Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
When his phone rang, they jolted apart like teenagers caught making out by their parents. Though kissing and some light touching was as far as things had gone. “It’s Clara.” Not great timing, but she could have crucial intel. “Have you got an update?” he asked.
“We learned that Spivey flew to Mexico Friday. We found a hotel reservation in his name. However, there’s no reservation at that hotel under any name that we can tie to Tawnya. We sent pictures of her and Bri to the hotel manager, but none of the staff recognized them as guests.”
“Damn it.” Linc’s jaw locked, and he pounded a fist against the arm of the sofa.
“I know. But we did catch another break. We found another house owned by the same LLC as the house where Malloy and Spivey stayed. Two officers did a drive-by. Bri’s car is there, which means Tawnya drove to the airport.”
“I don’t see how that’s good since Bri will get in the car with her, and Tawnya’s not planning on taking Bri back to her house to get her car.” He couldn’t shake Tawnya’s comment to Malloy.
Kendra laid a hand on his arm. He covered her hand and gripped it with his. He didn’t have his team. Or control. Without Kendra keeping him grounded, he’d be completely off the rails. “What is your plan?”
“The plan is to have a Homeland agent pull Bri for inspection once they arrive in Raleigh.”
“Why not arrest Tawnya when they land in Atlanta?”
“Because that will kill the chance of tracking her to who we really need to get to shut this ring down.”
“You’re right.” Bri would be back in the States, but they needed to aim higher than Tawnya to keep Bri safe afterward.
“While she’s separated from Tawnya, they’ll plant a tracker in her suitcase and pass along a message not to go with Tawnya.”
“There’s a chance they’ll miss her. You need to let me pose as the agent.”
“Not a chance. I’ve already told you that. Bri might react to spotting you, or Tawnya could know what you look like and make the connection. Either blows this operation.”
“I can wear glasses and put on some fake facial hair, they’ll never?—”
“No! We need you available to impersonate Malloy if Tawnya calls.” Clara shut him down. “HSI will have their pictures and know what flight they’re on. They can handle this.”
Even though he’d spent years following orders, giving up control in this situation ranked high on his list of orders he most wanted to disobey.
“There’s more. Apparently, she doesn’t want to risk Bri changing her mind or getting away now that she finally agreed because Tawnya texted she changed their flight reservation. Since I’d already contacted HSI, they got through security and made the flight that left around seven p.m. their time. They’ll be in Raleigh tomorrow afternoon.”
“Tomorrow? Okay. That’s—that’s good. But?—”
“I’ve alerted HSI to the change. We need to scramble to get things in place. I’ll let you know more tomorrow. We’re almost there. There’s nothing else we can do tonight. I’m going to get some sleep. You should too.”
Sleep? Right. Linc stared at his phone after Clara ended the call.
“Are you okay?” Kendra asked softly.
“Her being on her way back home is what we want.”
“Are you going to be able to sleep?”
She could already read him almost as well as his teammates could. He stared at the ceiling and sighed. “No guarantees.” He had to plan for contingencies of what could go wrong. That meant refocusing rather than picking up where he’d been with Kendra. “I need to go for a run. I might be awhile. Do you want me to go ahead and move Jalen back out here?”
“Don’t risk waking him. We can share the bed.”
“Now you’re making me jealous.” He winked as he retrieved his workout clothes from his bag.
“It’s a king-size bed. There’s room for two and a half if you want instead of sleeping on the couch. I’d hate for your neck to get stiff again.”
“Maybe I’ll do that.” Obviously, they wouldn’t fool around with Jalen in the bed. After Bri was home, he and Kendra could see where things went.
In the darkness, he ran hard the first mile through Dev’s neighborhood, burning off anger, frustration, and too much energy he needed to conserve. Once he slowed his pace, he worked through potential scenarios that could go down and put Bri at risk.
Then it hit him. If Tawnya called or tried to video chat when they arrived, she expected Malloy to be at the airport with Jalen. Maybe not inside the airport, but in a parking lot or deck. It wasn’t in the capacity he wanted, but he did have to be at the airport.
If he were there, he could stake out Tawnya’s car. There was no way he would let Bri leave with her. Except he needed to know the make, model, and license plate to find it. Clara had to have that information. Would she tell him? He could place a tracker on the vehicle, so if something went wrong with tagging Bri’s suitcase authorities wouldn’t lose her.
He needed to make sure Clara and HSI operated with the best information and action plan. Stopping, he pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Clara, then resumed his run, hoping he’d hear back from her tonight.
After roughly half an hour, he returned to the house, drenched from running in the North Carolina humidity. Kendra had left the light over the stove on, but the rest of the house was dark. However, she’d also left the bedroom door ajar.
After downing a glass of water, he went to the guest bathroom and turned on the shower.
As he stripped off his sweaty clothes, he thought about how he could help Kendra work through her past and have confidence for a future relationship. Though it sucked for him, he’d overheard her and Clara at Malloy’s house earlier. He needed to be upfront with her that his long-term plans did not include marriage and family—even if spending so much time with her these past few days had him thinking beyond the short-term.
He couldn’t blame her for wanting more. Hell, he did too. Years ago, he’d accepted that wasn’t his lot in life. While he would kill to protect Jalen, he didn’t date women with kids. He didn’t want to risk being responsible for breaking their hearts. A relationship or marriage ending didn’t always mean problems like in his mother’s life, though, with his family history, he didn’t want to take chances. With what Kendra shared about her aunt killing her husband, she’d likely understand that.
He stepped under the warm spray. As he washed, he imagined it was Kendra’s hand rather than his gliding up and down his stiff cock. Better to self-gratify than lay in bed thinking about Kendra and things that we’re not happening tonight—or maybe ever.
He turned the water to cold to finish off the shower. As he toweled off, he debated her offer to sleep in the bed. Leaving the door open came across as an invitation, which, if he didn’t accept it, could send the wrong message or been seen as rejection. Though she deserved someone who could give her the life she wanted. Besides, her entire family would have serious concerns about her even dating a man who served in the military, especially since movies and television loved to portray guys in the Special Ops community as unhinged—or worse.
Since his only pair of gym shorts were damp from the run, he dressed in clean boxers and pulled on a T-shirt. He turned off the light in the kitchen and let his eyes adjust to the dark before opening the bedroom door wider.
“Was the run helpful?” Kendra let him know she was awake.
“Yeah.” He entered the room. “I texted Clara. Hopefully, I’ll hear back in the morning.”
Kendra rolled to her side and edged closer to where Jalen slept on the side of the bed. She even lifted the sheet.
He lay on his side. In the faint light, he made out her face inches from his. Her smile grew.
“What?” he asked.
“I was just thinking how we’d answer if someone were to ask how we met. I could say we met through Bri, though I’d leave out the ‘I was her social worker’ part and not mention a drug smuggling operation as a matchmaker.”
He gave a gruff chuckle, and Jalen stirred. He liked how she’d respected Bri’s privacy, even if she wouldn’t tell her family, or even her friends, if they went out a few times. His team would know how they met, not that he’d introduce her to them. Over the years, there’d only been two women he’d been with long enough to meet his team family. “I know you’ve picked up on what I do, but it’s important that you not share that—with anyone.”
“I am aware and understand.”
“Thanks.” For now, there was no harm in rolling with the fantasy of meeting each other’s friends. “I can use the ‘It’s classified.’ response or just stare at them without answering.” He had that down pat.
He couldn’t resist reaching to run the back of his fingers across the silky skin of her cheek before kissing her—sweet, relatively chaste kisses given the situation, but the kind that burrowed beneath his armor.
The way she made him feel respected and of worth went deeper than physical attraction and needs. He shouldn’t let it go to his head. In addition to looking for the good in people, she might be swayed, viewing him as Jalen’s and her protector the past few days.
She had one arm curled under her head. He took hold of her free hand and kissed her forehead. Breathing in a light powder scent, he closed his eyes, trusting that Kendra and Clara were right, and that Bri would be home safely tomorrow.