Читать книгу Navy Seal Spy - Carol Ericson - Страница 11
ОглавлениеKatie took a quick swig of her soda, and the carbonation fizzed against the back of her throat, making her eyes water. “Where’d he find it?”
“Outside the ladies’ room.”
“That’s just weird that he knew it belonged to you.”
“I don’t know. The buttons are kind of distinctive—ugly but distinctive. Like I said, he said his sister had one like it. Whatever, I got the button back and you’re off the hook.” She raised her can and disappeared into her own work area.
Katie closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the sweating can. Meyers had a tattoo of a bird. He’d been the one helping Ginger in Patterson’s office and the one who had held her at gunpoint on the track. Now he’d found Samantha’s button.
Was he pulling for employee of the month?
Pressing her damp fingers against her cheeks, she let out a long breath. So, Meyers found the button outside the ladies’ room, recognized it as Samantha’s and returned it to her. Nothing odd about that. He’d notice an attractive blonde like Sam, had probably been checking her out and maybe thought this was his chance to talk to her.
If he had found the button in Garrett’s office, would he really run around the company trying to find its owner? Would they be that obvious?
Her computer blipped and an instant message popped up in the lower right-hand corner of her screen.
What r u really doing at Tempest?
A trickle of fear crept down her spine. The usual name that accompanied an instant message read user. This could be anyone testing her. Someone had seen her with Liam at the track.
She typed where the blinking cursor invited.
Who is this?
You have a tattoo of a mermaid just above your right pelvic bone.
Even sitting at her desk, she squirmed at Liam’s reference to her tattoo. The man had gotten to know her body very well during their time together in San Diego.
She typed her response.
R u going to rat me out?
Same stairwell at 8 tonight.
What choice did she have? If she refused to meet him, he just might let her real name drop, and then Tempest would make the connection between her and Sebastian. KC Locke had no history with Sebastian Cole, but Katie O’Keefe did. She’d worked too hard to scrub her background and identity. She didn’t need Liam McCabe to come along and blow it all up.
Not that she really believed Liam would expose her. Even if Liam knew her true purpose here, he’d never do anything to harm her. Although he’d bruised her heart, he’d move heaven and earth to protect her, and she’d do the same by telling him to run as far away from Tempest as he could.
The rest of the afternoon flew by with her joint efforts at doing her real job and continuing her assault on the firewalls Tempest had set up. Whoever had put them in place was damned good.
She jerked her head up and blinked her eyes when Samantha banged on the side of her cubicle. “Whoa, take it easy.”
“I’ve been saying your name and tapping on the edge of your cube for the past minute. It’s quittin’ time, girl. A few of us are going to the Deluxe Bar for a couple of cocktails. Do you want to join us?”
“I’ll pass. I have a problem to work through, so I’m going to stick around until I figure it out.”
Samantha saluted. “Now that’s what I call dedication. If you figure it out quickly, join us. We’ll be there for a few hours.”
“Will do. Have fun.”
When Samantha left at five-twenty, Katie got a bag of chips from the vending machine and returned to her desk, slumping in her chair as she ripped open the bag.
“Are you working late?”
She glanced up, and her heart skipped a beat as Meyers’s form filled the opening to her cubicle, his two hands wedged on either side of the edges as if blocking her exit.
She swallowed her chip and wiped her greasy fingers on a tissue. “I can get more work done when it’s quiet.”
“I just wanted to apologize for this afternoon. Management keeps us on our toes about protecting that area where the recruits are housed.”
“I understand.”
“We’re kind of damned if we do, damned if we don’t. We’re supposed to keep a close eye on it, but then we get in trouble for overreacting.”
“Didn’t mean to get you in trouble. I’ll be more careful where I wander around next time.”
“Yeah, just, sorry.”
“Me, too.”
He scratched the heavy stubble on his chin, causing the bird on his hand to move its wings. “Samantha leave for the day?”
“Uh-huh.” She stuffed another chip in her mouth to end the conversation.
“Does she have a boyfriend?” He stared at his thumb while picking at his cuticle.
Her tense shoulders dropped. So, he had a thing for Samantha and probably did know the button he’d found belonged to her and used it as an excuse to talk to her.
“Nope.” Not that she wanted to give Meyers false hope, but he wasn’t Sam’s type, anyway, and after his complicity in Patterson’s death last night, she sure as hell wouldn’t let Samantha date him.
“She likes those recruits, huh?”
Her spine stiffened again. He sure was keeping tabs on Samantha. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that, no more than any other woman around here.”
“I’ll let you get back to work. Just wanted to apologize for drawing my gun on you this afternoon.”
“Thanks.” She swiveled her chair in front of her keyboard and popped another chip into her mouth, listening for the office door to close behind Meyers.
She worked for a few more hours, glancing at the time on her computer every ten minutes, not able to concentrate on anything. She’d never get through Tempest’s firewalls with her mind on Liam.
At ten minutes to eight, she scrubbed the history on her computer, including her instant messages. Then she logged off and snatched her access card from the card reader on her computer. She had a date in a stairwell.
She headed for the elevator like she did every night, but when she got off at the second floor, she entered the stairwell instead of heading to the exit for the parking garage. She jogged up two flights of stairs and ducked beneath the staircase.
A door above her scraped open, and she held her breath until Liam came into view.
He joined her, huddling so close she could smell the fresh scent of his soap and the mint of his toothpaste. He placed his lips close to her ear. “Did you get rid of those instant messages we traded?”
“Of course. I should be asking you that.”
“I had a good teacher show me how to cover my tracks on a computer.” He touched his finger to her nose.
She jerked her head and he dropped his hand. “Would you really blow my cover?”
“To keep you safe and get you away from Tempest? Maybe.”
She caught her breath. Did he realize the danger at Tempest, or was this some kind of trick?
“What are you talking about? We both work for Tempest.”
“Under somewhat assumed identities.”
“Are you telling me they don’t know you’re Liam McCabe, former navy SEAL and all-around badass?” She narrowed her eyes.
“I like that description. Maybe I’ll put it on my next business card.”
She punched his arm, her fist meeting rock-solid muscle. “Be serious.”
“They know I’m Liam McCabe, former navy SEAL, and they know about my badassery.” He raised an eyebrow. “But that’s where my identity ends as far as Tempest is concerned.”
“What does that mean? What else is there?”
“What happened last night in Patterson’s office? Why were you up here?”
She sighed. Maybe if she started answering some of his questions, he’d start answering some of hers.
“I’ve been searching Tempest at night, trying to find unlocked offices, looking for evidence. Patterson had left his office unlocked last night, and I slipped inside.”
Liam pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead. “And you found him dead?”
“Worse than that. He came into the office while I was there, and I had to hide in the closet. Ginger Spann followed him, and...and she murdered him.”
His body stiffened. “Are you sure? How?”
“She injected him with something that mimicked a heart attack. I heard the whole thing, Liam. Then she got some security guard in there to help her—the same security guard who pulled a gun on me at the track.”
“They didn’t see you?”
“No.”
He took her by the shoulders and squeezed. “Why are you doing this, Katie? What’s Tempest to you? And I want the truth. Tempest isn’t some high school or hapless government agency that you can hack into for fun and games.”
Staring into Liam’s blue eyes, she felt safe for the first time since arriving at Tempest. He didn’t seem that surprised about the murder, and he was obviously hiding something from Tempest. She could trust him. She could always trust Liam, except when it came to staying by her side.
She closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. “It’s Sebastian.”
“Sebastian? You told me he was dead.”
“He is—and Tempest killed him.”
“What? How? You have proof of this?”
“One question at a time.” She placed her hands against his chest, and his heart thundered beneath her palm.
“He killed himself, Liam.” Her nose stung, and she sniffled back the tears.
Liam’s touch on her shoulders turned into a caress, and he pulled her snug against his body. “I’m so sorry, Katie. Was it the drugs again?”
She wrenched away from him. “Absolutely not. He’d been clean and sober for years. It was Tempest.”
“You keep saying that, but how was Tempest responsible for his suicide?”
“They recruited him to be an agent—just like you—and after he’d made the grade and had worked for them for just over a year, he killed himself.”
Her words slammed against his brain, and he blinked to clear the fog. Sebastian Cole was the Tempest agent who’d killed himself? He’d known about the agent but didn’t know his name...until now. He didn’t want to color Katie’s perceptions or lead her on, so he kept his tone as neutral as he could.
“Why are you laying his suicide at Tempest’s gates?”
She threw up her hands and took a half turn in the small space. “Because I saw him before and after. He was in a good place. He was thrilled Tempest wanted him. While he was in the marines, he’d heard rumors about the covert agencies and how much good they accomplished under the radar.”
Liam pressed his lips into a thin line. As a SEAL he’d heard the rumors, too, but it was Prospero, not Tempest, who ruled the shadow operations. Tempest had always been second best, and then the agency had turned to the dark side, but no one knew to what extent.
“Then what? He came here?”
She nodded. “Yes, he came here as a recruit. I saw him once after he completed the training and already there was something off about him, but he seemed happy so I was happy.”
A pulse danced in his jaw and he rubbed it into submission. Did Tempest start in with the recruits while they were still in training? “What was off about him?”
“He seemed a little detached, distant. I chalked it up to the covert nature of his training and work.” She fluttered her lashes. “R-reminded me of you when you first got back from a mission.”
Great. If she’d thought him detached and distant when he’d been a SEAL, what would she think of him as a covert ops agent?
“You saw him again?”
“It was worse the next time, the last time I saw him.” Her bottom lip trembled, and he wanted to kiss away her pain. “He was angry, cold, closed up. He pushed me away.”
God, just like he’d done when he’d decided to do another tour of duty while she’d been busy planning a life with him. Katie-O deserved so much more. This fearless woman at least deserved the truth.
He looked her straight in the eyes. “And then he shot himself in France while he was on an assignment.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she took a step back. “How do you know that?”
“That’s what I’m doing here, Katie.”
“You’re here because of Sebastian’s death?”
“Partly.”
Crossing her arms across her chest, she tilted her head to one side. “You’re not a navy SEAL anymore, are you?”
“I’m working for another covert agency.”
She snorted before he could finish. “That’s swell. So you’re over here, what? Stealing their secrets to success?”
“Katie.” He grabbed her fidgeting hands. “Tempest is bad news. It’s not just Sebastian’s suicide we’re investigating, and no, I didn’t realize the dead agent was Sebastian Cole. Another Tempest agent went on a rampage and had to be stopped. Another agent is on the run.”
“What is Tempest doing to them? What’s going on?”
“Drugs, brainwashing, mind control.”
“I suspected as much.” She sagged against him. “Why? What’s their goal?”
“Their overall goal? We’re not sure yet, but their goal for the agents is just that—mind control.”
“To turn them into robots that’ll do whatever they’re told, no matter how unscrupulous.” Her dark eyes widened. “That’s what Sebastian was, some kind of robot.”
Tears streamed silently down her cheeks, and she did nothing to stop them or wipe them away.
He cupped her face with his hands and smoothed his thumbs across the wet trails on her flushed skin. “I’m sorry, Katie. I know how much Sebastian meant to you.”
Her body jerked, and she grabbed two handfuls of his jacket. “And what are you? Some kind of canary in the coal mine? If your...agency already knows what Tempest is doing to its agents, why do you need to be here to experience it firsthand?”
“We know what Tempest is doing, but we don’t exactly know how, and we don’t know when it all starts. It was important for someone to infiltrate the compound.”
“Why does it have to be you?” Her voice rose, almost on a wail. “Why does it always have to be you?”
He put two fingers to her soft lips. “Shh. It’s going to be okay. What’s not okay is your presence here. You need to quit and leave as soon as possible.”
“You need me.” She wiped her sleeve across her nose. “I’m getting close to hacking through Tempest’s firewalls. When I do, I can bring them down financially. I can hit them where it hurts. I’ll make them pay for what they did to Sebastian.”
The fire in Katie’s eyes practically lit up the dim stairwell, and a thrill zapped his body. This was exactly why he’d fallen in love with this woman, exactly why she terrified him.
He pressed his lips to her hot forehead. “The computer stuff would be great but not necessary right now, not worth your safety.”
“I am safe. I went through a lot of trouble to get this gig, and I’m not giving it up—for anyone. Did you give up your job for me?”
A flash of heat claimed his chest and crawled up his neck. He hadn’t. He’d done what he believed was his last mission for his SEAL team, was ready to settle down with Katie when he got the call. They’d needed him, needed him more than Katie with her prickly, standoffish attitude.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Exactly.” She pushed the hair from her face, pushing his hands away at the same time. “I have a job to do here. I have to avenge Sebastian’s death, and I’m gonna do it with or without you.”
How the hell could anyone resist a woman like Katie?
“Then we work together. You keep me posted and I’ll keep—”
Katie grabbed his wrist and dug her fingernails into his flesh, while pointing at the ceiling.
Then he heard it—someone jiggling the handle on the metal door on the floor above. Good thing he’d rigged it.
Katie dragged at his arm and whispered. “We need to get out of here.”
“He won’t be able to get in for several minutes because I jammed the door. Let’s go downstairs.”
Placing his hand on the small of Katie’s back, he propelled her down the stairs ahead of him. They passed the third floor and headed to the second, which was on the same level as the bridge to the parking garage.
He jerked his thumb at the door.
She shook her head and pointed down. Then she leaned in close, her hair tickling his chin, and whispered, “I have to do some cleanup on the security camera footage and my access badge.”
Katie had a brain that wouldn’t quit and a body to match.
“What time are you leaving? It’s probably not safe in that parking structure after hours.”
“Are you kidding? Nobody can get on and off this compound with the tight security Tempest has. Only employees are allowed in the parking structure.”
“That’s what worries me.”
They jogged down one more flight. Placing his hands against the metal door, he cocked his head and listened. He inched the door open and peered through the resulting crack. All clear.
He grabbed Katie around the waist and turned her toward him. “Be careful. This ain’t no video game, Katie. This is life and death.”
“I know that.” She touched his face with her fingertips. “Don’t let them do anything to you, Liam. Don’t let them change you.”
“Don’t worry.” And then he did something he’d been dreaming about for the past two years. He kissed Katie O’Keefe, intrepid sleuth, hacker extraordinaire, woman of his dreams, on the mouth.
