Chapter 8 #2
“Good. Let’s do this.” Owen turned toward the door and waited for both Asher and Sam to be out of sight before he could get his feet to move.
He needed answers. He needed the truth. And he needed to forget about Mexico.
“You have enough hardware here to spy on the entire Eastern seaboard,” Asher mused while eying all of the turned-off screens and tech inside Javier’s apartment.
“I work for the FBI. Of course, I have a lot of equipment.” Javier swerved his attention back to Sam as he handed her the envelope.
“Since when do Feds let you bring your work home with you?” Asher pointed a finger at him. “You’re a video-game addict, aren’t you?”
Owen eyed Asher and lightly shook his head, warning him to leave the guy alone. Asher wasn’t the biggest fan of the government with the exception of the military. He’d never liked the alphabet soup of agencies, and Asher hadn’t exactly been candid as to why. Owen wasn’t itching to ask, either.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.” Javier pointed to the envelope in her hand. “I’ve been at the office nonstop, working some big case these last few days.”
“Oh?” Owen wondered if Javier had been commissioned to help track down their missing people. Handlin had mentioned the FBI was working the case.
“Who’d you say you are again?” Javier asked, a threat of distrust in his tone.
“We didn’t say.” Owen’s mouth tightened. He didn’t like the guy for some reason, and when Javier turned to press his hand to Sam’s shoulder and lean in toward her, he knew why.
The guy had a thing for her, didn’t he?
“If you need anything, I’m here for you,” Javier said.
“Thanks.” She smiled, and even though he didn’t know her well, it looked forced. “Please don’t tell anyone about this picture. Okay?”
“Of course not.”
“That’s not a request, just so we’re clear.” Asher’s voice had become low and gravelly.
“I don’t take orders from you.” Javier turned Asher’s direction. “But I’ll keep this thing under wraps for Sam.”
Owen wanted to give him a few more reasons to shut his mouth about the image, but what could he say? He couldn’t expose the truth of who he was; he’d leave that up to Handlin to deal with later.
Javier refocused on Sam. “Maybe, when my caseload is a little lighter, we can get a drink?”
“Sure,” she quickly said. “But we should really get going. Thanks again.”
He stole one last look at Javier, then he tipped his head goodbye and followed both Asher and Sam out the door.
“Well, that was awkward,” Asher said once he was behind the wheel of the SUV.
“Why was it awkward?” she asked, and Owen resisted the impulse to look back at her; he kept his eyes pinned to the envelope in hand.
“Well, your boy Javier looks like he still has it bad for you. You two used to hook up, huh?”
This elicited a cough from Sam, and it had Owen glaring at him. “What the hell, man?”
Asher gave an innocent shrug. “Calling it like I see it.”
“And my sex life is none of your business,” she snapped.
Owen sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it, either. The way her FBI pal had been looking at her, it was obvious Javier had a thing for her.
“I’m surprised Javier works for the government. I expected someone a little stiffer, without all the tatts,” Asher said.
“And what do you do?” she asked. “Have you looked at yourself?”
Asher looked up, probably catching her eyes in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure as hell not government.”
Well, technically speaking, they kind of were, but he wasn’t about to call Asher on that with Sam in the car.
His racing thoughts came to a halt at the sound of his ringing phone. “It’s Jess,” he announced. “Maybe she has news.”
“Did she go to my place already?” Sam asked.
“Maybe.” He brought the phone to his ear. “Hey, Jess.”
“I’m still at Sam’s,” Jess said straight away. “And you’re not going to like what you hear.”
The damn woman always built up the suspense, and it drove him nuts. “And?”
“We found a small dime-sized bug in her living room smoke detector.”
“Shit.” He dropped his gaze to the envelope and then hurried to open it. “If someone was listening, then it’s possible—” His heart slowed at the sight of the correct photo.
“If this guy was listening to your conversation last night, he’d also know Sam made copies, so it wouldn’t matter if you retrieved the original one he sent her or not.”
Owen nodded in agreement, his heartbeat slowing back to its normal pace. “Well, did you learn anything based on the bug that was used?”
“It’s an American-made device and not one you can exactly buy on eBay,” she answered.
“Which tells us what?” Owen asked.
“What’s going on?” Sam asked from behind.
He pivoted to face her briefly and mouthed, “One sec.”
She nodded and sat back into her seat.
“There’s not a serial ID on the bug, but there’s a batch number. I might be able to pinpoint where this particular batch was sold. These bugs are normally sold in bulk. I should know since we’ve made similar purchases for Scott & Scott.”
“Surprised it’s American. Figured it’d be Russian.”
“Yeah, it does throw us a bit of a curveball based on the phone call she got.” The line became quiet for a moment. “But there’s more I need to tell you.”
His stomach tensed. “What?”
The line was silent for a moment, and he knew the blow would be heavy and hard. “Someone was watching her over a secure camera feed. The camera was positioned in the ceiling vent in her bedroom.”
He hung his head, not wanting to tell Sam the news. He couldn’t imagine how she’d feel to know someone had been watching her, in her bedroom, no less.
He pivoted to face her, trying to steady the angry pound of his heart before he spoke. “When was the last time the government did a sweep of your home and office?” Given her line of work, he assumed there’d be standard-issue checks to prevent intel leaks.
“They checked my apartment and office two weeks ago.”
“We’re looking at a two-week window then,” he told Jess.
“Camera may not have popped up on their radar, though.” She hissed through the line. “I’ll do my best to track the feed, but for now, why don’t you head back to the hotel and wait for news from Handlin. I’m also bringing her laptop with me.”
“Right. Okay.”
“Can you get her password?”
“Jess wants to check out your computer. What’s your code?” He met Sam’s eyes, and her browns softened.
“Rose 2008.”
He thought about the tattoo on the inside of her arm. 2008, the year Brad and Jason had died. Now he knew her ink had to do with the loss of her fiancé, which wasn’t terribly surprising, but back in Mexico, he’d just assumed she liked the flower.
He faced forward with a tightness in his chest and repeated the password.
“Luke checked out Handlin’s home, and no one was there,” Jess announced.
Owen clamped down on his back teeth then a thought came to mind. “Check the hospitals.”
“What?”
“All that coughing yesterday. Smelled like he’d been in a hospital recently.”
“Right,” Jess said, her tone softening as if she was angry she hadn’t thought of the idea herself. “Okay. I’ll be in touch.” She ended the call.
“What’s going on?” Sam asked after he’d lowered the phone from his ear. She wrapped a hand over the top of his seat, her fingers skirting his shoulder.
How could he tell her what he’d learned without making her skin crawl? “They found a bug in your smoke detector.”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“But they also discovered a camera in your bedroom.”
She scooted back onto her seat and cupped her mouth, her long lashes dropping down.
“I’m sorry.” He wasn’t sure what else to say on that matter, so he hoped to redirect her focus. “We should have enough to go on to try and figure out who the hell has been keeping tabs on you.”
“Oh, God.”
He patted the envelope against his thigh. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise.”
“What about my parents? Shouldn’t I tell them now?”
Asher looked to Owen, his gaze hardening, and neither of them knew what the hell to say.