Chapter 8 #2
A reminder that he’d be lost without her. All the times he’d asked for favors — had her bust through firewalls or hack codes. More proof that he’d been right.
That he’d never find someone else who understood him on the level Sloane did.
He mulled the thought over as he poured two fresh cups, pausing to watch her work, when she straightened, froze, then started tapping on the keyboard, back rigid, shoulders squared. He crossed the room, snugged up beside her. “Either you found something, or I’ve lost my ability to read people.”
She kept typing, sparing him a quick side eye. “A thread, I just… holy shit.”
“What?”
“Get Buck and Tierney — I’ll get Bodie on a secure link. Avery, too.”
“Sloane—”
“Just get them. Please. This…”
Nick nodded, sent a nine-one-one to Buck. The guy appeared a minute later, sweeping through the main room as if he expected a group of mercenaries to pop out of the shadows. Tierney covered his six, looking as if she might fire at the darkness, regardless.
Buck moved over to them, arched a brow. “Jesus, Colter, don’t scare me like that. I thought I’d missed something.”
Nick snorted. “I said we needed an emergency meeting, not that we were under attack.”
“After what happened at Bodie’s, I’m not underestimating these assholes, again.”
Nick thumbed at Sloane. “Sloane’s found something. She’s setting up a secure link.”
Buck glanced at Sloane, nodded, moving in behind her, Tierney at his side. Nick returned to his seat, waited as Sloane launched some program, bounced the satellite signal through half a dozen other servers.
The main comms screen on the far wall flashed to life, his buddies and Avery filling the space.
Bodie leaned against the wall, shirt on inside out, hair tousled as Rowan sat in the seat in front of him, what was obviously one of Bodie’s t-shirts dwarfing her. “Why do these kinds of meetings always happen at midnight?”
Sloane snorted. “Because I shouldn’t be the only one who isn’t getting any sleep.” She eased back in her chair. “Though, by the looks of it, you two hadn’t quite made it all the way there.”
Bodie raked his fingers through his hair. “Is that why you called? Because usually Nick’s the cockblock.”
Nick coughed. “Don’t blame me because you two can’t keep your hands off each other.”
Bodie shook his head. “The point?”
Sloane sighed. “The point is that I found a connection between Hill and our last mission.”
Nick balked. “Prague? But, we aced that one.” He grunted when she arched a brow.
“Fine, things went a bit sideways, but we kept Kessler breathing — got him and his files safely back to Virginia. Last I heard the Feds had relocated him — had involved the Marshals, though I don’t think he’s been officially put into WITSEC, yet. ”
“Which is the problem.” Sloane tapped some keys, flashed a bunch of documents on the screen. “Remember that company Kessler was turning evidence on?”
Nick nodded. “Weird name. Armatus Logistics.”
“Looks like Armatus is in the end stages of a multimillion-dollar merger. All that’s left is a security audit on all their past acquisitions and sales.”
“Wasn’t Kessler involved in laundering weapons for them?”
“Through government contracts.”
“Shit. No…”
“Turns out Hill’s shell company, Synergenics — the one I made him for a joint Homeland Security sting operation that he was supposed to shut down — is listed as receiving consulting fees.
And Hill, himself, has signed off on the Agency’s security clearance for Armatus for the past five years.
Long before Kessler decided to save his own ass. ”
Nick groaned. “So, if this audit goes through, they’ll find Hill’s involvement.”
“And the bastard can’t lie his way out when there’re living witnesses.”
Avery cursed. “So, the burn notice really is just a smokescreen, and this directive seven is him cleaning up before the audit hits daylight.”
Bodie tapped his chin. “Doesn’t that mean that this Kessler guy’s on the list, too?”
Sloane sighed, looking more exhausted by the second.
“His bounty went live the same time as ours. The only plus is that Hill wasn’t involved in the relocation process.
Doesn’t know where the Feds sent Kessler, and it’s not the kind of intel he can research without setting off a bunch of warning bells. ”
Dalton stepped forward. “So, you’re saying we need to find Kessler before any of these mercenaries do.”
“About that…” Sloane glanced over at Nick, and he knew she’d saved the worst news for last. “Seems all three contracts were picked up by the same primary asset. Not that anyone can’t cash in on it, but once the contract has been accepted, all the important information is pushed to their secure server.
Everyone else has to go strictly on what’s included in the posting. ”
Dalton crossed his arms, looked eerily intimidating. “This asset got a handle?”
“He goes by the Reaper.”
“Is it just me, or does that sound awfully professional? As in a former-tier one level player who went dark side.”
Tierney broke away from Buck, shifted in next to Sloane on the other side. “Can you show me his profile on the ledger forum?”
Sloane tapped some keys, launched it onto the screen. “The guy claims he’s got a perfect record.”
Tierney ran her finger across the monitor before huffing. “Damn.”
Buck joined them. “You know this guy?”
Tierney shook her head. “Not personally, but I’ve seen that handle on an Interpol red-brief.
Bastard’s former SAS. Nasty piece of work.
Enjoys the process, if you know what I mean.
He was involved in a series of impossible disappearances a few years back in Belgrade.
” She brushed her hair off her face. “And yeah, as far as I know, he’s never failed. ”
She lifted her fist, bit at her thumbnail before Buck placed a reassuring palm on the small of her back.
She glanced at him, closed her eyes, then shoved her hand to her side.
“It’ll take several hours, but I’ve got a friend who’s still on loan to Interpol.
She worked the Belgrade cases. I’ll call — have her send over everything they have him without going through any official channels.
The last thing we want is someone alerting this animal that we’re looking into him.
Because if Hill hired this guy, he’s already here. ”
Avery leaned forward. “And I’ll dig into Kessler. If my people or the U.S. Marshals relocated this guy, I’ll find out where.”
Bodie nodded. “Sounds like we have a plan. We’ll keep running interference on this end.
Once we’ve got a lead on either this Reaper asshole or Kessler’s whereabouts, we’ll reconvene.
Until then, hang tight.” He leaned forward, looked as if he was going to disconnect before he paused.
“And Sloane, get some sleep. You look almost as bad as Nick.”
He disconnected, the room falling into a heavy silence, save for the rain battering the windows.
Tierney stepped back, arms immediately wrapping around her waist. “I’ve got an encrypted satellite for other emergencies. I’ll use it, just to be safe.”
Nick moved in front before she could dart out of the room. “Are you sure it’s safe for you to contact someone in Interpol? Because I’m pretty sure you said they all still think you’re dead.”
Tierney bit at her bottom lip for a moment. “It’s a risk, but… You’re both worth it.”
“And your friend?”
“Would die before giving me up.” She dodged around him. “I’ll let you know once I have the intel. Get some rest. Bodie’s right. You both look like hell.”
She slipped out of the room, Buck ambling behind, mumbling he’d watch the perimeter. Give them both a chance to fully disengage.
Nick waited until they’d disappeared down one of the corridors before reaching for Sloane’s hand. “C’mon. You’ve done your part.”
Sloane huffed. “There’s always more to uncover.”
“And it can wait until morning. You heard Bodie and Tierney. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
She stood, moved in close. “That’s not what they said.”
“Only because they were being nice.” He motioned toward their room. “Sleep.”
Sloane stared up at him, looking like she had the other night in his room — before the sky had started falling. Only now, he knew exactly how she tasted. How warm her skin felt against his palm.
How desperate she’d made him.
She tilted her head, then headed off, hands shaking from the fatigue, shoulders still bearing the weight of the mission. He settled in behind her, ready to catch her if she suddenly tanked to one side or tripped over her own feet.
The lighthouse groaned against the gusting wind, the waves still crashing against the rocks as Sloane slipped into the room, waited for Nick to step through, shut the curtains, and flick on the small lamp on the nightstand, before closing the door behind her.
She leaned against the metal, exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath since he’d sent her that ECHO message. “See? Made it here in one piece.”
He walked back over to her, palmed the wall beside her head. “Only because you’re incredibly stubborn.”
“Guess that’s something we have in common.”
“Careful, sweetheart. That almost sounds like a compliment.”
She smiled at the endearment — the one that had slipped free a couple times over the past few days. “Your leg seems better.”
“High praise coming from you. Generally, you just tell me I look like shit.”
“That’s because you’re usually bleeding.” She made a point of sweeping her gaze the length of him. “The lack of bandages is a good look. In fact, your buddies are right. Raven’s Cliff looks great on you.”
He leaned in closer, drinking in the hint of roses on her skin. How she inhaled, held it, the sexual tension practically arcing between them. “It’s not the town that’s making me smile.”
She swallowed, hard, her chest heaving, her pulse fluttering wildly beneath her skin. “Nick…”
“That night in my apartment. You said this move could save us both. I’m already grasping that life vest. The question is… Are you ready to take the plunge?”