Chapter Eleven
ANDRE FINISHED TYING his tactical boots and stood when his phone signaled an incoming call. He swiped his thumb across the screen. “Marsh.”
“I heard you had some excitement overnight and needed to talk to me,” Zane said.
“You heard right.”
“What happened?”
Andre summarized the events of the night before. “Joe surrendered without a fight.”
“Did you get information from him?”
“I didn’t question him.”
“Really? Don’t keep me in suspense, Marsh. Who did?”
“Riley. Turns out that she’s a CIA-trained interrogator.”
A soft whistle from the communication guru. “Your computer expert has hidden depths.”
“Caught me by surprise.”
“Does it bother you?”
He frowned. “Why should it?”
“She’s an interrogator and didn’t share that information with you.”
“I still have secret depths she hasn’t plumbed, and I haven’t uncovered all her secrets either. That’s the fun part of a relationship. However, I think she’s afraid I’ll reject her for being a skillful interrogator.”
“Will you?”
“Of course not. I’d have to be an idiot to let that jewel of a woman go. To be honest, Riley being dangerous as well as beautiful intrigues me.”
“It’s good to have someone who watches your back. So, did Riley get information from Rutland?”
“Unfortunately, no. He talked plenty but had little information to tell. Joe is enough of a professional hitman that he doesn’t know who his employer is.
The employer paid him half upfront to kidnap Riley.
He tried to sneak up to the cabin with zip ties, duct tape, and a black hood. We used the duct tape and hood on him.”
“There’s irony for you. Was he sent after Riley specifically?”
“He knew her name, Z. I didn’t see a picture of her on him, so I’m not sure Joe knew what she looked like. If he didn’t, Joe could have taken Iona by mistake. That would devastate Artemis and Riley in particular.
“One of my primary concerns is how he knew about the cabin. Someone gave him the address of Rod’s place.
We have to find out who leaked the information and plug the hole.
If we don’t, the cabin will have to come off the safe house list, and I love this place.
I don’t want to lose this cabin as a haven for people who need help. ”
“I don’t think the leak is on our end, but I’ll start the search. What else can I do for you?”
“We need another safe house. Good old Joe won’t be the last assassin to know this address if we don’t uncover the leak fast.”
“Understood. I’ll send you a list of other locations that are available and close.”
“Thanks. Look, I know you have a million other things on your plate, Zane, but we need to find the account set up to pay for the hit on Riley.”
“Agreed. When I find it, what do you want me to do?”
“Drain the money and hold the funds. When we gather enough evidence to convince the cops to arrest Joe and whoever follows him, you can put the money back for the feds to find.”
“Very nice. I like it. What else?”
“Locate a man named Miles Thomas. He’s an ex-con who was released from jail two weeks ago. I want to know where he is.”
“I’ll find him. Who is he?”
“The foster father who walked into Riley’s room one night when she was sixteen and tried to rape her. I want to know where he is and whether he’s looking for Riley.”
“Do you have plans for him?”
“I’m gathering information.” But if Andre could hand out some repayment, he wouldn’t mind at all.
“I’ll find him. Anything else I can do?”
“You have more than enough items on your checklist, Z. If you can run down this information, we’ll owe you dinner at your favorite restaurant.”
Zane laughed. “You’ll get off cheap. My son loves Chuck E. Cheese these days.”
Andre chuckled. “Chuck E. Cheese, it is, then. Thanks, Z.”
“Yep. Later.”
After Zane ended the call, Andre zipped his Go bag and slid it and his equipment bag over his shoulder.
He scanned the room. Too bad they couldn’t have stayed here a few more days.
This home was familiar ground and had top of the line Fortress security measures.
Not too many places would be this perfect for them.
He stepped into the hall and went downstairs to leave his bags near the front door alongside his teammates’ gear. Andre sniffed and followed his nose to the kitchen. “Something smells good in here.”
Iona smiled at him over her shoulder. “Waffles and bacon. Can’t beat the combination of sweet and salty.”
“You’ll get no argument from me. Have you seen Riley?”
She inclined her head toward the patio. “She took her cup of tea outside a few minutes ago.”
Andre poured himself a mug of coffee and opened the back door. He found Riley sitting on an outdoor couch, sipping her tea and watching birds in the trees. “May I join you?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “You never have to ask. I enjoy your company.”
“You say that now. One day I’ll make you angry enough that you’ll want some distance from me.”
“Oh, don’t worry. If you tick me off, I won’t hide it from you.”
Andre loved that she was honest about how she felt. “Good to know. How did you sleep?”
“Well enough to get by for now. Did you talk to Zane?”
“I did. We’ll owe him a lifetime supply of pizza from Chuck E. Cheese if he comes through for us.”
“How did we fall into that trap?” A smile curved her lips.
“Zane is running several searches for us so you don’t have to do it all. When I promised him dinner, Z mentioned his son’s preferred restaurant. His son is crazy about the oversize mouse.”
“Sounds like a fun place to eat.”
“It’s chaotic, noisy, and full of children running wild.” Andre grinned. “It’s amazing.”
“Maybe we should join the Murphys one night.”
“Done. I’ll send him a message and set something up.”
“Because I love Zane’s son and the date at Chuck E. Cheese sounds like fun, you get credit for two dates, Mr. Mann.”
He pumped his fist. “Score.”
“What is Zane researching for us?”
He hesitated. Did he need to tell her about all the searches?
“Just so you know, holding back is not a good plan.” She held up her hand.
“Yes, I know I held back about Miles Thomas. I don’t like to talk about that night.
” Riley turned her head to look at him, her expression somber.
“I planned to tell you, just not right now. I needed to work up to it. After talking about him, I usually have nightmares for weeks.”
He kissed her forehead. “I know.”
She blinked. “How?”
“I know you, and I’ve been on several missions with you since we met. Sometimes you sleep rough as though something is disturbing your dreams.”
They were silent for a few minutes, enjoying the crisp early morning air and the birds hopping from branch to branch, chattering with each other.
Finally, Riley turned to Andre. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“We need to move to another safe house or choose a hotel. Since Rutland knew where to find us, other hitmen will have that information too when Rutland doesn’t contact his employer. We’re not safe here.”
Riley finished her tea. “I love this cabin, plus the area is beautiful and peaceful. I’m sorry that trouble followed me to this slice of paradise.” She waited a beat. “What else is Zane working on for you?”
“He’s searching for the hitman fund. Since these guys don’t work for free, Z will drain the account and hold the money until we have enough proof to convince law enforcement to arrest Joe and his coworkers and the person who hired the assassins.”
Andre silently encouraged Riley to move on to another topic. He did not want to talk about Miles Thomas so soon after she bared her soul to him. Unfortunately, Riley either wouldn’t heed his advice or couldn’t hear his internal voice telling her to move on to a new subject.
“What else, Andre?”
Guess he’d have to suck it up and tell her. He hoped she understood regardless of whether she approved of what he was doing. “You won’t like it.”
“Procrastinating, Mann? Although you’re probably right, the delaying tactics won’t encourage me to like the next search any better. Spill it.”
“I asked Zane to locate Miles Thomas.”
She stared. “Why?”
“We need to know if he’s the one behind the attacks on you.”
“How could he be? Thomas has been in jail for years, and he doesn’t have connections in our world.”
“That you know about. You never know with whom Thomas became acquainted in prison.” Andre set his empty coffee mug aside. “He has an ax to grind with you. After all, you sent him to prison.”
“What’s that saying you and your teammates spout off all the time?” She tapped her chin with her forefinger. “Oh, yeah. It’s something like, ‘The people we arrested put themselves in handcuffs.’ That’s what Thomas did. He put himself in prison because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.”
Andre stilled. He analyzed her words and concluded something he didn’t like. “You told me Thomas didn’t touch you.”
Riley said nothing.
“You lied.”
More silence from his woman.
Andre’s heart broke for her even as his blood heated to the boiling point. Now he had more reasons to track down Miles Thomas and have a private talk with him. “Have you talked to anyone about your experience with Thomas?”
“How could I? I left the Thomas home soon after his wife and son dragged him off of me.”
The heat in his blood increased to the scalding point. “He was on top of you?”
She gave a slight nod.
Andre cupped her chin and tilted her face up to his. “Promise me two things.”
“Depends on what they are.”
“First, if I ever do anything that scares you, tell me right away.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Second, I want you to talk to Marcus Lang about this. He’s the Fortress counselor who helped Rayne and Teagan. Molestation and sexual assault cause repercussions. You have tools to help you cope. Use them.”
Riley watched him for a beat. “Yes.”
Thank God. She needed to talk about her experience with a professional counselor. Although Andre would listen to anything Riley wanted to share, he couldn’t put his emotions on ice. He couldn’t be neutral. Just thinking about Miles Thomas on top of Riley had Andre seeing red.