Page 6 of Jonas (Silver Team #4)

CHAPTER FIVE

I heard Derrika’s deep inhale. But before I had the chance to ask her if I was making her uncomfortable sitting close, her fingers flew across the keyboard and I watched her type “Daryl Barnes” into what looked like a search bar.

A few moments later, results popped up.

“Did Kira send you his picture or should I tap into the building’s security?”

I pulled out my phone and pulled up my secure email.

Something I should’ve done as soon as I entered Derrika’s apartment but I’d been more interested in seeing where she lived than work.

The more I’d looked around, the more I hated the apartment.

It was all creams and taupes—no color to be found.

The kitchen was small and modern with black granite, stainless steel appliances.

There was no hint of personality. No life.

It was a room—nothing more. I’d spent mere minutes in Derrika’s presence yet I knew this wasn’t her.

She had to be crawling out of her skin living on the top floor of this hotel-apartment building.

The view out her windows didn’t suck but it wasn’t great.

You could see the pool, the outdoor kitchen, dozens of outdoor chairs and loungers, along with a well-kept grassy area, but all it took was a flick of the eyes and the building next door came into view, and the highway beyond that, and if you squinted, Capitol One Park.

I wanted to ask her where she lived when she wasn’t working undercover. She’d said she had to sleep with the curtains closed because it never got dark. I could picture her living in a small house with lots of land surrounding her. A woman like Derrika would need wide open spaces.

But I didn’t ask. I scanned the email instead.

“Kira only had time for the preliminaries.”

Derrika’s gaze swung to me and she flexed her fingers over her keyboard.

“Quick and dirty works for me.”

Visions.

So many visions danced through my mind. I shoved aside my dirty thoughts but not before I muttered, “A woman after my own heart.”

I heard Derrika’s very unladylike snort. It wasn’t surprising she didn’t attempt to cover it up with a laugh. Nor was it surprising she didn’t seem the slightest bit embarrassed.

“Hit me, Casanova.”

Casanova?

“Did you just seriously call me Casanova ?”

Derrika shrugged.

“Okay, Delilah.”

“Delilah…” Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. “Samson’s Delilah?”

“You referred to me as a philanderer,” I pointed out.

Her lips twitched before she remembered she was supposed to be mad. “So in return you call me a horrible name? She seduced poor Samson into telling her his secrets then she betrayed the guy by having his hair cut, stealing all his strength. That’s low.”

“Would you prefer Lolita?—”

“Ew. That’s worse!”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Wolfess? Vixen? Cougar?”

“Stop. Please, you’re killing me.” She lifted her hands to cover her ears. “I take back Casanova and promise never to say it again if you promise to stop with your horrible nicknames.”

“Deal.”

She dropped her hands and gave me a dubious stare. “You’re lucky you’re good-looking because your nickname game sucks.”

I barked out a startled laugh.

Damn, this woman was a trip.

“Good you noticed,” I teased.

“Hard not to.”

With that, she broke eye contact and her hands went back to hovering over her keyboard.

Right.

Work.

“Daryl Barnes. Fifty-three. Served ten years in the Navy. Gunner’s Mate.

After he left the Navy, he worked in private security.

Five years with a company called Commitment.

The company went bankrupt. Then a six-month gap in employment.

He worked for another NGO called Oceaneering working maritime security, now he has his own business, Barnes Security.

” When I stopped, Derrika peered over at me.

“Told you it was preliminary. KK attached an image.”

I tapped on the attachment and handed my phone over.

Derrika studied the photo. I studied her profile.

She had tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose and a few darker ones near her ear.

Other than that, nothing marred her perfectly smooth skin.

I suddenly had the urge to see if she had other freckles.

I wanted to know if that pale skin pinkened when she was turned on.

I wanted that with a need that made me think Delilah was the perfect nickname.

I’d gladly tell her my secrets for a chance to trail my lips down the column of her throat, to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked, to watch those sea blue eyes deepen.

“At least you know your action flicks.” Her statement pulled me from my inappropriate thoughts.

“Come again?”

“You’re right, he looks like Steven Seagal in Glimmer Man . Good call on that.”

She handed me back my phone and went to work typing. I watched her work until her eyes sliced to me.

“You’re making me nervous.”

Immediately, I leaned away from her, putting as much distance between us as I could. She rolled her eyes—actually rolled her eyes to the ceiling before they rolled back in such an exaggerated fashion it took seconds for her to complete the dramatic show.

“Not that kind of nervous. The ‘you’re looking over my shoulder’ kind. Shoo, go find something to eat or something.”

I couldn’t remember if a woman had ever shooed me away, or anyone for that matter. My contemplation was cut short by my phone ringing in my hand.

Derrika leaned over to look at the screen.

Bold move.

“Nosy much?”

Derrika shrugged. “I could’ve snuck a peek and pretended I wasn’t looking. But I’ve found it’s much easier to cut through the bullshit and just be me.”

Damn if she wasn’t right.

I swiped my screen and put the call on speaker.

“What’s up, KK? And you’re on speaker with me and Derrika.”

“We’re twenty minutes away. Should we pick up food?”

I glanced at Derrika.

“Unless you’re cool with frozen pizza you might want to grab something. Or we can Dash something when you get here.”

“We’ll Dash. Garrett is still working Barnes. The cameras in front of Delcon were taken offline for ten minutes so we have nothing. He’s still trying to find a traffic cam with a clear image.”

“I’ll work on Barnes if he wants to concentrate on the traffic cams,” Derrika offered as her fingers danced across her screen. “I’ll work backwards. I’m more interested in his current client roster than what he did in the Navy.”

There were a few beats of silence and I knew Kira was thinking. It wasn’t that she didn’t like help or input, but the woman had control issues when it came to evidence gathering.

“Can you get into his system without being spotted?”

“I’m nowhere as good as Garrett and I’m lightyears behind you but I can get in undetected.”

There was a back and forth about how Derrika was going to get into Barnes’s files.

Kira offered suggestions, Derrika nodded, agreed, and tossed around her own process.

I didn’t understand half the shit they were talking about, especially when KK rattled off some code that sounded more like a phone number that included letters.

I knew Cooper was driving, but like me, he remained quiet and listened to the women.

“I’ll need my other computer for that,” Derrika told Kira.

I glanced around the apartment but didn’t see another device. “Other computer?”

“I have three computers,” Derrika answered.

“This one I use for basic searches. When I have to dive deep I use a different computer that actually bridges to a remote computer that gives me more protection. And the third I use for personal stuff. When I’m done being Amy, that computer gets destroyed and I’ll get a new one for my new persona. ”

Done being Amy.

“Amy Hart has quite the internet presence,” Kira said, sounding impressed.

Derrika smiled. “Thanks.”

“I couldn’t find anything for Derrika,” Kira continued.

If I hadn’t been watching closely, I would’ve missed the flinch.

“I killed her off a long time ago.”

The breadth and depth of that statement had my gut clenching.

Eight words that dug deep. I knew a thing or two about killing off who you used to be.

The sorrow that accompanied the relief to leave behind the poison in your past while at the same time not wanting to lose the protection it offers.

The warm security blanket of trauma that reminds you you’re not above the pain, the rejection, the truth of life.

The shedding of the past only to find out it follows you into the future.

I was no longer Jonas Lawson.

Yet I still was.

Killing him hadn’t erased a damn thing.

Wherever I went he followed. I still had the same blood on my hands, the same memories, the same sick feeling of knowing I was born into filth. I was nothing more than the product of dysfunction and abuse. The scars on my body hadn’t faded nor had the DNA changed.

“Jonas. Hey.” Derrika bumped my shoulder.

I jolted from my thoughts and mentally chastised myself for allowing myself to go there.

Nothing good comes from remembering the past. It was always better left in the dark.

“Sorry. What?”

Derrika’s eyes swept my face in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

It was a wholly uncomfortable feeling made worse by her expression.

It was the same one Cash gave me when he knew I was skating the edge of memories I was too weak to forget.

And right then, I knew she saw what only Cash had seen—weakness.

“Derrika, what ?” I asked sharply.