Page 33 of Echo, the Sniper (Men of PSI #2)

Belonging

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“I NEVER IMAGINED EDWARD Terwilliger living in a shoebox-shaped ranch house,” Rory remarked.

I had parked three doors down and around the corner, giving us a good view of the nondescript, rectangular home with a dirt drive off to one side of the house, now filled with Josiah Armstrong’s Subaru.

“The garage he once had was roughly the size of that whole house, filled with all sorts of tiny Italian sports cars that he couldn’t fit into. ”

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” I glanced at my watch.

Half past eight. This small bedroom community located south of Highlands Ranch—one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Denver—was strictly blue-collar, working-class family homes.

In this part of the city there were no garages, no manicured landscaping.

Dane Grant had once considered a neighborhood like this to be where the hired help lived, so it did my heart good to think his business partner had landed here.

Though I didn’t know that for sure. All I knew was that Josiah Armstrong chose to hang his hat here while still maintaining a house on the other side of town.

That was weird as fuck, but it wasn’t illegal.

It was entirely possible Armstrong didn’t want to live in his old house because there were too many bad memories to deal with and he was getting ready to sell it.

We didn’t know anything, really.

My text chime chirped out. Grabbing up my phone from the console between the SUV’s front seats, I thumbed the screen.

Cap.

“Low level of security for the address you sent our way. Four cameras, all external, covering all approaches to the property. No actual security alarms that we can detect.”

My brows rose. A security alarm monitored by an outside source had the potential of bringing law enforcement to the address.

If Terwilliger was holed up in that house, bringing cops to where he was hiding was the last thing he’d want to do.

All they had going for them was a set of do-it-yourself cams wired to their phones.

Hope inched upward as I typed. “Any plan on how to get around those cameras?”

“Currently recording video of the neighborhood now so that we can play it for them in a loop. Will be ready at top of the hour.”

Thirty minutes. Excellent.

Again I let my thumbs tap over the screen. “Can you see or hear anything on the inside? Edward Terwilliger?”

“Negative. Once we establish the video loop, reconnoiter the property to confirm target is onsite. Until then, sit tight.”

“We’ve got downtime for the next half hour,” I let Rory know as I set the phone back down.

I looked over at her huddled in the passenger seat, and in the semi-dark, her hair was the color of moonlight splashed over her black sweatshirt.

I sat there, stunned all over again at the unearthly beauty of her before I realized I was staring at her like a lovesick puppy.

I really had to stop doing that. “When I get the all-clear, I’ll do a quick recon of the property—make sure there are no guard dogs or motion-triggered outdoor lights, that sort of thing.

Once I’m satisfied the exterior is secure, I’ll find out who’s inside. ”

“Okay.” Her eyes seemed larger in the shadow-washed dark, and her hands clenched in her lap. “So then what’s the plan?”

“Plan?”

She nodded. “Once we’ve confirmed Edward is inside with Josiah, do we kick down the door, take them by surprise, and I tackle Josiah while you take out Edward?”

I stared at her. “What the fuck, Rory.”

“What?”

“You really need to stop watching crime TV.”

“What’s wrong with what I just said?”

“Um, only everything.”

“Well, I certainly can’t tackle Edward.” She crossed her arms in front of her, as if irked she had to point out what she thought was obvious. “It’s amazing to think that mountain of a man can even fit into that house. You’re the one who’s going to have to take him out while I tackle Josiah.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I murmured to myself, and despite the profanity I meant it as a kind of prayer to anyone who might be listening.

“That right there is what I’m talking about.

No one’s getting taken out or tackled . I’m not sure you realize this, but if you ever did try to tackle Josiah Armstrong, the only person who’d be taken out would be you. ”

Her chin lifted, and I saw it—that undaunted stubbornness that helped her survive years of an abusive marriage. As breathtaking and admirable as it was, it wasn’t doing her any favors now.

“There is no way you’re going to leave me behind on this, Echo,” she said, her tone as unyielding as the steely look in her eyes. “You might be good, but you’re just one person. Josiah and Edward, if he’s there, are two people. Two against one is bad math, so I’m going to help even the odds.”

More like upend the odds by distracting me with worry about her safety. “You should know that I’m not planning on any acts of profound violence, okay? No kicking in doors, no tackling people, no taking anyone out.” Fuck, I couldn’t even believe I had to say it out loud.

“So then... what’s the plan? Go up to their front door and politely ring the bell?”

“After I do some recon and figure out what kind of security I’m dealing with, we sit in this car and wait.”

Her brows rose. “For what?”

“For them to go to bed.”

“And then what happens?”

“They fall asleep.”

“Echo—”

“I want them deeply asleep before I pick the lock on the back door,” I explained, amused by her frustrated growl. “That’s when I’ll get the drop on them. I’m hopeful they’re a true couple, like you suspect they are, because things will be so much easier if they’re sharing a bedroom.”

“Why would that make things easier?”

“It’s easier to break into a house when you know where all the occupants are located. It’s even better if they’re located in the same room. I won’t have to divide my attention between multiple rooms, and potentially miss something when looking the other way.”

“Oh.” She nodded reluctantly. “I suppose that makes sense.”

“Once I’m inside, I’ll wait for one of them—it doesn’t matter who—to get up and go to the bathroom.

A house that small probably doesn’t have an ensuite bathroom, so they’d have to move away from their bedroom and the other occupant.

Depending on accessibility, I’ll neutralize first one, then the other quietly, then secure them with man’s true best friend, duct tape.

After that, we’ll have a nice little chat. No harm, no foul.”

Her eyes looked enormous. “Sounds like you’ve done this kind of thing before.”

“A few times.” But I always had backup, first in the military, then at PSI.

Flying solo on this mission was going to be tricky, but failure was not a fucking option.

“The element of surprise is going to carry a lot of weight when it comes to this move, so once I’m inside I’m going to have to find a dark hiding place and bide my time before someone gets up to hit the head.

” My money was on Edward, since he was older.

Heaven only knew what shape his prostate was in.

“I could be in there for hours, so I need you to be patient and—”

“You’re not leaving me behind, Echo,” she cut in, sitting up straighter. “I’m going with you.”

Goddamn it . “Bodyguarding 101—the bodyguard does not bring their protectee into a dangerous situation. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of what a bodyguard does.”

“I understand, and I believe there’s no one better at this job than you.”

“Then let me do it without interference.”

“Someone out there wants me dead, but what if it’s not anyone in that house? You said it yourself—you could be in there for hours, while I’m a sitting duck out here by myself.”

Shit. She had a point. “You’ll stay inside the SUV, in the backseat where the windows are tinted, with all the doors locked and your phone in hand to call either me or 911 if someone tries to get in.”

“What if there’s more than one person? What if they have guns?”

“Then you’ll call me and I’ll be here in under twenty seconds, making them breathe their last. And it’d be my honor to do so,” I added fiercely, knowing without a doubt that I would not fucking hesitate.

No one touched her. No one. “So, unless you’ve done this before and you know how to nonlethally neutralize an enemy combatant as silently as possible, you’re not going in that house. ”

Her mouth tightened. “Wouldn’t you be surprised if I said I did.”

“Honestly I would. Then I’d try to recruit you for PSI. We don’t have enough female agents on our teams. Maybe when we get back to the hotel room, I can teach you a few self-defense moves you could use as a brand-new field agent.”

That drew a derisive snort, and mentally I allowed myself to relax.

The last thing I needed now was to have her pissed off at me.

For both our sakes I had to keep my head in the game and stay focused on the mission.

Focusing on her would be the quickest way for me to jack things up, and I couldn’t afford to do that.

Her life depended on me finding answers.

“I’m not sure being an agent of anything is something I ever envisioned for myself,” she drawled, and again I was relieved to hear no bitterness or resentment in her tone.

Thank Christ. A woman who chose not to hold a grudge had to be worth her weight in diamonds.

“Believe me, that’s never been my dream. ”

“What is?” I turned in my seat to look at her fully. When I did, it took all my control not to reach out and caress her cheek. “If you won the lottery and could do anything you wanted, what would it be?”