Chapter 19
19
ETHAN
We finally had an address for a house, but it was still as if we were searching for a ghost. This assignment was starting to take its toll on both of us. The not knowing and dead ends we kept hitting were frustrating me. Not to mention, I was spending every moment of every day with Mila. The only reprieve I got was when I slept, which wasn’t often, or when I was in the shower. I was learning to take long showers just to have a break. We were moving to a different hotel on Saturday, and Kyle assured us that the new hotel room had two double beds. That would hopefully give me a chance to sleep more comfortably. On the other hand, Mila seemed unfazed by how much time we’d spent together. If anything, she acted as if she was enjoying it. But then again, she wasn’t attracted to me, and I’d never been this attracted to someone who didn’t feel the same, which pissed me off.
Mila slid into the car and closed the passenger door. She’d gotten out of the car a minute ago, and as soon as she opened the back door, I knew she was searching for a snack. I wasn’t surprised when she held out a chocolate candy bar and smiled when I shook my head.
Raising an eyebrow, I met her stare. “You have a problem.”
She giggled. “I know. I think it’s because I didn’t eat sweets much growing up since my dad didn’t like chocolate, so I went a little wild once I left for college.”
“Eating chocolate in college was your idea of going wild?”
She shrugged. “I knew what I wanted and what I had to do to get there, so I wasn’t messing that up. But I could eat chocolate and all kinds of bad things without any real consequence. Except that I had to work out more, but I like working out, so that wasn’t punishment.”
I took a drink from the travel mug I’d filled with iced tea and watched the house that at one time belonged to Martin Sullivan and his family.
“You see anything?”
“Not yet,” I replied. “If this is a bust, I think it's time to accept the fact that even though the house is here, Kevin Samson may not be.”
“Well, he’s not in North Carolina anymore, so where the hell is he?”
“Layin’ low would be my guess.”
“I have a bad feeling we’re running out of time,” she said between bites of her chocolate bar. “Striker called me while you were in the shower.”
“What did he say?”
“That he talked to Kyle.” She sighed. “He said if we still have nothing by the end of next weekend, he’s coming here himself, which is going to piss off Brody and Jax. Truthfully, he is a fantastic tracker. He’d probably be able to take the minimal amount of information we have and find Samson.”
I’d worked with Striker but not closely. I never knew what information he had when he was given a case. “He’s that good?”
“Yeah.” She swallowed a bite of chocolate. “Apparently, he was the go-to tracker on his SEAL team, and he never failed.” Her eyebrows rose, and she focused on me. “Ten years. Never failed. That’s a crazy record.”
I nodded and sat back in my seat. That was a crazy record. It made sense why Brody and Jax put up with some of his impulsive shit over the years. They couldn’t afford to lose him; he was too valuable to Elite’s success. Staring into the darkness, we both quietly watched the house, waiting for any movement, and I felt more pressure than I already had. I didn’t want to fail anyone at Elite, but this case felt impossible, and the lack of movement once again at the house we’d been watching the majority of the week only solidified that.
Tapping my fingertips against the steering wheel, I shook my head. “Surveillance sucks.”
Mila laughed. “It can.”
“Is there ever a time it doesn’t?”
“To be honest, I didn’t do it for very long before I was placed undercover, but it sucked every time.”
“How long were you actually in the FBI? I mean, at least two years from what you’ve said.”
“I joined the academy the day I turned twenty-two. I was young, younger than most because of who my dad was. I still had to complete the training programs and wasn’t officially an agent until I turned twenty-three, but I was moved along quickly.”
“Because your dad wanted you on his team?” I asked, but that didn’t seem right, considering all she’d told me about her father’s feelings on women in the FBI.
“God, no.” She snorted. “He actually tried to block it, but at some point, it was no longer up to him. His bosses wanted me there.”
“Why?”
“From what I heard, they watched me in the academy and liked what I was doing. Truthfully, my skill set and the fact that I was a female were enticing to them. Not a lot of female agents want to go undercover. I think they considered that an asset they couldn’t wait for.” She paused, but before I could ask more, she continued. “What about you? You told me you came to North Carolina for college but then just found New Hope?”
“Yeah. After I figured out college wasn’t for me, I roamed for a little while, and then one night, armed with my fake ID, I stopped in a bar called Mac’s. That’s where I met Jake Dimarco, who not only told me about Elite but also agreed not to tell the owner, whose name is actually Mac, that I wasn’t twenty-one.”
She smirked. “How did he know that?”
“Not sure it was that hard to figure out once we started talking,” I admitted. “I asked if he could get me an interview at Elite, and he agreed.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Just like that?”
“Yeah. He said he could tell I’d get along well with his brother Brody. I interviewed, but Brody explained they were restructuring and it could take a while to hear back.”
Mila turned in her seat to face me. “What did you do?”
“I went back to Florida, hung out with my sister for a while, worked a few different jobs, and then, out of the blue, Brody called me. I was back in New Hope within two weeks of him calling, and Brody was training me to install security systems.”
“Is that what you interviewed for?”
I huffed out a laugh. “I was willing to do anything but wasn’t qualified for much. I did have some experience with wiring, though, so Brody thought I’d pick up on installing systems fast.”
“How’d you get that experience?”
“I liked wiring bombs when I was younger,” I replied, careful to keep my expression neutral.
When all I heard was silence, I looked over at Mila and laughed when I saw the disbelief on her face.
She slapped my bicep and laughed with me. “I thought you were serious.”
“I could tell.”
She leaned toward me and grinned. “Why do I have the feeling you could actually build a bomb?”
I smirked. “Oh, I definitely could.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Arrogance isn’t attractive.”
“Confidence is,” I retorted.
She shifted in her seat to face me and pulled her leg up, putting her closer. Almost immediately, her scent surrounded me, and just like every time before, I was lost in her. Her green eyes sparkled, and what I once thought was teasing, I now recognized as excitement. The day we’d been in the gym together, the day Beth was taken, I thought she was teasing me. I was sure she’d figured out how I felt about her and was mocking me, but after the last week and working so closely, I knew I was wrong. Her eyes did that whenever she was excited about something, and I’d noticed they’d been doing it more often when we stared at each other for too long. It was beginning to fuel my desire to make her look at me like that. I’d been pretending she didn’t affect me because I knew nothing could happen. She wasn’t interested in men, and I had no reason to believe she wasn’t being honest about that. She was trained to be her alias while undercover, and nothing came between Mila and her assignment. She wanted to prove herself and would stop at nothing to show everyone she belonged on the team.
I had so many valid reasons for putting distance between us when we weren’t in public.
But at this moment, I couldn’t remember any of them.
Or I just didn’t give a shit anymore.
In the end, I would hate myself for playing along, but I just couldn’t find the strength to care.
Her eyes dropped to my lips before sliding back up to stare into mine. “Confidence is only sexy on certain men.”
I tried to think of something clever to say, but as she swayed closer, all I could think about was her body pressed tightly against mine.
“Ethan,” she whispered.
I swallowed hard and lifted my hand to wrap around the side of her neck. Christ, her skin was soft. I wanted to feel her silky, naked skin rubbing against mine while I ran my hands all over her body.
“Yeah,” I replied, my voice hoarse.
“I…” Her eyes slid to the side before widening.
“What?” I asked but was once again distracted when she pressed her cheek against mine.
“He’s here.”
Confused, I shook my head slightly and repeated, “What?”
“Samson.” I held perfectly still while she spoke quietly. “He just parked in the driveway and is walking to the door.” She pulled her head back, leaned her forehead against mine, and whispered, “He’s looking this way. I don’t want him to see me.”
I took a deep breath, forcing my body to settle down, understanding everything she’d just done was to get a better vantage point to see what was happening across the street.
Clearing my throat, I squeezed the side of her neck gently. “He goin’ in?”
She slowly slid her head until she could see over my shoulder again. “Yep, just let himself in.” She smiled and leaned back a little. “He’s here. We finally found him.”
I dropped my hand and nodded slightly. “We can pull around the block. I’ll grab a tracker for his car and walk it back.”
“That’s smart.” She agreed and sat back in her seat. “Drive slowly so I can get a clear picture of his plate.”
I slowed to a crawl while she lifted her phone and took a picture of his license plate. I circled the block and parked before grabbing my bag from the back.
Pulling out everything I needed, I jerked up my chin. “I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” She nodded, but I could feel the energy coming from her. I had to admit I also felt a surge of adrenaline.
I pushed open the door and hopped out, careful to avoid the streetlights when I crossed the street. I only needed to place the tracker under his car and get the hell out. Pausing, I listened for any sounds, but when I heard nothing, I moved quickly along the side of the car and slid the tracker underneath. Grabbing my cell, I pulled up the signal for the tracker, and when I was satisfied that the signal was strong, I quietly backed away from the car. I’d just turned the corner when Mila pulled along the side of the road. She got out and jogged around the car to the passenger side, so I once again slid behind the wheel.
I’d only just closed the door when she spoke. “All good?”
“All good.” I repeated her words back. “You don’t like to drive, do you?”
She laughed. “Not usually, sorry. I grew up in the city, so I’m used to being a passenger. Plus, I think I’m more useful on this side so I can look things up while you drive.”
I pulled through the intersection but saw the smile lingering on her lips when she spoke. “I say we head back to the hotel and call it in.”
“Sounds good,” I agreed.
“Is there a limit on the tracker?”
“We have about twenty-five miles before it’ll get a little glitchy, so as long as he stays put for the night, we’ll be fine.”
“Kyle said the new hotel is about fifteen minutes.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “We should drive there so I can see how my signal holds up. If it’s too far, we’ll have to find a different place.”
She frowned. “If that’s even a possibility.”
“What’s the address of the hotel?”
“Hang on.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through her texts before reading off the address.
I plugged it into the GPS and began following the directions. Just like Kyle said, it wasn’t more than fifteen minutes before we saw it. Pulling into the parking lot, I grabbed my phone and checked the signal. “We’re good. He can even move around a little, and I’ll still know where his car is.”
Mila sighed. “That’s a relief.”
I pulled out of the parking lot and started toward our current hotel, happy we only had two more nights.
“Striker and Beth are going to be relieved.”
I stared through the windshield, but a smile tugged at my lips when I thought of Striker and Beth. “He’s different now. Definitely more relaxed than I ever knew him to be.”
“Beth’s been good for him. I have a feeling he didn’t have great experiences with women in his past, and he just assumed they were all trouble. She’s slowly changing that.”
“You helped too, you know,” I pointed out.
“Me?” Surprise was all I heard in her tone. “How?”
“The way you were with Beth and how determined you were to find her. We all noticed the change in his attitude. That’s because of you.”
I glanced at her and noticed she was smiling softly. “Thank you for saying that.”
“It’s the truth.” I pulled into a parking spot in the lot next to the hotel and turned off the engine. “Why do you look so surprised to hear it?”
“I haven’t worked with many men who value me in the way I’ve been valued at Elite. Nick did when we worked undercover together, but there wasn’t anybody before him. And now at Elite, well, it’s just different. I keep expecting to hear I’m not good enough, smart enough, or fast enough, but all I hear is encouragement.”
“You’re never going to hear that from us,” I said.
She smiled. “I’m starting to believe that.”
“Good, because it’s true.” I gestured toward the hotel. “You ready to go in and make the call?”
“Are you kidding?” She laughed and shoved open her door. “I’ve been waiting to make this call since the day we arrived.”
Some of the tension I’d been carrying left my shoulders when I rounded the car and fell into step beside Mila. Maybe we were finally going to make some progress.