Chapter 21
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THE CAB DROPPED THEM off in front of a swanky L.A.
hotel late Thursday night. They had less than forty-eight hours to locate the terrorists and stop the attack.
A new piece of intelligence had indicated one of the terrorists was possibly staying here.
If they could end the plot before the terrorist accessed the self-driving vehicles and loaded the trunk with explosives, all the better.
The trouble was, they didn’t have the name or photo of whoever was staying in the hotel.
Nothing like not even knowing who they were up against.
The cab driver lifted their bags from the trunk, and Boone slid him a tip. Most things were cashless these days, but he figured the guy would appreciate the extra money nonetheless. Traffic had been a bitch despite the late hour, and Boone had encouraged him to hurry.
A light breeze blew as they stood in front of the building, tousling Radley’s dark hair.
Boone’s gaze raked over her, drinking her in.
She had on her leather jacket, jeans that practically looked painted on, and sexy heeled boots.
She looked beautiful. So damn pretty it made his chest fill.
She also seemed too fragile to be standing out here in the open. Vulnerable.
What if the terrorist asshole they were looking for blew up this building instead of his intended target?
The entire situation was leaving Boone slightly rattled.
Him, a guy who prided himself on calm professionalism.
He was happy to get out of Seattle in order to hopefully minimize the threat toward Radley, but he also knew they were possibly walking right into danger.
He’d gotten used to working with his teammates over the years, taking calculated risks and accepting the danger of their careers.
This was, however, the first time he’d been on an op with a woman he was sleeping with.
A woman he cared for. A woman he’d been buried in so deeply she was practically part of himself.
They hadn’t put any formal name on their relationship yet, but hell.
Boone knew without a doubt she was meant to be his.
He also knew that Radley would never forgive him if he asked her to stand down.
To sit this one out while he handled the danger.
This was who she was. She gathered intelligence.
Connected the dots. Dealt with all sorts of people along the way.
Radley was both competent and capable. She wanted to nab the suspect just as much as he did.
Boone just had to find a way to accept it.
She reached for her suitcase, Boone waving her off. Like he was about to let her haul it in when he was right here.
“Why is our suspect staying here?” Radley wondered quietly as they walked into the plush lobby.
Boone chuckled. “Guess he wanted a taste of the good life before he meets his maker.”
She sobered. “Let’s go check in.”
A few minutes later, they were heading to the elevator. Boone had his duffle bag slung over one shoulder, Radley’s suitcase in his other hand. “That thing was wheels you know,” she told him.
“And I have arms.”
Her gaze ran over them, and she smiled. “Yes. Yes, you do. Might as well put all those muscles to good use.”
Boone smirked, flashing her a hot look.
Radley rolled her eyes. He knew she loved looking at his body, and damn. Boone had absolutely no problem with that.
She pushed the button for their floor, the two of them entering the elevator alone. Her phone buzzed, and she said it was a text from Quinn. “We need to check our laptops when we get to the hotel room. Romantic, I know,” she joked. “Quinn said she sent each of us an encrypted email.”
Radley slid her phone into her leather backpack, keeping the keycard free.
“Think Coop and Xaden are having their own romantic night in Seattle?” Boone joked.
“Ha ha. I’m sure if they had their way, they’d each meet a woman at the bar and bring her back to their own room. Alas, duty calls,” she joked. “Their hotel is close to The Space Needle, so they can keep an eye on things.”
“I think Quinn’s heading there, too,” Boone said.
“Oh yeah? I figured she’d stay at the office and do her IT magic.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure why she wanted to be there. Most of the stuff she does involves hacking into systems and whatnot. Staying safe behind her computer. She’s not the one out there gathering intelligence or chasing down sources,” he said, giving her a pointed look.
“I’m good at it,” Radley told him. “You know as well as I do how much intelligence that’s gathered is HUMINT. Someone’s gotta do the dirty work.”
Boone pressed his lips together, nodding.
HUMINT, or human intelligence, involved colleting intelligence from human sources.
It was just as important as SIGINT—signals intelligence they intercepted via satellites or other means.
While he knew Radley had handled multiple sources in the past, collecting valuable intelligence for the U.S.
, it still worried him. She seemed eager to meet with possible sources even now, a job that was not without risks.
He loved and hated that about her.
Radley had been hired by Shadow Security to do exactly what she was best at.
While it had been mostly surveillance this time around, she’d wanted and been willing to contact members of the terror cell.
She likely would be putting herself in danger on future jobs, and he’d just have to deal with it.
While Boone readily protected others and provided cover to his teammates, this was different.
More. Radley was special to him, and he had to learn to live with the risks, knowing she was in the same dangerous line of work that he was.
Naturally, Boone hadn’t fallen for a quiet librarian or some introverted artist. Radley was outgoing. Fearless. A badass former government operative. Her stubbornness and spark kept him on his toes. Made him feel alive.
And scared the shit out of him sometimes when he realized how damn brave she was.
They quickly got settled into their hotel room, Boone tucking those thoughts away. Radley flipped open her laptop, working at the small desk. Boone sat on the bed, each of them reviewing the newest information from IT.
His lips quirked. His first time in a hotel room with Radley wasn’t a sexy weekend getaway.
They had work to do. And it amused him to see that their relationship covered all the bases.
Work. Play. Passion. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t been interested in a serious relationship with anyone in the past. Something had been missing, and with Radley, everything felt right.
“Holy crap,” Boone said, scanning over the encrypted message. “I don’t know how she did it, but Quinn posed as one of the terrorists on the dark web. She hacked into their own account so she could communicate with the others.”
Radley looked at him in surprise.
“Yeah, I’m impressed too,” Boone said with a chuckle. “Communicating with them is one thing, but taking over an account and pretending to be someone else? She’s good.”
“Damn good,” Radley agreed. “Look at her next message. Quinn and some of the IT staff hacked into the hotel’s security cameras.
Quinn said we should be monitoring the camera on the 8th floor.
I’m not sure how she weeded out the information, but it will help us drastically narrow down our guy if she’s right. ”
“It must’ve been in her communications with the guy,” Boone said with a frown. “Did he think she was meeting him here?”
“No idea,” Radley admitted.
“Some of the LAPD are already heading to the lot where the self-driving vehicles are located. All of the cars aren’t stored there though,” Boone commented. “Some are in use, but others waiting for riders to book them on the app are parked legally on the street.”
“But where are the explosives being stored?” Radley asked in confusion. “We’d see anyone hauling in wooden crates. The hotel security and staff would be suspicious, too. Unless—”
Boone’s eyes met hers.
“Would they fit in a suitcase?” she asked. “Could he roll them right past everyone and no one knew the difference? Shit. We need eyes on the 8th floor and down by the street, too. The guy has to leave his room at some point, but he’s also got to be hauling big suitcases with him.”
Boone cursed and clicked on his laptop, pulling up the feed for the correct floor. Quinn had emailed them everything they’d needed. Except now they needed more.
“I’m going to do a lap around the building.
I want to see all the exit points. We’ll ask IT to shoot us the links to those camera feeds as well,” Radley said.
“I want us to be monitoring multiple locations. It seems he’s checked in to the hotel, according to Quinn, but we need to ensure he doesn’t leave. ”
Boone was already rising to his feet.
“No, stay and monitor the camera feed. I’ll be right back,” she promised, giving him a quick kiss. “I hate to say it, but if I ask a few questions downstairs, I’m more likely to be helped than you. You’re a big, intimidating guy. People will be way more forthcoming with me.”
He grumbled but reluctantly agreed. “Be careful,” he told her, his voice serious. “We don’t know who this guy is or where he’s even located at the moment. If something feels off, come back.”
“Of course. You be careful too, soldier,” she said, trying to make light of the situation.
Radley moved to her backpack, grabbing her cell phone from it before slinging the bag over her shoulder. Boone took a step toward her, hesitating.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “I’ll do a quick lap around the hotel noting the cameras and exits and be back soon.”