Chapter 2 #2
The waitress returned with two steaming plates and a pot of coffee, setting an egg sandwich and a side of crisp home fries in front of each of them.
The smell of fried eggs and bacon teased Lina’s nose, and she couldn’t wait to dig in.
She took a bite, letting the ordinary ritual of breakfast steady her, then retrieved a folder from her bag, opening it on the table between them.
“Right,” she said after swallowing that first bite, pen poised.
“Questions first. Motive, opportunity, and resources. Motive looks personal, likely ideological. Opportunity’s obvious.
She’s clever and mobile. Resources are the scary part.
She’s got access to an unknown level of power as well as Venifucus techniques and allies, which isn’t garden-variety witchery.
Whoever taught her or sheltered her is dangerous in their own right.
” She looked up to meet Liam’s gaze. “Has anyone looked into her bank accounts or tried to track her travel? Has she bought or sold property? Even small purchases leave trails.”
Liam rubbed his jaw, thinking. “My cousin, Gavin, has been tracking a few financial blips that might be linked. His team discovered she had shell accounts, with deposits from obscure donors, but I don’t think he’s found anything solid yet.”
“Is he here? Is he on your team?” Lina wanted to know.
“No, he’s helping remotely from home base in Texas. He’s the head of security for Kinkaid Industries,” Liam replied. “I’ve been working nearby with a skeleton crew of Navy personnel on a different task and was pulled into this just yesterday.”
She wanted details but would wait to really question him about why he was in the area, as he put it. It felt like too much of a coincidence, but she’d wait for privacy to grill him like a suspect. The thought made her want to smile, and she chastised herself to get back to the matter at hand.
“The report mentioned that the coven cleared out Mrs. E’s house afterward. Any chance they found something useful before, or even after, destroying her traps?” Lina asked.
“I understand there were a number of things that the ladies put under lock and key. When I ping my cousins, I’ll see if they can spare some time to help us go through anything the ladies are willing to give us access to.
My cousins are former Special Operators and good with surveillance.
They’ll also have recordings of the operation that went down in the neighborhood when Mrs. E escaped the first time. ”
Lina was nodding as she made a few notations.
“Good. I’d like to see anything they have that will tell me more about her and what she can do.
I’ll also run anything Gavin found through our systems today and cross-check any aliases, shell companies, or travel on passports, and satellite ping records, if I can get them. ”
She liked the way his brows rose at her words, as if he hadn’t expected her to take the ball and run with it so quickly. He’d learn. She hadn’t gotten where she was in the FBI by letting grass grow under her feet.
“Sounds good. I’ll get that information to you ASAP,” he promised without objection.
So far, so good.
“Now, as for my preliminary assessment of our target. I’ve read over the initial file, as I’ve said, and it’s pretty clear that Mrs. Entwistle likes theatrical displays.
She might try to draw us out if she realizes we’re on her trail.
” She felt the familiar thrum of that lynx-wariness, the animal part of her arching inside her soul.
“We just need to deny her a stage unless we control the circumstances.”
They traded specifics for the next half hour while they ate and drank the entire carafe of coffee between them.
When they couldn’t drag out the meal any longer and the waitress had given them the check, Lina put away her file and stood.
Liam had taken the check and showed no signs of wanting to split it or even expense it as part of their jobs.
No, it sure looked like he was paying for her breakfast, and she didn’t know why that sent a little thrill up her spine, except for the fact that they were both shifters and providing food was a basic need when courting a mate.
What was she thinking? This was no courtship. This was a temporary work partnership, plain and simple. That’s all it ever could be. He was a lion, and she was a lynx. Sure, they were both big cats, but they were vastly different cats, when it came right down to it.
“When do you want to meet up again?” Liam asked as they were on their way out the door after he’d paid the check. “My original mission in the area is nearing completion, but I have a full day of work today to tie up a bunch of loose ends.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. “I’m going back to the office to run my queries on the secure equipment there. It should take most of the day.”
“Do you want to meet up again tonight?” Liam asked as they walked slowly down the sidewalk, away from the café.
“How about I call you this afternoon? If I find anything actionable, we can meet to discuss it. If not, I’ll keep working as long as it takes to find something.
In the meantime, if you could set up some meetings with the ladies for tomorrow, that would be ideal.
I don’t think we have a lot of time to mess around on this.
Intel leads me to believe she’s already here and planning something.
My instincts tell me that we need to move as fast as we can. ”
“Sounds good. I’ll await your call this afternoon. You have my number,” Liam said, nodding.
“I’m parked over on the next block,” she told him when the silence had gone on a little too long. They were still walking slowly in the damp air of the gray morning.
The air smelled of salt and rain. Liam slid his jacket on with easy motions. It was leather, and it looked well-worn.
“Yeah, I know. I’m parked right across from you.”
“You are?”
She thought she’d observed everything in the area before leaving her car, but obviously, she’d missed something.
And if he’d seen where she parked, how had he beaten her to the café?
He must have walked really fast, but she supposed it was doable.
Though how she’d missed him on the street she didn’t understand.
She’d always thought of lions as big and lumbering, but apparently, that was a mistake. They were cats, and she knew from personal experience that cats excelled at being sneaky. Her inner lynx wanted to raise a paw and bat at him in play for the sexy smirk on his handsome face. Down, girl.
They picked up their pace as rain began to fall more steadily. He left her at her car with a quick, “Talk to you later,” and headed for a large SUV parked across the street and a few spaces down.
She sat in her car for a moment after he’d driven away, watching his taillights disappear into traffic. Her lynx paced restlessly inside her mind, unsettled by how right it had felt to work beside him.
Dangerous thinking. She had databases to query and leads to chase. The mission came first. At least, it always had before.