe you? Did he say anything else?”

  Noah nodded. “Yeah. He asked if we’d been looking through some murder case, a woman named Alena Chekhova? I just told him yes again.”

  Rubbing her eyes with both hands, Winter heaved a sigh. “I’m so sorry you had to lie. That was close. During that interview I…I had a vision, I guess. But it wasn’t like the other ones. I didn’t pass out or anything, my head just hurt a little and I got a nosebleed. Although I’d gotten a glimpse of some of that information earlier, it was like what I’d seen had been imprinted in my mind.”

  Noah snorted. “Wish I had that ability.”

  She gave him a soft elbow to his ribs, then leaned into him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I could see all these names, all these dates and case numbers on a whiteboard in the Baltimore police precinct. And this woman, Alena, I saw her too. And as soon as I saw her, it was like I just knew what had happened to her.”

  As he scratched his chin, Noah’s expression turned contemplative. “Damn, well. I guess that’s an improvement, right?”

  Winter’s laugh sounded strained, but the tension melted from her tired muscles. “I’m so glad to see you right now.”

  As a smile brightened his weary face, Winter thought she might weep tears of joy. The familiar sight was such a welcome reprieve from the darkness by which she’d been enveloped the last few days. Her heart felt lighter, and the tangled web of thoughts didn’t seem so unmanageable.

  In terms of a relationship, she didn’t know what those feelings meant.

  She didn’t know, but she knew she would be wise to welcome them.

  Without thinking anymore about it, she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could manage. He wasted no time pulling her into a warm embrace. She took in the familiar scent of fabric softener and the faint, woodsy scent of his shampoo and conditioner.

  As much as she wanted to tell him about the feelings his smile evoked, she wasn’t sure she had the energy for a grown-up discussion. The past week had been more than taxing, both physically and emotionally. For a little while, she just wanted to be happy.

  “I missed you,” she murmured. The words were muffled from where she’d tucked her face into the crook of his neck.

  “I missed you too, darlin’.” The bass in his voice reverberated against the side of her face.

  Winter tightened her hold on him before she tilted her head back to peer up into his green eyes. As she traced the fingers of one hand down his scruffy cheek, the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

  She wanted those lips, and without the need for some rambling spiel beforehand, she felt that she could just be present. She could just enjoy his closeness.

  Pulling his head down, she pressed her lips to his, and surrendered herself to the deliciousness of it.

  When they separated, her smile came more easily. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

  Lifting an eyebrow, he tilted his head in the direction of the television. “You thinking what I’m thinking? Supernatural marathon?”

  She laughed and shook her head, her hands moving under the hem of his shirt. “No, that’s definitely not what I want to do with you. If that’s all you want to do, then I’ll be fine with it. But…” she swept her hands over his warm skin, “I was hoping we could do that thing we did the other night.” She moved until she was straddling him and leaned in to kiss his throat. “You know the one, right?”

  “No idea.” He pulled her tighter against him, feeling the heat of her through their clothes. “Guess you’ll have to enlighten me.”

  Circling an arm around his shoulders, she tilted her head for another drawn-out kiss. “I’d be more than happy to enlighten you.”

  39

  When Winter woke beside Noah the next morning, she was certain there was no possible way the day could be bad. Though they had to go to work, there wasn’t a pressing issue that required they show up at the butt crack of dawn. They had paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork waiting for them once they walked through the doors of the Richmond field office.

  For what might have been the first time in her FBI career, Winter wasn’t bothered by the idea that she would spend the majority of her day behind the screen of her computer. She needed a damn break.

  Since there was no apocalypse level event waiting for them that morning, Winter opted to take a shower with Noah. Unsurprisingly, one thing led to another, and they barely made it out before the water turned cold.

  With the soreness in her thighs renewed, she pulled on her leggings and t-shirt to make her way back to her apartment. Once she was dressed for work, their morning routine played out much as it did every morning. On the way to the office, they swung through the drive-thru of a local coffee shop and ordered two seasonal lattes.

  Though they hadn’t hurried, they still arrived at the office before eight.

  As they neared the Violent Crimes section of the building, Winter was surprised to see Bobby Weyrick leaned back in a chair. He’d flipped his tie up to cover his eyes, and until he reached to lift the blue fabric, she thought he was asleep.

  “Morning.” Bobby ended the greeting by stifling a yawn.

  “Weren’t you supposed to be out of here, like, two hours ago?” Winter lifted an eyebrow to fix him with a curious look.

  Bobby nodded. “Something like that, yeah. Come on, y’all. Walk with me, talk with me.”

  Noah’s brows drew together. “About what?”

  “I sent you each a text message about this, so if you’re surprised, it’s on you.” He held up his hands and offered them an exaggerated shrug.

  “Surprised?” Winter echoed, a feeling of dread pressing down on her.

  “I’ve been waiting for you guys to get here. Since, you know, you didn’t respond to my text. Someone had to keep an eye on the place and make sure the dude didn’t sweet-talk his w
ay straight on out of the damn building. I didn’t work that case, but I’ve heard stories.” He flashed her a matter-of-fact look and waved a finger.

  Noah gave him a wary glance, clearly as disconcerted as Winter felt. “You need to go to sleep, don’t you?”

  “Dude. You have no idea.” With a sigh, Bobby raked the fingers of one hand through his dark blond hair. “I’ve been awake for twenty-four hours, but no. I’m serious. Y’all have a visitor. Well, Agent Black, you have a visitor. He asked for you specifically, but I’m sure he’d be happy to see Dalton here too.”

  Winter’s heart leapt into her throat. After all the hours they’d poured into making phone calls, interviewing potential leads, and sifting through one database after another, had he finally come to them? Had Justin shown up at the FBI office to seek out her help?

  She swallowed the sudden rush of excitement. No, Bobby would have called her hours ago if the visitor was her brother. Aiden and Max would be here, and so would Bree and even Autumn.

  “Who?” she finally asked.

  Throwing up his hands, Bobby paused in the hallway. “You neither one seriously looked at my text, did you?”

  As she sipped at her latte, Winter shrugged. “Apparently not.” Her anxiety was ratcheting up by degrees. If the agent mentioned Justin’s name, she was quite sure she might pass out at his feet.

  “Your visitor is Ryan O’Connelly.”

  Winter almost swayed on her feet anyway.

  No, the visitor wasn’t her long-lost brother, but this one was certainly a blast from the not so distant past.

  “Son of a bitch,” Noah muttered, his eyes as wide as hers felt.

  They both knew the name very well. Ryan had been one of a pair of masterminds intent on replicating the highest-profile heists of the twentieth century earlier that year. But Ryan had managed to slip away like a ghost, and Winter’d envisioned the man sipping fruity cocktails on some exotic beach for the rest of his life.

  So, why was he here now?

  It made no sense.