AJ had never been in a war room before, but he was fairly certain the space Neil and his band of merry men congregated in resembled one. The night before, he’d met Cooper and Isaac, two of Neil’s security guards. Jeb was Wade’s personal bodyguard, who lived onsite and had joined them that morning. Two more men AJ hadn’t been introduced to were brought in to relieve the man at the front entrance, as well as one on the far end of the property where deliveries were made for the working ranch portion of the estate. From AJ’s count, there were eight armed guards onsite, not to mention the ranch hands, who had been told that there was a viable threat and they needed to report to Jeb or Neil if they saw or suspected anything.
They had taken over the guesthouse, moving living room furniture aside to make room for fold-up tables and laptop computers. The kitchen table was littered with pictures and information that eventually made it up onto the wall. In the center of the data sat an image of Amelia. Subject zero. Unlike anyone else on the wall who had died, the guys in the room hadn’t put a black line through her image. AJ was pretty sure that was to save his feelings.
He watched from the side of the room while men buzzed around.
When the front door opened and Sasha walked in, three of the guys stopped what they were doing and stared.
She narrowed her eyes. “You saw me last night,” she said to him.
He looked her up and down. “Yeah, but I didn’t know you owned anything that wasn’t black.” Cooper started to laugh and one of the other guys joined him.
“I don’t. This is borrowed.”
Cooper laughed harder. “Thank God. I was going to ask Wade if there was a doctor in the house to make sure you were feeling okay.”
She walked by with a glare.
The man obviously knew her well. Personally, AJ liked the relaxed jeans and sweater look. The new clothes softened her hard edges. Or maybe that was Claire’s doing.
She stood across from the wall of pictures and crossed her arms over her chest. “Where are we?” she asked.
Cooper stepped around her and waved a pen in the air. “Hold up, let’s get Reed online.”
Sasha nodded and stepped back.
AJ moved to her side. “Why Reed?”
“He’s the private investigator. He sees things others don’t.”
One of the monitors picked up a live feed of a clean-cut man sitting behind a computer. “Hello.”
“How’s the picture?” Cooper asked.
“It’s clear. Is Sasha there?”
Sasha moved in front of the camera. “Good morning. Are you a father yet?”
“Any day.” Reed peered closer into his camera. “Are you wearing a sweater?”
Cooper chuckled.
“Yes.” Sasha was irritated. “Are we doing this or talking fashion?”
“Get your panties out of your ass,” Reed said, laughing. “Is AJ there?”
AJ stepped up. “Nice to see you in person,” he said.
Reed nodded his approval. “Glad you filled out since your high school mug shot.”
“That was a closed file.”
“I have a can opener. Okay, let’s get on with this. Turn the camera around and bring me up to date.”
Cooper ran the meeting and used a yardstick to point at the wall. “Since Hofmann is our subject, we started there. Green dots signify covert intelligence. Information we were able to obtain from the liberated files off the dean’s computer.”
“Headmistress,” Sasha corrected.
“The headmistress’s computer. Hofmann did qualify for the green dot, as well as a yellow, signifying political ties and access.” Cooper glanced at AJ. “Black dots are for honor marks in weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Again, not marks that Hofmann obtained.”
“Do we have the school’s definition of covert intelligence?” Reed asked.
“There are two. At least that’s what was indicated in the files. Computer skills, which included writing code or hacking into the back doors of computers. And observed intelligence through pranks and mischief the students got into while attending the school.”
“Sasha, did the school teach you how to hack into a computer?”
“Not in the general education classes.”
“So that’s a yes.”
“More of a problem-solving course. That some of us might have used to learn how to obtain information not otherwise given to us freely.”
“You should go into politics, Sasha,” one of the men in the room said.
“AJ, did you know your sister could hack?” Neil asked.
“That’s news to me. She could always fix our computers . . . but hacking?”
Sasha stepped forward. “If I remember Amelia, she was always following the rules. I doubt she was on the intelligence list for foul play.”
“Okay, let’s move on.”
Cooper explained the lines drawn from Amelia to the two other deceased women, and the third that was missing. “Roommates at one time or another. Notice zero dots. Jocey and Keri graduated Richter, but they weren’t going to be recruited for the CIA. Olivia, our missing student, however, has a stacked deck.”
“Have we located her?” Reed asked.
“Nope. Just the location in Germany that AJ has reported as furnished but empty of anything personal.”
The door opened and several heads turned to see Claire walk in the house.
“Who are all these other people on the board?” Reed asked.
Cooper glanced at the new addition to the room and continued. “Using this model, we’ve gone through and singled out those students with all the dots and then pulled their roommates during their senior year. If we found the potential recruits working, living with a family and seemingly normal jobs, we’ve indicated it with a bright orange dot. No explained or unexplained demise of anyone.”
“It looks like you have a lot of orange dots.”
Claire stepped forward and shook her head. “That’s because you’re not looking for the right people. Where is Sasha’s picture?”
Cooper pointed to the top corner. Her roommates were all accounted for. No black line indicated any of them had died.
Claire reached up and pulled Sasha’s picture down and pinned it next to Olivia and two other past students who were indicated as missing. “What do these four women have in common?”
“All the dots.”
“No, they’re all beautiful, yet nothing that stands out as so remarkable that they’ll be remembered,” Claire pointed out. “And you’re missing a skill.”
Claire and Sasha looked at each other, and then Claire said something to Sasha in Russian.
“Right.” Sasha walked to the wall, grabbed a marker, and put a blue dot by her image. “Everyone at Richter was mandated to speak German and English. A third language was required, but you didn’t have to pass with fluency. I speak English, German, Russian, French, Italian, some Spanish, and enough Arabic to get me in trouble.”
The room fell silent.
“And I speak English, German, Russian, some Italian, and Mandarin. I was going to add Arabic next year,” Claire said.
“Holy shit. I need to go back to school,” AJ said under his breath.
Some of the guys laughed.
“We know I was approached for a job, and Pohl had his eye on you,” Sasha pointed out. “Which means we need to add another factor.”
Claire must have been on the same page, because she started nodding. “We’re both orphans. No families to tie us down or keep us from taking a dangerous job. And Pohl was my benefactor. I was given incentives to learn more languages than my roommates. Told that when I graduated, I’d have five thousand euros for every language I spoke fluently.”
“Was there any data in the chip I gave you saying who else was Pohl’s financial responsibility?”
Cooper shook his head. “No. But we do have who has families and who doesn’t. We’ll cross-reference that information and move forward.”
AJ’s head spun.
“What about Claire’s original birth certificate?” Sasha asked.
“We have boots on the ground in New York and should have that by the end of the day,” Neil said.
“Any closer to a real identity on Pohl or who he works for?” AJ asked.
“I’m working on that,” Reed said from the computer screen. “It’s an image search at this point.”
“That’s all for now, then,” Neil reported. “We get back to work and return before the sun sets and see where we’re at. First priority is clearing Claire’s age. I’d rather deal solely with Pohl than our own police force. In the meantime, we need a rotation on the monitors here at the ranch. Fresh eyes on the screens every four hours.”
“You got it, Boss,” Cooper said. “You heard the man, let’s get cracking.”
Claire rubbed her hands together. “How can I help?”
“Oh, it’s okay, kid . . .”
With hands on her hips, Claire asked, “How many languages do you speak?”
Cooper blinked. “One.”
“Are you telling me there isn’t anything in the headmistress’s file that is in a language other than English?”
“Okay, fine.”
Claire did a little victory dance and let Cooper lead her to a computer.
“Did you want to get some fresh air?”
AJ’s question had Sasha turning around in surprise. No. What she really wanted to do was dig into the files and look for links herself.
He leaned in. “That’s my way of asking you to come outside with me so I can have a private word.”
“Lead the way,” she said.
Even during fall, Texas was warm. They walked out of the guesthouse and Sasha diverted him away from the main house. “Trina asked the cook to come back to prepare food for everyone. It’s best she doesn’t see me until we can clear my name.”
They walked toward the stables and stopped at one of the fences that kept the horses penned in to graze. Sasha wasn’t a big fan of country living, but it was hard to look over something as simple as a group of horses munching on grass and not feel her heart rate slow. “What’s on your mind?”
“You really speak seven languages?”
“You brought me out here to clarify that?”
“There you go again, asking a question instead of answering me. No. I wanted to ask about the A-team in there. You said Neil was in security.”
“He is.”
“Those guys all look like they do more than watch monitors and eat donuts.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Neil eat a donut.” She found the thought strangely fascinating.
“Not my point.”
“Neil recruits retired military service. That’s why they all look like they can take care of themselves in a fight. I’ve seen a couple of them in action, so I can vouch for them. They’re men who liked the adrenaline but not the drama of working under military orders. They want to work for what they believe in and not whatever political power is in office.”
“You trust them.”
“And they trust me. What are you getting at, AJ?”
He moved beside her, close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body, and leaned against the fence. “The last bit you and Claire were saying about being orphaned and the words emotionally vulnerable—words you said to Pohl: these things might have pertained to you at one point, but not now. I look around and I see family. I see an organized army working intelligence as if they’re in a situation room looking for a mole in the Middle East. I do not see a profile of what Pohl needs. Yeah, you check off all the other boxes, but the one where you need him? No, not you.”
Sasha leaned back. “When I went back to Richter, I told Linette I was searching for something. Direction. Maybe she thought that meant I was all that you mentioned.”
“She’s the one who invited him to come and see you.”
“For a finder’s fee.” The thought still made her sick.
“Right. What does Linette do with her finder’s fee? She lives on campus, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Does she have family?”
Sasha shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Husband, kids?”
“Are you suggesting she works for Pohl?”
“I’m suggesting those guys in there look into her a little more. She runs the school, but who runs her? Board of directors for the school? Is there an advisory committee?”
Sasha thought of her parting conversation with Linette. Her defensiveness for inviting Pohl and the odd feeling inside of Sasha, hearing the woman act as if sacrificing a normal life for a few students was a small price to pay for all the other graduates that went on to do great things. “You’re right. I think we do need to look harder at Linette.”
AJ looked pleased with himself. “I may not be retired military, but I’m good for something.”
She looked him up and down.
His grin brightened. “I’m good for that, too.”
Sasha squeezed her eyes shut. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He laughed.
“I have a question,” she said as it surfaced in her head.
“Ask away.”
“Your address in Florida is in a pretty nice part of town. Did you support that with criminal activity?”
He scooted closer until their shoulders touched. “I have a trust fund. Grandma Hofmann set Amelia and I up. Amelia didn’t have to work, but it fulfilled her. Or that’s what she said, anyway. I haven’t found the kind of job, legal job, that keeps my interest for long. I skip around with a lot of blue-collar stuff to keep my other activities off the radar, but I don’t depend on them to live.”
“Hmmm.”
“Does that worry you?”
“I’m no angel, Junior. I don’t know very many people that don’t have something to hide.” The truth was, she probably wouldn’t be attracted to the guy if he made an honest living as an accountant or some such mediocre job. The edge of danger always did something for her. It wasn’t like she picked up the men in her past at the coffee shop while discussing the difference between the African roasted blends and those harvested in Mexico.
AJ twisted around until he was standing in front of her and his hands rested on the fence supporting her back.
She glanced to the side to see if anyone spotted them. “What are you doing?”
He pressed his body against hers, his intentions clear. “I’m going to kiss you and remind my senses how you taste.”
There was a smile on her face at the sheer unexpectedness of his pursuit. “And if I don’t want this kiss?” She wanted the kiss . . . shifted her legs in anticipation.
“You would have already removed my balls if you wanted me to stop.”
She looked at his lips. “You’ve been paying close attention.”
“And you like that.”
He leaned closer but didn’t touch her.
She pushed her chest into his. “Is this kiss going to happen sometime today, or do I have to wait?”
“The anticipation kills you, doesn’t it?”
His lower lip brushed against hers.
Her body sparked and quickly simmered.
His laughing smile told her all she needed to know. He was taking control.
Something she wasn’t used to.
“If you’re going to kiss me, do it like you mean it.”
AJ’s laughing smile faded.
Oh, shit.
He closed her in.
Trapped was not a feeling of comfort.
And then . . . he kissed her. His body pressed against her from knees to lips. Like a boxer putting his whole body into the punch, AJ committed.
His lips were open on hers, she responded with complete possession of his mouth. Hands gripped the railing, unwilling to pull him in. Not that she needed to pull anything. His pelvis dug into hers, his excitement already evident. The feel of him, oh, man . . . all man.
One of his hands left the railing beside hers and slid along her waist and to her back. He pressed her closer, her nipples straining against the unfamiliar sweater.
She wanted his touch . . . needed it.
There was a weight to his kiss, one that told her this wasn’t something that came around every day. This man knew her more than any she’d let touch her as intimately as he was now. The texture of his tongue along hers, the way his hand exposed a small portion of her back, and the heat of his bare skin on hers.
She wrapped one leg around his and let loose the railing she was gripping with all her energy.
The heat of him pressed against her stomach.
She moaned, wanted the contact lower. Her hips moved closer in response to her thoughts.
AJ’s teeth grazed her lips.
Her nails bit into his back.
The sound of gravel kicking up a few yards away had Sasha opening her eyes.
Trina had stopped midstride, eyes glued to Sasha’s.
AJ released her lips, looked down at her, and then over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I, ah, was . . .”
AJ dropped his head onto Sasha’s shoulder with a chuckle.
Trina shuffled her feet, turned one way and then another before taking a step back in the direction she’d appeared from. “I’ll just leave you two . . .”
Sasha watched her disappear while her heartbeat returned to normal.
“Is she gone?”
She answered with a single nod and pulled back enough to see AJ’s eyes.
AJ swiped his finger over her bottom lip and then licked it.
The action made her whole body clench.
“Probably best we didn’t do this out here anyway,” he said.
She felt a smile on her lips.
AJ’s lips briefly met the side of her neck. “Do me a favor,” he said.
The neck action distracted her. “Another one?”
The tip of his tongue met her skin. “Don’t unman me if I sneak into your room at night.”
She gripped his hips and moved him far enough away to keep his lips from her body.
Their eyes met.
“The risk of bodily harm makes it more exciting,” she told him.
With that, she stepped around him and back toward the war room.