And don’t get her started on how seeing expressions and body language gave so many nuances to each word he uttered that she was often questioning every little thing. But still, she couldn’t quit looking at him. He sat there larger than life. Handsome. Intense. A different man than the online guy, and she didn’t know how to start the conversation.
“I can feel you watching me.” He slowly turned to look at her. He grinned, a potent number that sent her heart racing. “Like what you see?”
She thought to lie, but telling the truth was always the best thing. “Actually, I do. I had no idea you were so good-looking.”
“I thought I told you that. I mean, it’s usually what I lead with.” He chuckled.
She caught his joking mood, which she suspected was his way of dealing with the shooting. “I find it distracting.”
“I get that.”
“What? You know you distract women?”
“No. I find you distracting too.”
“Oh.”
“You’re a beautiful woman, Taylor. You must know that.”
“I know I’m not unfortunate-looking.”
He burst out laughing. “Sweetheart, you are so far from that, it’s funny.”
“Um, can we change the subject?”
“Don’t like it when the tables are turned on you, huh?”
“I can handle it. I just don’t happen to think looks are all that important. It’s what’s inside that counts.”
“But we already know what’s inside from our online conversations. It’s the looks that we’re just discovering. Totally backwards from any other relationship I’ve ever had.”
“Relationship?”
His smile wavered. “Friends. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Right. Friends who help each other out when we have a problem. Which is good because I need this bandage changed.”
“Smooth transition. Gotta hand it to you.” He held his hand out for a fist bump.
She tapped his fist and turned to leave, knowing he would follow her. She was acutely aware of him behind her. As she’d tossed and turned last night, she kept thinking about their interaction at the hospital. She’d come to two conclusions. She wanted more of the flirting and heart-melting emotions, and yet she definitely couldn’t have them. So what was the first thing she did when she saw him this morning? She flirted.
Seriously. That has got to stop.
Back in her room, she sat down on the edge of the bed where she’d already laid out the dressings and supplies. She eased her arm out of the sling.
He watched her every move. “How’s the pain today?”
“Manageable.” She held her arm out for easier access and made sure she didn’t wince when every part of her wanted to. Because if he got even a hint that she wasn’t doing well, he would likely try to sideline her.
He sat next to her and started unwinding the gauze. “I can’t tell you how bad I feel about Phantom shooting you. If you’d died . . .” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head.
“I’m fine.” She squeezed his hand. “Stop beating yourself up. You couldn’t have known a reporter would get wind of the RED team working at the bureau’s office and let the whole town know.” She smiled to cheer him up. “And besides, agents are out looking for the bullet casing. If they find it, we might be able to lift prints or DNA from it. It could turn out to be the very lead we need.”
“That’s true, I guess, but I think Phantom would wear gloves.”
She let her hand fall. “You’re still frustrated with the slow progress we’re making.”
“We keep hitting brick walls.” He lifted off the wound packing material.
She gasped at the pain but forced herself to focus. “Then let’s talk out the leads. One by one. Maybe we can make some progress that way.”
He reached for the gauze package. “Okay, the tattoo. I’ve been trying to figure out a meaning beyond the computer terminology. Can’t come up with a thing.”
“What about an algorithm to look at variables for the letters? I know you guys often write such things.” She faked a shudder. “I just can’t imagine how you enjoy doing it.”
He looked at her and grinned. “And we can’t imagine how you enjoy babysitting people like Dustee.”
“Touché.”
His smile disappeared. “Kiley’s already run a program, and it returned an extremely long list. It’s impossible to eliminate anything without additional information on Phantom.”
Taylor’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. “It’s Hershel.”
She answered, and before she could question his reason for calling, he said, “I have the video files. The ones from the dates you requested.”
Her heart lifted. “You do?”
“Yeah. In yesterday’s craziness, I forgot I’d downloaded a copy to my laptop while I was getting ready for work. You can come over and look at the footage, or I can email the files to you.”
She didn’t want to risk Phantom intercepting the email and somehow finding out they had the files. “I want to see them in person. We’ll be right there.” She disconnected and looked at Sean. “Quick. Finish up my arm. Hershel has the video for the day of the hack.”
From the safe house family room where Glover sat on the couch, Sean heard Dustee and Dianne arguing in their room. He wasn’t about to get in the middle of a fight and was honestly thankful that it was too risky to bring Dustee with them to a location Phantom could be staking out. The rest of the team had already departed for the FBI office, though thankfully Glover had agreed to stay with Dustee until Sean and Taylor could return to transport her to the FBI.
“Thanks, Roger,” Taylor said at the door. “I owe you one. Again.”
“Those favors are starting to pile up. And this involves Dustee, who seems to be in her usual good mood this morning. My payback request will be huge.” He gave Taylor a pointed yet humor-filled look.
She wrinkled her nose and opened the door. Sean stared at her for a moment, missing a similar easiness he’d enjoyed online with her that had all but disappeared since they’d met in person. Now it seemed they managed tension for the most part, and he wanted the former friendship back. Or maybe more.
He trailed her outside and held the SUV door for her. She rushed past him as if she couldn’t wait to get to the office. He was eager to find their traitor too, but he wouldn’t compromise her safety. They believed the bullet was meant for Dustee, but since Taylor had seen Phantom, he could be targeting her as well.
He glanced at her. “Just so you know, I’ll be taking an indirect route this morning.”
“But that will take longer.” She tried to fasten her seat belt with one hand and failed.
He reached over to help. “I won’t let Phantom take another shot at you.”
“He was aiming for Dustee, not me, and she’s not with us right now.”
“Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t take the chance to eliminate Dustee’s protection team. Or more specifically, you. You saw his face, remember?”
“Good point. Can you at least speed then?” She grinned.
He smiled at her good mood as he jogged around the front of the vehicle to get in behind the wheel. He didn’t know how she could keep her good humor even when in physical pain, but she did, and he enjoyed just being with her for the drive.
At her office, they found workers repairing the glass door. They paused to allow Sean and Taylor access to the office. The space was buzzing with activity, as deputies and clerical staff had returned to work. Inman’s office was dark, however, with Taylor’s boss nowhere to be seen.
“What happened to your arm?” the receptionist asked Taylor.
“It’s nothing,” she answered evasively.
Sean eased up next to her. “You reported your injury to Inman, right?”
She didn’t respond.
He tugged her to a stop. “You didn’t tell him?”
“I left him a message last night. He hasn’t called back.” She slipped around Sean.
“Hershel’s waiting for us in the server room.”
He caught up to her. “Remember, he doesn’t know about the hack.”
She nodded and entered the small room at the back of the office.
Hershel looked up. “I’ve got the video cued up for the night you requested. I don’t know why you wanted this, but it’s suspicious at best, and I’ll need to turn it over to Inman.”
Before he could start the video, Sean’s phone dinged. He glanced at his text message. “It’s from our phone tech in D.C. He’s received the call logs we were expecting.” He avoided mentioning Phantom’s name in front of Hershel. “No calls made on the phone in question other than the one to Dustee.”
“So much for hoping there’d be numbers to help move the investigation forward.” Taylor focused on the computer again. “Please start it playing, Hershel.”
Sean stepped closer and held his breath as the video began to play. He didn’t know any of the deputies in the office except Glover, so he didn’t expect to recognize the traitor, but Taylor would. She thought she was prepared to see this traitor’s face, but seeing the very person who’d betrayed their team was sure to devastate her even more and chip away at her earnest belief in people’s goodness. At least it would do that to him.
The video came to life, and a man appeared at the office entrance. Okay, it was a man for sure, but his back was to them, the black-and-white footage fuzzy. The man swiped his ID card down the reader. Sean sucked in a breath and hoped the guy would turn. The door popped open. The intruder pulled on the handle. Pivoted. The camera caught his face.
Taylor gasped. “No. It can’t be. Impossible.”
“Glover?” Sean met Taylor’s shocked gaze. “Roger Glover is our guy?”
“No.” She kept shaking her head. “No, it’s not possible.”
“We left him with Dustee.” Sean turned to leave. “We have to go.”
“Hold on.” Taylor shot a searching look around the room. “Roger wouldn’t do this. He’s likely at the office because of a witness.”
“Are there additional files?” Sean asked Hershel.
He nodded. “A couple of cameras inside the building picked up his movements.”
“Cue them up, and then leave us with it.” Sean eyed Hershel, not giving him an option other than to do as told, and he got to work loading the video.
Taylor dug out her phone and dialed. “Dustee. Good. Just checking in. Is everything okay there?”
Sean watched, praying that Glover hadn’t harmed her or taken her hostage.
Taylor sagged against the wall. “I heard you fighting on my way out. Go ahead and stay locked in your room. I’ll be back soon and will talk to Dianne then.”
Taylor lowered her phone. “Dustee’s mad at Dianne, so she locked herself in her room.”
Sean nodded. “Never thought I’d be thankful for one of her moods, but I am.”
“Video’s set.” Hershel stood and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Taylor dropped into the vacated chair. “Good thing Hershel doesn’t expect to be read in or he might not have left so easily.”
Sean wasn’t concerned about Hershel. His focus was totally on Glover right now. More specifically, the man’s relationship to Taylor.
“Before we watch this next clip, tell me just how good of a friend Glover is to you,” he said, hating the fact that he needed to ask.
She looked up at him, a question in her eyes. “He’s that work friend you can tell anything to, you know? I’ve also spent a lot of holidays with his family. Got to know his wife, Naomi. Even babysat their kids.”
So they were close, and she had to be hurting big-time over the man’s duplicity. “I’m sorry about this,” Sean said. “For you. Not him. I know from firsthand experience how much it hurts to have someone you trust betray you.”
“You do?” Taylor asked. “Why haven’t you told me about this?”
“I don’t like to talk about it.” And he still couldn’t say much. “It wasn’t work-related and didn’t involve a crime like this—unless you think a cheating fiancée is a crime.”
“You were engaged?” Her eyes widened. “But I . . . we . . . we’re friends. I thought you’d shared with me all the major things in your life.”
Oh, man, he’d offended her by not telling her about Gina. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain. Not at all. And he needed to fix it. Quickly. He thought about reaching for her hand, but she’d probably just pull it away. So he settled for offering his best apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Taylor. Very sorry. It’s not something I’ve told anyone. If I ever did decide to talk about that time in my life, it would be with you.”
She locked eyes with him, but he couldn’t read her thoughts. “I know we need to watch the video now, but please say we can talk about it more when we have time.”
“I’ll try my best. Okay?” He waited for a response, but her expression remained fixed, and she didn’t speak. Had he totally blown it with her?
Please, God, don’t let that be the case. I need her in my life.
He took a long breath and searched for the right words. “I want to tell you about Gina, but I just can’t. Not yet. I hope you can understand.”
“I do, and I promise I won’t push.”
He squeezed her shoulder and was once again struck by what an amazing woman she was. A man would be blessed to spend a lifetime with her, building a strong family together, the kind of family he’d always wanted growing up.
She patted his hand and turned to start the video. He tried to force his mind back to work, but his emotions continued to churn until suddenly he wanted to explain. How odd. He’d never felt that way before. Not even a moment ago.
He opened his mouth to tell her something—what, he didn’t know—when movement on the screen grabbed his attention. Glover swiped his card by the glass-encased room holding the WITSEC computer. He removed a flash drive from his pocket and inserted it into the computer, then took a bundle of papers from his jacket pocket, laid them on the table, and started typing.
Sean squinted but couldn’t make out the text. “Zoom in so we can see the details on that page.”
Taylor complied, and the image filled the screen with blurry but legible writing. Sean only had to read the first line of code to know the document contained programming details that would allow Glover to hack the system. Sean’s body vibrated with anger. It was bad enough when someone outside the law enforcement community betrayed them, but a fellow LEO? Sean could barely contain his rage. How must Taylor feel? He took a deep breath to clear his head so he didn’t do anything rash and make things worse for her. “He’s our guy. No question.”
She wrenched her hands together, and her tortured gaze met his. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t. You saw what a great guy he is. So helpful. Compassionate. Considerate. He has a terrific wife and kids. I just . . . there must be an explanation for this. There just has to be.”
“The only explanation is the one right before our eyes,” Sean said with conviction. “Roger Glover is following directions to hack the database. And worse yet, we left him in charge of Dustee’s protection detail.”
CHAPTER 18
TAYLOR’S STOMACH CHURNED, and the closer they came to the safe house, the more she thought she might actually throw up. She’d never known such a level of betrayal. Sure, her parents had turned their backs on her, and that was a form of betrayal, but she’d never really thought of it that way. This hurt, big-time, and she didn’t know what she would say when she laid eyes on Roger. At least he hadn’t harmed Dustee.
Sean parked near the house and reached for his sidearm.
She held up a hand. “No, Sean. No guns.”
“We don’t want to alert Glover,” Inman said from the back seat. He’d arrived shortly after they watched the video and insisted on being present at Roger’s arrest. Surprisingly, Sean not only agreed to let the chief be in on the takedown but thought Inman had formulated a sound plan.
“We
approach the house like we’ve come back to get Dustee,” Taylor said. “Tell Roger that Chief came along to discuss the safe house. Nice and casual. No need for weapons creating a hostage-taking scenario.”
“Don’t worry. I got it. Just checking the clip.” Sean shoved his gun back into his holster and reached into the glove box for disposable handcuffs. “I’ll cuff him so you don’t have to take in one of your own.”
She sighed, something she seemed to be doing a lot these past few days. But what a few days they’d been. Dustee was followed by Phantom. The database was hacked. She’d been shot. And now one of her coworkers, a sworn officer of the law and a friend, had broken the law and exposed the witnesses they worked so hard to protect to life-threatening danger.
“I’m so sorry about this, Taylor,” Sean said. “It has to be hard for you.”
“It is.” She squared her shoulders. “But I can handle it.”
Inman opened his door. “It’s better we’re here to take Glover in and question him. Hopefully he’ll be more cooperative with us.”
Taylor got out and marched toward the house. She wasn’t looking forward to laying eyes on Roger, much less questioning him, but she did want to hear his explanation for breaking the law.
As they neared the door, Sean squeezed her hand, and she was thankful for his steadfast presence. He’d been there for her every step of this investigation. Would continue to be there for her, that much she knew. He was a man she could count on. But seeing him in person these past few days was probably the biggest stressor of all.
She started up the steps. They were here to arrest a coworker—a friend. She took gulps of air to calm herself as thoughts of Roger’s wife and his two darling children crashed in on her. In the next few minutes, she’d irrevocably change an entire family’s world forever. That outweighed anything she was personally stressed over. She offered a prayer for them, then unlocked the door.
Roger was sitting on the sofa, his phone in hand, but he shot to his feet and reached for his weapon. “Oh, it’s you guys.” He hissed out his breath and let his hand fall. “You might’ve texted me so I knew you were coming.” He holstered the gun and shifted his focus to the kitchen, where Dianne was standing behind the counter. “It’s okay. We’re clear.”
Seconds to Live Page 16
