Chapter 21 The Terrifying Truth #2
“Hi, Aunt Valerie, it’s Sydney. I wanted to let you know we missed you at Thanksgiving.”
“How sweet. I’m sorry I missed it too. Did you have a fun day?”
“Oh, yeah, you know, the usual. Too much food, a lot of football, embarrassing stories.”
Her aunt laughed.
“How was your trip out west?” Sydney asked.
“It didn’t happen. Robby had a poker tournament he had to play in, so he bailed on me last minute.”
Sydney’s thoughts flashed to the poor woman Robby was torturing. “You should have spent the holiday with us.”
“It was fine.”
Sydney’s heart broke for her aunt. She had no idea her son had turned into a monster… and now he was gone, by Sydney’s own doing.
“I was just talking to your mom,” Aunt Valerie said. “Before the holiday, Robby told me he was moving back out west.”
“I’m glad we got to see him. It was good to reminisce,” Sydney said. “I’m hoping you can help me. I actually played a little poker with Robby and I owe him money.”
“No, I’m sure he would never take money from you.”
He was ready to take my life.
“I’m going to send it from my bank, but I can’t remember the name of his. Do you know?”
“Umm, yes… Crossroads Financial. It’s an online bank.”
“That’s right,” Sydney lied. “Thanks. I look forward to seeing you at Christmas.”
“Me too. Thanks for checking in, Sydney.”
Sydney hung up. She had the bank, but she didn’t have the hacking skills to get in.
Lucky for me, I know someone who does.
She jumped onto , typed out a message with the deets she and Tank had put together, then outlined a mission for intercepting the women before they boarded.
Only she didn’t send it. Tank was lead. It was his decision what went out and to whom.
The information was there as a springboard, if he wanted it.
Then, she logged out, slipped her laptop into her backpack, and shoved it under the desk. She left his office, making sure the door was locked. As she set off through the restaurant, she skimmed the small salon for her man.
No Tank in there.
In the main dining room, she scanned the room, and found him seating a group of women. One of the women had wrapped her fingers around his biceps, smiling big as he brought them to their table. Once there, she kissed his cheek before sitting.
Sydney smiled. He was wicked handsome, brimming with confidence and a million-dollar smile—not to mention eyes as dark as midnight. She understood the effect he was having on that woman.
He has that same effect on me.
After Teddy handed the women their menus, the one who’d shown her intentions offered him a business card. He declined, said something to them, and walked away.
He paused to say hello to an older couple, then got stopped by one of the servers. When he finished, he continued through the large eatery. And that’s when his gaze found hers.
Even across the spacious room, she couldn’t miss the love in his eyes. He might be a lethal BLACK OP, but he was hers. All hers, for as long as she’d have him.
Forever.
The closer she got, the happier she became.
“Love,” he said.
“So much love,” she replied. “I’m looking for a hacker. Know anyone who can help me?”
“Sure, but it’ll cost you.”
“I’ll pay whatever it takes. I need the best and I need him now.”
“I’m all yours,” he replied.
TEDDY
Teddy had to write a program that would give him access to Robby Waters’ bank account. Hacking into Crossroads Financial could take days, but he didn’t have days. He had hours, so he’d have to figure out a fast way to get in.
He worked as quickly as he could, but he couldn’t rush the work. If he made a mistake, the program wouldn’t run. Or it would run, but it would provide the wrong output.
After he wrote the program, he set it up to notify him of a match and he executed it.
“Okay, Sydney,” he said. “It’s gonna take a while.”
She pushed off the sofa, set her laptop on the desk in front of him. “I wrote a draft to the team for your review.”
He read the document she wrote. “It’s great. Send it to Greystone and cc me.”
“Shouldn’t it come from you?” she asked. “You’re mission lead.”
“You wrote it,” he said. “You can send it.”
She did.
“What’s next, boss?” he asked.
“We need the flight plan for the charter jet,” Sydney said as she sat in the guest chair.
“I’m on it.” Teddy made a call, put it on speaker.
“Ben Lewin, ATC, Dulles.”
“Mr. Lewin, this is Special Agent Rory Green with the FBI,” Tank said. “I need the flight plan for a charter Boeing 747 departing Wednesday, oh-seven-hundred.”
“I’ll need your ID number and FAA authorization code.”
Teddy provided them.
“You’re gonna have to hold for me while I confirm your credentials.”
“No problem,” Teddy said.
Sydney raised her eyebrows while the on-hold music filtered through his phone. A long moment passed before the specialist returned. “Agent Green, you’ve been confirmed. You need the flight plan for a Boeing charter on Wednesday, oh-seven-hundred?”
“Correct.”
“One minute.”
While Teddy waited, he checked the bank program. It was still running, which was good, but it looked like it was gonna be a while before he was able to get past the firewall… if ever.
“The secrets of Theodore Santini continue to roll out,” Sydney said. “Where’d you get that alias? From BLACK OPS?”
“I got it a while ago, when I was working with Luciano. He got it from Sin.”
“Special Agent Green, you still there?” asked the air traffic specialist.
“What did you find?” Teddy asked.
“The flight plan is kinda confusing.”
“Why’s that?”
“There are two,” Ben Lewin said. “I’m sure there’s a mistake.”
“Lemme guess,” Teddy said. “One says the jet is bound for Hawaii. The other says it’s headed to the middle east.”
“Dubai,” said the controller. “Which one is the right one?”
“If we do our jobs, that flight won’t leave the ground,” Teddy said. “Can you take pics and text those over to me?”
“I can’t text them, but I can email them to your dot gov address.”
Teddy rattled it off, stayed on the phone until he got them. Once he did, he hung up.
Sydney hurried around the desk to read them over his shoulder. A long tendril that had escaped her French twist brushed against his shoulder and her sweet scent wafted in his direction.
He turned from the computer to her, and drank up her beauty. She was super-focused, scanning both documents, while she nibbled a fingernail. Then, she flicked her gaze to his and smiled.
“They’re not going to Dubai,” Teddy said.
“Where are they taking them?”
“My gut says they’re trafficking those women to Karakistan.”
“That’s just great.” Her sarcastic tone was front and center. “Because things can’t get any more complicated.”
“We got ‘em. All we need is an army of ALPHA Ops to ensure the jet doesn’t leave the ground, and everyone connected to this trafficking ring gets arrested.” After a beat, he said, “Those motherfuckers won’t see us coming.”
“Tara’s gonna be angry—all those women will—until we tell them where they were going and what they’d be doing for the rest of their lives.” Sydney shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s terrifying to think about.”
He pulled her onto his lap and held her. “My badass woman has a heart of gold.”
She shook her head. “My heart was painted black a long time ago, but it still bleeds red. Their lives would have been a living hell.” She hugged him hard, and he held her trembling body.
Months back, Teddy had confessed to Greystone that he didn’t understand women. Greystone had told him that he didn’t need to understand women. He needed to love and protect them.
“Sydney, I will love and protect you for as long as I live.”
A beautiful smile filled her face. “I’ve been chasing these monsters my entire career, and I’ve been going it alone. Half the time I was lonely, the other half I wondered if I’d survive to see the next day.” She kissed his cheek. “Now, I’m neither.”
“What are you now?”
“I’m with an amazing man I adore who loves and respects me.”
He dropped a kiss on her lips. “You ready to throw some lead.”
That made her smile. “I’ve never been more ready in my life.”
BING!
The computer program he’d written had enabled him to get past the bank’s initial firewall.
“Nice,” she said as he began coding to gain access to Robby’s account.
Knock-knock.
She pushed off his lap so he could open his office door.
Tara glanced in, smiled at Sydney. “I’ve got a guest who wants a comped dinner, but he didn’t say anything until after he’d eaten it.”
Sydney laughed. “He ate it, then complained he didn’t like it?”
“That’s a first,” Teddy said.
“Same,” Tara said.
“You gonna be okay, Sierra?” Teddy asked Sydney.
“Barely,” Sydney dead-panned.
Tara laughed as Teddy mumbled, “Smart ass.”
Tara led him to the patron’s table. The man looked like he was in his early forties. Dining with him was a woman.
“I’m Tank Santini, the GM. My manager tells me you didn’t enjoy your meal, but you ate it?”
“Right,” the customer said. “I was hungry, so I ate it, but I didn’t like it, so I want it taken off my bill.”
“What was wrong with it?”
“I just told you. I didn’t like it.”
“Did you tell your server?” Teddy asked.
“No.”
Teddy regarded the server. “He told me everything was excellent.”
Teddy shifted to the woman. “Ma’am, how was your dinner?”
“Great,” she replied.
Teddy regarded the man. “You don’t look familiar. First time here?”
“Yup, and I’m sure you don’t want it to be my last.”
“Here’s how I see this playing out. You can pay for the meal you’ve eaten and choose not to come back or you choose to skip out on your bill, but you won’t be welcome back.”
“You don’t have a way to track me.”
“Sure, I do. We’ve got security cams everywhere,” Teddy pushed back.
“Thanks for nothing.” Under his breath, he mumbled, “asshole.”
For reasons Teddy couldn’t begin to fathom, the guy was looking for a fight.
Teddy snapped a photo of the belligerent diner. “You know what we’re gonna do? I’m going to escort you out. Don’t come back.”
“You touch me, I charge you with assault.”