Desperate Play (Off the Grid: FBI Series Book 3)

by Barbara Freethy

  She wondered how many days it would take before she would wake up and Noelle would not be the first thing on her mind—probably too many to count.

  Looking at the ocean also reminded her of the night before, letting out her grief, lowering her guard, and experiencing one of the most amazing kisses of her life. She put her fingers to her lips, remembering how it had felt to have Wyatt's hot mouth on hers.

  Noelle would have been proud.

  "I got out of my comfort zone," she whispered, thinking of the last conversation she'd had with her friend. "I just wish I could tell you about it."

  Even as she said the words, she realized last night wouldn't have happened if Noelle hadn't died. She might have never said two words to Wyatt, even if she had seen him at Nova Star. They worked in very separate departments, and she didn't spend much time trying to create a social life for herself. It was just easier…and safer…to bury herself in work.

  Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, bringing her back to reality. She hurried across the room to answer it. It was Noelle's mother.

  "Good morning, Kari," she said, frowning as she heard what sounded like a public announcement in the background. "Where are you?"

  "I'm at the airport, Avery."

  "What do you mean? You're leaving?" she asked in surprise. "We haven't made any decisions."

  "I'm sorry, but I have to go home. If I don't go to work tomorrow, I'll lose my job."

  "But what about Noelle? What about the arrangements? There is so much to do."

  "You know what Noelle would want better than me. I'll send you money as soon as I get my paycheck. Carter said he would help out, too. She finally met a good, solid man. I wish they could have had more time together."

  "Are you coming back?"

  "No. I don't think so. I can't afford it, Avery."

  "Well, do you want the memorial to be in Florida? Do you want Noelle to be buried there?"

  "Noelle didn't like Florida. I think she'd want to be here—near her friends, the places she loved most. And she wasn't a fan of formal funerals. Maybe something simple…" Kari's voice broke. "I know you must think I'm a terrible person to dump all this on you. And you're not wrong. Your mother will probably say, what did you expect—I've always been a flake. But I just don't have the money to stay here, and I feel so ashamed and embarrassed that I can't bury my own daughter."

  "You don't have to be ashamed. I will take care of everything. And when I have time to figure out the details, I'll make sure to let you know what I have in mind. Hopefully you can be a part of something."

  "Don't wait on me, Avery. Do what's best for Noelle. You were like sisters. I trust you, and I know she did, too. Good-bye."

  "Good-bye." She barely got the word out before Kari hung up.

  "Avery? What's going on?"

  Wyatt's concerned voice drew her head around. "That was Kari. She's leaving town. She says she can't do it. I'm in charge."

  Anger flashed through his eyes. "That's ridiculous."

  "She doesn't have any money. She's embarrassed."

  "She's Noelle's mother. She could at least stay and help you."

  "Hopefully, Carter will help." She ran a hand through her tangled hair, noting that Wyatt looked good, having already taken a shower, his dark hair damp, his face cleanly shaven, a hint of cologne wafting around him. He wore dark jeans and a long-sleeved gray sweater that clung to his broad shoulders. She really wished they were having this conversation after she'd had a chance to clean up, too.

  "Well, you have time to figure all this out," he said.

  "I don't know how much time. I should at least organize something at work this week to honor her."

  "That would be nice. It doesn't have to be too complicated. You can save that for the bigger service."

  "If there is one. Kari just reminded me that Noelle hated funerals." She let out a sigh. "There's so much to think about."

  "I'm here if you need to bounce off ideas."

  "Right now, I just need a shower."

  "Good idea. I thought I'd go downstairs and grab us some coffees from the café down the street. How does that sound?"

  "Like heaven. If you run into some bagels and cream cheese, that would be good, too."

  "You got it." He smiled, his gaze running down her body with an appreciative gleam. "By the way, I like the PJs, although I would have liked your usual sleeping attire better."

  She flushed. "I was cold last night."

  "And you wanted to torture me."

  "That, too."

  He cleared his throat. "Right. Okay. I'll be back shortly. Keep the door locked. Don't open it for anyone."

  His words reminded her of why they were in the hotel. "I won't. You be safe, too," she added on a more serious note. "I wasn't the only one who saw that man's face yesterday."

  * * *

  Wyatt headed downstairs and got into his car, wishing he could have kept Avery warm last night. But deep down, sleepless night aside, he knew he'd made the right decision. He had gotten too personally involved with her last night, and he needed to get things back on track.

  He was going to pick up coffee and bagels but first he had a quick stop to make. While he was in deep cover, he kept contact with his colleagues to a minimum, but with everything that was happening, he needed a check-in.

  He took a circuitous route to his destination, making sure no one was on his tail before he parked near a secondhand bookstore.

  He waited another moment in his car and then headed down the block. Next to the store was a door leading up to an apartment. He pressed three numbers on the intercom and saw a small security camera click over his face before he was buzzed inside.

  Jogging up the stairs, he opened what appeared to be an electrical box but was in fact a retinal scanner. Once he was cleared to enter, the door clicked open.

  The two-bedroom apartment had been turned into a command post six weeks ago when Flynn had formed the task force to look into foreign espionage in the aerospace industry, specifically at Nova Star.

  A bank of computers sat on a long table, with two guys tapping away on their keyboards. Mark and Connor were young agents, barely out of Quantico, but they were equipped with the latest cyber hacking skills. He'd been siphoning out footage from Nova Star's security cameras for the past month, and they were in charge of pointing out any anomalies or people to look into.

  With his input, they'd also compiled reams of data on the Tremaines and other personnel at Nova Star who had access to secure data. Unfortunately, none of that data had given them a clear lead on who had leaked information to the Chinese.

  At the kitchen table sat Flynn MacKenzie, the leader of their team. Flynn had blondish hair, a scruffy beard, and compelling blue eyes. He also had a British accent that seemed to drive women crazy and was one of his best skills for getting what he wanted.

  He almost hadn't taken the job Flynn had offered him because they'd gone through Quantico together as rivals in every way. He'd thought at the time that Flynn had played fast and loose with some of the rules of their training missions just to get a win. In fact, at one point he'd wondered if Flynn's antics hadn't been part of why his good friend Jamie had died during a training incident. Not that he had any proof, and certainly Flynn had seemed to be just as upset about Jamie's death as anyone, but something had clearly gone wrong, and no one had ever been able to figure out what that was.

  That incident aside, Flynn had proven himself to be a good agent in the intervening years. He pushed the boundaries, and he'd managed to use his skill at politics to build connections in the bureau that had put him into the position of running his own task force at a very young age.

  Wyatt could hardly blame him for climbing the bureaucratic ladder faster than him, since he hadn't tried to climb it at all. He just wanted to do a job that made a difference. As long as Flynn had the same goal he did, he was on board.

  "What do you have for me?" Wyatt asked.

  "We found the man you ran into at Noelle Pr
ice's apartment yesterday." Flynn held out a photo. "Unfortunately, we can't question him."

  He sat down across from Flynn and took the picture from his hand. The man who had pulled a gun on Avery was on the ground, dead from a single bullet to the head—execution style. "He pissed off his boss. Do we have an ID?"

  "Anton Bogdan. Thirty-two years old. Came to the US from the Ukraine fifteen years ago with his family. Father and uncle are roofers. He works part-time for them and lives in El Segundo. He has a record of assault, theft, DUI, etc. but no major felonies. He runs with a Russian gang, led by this guy, Stash Ivanov." Flynn pulled out another photo, this one of a square, stocky man, dressed in an ill-fitting suit. "Stash runs a private investment firm. He moves money around for rich people."

  He nodded, knowing that whatever break that they got in whatever case they were working almost always led back to whoever was moving the money around. "What do these guys have to do with Noelle Price?" He set the photos down on the table. "Any evidence either one was at the Santa Monica Pier Friday night?"

  "No. We haven't found them on any security footage, but we're still going through the video obtained from cameras on the pier and adjacent streets. Medical examiner didn't find any DNA on her body, so nothing to go on there. But if the Russians are involved…it's doubtful they're working with China. So, Ms. Price's murder could be unrelated to the death of Jia Lin."

  "Or both China and Russia are in play. Someone wants to steal or sabotage Nova Star's new satellite defense system technology."

  "Joanna is working Nova Star from an official bureau position, but we need you to put more pressure on Jonathan Tremaine. With the launch Tuesday, we're running out of time."

  "I know. I'm going to do that tonight. I'm going to make sure I'm at Brett Caldwell's birthday party. All the Tremaines will be there. I'll pull Jonathan aside and show him the photos I have of him and Noelle together. I'll tell him his father asked me to follow him after what happened with Jia Lin in San Francisco. Hopefully, if he thinks my intent is to protect him from being fingered in Noelle's death, he'll be more forthcoming. At any rate, I will handle the Tremaines, but what I need your help on is Noelle's boyfriend, Carter Hayes. I only had time to run a cursory check on him before Noelle was killed, since she'd only been on my radar for a few days."

  "We're already on it."

  The apartment buzzer went off, and he glanced at the security monitors in the room, one showing the front door, the other positioned behind the building. He was surprised to see Bree's pretty face at the front door. "What's Bree doing here?"

  "She's joining the team."

  "Since when?"

  "Since I decided we need more help, and Joanna is wasting Bree's talents, having her run data checks like she's fresh out of Quantico. She's better than that, but Joanna doesn't like having competition."

  "Whereas you don't see anyone as competition."

  Flynn raised a questioning brow. "You have a problem, Tanner? I thought you and Bree were tight."

  "We are tight, and I don't have a problem. I just didn't think she was a big fan of yours."

  "We both want to get the job done." Flynn buzzed Bree in. "I heard she's living with some dude now."

  "Yes, and she's happy. Don't screw with that."

  "Wouldn't go down that road again," Flynn said. "She already shot me down once."

  A moment later, Bree walked in the door, her smile brightening when she saw Wyatt. "I didn't expect to see you here, Wyatt."

  "Likewise. You're joining the team?"

  "Didn't want you to have all the fun."

  "Bree is going to the media event at Nova Star tomorrow. She'll interview whichever Tremaines make themselves available to the press," Flynn said. "The reporter who was going to do the interview got reassigned. Her editor owed me a favor."

  He was constantly amazed at how many cards Flynn seemed able to call in when he needed them. "Sounds good."

  "Joanna had me dive into Noelle's financials," Bree said. "There was a cash deposit of $5000 made last Thursday."

  "The night after she met with Jonathan and the day before she was killed," he muttered. "It's not a lot of money, though."

  "But a significant anomaly in her bank account which ran close to zero quite often."

  "She was allegedly supporting her mother."

  "She did send Kari Price money on a regular basis. But we didn't see any other unrecognizable deposits besides that one."

  "Okay. Thanks." He stood up. "I need to get back to Avery before she gets suspicious. I'll be in touch."

  Eleven

  Avery felt like a new person after her shower and much more prepared to take on the day. After changing clothes, she repacked her suitcase just in case they had to make another quick exit, and checked her watch a few times, wondering why it would take Wyatt an hour to pick up coffee and bagels.

  Wandering over to the window, she looked out at the water again, hoping it would calm her, but a feeling of uneasiness ran down her spine, making her nerves tingle uncomfortably. In the brief time she'd known Wyatt, she'd come to count on him. It was crazy how fast she'd gone from not trusting him to literally putting her life in his hands. She'd told him last night that there was an incredible pull between them, an unexpected and inexplicable connection, and it was just as strong now as it had been yesterday.

  As the minutes passed, she grew more worried, not just for herself, but also for him. While Wyatt acted as if all the danger was about her, that wasn't true. He'd been at Noelle's apartment. Heck, he'd been in the funhouse, too, a fact which still didn't quite make sense to her. He'd told her he was there to meet a friend, but that was before they'd gotten to know each other, before he'd told her that Noelle had met Jonathan earlier that week and that Wyatt had been following at least one of them. Maybe he'd been following Noelle on Friday night. In fact, that seemed to be the best explanation. He'd clearly lied to her about his presence on the pier, although that was before they'd gotten to know each other. He had also stated quite clearly that he was taking orders from Hamilton Tremaine, and there were some things he couldn't disclose; perhaps that was one of them.

  But they were too deep in this to have secrets between them.

  She'd ask him to explain when he got back. Trust had to work both ways.

  Her phone buzzed, and she walked over to pick it up from the nightstand. The call was from Kimberly Walton, head of media relations at Nova Star. They worked closely together when it came to public events, and the upcoming week was going to be full of those events. In all the craziness surrounding Noelle's death, she'd almost forgotten just how much needed to be done tomorrow.

  "Hi, Kim," she said.

  "Avery, I'm so very sorry," Kim said. "I've been thinking about you since I heard the terrible news about Noelle. I kept picking up the phone to call you yesterday, but I just didn't know what to say. This is such a horrible situation."

  "It really is," she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

  "Noelle was a great girl. We had drinks together on Thursday. I was thinking then that we could be really good friends."

  "I didn't know you had drinks," she said, thinking Noelle had been out every night last week with various people. "Or that you even knew each other," she added.

  "Noelle was assigned to our department for a few days last month. We bonded over press releases and brochures. She was really helpful. I had her running all over the building, trying to get statements from our key leaders. You know how difficult it is to get Kyle and Jonathan Tremaine to stand still long enough to give us more than a soundbite."

  "Was Noelle able to get anything from either of them?" Maybe this explained why Noelle had met with Jonathan a few days ago. It might have been completely innocent. She could have tracked him down, trying to get a quote from him.

  "She did, thank goodness, so we're all set. But here I am talking about work when poor Noelle…"

  Her hand tightened on the phone. "I know. It's surreal."

  "Are
you going to take some time off, Avery? It would be completely understandable. I just need to know what should be taken off your plate, so nothing falls through the cracks."

  "Right." She hadn't given one thought to her job the last twenty-four hours, which was odd, since most days her life was consumed with work.

  "You were going to edit the show for the press tomorrow morning. You said you wanted to combine two of your videos to make it more pertinent to the launch, so that they would have more educational information to base their upcoming articles on."

  "I did most of that on Friday. I just have to finish the last piece. I'll do that today. I was planning to come in anyway."

  "Are you sure? Maybe we don't need it."

  "No, it's important. I'll take care of it, Kim."

  "Is there anything I can do for you? A lot of people are asking where they can send flowers or donations, or if there will be a service. I'm not sure what to tell them."

  "I'm not sure, either," she murmured, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  "How's Carter doing?"

  "Do you know Carter, too?"

  "Not really, just what Noelle told me about him."

  "What did she tell you about him?"

  "Well, not a lot. I commented that he's kind of quiet, and she said I'd probably be surprised at how ambitious he is. She said he wasn't going to be a junior lawyer for long. I got the feeling she liked his drive. I don't know him well enough to reach out, but I hope he's okay."

  "He's hanging in there." She paused, as she heard the door open behind her. Her tension eased when she saw Wyatt. "I need to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

  "Thanks, Avery. Call if I can help in any way."

  "I will." She put down the phone and got to her feet as Wyatt deposited two coffees on the table as well as a large brown paper bag. "You were gone a long time."

  "I stood in line at the first place and then their coffee machine broke right when I was about to order. So, I had to go somewhere else. Good news, though—the second place had more food items. I got bagels and cream cheese as well as some breakfast sandwiches and fruit.