Bryn paused in the doorway to shake the snow off her coat before handing it to the coatroom clerk. She was glad she’d traded in her lethal high heels early in her adventures in the Mile-High City. In honor of the storm, she’d also traded in her cowboy boots for snow boots with deep treads because she didn’t intend to break her neck, or any other bone, crossing an icy parking lot.
Her coat dealt with, her gaze swept the restaurant, looking for the Kirby table. Her nose inhaled the yummy food smells filling the warm air. It was easy to spot her group. It was the largest in the room, dominating a large portion of a corner that had probably been quiet before it was invaded. The table had a finished-eating look that didn’t bode well for her empty tummy—which promptly grumbled.
Two empty chairs drew her attention. One, she knew, was hers. A frown started between her brows until she spotted Dewey Hyatt. Part of her expected the other empty chair to be his. Though he wore an official bracelet on his ankle, it would be easy beans for him to shed it. For the first few months of his electronic probation, tension had coiled her insides like a malignant snake as she waited for him to vanish. Disappearing was his specialty. It was hard to believe he could give up a habit so deeply ingrained into his psyche.
Against the odds, there he sat, a high-tech thief at a table full of lawmen. Lanky and rather nondescript, he managed to look appealing next to the highly “descript” Kirbys. The charm helped, of course. He was loaded with it. It brightened his brown eyes and disguised a face was so ordinary it verged on homely. His mouth was mobile and nicely shaped, with an infectious grin and a dimple that sometimes popped out on his left cheek. In a perfect world, the fluidity of his face and body could have put him in serious contention with comic Jim Carrey. Dewey had an instinct for comedy and for mining her sense of humor. She’d grown accustomed to him and even let herself enjoy it, despite her best efforts not to.
She told herself she had him working with her to try and trick him into exposing Phagan, but Bryn couldn’t lie to herself forever. In a yearlong campaign, Dewey’d managed to move her past mere liking and into the dangerous territory of warm regard. She’d even pondered various possible, and even some impossible, happy endings.
Jake’s career had survived his marriage to the paroled Phoebe, but he was a man. Men could do some things that a woman in law enforcement couldn’t. It wasn’t fair, but it never had been. She knew that going in and had figured it was worth it. Now, though, when she looked on the happiness of Jake and his brother, Matt, she wondered if a girl could sacrifice too much for a career.
With Dewey present and briefly mooned over, she turned her attention to who wasn’t there. She could see Matt with his Dani, their son on his lap instead of in the high chair the restaurant provided. Dani was still packing a few of her pregnancy pounds, but the extra weight suited her. She’d had a few pounds too many shaved off her during her ordeal as a government witness. Mark looked like he was going to be a chip off his dad’s block, but Dani didn’t look like she minded. Happiness suited her.
Phoebe still glowed, too. Bryn remembered the first time she’d seen her, just over a year ago. She’d been singing in a band in a bar in Estes Park. Her eyes had a “no trespassing” sign posted in them and so much sad, it was painful to look at her. Jake had torn that sign down. Jake was always cheerful, but now it was biggie-sized, with a huge dollop of contentment. If she felt inclined to jealousy, she had only to remind herself of what both couples had suffered to be sitting there together.
Debra Kirby sat at the head table, her eyes slightly worried as they studied the empty chair. It still startled Bryn how much Jake and his mom looked alike. Both were light skinned, compared to the dark-visaged Matt and Luke, who everyone said took after their dad.
Luke. That’s who was missing. Luke, who they were pretending this gathering wasn’t for. Just like they were pretending they’d forgotten it was the anniversary of his wife Rosemary’s death. Luke was so easygoing, so even tempered, she sometimes forgot he'd lost his childhood sweetheart to ovarian cancer seven years earlier.
Bryn dropped into the seat between Debra and Dewey and touched her hand. “Your firstborn working tonight?”
She smiled, but there was strain in it, as she shook her head. “He’s eluded us. Told Dani he was going up to the cabin. Now the storm has moved in, and he’s got his phone turned off or its not receiving.”
“Men.” Bryn could feel Dewey watching her, waiting for her attention to turn his way. She ignored him, though she didn’t pull away when his hand found hers under the table and squeezed it. When had she moved from rejecting his advances to accepting them? How long would it be before she was returning them? Dewey had been patient and persistent, but he'd upped the tempo of his pursuit lately. Cheeky devil, she thought, then caught her breath as the tip of his finger traced a heart in the palm of her captured hand. Okay, so maybe there was something more than warm regard in her feelings for Dewey, but she was not in love with him.
“You’re late,” Matt said, moving a steak knife out of his son’s reaching hands.
It could be either a comment or a question. The Kirby men were like that, she’d found. The choice of what and how much to share was her responsibility. She never got to claim anything was dragged out of her, but they were free with their assistance and never tried to take all the credit.
“Had a couple of calls before I could get clear,” she said, adjusting the volume of her voice so it reached only the ears at their table. “GREEN hit six research labs tonight. East and west coast and a couple in between. Turned a bunch of lab animals loose. Graffiti on the walls about freeing the POWs and hostages. The usual stuff, only this time somebody died.”
Jake frowned slightly. “Deliberate?”
Bryn shook her head. “They used a tranquilizer gun on one of the security guards. Shot him in the heart. Guy had a heart condition and couldn't take it. We’ve been tracking sales of the darts because they always use them, so we know this one came from our area. They want us to check it out.” She looked at Dewey. “GREEN did their usual pre-screw of the computers. Our guys were wondering if you could fly in and contain the damage once the weather clears. I told them you could.”
“Am I allowed out of your sight?” Dewey smiled at her, the charm flowing out of him to wrap around her heart like a favorite chocolate.
“No. That’s why I’ll be going with you.” She tried to keep her expression and her tone noncommittal, but it wasn’t easy with Dewey’s fingers creeping up her thigh. She grabbed his hand and returned it to his own lap.
Dewey arched his brows wickedly as his hand gripped hers. She could have pulled away, she knew. He knew it, too.
“You got a couple of calls?” Phoebe asked, as if she knew Bryn needed rescuing. “Don’t people know when to go home?”
Bryn chuckled. One call had been a report on a right-wing paramilitary group, the Colorado Irregulars, operating out of one of those weekend “let’s shoot paint balls at each other for fun” camps, but this wasn’t the place to mention that, since it had also proved difficult to infiltrate. “Sometimes I’m not sure Alexander Graham did us any favors when he invented the telephone. Then I got tagged leaving the office.” She looked at Jake. “Did you ever meet a mercenary named Donovan Kincaid when you were in DC?”
Jake frowned. “Ran into him once. Interesting character.”
“Well, he’s being ‘interesting’ here in Denver these days. He’s a security consultant for Merryweather Biotechnologies. Either of you had dealings with them?”
Both Jake and Matt shook their heads. Jake, as if he couldn’t resist it, said, “Sounds like a place that would interest Phagan.”
“Almost everything does.” Dewey looked amused, as if he knew something no one else did. Except maybe Phoebe, who choked.
Jake looked a question at her, but thought better of it and kissed her instead. Wise man. See no evil, hear no evil, ask no questions and marital harmony is preserved.
Bryn eyed Dewey. “Any idea what might have interested Phagan at Biotech?”
He looked delighted to have her full attention. “They dabble in a lot of different stuff. Been messing around with genetically engineered foods and done some interesting stuff with protective gear.”
“Such as?” Debra asked.
“Well, they developed a jumpsuit that mutes the body’s heat signature,” he said, winking at Phoebe. Her eyes widened, then she looked away, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Once again Jake looked curious but restrained himself. Marriage to Phoebe was teaching him a lot about self-control, Bryn decided with an inward grin.
“I also heard they were doing some interesting research in protective body armor,” he went on. “They have some super brain, name of John Knight, in charge of the research.”
Bryn twitched slightly at the name, earning a quick look from Dewey. He hesitated, then continued, “If he succeeds, it could impact more than personal protection. And be mega-valuable.”
“How?” Bryn asked, though she knew she shouldn’t.
“Well, who wouldn’t like body armor that was light and cool and could beat cop-killers?”
Bryn nodded thoughtfully. Armor-piercing bullets were the bane of law enforcement existence.
“Why would a biotech company be working on body armor?” Debra asked.
Bryn looked at her with respect. It was a good question.
Dewey shrugged. “Buzz is BioTech is looking to Mother Nature for a solution to the problem of protection and weight. Nature kicks butt when protecting itself from predators.”
“Did they do it?” Bryn asked. “Did they succeed?”
“I don’t know. I promised this judge I’d be good,” Dewey said, his arm finding its way to the back of her chair, his smile worming its way into her heart.
Did that mean he wasn’t in contact with Phagan? She wished she could ask him. Or Phoebe. She’d be glad when they weren’t on parole anymore. If she lived that long.
“What did Kincaid want?” Matt asked. It was typical of him to bring the conversation back on point.
Bryn related the gist of Donovan's visit and handed over the envelope. “I was hoping to hand it off to Luke.”
Though now she was wondering if she should. Was it possible Prudence Knight's disappearance was the beginning of a move on Merryweather? Could it be connected to Green’s other activities this evening? It could be a coincidence, she supposed, but biotech companies were a favorite target of Green.
Matt glanced at the contents, Dani taking a peek over his shoulder, and then he handed them to Jake.
“If she is playing hooky, the storm would complicate things for her,” Jake said as he took his turn at the contents, the pages angled so Phoebe could see them, too. “I wonder how close Knight was to succeeding?”
“Want me to find out for you?” Dewey asked, giving Bryn a provocative look.
Bryn kicked him with her foot, then gave Jake a pointed look. “Is your gut twitching?” She had enormous, though reluctant, respect for Jake’s gut.
Jake shrugged, his mischievous gaze catching Phoebe’s. “Not about that.” He jumped as if Phoebe had kicked him and asked Bryn, “Any other trouble signs?”
“Not that Donovan mentioned. Gonna be a bitch to investigate right now. They were saying on the radio that the storm is going to shut us down for at least twenty-four hours.”
“Longer in the mountains,” Debra said, her look of worry deepening.
“Luke’s a big boy, Mom,” Matt said. “He can take care of himself.”