Washington, DC
9:18 AM Wednesday, January 14
The vanilla-lavender scent was familiar and filled the Tahoe. Dangerous. At least for his heart, which had begun betraying him the second Brynn Taylor walked into Walsh’s office—and back into his life.
Leaving Kekoa, Lyla, and Garcia back at the office to work on their assignments, Jack found himself second-guessing his decision not to bring one of them along. Except what would that say to Brynn? He could handle working with her. This was his assignment, and even though the shock of seeing Brynn after almost a decade was still messing with his head, he wouldn’t let it keep him from focusing on the mission.
“Jack, the exit.”
The GPS screen on the Tahoe’s dash beeped. Snapping out of his thoughts, Jack quickly flipped his blinker on, taking the ramp off the Roosevelt Bridge and heading west. So much for staying focused on the mission.
Brynn shifted in the passenger seat. The tension from the office had carried over into the SUV, growing thicker with each passing second. Jack wasn’t sure if it was due to them closing in on Riad’s location or his foot-in-mouth moment from earlier. The flash of hurt in her eyes had affected him more than he cared to admit.
“I’m not sure hacking into VDOT is legal.”
Jack couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. He looked at her and found no trace of humor on her face. “It’s not hacking if you have permission.” He shrugged. “I think it was genius, actually.”
He was duly impressed with Kekoa’s method. As soon as the cryptologist had Remon Riad’s photo, he used a facial recognition program to run it through the Virginia Department of Transportation. It took less than fifteen minutes before a highway camera captured his image and the license plate number of a rental car Kekoa tracked to a mom-and-pop rental car company in Arlington. The only problem was the last image taken was time-stamped an hour ago, leaving them blindly heading to the last location where cameras spotted Riad while they waited for an update.
What was taking Kekoa so long?
“Hmm, it was pretty genius. I might need to talk to recruitment about your little cryptologist.”
“Little?”
She smirked, shaking her head. “I still can’t imagine him on a ship.”
“He spent a lot of time at Fort Gordon’s Cyber Center, and there’s no recruiting my team.”
“We’ll see.” There was a tease in her voice and he felt the mood shift, reminding him how it used to be. “You’ve got quite a little team of Avengers.”
“They’re good people. Loyal and the very best at their jobs.”
“Lyla seems especially loyal.”
Through a side glance, Jack took in the curves of her face. A strand of blonde hair had come loose from the low bun at the base of her neck and now hung near her ear. Even in her profile, Jack could read the twist of her lips. Something was bothering her.
“Lyla is loyal and has a fierce protective streak, but she’s also incredibly generous and kind once you get to know her.”
Brynn released a laugh that lacked humor. “I’m pretty sure current girlfriends don’t want to get to know ex-girlfriends.”
Jack scrunched up his face as he digested her words before his jaw dropped, laughter spilling from his mouth. “You think Lyla and me—?” He laughed even harder, and Brynn pinned him with a look of confusion. “You think she’s my girlfriend? Are you serious?”
“What?” Brynn folded her arms over her chest. “She was shooting daggers at me all morning like I was stepping all over her territory.”
“She’s like a little sister.” Jack took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. “Not to mention the same age as my sister.”
“Love knows no age these days.”
Jack quirked an eyebrow at her. “Is that so?”
“Whatever, Jack, shut up.”
Another chuckle filled his chest, and from the corner of his eye he caught Brynn fighting her own smile. Hmm. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
The moment was interrupted by an incoming call. The name and number flashed on the screen—Amy Carmichael. Jack’s thumb fumbled over the control panel until he hit the ignore button. He glanced over at Brynn, who was looking out the window. His conscience pricked with guilt, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of Amy or Brynn.
Jack’s gaze slid to her left hand. No ring. Didn’t mean she wasn’t in a relationship. He looked at his own ring finger. Bare. Not for lack of trying. His parents had always instilled in him to date intentionally. A difficult task given the dating world he lived in where singles liked their dates like they liked their food—fast and unfulfilling. Empty carbs. Or hearts.
Maybe that’s why hanging out with Amy worked for him. Did a handful of dates in the last six months count as dating? Or was he trying to find a loophole to protect his heart?
He cleared his throat. “Any reason why Remon Riad would be in Northern Virginia?”
Brynn twisted in the passenger seat. “No . . .”
Her hesitation drew him to look over at her. Meeting those blue eyes of hers was a mistake. They’d always had an effect on him, and given the rush of feelings pumping through him, maybe they still did.
“Riad does not fit the profile of rogue agent. He’s got a family, good job, retirement from his time in the military. Jack, the man has everything to lose. Why would he choose to give all of it up?”
Her question hung between them for a long second before she looked away. Jack returned his attention back to the road, forcing himself not to dwell on the similarities of a choice made eight years ago. Brynn’s decision to put her career above all else still grated on him, but now was not the time to discuss it no matter how badly he wanted to know why.
“Jack, what you said to Walsh—”
The speakers in the vehicle rang again, the dash displaying an incoming call from Kekoa this time. Not a second too soon, brother. Jack’s dismay at learning he would be working with Brynn had overruled his good sense when he told Walsh he didn’t trust her. He’d never been good about keeping his emotions in check, and he felt guilty for his comment. Almost a decade later, thinking he was over it but sitting here with her, breathing in the fragrance that was so distinctly Brynn—the pain was still raw.
The last thing either of them needed was to bring up the past. It wouldn’t change anything, so it was best to stay focused on the assignment and then get on with their lives.
Jack clicked the answer button. “Tell me you have an address.”
“Brah, why you doubt my skills?”
Brynn covered a giggle, and it took a lot more control than it should’ve to remain focused on the road. If he thought her eyes had power over him, her smile almost always did him in.
“Kekoa, do you have the address?”
“Yeah, brah. The company tracks their rentals through OnStar. Sending you the location of one silver Toyota Corolla.”
The GPS screen pinged and directions to an address in Fairfax, Virginia, appeared. Jack hit the blinker and took the next exit. “Can you give me details on the location?”
“Already on it.” Jack heard the sound of computer keys clicking. “It looks like a shopping center. There’s a real estate office, bank, retail stores, Starbucks on two corners. Movie theater.” More clicking. “A couple of restaurants. I don’t see anything significant, but oh, wait a minute. I just got a readout from OnStar. Seems our guy has been taking advantage of the unlimited mileage on his rental.”
“What do you mean?”
“Once Riad picked up the car, he traveled outside of Fairfax to Clifton, Virginia, for several hours before heading to Cherry Hill Park. It’s a campground where I’m assuming he spent the night, because his car doesn’t move again until six this morning when he returned to Clifton before driving to the Fairfax Towne Centre. He’s been there for the last hour.”
Brynn sat forward. “Anything significant about Clifton?”
“Uh . . .” The car went silent.
Jack frowned. “Kekoa?”
“Yeah, sorry, brah. I was running a search through the county property taxation page, and I’m not seeing anything stand out. A lot of farmland with a mixture of homes ranging in the low hundreds up to the millions.”
“Brynn, you think Riad is looking to retire on a farm?”
Brynn gave him a side-eye, making it clear his suggestion wasn’t funny. “Well, I’d assume the first time he might’ve been lost.” She bit her lip. “But going to the same location a second time leads me to believe he was in Clifton for a reason.”
“And we can’t rule out a more nefarious purpose for his being there.”
Brynn pressed her lips together as though she didn’t want to admit he might be right. Jack couldn’t imagine what kind of consequences she was facing at work. And no matter how hurt or angry he was about their past, he’d never wish failure on her.
He accelerated. A part of him hoped she might be right—that Riad’s actions had an innocent explanation—but if not, then he wanted to get to him as quickly as possible.
“Kekoa, contact Walsh and let him know where we are. Oh, and have the rental company report the car stolen so OnStar can disable the engine. We don’t need Riad taking off.”
“Got it, brah.”
Jack ended the call and headed toward the shopping center where he hoped to find Riad’s car, which he hoped led to finding Riad, which he hoped would prove Brynn correct. But doubt lingered. The last time he put so much hope into something, it landed him in a very dark place. One he hoped never to go back to.
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Brynn was drumming her thumb in a staccato beat against her legs, a nervous twitch Jack noticed the first time he met her on their first day at the Farm.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous.” She stilled her hands. “I’m frustrated. I’ve been working on the DI-AC program for two years. Two years analyzing and vetting every single detail. Meeting every curveball the agency threw at me to one, convince them to consider the program, but two, and likely the worst, taking every menial operational task handed to me regardless of qualification just to prove myself in a male-dominated environment.”
A frustrated breath escaped her lips and Jack smirked.
Brynn turned on him. “Are you smirking? Does my misery delight you, Jack?”
“No.” He tried to clear his expression, but it was hard given the fire lighting Brynn’s blue eyes. A fire that at one time made his knees weak. He returned his focus to the drive. “I’ve never known you to grovel for anything.”
“I don’t grovel. Never have. Never will.” She released a long sigh and turned so her attention was back on the road in front of them. “I go after what I want and will work twice as hard to get it if necess—” Brynn bit down on the rest of the word.
Jack’s fingers tightened over the steering wheel. There was nothing about what she was saying that wasn’t true. He’d seen it when they were training for clandestine operations and refused to believe it would be a problem for them, no matter how many signs pointed to the truth. His refusal to accept it had cost him his job and his heart—and he wasn’t about to let that happen again.