Chapter 20
“Wereallyneed to know what Davis is up to. Can you think of anything, anything atallthat stands out to you? Anything that’s not the norm?”Ryker rubbed the back of his neck. Archer had been clear. He needed to make progress on this, or Archer would replace him.Usuallyin his job, replacement included a relocation program to a realm six feet under.
He’d driven back to Vic’s, and now she looked at him with confusion from her sofa. She clutched the pillow in her lap tighter. Dark smudges discolored the skin under her eyes, and her shoulders were sagging. It was latebuthe didn’t have a choice. He needed something to go on.
“Austin has Tracy and a few others working on a super-secret project. He won’t talk about itandneither will she.I’ve asked, but shejustsmiles and says it’s super cool, but she can’t share yet.”
“She hasn’t given you any hints?”Ryker asked as he sat across the room from her. He’d debated sitting on the couch but decided to skip the temptation. She looked so damn sexy in her boxer shorts and tank top.There was no way he couldsit next to her without pulling her into his arms.
Vic shook her head.“None.”
“What does Tracy normally do for your uncle? What’s her job?”
“Marketing.Sheand a fewof theothers createhismarketing campaigns, look afterhissocial media, make all the swag, that kind of thing.”
“Huh. Why would your uncle need a marketing campaign now? His seat isn’t up for election for a couple of years.Thisis a Presidential election year. Do you think he has Tracy and the rest working on something to do with that?”
Vic snorted.“Not likely. My uncle only does what benefits him. I don’t see how he would get anything out of it.”
Ryker tapped his fingers on his thigh.“Does Tracy keep her laptop at workordoes she take it home?”
“Home.”Vic narrowed her eyes at him.“Why?”
“I need to see the files on her laptop. I need toknow what the project is.”
Vic shrugged.“Short of breaking into her apartment and stealing it, you’re out of luck. Tracy keeps it with her wherever she goes.”
“She brings it to workthough, right?”
“Yes,”Vic agreed and covered her mouth as she yawned.
“She sits next to you, right?”
Vic nodded, yawning again. Then she stopped.“Why? What are you thinking?”
He didn’t like doing this. It wasn’t really something he wantedto pressure Vic into, but he was out of options.“Can you access Tracy’s laptop and find outwhat the project is?”
Vic stared at him and then shook her head.“No. No way. Oh, hell no. I will not do that. It’s an invasion of privacy.”
“Your uncle is up to somethingandwe need to knowexactlywhat it is. He’s a dangerous manand, lefton his own, things could go downhill fast.”Ryker had no idea if this project had anything to do with the Society and whateverthe hellDavis was planningbuthewas grasping at straws because this was the only lead he had.
“I can’t betray Austin like that, never mind my friend.”She hugged the pillow closer.
“Are you serious?”Ryker tried to keep his temper in check.“After what the man tried to do earlier in the evening? He’s trying to capitalize on you dating a power player he wants an alliance with. He’s pimping you out. You even called him on it yourself.”
Vic let out a loud sigh.“I know what you’re sayingand, yes, I know what it sounds like. I regret telling you what Daisy said, but it scared me, and then to enter the party and have himactuallydo what she accused him of was demoralizing. The thing is…what he said on the drive home made sense.Maybe hereallydoesjustwantto protect me and help me find someone.I mean, it’s stupid, and I don’t need help, but honestly”—she gave a little shrug—“I can’t fault him for it.”
Ryker’s mouth hung open. Vic wasn’t stupid, so why couldn’t she see how badly her uncle treated her? He could see it and he desperately wanted to choke the life out of the man.“Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that your uncle only has your best interest at heart? Seriously?”He tried to tone it down.“What does your gut tell you?”
Vic licked her lips and stared at Ryker.“I think... I feel...Look, I think my uncle’s up to something. I know my uncle is plotting and planning some big thing because he’s always doing thatandthat’s not new. But he saved my ass. He pulled me out of a commune my parents had me on, and I just…I owe him for that.”
“But don’t you think you’ve already paid him back?I meanitlooksto melike you’ve been paying your debt everysingleday since he took you out of there.”He’d read in Vic’sfileabout the communebutsomedayhe wanted to hear about it from her perspective.
Vic waved him off.“Look, I only have a few weeks left and then I’m out of here.”Her eyes flew to his.“Don’t tell anyone.”
What the hell did that mean? Ryker stared at Vic with an assessing gaze.“Why are you leaving?”
“Because in a few weeks, on my thirtieth birthday, I inherit my family’s solar farm. I plan on going back to Texas to run it.”
Shock rippled through him. That had not been in the file. Texas. That was too far away.At least if she was in Washington, theyhad a chance of seeingeach other.His head spun withall the thingshe wanted to saybuthe had to put everything else aside because now wasn’t the moment. His job now was to convince her to do what he neededher to do. And she had to do it because he owed Archer that much. Bile came up his throat. The thought of forcing Vic wasliterallymaking him sick to his stomach.
“You know, and I know, your uncle’s up to something. Something that doesn’t just affect you. He’s up to something big and scaryandwe need to know what it is. I need your help to figure it outIcan’t do it on my own. If I get busted checking your friend’scomputerthat’ll be the end. He’llget rid ofme and cause a huge mess at the Society. Then he’ll be protected, and we won’t find anything out. But Tracy’s your friend. No one would twig to anything if they saw you at her desk.”
Vic threw her arms in the air.“It would not be natural.I do not check up on my friends, nor do Iget into their laptops and see what they’re working on.”
“But you can go into the office and check.I canmake sureshe’saway fromherdesk for enough time for you toget apeek at the project.
Vic glared at him.“Why can’t I distract Tracy? I can stall her and keep her busy while you check.”
“No one will think anything of you being at her desk. You sit right next to her. If I do it, the whole office will notice. They all watch me when I move around in there, Joyce especially. There’s no way to do it without attracting at least some attention. You can bring her coffee or a muffin, whatever. It will look normal.”
Vic frowned.
“If I have to access the laptop, then the best wayfor meto do it is to break into her apartment. Do you want me to break in, Vic? That’s the only way I can do it. Doing that exposes me to the least amount of risk.”
Vic got off the couch and headed into her kitchen. She pulled out the bottle of scotch and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. The cork screeched asshejerked it from the neck of the bottle. She poured herself a mouthful and swallowed it in one gulp.“I don’t like this Ryker. It feels wrong. I don’t want to betray my uncle or my friend.”
Ryker knew he was getting to her. He gritted his teeth.Hehad to drive the point home.“But isn’t he betraying you?Do youreallybelieve that crap about how much he cares about you andjustwants you to be taken care of in case something happens to him?It isn’t like he’s leaving you all his money if he dies. I heard him on the phone saying his will is up to dateandhe’s leaving his money to some charity in Texas that will put his name on a building or something.”
Vic choked.“He’s always been upfront about that, even when he had me make a will and leave my stuff to him. I didn’t have to, but it seemed only fair since he saved me from the commune.”
“What do you mean?”Did Davisreallymake Vic leave the little she hadtohim?
“Nothing.Ijustdon’t like betraying either ofthem.”Vic glared at him.
“Look, Vic, I need to see that laptopandit’s much better for Tracy if I don’t have to break into her place. It will destroy her peace of mind once she discovers someone has broken in.”
Vic met his gaze again.“Fine. Fucking…just fine. But promise me Tracy will never find out. She’s a good friendandI hate going behind her back like this.If your plan goes to shit, it’s on youandI’m telling you right nowIhave tobe employedon my birthdayorI’m screwedfor life.If this fucks up royally, you better find me a job, a real jobinno time flat.”
Ryker cocked an eyebrow. Of all the things she could’ve demanded, making sure she had a job on her birthday didn’t enter his mind.“Why do you need a job on your birthday?”
“I’m not fucking discussing this with you.I’m just telling youifthis goes to hell, I’ll need a job on my birthdayandit’s gotto be a real jobOK?Thisis a deal breaker. If you can’t dothisthen we’re done.”
“Deal. But I want to hear all about this job on your birthday business, and I want to know about the commune. I want to know everything, Vic.”And he meant it. He did want to know it all. He wanted to know all about this intriguing woman. She was driving him crazy. It didn’t matter howmany timeshe tried to put her out of his mind, thoughtsof her still lingered there. And it wasn’t just the sex, which had beenamazing. It was her spirit, her fundamental need to find the good in people. As a Society monster wrangler, there was rarely a time when he saw anyone with any redeeming qualities. He hadn’t seen the good in people in many years. The fact that she had gotten this far in life and still believed that people were intrinsically good…Well, that was quite something. And it was more a testament to her thanit was to herknowing good people.
“When do you want to do this?”she mumbled whileshe fingered the top of the scotch bottle.
“First thing in the morning.”When she started to balk, he hurried on,“Your uncle said he wanted you in there bright andearlyso let’s make sure that happens. What time does Tracy usually arrive?”
Vic shrugged.“I’m not sure.With his special project it could be any time. I’m guessing thoughif we gotthere at six a.m., she’ll be along soon after. The issue becomes how many people are coming with her? I mean it’s all well and good that I bring her coffee but if she’s already there at her desk and bring her coffee she’s not going to get up and leave.”
Ryker’s shoulders relaxed just a fraction. Vic was going to do itandmore importantly, she was calming down. When she was upset, his overriding desire was to remove the reason. His biggest worry, the one he refused to acknowledge, was that Vic would end up hating him.Hejustcouldn’t take that.
“Don’t worry,I can find a reason to get her up from her desk. You are right though, if there are lots of other people it might be a bit of a problem.”
He got up from the chair and went to lean against the wall across from Vic.“I can call a meeting,something about upgrades to security.”He stared at Vic, lost in thought.“Yes, I’ll talk to all of themallabout using their ID cards and having them on them at all times. I’ll say something like somebody tried to get in without valid identificationandit caused a fuss at the entry security station. Now, they all have to carry them, and I’ll make sure to stress that and have a long meeting with them about it. I can buy you ten minutes.”
She bit her lip.“But thenwhyaren’t I at the meeting?”
“We’ll say I drove you to work and gave you the lecture on the way in. You’re already upset with your uncle, and you can tell Tracy about it before she comes to the meeting. And remember, this is all if there’s more than just her in the office. Otherwise, we’ll have to come up with something else.”
“You make it all sound so easy.”Vic sighed and poured herself a second drink but didn’t touch it.
“It’s not easy to betray your friends. But it’s simple, and simple is good. I know you don’t want to do this, Vic. I know it goes against everything you’vebeen brought upto believe. Everything that makes you a good person.
“I’m not a good personandI make no excuses for that.I’m a bad guy, Vic.I have to beorIcouldn’tdo my job.And when you become a member of the Society, you’ll learn all about it, but in the meantime, bad guys like me existandwe have to do things like this because your uncle…God help me, Vic, he’s even worse.”
Vic folded her arms across her chest.“You say thatbutwhat has heactuallydone?I meanreally, what have you seen him do that issoabsolutelyhorrible?”
“I don’t want to get into that?—”
“I don’t care what you want to do, Ryker. You want me to do this, so youhave totell me why my uncle is such a bad guy.”
Thiswas the conversation Ryker had been trying to avoid since the beginning. His stomach rolled. She was not ready to hear what her uncle had been up to. It would destroy something in her, maybe the thing that allowed her to see the good in people. He did not want to be responsible for causing her to lose her faith in people.
He didn’t want her to hate him, but he also couldn’tnot do what Archer asked. He’d thought about making something up. He could tell her somethingthat wasbad but not as awful as what her uncle had really done, but somehow, he knew that she’d know he was lying, and then she wouldn’t trust him anymore because he lied to her. Son of ab…!
“Your uncle works with a variety of people, many of whom are not very nice. In particular, he works with several dictators. He doesn’t seem to care about their politics or what they do to their people. He uses them to make money. He sells them whatever they want and takes a healthy kickback. We know he’sactuallymade a few arms deals. He’s also helped provide weapons to some of the tribal leaders in Africa. He’s supplying guns to these warlords who then put the weapons in the hands of children. And he made a lot of money doing it.
“He’s also been known to broker deals between the cartels and some of these tribal leaders. It’s how he gets his money, Vic, he’sa deal maker.Ifsome head of stateneedssomethingthat’shard to track down or tricky to buy?He can get it for them at an exorbitant cost. Lately, though, he hasn’t been making money. We’re not sure what he’s living on because heis livingway above his means. And that’s another thing I need you to help me get into…his financials.”
Ryker stopped speaking. All the color had left Vic’s faceandshe blinked rapidly.
“I can’t... But that...Holy shit.”Vic rested her head on the counter“Areyou sure?”she asked, her voice trembling.
“I’m so sorry, Vic, butyes,I’m sure.”The truth hurt and itwas killingVic.He wanted to take her in his arms, rub her back,tellher everything would beokay. But he wouldn’t lie to her. It wouldn’t beokay,because if Ryker had his way, Austin Davis would be dead. The man was scumandthe way he treated Vic just solidified that in Ryker’s mind.
“But how can you be sure?I mean,how do you know for absolute certainty that he did it and not like someone in his office or someone used his name…or…I don’t know.”
“Because I work for Archer Gray, and Archer knows everything. I think Archer even helped to make some of those arrangements.”He jammed his hands in his pockets. Nausea flooded his stomach.Thiswas so much harder than he’d thought it would beandhe’d been expecting it to bebad.
“I just can’t believe it.”Vic straightened and then, like a balloon losing air, slumped against the fridge.“And now you want me to break in and look at his financialstoo? I mean, Jesus, Ryker, anything else you want me to do while I’m there? Do you want me to kill somebody while I’m at it?”
Ryker dropped his head and foughtthe urgeto go over and wrap his arms around Vic. If he did that, his resistance wouldover.He’dspend the rest of the night in bed, making Vic forget everything but him. He wanted that so badly it was a physical pain in his gut. But he couldn’t do it. Giving in to his desire would make his job much harder. The closer he got to Vic, the more difficult it was to stay objective.If he lost objectivity, he’d get sloppyandifthat happened, people could die.He also owed Archer. Archer Gray had pulled him out of a hole he’d dug for himself and given him purpose when he didn’t think that was possible. Archer had saved his life, and Ryker always paid his debts.”
It was time to kill any feeling Vic might have for him. He wasprettysure she still wanted him, but he needed to nip this attraction in the bud. Nothing could interfere with this mission.“I don’t want you to kill anyone. That’s my job.”She had to know the truth. It would stop her from looking at him with those eyes. The only way out for him was to squash the look in her eyes that begged for reassurance, pleaded for him to hold her, and lie to her that monsters didn’t exist. They did, and he was one of them.
Vic’s cheeks paled. She stared at him.“I can’t fucking believe this is happening.”Vic rubbed her temples. Suddenly, she stopped and met his gaze.“You said he used to make money from selling… things. What does that mean? What’s he doing now?”
“It means we know how he used to get his money, butin the last eightmonthshe hasn’t made any new deals.At least, not that we can find. His lifestyle is still lavishandhe’s spending ita lotfaster than he’s making it. A senator’s salary isn’t enough to afford his luxuries. So, where the hell is the money coming from? And considering his past lucrative deals, we need to know what he’s up to.Thisis why it’s so important. We need to know what your uncle has planned because whatever it is, it’s got Archer Gray scaredandnothing scares him.”
“If Archer fucking Gray is so fabulous and so connectedwhycan’t he find out what my uncle is doing?”
“He’s trying, Vic, and that’s why he’s scared. He hasn’t found anything, which meanssomeone knowshe’s looking. Someone out there has the power to hide everythingforyour uncle.Davis is a smart manandhe’swell connected, but he doesn’t have that kind of juice.Not even close.So, someone else is doing it for him and we need to know who, and we need to know whatthey’recovering up.We’ve been all through his regularfinancials,upside down and backwards. They don’t showjack. But there’s money coming in. Vic. A lot of it. We need to know why andwhat’s he going touse it for?”
“How am I supposed to find out anything? You want me to break into his laptop, too?”
“No. I want you to help me search his home office. If there’s going to be anything anywhere, it’s going to be there. Because if you notice, he never leaves me alone in that room. You and Armstrong are the only two allowed alone in that room.
“Does that mean Floyd is in on it too?”
Ryker hesitated forsecond.“He’s in on it.”Noneed to go into how he knew that. It wasn’t because Davis let him in the office on his own. It was because he knew about the false attempt on Davis’s life.“We’re digging deeper on him. With any luck, we’ll find something that either tells us what’s going on or it’ll be something that we can use to blackmail him. Either way, we’ll get answers, but it’s taking toomuch time.”
“You talk about blackmail like it’s buying a jug of milk at the store. Is this what you do all the time? Blackmail people? Do you kidnap peopletoo? How about murders?”
“I think I’ve told you enough today, Vic.”Rykerwasn’t gettinginto any more details. Just relaying theinfoto Vic was too painful for him.He was destroying the little respect she had for him. He wasn’t going to stand there and tell her more. She was already showing her disdain for him. Mission accomplished. She didn’t look at him with lust in her eyes anymore. It looked a lot more like hatred.
Vic put her hands on her hips and snarled.“Seriously, what the hell do you think I’m going to be able to do?”
“I think once we get into Tracy’s laptop, we know what’s going on.Then, tomorrow night, when he’s at Congressman Harris’s barbecue, you and I can search his office. I’ll have Tony and Vince take him andmake sureLazlo is out of the building as well.”
“I think you’re wrong,”Vic stated firmly.
Ryker’s stomach dropped to his knees. He didn’t think he had it in him to fight with her again about the type of man her uncle was.If that’s where she was going with her ‘I think you’re wrong’ statementthenhe was going tohave to shut her down, big time.He was going to have to get seriously harsh. He clamped his jaw shut and crossed his arms over his chest.
Vic continued,“I don’t think he’d keep anything like that in his office. My uncle is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. Even in a safe, he wouldn’t trust it. If he kept something at the house, he’d hide it in his bedroom. That’s the only room he feels totally in command of. He always complains there are too many people in and out of his office. His bedroom is his sanctuary, or at least that’s what he claims.”She paused for a moment and cocked her head.“But there is another place.”
Ryker immediately bit back an oath. Why hadn’t he thought of the bedroom? He knew that’s where the papers on Buffalo Ridge were. It should have dawned on him as the logical spot for anything else. Wait, what had she just said?“What do you mean another place?”
“My uncle disappears sometimes. He hasn’t done it since you started, but you’ve only been here a week.Occasionally, he disappears,justgoes offradar.Lazlo is the only one who goes with him. Lazlo knows where he goes. And it’s not to some mistress, although I’m sure he has a few of thoseaccordingto Daisy. Come to think of it,”she frowned,“I’m sure Marilee knows about his mistresses too. It never struck me as a love match between them, more of a political alignment.”She shook her head.“Anyway, he meets the mistresses at night when he claims to have a headache and leaves some political function early.”
“Lazlo goes with your uncle all the time? How long are they gone for?And how do you know they’re going to somesort ofplace and not to meet someone?”
“I don’t really. I don’t knowfor surehe’snot meeting someone, but I do know whenhegoes because my uncle has a tell.He gets this furtive look andhecarries this black leathersatchelthat’snot his normal briefcase whenhe’s leavingthe office.When hegets back, he’s gripping the satchel like his life depends on it. His knuckles are white the entire time. So, I know he’s going somewhere and picking something up, something important to him.”
Ryker ran a hand through his hair. How was he going to figure this one out? What was he picking up that was so important?“Is there any pattern to it? Have you noticed he always disappears on a certain day or at a certain timeorhow many times a month? I need something to go on.”
Vic shook her head.“I haven’t noticed any pattern. I only notice that he’s doing it because he looksso obviouslysuspicious.”
Ryker tapped the wall behind him.“Okay, think back to when you noticed him leaving last time. What time of day was it? And do you remember anything else about that day?”
Vic closed her eyes and let out a long breath.“It’s always mid-afternoon, like after lunchbutnot toward the end of the day, so probably between two and four p.m.?”She opened her eyes.“The last time he went was the Tuesday before you started. I remember because I wason my wayto talk to him about a brief he wanted me to write. His phone rang, and he said it was an emergency and he needed itright away. I worked through lunchandwhen I went to give it to him, he brushed me off and sent me out of his office. Two minutes later, he came out with hissatchel,and Lazlo, and they left.”Vic met Ryker’s gaze.“I think he always goes Tuesdays,and I think ithappens every two to three weeks.”
Ryker’s instincts prickled.Thiswas a string he could pull.His gut saidthis was the thing thatwould lead him somewhere good.“You think he’ll be going this Tuesday, as in tomorrow?”
Vic shrugged.“Probably. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’ll be tomorrow.”
That didn’t leave Ryker awholelot of time to figure out whatthe hellwas going on.Theydefinitelyhad to hit the office tomorrow and sneak a look at Tracy’s computer. He also might need help tracking Davis without Lazlo noticing. He would be on high alert. He made a mental note to call Archer and request backup.
Things were finally getting interesting. He mightactuallymake progress. He glanced at Vic. She didn’t meet his gaze.Toobad itcosthim the respect of someone whose opinion hevalued.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll be here early to pick you up.”He moved over to stand in front of her.“Do not leave here without me.”He meant it as a warning.He wouldn’t tolerate her taking anykind ofrisk.Even if he knew no one was out to get her, he wouldn’t take chances with her life. He wouldn’t put anything past Davis.
She snorted and rolled her eyes.“Whatever,”she said and folded her arms across her chest.“I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to order me around, too.”She glared at him.“You’re making me do shit I don’t want to do as it is. I hate you for it.”
The words cut him deeply.Heradmission shouldn’t matter to him. He was used to people hating him. But not Vic. It bothered him way too much that Vic hated him. It hurt. He reached out and pushed her back against her fridge, and then he kissed her hard. She resisted for a second and then melted into him. She returned his kiss, and as their tongues danced, he knew he’d made a mistake. He didn’t have the willpower to leave. His hands cupped her ass and brought her against his hard-on. He needed to be inside her. To hear her scream his name as she came. He deepened the kiss as she ground against him.
His cell went off, jolting him back to reality. His chest heaved as he stepped back and pulled out his cell.“I’ll be here bright and early, Vic. Be ready.”He turned and left the apartment as he answered his cell.“Sterling.”
“Youokay, man? You sound funny,”Cash commented.
Ryker leaned against the back of the elevator.“It’s been an interesting day.”