“Please look at me,” she said.
When he turned and caught the pain, misery and love in her eyes, he wanted to forget the entire conversation and haul her against his chest. Hold her, kiss her, give her comfort. “You don’t have to answer me.” He touched her tearstained cheek. “I’m sorry I put you through this. I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”
Her lush lips tilted in a small smile. “I don’t want you to go. And you’re right. If our circumstances were turned around, I would want to know, too.” She stepped closer, her breasts brushing his chest. “Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But I had no choice. He didn’t give me any. I worried about him coming after me and you, so—”
“You left,” he said, the wasted years suddenly weighing heavily on his shoulders. All because of one man, and Naomi’s fear of him, they’d lost five years…their future.
“I’m sorry, Jake.” Her chin trembled and her eyes watered. “I loved you so much, I couldn’t bear to let anything happen to you. I worried if I told you about him, you’d get all macho and badass on me and go after him.”
He cupped her face. “I’m a big boy.”
Her grin filled his palms. “I remember how big you are.”
Half chuckling, he shook his head. She always had a way of trying to lighten the tension. And he was wound tight, filled with anger and bloodlust. He wanted her stalker dead and he’d find a way to make it happen. Fuck Ian’s cold case. He’d just given himself a new assignment. “Tell me who he is and I’ll put a stop—”
She kissed him hard and quick. Resting her forehead against his chest, she let out a sigh. “No. Please, let it go.” She raised her head. “Promise me.”
“I don’t like it, but…I promise.” Hell, she’d been lying to him the entire time they’d known each other, what was another lie? He smoothed her thick hair away from her face and held her head. “Five years is a long time. Maybe it’s time to stop running.”
Her eyes searched his. “I don’t know how.”
“You could start by not going at it alone.”
“The risk—”
“Is something I’m willing to take.”
She twined her arms around him and hugged him tight. Running his hands through her hair, he slid them down and held her against him. She’d carried this burden for a long time. Alone. But she didn’t have to deal with this on her own anymore. Given the chance, he would do anything to have her back in his life. When they’d been together, he’d loved her so damned much. During the years they’d been separated, he’d told himself he was over her, that the love he’d harbored for her hadn’t been as real as he’d once thought. Now that he held her again, he knew in his gut he’d been lying to himself. Naomi or Lisa, her name didn’t matter, had and always would be the only woman he’d love.
Although they’d squared away the past, they hadn’t settled the future. He’d pushed her enough today, and once he tracked down her stalker and took care of him, he’d push her again. Hopefully back into his life. For now…
“I have to be back in Chicago on Monday,” he said and tightened his hold on her. “Unless you’ve changed your mind, I want to spend the weekend with you.”
She let go of him and swiped at her face. “Does this mean you won’t be sleeping on the Rainbow Lodge’s lumpy bed?”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
“Me too.” She grinned. “Um, I came up with some things we could do today.”
The stalker momentarily forgotten, his mind slid into the gutter. After tasting her lips last night, feeling her come around his fingers, he had a few ideas as to what they could do today, too. “Yeah? What are you thinking?” he asked and drifted his hands to her rear.
“I have fishing gear in the garage. I thought we’d head over to Harriett’s Bluff. We could rent canoes or kayaks, or fish from the floating dock. It’s also a good spot for shrimping or crabbing.” She ran her hands over his chest. “We can catch our dinner. Unless, of course, you have something else in mind.”
He loved fishing and hadn’t had the chance since moving to Chicago. Although he’d rather strip Naomi naked, spending the day with her, talking and catching up was almost just as appealing. Almost.
“I had a few things in mind,” he said and squeezed her ass for emphasis. “But I like your idea. Fresh fish for dinner sounds good to me.”
She grinned and relaxed in his arms. “Excellent. Maybe later this evening you could show me what you had in mind.”
He tilted her chin, grazed his lips against hers, then sank in and gave her a long, leisurely kiss. Although aroused and wanting more, he released her mouth, and pressed her against his erection. “We have five years to catch up on. I plan on showing you all night long.”
Chapter 4
HARRISON’S SKIN PRICKLED with dread. At the same time, his stomach balled with a potent mixture of excitement and anxiety. He sprang from the chair and moved the motel curtain a fraction of an inch. Then watched as Vlad looked both ways, before crossing the busy intersection toward the convenience store.
Now or never.
He rushed back to the small table and opened the laptop. He quickly glanced at the alarm clock setting on the nightstand and noted the time. Vlad would only be gone for five, maybe seven minutes. For what he had to accomplish, he needed every single second.
Heart racing, he moved his fingers across the keyboard and opened the system file that controlled the security devices the Columbian and Mickey had been planting across the country. He quickly logged on to the Internet, used a code he’d created to make his actions untraceable, should his employer do a little exploring into the system, and accessed his Cloud service.
Drumming his fingers on the table, his leg jerking in time as he glanced at the clock again, he waited for the files he’d placed within his Cloud to appear on the screen. “Hell, yeah,” he whispered when several programs emerged. He quickly accessed the one he knew he’d have time to install. After entering his encrypted password, and the program showed up, he attached it to the laptop’s system files.
Eyes on the clock, then again on the screen, he waited. And waited.
He’d gone to prison for hacking into a bank and shifting money from customer accounts to the one he’d set up for him and Mickey. While the Norfolk PD had confiscated his computer and all of his files, they hadn’t been able to find the Cloud he’d set up prior to his arrest. His Cloud account held programs he’d created. Some were quite brilliant and would likely benefit any company looking for a strong deterrent from hackers, malware and viruses. Others were exactly what those companies would fear. The program he was currently downloading wouldn’t give the laptop a virus—he just didn’t have the time to upload it and still cover his tracks—but it would serve as insurance. The program, which he called Martha, after the pet hamster in his fifth grade class, would create a digital footprint that would identify domain names and networks associated to the company he’d been hired by, and access the company’s network. While he hadn’t looked at the program in years, and he’d likely need to make a couple of quick adjustments, once finished, the program should be able to scan the company’s operating system and extract valid user accounts. From there, the data filtered should show encrypted passwords, erase his current activities and create backdoors. Although Harrison doubted he’d have another opportunity like the one he had right now, should he find himself alone with the laptop again, he could easily gain privileged access and return to the compromised system.
He looked to the clock again. Three minutes had passed. He glanced at the screen. Eighty percent complete. Jaw clenched, he rushed to the window. With no sign of Vlad, he went back to the table.
Eighty-five percent.
If everything went to plan, anyone who found the devices Santiago and Mickey had been planting, could, if they knew what they were doing, link back to the company’s main network. He’d ensure that the data transferred from the laptop to the devices was traceable. If the securit
y devices were what he thought they were, his employer was going to go down. Big time.
Ninety percent.
“Come on, come on, come on,” he said with frustration and fear, then looked to the clock. Four minutes.
He still needed to run a quick check to ensure the program worked properly.
Ninety-eight percent.
He glared at the clock. Five minutes. “Fuck me,” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair, then looked to the screen.
One hundred percent.
“Yes,” he hissed, quickly moved to the window and froze. Vlad exited the convenience store holding two Styrofoam cups. He set them on the ledge in front of the store’s window and drew out a pack of cigarettes. As Vlad tapped the pack against his palm, Harrison knew he only had a matter of seconds before he needed to shut down the laptop.
He dashed across the room. Not bothering to sit down, he hovered over the laptop, quickly scanned the program and made a few minor adjustments, then exited the system. After making sure he wiped away his Internet activity, he logged off and closed the laptop.
Mouth dry and a sheen of nervous sweat coating his face and neck, he headed into the bathroom just as the motel door opened. After splashing water on his face, he took a towel off the rack and left the bathroom, drying himself. “Did they have any donuts?” he asked and kept his eyes off the laptop. When Vlad had left to buy a pack of cigarettes, the laptop had been closed and setting on the center of the table. Just like it was now.
No need to panic. No need to worry. When the Columbian and Mickey returned, Harrison would be the only one using the laptop. If there was an issue, he could kill the program he’d implanted with a few strokes to the keyboard.
Vlad nodded to the Styrofoam cup near the outdated TV. “No donuts, but Vlad brought Harry coffee. No cream, right?”
He sent the Russian a half smile. “With as much time as we’ve spent together, I think you’re starting to know me better than my last girlfriend.”
Vlad released a loud bark of laughter and wagged a finger. “No go there, Harry.” Vlad withdrew a cylinder package from his coat pocket and tossed it to him. “No fresh donuts.”
Harrison stared at the package of Hostess Donettes mini donuts. Powder sugar, his favorite. “Thanks, man. For the coffee, too. These weird hours are screwing with me.”
“It good for Harry. Vlad? He can stay wake for thirty hours without shuteye.”
“No shit?” Harrison asked and opened the cellophane wrapping. “The most I’ve managed was twenty-two. That was my first night in prison. I was too frickin’ scared to close my eyes.”
The Russian laughed again. “Vlad understand.” He grew serious, his expression almost thoughtful. “Vlad no can picture Harry in prison. Harry too…ah, the word, Vlad no remember.”
“Nerdy?” Harrison offered.
Vlad snapped his fingers, then took out his cigarettes and lighter. “Yes. Your brother, the mouse? He no good for Harry. Vlad believe Mickey Mouse get Harry in trouble.”
He already has. More times than he cared to count.
“Mickey’s a good guy. He just needs direction.”
The Russian frowned and took a long drag off the cigarette. “Maybe. Or maybe Harry need to grow яйца яички,” he said, finishing in Russian and grabbing his crotch. “Who planned bank robbery that put Harry in prison?”
Harrison wiped powdered sugar on the towel. “It was Mickey’s idea, but it’s not like I told him no.”
“Before that? Who put Harry in the kiddie jail?”
Chuckling, Harrison picked up the Styrofoam cup. “It’s call juvenile detention or just juvie, not kiddie jail. And even though what had landed us there was Mickey’s idea, again, I went along with it.”
“Vlad curious. I like Harry, but not the Mouse. Harry smart. A computer wizard, no?”
“That’s why I’m here, right?”
The Russian smiled and snuffed out his cigarette. “Why not go to university, get nerdy job? Why follow the mouse when Harry could be big cheese?” he asked and laughed. “Get it? Mouse, cheese.”
Harrison smiled, but inwardly cringed. He’d been asking himself those same questions for years. When he’d been released from juvie, his parole officer had told him to break away from Mickey. That he’d go nowhere but prison if he continued to follow his brother’s lead. But he’d ignored the advice and a few years later had wound up in the Virginia Department of Corrections.
“I get it,” Harrison said, popping the last donut in his mouth.
“Do you? Take Vlad’s advice. Cut tie with the mouse.” He reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. “Ah, text from Santiago. They’ll be here in ten. Hurry. Drink coffee. Vlad no want Santiago to know I went to store.”
“Got it,” he said, even though he really didn’t. Was Vlad afraid of Santiago? The Columbian scared the shit out of him, but he couldn’t imagine Vlad being afraid of anything. The Russian’s size alone could intimidate anyone.
Draining his coffee, he handed the cup and the donut wrapper to Vlad, who stepped out of the motel room and disposed of the trash in a nearby garbage can. When he returned, he gave Harrison a pointed look. “Remember what Vlad told Harry. Cut ties. When we arrive in Norfolk and job is kaput, you listen to Vlad. Finish job. Take money and run to university.”
“Got any brothers or sisters?” Harrison asked, unsure why the Russian decided to have this little heart to heart conversation.
Vlad gave him a big grin. “Ten of them.”
“Any of them your twin?”
The Russian frowned. “Mickey Mouse is twin brother?” He shook his head. “Vlad never guess. You no look like twins.”
“Trust me, we are. And I hear where you’re coming from. But this job is legit, so I think Mickey and me will be okay.” He kept his focus on Vlad, looking for any indication that the job they were on was not on the up and up. Instead, he received another grin.
“Harry right. You be okay, but Vlad still think university where Harry belong. Maybe you meet sexy co-ed, eh?” he asked and wagged his blond brows.
The motel door opened and Vlad immediately tensed. “Job done?” he asked Santiago.
The Columbian nodded as Mickey came inside and closed the door behind him. “Sí, es completo.” He looked to Harrison. “Sync it and we leave.”
Harrison glanced at Mickey, who wore a blank expression. Mickey had drastically changed since they’d been with Vlad and Santiago. He no longer smiled or joked around, but instead had become quiet, brooding…fearful.
“Will do,” Harrison said and, praying to God that everything had closed properly on the computer, he opened the laptop. It booted up without issue, the program he’d installed earlier nowhere in sight. With relief slowing his racing heart, he took a seat and went through the task of syncing the laptop to the device. Ten minutes later, they were ready to leave Bloomington, Indiana.
“If you have to use the head, do it now,” Santiago said. “It’s three and a half hours to Columbus, Ohio. I want to push through, install the device and tomar la carretera.”
“говорят по-английски, Колумба,” Vlad said in Russian.
Santiago’s forehead scrunched. “What the hell did you say?”
“Speak English, Columbian,” Vlad said with a smile.
Laughing, Santiago slapped Vlad on the back. “Sorry, amigo. Bad habit. What I said is that I want to hit the road and leave Ohio this evening. It’s almost five hours to Knoxville from Columbus.”
“See if Honey Badger will give us plane,” Vlad suggested.
“Good plan,” Santiago responded and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I don’t mind driving to Columbus, but Knoxville?”
As Santiago placed the call, Harrison looked to his brother. Mickey kept his head down and his eyes on the floor. Whatever Santiago had him doing, it was messing with Mickey’s head. If only he could find a moment to talk to his brother, but Vlad and Santiago had made that impossible from the st
art. And who in the hell is Honey Badger? He’d heard the two men mention the name before, and assumed that was the code name they were using for their employer.
Whoever Honey Badger was, he was in for a big surprise. Although the security devices would still work, thanks to the program Harrison had installed while Vlad was at the store, those same devices would link straight back to the bastard once used.
Harrison hoped like hell the authorities knew what to look for when they finally found the devices. If they didn’t…people would die.
*
He rose from the chamois-soft leather office chair and approached the large windows overlooking the vast acreage surrounding his estate. The labyrinth in the center of the backyard had been created over eighty years ago. Made of tall manicured hedges and covering three quarters of an acre, the maze had fascinated him as a child. Especially because, according to his father and grandfather, at the center of the labyrinth buried treasure had been left behind by his great-grandfather, who had commissioned the structure.
His great-grandfather, who he was named after, had been a crazy son of a bitch. Under his rule the family business had lost speed. More money had been spent on extravagant and useless things, like the labyrinth, than the company had earned. When the old bastard had died, his grandfather had not only turned the company around, but had been prepared to tear down the maze. Fortunately his namesake had left a clause in his will protecting the intricate cluster of hedges. To his grandfather, the labyrinth had embodied failure. To him, it symbolized challenge and disappointment.
A knock came at the door. The same eagerness that had run through him as a child, when he’d fantasize about the labyrinth’s treasure, ran through him now. “Enter,” he said and glanced over his shoulder as the door opened.
Ultimate Kill (Book 1 Ultimate CORE Trilogy) (CORE Series) Page 7
