Chapter 25
It felt weird for Daisy to get behind the wheel of her car and drive, as if the world had fundamentally shifted since the last time she’d done it. She pulled away from the curb, feeling the weight of eyes on her as she drove past familiar trees and buildings.
The moon played peek-a-boo with the fast-moving clouds.
The air felt heavy, the wind gusting, spitting rain.
She parked out front of the physics building in an empty lot.
The only light was the one above the main door.
She shivered when she turned off the engine and felt the wind shake her car.
She released a heavy breath and shouldered her bag.
Tried not to slam her door before she hurried up the steps to swipe her card and push inside.
She headed straight for the stairs, jogged up them all the way to the top floor, and flipped the light switch.
The room looked like it always did. Full of books and computers, slightly cluttered, a little bit dusty. Einstein and Marie Curie bobbleheads sat on the window ledge, wisely nodding away.
How could evil inhabit this space?
She expelled another short, sharp breath, grateful there was no one around. She pulled out the letter and used the plastic bag to maneuver the envelope into the exact same spot as she’d found it. She stood back and assessed it critically, moved a book over by a millimeter.
Satisfied, she grabbed the tablet from her desk and then strode to the door.
She froze as the door opened. Amed stood there, looking tired and pale, holding a baseball bat.
She pressed one hand to her heart and slipped the other into her bag, finding the cold metal of her pistol. “Oh my goodness, you scared me!”
“Daisy. It’s you. Sorry.” He rubbed his deep-set eyes and lowered the bat.
“I didn’t know you were back. I saw the light and figured I should check for an intruder.
” He shrugged his thin shoulders. “I’m sorry.
I feel very paranoid lately. Like I’m being watched.
” He hunched his shoulders, and she swallowed tightly and tried to ignore the camera she wore around her neck and the guilt that weighed about a thousand pounds.
“Have you been here all day? I popped in earlier and saw Emilia but didn’t see you.”
He shook his head. “I was at home. It’s my son’s birthday. I spent most of the afternoon on a video call, watching him open and play with gifts with my wife and parents.” His mouth turned down with unhappiness.
“I don’t know how you can live so far away from him.”
He frowned and for the first time ever she saw anger on his face. “You think I have a choice? You think I don’t miss him every single day and wish they were here with me? I’m doing it for them.”
Unease moved through her, and she let her fingers grip the Glock. “Doing what for them?”
“Learning. Bettering myself.”
She relaxed.
“Finding a way to lift my family out of poverty.” He rubbed his eyes again. “Apologies for raising my voice. Sometimes I miss them so much I can barely stand it. Now I have work to do.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“The sooner I finish, the sooner I can get to somewhere they can be with me.”
Fear struck again. “What do you mean?”
“I applied for a visa for them to join me here, but it was denied.” He stared at her with blank, unsmiling eyes, and a shiver of something cold snaked down her spine.
“Thank you for putting those rods on my bench.” She forced out lightly. “Perhaps I could talk to you about it on Monday, if you have time? I know you have a lot going on with your big project this week.”
He looked agitated and tapped the bat against his leg. “Maybe. But I need to make sure everything is perfect. I don’t have much time…”
“That’s okay,” she soothed. “I’ll talk to Wilson. I have a couple of basic questions about the best way to go about the initial steps anyway. I don’t want to mess up.”
He nodded at her, shadows under his eyes making him look as if he hadn’t slept in days.
She moved toward him, and he stepped aside to let her pass. She kept her hand inside her bag. If he wanted to, he’d probably get a hit in before she could shoot, so she had to be prepared for that. “Goodnight then. Happy birthday to your son.”
“Daisy,” he said when she came abreast of him.
She stopped even though what she really wanted to do was run. She swallowed. “Yes?”
His dark eyes pierced her. “Be careful. It’s dangerous for a woman alone.”
She shivered and hurried past him, jogged quickly down the stairs and slammed out the front door, her heart pounding as she raced for her car. She sat there, lights glaring into the darkness even as the night pressed in on her.
Starting the engine, she reversed and drove faster than she usually did all the way home.
And she realized suddenly, the one thing Amed hadn’t asked her during their tense interaction, was whether or not she’d had anything to do with Francois Tremblay’s death—and she couldn’t help wondering if that was because he already knew how Tremblay had died.
Jordan hitched a ride on Alex’s company private jet and even got to practice his flying skills as co-pilot. They landed in the same airport where the Russian aircraft was still parked.
Alex was dressed completely in black. “I’m going to check out that other jet.”
Jordan frowned. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
Alex shrugged. “Won’t know unless I try it.”
“Better I don’t know anything about it.”
Alex smiled slightly. “I keep forgetting I’m surrounded by Feds.”
He was married to one.
“Yeah, well, be careful, okay? This guy isn’t an amateur.” Jordan checked his watch. 2:07 a.m. He was torn between backing up Alex and getting to the muster point in time to join Gold Team for the raid.
Alex read his mind as he checked his weapons. “Don’t worry about me. I work better alone. You texted Daisy yet?”
Jordan pulled a face. “She doesn’t want to hear from me.”
“Bullshit.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was watching her expression yesterday morning. She only closed down and pushed you away after you told her you were worried about her because you’d promised to protect ‘Kurt’s daughter.’”
“I never said that.” Jordan thought back while Alex silently watched him. “Fuck. I did say that.”
Perversely, a strange kind of excitement moved through him.
If his words had hurt her, maybe she wasn’t as emotionally detached as she’d pretended to be.
It didn’t change the fact he had never been in a successful relationship.
Given the snippets he’d overheard about the issues she’d had with her parents growing up, he suspected he’d need to fully commit to convince her he was worth taking a chance on. One hundred percent.
He didn’t know if he was capable of that.
Doubt crowded out the short-lived optimism. Some people were better off alone. Plus, Bocharov was still out there, threatening everyone Jordan cared about.
“I’ll call her in the morning, when Bocharov is in custody.”
Alex pulled out a ski mask and dragged it over his face. He handed Jordan another, which Jordan reluctantly took. Better not to be seen exiting this aircraft. The pilot had instructions to fly on to Richmond as soon as they exited.
“You want coordinates for where I’m meeting HRT?”
Alex shook his head. “Mac sent them while you were being interviewed by WFO.”
A process that had taken way too long as far as he was concerned. At least he’d been able to borrow a black T-shirt and tactical pants from one of the SWAT guys.
“Catch you later.” Alex opened the door and disappeared into the night.
Jordan swiftly followed him and headed toward the main building where a black SUV waited.
He tapped on the window and pulled up his mask.
Grady Steel unlocked the door. “Thought it was Spiderman for a second there.”
“You got my hopes up, for a moment. Tom Holland is hot. So are you, Krychek. Obvs.” Meghan Donnelly, in the driver’s seat, straightened and started the engine.
“What about me?” Grady grumbled.
“You’re hot too, Grade.”
“Feels like a pity compliment.”
“You’re my partner. I wasn’t sure how comfortable you’d be with me calling you hot.”
“As long as Brynn isn’t in earshot you can call me hot.”
Jordan caught her smile in the rearview.
Ryan Sullivan lounged in the back with a ball cap pulled low over his face and appeared to be sleeping. “What about me?”
“What about you?” Meghan was already speeding away from the airfield.
Jordan looked behind them, but there was no sign of Alex.
Ryan leaned forward. “You can’t not say you don’t find me hot if you find Tom Holland and Grady hot.”
“That’s a lot of double negatives in that sentence, and heat levels are subjective.”
“For some people maybe,” drawled Ryan.
“Oh, my God. Are you sure your ego can fit back there?”
“I don’t have an ego.”
Even Jordan laughed at that. It was good to be back with the team even as he worried about Daisy.
“I don’t have an ego,” Cowboy insisted again.
“But you get upset if I don’t say I think you’re hot,” Meghan countered.
Cowboy sat up straighter and winked at Jordan. “That’s because I know you’re lying.”
Meghan’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and Jordan could see the flexing of the muscles in her jaw while she silently strove for calm. “You know I’m armed, right?”
“And dangerous,” Grady muttered out of the side of his mouth.
“You’re hot, Krychek.” Cowboy sent Jordan a grin. “All the girls think so. Even the boss’s daughter.”
Fuck.
“What about me?” Meghan asked with a quick look at Jordan in the rearview. She was trying to deflect the comments that were surely headed his way. He appreciated it. He just hoped they could get through this op before he had to deal with the flack.
“You?” Cowboy asked as if she’d spoken in Greek.
“Yeah, me, the person driving the vehicle. Do you think I’m hot?”
“On a scale of Tom Holland and Grady Steel, Donnelly, you’re off the charts.”
“Oh,” she cocked her head, “but I’m not Ryan Sullivan hot.”
“I never said that.” Ryan’s lips pinched.