Page 26 of Dangerous Affair (The Phoenix Three #2)

L iam angled the camera to get a picture of the man watching them, and then he took one of him kissing Quinn.

That one he took for himself. It was time to move on, though, before they drew any more attention.

“Don’t look at the man or the mill,” he murmured against her lips.

He lifted his head and smiled at her. “We need to go.”

“Is he still watching us?”

“Yep.” It could be nothing, but his gut said the man had more interest in them than normal.

From the corner of his eye, he could see that the man watched them until they disappeared.

Just curiosity or suspicion? He risked a glance at the windows on the side of the mill.

Good, no one inside the building seemed to be paying them any attention.

“Liam,” she said.

The urgency in her voice had him looking around them for the threat. “What?”

“Look over there. Are those the same two cars that showed up at my house?”

There was a parking lot behind the mill, probably for employees, and parked side by side in front of an entrance door were two white Suburbans. “I’m guessing so, but we need to get pictures of the tags to be sure.”

“If I can get a clear shot from behind them, I can zoom in.”

The lot was fenced in, so they couldn’t just mosey over. He scanned the area around them. “Let’s go over there.” He pointed to a tree that was just outside the corner of the fence.

“I can’t see the license plates from here,” she said.

“Show me how to zoom in.” After she did, he said, “Keep an eye out.” The tree had a low branch, and he pulled himself up to it.

“Hand me the camera.” From his vantage point, he was able to zoom in over the top of the other cars and get a clear shot of both plates.

He jumped down and gave her back the camera.

“The car on the left has the plate number I memorized when we were being chased.”

“Wow,” she said. “We did it. We connected what’s going on to the mill.”

“And maybe a powerful senator.”

“Yeah, that part makes me nervous. Like what have I gotten myself into?”

“Whatever it all turns out to be, you’re not alone in this, Quinn. Let’s head down to the lake before someone notices us hanging around here.” At the entrance to the park, he tossed their empty coffee cups into a trash can.

“Do you think it would be safe to look for those drums?”

“The mill probably operates overnight shifts, but it should be safe enough to nose around after it gets dark.” He slipped his hand around hers and walked them to a picnic table. They sat, facing the lake.

“It’s pretty here.” She lifted her camera and started snapping pictures of the lake and the surrounding area.

“Very pretty,” he agreed, his eyes on her. He thought about standing on Grayson’s deck and feeling envious of his relationship with Harlow. That he wanted someone special in his life, and that he just needed to find her . Had he? Was Quinn the one?

What was it about her that called so strongly to him?

He thought about that for a minute and what he liked about her.

It was nice that she really was pretty but needs to be pretty wasn’t at the top of his list. She was feisty and would challenge him, keep him on his toes.

He very much liked that about her. He admired her and what she stood for and who she was.

When they made love, he had the sense that he’d found his home, something he’d never felt with another woman.

He loved her smile and how her eyes would light up like glittering emeralds when she was happy or when she teased him.

She was fearless but not reckless. She always smelled so damn good.

Things he didn’t like about her… He drew a blank.

“No one’s at the lake this morning,” she said. “We need to come back this afternoon, see if there are any kids playing in the water I can get pictures of.”

“Okay. Why don’t we drive around a little, then go back to the cabin and have lunch.

Come back here—” A white Suburban came into view, driving slowly.

He put his hand on Quinn’s cheek, turned her to face him, and kissed her.

“We’ve got company,” he said against her lips.

Without trying to see for herself, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

He had on sunglasses, so his eyes were hidden, and he was able to watch the car. Two men were in it, and both were looking their way. Keep going. Nothing to see here. The driver said something and both men laughed, then the car picked up speed and disappeared down the street.

He lingered for a moment with his mouth on hers, then reluctantly pulled away. “Let’s go before they decide to come back.”

It was a ten-minute walk back to the car, and they reached the Mercedes without incident. He needed to call Grayson and let him know they’d confirmed the Suburbans were connected to the mill. He’d do that when they got back to the cabin.

Speaking of phone calls… “Did you have time to call and cancel your credit cards?”

“My dad’s canceling my credit cards. I did call the DMV and reported my driver’s license stolen. They’re sending me another one.”

“Should’ve known you’d be on top of things.” He reached over and put his hand on her leg. “Want to be on top of me?” That got him an eye roll and a grin.

“You have a one-track mind, sir.”

“Appears so where you’re concerned. All your fault, Miss Sullivan.”

“Well, maybe a little playtime after lunch before we go back to the lake would interest you?”

“The answer is yes, yes it would.” He might’ve exceeded the speed limit to get back to the cabin.

* * *

Kids were playing in the water when they returned later that afternoon. To look like they were here to enjoy the lake, they’d changed into shorts and had brought towels to set on the sand.

“It’s hard to sit here and stay quiet,” Quinn said. “I want to tell them to get out of that water.”

“Since we can’t do that and risk the mission, we just have to prove the lake is contaminated so we can warn the town.

” There were five families enjoying a summer afternoon at the lake.

He guessed the kids ranged in age from two or three years to sixteen or so.

It was hard to stand by and not say anything.

It was also possible there wasn’t anything wrong with the water.

Quinn lifted her camera and started taking pictures.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. When her camera came up, she was in her element, and he didn’t doubt that anything not in that viewfinder ceased to exist for her.

He could take pictures that were just that, a picture, nothing special.

He’d studied her work, and she had a keen eye for detail and composition that set her photos apart from those of an amateur. She impressed the hell out of him.

Since he’d forgotten to call Grayson when they returned to the cabin because a certain woman had wanted to play, he called his teammate while she took her pictures. Liam updated him on finding the Suburbans at the mill, then got an update from Grayson.

“Anything new?” she asked after he finished his call.

“Gray’s still trying to trace the shell company back to the owner or owners. He said it’s sophisticated and that there are layers and layers, which tells us it isn’t a run-of-the-mill operation. There are powerful people behind it.”

“Like a certain senator?”

“Quite possibly. He has made progress on developing a profile on Joey Garrison. He was a mechanic in the Army for three years until he was dishonorably discharged for stealing Humvee parts.”

“Doesn’t surprise me then that he and Jasper are cousins. Do you think he’s the one who killed Jasper?”

“Hard to say at this point, but I don’t feel like he’s the one.

From what Gray said, Joey doesn’t have the smarts to pull their scheme off by himself.

I think he needed his cousin for their plan to be successful, so he wouldn’t have killed him.

Or he wanted all the money for himself and did kill his cousin.

Did you get all the pictures you wanted? ”

“For now. Until we can come back tonight and see if we can find those drums.”

“Good. Gray texted me Joey’s address, so I thought we might do a drive-by.”

They gathered their things and headed to the parking lot. Once in the car, he put in the address Grayson had sent him. “It’s not far from here.”

“How do you guys find these things out?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” He gave her a sad face. “I’d miss you.”

“I’d come back and haunt you.”

“Now I’m afraid.” Following the GPS’s instructions, he turned onto Cow Creek Road.

“Fun name for a road.”

“Small rural towns have some great road names.” The GPS announced that they’d reached their destination, and he slowed as they drove by. The neighborhood was run-down, the small houses close together.

“Doesn’t even look like anyone lives there,” she said.

The yard was overgrown, and an old car missing its tires and back bumper was up on blocks in the driveway. “The windows are open, so someone must be around.”

A man talking on a phone came around from the back of the house. The man had a full beard that could use a good trim, and he could also use a haircut and some clean clothes.

“Looks like he’s been mud wrestling,” Quinn said. “Do you think that’s Joey?”

“Joey’s twenty-seven. This guy looks like he’s in his forties, so I’m thinking maybe not. Still want to go drum searching tonight?”

“Definitely. I wonder if there’s a box store close by. I need to go shopping.”

“What for?”

“You’ll see.” She got out her phone and after a few minutes of searching said, “There’s one about thirty minutes from here. We’ve got time to go there.”

What was she up to? At the store, she told him she’d meet him back at the front of the store in twenty minutes.

Guess whatever she was up to would remain a mystery for now.

When they returned to the cabin, she spent the evening getting her cameras and what she called her spy outfit ready.

He spent it getting his weapons ready and worrying about keeping Quinn safe.