* * *
Jay skirted the edge of the lap pool and looked up to see Carina staring at him through the window. He let himself stare back, amazed that she could look even more incredible than usual wearing only a plain T-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. The jeans seemed out of place in this weather, over eighty degrees with humidity of at least a thousand percent. Of course, she was standing behind the glass in the air conditioned house, not hanging out in the bushes checking for weak spots in the Whitmores’ security system.
She seemed different today. Not the “someone shot at me yesterday so now I’m freaked out” kind of different. Something more subtle. Maybe it was the lack of make-up and the casual clothes that made her seem more approachable. Or maybe it was that the circumstances of the past two days had helped him chip away at her polished exterior.
The look of relief he had seen on her face a moment ago shifted to annoyance. He supposed it was odd that he liked the way she seemed to always bristle when she felt he was ordering her around.
He had to admit that it was easier to deal with her when she was irritated than when he saw that raw vulnerability in her eyes. He thought of how exhausted she had been last night and his surprising urge to stay with her to make sure she was okay.
His initial interest in spending a couple of carefree weeks with her had disappeared, replaced by something he couldn’t name, a depth of feeling he didn’t understand. Despite their limited time together, he could already see beyond the façade, beyond the expensive car and classy clothes. He saw her now as a curious mix of characteristics: responsible and vulnerable, generous and ambitious.
He walked in the door, and she immediately shifted to face him. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
He heard the biting edge of irritation in her voice and ignored it. “I told you I was going to check out the security system.”
“That was over an hour ago.”
“I had to make a few adjustments.”
She continued to look at him skeptically. “What’s the wire for?”
“Just a little insurance.”
She motioned to the window. “Was that boat there this morning?”
Jay shook his head. “No. I put it in the water a little while ago. I wanted to make sure we had another way out of here if we need it.”
Her eyes met his, and he saw a hint of trepidation before she managed to gloss over it. “Whose boat is it?”
“Matt and CJ’s.” He glanced down at his watch to see that it was past noon. “Any chance you made us some lunch?”
“Why would I make lunch for someone I couldn’t find?”
“Just asking.” Jay set the wire and pliers on the table and moved to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. He looked up at her. “Have you eaten?”
She shook her head.
Jay opened the refrigerator and gave the contents a quick study. They were going to need to go grocery shopping soon. The freezer was more promising: homemade rolls in plastic freezer bags lined one shelf, and some various leftovers had also been packaged and stored inside. He pulled a bag of rolls from the freezer and set it on the counter and then moved to the large pantry.
“Are tuna sandwiches okay with you?”
She gazed at him as though she was trying to put together a complicated puzzle. “You’re going to make me lunch?”
“Sure, unless you’d rather make something yourself.”
“No, that’s okay.” Carina shook her head. “I’m not complaining. I’m just surprised. I didn’t expect that you were the type of guy who knows his way around a kitchen.”
“I live alone. That means I either cook for myself or starve,” Jay told her. Then he thought of his teammates and how they were always inviting him over for dinner. Not to mention how their wives were constantly sending leftovers home with him. “Although, having married teammates has definitely improved my meals the last year or so.”
“What do you mean?”
“My whole squad is Mormon, and everyone except for me is married.” Jay opened a can of tuna and drained it. “Sometimes I wonder if they have a calendar floating around that says whose turn it is to feed me.” He looked up at her and grinned. “Or maybe Mormon women just like to cook.”
Carina’s look was a cross between indignation and laughter. “I’m a Mormon woman, and I definitely don’t cook unless I have to.”
“I figured you were probably LDS since your sister is going to Brigham Young,” Jay said, wondering how he seemed to be constantly stumbling across Mormons everywhere he went. He mixed up the tuna salad and defrosted a couple of rolls in the microwave. “Any chance Bianca likes to cook?”
“She loves to cook.”
Jay looked up at her hopefully. “Really?”
“Yeah. She loves to make brownies and cookies. Chocolate cream pie.”
Jay chuckled. “I’ll bet she knows how to heat up frozen french fries too.”
Carina shook her head. “No, but she is anxiously awaiting the day she gets her driver’s license so she can go through the drive-thru by herself.”
“That I believe.” Jay handed Carina one of the sandwiches. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Her eyes met his, and the laughter faded from her face. “And thanks for everything you’ve done for me the past couple of days.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I have to admit that most guys would have run for cover when they found out that my father is involved with the mob.”
“I’m not most guys.” Jay reached over and put a hand on hers. “And you aren’t responsible for your father’s choices.”
“No, but I have to live with them.”
Jay felt the pull of attraction as he stared down at her. He could lean down and kiss her. The look in Carina’s eyes told him she wouldn’t stop him, but he also sensed her doubts. As much as he wanted to take a step beyond friendship, something told him she wasn’t quite ready.
“You’re making a good life for yourself and for your sisters.” He gave her hand a squeeze and then edged back.
“I’m trying.”
Jay considered the lifestyle she had chosen, the complete contrast between Mormons and the mafia. “I have to ask, how is it that you and your sisters ended up Mormon?”
“My best friend in Denver introduced me to the gospel,” Carina explained. “Her life was so foreign to everything I’d ever known, but I was fascinated by the way she and her family lived. It only took me about six months to read the Book of Mormon. My friend challenged me to pray about it, to see for myself that it was true.”
“And you did it?” Jay asked, thinking about how many times his teammates had given him that same challenge.
“Yeah.” Carina nodded and seemed to find some kind of inner peace. “It was almost like I knew the answer before I ever asked the question. Every time I read part of the Book of Mormon, it made sense. Not just the stories, but the way it made me feel.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I was baptized a few weeks later.”
“What about the rest of your family?”
“They all got baptized when I did,” she told him. “What about you? What’s your story?”
“What do you mean?”
“How did you find the gospel?”
Jay’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “I’m not Mormon.”
“You’re not?” Carina looked at him, surprised. “But I saw a Book of Mormon in your car. I just assumed . . .”
“One of my teammates gave that to me.”
“Oh.” Carina looked at him as though trying to readjust her image of him. “Have you ever read it?”
“I read a little bit a few days ago.” He admitted. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to confide in her, but something about the way she had shared so much of her past with him made him feel like she might understand his confusion. “My last mission had a few glitches in it. It’s been a bit of a struggle to sort some things out, but when I read some of that book, it seemed to help. Kin
d of like finding a peaceful spot in the middle of a lot of noise. I guess I never really thought about it the way you just said, that it makes sense.”
She was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke softly. “You should read some more.”
“Maybe I will.”
20
Seth read through the background reports for the third time. He didn’t know what Jay had gotten himself mixed up in, but these guys he was researching were serious trouble with a capital T. Marciano Perelli was believed to have taken over as the head of the Chicago mafia after the death of his father, Sergio Perelli. Marciano had been arrested eight times but never convicted. Nick Baldino was only twenty-six years old and already had three arrests, but he too hadn’t ever been convicted.
A handful of the people on the list had done time behind bars, but most of them had résumés similar to Marciano and Nick. Others weren’t in the criminal system at all and appeared to be upstanding citizens.
Seth compiled all of the reports on his computer and then encrypted them so he could e-mail them back to Jay. As an afterthought, he CC’d his wife and then deleted the e-mail Jay had sent as well as his response so it couldn’t be traced back to him. After clearing the trash file from his e-mail account, he picked up his office phone to call Jay.
He had only dialed the first three numbers when a knock sounded at his office door. Seth’s eyebrows drew together, and he considered who would be looking for him since his whole squad was on leave. He crossed to the door to find a suit-and-tie type standing on the other side of the threshold. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Seth Johnson?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m Special Agent Curtis Graham.” Graham pulled out a badge and flashed it, identifying him as FBI. “You need to come with me. I need to ask you a few questions.”
“What is this about?” Seth asked, instinctively taking a step back.
“We can talk about it at my office.”
“I’d rather talk about it here.” Seth motioned inside. “This is a secure office. I’m sure anything you want to ask me can be taken care of here on base.”
The agent narrowed his eyes and then reluctantly moved into Seth’s office. With an air of annoyance, he reached out and closed the door to ensure some privacy.
“Why don’t you tell me why you’re here,” Seth suggested mildly.
“Our records indicate that you were logged into the FBI database this morning,” Graham began.
“That’s right.” Seth circled behind his desk and sat down.
“Can you tell us why you were interested in the Perelli family?”
“No, I can’t,” Seth said with complete sincerity.
Graham stared, clearly surprised by his answer. “I beg your pardon?”
Seth leaned back in his chair. “I honestly don’t know why I was asked to look up those names this morning.”
“Who asked you to look them up?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Look, you’re going to have to answer my questions one way or another.” Graham put his hands on Seth’s desk and leaned forward. “You can either answer them here, or I can take you back to my office and we can spend some time in interrogation.”
Seth recognized the intimidation technique. He had used it plenty of times himself. Though his instinct was to stand up and use his size as his own source of intimidation, he forced himself to stay relaxed. He kept his eyes on Graham’s face and shrugged. “I am answering your questions.”
“Do I need to speak with your commanding officer in order to get you to cooperate?”
“My immediate supervisor is on leave, but Commander Bennett should be in his office down the hall,” Seth offered helpfully with a wave toward his door. “It’s three doors down on the right.”
Graham glanced down at the stack of background checks on Seth’s desk. He reached out and lifted them, flipping through the papers. “I’m going to ask you again. Why is the navy interested in the Perelli family?”
“And I’ll tell you again: I don’t know.” Seth stood now but remained behind his desk. “I also don’t know why an FBI agent from Virginia would be concerned about a family in Chicago.” Seth reached a hand out for the background checks, surprised when Graham held them out of his reach.
“I think I’ll hang on to these,” he said smugly. He turned to the door. “I guess I’m done here.” He glanced back at Seth. “For now.”
Seth watched him leave his office, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion. Instinctively, he pulled his cell phone free of his pocket to call Jay but quickly reconsidered. Obviously, he had triggered some kind of alert when he had used the FBI database. What he didn’t know was why the FBI had found it necessary to send an agent rather than just having someone pick up the phone to ask their questions.
He considered what he would do if he found out the Feds were interested in one of his ops. Looking down at his phone, he tucked it back into his pocket. For all he knew, someone was already scrubbing through his e-mail account and tapping his phones.
Always cautious, Seth turned off the wireless modem on his computer, and then he downloaded the file he had created for Jay onto a flash drive. He then printed a hardcopy for himself, deleted the document, and removed all of the temporary files. Satisfied that his research couldn’t be traced back to Jay, he turned his modem back on. Instantly, an alert sounded.
A few quick keystrokes confirmed what Seth had already suspected. His friends at the FBI had accessed his e-mail account. His concern for Jay heightened. He headed down the hall to Kel Bennett’s office to find the door open and Kel sitting at his desk. “Hey, Kel. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure, come on in.” Kel waved him inside. “What are you doing on base today? I thought you would be off somewhere with Vanessa by now.”
“She had to teach a class this week.” Seth closed Kel’s office door and took a seat across from the commander. “Did an FBI agent stop in to see you?”
“No,” Kel said, drawing the word out as his eyes narrowed. “Why?”
Seth explained the phone call he had received from Jay and the subsequent visit by Special Agent Graham, as well as the search of his e-mail account.
“Do you have any idea why Jay was asking for the background checks?”
“Not really.” Seth shook his head. “He said he was trying to help out a friend. The two people he was most concerned about were Marciano Perelli and Nick Baldino.”
“What do you know about them?”
“They’re both from Chicago, both have been arrested several times but never convicted. They share the same lawyer, and both are suspected to have ties to the mafia. The FBI believes Marciano Perelli is the top man right now since his father died a couple months ago.”
“I don’t understand how any of this would tie in with Jay. His background check didn’t show any friends with ties to Chicago, much less the mafia.”
“I was thinking of heading down to Miami for the weekend. I thought maybe I could help him out with whatever’s going on.”
“I’m not sure that’s really a good idea unless we want the FBI involved.” Kel shook his head. “For all we know, the FBI might try to follow you to him.”
Seth raised an eyebrow. “I would hope you trained me well enough that I can get from here to Miami without being followed.”
“Point taken.” Kel chuckled. “I’m guessing that you want to check out a couple of secure phones.”
Seth nodded.
Kel opened a drawer in his credenza and pulled out five cell phones and a logbook. He jotted down the phone numbers and then slid four of the phones toward Seth. “I don’t know how many you’ll need, but it’s easier to have too many than not enough.” Kel held up the fifth phone. “I’m keeping this one so you can check in and let me know how things are going.”
Seth nodded and scooped the other phones off of the desk.
Kel pocketed his secure phone and asked, “What are you going to do abo
ut a car?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Kel punched a couple of keys on his computer. “We’ve got a supply transport heading down to AUTEC at thirteen hundred tomorrow. You should be able to check out a car from their motor pool for a couple of days.”
“That should work. You don’t have a problem with me giving one of these secure phones to Vanessa, do you? I have a feeling I might need her to use her CIA connections to do some digging for me.”
“That’s fine,” Kel agreed. “Is she staying here in Virginia, or is she going with you?”
“She’ll come with me, but I want to make sure she has access to a secure line if we’re ever separated.”
“Just make sure you keep me in the loop. I don’t want us to end up in the middle of some interagency territorial dispute.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I talk to Jay,” Seth agreed. “I’ll feel a lot better when I’ve had the chance to talk to him and find out what’s really going on.”
21
“I don’t understand what you need all of this for.” Carina picked one of the computer printouts up from the kitchen table and then dropped it back down again. She had spent the past several hours trying to work with very limited resources and was finding herself increasingly frustrated with her situation. Not only would Jay not let her on the Internet for any length of time, but he had also banished her from using any kind of phone.
He had turned her cell phone off last night before they had driven to the Whitmores’, insisting that she couldn’t use it for fear that someone might use the GPS signal in it to find her. Bianca’s phone had also been confiscated and turned off after a great deal of protesting on her part.
Carina could understand her sister’s frustration, but with Pete staying with her all day, at least she had someone right there in case of any problems. Her own frustrations had surfaced after lunch when she had tried to use CJ’s house phone to check in with her office. Jay had banned her from that form of communication as well, convinced that someone might try to locate her by tracing her calls. Other than giving her another twenty-eight minutes on the Internet, he had completely cut her off from any kind of communication with the world outside of CJ’s house.
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