Mack lay awake after Riley fell asleep, wondering how he would keep his promise to find her brother. He wanted to keep that promise more than anything. But they had so little to go on.
After a while, he gave up on sleep and returned to the door leading to the computer room.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Declan padded barefoot in from the direction of the kitchen, carrying a steaming mug. “I made a pot of coffee.”
“I could use some. Point me in the direction of the kitchen?”
“I can do better than that. This place is huge and can be confusing.” He tipped his head. “Come on.”
Mack followed Declan into a huge gourmet kitchen. Jonah sat at a massive table, eating a massive sandwich stuffed full of deli meat.
Jonah chewed what was in his mouth and swallowed before saying, “Not finding much on those names you gave me. Still looking for the exact location of Pruett’s lake house. It shows up in court records as lots and plats. It’s on a rural route, which to me says dirt road. When I have it, I’ll get that address to you ASAP.”
“Good. I’ve been thinking about it. You might also expand your search to anyone with access to Riley’s office after hours at Quest. Only someone who came in after hours would have been able to set the camera in the light fixture.”
“Will get right on it after I finish my breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Jonah held up the sandwich.
Mack chuckled. “Fair enough. You have to fuel the body, even if you don’t need sleep.”
“You got that right.” Jonah bit into his sandwich with a healthy growl.
“How’s Riley holding up?” Declan asked.
“She’s exhausted. I imagine the worry is eating away at her.”
“I can’t get over that she’s a trained Russian spy.”
Mack stiffened. “Riley’s a product of her parents. She didn’t sign up for it or want it.”
“Still, there had to be some brainwashing along the way. The Russians are really good at raising their own secret agents. Are we sure we can trust her?”
Mack remembered how he felt inside her and the way she gave herself to him completely. “Can you trust every American you meet?”
Declan shrugged. “Not everyone. We have our own homegrown terrorists and zealots who’ve got a beef against our government. They’d just as soon shoot you as give you the time of day.”
“Yeah, but a trained sleeper spy...” Jonah shook his head. “It’s a lot to ask to trust someone who was sent to this country for the benefit of Russia. Their leader isn’t above using every asset at his disposal to take what he wants.”
“Yeah, he’s a wild card,” Mack agreed.
“As concerned as she is about her brother, I doubt she’s a threat to us.”
“Maybe not now. But what about when she finds Toby?” Declan asked. “She needs us now. She’s not going to kill those who can help her, until they are of no more assistance to her.”
Mack’s instincts had been pretty spot-on for most of his career in the military. His gut told him Riley was one of the good guys. “Charlie trusts her.”
Declan turned to face Mack, his eyebrows raised. “Yeah, but do you trust her?”
“I—” A noise drew Mack’s attention away from the conversation. But when he turned toward the living area, no one was there. He might have imagined it, or the sound echoed off the wall close to where Declan was making another pot of coffee. He shook his head and tried to remember the question. “The fact that she didn’t kill our boss says a lot. She could have done exactly what her handler wanted and gotten her brother back sooner.”
“Or not.”
“Either way, she didn’t kill Charlie. In fact, I pulled her off Charlie.”
Declan’s eyes narrowed. “She physically attacked Charlie?”
“Charlie had the poison Riley was supposed to give her. She threatened to take it herself so that Riley wouldn’t lose her brother. Riley fought Charlie for that poison. She wouldn’t let her take it.”
“Are you sure that was what she was doing?”
Mack nodded. “Positive. And Charlie would back it up. Riley went to the gala with the intention of doing whatever it took to get her brother back. But when the rubber hit the road, she couldn’t do it. She might be trained as a Russian spy, with all the skills necessary to survive in that role, but she doesn’t have the heart to kill an innocent woman.”
Declan handed Mack a cup of coffee. “Sounds like you’ve made up your mind about the woman.”
“I have.”
“And it doesn’t have anything to do with her being a knockout?”
“No. She’s the real deal. I’d trust her with my life.”
“I hope you’re right.” Declan frowned. “Because you might be playing with fire if you put your faith in her.”
Mack’s back stiffened. “I’ll take my chances with Riley. I know I’m right about her.”
Declan’s frown cleared. “Can I get you something to eat?”
“No. The coffee is all I need for now. I need to get back to work. I’m not good with sitting around waiting for something to happen.”
“None of us are,” Declan said. “But we don’t have a lot we can do until we know what we’re up against. What’s your next move?”
“We need to find Steve Pruett’s lake house and pay it a visit.” He hoped like hell they found Toby there. Time was running out for Riley and the kid.
RILEY HAD WOKEN to an empty bed. A glance at the clock indicated it was just past midnight. She pulled the sheet up over her naked breasts and stared around the room, lit only by the starlight shining through the window. Where had Mack gone? Did he regret making love to her?
She didn’t regret it at all, though it complicated their working relationship and could only make it more awkward. Still, she couldn’t regret having had the best sex she’d ever experienced. The man’s lips were magic.
Her body heated with the memory, and she was deliciously sore. Riley moaned softly and ran her hand over her breasts and down the tuft of hair over her sex. She’d really made love to a man she’d only known a short time. What had she been thinking?
That she needed to hold someone and be held. When the odds were stacked against her, she had Mack to lean on, to help her find her way through the maze of clues. If anyone could help her find her brother, Mack was the one to do it.
She tossed the sheet aside, pulled on her clothes and tiptoed, barefoot, across the floor to the door. When she opened it, she hoped to find Mack on the other side, on his way back to bed with her.
He wasn’t there. Curious now, she wandered down the hallway. Voices sounded from across the wide expanse of living area to another room Riley supposed was the kitchen.
Barefoot, her feet made no sound on the wooden floors. Not until she reached the entryway into the kitchen did she realize the men in the kitchen were talking about her.
More than once, Mack’s friend Declan said the word Russian.
Riley eased up to the doorway and cocked her head to better hear what they were saying.
When Declan asked Mack if he trusted her, Riley froze in place. Mack hesitated with his answer.
Her heart leaped into her throat, threatening to cut off the air to her brain. Mack didn’t trust her.
Her pulse pumped so hard against her eardrums she couldn’t hear his response. Her chest hurt so bad she could barely draw a breath. Riley spun and ran from the living room back to the bedroom, where she grabbed her cell phone, called a car service and gave him the address of Charlie’s estate.
Then she pulled on her shoes, hooked her purse over her arm and slipped out a French door onto a patio. Making her way around the house, she paralleled the driveway, clinging to the shadows as she hurried toward the exit. At the gate, she made note of the camera. So what if Mack saw her leaving? He didn’t trust her anyway. He’d think the worst, that she was skipping out, maybe to complete the job of killing Charlie.
Well, he could think what he wanted. He probably only stuck to her like glue to keep an eye on her.
Why, oh why, had she slept with the man?
She stood still, staring at the gate without really seeing it. She’d slept with him because she’d felt a connection so deep she’d thought it was real. It had been...on her part. But apparently not on his.
Riley looked the gate over for a button to open the heavy iron bars but couldn’t find one. Headlights turned onto the street and slowed as they approached.
Not wanting to buzz the house to let her out, she climbed up a tree beside the stone wall, looped her leg over the top and dropped to the other side.
The car slid to a stop.
For a moment, Riley thought it might be the person who’d tried to bash the hell out of Mack’s truck. Bunching her muscles, she prepared to make a break for it.
The car stopped beside her and the passenger window slid down. “You the lady who called for a ride?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Good. I wasn’t sure about the address. Never been in this neighborhood.” He stared up at the lights shining down on the massive stone gate. “Fancy place.”
“Yes, it is.”
Riley yanked open the back door and slid into the back seat.
Even before she had her seat belt completely fastened, the driver pulled away from the gate, heading toward her apartment.
She’d get her car and continue her search on her own. She didn’t need the liability of someone who couldn’t believe in her. In her heart, she knew she was one of the good guys. She couldn’t kill an innocent person. She could kill, if she had to defend someone she loved, but not at the command of another just because that person had a grudge. If Mack couldn’t see past Riley’s upbringing to the person beneath her skin, he was missing who she really was.
In her mind, she circled back to the most important issue at hand. Finding Toby.
Steve Pruett had a lake house. All she had to do was find that house and find Toby. She didn’t need a former marine to hold her hand through the process. She was a trained assassin and spy. She could handle anything anyone could throw her way.
MACK LEFT THE kitchen and returned to the bedroom where he’d left Riley sleeping. As soon as he walked through the door, he knew something was wrong. The bed was a jumble, the sheets half on the floor, the comforter pushed to the end of the empty bed. A quick glance around the room confirmed his fear.
Riley’s clothes were gone, along with her purse. He checked in the adjoining bathroom but knew before he did that she wouldn’t be there.
He ran back down the hallway to the kitchen.
Declan and Jonah glanced up.
“Riley’s gone,” he said.
Declan pushed himself away from the counter and set his mug down. “Are you sure?”
A lead weight sank to the pit of Mack’s gut. “Positive.”
“Hang on, I’ll tell you where she is.” Jonah touched the screen on his phone and brought up the security monitors. “She’s jumping the front gate as we speak.”
“Damn.” Mack slammed his fist into his palm.
Declan glanced at the video. “Where do you think she’s going?”
“I don’t know,” Mack said. “She doesn’t have Pruett’s second address.” He paced the kitchen floor. “She could be going back to her apartment.” He glanced up. “I’ll go there and see if I can catch up to her. I hope she’s all right. After the SUV attacked my truck, I don’t think she’s safe out there on her own.”
“We’ll get that address to you as soon as we find it,” Declan said. “Did you give Riley the tracking disk?”
Mack nodded. “I did.”
“Good.” Declan’s lips pressed together in a tight line. “It makes it easier for us to track her.”
Mack’s lips tilted upward. “She was happy we cared enough to give her one.”
“Does she understand it’s not for us to spy on her, but to keep her safe in case she ends up in the wrong hands?”
Again, Mack nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” Declan tipped his chin. “You’d better get going. And take this truck.” He handed Mack a set of keys.
“Thanks.” Then he ran out the door and down the steps. He was in his replacement truck backing away from the house when a call came through his phone. He hit the talk button on his steering wheel. “Yeah.”
“Mack, Jonah here. I went further back on Pruett’s phone records and got a hit on one of the phone numbers. He placed several calls to a Tracy Gibson last month after hours. The calls ended about the time Moretti was killed and Tracy was laid off.”
“Good to know. Thanks.”
“Also, texting the address of Pruett’s lake cabin. It’s out there and on a dirt road. Not many houses show up in that area. If he’s hiding the boy there, no one would know.”
“I’ll get right on it as soon as I find Riley.”
“Gotcha,” Jonah said. “In the meantime, I can get other members of the team to lead the investigation of Pruett’s lake house.”
“No. I’ll get Riley and head that way. She’ll want to go in. The boy will want to see someone he knows. Have the team gather and wait on standby. If anything goes south, I’ll need assistance ASAP.”
“We’ve got your back,” Jonah said. “Just say the word and we’ll be there. Well, Declan will be there for you. I’d come, but I think I’d be better at manning the computers, trackers and other technical support. But if you need me there, I’ll come.”
“No worries. Sometimes it’s easier to get in and out with fewer people.”
“Okay,” Jonah said. “I’ll keep you up to date.”
“Don’t forget to send me Pruett’s lake cabin address.”
“On it,” Jonah said. “Out here.”
Mack sped to Riley’s apartment, barely slowing for the light signals. He couldn’t get there fast enough. All the while, he wondered what had spooked her and why she’d felt the need to go after her brother on her own. Had making love to her scared her so badly she wanted to get away from him? If that was the case, he’d keep his hands to himself until they found Toby. After he’d made love to Riley, not touching her would be difficult. He wanted to hold her in his arms and take all her pain and worry away. And he wanted to make love to her again and again. The woman was sensual, sexy and amazing in bed.
Why the hell had she run?