Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“You got laid, didn’t ya, brother?” A.J. slapped Wyatt on the back as they stood inside the kitchen of Harper’s hotel suite.
“Why are you here instead of watching Gwen?”
Worrying about Gwen and his anger toward Felix-the-Arsehole-Ward packed a heavy punch to his gut.
A.J. pressed his fingertips to his eyes before stifling a yawn.
“Roman swapped places with me around five so I could get a few hours of rack time.” He elbowed him in the side.
“Gwen’s still in her room. Harper hacked the hotel surveillance cams, so we also have a direct line of sight to her door, which thank the stars above, was close to the elevators where there’s a cam. ”
His shoulders sagged with relief, but he knew Harper had news, and whatever it was might give him heart palpitations.
“And the rest of the team is still in position?”
“Yup.”
He wanted to feel guilty he’d been having sex while his team was on watch to keep his daughter safe and eyes on their targets.
But when he glimpsed Natasha standing in the living room wearing jeans, a white long-sleeve top, her hair still wet and pulled into a ponytail, he could barely remember to breathe, let alone feel guilty about how he’d spent his night.
“So, I need details, because I haven’t gotten laid in like six months, and—”
“What, are we sorority sisters?” He side-eyed A.J. “Your lack of sex have anything to do with a certain redhead FBI agent you’re holding out for?”
Wyatt had noticed Natasha drank her coffee black like him, so he filled two paper cups with the stuff, hoping it miraculously tasted better today than yesterday.
A.J. closed his eyes, and the dreamy smile on his face was a clear indication he was remembering the agent he claimed to fall in love at first sight with last year when working the attempted assassination case against Bravo Five’s father.
“Damn, brother, I’d stay celibate for another year if I knew she was the light at the end of this dark, sexless tunnel, but who knows if I’ll ever see her again.”
“There are these things called phones. You could call her.” Wyatt smirked as A.J.’s eyes flashed open.
“Nice try on distracting me.” The abrupt slap on Wyatt’s back nearly caused him to spit out his coffee.
And now A.J. was the one quickly changing gears, not prepared to talk about his own love life.
“You deserve this”—A.J. waved a hand in front of Wyatt—“adorable, doe-eyed look you got on your face, especially with what you’re going through.”
I’m a father. His thoughts suddenly whiplashed, and he was back to being screwed up in the head, wondering what to do about Gwen.
She was in danger, but aside from holding her hostage, which he was seriously considering, he didn’t know what to say without spooking her. He couldn’t lead with I’m your dad, or I work for the Commander in Chief of the United States of America, and you need to do as I say.
“For real, though, how are you doing? We haven’t had a second to talk since you dropped the daughter thing on us.
” A.J. crossed his arms and pinned his back to the small counter off to his left.
“Lettuce,” he grumbled, reminding Wyatt of his flimsy excuse for looking green around the gills back in New York after he’d gotten off the phone with Charlotte.
Speaking of Charlotte—he should call her, right?
“You understand that if Felix ever hurts Gwen, or takes advantage of her in any way, he dies?”
“Damn right,” A.J. said with a nod, and Wyatt was grateful they were on the same page.
“You boys done gossiping in there?” Harper called out. “I have Jess on a secure web call.”
Wyatt followed A.J. out of the kitchen and into their temporary command center. Natasha whispered a quick Thanks when he handed her the coffee, and he returned her gratitude with a smile.
“I, uh, didn’t ask before, but how far along are you?” Natasha’s gaze was on the screen as she sipped her coffee.
“Six months, but with twins, I’m hoping to make it to thirty-six weeks before they make their debut.” Jessica set her hand on top of her abdomen. “My other half, Asher, would’ve popped in to say hi, but he’s packing.”
Wyatt gripped the back of Harper’s chair. “Where’s he going?”
“Grand Cayman,” Jessica answered.
“Aw hell no.” A.J. purposefully stretched his words out for added emphasis. “We’re up here in the cold, and he’s gonna go catch some rays.”
“We tracked the Twitter hack,” Harper announced, ignoring A.J.’s whining. “The original IP was traced to the convention center, but he pinged it from there to Grand Cayman, and we’re thinking it’s because he wants us to go there.”
A.J. stood next to Wyatt. “And we’re going to blindly follow this asshole?”
“This is all part of his new game. Another clue.” Natasha turned and set her eyes on the windows where the curtains were drawn tight. “We need to see what he wants.”
“It’s probably to find out if you’re working solo on this. Or to get you out of here for some reason.” And while A.J. was known for his often wild theories, it was possible he was right on this one.
“I’m sending Knox with Asher. They’ll keep a low profile.” Jessica spoke with confidence, and why wouldn’t she? She’d been running the show with Luke for eight years, and for the most part, they’d always had mission success.
Wyatt followed Natasha’s gaze back toward the screen. “What’s the hotel’s number you traced The Knight to?” she asked Jessica while discarding her coffee on the desk to grab her mobile.
Jessica rattled off the number without asking why and Natasha quickly typed it into her mobile.
“Hi, yes, my assistant made my reservation, and I’m calling to confirm the details,” Natasha said. “Heather Aleo.”
Wyatt set his drink down on the coffee table and stood before her. Did The Knight know her alias?
“No?” Natasha’s eyes connected with his. “Maybe she held the listing under my name, Natasha Chandler.” Another pause. “Okay, great. One night only? Yup. Thank you. And the credit card number you have on file, can you read it back to me to double-check if she gave you hers or mine?”
Harper handed her a notepad and pen.
No way would the hotel actually . . . Wyatt’s thoughts died when Natasha began jotting down the digits. “Yeah, that person needs to be fired,” he said under his breath.
“That’s my assistant’s card. I’ll switch cards when I get in tonight. Thank you.” She ended the call and handed the notepad to Harper. “The number is significant. I’m sure of it.”
“You’re not about to suggest that you go to Grand Cayman instead of our guys, are you?” Wyatt cocked a brow, and a tight knot formed in the pit of his stomach.
“He wants me there. I have to be the one to go.”
“And if he wants you there to kill you?” Jessica asked, reading Wyatt’s thoughts.
“You know that’s not the case.” Natasha checked her G-shock watch, the one her brother had given her. “But it has to be me.”
He reached for her wrist. “Why bring you to Canada, then have you turn around and fly off somewhere?”
“He’s moving his chess pieces, right?” Harper spoke up. “Each move he’s made has been calculated and strategic, and right now, it looks like he wants us to solve a puzzle.”
“Regardless, you can’t go.” Wyatt released her wrist and held a firm stance before her, not ready to back down. “I can’t let you go alone, and I don’t want to leave Gwen.”
Torn between two women. A woman he . . . well, felt something for. And a daughter he just discovered he had.
Whiplash.
He shoved the sleeves of his black shirt to the elbows, and his gaze connected with the ink inside his forearm. A reminder of Arthur tattooed there.
“Go with her.” Jessica’s command pulled his attention back up. “The Knight already knows you’re connected with Natasha. And you know our guys won’t let anything happen to Gwen.”
He swallowed the emotion that had pushed north into his throat.
“You don’t have to do this.” Natasha’s eyes met his, her tone soft. “You don’t need to pick one of us.”
His shoulders slumped. What was he supposed to say to that?
“I can get you on a flight to Miami in an hour, then a connection from there,” Jessica said before he could respond.
“Make it for two.” Wyatt faced A.J.
“I promise you, Gwen will be okay,” A.J. said before he could issue the request.
“Wyatt.” Natasha motioned for him to step aside, but he refused to budge. He didn’t need her talking him down. He did trust his people, and there was no way he’d let Natasha go to that island alone.
“We’re short on time,” Jessica threw out the reminder. “The competition starts tomorrow.”
Is tomorrow already Friday? How the hell had time flown by that fast? “He only has the reservation for tonight, so book us a return ticket tomorrow afternoon.”
“And at this point, there’s probably no need for you to even enter the competition.” Jessica looked toward Harper. “We need your focus on the case. Natasha can withdraw her alias as well.”
“Agreed.” Harper looked to Wyatt a beat later. “And what did we decide about Gwen?”
He clenched his jaw and took a moment to formulate his words.
“We wait to talk to Gwen until I’m back, and we don’t let her go undercover.
We see what she already knows about Felix, then we protect her.
” He wouldn’t flex on this, and he’d fight whoever stood in his way, even if it was his own team.
“We do not use her.” He left off the Am I clear?
, but the words popped silently into the air nevertheless.
“Okay. We’ll figure something out.” Jessica ran her palm over her abdomen with a nod of understanding that probably wouldn’t have come as easily if she weren’t about to become a parent herself.
“I can head to the convention center and keep an eye on things there with the rest of the guys,” A.J. suggested.
“I’ll keep reaching out to MI6 to see if I can get them to open up about what they know. They’ve been close-mouthed so far,” Jessica added. “I might need to call in a favor to Alexa who used to work there. Maybe she can get them to budge.”
“Not Alexa Ryan, right? Well, she’s Alexa Summers now.” Natasha stepped forward, and when Jessica nodded, it was as if the world got a whole hell of a lot smaller.
“We’ve worked together in the past,” Natasha announced. “She, uh, was even a bridesmaid in my wedding.”
Dale . . . if it weren’t for that man leaving Natasha at the altar . . . where would Natasha be now?
Everything had come full circle in some strange way.
“I can call her instead. I’d considered the idea after talking with Jasper, but I’d been on the fence,” Natasha said. “Have you all worked with Alexa before?”
“Not exactly.” Wyatt smiled. “Her husband’s sister is now married to Bravo Four, Liam.”
She blinked a few times as if absorbing the news and their connection to each other. “So, if they’d had an actual wedding with friends and family instead of running off and eloping, I probably would’ve met Emily.”
“You know Emily?” They were getting off track, but he couldn’t believe how connected their lives had been ever since the night of Clara’s wedding, and how the universe kept bringing them back together.
“We haven’t met in person, but Alexa raves about her. And I was happy Alexa finally met someone.” She looked back Harper’s way. “Before I go pack, any chance you pulled anything of use off the club surveillance or that recording Wyatt snagged of Kate and Jasper talking from last night?”
Harper shook her head. “You were right. The recording from the pen was scrambled. Felix or Kate must’ve had countermeasures in place.
” She paused. “But as for the club, now I know why The Knight chose it. It’s probably one of the only clubs in the area with no cameras, and no nearby buildings had surveillance running, either. ”
Natasha cursed under her breath. “If he wanted a place with no cameras, it was because he was there. The Knight could’ve been anyone.”
“More like someone he was worried we’d recognize if we saw him on camera, though,” Harper pointed out.
“Which would officially rule out Jasper as The Knight, right?” A.J. asked. “No reason to avoid cameras if he was hiding in plain sight.”
“We need to figure out who showed up at the club last night while Felix was still there.” Natasha stepped closer to the laptop, eyes set on Jessica. “Check Instagram. All the popular social media sites. Hashtags with the club name. The way people are with selfies these days—”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Harper hissed, clearly disappointed with herself.
“There were cameras. Everyone in that club most likely had a phone, and we can piece them all together and see who was captured in the background. Good thinking.” She pulled her keyboard closer and began typing.
“Your plane leaves in an hour. You should get going.”
Natasha checked her watch. “I’ll call Alexa on a burner before we fly.”
“I guess I better let Asher and Knox know they’re not going on vacation.” Jessica looked to Wyatt. “Be safe. You won’t be able to take a piece with you.”
“Guns are overrated,” Wyatt said, trying to smile even though his stomach was twisted with worry.
“Says the professional sniper.” A.J. rolled his eyes. “But hey”—he grabbed Wyatt’s bicep—“these are all the guns you need, right, Chief?”