5. River
CHAPTER FIVE
River
I got to Denver as quickly as I could. Good thing it was summer and the roads were clear. Because the speeds I’d driven from Hartley to Colorado’s capital city were nowhere near advisable.
What Sheriff Owen didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
But by the time I talked my way into Charlie’s building, claiming to be a tech for the power company there for an urgent repair, she was gone. Her apartment was dark, and the air had that silent chill that falls when someone’s been absent for hours. She’d packed a bag and taken her pet with her too.
The video call with Charlie hadn’t gone well. Yet I’d hoped she would stick around long enough for me to change her mind.
“Where’d you go, Charlie?” I said to her empty condo. “Who did you run to? Who is it that you trust to protect you?” Because it sure wasn’t me.
Granted, maybe the pop-up window on her laptop and the anonymous phone calls had been a little dramatic. But it had gotten her to answer. Would it have been better to show up unannounced, no warning? I couldn’t imagine that would’ve gone well either.
I was trying to save her life here. So far, I’d only succeeded in pissing her off.
Charlie was right about one thing. I could’ve gotten in touch before now, but I’d chosen not to. That was my fault. What she didn’t understand at all was why .
I went back to my car, ditching my disguise along the way, and fired up my ToughBook. A few minutes later, I barked a laugh.
She really had called the FBI. Specifically, a Special Agent Brynn Somerton.
The tightness in my shoulders relaxed several degrees. Brynn was a woman. Did I have a right to care about that fact? Nope.
Did I care anyway? Obvious answer.
Soon, I’d navigated to a quiet, residential neighborhood a few miles west of downtown.
I drove around the block a couple of times first, getting the lay of the land. Then I parked in a secluded spot and set out on foot. Most of the nearby houses were dark. It was the middle of the night. Yet the lights were still on at the Somerton residence.
After I’d assured myself that the house wasn’t being watched by anyone else, I approached for a better look.
Agent Somerton’s home was a two-story stately brick with columns supporting the porch. It also had a sign out front, proclaiming which security system she used. And it was likely that alarm system was connected to a smart-home device. A weakness I could exploit.
After a bit more work on my phone, I was in. Virtually speaking.
Welcome home, Brynn , the app proclaimed in a banner along the top of my screen .
Agent Somerton had set the alarm system. There were ways to get around that—what I was doing now was proof—but at least it was some element of protection. The system also gave me a look at what was going on inside. I could check the interior temperature, Brynn’s favorite music to stream, even her grocery list.
There were no cameras inside the house, but from the activity on the motion detectors, I figured there were at least two people awake. Odd given the late hour. What were they up to?
They split up, one going toward the back of the house, the other to the front.
I glanced up to see the blinds on the front window twitch. I’d been spotted. Not like I’d been doing anything to keep myself concealed. Actually, I’d been wondering how long it would take the FBI agent to catch on to my presence.
Instead of continuing down the street, I turned to stroll up to the porch. The door opened before I had a chance to knock. A tall woman who matched the photos of Agent Somerton stood there, smirking at me.
“I presume you’re River Kwon.”
“You shouldn’t open your door to strange men based solely on assumptions.”
“I know you’ve been casing my house for the last half hour. Gave me a bit of a headache until I got a good look at you. The fact that you match the description Charlotte gave me is the only reason you’re standing upright at the moment.”
I hooked my thumb in my jeans pocket, adopting a casual stance. She had her arms crossed. Equally nonchalant. But we were both assessing the other. I could tell she was armed, and if she was any good, she would know the same about me.
“Can I speak to her?” I asked.
“She left as soon as I realized someone was out here. ”
I held up my phone. “I don’t think so. Your security app didn’t show anyone leaving the house.”
I pointed at the screen. It had a little notification that the alarm was now off, and someone had opened the front door, but nothing else.
Her smirk turned into a scowl. “You’re bluffing.”
“Take a look if you want. It’s concerning, actually. I could’ve disabled the entire system. Plus turned on your oven and added weird stuff to your shopping list. Having all this connected?” I tsked and shook my head. “Would’ve expected an FBI agent to know better.”
Brynn stormed down the porch steps and grabbed my phone from my hand. She examined the screen. “What the hell,” she muttered. “I thought Charlotte was exaggerating. My system is supposed to be secure, but you broke in within minutes on a phone? Are you for real?”
I decided to throw her a bone. “All right, I had already hacked into the servers for that particular smart-home device. It’s come in handy more than a few times. I got lucky that it was the brand you had.”
“Still. You’re something, all right.”
It didn’t sound like a compliment, but I said, “Thank you. If show and tell is over, I’d like to speak to Charlotte now please. I made sure no one else was watching the house, but I’d rather not just stand out here and shoot the shit.”
Brynn handed me my phone. “I’m not so sure she wants to see you.”
“That might be the case. But I’d like to hear it directly from Charlie.”
“Nobody calls me that anymore.”
Brynn and I both turned. Charlie stood inside the entryway of the house, shoulder braced against the door frame as she peered out. She’d been hovering just out of sight, listening in .
Despite the dire circumstances that had brought me here, I felt a smile spread across my face. Seeing her in the flesh was nothing like staring at her through a screen. Charlie in real life was unforgettable. Strawberry blond hair, the freckles that dotted her nose. I was glad she hadn’t lost those over the years or covered them up.
She looked… fuck , she looked beautiful.
But since when was that a surprise? Somehow, the longer I went without seeing her, the bigger the impact she’d always had. Didn’t matter if it was five years or a decade. She tended to bring out the extremes in me. The worst. But also, at times, the best.
“You’ll always be Charlie to me.”
Her face pinched with anger. “I didn’t hear from you in years. Then you hack my computer, follow me around town and spy on me and my friend, and you have the nerve to act like you and I are close?”
Charlie’s voice was smoky. Low with indignation. It raked across my skin the way I imagined her fingernails might.
I blinked away that momentary image. “I told you it’s urgent. Your life is in danger, and I couldn’t take that lightly.”
“So you claim, but there’s something called consent.”
I shrugged. I had probably worked for the government for too long, where consent wasn’t a top consideration when it came to intelligence work.
“Can I come in, and we’ll talk about this inside?” As I asked the question, I was already walking up the stairs and in the door. Charlie took a few steps back. Brynn tried to bar her arm in front of me, but that wasn’t going to do a thing to stop me. “At least let me explain.”
The two women exchanged silent words through their eyes. “We should find out what he knows,” Brynn said. “Hear him out at least.”
I decided I liked her .
Charlie sighed and pointed at the living room, which was through an archway. “You have five minutes.”
She picked a seat in the corner, the farthest chair from the others. Which left me on the couch, while Brynn perched on a nearby recliner like she might have to tackle me at a moment’s notice.
“Go ahead,” Charlie said with a wave. “Explain.”
“Any chance we could talk privately?” I asked. “No offense to you, Agent Somerton, but this is highly sensitive.”
Brynn looked ready to agree, but Charlie shook her head. “No. I trust Brynn completely, and she knows everything else so far. Whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of her.”
So that was how it would be. I’d done a quick check on Agent Somerton already, and her name hadn’t pinged any of my databases. I had to make a quick decision. If Charlie trusted her, then I would too.
I rested my elbows on my knees. “I told you this is about Stillwater.”
“Yes.”
“What do you know about them?”
Charlie blinked. “I read the article that Genevieve Blake published on them a couple of months ago. It created a big stir, especially around here given the claims that Stillwater operates in Colorado and the wider Southwest region. They have links to human trafficking, which has been a top concern of mine for a while, but that article spurred me to pursue funding for a new initiative.”
I’d read about the program Charlie’s office had just spearheaded. It would unite several state agencies and work with the federal government to root out traffickers working within Colorado.
“Ms. Blake is a close friend of mine,” I explained. “I’ve been investigating Stillwater myself, along with Genevieve and some confidential sources, for months now. We’ve been monitoring their activity on the dark web. We have evidence Stillwater is paying off a public official with ties to Hart County. We’ve been trying to find out who.”
“That’s why you’ve been in Hartley?”
“Not exactly, no. I was already in Hartley. For other reasons.”
She looked confused, so I kept going. This was a long, twisty story already.
“As part of our investigation, we’ve kept an eye on Stillwater’s online chatter. Yesterday, your name popped up.” That was why Cerberus had contacted me. “Stillwater issued an order to their lieutenants. It’s bare bones, written using internal code words. But it roughly translates to a kill order. A deadline of four days from now. And your name. With a bounty to whichever lieutenant is successful upon confirmation that the job is done.”
In other words, that Charlotte McKinley was dead.
“Shit,” Charlie said hoarsely.
“You’re certain?” Brynn asked. “Why would they pit their lieutenants against one another? That could cause chaos.”
“I don’t know. But it suggests this is urgent from Stillwater’s perspective. For whatever reason, their higher-ups want her gone, and they don’t care how it’s done.”
Charlie wrapped her arms around her middle. “But why me ? Is this about the initiative? I’m hardly the only person trying to fight human trafficking.”
“I don’t know that yet. But I intend to find out.”
“There seems to be a lot you don’t know,” Agent Somerton complained.
She had a point. Even now, Cerberus was trying to uncover more. But now that Stillwater had issued the order and left the details up to its lieutenants, we had no idea how it would go down. My top priority had been reaching Charlie in time, both to warn her and to make arrangements for her safety.
I was only certain of two things. One, that Charlie wasn’t working for Stillwater. Her reactions had convinced me.
And two, that I would never let Stillwater touch her.
“Intel can come later. The most important thing is keeping the lieutenant governor out of sight and protected,” I said.
Charlie glared at me. “Which is why I called Brynn. You can turn over everything you know to her and the FBI, and they’ll look into it. They’ll handle it.”
“I trust the FBI with exactly jack and shit .” My gaze cut to the side, where Brynn was smirking again. “No offense.”
“None taken,” the agent said breezily.
“But I refuse to turn my life inside out unless I can verify what you say is true. I want to know every detail of how you got this information. How you know it’s authentic, and how we can confirm it.”
“There are some things I can’t reveal. This is a time that I just need you to trust me, Charlie.”
She flinched when I used the nickname.
Then she launched up from her seat and grabbed hold of my arm. “I need a word, River. In private.”
“I’ll go willingly. You don’t have to manhandle me.”
She glared, clearly not appreciating my humor. When we reached the kitchen, she poked me in the chest. “Start talking.”
“I didn’t remember you being this violent,” I said.
“Yet I do remember you being exactly this infuriating.” She rubbed her face. “You have to give me some kind of evidence to back this up. I hold a state office. I can’t just go into hiding based on your word. You had to expect there would be questions to answer.” She dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. “And if you got your intel illegally, hacking into who-knows-what, you have no right to expect me to shield you. No fucking right at all.”
“I would never expect you to shield me, Charlie.”
“Quit calling me that,” she hissed.
She turned around and put her hands on the kitchen island. I leaned back against the opposite counter, tucking my hands into my pockets. Because I had the urge to touch her, comfort her, and that wasn’t a good idea.
Emotional attachments tended to lead to poor decision-making, and my actions so far were probably evidence of that.
“I had a strong reaction when I heard Stillwater was targeting you. I didn’t have time to carefully plan this out.”
“Except the part where you hacked my computer.”
“Took all of five minutes. Hardly a challenge.”
She scoffed, looking at me incredulously over her shoulder.
I could admit my behavior had been extreme. Dropping everything to get in touch, then driving into the night to reach her. But there’d been no time to do anything else. Not even to call on the other Protectors, the brothers I would trust with my life. Or with Charlie’s.
I had no regrets.
“Your safety is what matters. And I don’t care what the FBI or the governor or anyone else thinks of my methods. Especially when any of them could be on Stillwater’s payroll.”
“Even Brynn?” she asked sarcastically.
“I don’t think so. But I’ll let you know if my opinion changes.”
“This has always been your problem, River. Even when you’re trying to do the right thing, you’re so damn arrogant about it.”
I shrugged. She wasn’t wrong .
“Let me think about this, okay?” she asked. “It’s after three in the morning. I need sleep and time to process before I make any decisions.”
“All right. If I can stay here.”
“I don’t care what you do. It’s Brynn’s house.” Charlie spun and left the room. My eyes followed her.
After some cajoling, I convinced Brynn to give me the couch. I didn’t plan on sleeping much, but I’d take the opportunity to do some reprogramming on her smart-home system. As a favor to her for helping Charlie.
“Only reason I’m agreeing to this is to keep an eye on you,” Brynn said.
“Either way, I’ll take it.”
I went to my car to grab my go-bag.
Brynn brought out some blankets and a pillow after Charlie had already disappeared into the guest room. She tossed the stack of bed linens at me, and I caught them.
“Anything else you need?” she asked.
“No. I’ve got my things.” I nodded at the duffel at my feet. It held my laptop, chargers and cords, plus other essentials. I called Hartley home at the moment, but I’d barely left anything of value behind in my apartment. My life was streamlined. Easy to pick up and leave.
My weapons, I usually kept on me.
Brynn crossed her arms. “I’m curious.”
“About?”
“Charlotte said you used to be CIA. How did that work, given who your father is? Didn’t your family connections draw attention?”
So she’d done some quick and dirty research on me. Before I’d arrived? Or maybe while I’d been outside grabbing my bag. Not bad. “The Agency recruits all kinds of assets. And my father died years ago. His Wikipedia page would’ve told you that.”
She looked contemplative. “I wonder if you’re still an asset. Maybe the Agency is looking into Stillwater’s activities on American soil.”
I smiled. The Agency’s jurisdiction was strictly limited to outside the US. No investigations on domestic soil. That was the purview of the FBI. “If they were, that would be a big no-no. You can’t expect me to admit it.”
“I guess not. Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“Believe what you want. But I’m not with the Agency anymore. I left for the private sector.”
“Meaning what? Are you a PMC?”
A private military contractor. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Of course not.” She huffed a laugh. Shifted her weight.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to trust me. I don’t completely trust you.”
Brynn’s eyes narrowed on me, and more than ever, I could see the Marine in her. Alpha energy, through and through. I wasn’t a jarhead, but I had to respect it.
“Either you’re still operating for the Agency and running a covert op domestically,” she said, “or you’re a private citizen violating who knows how many laws. Both options are illegal. I could bring you in for questioning.”
“You wouldn’t get anything of use. And you’d be putting Charlie in greater danger.”
“Because you’re her savior? The only one who can keep her safe?”
Hell yes , I wanted to answer. But that was an emotional response. I kept it to myself. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help her, and I’m not limited by superiors telling me to stay in my lane. Doubt you can say the same.”
“The FBI hasn’t even confirmed Stillwater exists. ”
“Which is exactly the problem. Stillwater has influence in the government. At every level. We have no idea how far it extends. But you already suspect that, don’t you? You’re the FBI liaison for Charlie’s initiative to fight human trafficking. You must’ve been asking questions within your office about Stillwater. And you’ve hit a brick wall every time, right?”
Her pensive expression confirmed what I’d said was true. “How do you know that?”
Because it’s happening everywhere we look too , I thought. “My methods don’t matter.”
I appreciated this chance to study her reactions, though. No alarm bells.
I went on. “We both know what you’re going to do. Given the stakes, you’ll let me do my thing simply because Charlie is your friend, and you won’t take the risk of anything happening to her.”
“For all I know, you’re the true threat. What if your investigation into Stillwater made them want to retaliate? And they knew Charlotte had ties to you, so they went after her?”
“Not possible. Stillwater might have stumbled across my real name because of things that’ve happened near Hartley, but there’s no way they’ve connected my online handle. More than that, only a handful of people are aware I know Charlie at all. Most of them our family members.”
“Then this could all be fabricated by you. A way to get access to Charlotte for your own purposes. I don’t see a reason to believe a single thing you say.”
“I would never hurt Charlie.”
Brynn edged closer. An implicit challenge in the way she stood. “From her reaction to you? I would guess that you already have.”
I kept myself impassive. But her words had hit their mark.
Then she leaned back. Her smirk had returned. “It’s a risk letting you stay here in my home, but for Charlotte’s sake, I’m willing to accept it. Just behave yourself. And know that I’ll be watching.”
Brynn spun on her heel and slowly walked toward the hall. Only then did I exhale. And allow myself to consider what she’d said.
I would guess that you already have .