Page 20 of Kane (Ghost Ops #4)

Chapter Thirteen

Seth had his laptop open in the office they shared. Kane stood back to let Daphne walk in first. She took a seat in one of the chairs, perching delicately on the edge like she expected she might need to jump to her feet at any moment.

Some of the color had returned to her cheeks, but she still seemed shaky. Needed that food to arrive ASAP.

Seth turned the laptop so the screen faced them. A photo of a man—unsmiling, grim—stared back at them. He had buzz-cut hair and a small scar at the corner of his mouth.

“Nathan Fader, thirty-nine, from Mobile, Alabama. No criminal record though he’s had a couple of arrests for assault.

The charges were dropped in each case. The interesting thing is that he has a Federal Firearms License.

He buys and sells guns privately instead of through a storefront.

He’s likely in the area to broker a deal of some kind, probably checking out the local ranges and stores while he’s at it. ”

“That’s it?” Kane asked. He wanted more. Something that put Fader near the Sutton building yesterday. Something that said he could be their guy.

“Not quite. He travels around, but one of his favorite places to frequent seems to be New Orleans.”

Daphne shifted in her seat. It was subtle, but Kane noticed anyway. He noticed everything about Daphne, whether he wanted to or not.

“What’s in New Orleans?” Kane asked. “Anything? Or he just likes the nightlife?”

“Don’t know. There are dealers he could be visiting, though I don’t have hard evidence.

One of the bigger ones in town is Crescent City Armory, but there are others as well.

Man named John O’Malley owns it. He’s something of an artisan gunsmith, though my sources say he has his fingers in more than guns. ”

“Like?”

“Illegal stuff. Organized crime. If it’s true, he’s pretty slick about it.

He’s never been hauled in over any of it.

” Seth shrugged. “All this to say that Fader isn’t overtly shady, but he may be involved with shady people.

Again, no evidence he’s involved with Crescent City Armory or John O’Malley in any way.

Still doesn’t explain why he’d break into Daphne’s place. You said he didn’t hit on you, right?”

Daphne nodded. There were two spots of color in her cheeks. “That’s right. He never said anything inappropriate. I just think he’s creepy and intense. He might be socially awkward for all we know.”

Kane shoved a hand through his hair. “So Fader is a creep, but not a criminal. And why would he escalate to breaking in when he hasn’t tried to ask Daphne out? If she’d said no, then maybe. But it never progressed that far. Then again, he might just be unhinged that way.”

The other possibility, and he couldn’t say it in front of Daphne, was that the break in had nothing to do with her and everything to do with them and the fact she worked here.

What if, instead of Fader being the culprit, it was connected to the Dashevsky Group in some way?

A fuck you for being involved in the takedown of Dima Smirnov?

Wasn’t likely, but he’d mention it later.

“Maybe, but he’d be risking his license if he were caught. There are plenty of tradesman coming and going in the Sutton building,” Seth replied. “Nothing was taken, so maybe whoever broke in did it for the kicks. It’s possible we’re overthinking it.”

“Yeah,” Kane said. “Maybe. I still don’t like it. We need an answer so we’ll know it’s safe to return. Daphne doesn’t want to hang out with me and Ethan indefinitely.” He turned to her. “Though you can. Long as you want. Stay until you’re comfortable going back.”

She bowed her head to look at her clasped hands. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“That’s all I’ve got,” Seth said. “If something else comes up, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”

Kane stood and waited for Daphne. She seemed a bit shaky on her feet so he stuck close while they returned to the front of the building. The food arrived about five minutes later.

“Stay,” Kane said when Daphne started to get up to go to the break room. “Eat at your desk.”

He put the container in front of her along with napkins and several packets of ketchup. She arched an eyebrow at him. He knew he was being bossy, but hell, the woman looked faint.

“Did I smell food?” Ghost said, walking in from the back.

“Yep.” Kane handed him the bag with the rest of the food. “Got mine and Daphne’s. We’re gonna sit here. She’s feeling kinda faint.”

Ghost took the bag. “You okay, Daph? Need the afternoon off?”

Her mouth was full so she shook her head. “Staying,” she finally managed.

“Okay, but if it gets worse, go home. We’ll manage.”

She swallowed and took a sip of water. “Thank you. I’m fine, though. Just hungry. I’d rather be here.”

Ghost nodded. “You got anything on that trigger yet?” he asked Kane.

“Not yet. Whoever made the mod, they don’t advertise. I’ll keep looking though. Never know what might pop up.”

“True.”

Ghost left and Kane ate his sandwich while scrolling pages on the computer.

So many fucking aftermarket parts for Glocks.

But none with a diamond etched in the metal.

Agent Corbin thought it unlikely that Smirnov had changed out the trigger himself, but she didn’t know everything.

He might have done so if he didn’t like the feel of the trigger.

Some people wanted a shorter pull. Could be as simple as that.

Everything didn’t have to be some big conspiracy theory related to Viktor Dashevsky and his shadow army.

Though it was disturbing that citizens of this country would flock to a Russian oligarch’s banner in the first place, but Kane had decided a long time ago that he was no longer surprised by what people did.

Or what they believed was true despite all evidence to the contrary.

“Thank you for including me in the briefing,” Daphne said.

Kane turned to her. She’d either finished her food or stopped eating because the container was closed. “You’re welcome.”

“I appreciate knowing what Seth found about Fader.”

“You deserved to know. He made you uncomfortable. And since you wouldn’t let me ban him for breathing, it was the least we could do to include you.”

“I want to stay at your place for a while. I won’t feel safe until the security system is running.”

He hated the fear in her eyes. He’d do anything to alleviate it. “You can stay, Sunshine. We’ve got the room. Ethan won’t care.”

He hadn’t asked, but he knew Ethan well enough to know he’d want Daphne to feel safe, too.

Kane polished off his last french fry and closed the container. “You excited about your car?”

He wanted to get her thinking about something else, see that soft smile tease at the corners of her lips again.

Daphne had been happy this morning, before they’d started work.

Somewhere between then and now, she’d deflated like a helium balloon with a slow leak.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment it’d happened, but she’d been sliding downhill all morning.

Maybe it was the lack of food that’d made her that way, but he wasn’t so sure.

It hadn’t been that long since breakfast, and she’d eaten well then.

But every time they talked about the break-in and who could have done it, she seemed to shrink in on herself.

He wished she’d tell him why she was so spooked, but she wasn’t going to. Daphne was close-lipped about herself.

A lot like he was, actually. Hard to blame her when he was the same way.

“Yes, I’m excited,” she said.

He could tell her smile was forced rather than natural. Still, he’d take it until a real one showed up.

“I need to go to the bank and get the cashier’s check this afternoon. I already called and Miss Lewis said it’s not a problem so long as I’m there before the lobby closes at 4:00. I thought I’d go after lunch…” Her expression fell. “Crap. Warren’s car’s at the Sutton building.”

“I’ll take you. We can leave here at three, head to the bank, then go get your car.”

“That works too. Thanks, Kane. You’ve been a really big help lately.”

“Like I told you, you’re one of us. We stick together and we help each other out. You’d do the same for me.”

“I would, but I think we’d have to limit it to giving you rides. I’m no good at cars, and no way am I throwing myself into danger for you.”

“When did I throw myself into danger?”

She rolled her eyes, and it made warmth bloom in his belly. If she could do that, maybe she was starting to feel like herself again.

“When you entered my apartment last night without knowing whether anybody was inside. What if they’d attacked?”

He wanted to laugh but he didn’t. She was serious. “Trust me when I tell you I didn’t do anything without experience to back me up and a plan. What I did wasn’t dangerous to me. If I’d found somebody in there, different story. For them .”

She shook her head. “You can’t know that. How can you know that?”

“I know, Sunshine. It’s not arrogance or masculine bravado. I know . And I’ll tell you what else, I’m not the only one. Any of the guys would have done the same, and they’d feel the same way about it. The only danger was to whoever was inside.”

“What if it was a hitman?”

He blinked. “Seriously? In Sutton’s Creek?”

She frowned at him. He got the hint.

“Okay, sure, a hitman. Because this is an episode of a TV drama, not real life. A hitman wouldn’t have made the mistake of leaving the door unlocked.

Which means you’d have gone in first. Hard to say what would have happened next, because it depends on what the hitman wants.

Even then, I wouldn’t have hesitated to act. ”

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

Her eyes were wide and her voice soft so he knew she didn’t mean it as an insult. She was genuinely shocked that he would willingly engage on her behalf.

“Not crazy. Just well-trained. Anybody touches you— hurts you —they die.”