The Business of Strangers Page 16

  “So maybe you weren’t military at all. You could have been borrowed as an attaché from one of the alphabet agencies.”

  “Maybe. But their databases are all a little beyond my reach.” At least until she had something far more solid linking her to one of them.

  She stared at the pages before them. There would be answers of some sort hidden in them. They just had to ask the right questions.

  By the time they’d finished, they were able to narrow the list to thirty-seven men, all trained as Army Rangers, who’d died in combat around the time she’d been shot. Only six of the women had died in the same time period. The locations where the individuals had been posted were varied, with some overlap, but none glaringly obvious.

  “Maybe we’ve been at this too long.” Ria looked at her watch, saw it was after midnight. “If there’s something there, I’m not seeing it. I think we need more information on these individuals.” She went to the desk, had to lean across Jake to open a drawer and take out the private cell phone she kept for only one purpose.

  “I’m going to contact my—what’d you call it?—forensic technician.”

  Jake looked at his own watch. “Isn’t it a little late?”

  “He’ll be up.” She was certain of that. Benny had always been a night owl, cruising cyberspace and chatting with others of like interests. She remembered he’d once told her they preferred to be called “crackers,” rather than hackers. She didn’t care what he called himself. She only knew that he was a genius with computers.

  She dialed the number from memory. “Hi.” Aware of Jake’s intent stare, she turned her back, strode across the room to rest her hip against the door. “You almost sound asleep. Don’t tell me you started keeping normal hours like everyone else?”

  “Ria? Damn!” She could picture Benny in her mind, searching for his glasses, which he often removed when he was at the computer. “I can’t believe it’s you. Do you know how long it’s been since you called last?”

  Seven months. Thirteen days. “Not exactly,” she lied. “You know why, though. It’s too risky.”

  He was silent for a moment. “Still? Ria, it’s been…geez. About six years. How long can you live like this?”

  “As long as it takes. But hopefully it won’t be much longer. I need your help again. So what’s new, right?”

  “Just a minute. Let me get a piece of paper.”

  Her brows rose. “Paper? You really aren’t at the computer? Are you sick?” She was only half joking.

  “No. I was in bed.” Then she heard another voice, a female, asking a question. Heard Benny shushing her. Comprehension slammed into Ria, and with it, astonishment. “You’re not alone. Talk about bad timing.” She’d never given a thought to Benny’s social life. If she had, she would have questioned whether he had one at all. He’d just always been there, dependable, slightly wacky, but undeniably brilliant.

  “No, it’s okay. It’s…that was my fiancée. Greta. We’re getting married this summer.”

  “Married?” Ria repeated weakly, her thoughts in a whirl. “That’s…great. Really great.” Voice stronger, she added, “Don’t tell me that you found someone who’s as crazy about computer game design as you are?”

  There was a slight hesitation. “Actually, that’s my hobby now. I started working for a software security company a couple months ago. Not as much fun, but the paycheck is steady and it has great benefits.”

  Steady paycheck. Great benefits. Ria was beginning to wonder just who she was talking to. It sounded like Benny’s voice, but the content was totally foreign.

  But then he said eagerly, “So what have you got for me? I’ve been working on a great little firewall infiltrator. You wouldn’t believe some of the places I’ve been with it!”

  There, she thought with a feeling of relief, was the Benny she was more familiar with. “You can get some use out of it then. I want you to get me more detailed information for some former army personnel.”

  “OMPF/PERMS?” Disappointment was rife in his voice. “A ten-year-old could handle that.”

  “I’d prefer you didn’t contract it out,” she said dryly. The Electronic Records Management System for the Official Military Personnel Files might seem like child’s play to him, but Ria was hoping it would contain the information she lacked. “Are you ready?” She pushed away from the wall, crossed back to Jake, who scooped up the pages they’d highlighted and handed them to her. “I’ve got quite a list.”

  She read off all the names, waiting for him to write them down. “I’ve got dates of service and death dates, training and post locations from the last time. But I need you to get me 2-1’s for units and posts timelines, 201 files with their evaluations, DD214’s for the last unit they were assigned to…anything you can get your hands on for each of those individuals.”

  “How long do they keep those kinds of records?”

  “Guess you’ll find out, won’t you?”

  “Are you kidding? If it’s in a computer system, I’ll find it. How soon do you need it?”

  Again, Ria heard a female voice. She imagined the woman was complaining. Ria couldn’t really blame her. “Whenever you can get to it. It sounds like you’re otherwise occupied tonight.”

  Benny’s voice was sheepish. “Yeah. But I’ll get at it first thing tomorrow morning. I don’t have to be at work till nine. Same e-mail address?”

  “That’s right. I really appreciate this. And…congratulations. I mean that.” She hoped the words didn’t sound as awkward as they felt. “You deserve this.”

  “Thanks. I know I’m lucky.” The joint laughter on the other end made her feel as distant as if she were on another planet. “I wish more than anything you would think about coming to the wedding. It’d mean a lot to me.”

  It was a bit disorienting to even think that far ahead. To plan on attending a nice normal occasion for normal people leading normal lives. Lives free of assassins and full of the kinds of memories that made a person complete. She couldn’t fathom it. But neither could she deny him this one thing. Not after all he’d done for her.

  “If it’s at all possible, I’ll be there,” she heard herself promise. She was aware that Jake’s attention had sharpened. It wasn’t overt. He wasn’t even looking at her. But he was like a large jungle animal scenting prey. Muscles ready. Instincts alert.

  Forcing her attention back to the phone, she spoke for another few seconds, then ended the conversation. Deliberately avoiding Jake’s gaze, she crossed to the desk, replaced the phone and shut the desk drawer. “We should get it by tomorrow.”

  “I hope so. We’re kind of under the gun here.”

  She was still a little unsettled from Benny’s news. Not that she begrudged him his obvious happiness. But she had a sudden image of herself on the outside looking in at others living regular lives. Falling in love. Getting married. Having children. All while she existed in a vacuum of sorts. Afraid to get too close to anyone for fear of bringing death to their doorstep. Afraid to trust.

  But this waiting was almost over. She had to believe that. For better or worse, within the week she’d either have the answers she’d long sought, or she’d be dead. She could almost face that prospect if only she got the facts she needed first.

  Jake watched her, growing grimmer by the moment. No matter what face she put on it, the phone call had disturbed her in some way. Instead of her usual guarded expression, she looked almost…forlorn. An odd word to come to him, but apt in this case. What had the man on the other end of the phone meant to her?

  Because it had been a man, he was certain of that. And Ria probably wasn’t even aware that her voice had warmed when she spoke to him, that her face had held an animation he’d never see there. And if it were possible to be jealous of a faceless, nameless voice on a telephone, then this burning knot in the pit of his gut must surely be jealousy.

  Except that he’d never been jealous of a woman in his life. So he was ready to blame the sensation on bad Chinese food eaten too lat
e in the evening.

  Brooding, he watched her bend to pick up the papers, putting them into some sort of order. “You seem to enjoy a closer relationship with your forensic technician than I do with mine.”

  Her smile held a hint of sadness. “He’s great. Probably as close to a friend as I have, if you can apply the term to someone you never see and rarely talk to.”

  “Friend?” Jake had meant the word to sound lighter than it did. “Or something more?”

  Her gaze flew to meet his. “Don’t tell me that you’re one of those people who don’t believe men and women can be platonic friends.”

  His shrug was far more casual than he was feeling. “Never really thought about it. But no, I think most men would want more.”

  She went to the filing cabinet and replaced the papers in a folder there, then shut the drawer. “Well, maybe he did once. At first. But when he saw I wasn’t interested, he didn’t push. And he’s never failed to do anything I ask of him. So I guess that’s pretty one-sided, as far as friendships go.”

  She’d never seen Jake move so fast. One moment he was standing by the desk, the next he was by her side, looming over her. “Maybe it’s enough for him. It wouldn’t be for me. I don’t want to be your ‘friend,’ Ria.”

  Instantly wary, she moved backward, until she could feel the cool smooth face of the cabinet behind her. “I’m still not quite sure what you want.”

  He gave her a grim smile. “That makes two of us. But whatever it is, it’s more—a helluva lot more—than I’ve ever wanted from any other woman.”

  It would have been easy to resist a more polished line. Simple to evade a well-rehearsed move meant to disarm. But the genuine bafflement in his voice struck a chord deep within her. Because she felt the same attraction, even while her inner alarm shrilled a warning.

  The heat suffusing her owed nothing to the approaching danger, and everything to the man standing before her. And she, who had taken only the most calculated risks in her life, took a step away from her customary caution and into his arms.

  The instant his lips covered hers she felt the effect spiral through her, desire hurling flaming fireballs through her veins. His mouth ate at hers without finesse, all raw hunger and savage power. And in just a moment it reignited the smoldering embers of the last time they’d been this close. Closer.

  She’d almost convinced herself that the memory of last time couldn’t have been real. No man could elicit that fierce a reaction from her, that quickly. No man, it seemed, but Jake.

  Her hands slipped inside his sweater, in search of smooth warm skin stretched over taut muscle. He was just as impatient. He made quick work of the buttons on her uniform shirt, and shoved it apart, releasing the front clasp of her bra in the same motion.

  And then his warm palms were cupping her breasts, his mouth lowering to take one turgid tip between his teeth. His jaw rasped her skin as his mouth worked at her, and her fingers flexed, the nails biting into his skin.

  Her life, what she could remember of it, had been a study in patience. Following lead after lead, waiting years to discover the one piece of information that would answer everything. Strange then that impatience should burn through her now, etching a blazing path that demanded gratification.

  She deliberately gentled her touch, brushing the back of her hand against his hard belly, then lower. She dipped her fingers inside the waistband of his jeans, her knees nearly buckling as his teeth scraped her nipple.

  Passion like this, instantaneous and bright, could burn out, couldn’t it? She tried to seize the thought, felt logic slip away, as evasive as wisps of fog. She’d known desire before but had never experienced this need, so hot and vibrant that it was a whipping of her pulse and a hammering in her blood. Had never felt it fueled by a man’s response, primitively carnal, stripped of even the semblance of finesse. For a woman who’d lived her life demanding control, its imminent loss shouldn’t feel so exhilarating.

  He nudged her thighs apart with one of his, and the position brought their hips into excruciatingly intimate contact. At the feel of his hard masculine length against her, a thousand points of flame burst beneath her skin. She knew there was only one way to douse them.

  A phone shrilled, and the sound had them both going tense, bodies still, breathing choppy. By the third ring Jake was easing away, a long breath sawing out of him. “It’s mine.” His words were laced with frustration, reflecting her own. It took far longer than it should have for the riot in her pulse to calm.

  With quick, jerky movements she righted her clothing, turning away from him to do so. She made the mistake of looking at Jake once, and forgot to breathe. The smoldering expression in his eyes could turn the recipient to flame.

  “Yeah.”

  Because she was watching him, she noted the instant his mind shifted away from what had almost happened and focused on the person who’d phoned. “How sure are you? Good. No, that’s good.” His gaze had returned to her, and there was no trace of the man who had nearly scorched her alive with his hunger.

  Then she noted the tightness of his jaw, the flare of his nostrils, and revised her estimation. Jake was keeping rigid check on his passion. But the traces were still there.

  “Excellent. You have? Are you prepared for that? Great. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He disconnected the call, flipped the phone shut. “We got a name. Should give us enough to move on.”

  If he could make the switch back to normal, so could she. “Okay. What is it?”

  “Does the name Chad Hendricks mean anything to you?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “That’s Colton?”

  “That’s it. So we’ve got his name, we’ve got where he lives and where he works.”

  Excitement began to hum, originating from a far different source than a few moments ago. “What’s the address?”

  Too late she saw the half smile on his face, the too knowing look in his eyes, and knew she should have gone for subtlety.

  “I think that’s one piece of information I’m gonna hang on to. Because I know exactly what you’re thinking, baby.” With one hand he reached out, cupped her chin in his hand. “But there’s no way you’re going anywhere without me.”

  Chapter 8

  “You need to reconsider. There’s absolutely no need for you to take any risk at all in this.” Ria felt as if she were talking to a slab of granite. Certainly her arguments for the last half hour had had no effect on him.

  Jake had his arms folded across his chest, his shoulder leaning against the wall. And although his listening air gave the impression of reasonableness, he wasn’t giving an inch. “You’re not going alone.”

  She sprang from her chair, strode across the room in frustration. “You’re not hearing a damn thing I’m saying.”

  “I’m hearing it. I’m just saying no.”

  She bared her teeth. His previous answers hadn’t escaped her. “This doesn’t really involve you at all. I can get the information I need on my own. And then if this goes wrong, you wouldn’t be anywhere around.”

  “And you actually think that’s going to convince me?”

  Something about his low voice had her nape prickling. There was danger here, even if she couldn’t guess where it stemmed from. “I’m just saying if I get caught, it would be smarter for you to be in Georgia. Then Colton—Hendricks— can’t hold you accountable.”

  “You act as though this doesn’t concern me at all. He’s threatening to spring Alvarez immediately. I can’t let that happen. At least not until I’m ready for it. My plans have been years in the making. He’s got a lot to pay for, but I need more time to get everything in place.”

  She looked at Jake oddly. “Some might say that spending ten years in prison was payment enough.”

  “Not nearly.” The lethal tone sent a shiver sprinting over her skin. “He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

  Their gazes locked. And in that moment, seeing his mask of utter ruthlessness, Ria didn’t doubt that Jake Tarrance could be de
adly. “Your plans for revenge can’t be carried out if you’re six feet under, either.”

  His smile was chilling. “Can’t they? My plans…are extensive. And I think I’ve taken every contingency into consideration. But that doesn’t matter. Even you can’t pull this off without my help.”

  His words were a slap at her ego. “I’ve been doing fine on my own for six years.”

  “Exactly. Six years. You’ve got a little over four days now. Less if he gets impatient. I have over a dozen of my men on this thing in D.C. at this very moment. Within another twelve hours, give or take, I’ll have the keypad code to his house alarm. We can have you inside fifteen hours after that. But you need my manpower, my data and my resources. Face it, Ria. You need me.”

  Everything inside her rejected his assertion. She didn’t need anyone. Never had. And she certainly didn’t want to be forced to trust Jake any more than she already had. It hadn’t escaped her that by breaking into Hendricks’s home to look for the missing pieces to this puzzle, she might be delivered neatly into the man’s hands. All it would take was one act of betrayal.

  “My men are wiring a device to his keypad as we speak. We have to come up with a plausible reason for getting you inside, because it’ll have to be during the day. No use tipping him off before we have to.”

  “Cleaning service,” she said automatically. “Get a van with a phony logo on the side to park out front. Visible, but forgettable.”

  He paused, looked thoughtful. “Possible.” Seeming to remember his argument then, he returned to it with a vengeance. “And I’ve got the money and employees in place to take care of all those details. When the time comes we can make a trip on my private jet, getting there and back in a matter of hours. Tell me how you’d manage all that on your own, given the time frame.”