Page 33

M addox

“Long time no hear,” Damon Zephyr said as he answered his phone.

“Maybe not long enough.” What the hell was I doing hungering for the woman while she had a target on her back? I hadn’t wanted to mention I’d noticed more than the two Feds following us.

There’d been at least two other individuals who’d taken more than a keen interest in where we were headed.

I didn’t like it. Was it possible it was just another agency keeping track? Maybe, but I had no doubt Alfaro was pissed. Maybe I should have left the man a calling card when I’d killed his men, so he’d known what he was dealing with.

“You’re the one who moved just a couple hours away.”

I huffed as I headed outside, studying the street as I’d been doing since leaving the attorney’s offices. “You know about that.”

“I know everything.” And he did. I shouldn’t consider Damon a friend since he was technically a conman, giving up his high paying position in the corporate world for working with some shady individuals for financial gain.

To the tune of millions.

He laughed. “Kage told me when we talked a couple months ago. Are you finally going to take me up on my job offer?” he pressed.

“I don’t think so. I’m not a computer whiz. I need a favor.”

“Wow. To what do I owe this honor?”

“Very funny,” I told him. “Kage mentioned you’re living outside DC. True?”

“Yeah, I have a place on the outskirts of Alexandria. What do you need?”

“Do you have plans for tonight? A job you’re working on?”

Damon laughed. “You caught me at a good time. Leaving for Paris in a couple days for a job. You want to grab a drink?”

“No, I need to bring a friend of mine by your house and a use a computer. I know you have several.”

“O-kay. Anything else?”

Our odd friendship had worked over the years. He’d saved my life, charging into a situation that had all but cost him his. I’d done the same just before he’d been shifted to another unit. “A ride? Maybe some dinner?”

“You don’t ask much, buddy. Do you?” His laugh was full of jest.

“I’ll pay you back. You know I’m good for it.”

“Eh,” he snorted. “We’ll see about that. Where are you?”

“I’ll text you the address. I don’t need to tell you that no one can know about this. That includes picking us up at the hotel.”

“Now you have me curious. What in the world have you gotten yourself in the middle of?”

“The truth is I’m not sure, but I don’t want to talk about it over the phone.”

“When do you need me?”

I glanced at my watch. “Twenty-four minutes. Can you swing it?”

“Jesus, bud. I don’t have a goddamn helicopter.” His laugh was tight. “I’ll see what I can do. Driving a black Humvee these days.”

He had me laughing. “Always a military man.”

“Not a chance. Those days are long gone.”

Yeah, I knew they were. After he’d been transferred to another unit, he’d found himself as a prisoner of war for almost six months.

He’d been honorably discharged with a permanent disfigurement and a hatred for the fight.

Not that I could blame him. He’d seen the worst in humanity, enduring aspects of torture he’d only briefly mentioned over a bottle of scotch years before.

However, he’d earned his money and whoever he was working for was his business. What I knew was that with his connections and abilities to hack into any system, we might stand a chance of learning what the hell we were dealing with.

Plus, if Kage said the man could be trusted, I’d believe it.

I headed down the street, turning down another and waiting to ensure I wasn’t being followed before backtracking into the street entrance of the underground garage. Twilight would settle in about thirty minutes, which would help provide some cover.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t anxious.

The time spent waiting was annoying.

When she appeared from the stairwell, her face flushed, I was forced to breathe a sigh of relief. There was nothing worse than not knowing what we were dealing with.

She looked over her shoulder, obviously nervous, but as soon as she noticed me standing in the shadows, I sensed a touch of excitement.

Given I’d insisted we stop and purchase a few things for her, she’d changed into jeans, her long hair once again controlled by a ponytail, the strands shifting back and forth across her shoulders as she walked. Wearing flats, she appeared far too young for an old man like me.

And yet, my cock stiffened from the sight of her.

“Success?” she asked as soon as she was standing in front of me.

“My buddy will be here any minute.”

“Anything I should know about him?”

I moved in front of her until we were just inches apart. “He’s not one of your stories. No matter what you hear or what he tells you.”

“You have me intrigued.”

“Don’t you dare.” I had the strong urge to touch her face. When I placed my flexed fingers against her cheek, my body had the same reaction as it did every time I touched her.

Strong and almost uncontrollable desire.

“But he’s trustworthy?”

“More than almost any man I know. He’s into some fascinating private work. That’s all I’m going to say.”

“That means illegal.”

“Likely.”

“How do you know him?”

“We served together.”

“Why does a man once considered a hero turn into a criminal?” she asked, tipping her head.

Christ, I wanted to do more than just touch her. The urge was stronger than ever. “When you’re left for dead in a brutal country with no hope of escape, you think of alternative methods of making your living.”

“Just like happened to you with Alfaro. Right?”

“You ask too many questions.”

“That’s because I usually get answers.”

“Yes, I can see I need to keep you in line.”

She leaned into me, teasing me as she continued to do. The girl was going to be the death of me.

At that moment, the sound of an approaching vehicle forced me to push her further into the shadows, standing in front and grabbing my weapon.

I hadn’t seen Damon in years, but at least I could easily recognize the Humvee from a distance. “Our ride is here.”

He rolled down the window, keeping the engine idling. The grin on his face was exactly as I remembered. “Who’s the lovely lady?”

“Someone you don’t touch,” I told him and opened the back door for her to slide in. I scanned the garage before climbing into the passenger seat.

“Possessive. I’m Damon Zephyr. An old friend.”

“Charmaine Douglas. I understand you can help us.”

He peered into the rearview mirror before rolling forward. “I’ll see what I can do. How do you two know each other?”

“He saved my life,” she answered.

His eyebrows raised and he tossed me a curious look. “Up to your old tricks.”

“Just a job.” I had to say the words, but as soon as I did, a stitch hit my gut. She’d become much more than that at this point.

“What are we dealing with?” he asked as he moved toward the exit.

“Maybe a government cover-up. You ever hear of Fernando Alfaro?” As soon as the nose of his Humvee was a couple of feet away from the street, he noticed I was studying the area.

“I wasn’t followed,” he said. “And Alfaro is a bastard bringing more drugs into this country than anyone. No one knows how either. How the hell did you get mixed up in something like that? Are you into the drug trade now?”

“Mercury Fulminate,” Charmaine answered.

“What?” He turned onto the road, once again staring into the rearview mirror.

“He’s using it in the assassinations of his enemies. That’s what we believe anyway. You still have connections?” I threw in.

He offered me a sly look. “He’s bringing them in with the drugs.”

“The drugs are the explosives, but my guess is if he found a way to stabilize the compound, he’s used other methods from gifts to secured packages.”

Charmaine’s answer brought a smile to his face. “Clever bastard. That means he has a few scientists working under him.”

“Maybe that’s something we can find out.” As he headed toward the Capital Beltway, I could tell his wheels were turning from my hopeful suggestion.

“Is that why you need a computer?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Charmaine, waiting until she nodded before pulling out the jump drive. “This is why.”

“Where did you get that?”

“It was handed to Charmaine in El Salvador.” I shoved it back into my pocket.

“How did a pretty lady like yourself get involved with a plot to assassinate world leaders?”

“You know something I don’t,” I stated, searching his face.

“Let’s just say a few key leaders in certain industries died in explosions. I thought it was just run of the mill shit like car bombs. Now, I’m not so certain.” Damon’s answer corroborated what Gray had said.

“Maybe whatever is on this drive will answer that question.” I hated this shit more and more.

“From what I heard, Alfaro has a list of enemies,” Charmaine piped in.

“I bet,” Damon snorted. “Didn’t you know El Salvador was dangerous?”

She sighed. “Of course I did, but I thought I could break the story along with saving some women who’d been kidnapped and children being sold into the slave trade.”

“Holy shit,” Damon laughed. “That’s a tall order. Let me guess. One story was a cover-up for the other.”

He was watching her in the rearview mirror as she nodded.

I looked at her, shaking my head. “The woman is fearless, but she managed to get into a situation she couldn’t get out of. Our old commander called for some assistance.”

Damon whistled. “You have been busy, buddy. Here I thought you were into cattle or something, not possible espionage or even your run of the mill corruption based on greed.”

“Or something.” The traffic was brutal as usual, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed a glint in the side mirror. As soon as I looked over my shoulder toward the road, Damon noticed and immediately checked his side mirror then the rearview.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“See the blue sedan about six car lengths back?”

“Yeah, I see it.”

Charmaine turned to face the back window. “We’re being followed?”

“Maybe,” I told her. “Can you get us out of here?”